Ichinose's eyes instantly sharpened.
But.
"I also think peaceful coexistence is best."
After Hachiman spoke, VILLAGE, who only wanted to maintain his current standing and get 100,000 living expenses next month, also said so. Or rather, this plan was too good for him, because everyone sitting down together and choosing to honestly end the exam on the third night according to the exam rules, with 500,000 for each person and 1,000,000 for the Benefactor, could completely solve his potential financial crisis as a shut-in who wanted to buy games and game consoles.
"Hey—" However, some students from Class A were still dissatisfied.
Machida had shut up, but the other two hadn't. "Isn't that question very cunning? It's meant to identify who the Benefactor is, right?"
This student directly exposed the possible meaning of Ichinose's question. "But this question isn't mandatory, so we'll remain silent."
"Eh? Is this question cunning?" As the one who asked the question, Ichinose Honami showed a troubled expression. "Isn't this a peaceful choice that leads everyone to common prosperity?"
The Benefactor reveals their identity, and then everyone answers at the correct time, and everyone receives a reward.
This kind of thing could probably only be achieved by people from Class B.
So, was she not testing just now, but purely kind?
"Threats or intimidation are not allowed. The only way to solve this exam is probably through discussion and conversation, and you, Class A, are refusing… So, can we consider you suspects? Can you accept that?" Ichinose Honami kept up the lively atmosphere.
"Are you threatening us?" The people from Class A seemed a bit impulsive, and some, like Machida, chickened out after being confronted.
But it couldn't be denied that their current poker faces made it impossible to tell whether the Benefactor was among them or not.
Because.
Even if they weren't, if they made others think they were, leading to a wrong answer from a hasty guess.
Then the Class that guessed hastily would lose point for answering incorrectly.
For Class A, their first-place position would become even more secure.
So.
In other words, the people in Class A simply couldn't be trusted right now. They were all actors. They wished for others to guess wrong.
They were liars, it was intentional!
"In any case, what you suspect is your business. We won't participate in the discussion!" And these actors now remained silent. "From now on, we won't say a single word. What do you think?"
No answer, no words.
Then naturally, no more effective clues could be given.
Class A's actions were suspicious but also unexpectedly steady.
Because their non-participation meant the possibility of a Benefactor existing among them, but if they didn't reveal it, others had no way. Threats and intimidation were not allowed, so, if any Class A student was singled out, it meant they would always be under suspicion, and the final exam result would be – no Benefactor found, meaning the final exam result could only be that no one found the Benefactor, and then the exam ended, and the Benefactor received a reward of 1,000,000 personal point. This was result 2, where only the Benefactor wins.
And now, after the students of Class A stated their non-participation, they even added, "What do you think?"
Their intentions were truly sinister.
Because at such a time, if one expressed support for Class A's actions, it would mean that their Class might have a Benefactor, otherwise such a proposal would only benefit Classes with a Benefactor. If there was no benefit, then why support it? The exposure was too great.
In other words, it was impossible to answer without confirming whether one's own Class had a Benefactor. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to one's own Class. Of course, if one's own Class had no Benefactor, then joining now was fine, but such an action would also lead to reverse suspicion.
It would be directly determined that they could agree so calmly because there was no Benefactor in their Class.
It could be said that as soon as one joined the conversation, one would immediately be suspected. So they directly chose not to answer! To prevent all attempts at probing.
Katsuragi was truly an excellent person. The few of them were from the Katsuragi Faction and strongly agreed with Katsuragi's strategy.
"Eh eh—" Ichinose seemed a bit nervous. "Now, what should we do?"
There really was no way.
"It seems we've fallen into a predicament." Hachiman finally spoke. Because he had the Benefactor's information, Ichinose's actions gave him a headache, and Class A's steady approach was also vicious. The room felt like it was running out of air. A lot of scheming.
So what could be done now?
As for Class C and Class D.
