Chapter 134: Sakayanagi: [○･｀Д´･○]
On the other side, after the announcement broadcast ended, the Class D group chat completely exploded.
Sato Maya clutched her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. As a member of the Monkey Group, she was utterly bewildered. "What's going on, what's going on, what's going on—"
She sent three messages in a row, then took a deep breath, her typing speed finally slowing down.
Sato Maya: Wait, "Monkey Group ending early" means... we don't have to participate in the remaining discussions?
Shinohara Satsuki: Sounds like it. Sato, you don't have to go to the discussion tonight. Congrats.
Sato Maya: Hell yeah! Two hours every day was pure torture!
Ike Kanji: Exactly, exactly! The sooner it ends, the sooner we can relax! I hope my group ends early too. It's so awkward—I still can't even remember the names of my group members.
But the relief on Sato's face didn't last three seconds before the next message dragged her back to reality.
Yukimura Teruhiko: .........Did you guys even read the rules? Ending early only happens for two reasons. Either someone guessed correctly, or someone guessed incorrectly.
Yukimura Teruhiko: But regardless of whether it was right or wrong, your group can no longer achieve Outcome 1. So, that dream of 500,000 points per person? It's gone.
Sato stared at those words, her entire body freezing up.
500,000.
Five hundred thousand points.
She had already planned out what she was going to buy, how she'd spend it, or even how she'd save it to buy items later to take out of the school. And now... it was gone?
Why? Why couldn't they just go for the outcome where everyone is happy—ah, do they just have a personal grudge against everyone getting 500,000?
Sato Maya: Who?! Who was the one who guessed?! Step forward!
However, just as she sent the message, a familiar name appeared in the chat.
Koenji Rokusuke: It was I who answered.
The chat went silent for two seconds.
Then it boiled over completely.
Ike Kanji: Koenji?!
Yamauchi Haruki: Holy crap, Koenji, are you insane? You're something else!
Shinohara Satsuki: Wait, wait, wait, Koenji-kun, why did you guess? Didn't we all agree in the Class D group chat that we'd all aim for Outcome 1 together?
Sato Maya's fingers hovered over the screen, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Koenji Rokusuke. The man who goes his own way and absolutely refuses to follow anyone's orders. If it was him doing this... it wasn't exactly hard to understand.
But she still couldn't help but send a message.
Sato Maya: Koenji-kun, if you do this, doesn't it mean we can't get Outcome 1? That's 500,000 points per person!
Koenji's reply came quickly.
Koenji Rokusuke: This is merely a game of finding a liar; there is no need to continue attending so many discussions.
Sato stared at the words, speechless.
A game of finding a liar... he certainly made it sound easy.
Sato Maya: But...
Koenji Rokusuke: My answer was correct.
The chat went quiet for another two seconds.
Yukimura Teruhiko: .........You correctly guessed the "VIP"?
Koenji Rokusuke: Naturally.
Sato's eyes widened.
He guessed right? That meant Koenji had just secured 1 million points for himself, while the rest of the group got nothing? Just as she was about to lash out, Koenji's next message popped up.
Koenji Rokusuke: Of course, if you do not believe me, I can pay the other three members of the Monkey Group a total of 1.5 million points.
Sato's fingers stopped.
1.5 million? Divided between three people?
That would be 500,000 each.
Exactly the same as Outcome 1.
She blinked, unable to believe it.
Sato Maya: Are you... serious?
Koenji Rokusuke: I never joke about such matters.
Sato went silent.
She thought about Koenji's usual demeanor—the man who was forever immersed in his own world and ignored everyone else. He was actually proactively offering compensation? That didn't seem like him.
But then again... it kind of did. After all, he never cared about points or rules; he only cared about whether he found something "beautiful."
Sato Maya: Then... thanks.
Koenji Rokusuke: No need. Also, if any of you know students from Class C, you can tell them to come find me.
Sato was stunned for a moment.
Sato Maya: Class C? Why?
Koenji Rokusuke: Someone needs me to help pass along some information.
After saying that, Koenji's icon went dark.
Sato stared at the screen, her face full of confusion.
Passing information? What information? To Class C?
She scratched her head and decided not to think about it. Anyway, that man Koenji never needed a reason for anything he did.
She exited the chat and began calculating how to spend those 500,000 points.
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Meanwhile, in another dormitory room of Class D.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka lay on his bed, the glow of his phone screen reflecting on his expressionless face.
