3.5

This was the first time I'd visited Albert's room.

Although he was of a greater physique and size, the layout of his room was still the same 

However, each room had its own arrangement, and this was a bit unique.

A large American flag and a Japanese flag adorned the center of the room. Not only that, flags of countless countries, such as those of China, Italy, and some African countries, though small in size, decorated one of the walls. They weren't just made of printed paper, but out of fabric, which gave us a sense for his passion.

"Albert's a flag fanatic. Surprised ain'tcha?"

Ishizaki had probably been to his room before, which is why he was able to explain all of this to us in such a calm fashion

"That seems to be the case."

After he released me, Albert casually urged me to sit.

Once I confirmed that all of us were seated, I proceeded to ask them what they wanted.

"So, what do you three want?"

The three of them looked at each other.

For some reason, they all had large smiles on their faces.

And then, Ishizaki, as their representative, told me.

"Let's cut to the chase, here's my proposal…. Let's form a group for the next special exam!"

As expected, it was about the special exam.

"Form…a group? Can you give me more details?"

"More details? That's all there is to it"  

"It doesn't seem like that at all to me. I can't even identify who I'm supposed to be grouping up with." 

The number of people present here were four, which was one more than the rules allowed. Also since Hiyori was a girl she didn't qualify as a teammate due to the gender ratio rule, so it probably meant that I had to group up with Ishizaki and Albert. But if he didn't elaborate on this clearly, I'd have no idea about it.

"With whoever you want. It can be me, Albert, Shiina, anybody really. The point is that you team up with somebody from our class."

What a lofty and brazen proposal.

In a sense, it was the type of proposal that could only be made because Ishizaki was the one offering it.

"In other words, you want me to enter into a group with two people from your class?"

"Right. And then when the exam starts, you'll combine your group with another three person group from Class B, so it'll be a perfect six person group. With five people from our class, and you being the sixth, Ayanakouji, let's aim for first place!"  

Although such a proposal could move one to tears, there was an urgent need to think it through first.

"Hiyori, did you carefully explain the exam rules to Ishizaki?"

"No."

Hiyori gave a forthright answer.

"If I'd interrupted and tried to explain, I felt like there would've been something I needed to correct within 5 seconds. So, I thought it would be better to let him carry on with his momentum."

Better? Definitely not.

Indeed, 5 seconds into the conversation and it already looked like Ishizaki hadn't understood the exam rules.…

"Although I've got many questions, I'll narrow it down to two… No, three questions. First off, after the special exam starts, there's no guarantee that you can easily form your ideal big group."

In fact, our class teacher had already told us that it wouldn't be an easy thing.

If we could form big groups by just thinking or saying, "let's group up", or "let's do it", then there would be no point forcing students to form groups of three right now. There wouldn't be much advantage to it.

It's precisely because it's difficult to form a big group during the official exam, that we were given freedom of choice to form smaller teams now.

"Really?"

Ishizaki seemed completely baffled, with an incredulous expression, he tilted his head towards Hiyori as if he needed her to explain.

"If you organize the exam description, that's what it means. Basically, depending on the situation, we might have to work with a group we didn't expect or want."

"Wha. I haven't a clue what you mean."

"During the exam there might just be certain conditions that we need to meet in order to combine our groups. That's what I'm talking about."

"What the heck are those?"

If we'd known that, then it wouldn't have been so troublesome.

"We don't know the details. Judging from the school's explanation, there's no doubt that they won't be easy to meet."

"But… Even if there are conditions, we have to prepare under the premise that we'll be able to form our groups right?"

"Well, if you put it that way, it's true."

"Then we're good. For the exam, just follow my proposal and prepare accordingly."

It's kind of respectable that he was able to think simply at this point.

Hiyori also listened to Ishizaki's proposal with great interest.

"Ain't no point in worrying about things I don't understand."

Was this Ishizaki Daichi's unique charm?

"Well then… my second point."

Since it seems like I couldn't make him understand the first point, I went ahead with the next one.

"Other than me, who else have you talked to? Or who else were you planning to talk to?"

"We didn't talk to anyone, and we don't intend to. Right?"

The two of them nodded in agreement with Ishizaki's statement.

"So that means it's only me. Why's that?"

"Well, 'course it's just you. I reckon you're just as powerful as Ryuuen… Nah, if I had to say, it's cuz I now think that you're even better than him. You're strong as hell at fighting, and your mental agility is even acknowledged by him. Plus, in the spring exam, you got a perfect score in math. That was truly incredible. The group which has Ayanokouji has the exam in the bag. So I see no reason for us not to invite you, eh?" 

"That was high praise, Ayanokouji-kun, but my opinion is also the same."

Albert nodded without hesitation. 

I initially said I wanted to ask three questions, but now I've got a fourth one. That was, how much Japanese Albert understood, and how much he could speak. Although I haven't seen him in class, I think he uses Japanese to learn…

They didn't hesitate to mention that they needed to acquire me. 

"Then, the third… this proposal, how does it benefit me? If I assume that the top places are taken by Class B, then it's just you guys that benefit." 

Even if the class points were evenly split, there'd be a huge difference in the amount of private points I get versus their class with the majority of the members.

"The heck, of course you can't be the only one who doesn't get any benefits! If we're promoted to Class A, we'll give you 20 million points to come to our class, Ayanokouji. Waddya say?"

After answering confidently, Ishizaki continued.

"In other words, you can get either your class into Class A, or our class into Class A. This way, you have a 50% chance of graduating from Class A."

