"I'm sure you ain't afraid of how things are gonna go down if everyone votes
in favor. But if you think that I'm just watchin' you all vote for no reason at all…
you're makin' a big mistake."
SMACK! Ryuuen kicked the podium hard with his heel.
"It might feel like you're just sittin' back, hiding in anonymity, but I can see it
from the looks on your faces, y'know," he said. "I've got a rough idea of what's
goin' on here. And if you keep screwing around… You know what's gonna
happen, right?"
Round 10 Voting Results: For: 6 Votes, Against: 34 Votes
After Ryuuen's intense statement, one of the votes in favor had changed.
However, in truth, Ryuuen's threats hadn't been all that effective, considering
that the votes in favor had already once fallen to six before in the seventh
round. They thought they had ample time, but now they were using what time
they had left like it was going out of style.
"…"
The students noticed that Ryuuen's smile had faded quite some time ago, to
be replaced by a stern look.
"Whoever you people are, you're stubborn," he said. "I'm gettin' sick and
tired of dealin' with you."
There were about three and a half hours left before the exam's time limit ran
out, but they had already been voting on this final issue for an hour and a half.
Round 11 Voting Results: For: 7 Votes, Against: 33 Votes
"Seriously, with the way things are going right now, how can we keep on
waiting for things to change?" Nishino made no attempt at hiding her
annoyance. She asked Ryuuen what his plans were.
"Yeah. Guess it's probably about time to end this, huh," he replied.
"You can do that?" asked Nishino.
"Do you people really think I've been watchin' you all this time for nothin'?
You realize that there's been an odd one out, one weird voter that showed up
in rounds six to ten, right? I'm talkin' about the colossal dumbass who keeps
flip-floppin' between For and Against. And now I'm gonna tell you exactly who
that is."
Tensions were running high. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be
possible to see through perfect and total anonymity. However…
"It's you, ain't it? Yajima."
The person Ryuuen called out was Yajima Mariko.
"H-huh…?! N-no!" she sputtered. She then shot upright, attempting to deny
it, but she was clearly flustered and unable to calm herself down.
"Don't think I'm gonna believe you if you deny it, just because this thing's
anonymous," he said. "If I think you're the one who did it, then you're definitely
the one. You understand what I'm getting at, right?"
"N-no, that's not… I…!" she protested.
"If I say you're the one that did it, then you're the one. And if I say you're not
the one, then you're not. Since you're the first person I called out, I'm gonna
give you one chance. From here out, you ain't got the right to vote in favor of
this issue without my permission, got it? If I decide you ain't following my rules,
you're getting expelled, and that's that."
It was a high-handed threat. Even if whoever it was continued to oppose the
class on this issue and waited things out, even until the class failed the exam in
the end, Ryuuen was suggesting that they'd eventually be expelled via some
brutal, fiendish means in the not-too-distant future.
Yajima didn't need very long to imagine that was what Ryuuen was suggesting
at all.
"I've figured out who's votin' in favor of this issue, though not all of 'em yet,"
he continued. "So, question is, are they so stupid that they can't understand
unless they're told directly, like Yajima? We're gonna let the next vote decide."
And so, the twelfth round of voting had come.
Round 12 Voting Results: For – 5 Votes, Against – 35 Votes
As Yajima was now completely committed to voting Against, the votes in
favor hadn't increased. But even after the situation had come to this and with
Ryuuen having issued his final warning, the votes in favor had still only gone
down by two. That left a total of five in favor. The class was beginning to realize
that things like threats were no longer going to work against them.
"Five people, huh…"
After muttering those words, Ryuuen checked the time and got back on his
feet.
"Guess I gotta admit it: these people have backbone," he said. "But still, I ain't
so happy about this. Look, if you ain't gonna back down here, no matter the
cost, then just cut the crap already and come forward. These five anonymous
people want me expelled. In that case, we just gotta wait until we reach a
unanimous vote For. I mean, it'd be boring as hell to just let things end by
running out of time, wouldn't it? So, make your move. That way, we can fight
on equal terms."
The class wouldn't pass this special exam unless they came to a unanimous
decision one way or the other. And until they identified the students who
hoped that they'd settle on being in favor, they would just repeat this same
process over and over, endlessly.
It seemed like none of those students in favor would show themselves at this
point in the situation, but then…
"Okay. Fine, Ryuuen. In that case, I'll come forward… I'm voting in favor."
At long last, one of the anonymous supporters of the issue made up his mind
and stood up.
"Tokitou, you ass!" yelled Ishizaki. "Do you know what the hell you're
sayin'?!" Ishizaki charged forward, like he was intending to pounce.
Katsuragi grabbed him by the arm and stopped him in his tracks. "Stop,
Ishizaki. We're in the middle of a special exam. Do you honestly intend to resort
to violence right now? Make one bad move and Sakagami-sensei won't hesitate
to call this exam off. Isn't that right, Sensei?"
"Of course," Sakagami replied. "If that were to happen, this exam would end
with your disqualification."
"Grr…!"
"Besides," added Katsuragi, "although Tokitou's come forward and
announced that he voted in favor, there is no guarantee that it's the truth."
Even if they were 99 percent certain, there was no way they could be 100
percent sure since it was anonymous. They couldn't ignore the possibility that
he was pretending to be in favor while actually voting Against.
"It's the truth, though," said Tokitou. "Y'know, I always wondered if a special
exam like this would ever come up. There's nothin' I could do in a regular
special exam, but the instant this issue came up? It was like I got hit by
lightning… I knew this was it. This was the only time I could get rid of Ryuuen."
"Why are you coming forward now though, Tokitou…?" asked Katsuragi.
"Because I've locked eyes with Ryuuen a few times now. He probably guessed
that I've been voting in favor. I could have come forward earlier, that would've
been fine. But the number of votes in favor weren't goin' down, and seein' him
get all confused was exciting."
"All right, Tokitou," said Ryuuen. "Your rebellious attitude ain't nothin' new.
In fact, I'm honestly glad that you're on the side of those in favor."
"How long can you keep up bein' so full of yourself?" Tokitou said. "You can't
afford to."
"I know," Ryuuen agreed. "No matter how many times we do this vote, we're
never gonna get the votes in favor to go away. And if we run outta time, our
class loses 300 points. We'd seriously be out of the running for Class A."