He stared at Koenji's last message, his brow twitching slightly.
"If any of you know students from Class C, you can tell them to come find me..."
Ayanokouji's mind began to race.
Koenji said his answer was correct. That meant he had identified the VIP of the Monkey Group.
According to the rules, if a correct answer is submitted early, the class the VIP belongs to loses 100 points, and Koenji's Class D gains 100 points.
But Koenji had just said in the group chat that he would give the other three members of the Monkey Group a total of 1.5 million points as compensation.
What did that mean?
It meant Koenji had received the 1 million point reward himself and was now shelling out an extra 500,000—he either didn't care about points, or... he was about to obtain even more points from somewhere else.
And that "somewhere else" was clearly Class C.
Ayanokouji's gaze fell on the words "tell Class C people to come find me."
Koenji was going to sell information.
He held the identity of the Monkey Group's VIP, and he was willing to sell it to Class C.
But why Class C?
If the Monkey Group's VIP was from Class C, he wouldn't need to sell it—Class C would already know. Therefore, the Monkey Group's VIP had to be from Class A or Class B.
However, Class B was currently using burner phones, and none of them knew who the VIPs in their own class were. Since they didn't know, there was no way they could have leaked information for Koenji to guess. Therefore, the Monkey Group's VIP was someone from Class A.
Ayanokouji reached this conclusion: Koenji had guessed the Class A VIP and was now going to sell that information to Class C at a high price.
But what value did a VIP who had already been "answered" still have?
The exam for the Monkey Group was already over.
Wait.
Following the logic of this school, if there is a pattern to the VIPs, then this already-answered VIP has value.
By obtaining information about the VIPs of other classes and those of one's own class, one could deduce the pattern.
That was why Koenji was doing this.
But if there truly was a pattern, that spelled trouble.
Because his deduction was that the Monkey Group's VIP was from Class A, Class C would need that information. However, it was also possible that the Monkey Group's VIP was from Class C. Knowing there was a pattern, Class C would certainly not want the identity of their own class's VIP leaked.
Furthermore, Hikigaya Hachiman from Class B had induced the Class D students to stick to the plan of protecting the Class D VIP list and aiming for Outcome 1. This approach was somewhat forceful, but it made Ayanokouji feel certain that the VIP list this time really did have a pattern.
He sighed softly.
This exam was becoming increasingly complex.
He had originally intended to gain Karuizawa's trust by winning over Manabe Shiho, thereby infiltrating Hikigaya's circle. But Ryuen's intervention had disrupted his plans, and now Koenji had suddenly pulled this stunt.
He needed to reassess the situation.
However...
He couldn't get the Class D VIP list, and he couldn't identify the VIP in his own Dragon Group.
"......" Ayanokouji realized that for him, this exam was currently unsolvable.
He could only wait for the next opportunity.
.
.
.
In the Class A Rest Area
Sakayanagi Arisu was holding her phone, and the name of the sender of a new message made her pause slightly—Hikigaya Hachiman.
She opened the message, and a brief line of text met her eyes.
[The battle has begun. I have sent to your Class A an opening gift of -100 points.]
Sakayanagi stared at the words for a few seconds, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her lips.
"Interesting," she whispered. She then looked up, her gaze scanning the Class A students in the room. Takuro Morishige was still sitting on a chair in the corner, his face still somewhat pale; seeing Sakayanagi's gaze, he instinctively lowered his head.
"The VIP of the Monkey Group has been guessed," Sakayanagi said. "It was Class B's handiwork."
Katsuragi's brow furrowed. "Class B? How do you know?"
"A message from Hikigaya-kun." Sakayanagi shook her phone. "He's declaring war on me."
Katsuragi remained silent for a few seconds. Just as he was about to speak, Hashimoto, who was also holding his phone, had a subtle expression on his face. He walked up to Sakayanagi and lowered his voice. "Princess Sakayanagi, we have a situation."
Sakayanagi looked up at him. "Speak."
Hashimoto took a deep breath, his tone complex. "My girlfriend—Maezono from Class D—just saw a message in their class chat. The Monkey Group exam ended early because of Class D's Koenji Rokusuke. He admitted it himself in the group."
Sakayanagi's eyebrows twitched.
"Koenji Rokusuke..." she repeated the name softly.
Katsuragi also frowned. Clearly, he was aware of Koenji's monstrous physical and academic abilities, as well as his complete lack of concern for the class. A loner who was entirely free.
