Horikita Suzune appeared resolute and stern. She continued without ceremony.
"Think about it yourselves. After you know you are the VIP, are you confident you can hide it from the other Classes? And who will bear the Class's deducted points in the end? Can it be counted on you, for example, if you are discovered to be the VIP, then the Class loses 50x12 = 600 points because of you."
"Then next month, besides the extra 100 points given to Kouenji, everyone will only have 341 points, meaning their living expenses will become over thirty thousand."
"Regarding this, I am not willing."
"Or perhaps…"
She paused as she said this. "Will the students who are chosen as VIPs and then have their points deducted because other Classes guess correctly be willing to bear this loss?"
"..." XN
Students who originally thought Horikita Suzune's demands were too excessive began to quiet down.
Because.
Willing to bear this loss?
50 points is equivalent to 200,000 private points per month.
They would have to pay 200,000 in living expenses.
There's no such thing. Or rather, who can afford it?
However.
"Our Class couldn't possibly be so unlucky as to have 12 VIPs, could it?" Karuizawa said at this moment.
She is a member of the Student Council's disciplinary committee.
Although it's not a major position, she is quite popular in the Class.
Especially since the last written exam, she helped everyone "secretly photograph" the test papers through her identity as a Student Council member.
Then everyone safely passed that exam.
Even if her underwear was stolen on the Uninhabited Island, that was done by Ibuki, an outsider.
"That's right." Seeing her willing to oppose Horikita, her friends Shinohara and Sato immediately began to support her.
"If 12 VIPs are divided equally, then our Class only has 3," Shinohara said.
Even if all 3 VIPs were guessed correctly, the loss would only be 50x3 = 150 points.
Therefore, being deducted 600 points was simply nonsense.
Listening to her say this, some students seemed relieved. Or rather, some people also thought this way, and now Karuizawa and her friends were speaking for them.
However.
"But it's also possible to be that unlucky, isn't it?" Horikita said emotionlessly. "Or are you willing to bet on the number of VIPs in our Class?"
"If you win the bet, you might lose 150 points, but if you lose, you'll lose 600 points. And Shinohara, can you bear this responsibility?"
"..."
Who would dare to bet?
Even Yukimura, the top student who also thought the probability of Horikita's claim of 12 VIPs being in their Class was low, fell silent.
Because if he opposed now, and that small probability did occur, would he be responsible?
And could he take on such blame?
"So, it's because you don't want to gamble on that possibility, Horikita, that you're asking everyone to hand in their phones, right?" Seeing Horikita play the 'bad cop' sternly, Hikigaya also began to speak, preparing to play the 'good cop'.
"Because participating in group gatherings for 3 days, even with excellent acting skills, there's still a chance the VIP's identity could be exposed."
"And we cannot afford that loss."
"After all, it took seven days on the Uninhabited Island Exam to accumulate that many points."
"Are we going to lose it all here?"
"Therefore."
Hachiman said, "Horikita, you're directly making sure no one knows the VIP information."
"Since you don't know if you're the VIP, then the other Classes won't be able to figure it out."
"It is indeed a good plan," Hikigaya said.
After saying that, he did not continue to speak, but let the students discuss among themselves.
The current time was 7:46 PM.
There were still 14 minutes until 8:00 PM.
So he could waste another 4 minutes on them.
"Then. For example, if we discover a VIP from another Class during our group discussion, if we don't have our phones, wouldn't we miss the opportunity to earn points for our Class?"
Uh-huh.
The first issue raised was about their self-interest, which is very Class C.
However.
"Regarding that, I also don't recommend you answer," Horikita Suzune said. "If we guess a VIP's information incorrectly for one Class, our Class will still be deducted 50 points."
"However, you are, after all, a part of the Class."
Horikita Suzune said, "If you are willing to pay the 50 points deducted, then you can take back your phone and answer."
"And according to Kōenji's previous situation, he made an outstanding contribution to the Class and could receive one-third of the points. So, if you are deducted points because of yourself, we won't make you bear the entire loss. You only need to bear half of the share."