"Exactly," said Tokitou. "You're the leader of this class. Which means if we fail
this special exam, the blame isn't gonna be on me, it'll be on you. Besides,
you've been selfish and controllin' all the choices in this special exam from the
get-go. You forced us to pick Sakayanagi's class to be our opponent without
even tryin' to listen to the people who said we should fight Ichinose's class. So,
you can take responsibility when we lose, can't you?"
"I get it now," said Ryuuen. "So that's why a rebel like you's been so obedient
in all the other issues so far."
"I'm doin' this to teach everybody in class that this is a mistake. I don't wanna
make trouble for the class. I just don't want you bein' the leader."
"But along came the opportunity for us to get one person in particular
expelled. And you decided to take a chance on it. And?" Ryuuen taunted him.
"Come on, show me some real defiance here. What do you want most?"
"If you want me—no, I mean, if you want us to vote against the issue, then
step down as class leader, right here, right now. If you swear to that right in
front of us all, you'll get more votes opposing the issue for sure."
No matter how much Tokitou hated Ryuuen, he also knew how difficult it
would be to get a unanimous decision in favor of the issue. That was exactly
why he was proposing this compromise.
"Come on, don't be so boring," said Ryuuen. "You aren't confident you can
get me expelled?"
"Don't make me laugh. If the decision is unanimously in favor, you'll be the
one who gets expelled, Ryuuen."
"May I ask you one question, Tokitou-kun?" Kaneda raised his hand, adjusting
his glasses. "It's certainly true that, should we fail the special exam, it's logical
that part of the blame would fall upon the leader. However, if we were to come
to a unanimous decision in favor of the issue and initiate the process of
selecting who to expel, you would most definitely be the one to be expelled,
no? Because in truth, many students have continued to vote against the issue as
instructed."
Tokitou wasn't shaken in the slightest in the face of Kaneda's calm and
collected explanation of the events that he saw laid out ahead.
"The votes against the issue right now mean nothin'," Tokitou replied. "Don't
tell me you actually think all of those votes are people who submit to Ryuuen.
Do you? Yeah, there's only a few people who can openly rebel against him, but
still. Right now, there are four other votes in favor besides mine. That means
even though he stood up there over and over tellin' us to vote Against, there
are still four people who voted For. That just goes to show how many people
with strong backbones are here, who want you gone!"
"Compared to Yabu and Morofuji, you seem like you got a lot more sense,
Tokitou." Ryuuen gave Tokitou a round of applause in admiration and praise.
Then, he continued speaking. "In that case, don't hold back. How 'bout you and
I have a go, Tokitou? One-on-one."
"What?" he asked.
"I'll force all thirty-five people who have been votin' against the issue this
whole time, myself included, to change their votes. And when that happens,
we'll start voting on who is gonna get expelled, just like Kaneda said. What'll
happen next is simple. You and I are gonna have ourselves a showdown in
votes."
If other students weren't going to be eligible targets in the decision of who
would be expelled, there was no reason for them to fear a unanimous vote in
favor.
"You sure about this?" said Tokitou. "If you eliminate all the Against votes
right now, that means it's gonna be inevitable. Someone'll get expelled. And
there ain't no way you'll be the one to survive, Ryuuen."
Giving Ryuuen the possibility of ending the exam with a unanimous decision
of Against was Tokitou's way of being merciful.
Ryuuen shrugged. "Everybody wants to avoid runnin' out of time. In that case,
we'll settle things with a one-on-one showdown. You against me. That would be
way more interesting for all the folks in our class, wouldn't it?"
There was no chance that Ryuuen would accept Tokitou's proposal. Instead,
he advocated for a unanimous vote in favor.
"People are selfish, they're gonna look out for number one," Ryuuen went on.
"Nobody's gonna be thrilled about comin' forward if there was a risk they could
get expelled. They couldn't do it. But if it's just gonna be either you or me who
gets expelled? Well, that'll make their eyes light up. They'll be all too happy to
vote on it if they're promised a hundred points as a reward."
"You think the people votin' in favor right now are gonna agree to expel me?"
asked Tokitou.
"Well now, who can say?" said Ryuuen. "But hey, if you've got a bad feelin'
about this, you can always vote no. Y'know?"
"To hell with that!" shouted Tokitou. "If anybody's gettin' expelled, it's not
gonna be me! You're gonna be the one out of here, Ryuuen!"
"I see. Then let's get on with it and have ourselves our little showdown, oneon-one."
There were the four anonymous voters who continued to support the issue,
and there were also students who disliked Ryuuen but continued voting against
the issue because they had no choice. Tokitou was confident that if they were
voting on whether or not to expel Ryuuen Kakeru, then as more time that
passed, the more votes there would be in favor of it.
"Fine." Tokitou said. "If you insist that strongly, then—"
Just as Tokitou was about to go along with Ryuuen's provocations and readily
accept his challenge, someone banged on their desk. The sound echoed
throughout the room.
"Wait a moment, Ryuuen. Couldn't you give Tokitou just a little time?"
The source of both the sound and the voice that spoke up was none other
than Katsuragi. He hurriedly stood up and called out to Ryuuen.
"Huh? What do you think you're doin', Katsuragi?" said Ryuuen. "I don't
remember givin' you the right to speak. Do you?"
"I do not intend to be robbed of my right to speak," Katsuragi replied,
unwavering. He ignored the order to shut up and then turned to Tokitou.
"It's not wrong for you to think that, because like you said, as long as there's
someone who doesn't obey Ryuuen, there's no need for you to worry.
However, what Ryuuen says is also true. If we hold a vote on the issue with the
condition that we'll be deciding only between you and him, the class's emotions
will be greatly shaken during the remaining time we have left. If that happens,
then the person who controls the majority, meaning Ryuuen, will have an
overwhelming advantage."
"I told you," Tokitou replied. "Don't just assume that he actually has the
advantage here, Katsuragi. Truth is, a lot of people in class don't love Ryuuen
bein' here. They're just being held down by force. They're frustrated. If time
starts runnin' out, then I'm sure more and more people are gonna stop
defendin' him. Even someone like that dog over there, Ishizaki."
"The hell you just say?!" shouted Ishizaki.
