5.8

Students who scanned a QR code in the treasure hunt had an obligation to report it to the school.

Satō and I returned to the starting point and headed towards Horikita, who was waiting at the reception desk.

"Good work. With this, the procedure is now complete."

Satō expressed her happiness honestly upon hearing such a report.

"Well then, thank you for today, Ayanokōji-kun. Let's hang out together some other time."

Saying that, Satō waved and walked away happily. Now that she had some extra income, it wouldn't be a bad idea to spend a little time indulging in luxury.

"If we exclude the participation fee, it's a total of 180,000 points between the two of you. Good job."

"Yeah."

By this time, most of the participants seemed to have reached their goals, and only a few people were coming.

"Looks like you've had a lot to do too. Have you taken any breaks?"

"Yes, for about an hour. But I can't complain. It was my own idea to appeal directly to the school from the perspective of fraud prevention."

"A direct appeal, huh. It's a small thing, but it's a step towards becoming the Student Council President."

Making a good impression with things like that would be appreciated by both the school and the student council.

"It's not like that. Even if I didn't suggest it, there wouldn't be a great deal of cheating. It's just…well, I thought it might be helpful, even if only a little. That's all."

I didn't really understand, but Horikita's mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"So, who got the highest number of private points from our class?"

"Who do you think?"

When I asked her, she turned the question around and asked me back.

"I'm hoping it's not us."

"Well good for you, you're correct. There was a pair that won 500,000 private points. It was Wang-san and Kōenji-kun."

"Kōenji? Participating in the game itself is one thing, but I'm surprised he paired up with someone."

I didn't notice the presence of Kōenji at the briefing because there were so many people.

"I'm of the same opinion. I don't know the circumstances of how he ended up participating and pairing up, but he's made a considerable amount money in the last couple of weeks."

"No matter what he does, he's out of this world, that Kōenji."

To think he had good luck in addition to having incredible physical abilities. Or maybe it was a QR code that his partner found.

"Not being able to use Kōenji-kun in the future is a big minus for the class."

"He was never the kind of guy to work hard to begin with; can't you just be satisfied with him taking first place this time?"

"There's no way I could be satisfied. It would be too much of a waste not to use his abilities to move up to Class A. Don't you have any ideas?"

A way to make good use of Kōenji? It was a waste of resources to even think about it.

"It's impossible."

"That was a quick reply."

I was confident that I could control others to some extent. However, the only exception to this was Kōenji.

I'd run countless simulations on how to control all of my classmates and Kōenji was the only one who, no matter how many simulations I tried, I could not get under control.

"Even if you give up, I won't. His strength is vital."

Trying to control the uncontrollable. That was simply a contradiction.

"Even if it's a waste of time?"

"You don't think we need Kōenji-kun?"

"I think that as long as he doesn't do any harm, the best course of action is to leave him alone. And now that Kōenji's been handed a protection point, it's possible to neglect him more."

"That sure is a rational thought."

"If the class couldn't win without Kōenji, I'd understand why you'd be so eager. However, our class has already grown into a force to be reckoned with that can compete with the other classes. And it will continue to grow in the future."

"Yes, you're right, everyone's much more reliable than they were a year ago."

"However…" Horikita continued, "While getting to Class A is my top priority and ultimate goal, I want the class to become one. I want to lead them in a way so that we can all combine our strength."

So she didn't want anyone to be cut off, even Kōenji.

Horikita's eyes that stared at me were so straight that I unconsciously choked on my words.

If Horikita could get Kōenji to join her, he would be an irreplaceable and dependable ally.

However, clearing that hurdle was probably more difficult than trying to get to Class A.

In the past, I wouldn't have taken her statement seriously. I would just put it away as ramblings and beyond her capabilities. Horikita's growth has been slow, but it was progressing step by step.

Well…I still couldn't say that Horikita might be able to move Kōenji someday though.

Kōenji really was the only man that my calculations couldn't comprehend.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You looked like you were thinking."

"No, I was just trying to figure out how I would spend all these private points that I've been given."

"…Right. You're giving half of your money to Kushida-san, so you should take care of the private points you earned today and not waste them."

"Yeah, that's right. I'll do that."

I decided to leave quietly, since staying any longer would only get in the way of the operation.