"Yes," Hashimoto nodded. "It was him."
The room went silent for a few seconds.
Sakayanagi's gaze fell out the window, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, she retracted her gaze and looked at Hashimoto. "What else did your girlfriend say?"
Hashimoto hesitated before continuing. "Koenji said in the chat that his answer was correct. He also said he wanted Class D to help him contact Class C students, seemingly to sell some information."
"Contact Class C?" Sakayanagi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Hashimoto nodded. "Right. The chat didn't specify what the info was, but from his tone, it's likely related to this exam."
Sakayanagi fell silent.
Her mind worked rapidly. As a member of high society herself, Sakayanagi naturally knew of the Koenji family.
Koenji Rokusuke. The only son of the Koenji Conglomerate, a man hailed as a genius since childhood. With a background like theirs, there was no need for him to come to Advanced Nurturing High School for benefits—anything this school could offer, the Koenji family could provide more of. His enrollment here was likely due to a task assigned by his father.
And for such a person, his judgment could generally be trusted.
Which meant Class A had indeed been docked 100 points.
But Hikigaya's message—" I have sent to your Class A an opening gift of -100 points "—indicated this was a result he had orchestrated.
Did Hikigaya tell Koenji the VIP list?
Or did Hikigaya simply go to Koenji to confirm the Monkey Group's list? Or perhaps he tricked Koenji into ending the Monkey Group's exam?
Sakayanagi's fingers lightly tapped the armrest of her cane, reflecting her thoughts.
However, very quickly...
No.
If Hikigaya had obtained the Monkey Group's VIP identity from Koenji, he could have guessed it himself. That way, Class B would gain 100 points while Class A lost 100—a 200-point swing. That would be more beneficial for him.
But he didn't do that.
Instead, he let Koenji guess.
Why?
A thought suddenly flashed through Sakayanagi's mind.
—There is a pattern to the VIPs.
Hikigaya Hachiman had deduced that pattern, but he needed verification. So he went to Koenji—another genius capable of seeing through everything—to obtain a definitive sample.
And Koenji, being very clever, discovered the value of this information because of Hachiman's intervention. Thus, he wanted to contact Class C.
He wanted to sell the pattern. Or rather, sell the Monkey Group's VIP list to Class C so they could participate in deducing the pattern. Naturally, he could secure a large sum of points to maximize his profit.
'I see.'
A slight smile curved Sakayanagi's lips.
She finally understood.
What Hikigaya Hachiman was working so hard to hide wasn't Class B's VIP list, but the fact that "the VIPs follow a pattern." He had all of Class B use burner phones; it looked like defense, but in reality, it was just an unnecessary addition meant to hide the existence of the pattern itself.
Yes.
He's a "transmigrator" after all; could he not know if the exam had a pattern?
Although his inner voice mentioned that her appearance on the ship was different from the "original work" he knew, the fact that students were delayed so long from returning to school meant the school had prepared two special exams long ago.
Therefore, things wouldn't have been altered too much.
So, the point that there was a pattern to the VIP selection had definitely not changed.
So her previous line of thought was correct—Hikigaya had enough VIP names to deduce the pattern, but he needed to confirm if his pattern was correct, so he needed a verification.
And Koenji was the one who could give him the answer.
"Princess Sakayanagi?" Hashimoto's voice pulled her back to reality.
Sakayanagi looked up at him. "Can your girlfriend continue to get information?"
Hashimoto nodded. "She should be able to. Maezono's popularity is average, but she's constantly glued to her phone and sees many messages immediately. And Class D doesn't have much of a concept of hiding information, so a lot is shared in the class chat."
While it was possible, it also showed that Hashimoto's girlfriend was truly nothing special, only able to gather info via phone.
"Have her keep watching," Sakayanagi said. "Especially regarding Koenji's movements. How Class C reacts after he contacts them—I need to know immediately."
Hashimoto acknowledged this and walked to the side to message Maezono.
Katsuragi looked at Sakayanagi, finally unable to keep quiet. "Sakayanagi, Class A is now at -100 points. Do you have any other thoughts?"
Sakayanagi looked at him. "Koenji was directed by Hikigaya, and I suspect the VIPs follow a pattern. Class B has already mastered this pattern, and Hikigaya went to Koenji likely to verify it. From the look of it, it's almost certain."