Hmm, these two groups were playing on their phones. They had no idea that Class A and Class B had already clashed.
Since that was the case.
"By the way, why are your Class C phones so strange?" And Ibuki of Class D suddenly spoke. "They're black."
"Oh, that." She seemed to be speaking to Karuizawa.
"…" Karuizawa seemed to be silent for a few seconds.
Because it had already been confirmed that the person who stole her underwear on the Uninhabited Island was Ibuki.
Yet Ibuki shamelessly asked her, so even Karuizawa was stunned for a few seconds.
But she still answered her.
And everyone else also noticed that Yukimura and VILLAGE, students from Class C, were holding black phones. Everyone else's phones were white.
"They're temporary." Karuizawa said, "Because all our phones were confiscated before eight o'clock."
Just simple words, but they caused great damage.
Because the students of Class A and Class B simultaneously changed color.
Phones confiscated before eight o'clock, didn't that mean before the information confirming whether one was a Benefactor was sent?
The people from Class A gasped.
They had just felt they did well by not participating in the discussion. But now.
Aren't you doing the same! Even your own classmates don't know if they are the Benefactor, so how can they show clues, how can people discover it?
Isn't this even more ruthless than what Class A did!
And for Ichinose, the previous probing became ineffective.
Because the Benefactor in Hikigaya's Class couldn't be probed at all.
Thus.
Due to the madness, and Class A's uncooperativeness and Class C's ignorance, the students of Class B and Class D became very anxious, while the students of Class D still hadn't fully understood the exam content, so after two hours of "discussion," Ichinose Honami sighed.
"I don't know how the exam will proceed like this." She was troubled, but not only was she troubled by the Rabbit Group she was currently in, but also worried about the other 11 groups. If Class A didn't participate at all, and no one in Class D knew the Benefactor's identity, then the exam really couldn't proceed.
"Hikigaya-kun, are you…?" As she sighed, she noticed Hachiman walking up to the third floor. If he was going to the deck or back to the dormitory, he should be going down.
She quickly followed him.
"I'm going to pick up Horikita." Hachiman said. "Her discussion is probably over too."
"Ah, you and Horikita are really close." Ichinose Honami said, her cheeks slightly flushed.
But this was probably a school rumor, that Hikigaya often ate lunch with Horikita in the classroom, and it was even made by Horikita herself.
So a considerable number of people misunderstood that he and Horikita were dating or something.
"No, I'm returning her phone." Hachiman said, "I originally wanted to trick people, but I didn't get a chance to use it."
Returning the phone to Horikita?
Could it be that Hikigaya-kun was currently holding Horikita's phone?
And Ichinose's mind was very sharp; she immediately understood what Hachiman wanted to say. Probably, if someone wanted to ask if he was the Benefactor, he would directly take out the phone and display the message [Not selected as Benefactor], but he was holding someone else's phone, so he might really be the Benefactor. But it was also possible that he was just trying to mislead, and he wasn't the Benefactor but deliberately made people suspect he was.
How cunning.
Ichinose felt an even greater headache, because if students exchanged phones and didn't carefully check the personal information, it would be very easy to give a misjudgment.
After returning, she had to remind her classmates in Class B.
However, in that case, Class B seemed to have no hope at all in this exam.
Ichinose was considering whether to reveal her Class's Benefactor list to agree to Hikigaya's continued alliance.
It was just that this exam was also an opportunity for Class B.
They were very close to Class A. And Hoshinomiya-sensei also hoped she could demonstrate her abilities. But she was up against Hikigaya.
Wasn't this over before it even began?
Sigh.
Ichinose was very troubled.
And Hachiman continued walking forward, but he noticed Ichinose also quickly followed him.
Hmm?
"I hope to persuade Katsuragi of Class A to give up Class A's non-participation plan."
Ichinose walked on Hachiman's right side and said, "Or does walking with me bother you?"
She seemed to show a dejected expression.
It wouldn't bother him.