"You stood up to Ryuuen once before," Tokitou told him. "Remember your
rebellious spirit!"
"Th-that was—"
Last year, there had been an incident: Ayanokouji was called to the roof and
there was a fight. In the aftermath, the story was that Ishizaki defeated Ryuuen,
and temporarily took control of the class afterward. That was what Tokitou was
referring to.
"I don't know what happened back then," Katsuragi said. "But do you think
you'll win this in the end?"
"Yes, I do," replied Tokitou.
"Then allow me to ask you another question. If Ryuuen is expelled, who is
going to lead the class after he's gone?"
"We can discuss it or whatever, but it's not gonna be an outsider like you,
Katsuragi."
"It's certainly true that as an outsider, I might not be an option," Katsuragi
conceded. "But it's also true that if a clear leader doesn't appear, we won't be
able to make decisive moves going forward. We will not be able to catch up to
and overtake Sakayanagi."
Katsuragi took a broad view of the situation, looking at the big picture. He
kept trying to explain that to Tokitou, but Tokitou wouldn't budge.
"Give me a break… So what?" he scoffed. "If I wasn't prepared to cross
swords with this guy, even if I had to sacrifice myself to deal a blow, I wouldn't
have come forward, from the beginning."
"Ku ku ku, from the beginning, huh? It looked to me like you took quite a long
time just waitin' and watchin'."
"Shut the hell up!" snapped Tokitou.
"Well, guess that makes sense, since you couldn't really do anythin' without
havin' a few like-minded people there with you," Ryuuen said.
After all, it was only after Tokitou confirmed there were several voters going
against Ryuuen's orders that he had made his move.
"Please, Ryuuen," said Katsuragi. "Give Tokitou a chance."
Ryuuen heard what Katsuragi said and interpreted it to be solely to his
advantage.
He snapped his fingers. "All right. Tokitou, I'm gonna give you a chance.
Everything's gonna come down to your one vote in the next round. If you vote
in favor, then I'm gonna have you expelled."
"Hah… Big talk. You think you can get me expelled?"
"Yeah, I do." Ryuuen said. "In the next round, every other vote except for
yours will be against the issue. Which means it'll be one vote For, and thirtynine Against. That's the situation. So, if you vote against the issue, it'll be
unanimous, and we'll be done here."
"Hey, hold on. When did the four other people who voted in favor besides me
disappear?" said Tokitou.
"Ku ku… Well, I flipped those four votes during the interval."
"Enough with the lame jokes. There's no way you could've done that."
Aside from the fact that Ryuuen himself had stubbornly been in favor of the
idea up until this point, he had spent most of this interval period talking with
Tokitou. He hadn't even tried to talk to any others to get them to change their
votes.
"Then let's put this to the test," he said. "You vote in favor as you've done all
this time. Do that, and you'll find out."
Time continued to tick by during this interval. There was now less than a
minute remaining. Although the air-conditioned room was kept at a
comfortable temperature, sweat was slowly starting to trickle down Tokitou's
back. Ryuuen was merely threatening him; it was just a bluff. It was hard to
imagine that anything had actually changed during the interval. But…what if all
the other voters in favor really had changed their votes? That would indicate
that those four other students were following Ryuuen.
Tokitou could have employed the same defensive measure that Ibuki
mentioned—he could vote against the issue when the rest of the class was
going to vote in favor before they could come to a unanimous decision. But
Tokitou couldn't go that route now. It would be disgraceful. At any rate, a
deciding vote between him and Ryuuen was likely inevitable. And if that
happened, it was a certainty that Tokitou would be defeated.
"You're prepared for expulsion, aren't you?" said Ryuuen. "Don't hold back.
Vote in favor."
"…You don't have to tell me twice," said Tokitou.
Soon, the time would come for them to vote. Tokitou cast his vote in favor of
the issue, without looking back.
"Well then, I'll show you the results," announced Sakagami, displaying the
voting results on the monitor.
Round 13 Voting Results: For: 2 Votes, Against: 38 Votes
"Wha—?!"
When Tokitou saw those results, he was sure his heart was racing more
quickly than anyone else's. It was almost just like Ryuuen had said. Nearly all of
the other people who were voting in favor had changed their votes. Only one
person hadn't.
"Hah. Now that's certainly a shock… But this just means that there's still one
other student here who has got a strong will like me! Someone else who didn't
give in, no matter how much you threatened 'em!" bellowed Tokitou, as though
he were declaring victory.
However, Ryuuen wasn't looking at Tokitou. Instead, he was looking at
someone completely different.
"What's the meanin' of this, huh? You voted in favor, didn't you, Katsuragi?"
"What…?" asked Tokitou, shocked to hear Katsuragi's name.
"That's right," Katsuragi replied. "If I had voted Against, then it would've been
one vote For and thirty-nine Against, as you declared. That means it would've
gone on to a deciding vote. If that happened, it would've been impossible for us
to get through this exam without one of the two of you being expelled."
"That's the way it should have gone, yeah," said Ryuuen. "And depending on
the explanation you give me right now, you might not get off with just an
apology."
"I have one reason. I think that Tokitou is a student this class needs. Well,
actually, not just Tokitou. Yes, I am an outsider and came to this class from Class
A. However, that is exactly why I've been able to look at this class with an
objective eye. As a result, I can tell quite clearly that there isn't a single student
here who isn't needed."
"You're sayin' that Tokitou is a student we need? Somebody who doesn't
follow directions?" asked Ryuuen.
"That's right. Actually, I would consider him a valuable asset. He's someone
who can disagree with your opinions without hesitation, like I do. No, actually,
even more than I can. Of course, that being said, the way he did it in this
particular case, in a special exam, was wrong. I wasn't impressed by the fact
that he put the class in danger just to take you down, Ryuuen."
Katsuragi wasn't only going to address Ryuuen. He turned to speak to Tokitou.
"If you don't like the fact that Ryuuen is the leader, make your case fairly and
honestly in a way that doesn't involve anyone else. If your argument is correct,
then I will not hesitate to take your side."
"Katsuragi, you…" huffed Tokitou.
"If you fall for Ryuuen's tricks here, you'll be expelled from school having
accomplished nothing. We'd all move forward and Ryuuen won't even
remember that a student named Tokitou Hiroya ever existed."