Horikita Suzune said, "If you answer incorrectly and are deducted 50 points, then you bear the living expenses worth 25 points until graduation. It's not much, just 100,000 points per month until graduation."
"W-why is it only one-third for rewards, but half for deductions?" a student immediately retorted.
"Because of our Class's current points," Horikita said coldly.
"Currently, Class A has 1258 points, Class B has 1121 points, and our Class C has 1041 points. Even Class A is not far off."
"Every few points deducted could mean missing the chance to reach Class A, which means potentially destroying all the efforts of the entire Class. Shouldn't there be a heavy penalty?"
Actually, it's not like that. They only get the school's benefits (tuition-free, no-exam admission to desired universities, and a desired job) if they graduate as Class A.
But now, shouting about potentially reaching Class A still had a strong suppressive effect on the students in the Class.
However.
There were also those who wanted to contribute to the Class, or after contributing, receive a portion of the points themselves, like Kouenji, so they wouldn't have to worry about living expenses in the future.
However.
The responsibility is also great.
Because who's going to pay for that?
The exam isn't over yet, and next month, if no points are deducted, they can get 100,000 in living expenses. So how could they gamble this time and pay 100,000 points, and every month at that?
"This is unfair!" Someone immediately stood up. "This is a sudden deduction of responsibility proposed by you, because, wasn't it said that only one-third of the reward points are taken, and two-thirds are given to the Class?"
"Then ask the others if they are willing to share the points deducted due to your foolishness?" Horikita's expression did not change.
For her, such a rebuttal was as good as none.
And the student who stood up immediately saw his companions lower their heads.
They were clearly unwilling.
Because why should everyone share the points you lost?
"..."
Although it was hard to admit, most students would not be willing to have their living expenses deducted for nothing.
"Horikita—"
Hirata, who loved peace, quickly stood up. He knew that if this continued, cracks would appear in the Class.
Whether it was adding or deducting points, he felt it was all normal. If they nitpicked every single thing, they wouldn't be able to find peace.
"This was indeed a slip of my tongue." Horikita Suzune had discussed it with Hachiman beforehand, so she didn't intend to be stubborn forever. At the same time, she knew she couldn't push these students too hard, so she added,
"Since there has been such a deviation this time."
"Then let's make a formal agreement."
"Previously, Kōenji set a precedent for individual advantage, and the Class rewarded him points."
"But the effect of this precedent was very good. Kōenji brought our Class over 300 Class evaluation points."
"And now."
"I don't think you want to drop down like this, do you? If there's a chance, strive for Class A."
Horikita Suzune said, "Therefore."
"As long as individuals perform excellently and gain 50 points or more (including 50 points) in Class evaluation points, all points will go to the Class, but the individual can receive living expenses worth half of the Class evaluation points. This will continue until graduation."
"Of course, if our Class's evaluation points are deducted too much, and these points cannot be preserved, then it can only be temporarily suspended."
"But what can be confirmed is that these points will definitely be placed at the very end."
"For example, Kōenji, if our Class's evaluation points are deducted to only 200 points, then everyone still has to transfer Kōenji's living expenses worth 100 points," Horikita Suzune said.
"In other words."
A student realized.
"We must ensure the rewards for students who contribute to the Class," Horikita Suzune said. "And as long as they contribute to the Class, the Class will not treat them poorly. We will fulfill it to the greatest extent possible."
"Horikita, this method doesn't seem quite right… If the Class evaluation points are divided like this…" Hirata hadn't been notified of this beforehand.
"But isn't this plan quite good?" Kōenji said, who had attended the meeting but hadn't spoken, instead only looking at his beautiful face in a mirror.
He was actually a little excited about this Class.
Reward and punishment system.
It could effectively prevent some idiots from massive point deductions, while also offering rewards, making some capable people strive to climb higher.
Because everyone knew this was a trash Class, let alone whether it could reach Class A, it would definitely fall even if it did.
