Not long after returning to his room, Kaoru Mitoma sent messages to Kikyo Kushida and Kamuro Masumi, asking them to share their group lists with him.
After thinking for a while, he also asked Katsuragi, requesting him to send the entire list of Class A.
Soon, Kamuro Masumi replied.
Her group was Rooster.
The number of people in the Rooster group was about the same, with members from Class A besides Kamuro Masumi, including Ai Morishita, Taiga Tsukasaki and Emi Tamiya.
A group that simultaneously gathered members from the Sakayanagi faction, Katsuragi faction and neutral faction, unlike the harmonious Snake group, they would likely make the exam quite troublesome in the coming days.
Kaoru Mitoma looked at the Rooster group's list.
Each rule actually has its internal logic.
If the school selects the VIP from each class and then arranges them into each group, the selection range would be too large.
For students to determine who the VIP is, they would have to return to their class and think about the school's selection rules, which doesn't align with the school's arrangement of regrouping students.
Therefore, the most convenient method is to select the VIP from within the group, not only ensuring that students compete and think within the group but also aligning with the school's logic in planning this exam.
Since the VIP is selected from within the group, there must be corresponding clues within the group itself.
To find this clue, Kaoru Mitoma needed to put himself in the school's position and answer a few questions.
First, why gather students separately?
Because separate gatherings have more advantages than centralized explanations, allowing students to focus on their own group and immediately notice their teammates.
Second, why divide into twelve groups instead of eight or sixteen?
Because the cruise ship's cabins aren't enough?
No, the key to this problem is why the twelve groups are emphasized twice?
The twelve groups are arranged according to the twelve zodiac signs.
They could have simply referred to them as the first, second, third groups and so on.
Is it about the order of arrangement?
Kaoru Mitoma suddenly thought of something.
He typed the list of the Snake group into the notes on his phone and then rearranged it several times.
Student ID? Birthday? Height?
It seemed that apart from the Student height, he didn't know any of the others.
He couldn't possibly go door to door asking for everyone's student ID, could he?
No, if he could think of it, the school could too.
This special exam is testing the students' thinking ability, not their ability to gather information.
As Masayoshi Hashimoto said, this is a reasoning game.
Although student IDs, birthdays and some private information cannot be ruled out, they probably shouldn't be used as references because it would be too troublesome.
Kaoru Mitoma rearranged the list of the Snake group members according to the Japanese syllabary.
Honami Ichinose, Kyosuke Okitani, Hayato Kikuchi, Yago Komiya, Miki Yamamura, Hiyori Shiina, Kaoru Mitoma…
Among the twelve zodiac signs, the Snake is the sixth.
The answer should be Hiyori Shiina.
Thinking this, Kaoru Mitoma's expression turned strange.
He then rearranged the list of the Rooster group based on Masumi Kamuro's list.
The Rooster is the tenth and the corresponding name is Ai Morishita.
Surprisingly, they were all familiar names.
Kaoru Mitoma was a bit surprised, He would go ask Ai Morishita tomorrow.
If she happened to be the VIP Student, then his guess was almost certain.
At this time, Katsuragi sent the lists of four groups to Kaoru Mitoma, including Masumi Kamuro's Rooster group.
Since the exam briefing hadn't ended yet, it seemed it would continue until around 9 PM.
Kaoru Mitoma continued rearranging and soon found more and more familiar names.
The VIP Student of the Ox group was Yume Kobashi, the VIP Student of the Rabbit group was Kei Karuizawa, the Horse group was Minami Setsuya from Class D and the Dog group was Shigeru Moriyama from Class B.
Were these answers correct?
He wasn't sure yet, but at least he could confirm that the school was deliberately guiding the students' thinking.
Most people would probably limit themselves to finding the VIP Student within their own group, neglecting the Privileged Students of other groups.
This was also why the school intentionally arranged group discussions, making students ignore other groups and focus their attention on their own group.
Kaoru Mitoma replied to Katsuragi, asking him to send the remaining lists later, without revealing his own speculations.
Just as he was about to send a harassing message to Airi Sakura, Arisu Sakayanagi suddenly sent him a message.
"Hehe, Mitoma-kun is still as good as ever at guessing others' thoughts~"
She must have already received Hashimoto's report.
"I heard your subordinates are about to betray you."
"It's fine. Once I win, they'll naturally come back, and even more loyal."
"With twelve groups, theoretically, we can gain 600 class points. With you here, our Class A will be over a thousand points ahead of Class B."
"Hehehe, that sounds quite harsh. Mitoma-kun thinks I can't surpass you?"
"Theoretically, you can."
"In that case, why don't you come over to my side?"
"It's late at night. Isn't it inconvenient for a guy like me to go to a girl's room?"
"..."
Arisu Sakayanagi remained silent for a moment before continuing to send a message.
"Would you like to go to the meeting point with me?"
"There's no need anymore."
"I see. It seems Mitoma-kun is a bit ahead of me. I was originally planning to take a walk and chat with you, but I didn't expect such a reply. Suddenly, I feel so lonely~"
"You're being too emotional."
"Fufufu, if Mitoma-kun says that, then the bad things you did to me before won't be our little secret anymore~"
"Do I really have to come over?"
"It's fine if you don't want to come now, but let's meet briefly tomorrow. I'm very curious about Mitoma-kun's reasoning."
Kaoru Mitoma put away his phone.
For Arisu Sakayanagi, whether it was Class A, the Katsuragi faction, or the Sakayanagi faction, they were all just toys to her.
As long as there was something more entertaining, she would actively approach it.
In other words, no matter how outstanding Class A's performance was on the uninhabited island, Arisu Sakayanagi wouldn't care.
Because she knew that the person who contributed the most was Kaoru Mitoma.
At this point, even Masayoshi Hashimoto guessed that Katsuragi was Kaoru Mitoma's accomplice and their actions naturally couldn't escape Arisu Sakayanagi's notice.
Moreover, the two of them had a one-year agreement and Arisu Sakayanagi was eager for Kaoru Mitoma to step into the spotlight.
This way, their confrontation would be more interesting, rather than hiding behind Kohei Katsuragi as he was now.
This indirect confrontation was uncomfortable and the showdown Arisu Sakayanagi was looking forward to wasn't like this.
"Let's meet at the coffee shop at nine tomorrow morning. As a reward, I'll bring Masumi-san along. You haven't done it with her yet, have you?"
He didn't expect her to add a reward.
Kaoru Mitoma fell silent.
He was tempted.
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