Katsuragi fell silent for a few seconds, then grew worried. "If there really is a pattern, we're in trouble. Our class has four VIPs. If the pattern is discovered by other classes... the other three will be exposed—"
"It doesn't necessarily mean we lose," Sakayanagi interrupted, her smile remaining composed. "A pattern works both ways. If they can master it, so can we. Moreover, we have four samples, more than Class C and far more than Class D. As long as we find that pattern, we can retake the initiative."
Katsuragi looked at her with a trace of complex emotion.
"Do you already have a lead?"
Sakayanagi didn't answer directly, only letting out a soft chuckle.
"No, but we're going to be very busy.
We must deduce the pattern before tonight's group discussions," Sakayanagi stated. "Since Hikigaya has started his attack now... I suspect he will launch a full-scale offensive by tomorrow at the latest, and possibly as early as tonight's discussions."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Katsuragi asked with quick decisiveness.
"Gather all the students of the class. Inform them of Class A's VIP list. If anyone betrays us, they will be the next person expelled in the school's expulsion exam," Sakayanagi ordered quickly. "Deducing the pattern sometimes has nothing to do with academic ability and everything to do with a flash of inspiration. Our time is tight, so everyone must participate. First, go print the full lists for all 12 groups—try to get a copy for everyone."
"Then, our class's VIP list will also be announced right here in the rest area. We will strive to deduce it.
The deadline is before the group discussions tonight.
This is the key to whether Class A can still hold its position."
Katsuragi understood the gravity of the situation. Sakayanagi was saying that Class B already knew the VIP pattern and had deduced all of Class A's VIPs, so everything had become an open book in Class B's eyes.
By then, Class B could correctly guess Class A's remaining three VIPs and pull Class A down directly.
The only way to save themselves was to guess Class B's VIP list.
This was the moment to test the unified solidarity of Class A.
"Understood!" Katsuragi nodded. He immediately led the members of the Katsuragi faction to arrange things.
Others were also notified. From now until the group discussions tonight, they needed to work like their lives depended on it to deduce the pattern.
For the glory, status, and future of Class A!
Go!
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Time reached 3:00 PM. In the cafe on the third floor of the ship, sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warming the round tables. Several sofas in the corner had been
pushed together to form a semi-open area where seven or eight girls sat or leaned, with various drinks and desserts set before them.
This was a "team-building" event temporarily organized by the girls of Class D.
Calling it team-building was a stretch; it was really just because the exam was too boring, and they wanted a place to chat and kill time. The initiator was Kushida Kikyo, who, under the guise of "improving class bonds," brought Karuizawa's "gyaru" group together with the girls she usually hung out with.
Karuizawa Kei leaned back into the innermost single sofa, holding a cup of iced milk tea, her gaze scanning the people present.
Sato Maya sat next to her, poking at a tiramisu with a small spoon, her expression distracted. Shinohara Satsuki was on the double sofa opposite them, talking to Kushida. Matsushita Chiaki sat next to Shinohara, elegantly holding her black tea, though her gaze drifted toward the window from time to time.
On the other side, Wang Mei-Yu sat quietly with a cup of hot cocoa, a gentle smile on her face. Hasabe Haruka leaned beside her, looking lethargic. Mori Nene sat opposite Hasabe, looking down at her phone.
"So, what exactly happened with the Monkey Group?" Shinohara Satsuki finally couldn't help but ask, her gaze falling on Sato Maya. "Sato, you're in the Monkey Group, tell us about it."
Sato Maya's spoon paused. She looked up, a complex expression on her face.
"What else could have happened?" she sighed. "That guy Koenji just straight-up answered."
At those words, the expressions of everyone present shifted. Although they already knew this from the class chat, they still needed to verify if it was true.
"He answered?" Hasabe Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Did he get it right or wrong?"
"He says he got it right." Sato Maya put down her spoon and took a sip of her iced coffee. "And he also said he'd give the three of us in the Monkey Group a total of 1.5 million points as compensation."
Mori Nene looked up, her eyes widening slightly. "1.5 million? If it's split three ways, that's 500,000 each?"
"Yeah," Sato nodded. "Exactly the same as Outcome 1."
Shinohara blinked. "Well, that's great then. The result is the same, and you don't have to keep going to discussions. Koenji-kun is actually quite generous."
"That's one way to put it..." Sato's tone carried a hint of subtlety. "But it feels a bit strange. That Koenji usually doesn't give anyone the time of day—why would he suddenly think of compensating us?"
