The day after the Special Island Exam ended.
The Class D monkeys—no, my friends—who had mostly recovered after a week of island life, were holding a victory party to celebrate.
"So, what exactly did you do?"
"Everyone except Ayanokouji and me," I thought. Why were we—the very ones who had clinched the victory—now being grilled by Horikita in a place like this?
"...I remember up until the point when I retired. I figured our class was doomed to lose. But how did you manage to turn things around?"
"The answer is simple, Horikita—the leader changed."
"...Huh?"
Ayanokouji and I recapped the events on the island and relayed everything to Horikita.
I couldn’t shake the thought, "Didn't this guy say he wasn’t interested in moving up to Class A? And now he’s not only changed his mind but is also explaining the entire strategy to Horikita. What’s really going on here?"
It looked almost as if he were taming her—just as I was using Yosuke as a stand-in—to suit his scheme. I’d have to investigate that later; there had been suspicious hints before...
Anyway, thanks to our brilliant teamwork, we cleared the island exam.
After taking two days off to get back to full strength, I headed to the library, finally feeling some long-awaited calm and quiet.
Ever since the cruise set off—up until before our trip to the island—I’d often dropped by to read a variety of books. Now that I was back on board, I decided to kill some time by catching up on the books I hadn’t finished last time.
With that thought in mind, I stepped inside and noticed her once more.
A girl sat in her usual spot, completely engrossed in a book. She was diminutive—almost comparable to a young lady—and her eyes carried a distinctly drowsy look.
"Does she not have any friends?" I mused. Not that I had a plethora of them either.
While wandering toward the mystery section in search of an unread novel, I heard a soft murmur,
"...Hm?"
The girl, who had been calmly seated a moment before, was now stretching her arm high in a determined effort to reach the top shelf.
She seemed to be aiming for Wuthering Heights, which sat high above on the uppermost shelf.
I wondered, why would a book like that be placed in the mystery section?
"...It would be rude to ignore her," I decided.
Approaching her, I pulled the book down from the shelf and handed it over.
"This one, right?"
"Oh...?" she replied, surprise mingling with curiosity.
"Honestly, leaving a book from a completely different genre in this section…"
As I grumbled, she glanced at me with newfound interest and asked,
"...Do you like Emily Brontë?"
"I'm not overly fond of romance novels, but I've read her work. Do you enjoy it?"
"No, not really—I just noticed that books from various genres were jumbled together here, so I thought I'd straighten things out."
What a meticulous personality.
"Oh, really...?"
Her eyes lit up as she looked at the book in my hand.
"That’s Raymond Chandler’s Goodbye, My Lovely, isn’t it?"
"...You know it well?"
"Of course! It’s a masterpiece. By the way, do you enjoy Agatha Christie’s works?"
"Absolutely. Mystery novels are my favorite."
I was pleasantly surprised—this girl actually could hold a conversation.
Compared to my earlier book chat with Horikita, her tone was noticeably gentler, and she even took the initiative in the conversation.
"I’m Hiyori Shiina from Class C," she introduced herself.
Feeling a bit awkward standing around discussing novels, we moved to another seat after borrowing a few books. For the record, we were at Cafe Blue, a favorite haunt of mine, and Horikita was seated nearby as well.
"I’m Baek Ian from Class D—I’m Korean. And this cool lady next to me is Horikita Suzune," I added.
"Why are you introducing me like that?" she retorted.
"Just so you know, Horikita is also a fan of mystery novels."
"Oh my, really!"
"...You certainly don't hold back," I observed with a grin.
We continued our small talk over coffee—if truth be told, Hiyori and I did most of the talking while Horikita contributed only sporadically.
"I never expected someone in Class D to have a literary hobby. Our class is... well, everyone’s so lively," she remarked.
"That’s because Class C is full of delinquents," I teased.
"Yes..."
"Are you really the one saying that?"
Ignoring Horikita’s comment, I asked,
"What about Ryuuen? Is he as violent in your class as he is rumored to be?"
"Yes. He commands an oppressive atmosphere. I’m not a fan of violence, so I just go along for now," Hiyori explained.
"If anything happens, call me immediately."
"...My, that’s awfully confident. Not like you at all," she replied.
I couldn’t bear the thought of my cherished reading friend being pushed around by a third-rate bully like Ryuuen.
Hiyori Shiina, I’ll protect you!
Admittedly, that was more in jest than anything. Still, the idea of that small, fragile girl getting roughhoused by Ryuuen was far from appealing.
At least we had become acquainted.
"Ah! Could we exchange phone numbers? The school library has some pretty great books, and I’d love to recommend a few to you."
"Sure, why not. I’ve got some borrowed books I need to return soon, anyway," I replied.
"Um... what about Horikita?"
"...Sigh. Do what you want."
Was it her innocent nature or her gentle kindness? Either way, she was the type who made few enemies—the kind you’d want to defend.
In the end, even Horikita relented as her own little aura gave her way, and the three of us exchanged phone numbers. Since Horikita and I had already swapped numbers during the Sudo incident, having Hiyori’s was all that was needed.
Our conversation was interrupted by an announcement over the speaker system.
"From this time forward, an email regarding the Special Exam will be sent to all students. Please check the contents carefully. I repeat—please check the details!"
"A Special Exam...?"
At those words, Horikita’s eyes sharpened, while Hiyori appeared slightly perturbed as she stared at her terminal.
"This school never gives us a moment to relax," she muttered.
Which, in a way, is what I loved about it.
As I mumbled to myself, I read the incoming message on my terminal:
"...By 8:00 p.m., Room 504—Horikita?"
"Wait, there’s someone from another class here. You can’t just leak information like that...!"
"It’s fine," came the curt reply.
Judging by the tone, this exam was probably designed to kick off something as soon as we entered the room.