"B-but, what about the four other people who voted—"
He was referring to his invisible reinforcements who had helped push Tokitou
to this point. The foundation for his courage.
"There were no such people from the very beginning," Katsuragi told him. "It
was an illusion."
"An illusion…?" repeated Tokitou.
"To be precise, I suppose I should say that they were weeded out through
repeated voting. Five votes in favor remained after Yajima's was called out. That
included you, Tokitou, and…"
Katsuragi paused and slowly turned around, directing his gaze elsewhere. He
pointed at other students one by one. "Shiina, Yamada, myself, and…Ryuuen.
The four of us."
Katsuragi gave Tokitou an answer that neither he nor any of their other
classmates could understand.
"Wh… Wait, what are you talking about? Ryuuen was…voting in favor too?"
asked Tokitou.
"When there were only five votes For, that meant there was really only one
anonymous vote remaining. However, everything came to light when you
stepped forward," said Katsuragi.
"So during this entire interval, Ryuuen was just mocking me in his head, huh…
That figures," huffed Tokitou, dejected.
"That's not true," said Katsuragi. "While our intention was to smoke out
whoever was voting in favor, when you came forward, that matter was settled.
You could have simply stayed silent and kept voting, not challenging anything. If
that happened, the vote would've naturally resulted in a unanimous decision
For, and the next vote would have ended with an expulsion."
"So you were playing word games just to insult me?!" snapped Tokitou.
"No, we weren't. We were giving you the possibility of not being expelled,"
said Katsuragi.
"Wha…?!"
"However, you pushed on ahead, not noticing that chance. I suppose that was
because you didn't think that Ryuuen would give you one, even if it was in a
roundabout way."
"I-I…!"
"Still, no matter how much I try to convince you, if you won't listen to me,
that'll be the end of it. I'm sorry that this has taken up so much time, but please
give Tokitou one final chance, Ryuuen," Katsuragi said. "I would like you to give
him one more opportunity to vote Against, before having everyone else vote in
favor of the issue."
"One more chance?" asked Ryuuen. "You think that I'm that nice?"
"You also share some fault here. You were overly argumentative and
completely overlooked the idea of saving someone. Now that everything has
been revealed, you can finally give Tokitou a choice."
"And if he doesn't cooperate, you ain't gonna object to me expellin' him, will
you?"
"No, I won't. You can do whatever you like."
Katsuragi closed his eyes and crossed his arms. Now, the matter of deciding
Tokitou's future was in Tokitou's own hands. If he voted in favor of the idea,
there was a 100 percent chance he would be expelled. On the other hand, if he
voted against the issue, it would be a unanimous decision and he would avoid
expulsion. However, voting against the issue would still mean submitting to
Ryuuen in some form. It would be a serious blow to Tokitou's pride.
"Now then, we'll begin the sixty-second voting period," announced Sakagami.
At the same time he made that announcement, the countdown began. All
thirty-nine students except for Tokitou finished entering their votes within the
sixty-second time limit…and the counter continued to run.
Sakagami looked up and glanced over at Tokitou. "As was explained to you in
advance, if you exceed sixty seconds, you will accrue penalty time," he said.
Tokitou stared downward, alternating glances at the two words displayed on
the tablet: For and Against.
"Damn it… Damn it!" he groaned.
This should have been the signal fire marking the start of a counterattack, he
realized. However, it had turned out that Tokitou had been alone the entire
time. He had been dancing solo in the palm of Ryuuen's hand through all of it.
He felt frustrated, embarrassed, and pathetic. All sorts of negative emotions
took hold of Tokitou's heart and wouldn't let go. For a moment, his pride was
clear on his face, like he was saying he was not about to give in to Ryuuen here.
He could go out in a blaze of glory. Or he could intentionally vote yes instead,
in order to buy himself some time. If he continued to vote opposite the thirtynine other students, he might also be able to make the class fail the issue in the
end. The exam would end not with his expulsion, but by him making the entire
class fail the special exam…
Those thoughts flashed through his mind, but Tokitou quickly shook his head
to dispel them.
There was nothing for him to gain, not even if he did those things to try and
resist Ryuuen. It would only cause more trouble for his classmates and make
them hate him more than they did Ryuuen. That was not what Tokitou wanted.
"God… DAMMIT!"
Tokitou lifted his arm up high in an exaggerated motion and slammed his
finger down on a button to cast his vote.
"…All votes are now in," said Sakagami. "I'll show you the results now."
The teacher paused to take a breath, fiddled with his tablet, and displayed the
results on the monitor.
Round 14 Voting Results: For: 0 Votes, Against: 40 Votes
"It's unanimous—the class has voted against the issue. This concludes the
special exam."
Everyone had thought that chances were high someone would've been
expelled from Ryuuen's class. But the exam ended with all students remaining.
Ishizaki turned to look back at Tokitou, about to say something to the downcast
Tokitou.
"Tokitou, you—"
"…Don't get the wrong idea here, Ryuuen," Tokitou spoke over him,
addressing Ryuuen instead. "I don't approve of the way you do things. If I
decide that your way is gonna prevent us from moving up to Class A, I will take
you out, no matter how many times I gotta come at you."
"Then come at me any time," Ryuuen replied. "I'll take you on without
mercy."
"Hmph…"
It would have been awkward for Tokitou to remain in the classroom any
longer, so he left as quickly as he could. After watching him leave, Katsuragi
walked over to Ryuuen's side.
"You overstepped, Katsuragi," Ryuuen told him. "I was welcoming the idea of
someone gettin' expelled, remember?"
"I'm sure half of you was. But the other half of you was open to exploring
other possibilities, yes?"
"The hell are you on about? Do I look that nice to you?"
"I don't know whether you're nice or not," said Katsuragi, "but if your
objective is complete control over the vote, it's important to keep the students
loyal to you on your side without pushing things too far. However, after the
second round of voting, even though you walked around and said things to
some other random students as well, you gave your true orders to Shiina. If you
go around whispering only to specific students, people will think that you're
planning some kind of strategy. Then, through Shiina, you gathered together a
group of people to falsely pose as supporters of the issue and vote For. I was
included among that group. The reason you did so was that you knew I would
protect Tokitou, isn't it?"