Because Ichinose used some kind of shampoo, and she always had a pleasant scent on her, which Hachiman didn't dislike.
"Actually, Ichinose, what do you think of the results of the last Uninhabited Island exam?" Hachiman suddenly asked.
Hmm.
For Ichinose, that was a complicated exam.
Not only did she experience taking in Kaneda only to find out he was a spy, and then Kaneda discovered the Team Leader's information.
As a result, to maintain their score, they had no choice but to make a deal with Hikigaya, and even now, the Class still owed the other party 98 Class evaluation point worth of living expenses until graduation.
It could be said that she had paid for a very expensive lesson.
"I originally thought this school was very bright, and I was very happy to live with everyone here for three years." She said, "But now it seems that this school isn't just about letting us live happily, so our Class B classmates must also work hard, and I will also work hard for them."
This answer was a bit beside the point, but Hachiman already understood that this meant Ichinose was completely serious.
The reason Class B remained Class B was simply because they were strong enough to pass the exams without resorting to dirty tricks, meaning they honestly followed the general, conventional requirements.
At the same time, even after knowing that Shirabo Chihiro's Team Leader identity had been leaked, they still retained Shirabo Chihiro as the Team Leader.
You should know.
If they had replaced the Team Leader at that time, their Class score for the Uninhabited Island Exam would have become 1221, and Class A, having guessed the wrong Team Leader for Class B, would have ended up with 1208 points, making Ichinose Class Class A at that point.
But they didn't do that.
This Class is truly an anomaly in this school.
"Then I'm also looking forward to it," Hachiman said, "I look forward to you all growing up and then accepting me."
"Accepting?" Ichinose blinked.
"You all know, right? Once you accumulate 20 million points, you can move to the Class you like. I don't particularly like Class A, and I think the atmosphere in your Class B is quite good."
They are all naive and sweet, counting money for you even after being sold out, which makes one feel at ease.
Moreover, if he went to Class B, Class B would still owe him money, so he would be going as a creditor.
Given the Little Angel nature of their Class, it's unlikely they would ostracize him. And then, if Class B could pool some money to buy Sakayanagi Arisu, even in Class B, they might be able to aim for Class A and stabilize.
So, this is also a method of competition.
However, upon hearing this, Ichinose was somewhat surprised.
But very quickly.
Ichinose cautiously asked, "So, Hikigaya-kun doesn't want to stay in Class C anymore?"
"Hmm, you'll see in this exam. If they weren't so useless, why wouldn't they even know if they were the Beneficiary? It's because they're afraid that if they knew, others would figure it out and cause the Class to lose points." Hachiman looked exasperated.
While this seemed like casual conversation, it was actually conveying that this exam was decided: all students in Class C would not know who the Beneficiary was, so Ichinose, don't bother. Even if Class A cooperates with you and joins the discussion, Class C students will still be completely clueless, and he won't change that.
And Ichinose was smart enough; you could tell from her immediate sour expression that she had understood.
She knew that her Class would find it almost impossible to win this exam alone and suppress Hikigaya.
However.
Ichinose hadn't completely lost yet.
Because besides her own Class being ineffective, there was another Class in a more precarious situation than hers.
That was Class A.
"Ichinose. What are you doing here?" A member of the Dragon Group walked out of the room, and Katsuragi looked up to see Ichinose Honami.
As a Class A student and a leader, he was very concerned about Class B, which was very close to them in both academic ability and physical fitness, so he had done a lot of research on Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B.
And with Class A and B being so close, it was a time that required extra attention.
Especially since Ichinose was not among the members of the Dragon Group this time, which made him quite concerned.
"Since you know I'd come here, then you know what I'm going to say, right?" Katsuragi was tall and robust, but Ichinose didn't waver at all. "Why did you make Class A students refuse to join the discussion? It's as if Katsuragi is refusing this exam."
"You're right." However, Katsuragi leaned against the wall and said coldly, "I am refusing this exam."
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