Chapter 36

Unsurprisingly, the information meeting was held in a karaoke room.

Do these guys take anything seriously?

Heading into the crowded karaoke room, I saw around 30 students all sitting down.

Ichinose parted ways with us at the entrance and headed to the front. Kanzaki and I headed towards the corner while the other girl, Amikuro, headed towards the middle.

It seemed like our group was the last to arrive at the meeting as Ichinose spoke as soon as she reached the singing stage.

"Kanzaki, some others, and I have devised a plan for this special exam!"

Guess they're going with the plan from earlier on for the exam.

Immediately after Ichinose's words, most of Class C broke into cheers and applause.

"YEAH ICHINOSE, YOU CAN DO IT!"

"WITH YOU, WE'LL DEFINITELY WIN!"

Did that work last exam?

Also, is there some Ichinose fan club meeting? I thought this was to discuss the special exam.

Once the cheers finally started to die down, Ichinose continued speaking.

"Instead of attempting to ascertain the VIP's identity, we'll take control of the conversation. However, instead of trying to progress the conversation, we'll stall out the time with useless card games! Then, on the last day of the exam, in groups, we are not the VIPs; we'll tell everyone that to achieve outcome 1, everyone should show their phone's emails. That way, people will be pressured into showing their emails, and we can gather the VIP's identity."

Definitely not the worst plan. It's the perfect plan for Ichinose, actually. Taking advantage of Class B's friendliness and nice aura to control the conversation. Then, that control stalls the conversation to ensure no one can identify the VIP. On the last day, pressuring everyone to reveal their emails and then using that to get the VIP's identity.

However, their plan, like Class A's, only works if there is no pattern.

Playing passively during this exam will only result in a loss. The only way to win is to figure out the VIP's pattern. Once Ryuen inevitably figures out the pattern, it's over for both Class B and A.

Maybe Class C is the best class? Based on what I've seen so far, Ryuen outclasses both Katsuragi and Ichinose easily, and it's not even close.

However, I have yet to see the other class A leader, Sakayangi, lead the class in an exam.

Maybe giving Class B a little boost will make this entertaining. At this rate, Class C will completely win this exam.

Sadly, there were no discussions about the identities of the VIPs in class B, and it would be way too suspicious for me to ask randomly.

The rest of the meeting consisted of people asking useless questions and complimenting Ichinose, so I just zoned out.

Seeing Kanzaki do the same thing, I initiated a conversation since he helped me out earlier.

"What do you think of the plan?"

"Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Won't work; this exam will be won by Class C easily."

Kanzaki seemed visibly surprised by my answer and asked.

"Why do you think so?"

I shrugged my shoulders and responded.

"Playing passively during this exam will only lead to loss."

Kanzaki let out a sigh and said.

"I guess that's all you're telling us."

That's why Kanzaki is the only good guy in this class. Instead of demanding more answers from me, he accepts what I give him with gratitude.

Even back on the island exam, he was willing to partially ruin his reputation by agreeing with my idea to guess Class D's leader.

To be fair to Ichinose, they would have lost 50 class points if they had listened to me, as the mastermind, Ayanokoji, changed leaders at the very end.

Still, it's the thought that matters!

I could see Kanzaki typing something on his phone, probably sending a warning to Ichinose.

Were my thoughts and advice really worth that much to him? I actually felt somewhat valued and heard.

That's why Kanzaki is my guy!

Then, out of nowhere, phones all over the room began vibrating.

Checking my phone, I saw an email from the school.

[The Monkey Group's test has concluded!]

No way, Ryuen already found out the pattern, right?

No, that would be impossible; he couldn't have found 2 more VIPs and researched the pattern already.

Most likely, one class figured out the VIP by observing everyone in the group discussion.

Still, being able to discover the identity within an hour is impressive.

I doubted that someone would randomly guess the VIP's identity incorrectly, so this person must have been confident.

Seeing the class descending into chaos, I decided to get up as the meeting was basically over.

There will be another discussion tonight, and Ryuen's deadline for the VIP identity will be tomorrow.

Some late-night recon after the meeting was going to be necessary. Even though I doubt that people would discuss that late at night, where there's a will, there's a way!

[A/N: Thoughts of him meeting Kei?]

Also, I was actually bored. I know, saying I'm bored while being on a multi-million dollar cruise ship sounds really bad, but honestly, I had been on this ship far longer than anyone else.

After stopping by my room and playing on my phone for a bit, I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to head to the group meeting room early.

The meeting rooms were on the bottom deck of the ship, so thankfully, the trip there was trouble-free.

However, the entrance was the complete opposite. Upon entering the room, I saw the "flower" of the entire school resting on the couch. Her pale skin was illuminated by the moonlight shining through the windows, and her chest rose and fell every few seconds.

Her long pink hair swayed with every breath she made, and her eyelashes fluttered occasionally.

Almost every boy in the school would die to see this scene; I mean, even I was captivated by the scene.