"You'd protect Tokitou?" Ryuuen repeated. "And where exactly would I have
gotten that information?"
"Shiina overheard Tokitou and I talking about you. It wouldn't be surprising if
you found out about it from her reports."
"I was just bein' selective in lookin' for people who would vote in favor so
he'd be misled by fake votes. And that was so I could get him expelled, of
course, so I could get Class Points. Disappointing."
Ryuuen left the classroom sometime later. After that happened, Katsuragi
turned to look at the person who was watching him. He was honestly moved to
see Shiina smiling warmly at him.
"So, it's possible that it was Shiina's judgment call, one she made on her own,
that brought me into it…" he muttered.
In any case, the fact remained that Ryuuen laid the foundation for Tokitou to
be saved and gave him a chance. As Katsuragi looked around at the other
students, feeling relieved that no one had been expelled, he felt convinced of
something. He felt like this class actually had the potential to defeat Sakayanagi
and become Class A. And he wanted to pursue that path together with them.
Chapter 7:
Sakayanagi Arisu's Choice
ALITTLE OVER AN HOUR had passed since the special exam had started.
Though Class A, led by Sakayanagi, had gone through several votes and break
periods, things were moving along quite smoothly. And now, they had arrived
at the final issue.
ISSUE #5: In exchange for expelling one of your classmates, gain 100 Class
Points.
(In the event the class is unanimously in favor, a vote will be held to choose
the student to be expelled.)
Seeing the word "expel" startled the students, but they proceeded to cast the
first round of votes in silence as they were instructed. In order to avoid any
unexpected incidents, Sakayanagi, like Horikita, had given her classmates
instructions in advance to ensure that votes were split among the four people
closest to her. Because there were two options in this vote, that meant it was a
given that there would be two For and two Against.
As such, the results showed…
Round 1 Voting Results: For: 2 Votes, Against: 36 Votes
And that was that. The results showed that, aside from the two controlled
votes that Sakayanagi had engineered to be in favor, all the students were
against the issue.
"Welp, there you have it. So, what are you gonna do, Princess? Are we all
votin' no next round?" Hashimoto immediately looked to Sakayanagi for
confirmation once the interval period began.
Hashimoto was given the assigned task of always voting for the first option, so
he had voted in favor of the issue.
"What do you think, Hashimoto-kun?" asked Sakayanagi in return.
Hashimoto was a little surprised by that, as he hadn't expected his question
would be met with another. He read the issue once again in his mind.
"If we wanna head straight to a conclusion, then we should oppose the issue,"
he said. "But when I step back and think about it more logically, I feel that going
for 100 Class Points is surprisingly not that stupid of an idea."
"Meaning you think we should move to gain those 100 points, even if it
means expelling one of our classmates?" asked Sakayanagi.
"Well…I wouldn't say all that, no. I'm just saying I wonder if it's okay to
completely disregard those points so casually. That's all."
"If this exam had come toward the end of a competitive school year, then I
would've likely had no choice but to adopt a policy of abandoning classmates,"
Sakayanagi said. "However, as it stands now, our class is by far in the lead. With
that in mind, one might say it would be quite nonsensical for us to choose to
expel someone here and now to gain 100 Class Points."
"Of course. I was just sayin' that it'd be too bad if we were regrettin' these
Class Points later, y'know?"
"A reduction in the number of people also comes with its own
disadvantages," Sakayanagi said. "Simply put, the total number of Private Points
our class would gain every month would decrease, the class's morale would
decline, and there would be feelings of distrust. It's an interesting move to be
sure, but we do have the option of deliberately choosing to expel a student
now, only to turn around and save them by spending 20 million Private Points.
That way, we could gain Class Points without sacrificing anyone. However,
doing so would have an adverse effect on our assets, which would in turn affect
the upcoming sports and cultural festivals. Even talking about a difference of
100 points, if we take the possibility of unforeseen factors into account, I
believe that there isn't much difference in terms of gains or losses no matter
how this issue plays out. Or perhaps…is there anyone in this class who would
willingly volunteer to be expelled?"
Sakayanagi briefly surveyed the class. Of course there was no way that any of
them would voluntarily drop out of Class A because, as Sakayanagi had said
earlier, their class was in the lead by a wide margin.
"I'm sure that the other classes must be struggling with this issue, since
they're essentially in a three-way contest right now," she added. "Even if one of
those classes makes the difficult choice of choosing someone to expel, that
class may not necessarily rise in the ranks. Losing a fellow classmate is not such
a simple matter, after all."
And with that, Class A's plan of action had been set. Hypothetically, if Class A
had chosen to expel someone, they would have come to a unanimous decision
on it without delay. And in all likelihood, whatever student Sakayanagi had
chosen would be the one to be expelled.
"All of you, my classmates, are different from those we have lost, meaning
Katsuragi-kun and Totsuka-kun," Sakayanagi said. "I would never do anything to
abandon my friends who are working so diligently for me."
What Sakayanagi said was a lie. In the unlikely event that Class A was pushed
into a corner, she wouldn't hesitate to make the choice to expel students.
However, if she chose to expel students carelessly in a non-critical situation like
right now, it would sow the seeds of mistrust. She had simply decided that as
things currently stood, she'd have more to lose by putting herself into that
situation.
Round 2 Voting Results: For: 0 Votes, Against: 38 Votes
They had arrived at a unanimous decision Against, just like Ryuuen's class and
Ichinose's class. But as those classes arrived there after a great deal of stress,
Class A had come to their decision in just the first interval, spending just over
half of the interval ensuring that their classmates would vote accordingly.
"Well then, that's everything," said Mashima. "That concludes all the issues in
the Unanimous Special Exam. This class has completed the exam with the
fastest time. Please note that the other classes are still in the middle of their
exams, so please exit the classroom as instructed. The rest of your day will be
spent in self-study in the dormitories, as planned."
Although the students were not allowed to leave the dormitories, they
essentially had free time.
Chapter 8:
Horikita Suzune's Choice
"WELL THEN, I'll now show you the results," announced Chabashira.