Hasabe Haruka chuckled softly. "Maybe he just felt it was... more beautiful that way?"
The girls of Class D categorized the boys into "Koenji," "Hirata," and "Everyone Else." However, Koenji wasn't on par with Hirata; rather, they simply couldn't understand what he was thinking. He always had an attitude of "I am a genius and you are mortals," which made people find him incomprehensible.
Sometimes they couldn't even follow his conversations.
"Could be." Sato shrugged. "Anyway, as long as I get the points, who cares?"
Karuizawa Kei listened quietly without interjecting. She knew in her heart that Koenji doing this was likely related to Hachiman. She knew Hachiman had gone to the gym to find Koenji this morning. After all, when she was bored, she would GPS him to see what he was up to.
"Speaking of which," Shinohara suddenly changed the subject, "don't you think Horikita-san has been especially quiet during this exam?"
At those words, everyone's gaze shifted to her.
Shinohara continued, "During the island exam, didn't she lead us to sell our base points? She talked about 'distribution according to work' so everyone could get money. This time, she hasn't said much from beginning to end. She doesn't post in the class chat, and I don't know what she's doing in her group discussions..."
"Horikita-san was always the type not to talk much, right?" Mei-Yu Wang said softly. "Maybe she feels like there's nothing that needs to be said during this exam?"
"But this exam is important," Shinohara frowned. "And I heard that in other classes, info on the VIP is being traded for one or even two million points, yet there's no movement at all on our side in Class D. Isn't that weird?"
Mori Nene put down her phone and joined in. "It is weird. Given Class D's usual style, if someone got VIP info, they'd have been thinking about how to sell it for money ages ago. Being this quiet is unusual."
"Maybe..." Kushida Kikyo suddenly spoke, but stopped halfway.
Everyone looked at her.
Kushida was sitting next to Shinohara, holding a cappuccino, her expression somewhat dazed. She had been zoning out just now, her mind replaying the wink she had given Hachiman after the Dragon Group discussion this morning—she had clearly hinted that she wanted to talk privately, but that guy hadn't replied to her message yet.
"Kushida-san?" Shinohara nudged her arm.
Kushida snapped back to reality. "Ah? What is it?"
"You just said 'maybe'... maybe what?" Shinohara pressed.
Kushida froze for a second, realizing she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud. She quickly ran through the previous conversation in her head and then spoke carefully.
"Maybe... it's because our Class D has very few VIPs? Or maybe none at all?"
The girls were all stunned.
"No VIPs?" Hasabe Haruka raised an eyebrow. "You mean out of twelve VIPs, Class D didn't get a single one?"
Kushida nodded. "While I believe everyone wouldn't betray the class, looking at the current situation, there really isn't any stir in our class. If there truly were a VIP, surely someone wouldn't be able to help but say something? But so far, there hasn't been a single peep."
She paused and continued, "So I'm wondering, could the school feel like Class D's score is too low and concentrated the VIPs in other classes? After all, if another class guesses correctly, we'd lose a lot of points. It would be terrible if we went into the negatives."
Hmm... her words were well-reasoned. Several of them nodded thoughtfully.
Because the students of Class D knew exactly what kind of people their classmates were.
If they themselves were chosen as the VIP, they would surely be excited and show it somehow. They wouldn't be like this—completely indifferent in the face of one or two million points.
So it could only be... it wasn't that they didn't want to sell out the class, but that they couldn't. How can you sell if you aren't the VIP!
"Possible," Mori Nene said. "Class D only has 130 points right now. Any more deductions and we'll be in the negatives. The school probably wouldn't arrange it like that."
"Then who was the VIP Koenji guessed?" Sato Maya asked suddenly. "He said he was right, so the VIP he guessed must be from another class. If it was Class A, didn't Class D just get 100 points for free?"
Shinohara's eyes lit up. "Right! If Koenji was right, our class gets 100 points!"
"Not necessarily." Matsushita Chiaki spoke up suddenly, her voice calm. "He could also be wrong."
The girls turned their gazes to her.
Matsushita put down her tea cup, her tone still flat. "Although Koenji-kun says he got it right, the exam results won't be announced until the fourth night. No one knows yet if he's actually right or wrong."
She paused, her gaze drifting almost imperceptibly over Karuizawa. "And even if he is right, it doesn't mean Class D will definitely gain 100 points. Don't forget, if there is a VIP in our class who gets guessed by another class, we still lose points. After adding and subtracting, it's not certain how much will be left."