Why is she here, though? Did the Ichinose fan club disband already?

Well, I guess I can't complain; this is a public space for everyone in the group, but still, doesn't she have a million other places she can go?

The responsibilities and stress of managing 40 high school students can be a lot. I can't even imagine dealing with all those students constantly texting and asking questions every second of the day.

She chose the leader position, so it's partially on her, but someone had to take on the role of leader, so I guess I'm also grateful to her for doing it.

Sure, being a leader has many pros, like having an army of 40 students willing to do anything for you, but at the same time, coming up with strategies, calming down students, and leading the class during exams like the island one would be tiring as hell.

Not wanting to disturb her resting time, I carefully and quietly sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the table.

While playing on my phone, I couldn't help but glance at the beauty resting only a few feet away from me.

After some time, the sound of an alarm rang out through the almost empty room. 

Turning my head to the noise source, I saw Ichinose slowly getting up while attempting to quiet down her phone.

After a moment, she spotted me and cheerfully said.

"Oh, hey, sorry for hogging the couch."

Ah, she probably remembered when I used the couch from the last meeting and felt bad for taking it from me.

"It's alright; you needed the rest more than me."

Patting the space next to her, Ichinose said.

"Would you like to talk a bit before everyone crowds in for the discussion?"

I had no reason to deny her, and even the mobile game was starting to get boring, so I put away my phone.

Sitting beside her, I could see her practically dying to ask me a question, so I casually asked.

"What's up?"

Moving her face only a few inches from mine, she cheerfully responded.

"Ah, was it that obvious that I wanted to ask something? Ha, I was wondering if you actually wanted to get to Class A!"

Well, I can't just come out and say that I can transfer to Class A with points at any time, especially after that situation with the Class bank earlier. 

Trying to keep my composure and stop my face from showing any signs of embarrassment was hard when I could practically hear her heartbeat, but I calmly responded.

"Yeah, reaching class A is my final goal."

Hearing my answer, her face got even closer, and she enthusiastically replied.

"I do, too! I dream of graduating as part of Class A with all my friends!"

Well, no shit, who doesn't want to reach Class A?

After responding to her question, I decided to ask her another. I've wanted to ask this since I saw her at the beginning of the year.

"By the way, why do you think you were placed in Class B and not A? From what I can see, you excel in all areas: academics, communications, and strategy planning."

After seeming to think for a moment, she responded in a tone a little less cheerful.

"Sorry, but I don't know. I am grateful and happy to be placed in Class B, though, as I got the chance to meet all my friends!"

Her lower tone didn't go unnoticed by me, but I decided that prying any further would cause trouble, so I accepted her answer.

Seeing the conversation dying down, Ichinose asked.

"What about you?"

"Probably my lack of communication skills. The school probably assumed the best way to teach me those skills was to place me in an environment where everyone had great communication skills."

"Do you think being here is helping your skills progress?"

Well, I don't know if it's because of Class B, but I have made some friends instead of having 0. 

Ichinose probably considers me a friend, so I have her, Hyori, maybe Kanzaki, and even Ryuen. Kamuro was a bit weird, but I think we knew each other a bit.

Ryuen and I get along well enough. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though.

Seeing her anxiously waiting for my answer, I honestly responded.

"Yeah, I've already made more friends this year than I had in middle school."

"That's great! I wanted t-"

The door suddenly opened, interrupting Ichinose and Kanzaki, alongside Horikita and Hirata walked into the room.

Kanzaki was the first to notice our presence, so he asked me questioningly, and a few moments later, Hirata asked.

"Oh, did we perhaps interrupt a discussion?"

I wanted to tell Kanzaki that I could also talk to people when necessary, but I decided that would have to wait until another time.

Only a moment after Hirata spoke, Ichinose quickly responded.

"Oh, no... Of course not!"

Wasn't she a bit too quick to respond to that?

It didn't bother me, so I got up from the couch and headed to the table.

Only after Kanzaki turned on the lights did I realize that the lights had been off this time.

I then understood Kanzaki's gaze. It would be pretty suspicious for anyone to be alone with Ichinose in a room with no lights on.

Within the next 10 minutes, Ryuen and the rest of the classes flooded into the room, and just like that, the second discussion began.

Ichinose seemed committed to her plan to stall out the discussions; she once again brought her deck of cards. 

Ryuen did not seem too intrigued by this event, as he had said before Ichinose could start talking.

"Oh, not this bullshit again. For fucks sake, stop with the goddamn cards."

Ryuen took the words right out of my mouth.

Kanzaki and the rest of Class B tensed up at Ryuen's clear attack on Ichinose, but before they could say a thing, Ichinose calmed down the atmosphere by saying.

"What do you suggest we do then, Ryuen?"

"Nothing we do here matters; Class C will be on top at the end of the exam!"

A pretty bold explanation, but he's not wrong. At this rate, Class C will 100% win.

[A/N: Who do you guys want as female lead?]