Round 10 Voting Results: For: 1 Vote, Against: 38 Votes
It was a sight I was tired of seeing and it simply kept repeating itself over and
over. Even though there were appeals for the person to come forward, the
results didn't change. Despite our repeated discussions, they seemed to have
no effect. The number of votes in favor hadn't increased, but they hadn't
decreased either. Suspicions were running wild, making us wonder if there
wasn't actually such a thing as a fair vote after all, and if this was just the same
screen being displayed repeatedly.
"Since the decision was not unanimous, we'll now have an interval period,"
said Chabashira.
We could clearly hear the fatigue in Chabashira's voice as she gave us that
standard announcement. Now that she had told us about her past, all she could
do as an instructor was watch and see how this issue developed.
"How is this even happening…? Is there really someone here who keeps
voting in favor of it?" asked Keisei.
It wasn't any wonder why he would want to voice his doubts. Even if we
wanted to continue the conversation at this point, we had already exhausted all
possible ways of discussing the issue. Just how many times had Horikita and
Yousuke tried to persuade this lone voter now?
"Would everyone who is against the issue…please raise their hands?" asked
Yousuke.
Yousuke, seeing that calling for whoever was in favor was futile, requested
that the students who were opposed raised their hands. Even though this
proposal was a meaningless reversal of the standard question, he remained
steadfast in his efforts to make some kind of breakthrough. Students all
throughout the room started neatly raising their hands up in the air. I raised
mine too, of course. By doing this, we could see that thirty-eight people,
Yousuke included, were voting against the issue. The only person who hadn't
raised their hand was Kouenji, but…
"I won't be raising my hand. But do not worry—I am voting against the issue,"
Kouenji said in response to Yousuke's anxiety-filled look.
"Like hell I can believe that, Kouenji," grumbled Sudou. "You're really the one
votin' for this thing, ain't you…?"
"How many times have we had this argument now, hm? It seems that you
never get tired of bringing it up."
Even for Sudou, there was no other option but to keep going back to Kouenji.
It wasn't unreasonable, after all, if the current situation continued. As of now, it
was difficult to believe that another person in class was continuing to lie.
Somewhere out there, a student was proudly raising their hand and to say
they were voting Against but was still voting in favor.
"I don't want to think that there's someone here with their hand raised right
now who is lying to us," said Horikita. "So, I'm going to try asking each of you,
one by one, looking directly into your eyes. If there is someone here voting in
favor, please, tell me… No, I want you to vote Against in the next round of
voting."
Horikita struggled desperately during those ten minutes, making every effort
she could. Without sparing any expense, she began confronting each individual
student. She must have been as exhausted as anyone else, but she couldn't say
that. Everyone answered Horikita's question while looking straight into her
eyes. Everyone, including Haruka, Airi, Keisei, and Akito. And then Ike, Sudou,
Mii-chan, and Matsushita. Kushida, Onodera, Okiya, and Mori as well. Every one
of them said that they were voting Against.
Eventually, Horikita came to me, the very last person, seated at the far back
of the classroom near the door. There was a mixture of impatience and anxiety
in her eyes, but they still held a fiery passion.
"And what about you, Ayanokouji-kun?" she asked.
"I'm voting Against, of course," I answered.
"…I see."
That meant we'd once again completed questioning each and every student
individually. It was practically an interrogation. There hadn't been any changes
in the students' statements. All our classmates claimed to be voting against the
issue. The only thing left for us to do would be to appeal to the pangs of
conscience remaining in this person's heart and ask that they oppose the issue,
but…
"Ten minutes are almost up," said Chabashira. "Return to your seat, Horikita.
The vote is about to begin."
Round 11 Voting Results: For: 1 Vote, Against: 38 Votes
The results hadn't changed at all. There wasn't anything else to say about it.
The same results were being shown to us over, and over, and over.
"Ah, I can't take it anymore!" yelled Sudou, scratching his head wildly. "I feel
like I'm losin' my friggin' mind! I don't get what's goin' on here!" He slammed
his elbows down hard on his desk. "B-but seriously, what are we gonna do? We
don't got a lotta time left, do we?"
Up until this point, the students had been operating on the assumption that
the person persistently voting in favor would eventually back down. The entire
class, Horikita included, must have believed there was no way this person
would choose to let time run out. Absolutely. Almost. Surely. Probably. Maybe.
Anyway, the person voting For would ultimately be afraid of letting time run
out. And then, at last, that person would change their mind and vote opposed
at the last minute. We'd come to a unanimous decision, and the special exam
would be over.
The class was sure that's how things would turn out, and then the class would
move on to the sports festival and cultural festival next. However…the person
voting in favor wasn't budging. Their answer wasn't changing even after waiting
another ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour…
All that awaited us was the worst possible scenario: running out of time.
We had nine minutes remaining until the next round of voting. But those next
nine minutes weren't just nine minutes because after that, the deadline would
be less than two hours away. Horikita had been fighting hard to overcome this
final issue for the past three hours. It wasn't like her strategies were overly
optimistic. Even if I was to do everything in my power to bring the issue to a
unanimous decision opposed to the issue, it likely would have been impossible
for me. Why was that? What was the fundamental reason?
Because persuasion, negotiation, and every other kind of action would have
been meaningless. This person supporting the issue was simply fighting to avoid
a unanimous decision of Against. And what was most frightening of all was that
whoever this person was, they didn't see running out of time as the biggest
loss. Normally, that would be unthinkable in a special exam like this. When you
looked at this issue objectively, you could see that the priorities of the three
possible outcomes were fixed.
Against ≥ For Time Out
That was an absolute relationship, which was shared between all students
from all four classes. It was precisely because this fixed priority existed that this
special exam was built upon it. It was a basic premise.
However…what would happen if there was just one single student who had
different priorities?
For Time Out Against
If someone had such distorted priorities, then this issue wasn't going to be
viable. That was precisely why the school was preventing the classes from
interfering with each other via strict monitoring and rules. It was to prevent
students from signing contracts with the likes of Sakayanagi or Ryuuen, who
might invite them to join their class or transfer a substantial number of Private
Points in exchange for allowing time to run out in their own class.
This special exam had devolved into chaos because a student who wasn't
aligned with the rest of the class was thrown into the mix. If we continued to
stubbornly press on ahead, all that awaited us was timing out.
If that was the case, what should we do? There was only one thing that we
could do in the two hours that we had remaining.
Unanimous approval.