"...I have Room 402 by 7:35 p.m." replied Hiyori from her terminal.
Although I couldn’t be sure what was going through her mind, perhaps she felt sorry that I had already revealed my information and was now drawing Horikita’s ire. Either way, she held out her terminal and said as much.
"...You said you’re in Ryuuen’s class, right? You really shouldn’t be making careless moves and drawing attention to yourself," I chided gently.
It was unusual—ever the confident one, she now worried for someone else.
"It’s okay. Ryuuen won’t fuss over something this trivial," she assured.
"As I said, if anything happens, leak my and Horikita’s info or just call me immediately," I responded.
"Hehe... thanks for worrying about me, Ian," she replied.
"...Could you stop acting like my information is already public?"
"Why drag it out? Judging by your lack of reaction, you must have a different schedule from the rest of us," she teased.
"You're pretty perceptive. Yeah, I’ve got Room 307 at 8:15 p.m.," I admitted.
We had all been assigned different times and locations—even Horikita and I, despite being in the same class, were separated.
Soon enough, our class group chat buzzed with messages. Hiyori’s terminal lit up with similar notifications.
"...Ryuuen is calling me. Sorry, but I’ve got to go now," she announced.
"Be careful, Hiyori," I called after her.
"...And try to keep our hangout a secret, okay?"
With that, she flashed a small smile, nodded, and hurried out of the cafe.
All right, time to get ready.
At the appointed time, I arrived at the designated location. Just as I was about to enter, I saw Karuizawa reaching out toward the door handle.
"Ian?"
"Hey, Karuizawa. Looks like we’re in the same room," I greeted her.
We opened the door together and stepped inside. Familiar faces greeted us—one was Mashima, and the other was Yukimura.
And then...
"Yoo-hoo! Nice to meet you, Ian and Karuizawa. I’m Chie Hoshinomiya, the homeroom teacher from Class B who will be explaining the Special Exam!"
There stood a teacher radiating an extremely bubbly, lighthearted vibe.
"Now then, let me explain this Special Exam. I only get one chance at this, so remember everything clearly—and feel free to take notes!"
Teacher Hoshinomiya launched into her explanation in that cheerful, breezy tone. I couldn’t help but notice her occasional glances in my direction—why was she looking at me like that?
"...[Finding the VIP]?"
Yukimura was the first to react to the explanation.
To summarize the exam:
1. Students from Classes A through D are randomly grouped into teams. Hidden among them is one VIP.
2. The teams are named after the 12 zodiac signs, and are collectively known as groups.
3. Each group holds two discussion sessions per day at fixed times, during which they try to identify the VIP. Students are free to discuss any topic, but they must remain in their designated meeting place during these sessions.
4. The exam lasts five days, with the third day offering a full free period—no discussion.
5. On the final day, you submit by email the name of the person you believe is the VIP. The results are determined as follows:
[Pattern 1] If everyone except the VIP guesses correctly on the final day, all participants receive 500,000 private points, and the VIP earns an additional 500,000 points.
I thought, so if everyone gets along and shares the VIP, that’s the outcome.
"Then... that means a total of one million?"
Karuizawa gasped at the enormous number, and the others echoed her amazement.
"Heh... Ian, you’re not surprised?"
"I’m not exactly short on points these days," I replied nonchalantly.
Brushing aside Hoshinomiya’s pointed remark, I listened as she continued:
[Pattern 2] If, on the final day, even one non-VIP member in a group submits an incorrect answer, the VIP is declared the winner—and only the VIP receives 500,000 private points.
I mused, "So if the VIP manages to keep their identity hidden until the end, that is the result."
Then came the next outcome:
[Pattern 3] If, before the exam ends, someone correctly accuses the VIP, the accuser receives 500,000 private points, and their class gains 50 class points, while the class of the exposed VIP loses 50 class points.
I thought, "In other words, even if the VIP is shared, the emergence of a traitor spells disaster for the exposed side."
And finally...
[Pattern 4] If, before the exam ends, someone accuses the VIP incorrectly, the accuser’s class loses 50 class points. Conversely, the VIP’s class gains 50 class points, and the VIP still collects 500,000 private points.
It was clear that a team's point tally could swing wildly depending on the strategies they adopted within their group—or how they handled betrayal.
"This is quite an interesting setup," I thought as I absorbed every detail.
"And once the answers are submitted, the exam ends immediately and the results are shared with everyone! On the final day, we’ll only learn the outcome for each group and the net change in class points. Remember—the exam guarantees anonymity. Neither the VIP nor the correct guesser will be revealed. Ta-da!"
Hoshinomiya’s bubbly style was the polar opposite of Chabashira-sensei’s method, even though I’d heard they were around the same age...
"You really don’t act your age," I teased.
"Eh, you mean that?!" she retorted.
Karuizawa, sitting by my side, seemed to share my sentiment as she looked a bit startled by my remark and nodded in agreement.
"Ugh... you’re so mean," she said softly.
Hoshinomiya didn’t seem too bothered, though.
Anyway, I had a pretty good grasp of the exam’s structure.
Now, what should I do? Should I aim to win in my group, or simply observe this time? I decided to mull that over later.
"Ah, here’s the list of students in your group. By the way, you’re not allowed to write this down, okay? And one last piece of advice from your teacher!"
"Huh?"
"Sometimes it’s good to set aside the idea of classes altogether and just think about people," Hoshinomiya advised sagely.
There was something oddly profound about that.
Of course, I was the only one who found that remark peculiar; everyone else remained silent.
"You’re in the Rabbit group—hop hop!"
"Act your age," someone teased.
"Now you’re not even using honorifics?!" another chimed in.
The reactions were lively—and, as always, she certainly didn’t act her age.
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