So there was no hope for the Class.
However, the reward and punishment system Horikita proposed now could guarantee that they would receive their rewards after making contributions.
This was something worth looking forward to.
It could motivate some capable people to work hard and also restrict some idiots from making huge deductions.
Even a trash Class like this might be mobilized.
Of course, his reason for agreeing was only... Horikita's proposal guaranteed his reward; he was a beneficiary.
"Kouenji, you can get money, of course you'd say that," Sudo said at this moment.
"Then why don't you, Redhead boy, go earn points yourself?"
"As long as it's sports, as long as it's an exam related to sports, I can definitely get points!" Sudo said confidently.
He was an athletic monster. Although he couldn't compare to Sudo in physical fitness, he could rank among the top few in his grade, and even among all male students in the entire school.
So naturally, he was confident in himself.
"In short, if no one objects, then it's settled. As long as it's a reward or deduction of more than 50 points, caused by an individual, then they will receive the reward or bear the penalty."
"And for this exam, you've all finished reading the materials Kushida just handed out, right? My proposal is for the entire Class to hand in their phones," Horikita Suzune said.
"And if any student absolutely wants to enter the VIP guessing phase, your phones do not have to be submitted."
However, saying this was as good as saying nothing. Originally, looking at the materials Kushida provided, they finally understood a bit about what the exam was testing, and also found that being a VIP was super cool, and if they could guess the VIP identity of other Classes, they could even increase their own living expenses.
But if they guessed wrong and were deducted points, the compensation they would have to pay would be enough to give them a headache.
So now the students became worried about losing points, but not about the Class losing points, but about losing points due to their own mistakes.
He did not want to take responsibility.
"So I'll say it again: hand over all your phones now, and we'll return them after the exam. Do you have any objections? During the exam, you can use these black mass-produced phones for communication, and just factory reset them once the exam is over."
"Hikigaya."
Horikita looked towards Hachiman as she spoke.
Hachiman stood up from his seat.
Everyone noticed he was carrying a bag containing black phones, identical to the ones the School issued.
"So thoroughly prepared, huh?" Kōenji Rokusuke watched Hachiman's actions from his seat.
Although Horikita girl seemed quite direct and offended the entire Class without hesitation.
He did not believe it was Horikita Suzune's sole idea.
Now, it seemed it was indeed Hikigaya's plan behind it.
Even though it was clear this was a pre-arranged plan between the two, and they might even do something more, Kouenji did not stop them.
Because.
For him, his 100 points were not entirely stable, because if the Class C students did not change, they could easily lose points, and then his 100 points, even if not counted within the Class, would still be completely deducted by the School. So his current state was one of cooperation.
"However, if one of us is chosen as the Beneficiary—" But the students still had a small complaint, "—then the School's reward."
"If no one discovers your Beneficiary status, the School will naturally deposit the reward points into your private account. So don't you think it's better to know nothing and then discover an extra 500,000 points in your account after the exam ends?" Hikigaya said.
50... 500,000 points!
"And no one else will know about this 500,000 points, you can secretly hide it," Hachiman said.
Hide it, huh?
"Since you put it that way, hurry up and collect the phones, it's almost eight o'clock," a student said.
"I'll give you my phone first too," another girl said.
"Hurry up and collect the phones," then more people agreed.
It seemed explaining the pros and cons was not as effective as appealing to self-interest.
Hachiman thought to himself.
However, the Class C students' love for money was somewhat similar to his own.
He also believed that this exam was a good opportunity to be a bit greedy with money.
After all, opportunities to obtain large point rewards were not common.
Hachiman thought as he began to walk down and pull out another empty bag to collect the students' phones.
As a student submitted their phone, he would give them a spare phone.
However, Hachiman did not collect Kouenji's phone.
Thus.
After everything was done, it quickly reached eight o'clock.
Bao, taking a day off.
It's my birthday today, so I'm celebrating it and taking a day off.
-------------------------------
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