That was the optimal solution. There was no other way for us to press on
ahead except for that. This idea was probably already in Horikita's mind, but
she wasn't taking the plunge. It wasn't easy to get rid of a classmate, and it
would be infinitely more difficult for our class to select one person to expel than
it would be to get a unanimous vote of Against. Once we took the first step on
that path, there was no turning back. We wouldn't be allowed to say something
like, "Oh, we can't expel someone after all, so let's just go back and all vote
Against."
And yet…I was still hesitating to conduct the plan even after it came time to
vote. Why? The ideal route was off the table, and the ideal time for me to
execute the plan was already approaching. If we used up extra time now, that
would present an obstacle when it came to selecting a person to expel after
coming to a unanimous decision of For. But even so, I wanted to try to come to
a unanimous decision Against just one more time, even if it took up precious
time.
A rather inconvenient feeling, the likes of which I had never experienced
before, started to cloud my mind. What kind of decision would you make in this
situation? I thought, asking Horikita Manabu that question in my mind. Though
there was no way I was going to get anything resembling an answer, I decided
to add an amendment to my plan. I bet on this last chance, but without letting
the exit strategy change.
"Well then, the results…" croaked Chabashira.
After Chabashira had finished tallying the votes, she stumbled on her words
for just a moment.
"…I-I will show you the results."
Round 12 Voting Results: For: 2 Votes, Against: 37 Votes
"W-wait, what?" exclaimed Sudou. "No way, why?! The number of votes in
favor went up?!"
After all this time, one of the thirty-eight people who consistently voted
opposed had changed their vote, now voting in favor. This would likely have a
sufficient impact to make a fissure in the united opposition.
"It's like I'm having a bad dream…" Horikita muttered.
The person who had cast the additional vote was none other than me. It
wasn't like it was just one vote, though. It was one powerful vote in favor of the
issue, cast by one of the thirty-seven people, other than Kouenji, who had
previously been firmly united. Horikita hadn't even considered this option in the
slightest before I did this, but now she had her thinking cap back on. She was
thinking about what we should do if we couldn't reduce the number of votes in
favor to zero.
Horikita quickly understood that this one vote shifted so we could avoid
running out of time. No matter what we ended up voting for unanimously,
neither of them would be as bad as what would happen if we failed the exam
overall. That would be the worst-case scenario. Even if no one were expelled in
that situation, we would still lose 300 Class Points. Assuming that all the other
classes finished the exam successfully, that would mean there would be a
difference of 350 points between us and them. And on top of that, if there was
a class that finished the exam with a unanimous decision in favor, then that
would mean there'd be a maximum gap of up to 450 points between us and
them.
With such a huge gap, it would be impossible to count on being able to catch
up to the other classes, even though we had more than a year of school
remaining. Actually, no, there was absolutely no way that we could. Even if you
avoided expulsion in that scenario, having to give up on reaching Class A was no
laughing matter. Once that conclusion became widespread, it was inevitable
that students would begin questioning the point of continuing to push for
voting Against.
They would begin to wonder whether it would be easier to get those voting
opposed to swing the other way since there was the possibility of getting
everyone to change as a group rather than trying to change the stubborn voters
in favor. Even if what awaited us afterwards was the immensely daunting
hurdle of choosing who would be expelled, it would mean being able to take at
least a half-step forward from the deadlock we were currently in.
"H-hey, so, uh, I guess this means we just have to vote in favor? Right?" asked
Ike.
"What are you talkin' 'bout?" snapped Sudou. "You know that if we do that,
we're gonna have to expel someone, don't ya?"
"But dude… If we run out of time, that's it. We're finished, y'know?" said Ike.
The united front was starting to gradually erode. People were shifting closer
to voting For. The first people to change their votes would be the students who
thought highly of themselves and felt that there was no way they'd be expelled.
On the other hand, students who tended to feel that they might be expelled
would continue to vote Against. The number of votes in favor would continue
to grow internally, secretly.
However, not a single student would come forward and actually say that they
were voting in favor. That was to be expected, because after all, if it became
known that someone supported the issue, they might be targeted for expulsion.
Round 13 Voting Results: For: 5 Votes, Against: 34 Votes
Three more votes in favor. People were still loudly ranting and raving, asking
who changed their votes, but that was as far as it went.
Round 14 Voting Results: For: 12 Votes, Against: 27 Votes
The steadily increasing stream of votes in favor wasn't slowing down, and the
number quickly continued to grow and grow. The number of votes in favor
reached double digits for the first time, swelling to nearly one-third of the total
vote. It was likely that the number of votes For would increase even more in the
next round. Now that we had reached this point, we only had about an hour
and a half remaining until we reached the overall time limit.
"W-wait, please wait. If you really think that voting in favor is a good idea,
you're wrong!" Undeterred by the critical situation, Yousuke attempted to
appeal to the students voting For. "I understand that we can't let ourselves run
out of time, but still… That doesn't mean that a unanimous vote in favor is
going to be the resolution we're looking for. Okay?"
"That's right," said Horikita. "If we do this, we will then need to unanimously
choose just one person out of all thirty-nine possible students in the class. That
will be far more difficult than it would be to unanimously vote opposed now.
We only have an hour and a half remaining. Do you understand that?"
In order for us to finish this exam if we were to vote in favor, we would then
have to decide who would be expelled.
"It's still not too late," pleaded Yousuke. "We can make it. I think we should
vote against."
"I'm of the same opinion," said Horikita. "We can't let ourselves be swayed."
Our classmates continued to struggle emotionally. At this late of a stage, the
students were no longer able to make normal, rational judgments about
whether it was right to vote For or Against.
"More importantly, I'm sure that you all know that we shouldn't be voting in
favor of this issue," Horikita went on. "Even though twelve of you are, not a
single one has come forward. Isn't that true?"
Even if the number of For votes continued to increase through repeated
rounds of voting, we wouldn't be reaching ideal unanimity unless I intervened
in a big way and forced things back on course. Originally, I was intending to
steer things toward a unanimous decision in the next round, but I decided to
accelerate my plans and put things into action now.
"…Can I offer my opinion?" I asked.
"Huh…?"
Horikita must not have expected this, as she looked somewhat taken aback
when I spoke up to offer my advice.