This caused the group to fall silent.
Sato Maya frowned. "Matsushita, you're talking as if... as if someone in our class really is going to be guessed."
"I'm just saying it's a possibility," Matsushita shrugged. "There's a lot we don't know, after all."
Karuizawa Kei still didn't speak, but her heart stirred slightly.
What Matsushita Chiaki just said sounded like a situational analysis, but there seemed to be a hidden meaning in her tone. She glanced at Matsushita and noticed the other girl's gaze had just shifted away from her, as she nonchalantly picked up her tea.
Karuizawa felt that Matsushita was the most brainy-looking person in their group; she felt this way because Matsushita always seemed to say something special at just the right time.
Maybe she was a talent.
And if she was a talent... then perhaps she could be commissioned.
Thinking this, Karuizawa quickly composed a message and sent it to Hikigaya Hachiman. Then she went back to watching everyone as if nothing had happened.
"Forget it, forget it, why think so much," Hasabe Haruka waved her hand. "The exam has two days left anyway. We'll know the result then. Guessing now is useless."
"True," Mori Nene nodded. "Instead of worrying about this, we should think about what to eat tonight. That Italian restaurant on the ship seems pretty good."
The topic quickly shifted to food, and the atmosphere became lively again.
But Matsushita's mind wasn't on those discussions.
She leaned against the sofa, tea in hand, her gaze on the endless sea outside the window. Her mind, however, was replaying what she had just said.
What she said wasn't just a "possibility."
In her view, the silence of Class D during this exam was far too abnormal. Given the personalities of the Class D crowd, if someone truly were chosen as a VIP, they wouldn't have been able to resist making a scene by now. But so far, nothing.
There were only two possibilities.
One: Class D really had no VIP.
The other: There was a VIP, but that person had already made a deal with another class long ago, so they wouldn't show any flaws within Class D.
And if Class D had a VIP, who would that be?
Several names flashed through Matsushita's mind.
Hirata Yosuke? Unlikely; he was too upright.
Kushida Kikyo? Possible, but her earlier suggestion that "Class D might have no VIP" seemed like a deliberate attempt to guide everyone's thinking in that direction.
Horikita Suzune...
Matsushita thought of Horikita Suzune.
That black-haired, red-eyed girl had indeed been excessively quiet this exam. After being so active during the island exam, she had barely spoken in the class chat this time. No one knew what she was doing in her group discussions either.
However, if Horikita were the VIP and had already made a deal with Hikigaya from Class B, everything would make sense.
The sudden trend in Class D of "aiming for Outcome 1" and "paying for your own point deductions" looked like it was protecting class interests, but in reality, it might be Horikita paving the way for herself—she wanted to sell her VIP status, so she first made everyone afraid to guess randomly, then let Koenji answer to add points to the class, thereby offsetting the loss caused by her selling her status.
Could Koenji's sudden answer be because Horikita was going to lose 100 points, so he proactively gave the class 100 points? This way, Class D would break even in this exam, and Horikita wouldn't have to bear the responsibility for causing a loss to the class, while Horikita personally could get a large sum of points from Hikigaya.
"..."
No!
Matsushita was startled by her own thought.
But thinking carefully, it wasn't impossible.
Just as she was thinking, the phone in her pocket vibrated.
She pulled out her phone, opened the message, and froze.
On the screen was a brief line of text—
[Matsushita, Hikigaya has a task he wants to entrust to you.]
Sender: Karuizawa Kei
Matsushita's finger paused. She instinctively looked up at Karuizawa diagonally across from her.
Karuizawa was still leaning on the sofa, holding her milk tea and talking to Sato, looking no different from usual. But the moment Matsushita looked at her, Karuizawa's gaze also happened to shift over, and the two made eye contact for a second.
The corner of Karuizawa's mouth curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile, and then she nonchalantly looked away.
Matsushita retracted her gaze and looked back at her phone screen.
Hikigaya Hachiman.
The man who had harvested nearly a hundred million points during the island exam. The Class B representative who both Class A and Class C were wary of. The person she had always wanted to make contact with but could never find the opportunity.
Matsushita took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She opened the message, read it carefully several times, and then softly deleted it.
She picked up her tea cup, took a sip, and let her gaze fall once more on the sea outside.
The sun shone on the water, sparkling and seemingly calm.
But in her heart, an indescribable wave was surging.
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