How about that? He put this proposal forward with a proud smile on his face.

That reasoning would've been true if all four classes had equal chances of moving up to Class A. However since each class differed in various factors such as abilities and points, it was impossible to calculate the accurate probability of a class ascending to Class A.

Of course, there's no doubt that having another class I could move to whenever I wanted was a big advantage.

"Are Hiyori and Albert of the same opinion?"

"Yes. We'd love to have you."

"YES."

Both of them went along with Ishizaki's proposal, knowing that it was absurd. Was that what was happening? Nevertheless, before I accepted this absurd proposal, I had to get to the bottom of this. So I asked my final question.

"Was it Ryuuen who decided to invite me? Or is this Ishizaki's arbitrary decision?

Ishizaki, who had been replying with ease till now, suddenly had a tense expression for the first time.

"It's my own decision. Ryuuen knows nothing about it."

So it seemed that Ishizaki had thought and decided on this plan himself.

Although I had speculated this would be the case, this really was reckless.

Now, I could understand why Ibuki who normally hung around Ishizaki wasn't present here.

So Ishizaki's supporters are Albert and Hiyori?

"Have you thought about what would happen if Ryuuen found out about this?"

"Never thought about it! No need to dwell on that! Even so… I'm ready for that."

Although Ishizaki was slightly scared, he tried his best to put on a brave face.

"The rules allow us to form groups with students from within the same year, right? So I thought Ayanokouji was absolutely necessary in order to form the best team. What's wrong about that? "

That was true. As long as forming a group within one's own class wasn't their policy, Ryuuen had no right to be dissatisfied with Ishizaki's actions.

"The key point of this special exam is to prevent the 2nd year students' class points from being taken away by the others. Of course, it's also necessary to aim for the top spots in the overall ranking. For which, Ayanokouji is indispensable."

"That's right."

"Anyway, even though there are still many aspects to this plan that I'm concerned about… I understand what you mean."

"Then, will you join our group?"

"Although I don't think there's anything wrong in inviting me, I can't say yes to it right now."

"Wh-why?"

"It's because he has his own class to deal with, right?"

Even though Hiyori supported Ishizaki's plan, she understood why I had refused without even having to ask me.

"Besides, I think the terms we've offered him are weak as well."

"Weak…? You sayin' 20 million points ain't enough?"

"I'm not saying anything like that. I think it's certainly an exceptional amount, that is, in terms of quantity. But in effect, the only thing we'd really be giving him is the right to transfer over to our class, yes?"

"B-but we can't just fork over 20 million and let 'im transfer over to Sakayanagi's."

If I was allowed to freely use the points they'd be giving me, it's only natural that I'd use them to secure my place in Class A in the end. Class B wouldn't be able to bolster their forces in the meantime by adding me to their class.

"Additionally, Ishizaki-kun did say that it'd be fine so long as Ayanokouji-kun joins up with somebody from Class B, but there's a problem with that as well. Surviving on the uninhabited island won't be a one-man effort. If you're really aiming for the top spot, you'll be better off with a strong team to back you up." 

Hiyori, who had mostly just been quietly listening to the discussion unfold before this, brought up the shortcomings one after another.

And, with each correction, Ishizaki began to panic, his brow visibly dampened with sweat.

"Th-then anyone would be fine!" 

"If it was up to me to choose the small group Hmm. Ryuuen-kun, Kaneda-kun, and Ayanokouji-kun, those three. It's fine if Kaneda-kun is replaced by Yamada-kun, but Ryuuen-kun is indispensable."

There were only a few people in the 2nd year who had his authority, and were bold enough to create tactics that would break the rules without hesitation. This fact that he was the only one from his class who stayed behind in last year's island exam, and went unnoticed till the last minute, was a testament to his ability and value. The other choices would be Kaneda who possessed high academic ability or Albert who prided himself on his iron fist.  

Indeed, in order to maximise the odds, having two of those three would be necessary.

"Don't be ridiculous! Do you think Ryuuen-kun will ever approve of our plan!?"

"I don't think he will."

"Exactly!" 

"Kaneda-kun is the same, he won't ignore Ryuuen-kun's orders and participate in a strategy he's unsure of."

"Then what should we do?"

"At this stage, I guess it can't be helped."

"Well… That's troubling…"

Ishizaki crossed his arms as he racked his brain, but couldn't come up with anything on the spot.

"We were able to convey ours and Ishizaki's thoughts to you, so we should be satisfied with that for now." 

It seems like that was Hiyori's objective all along.

She knew from the beginning that forming a group with me wouldn't be easy, therefore she judged it would be better to just show me their intent to form one, for now.

Perhaps Albert also understood that this was a reckless attempt, and he patted Ishizaki's shoulder gently.

"… I get it. Well, if that's the case, there's no helping it…"

Although reluctantly, Ishizaki agreed after listening to both of them. 

"I don't know if I can do what you want, let me think about it for now."

In this situation, I judged this was the best answer.

That being said, I didn't plan to form a group with anyone at the moment.

This was because of Tsukishiro and the White Room student lurking in the 1st year.

The first semester was almost over.

There's no way they were going to keep putting it off and let me just spend my campus life like this.

I'm afraid the next special exam will be the final showdown between me and Tsukishiro.

In other words, he may attack regardless of anything else.

If I formed a group, others would surely get involved.

If that really happened, I needed to make sure that I was the only one who dropped out to ensure there were minimum casualties.

I left them, while confirming this in my heart once again.