"Horikita, I voted in favor just now, in the fourteenth round," I told her.
That was technically a lie—I actually started voting in favor starting in the
twelfth round and just continued to vote that way, but nobody could prove
that.
"Ayanokouji-kun, why…"
"Why? Because if we keep stubbornly trying to get everyone to vote opposed,
we're going to run out of time," I argued. "If that's how things are going to be,
then there's no other option but to vote in favor. I'm sure that everyone already
understands that by now."
Someone had to take on this role if we were going to increase the number of
votes For. Satou, sitting over the chair next to me, anxiously stared at my face.
Well, no, it wasn't just her—I was sure that anyone who was worried about this
situation was feeling the same way.
"That's still not going to fundamentally solve the problem here," Horikita said.
"In the end, we'll be fighting over who to expel."
"That's true," I admitted. "But it's a way for us to break free from this
deadlock. Even if we could find out who voted in favor this whole time, I don't
see that person changing their vote. In other words, we can't expect a
unanimous decision Against. However, right now, a unanimous decision For is
possible. Then, we could put that sole defector on trial, meaning the person
who originally voted in favor of it, and have them judged by the thirty-eight
other people. It's a heavy-handed move, but we'd get to a unanimous decision."
There was one person who came to both my and Horikita's minds. Of course,
there was no guarantee that person was the original For voter, but Horikita
knew what I meant.
"That's—"
"On trial?" Yousuke interrupted, latching onto the latter part of what I said.
"Do you think we really have the right to do that just because they were voting
in favor?"
"We do," I replied. "If we can't come to a unanimous decision, we won't be
able to move up to Class A. Not a single student in this class would find a person
who voted in favor while knowing that fact to be blameless."
"B-but, but that's… I'm sure that once we get even closer to the time limit,
they'll definitely change their mind, and—"
"Closer? We only have a few more opportunities to cast votes. Are you going
to take all your classmates along for such a slim chance? The more times we go
through this, the fewer and fewer opportunities we'll have of even getting out
of this situation by voting For. Doing that would mean completely cutting off
our chances of reaching a unanimous decision at all."
Even if I hadn't deliberately spelled it out, I was sure that Yousuke and the
rest of our classmates already understood the situation. That being said though,
most of the students still hadn't taken that first step forwards a unanimous
decision in favor. They knew the biggest hurdle we had to face would appear
after we agreed to the proposal.
"I'm sure it's true that a lot of students would be hesitant to vote in favor," I
added. "That's exactly why I'd like for us to identify who voted that way all this
time and adjust our course so only that person would be targeted for expulsion.
Doing so would, in other words, mean ensuring the safety of students who are
still voting against the issue now."
Satou had been listening to me more intently than anyone else as she sat
beside me and meekly raised her hand.
"I'm glad to hear that," she started, "but…if we don't know who's been voting
For, there's no point. I mean, once time starts running out, in the end, we're not
going to have any other choice but to just choose someone to expel at random,
and… I'm scared."
"If we can't narrow down the list of candidates of who to expel, we could
always choose to let time run out," I said. "But what we need to avoid right now
is letting ourselves waste time by refusing to take steps that would allow us a
chance to clear this special exam."
I offered further encouragement to help the students who were still
hesitating in an attempt to get them to come to a decision.
"Also, as Horikita mentioned earlier, I also have some idea of who had been
voting in favor since the beginning."
"In that case, why not just come out and say it right now?" said Miyamoto.
"But wait, hold on, Horikita hasn't said that person's name, like, this whole
entire time. Doesn't that mean that she actually doesn't have a clue? Maybe
she was just thinking like, she could get 'em to vote against by bluffing, or
threatening 'em a little?"
His theory was off, but it certainly wasn't unreasonable for him to think that
way.
"If you really got some idea who it is, then let's all try talkin' it out with
whoever it is, together," he added.
"I can't do that," I replied. "That's why we're doing things this way. The
person voting in favor won't be swayed just because their name is brought up.
They'd rather stubbornly stick it out until the very end. I want to avoid that
happening."
I said that both as a way to induce students to vote in favor, and also, to offer
some mercy from me to the person in question, at the very last minute. If that
person had heard this much, they must've been keenly aware that I knew they
were the one voting For. And if that person was afraid of being exposed, they
might be the only person voting against the issue in the next round.
"Prepare yourself, Horikita," I said. "Your opponent is laying a trap with the
intention of taking you down. There's no other way out of this fight. It's hunt or
be hunted."
Horikita remained silent. Then, I turned my attention to another student.
"And Yousuke—I understand your feelings quite well. You don't want anyone
from class to be expelled. If you really want that, then you need to make sure
we get results before time is up. Understand?"
The day before the special exam, I had repeatedly warned Yousuke about this
until I was blue in the face. Even with just a sideways glance, I could tell that he
was struggling deeply. I could understand why he wanted to keep resisting.
"But, I—"
"The next vote is going to be a turning point in deciding our fate," I told him.
"…I…"
It was a difficult decision, but even so, Yousuke wasn't the same person he
was before. He had grown since last year's uninhabited island exam, and the InClass Vote, when he was at a standstill.
"Y-yeah, you're right," he conceded. "That's… That's just how I feel, and I
can't cause trouble for the rest of the class…"
Though Yousuke hung his head low, he decided to move forward of his own
volition.
"I'm going to vote in favor," he said. "Then, just like Ayanokouji-kun said, I
think that we should adjust our plans accordingly and expel the person who was
voting For this whole time."
Yousuke was the backbone of the class. With his decision, the situation would
change even more significantly.
"The rest is up to you, Horikita," I said, turning back to her. "It's time for you
to make up your mind so that we can avoid running out of time."
The next round of voting was about to begin. The discussion period was
almost over.
"Please," she said. "Just one more time. Just give me one more chance to
come to a unanimous decision Against. If we don't get a unanimous vote in
opposition in the next round of voting, then… I'll have made up my mind."
What she wanted was not going to happen. I already succeeded in creating a
new situation. Still, the last possible round for the class to come to a unanimous
decision Against had begun. It took almost no time at all, and everyone cast
their votes in seconds. Still, sometimes things diverged greatly between the
ideal and reality.
Round 15 Voting Results: For: 1 Vote, Against: 38 Votes