-217- The peaceful solution

When Machida Koji made the statement about not wanting to incur any losses, Nanaya Hori already knew. This person definitely intended to propose letting the VIP win, suggesting that the group pass the exam by achieving Result Two.

After all, if Results Three and Four both cause some class to suffer losses, they naturally get ruled out. Result One, on the other hand, is simply too unrealistic. It's likely that until the exam ends, no group will be able to pass using Result One.

Given this, the method Machida Koji wanted to suggest was naturally Result Two: letting the VIP win and securing fifty thousand personal points.

This surprisingly bold proposal was put forward on the first day of the exam and during the first discussion meeting. It was almost unbelievable.

"Are you serious?" Yukimura Teruhiko asked incredulously. "If we let the VIP win, doesn't that mean the rest of us just have to obediently admit defeat?"

Exactly. Even if you don't want to incur losses, there's no reason to willingly surrender right from the start, letting the VIP win for free. That doesn't make sense.

Is A-Class really willing to see the other classes obtain a large number of personal points and strengthen their own positions? Impossible.

If that were truly the case, Machida Koji wouldn't have needed to step forward to stop Ichinose Honami from controlling the rhythm of the scene earlier and take the initiative himself. This proves that A-Class doesn't want to see B-Class catching up.

What if the VIP of the Rabbit Group happens to be in B-Class? Then what?

This proposal is even less realistic than Result One. Only Nanaya Hori understood that this proposal wasn't completely nonsensical.

The reason is simple.

"You don't need to be surprised. Next, we'll share with you our discovery from A-Class," Machida Koji said.

"Actually, in this special exam, the twelve VIPs of the twelve groups are reasonably distributed. Each class has three VIPs, which is completely fair and just," Machida Koji revealed, echoing what Nanaya Hori had told Horikita Suzune in the morning.

"Each class has three VIPs?" This valuable information immediately perked up the spirits of the students present.

"Do you have any evidence?" Yukimura Teruhiko hurriedly asked.

In response, Machida Koji didn't hold back and directly explained, "Just think about it carefully. The school wouldn't execute an unfair distribution. If the number of VIPs was unevenly distributed, it would create a huge unfairness as soon as the exam began, which is simply impossible."

Machida Koji spoke with exceptional confidence.

"You might think that even if the school allocates the number of VIPs based on the excellence of each class, it wouldn't be surprising. But that's impossible. The last uninhabited island exam was like that; the school didn't favor A-Class. It made all classes stand on the same starting line for competition, maintaining fairness. So, this special exam must be the same."

This argument, though not strong evidence, was still quite persuasive.

Although it didn't match the detailed reasoning Nanaya Hori had previously given to Horikita Suzune, it was enough to make the Rabbit Group members unconsciously acknowledge it.

"Indeed, there were no signs of the school favoring any class during the uninhabited island special exam. It was very fair and just. Even Sakayanagi's absence caused A-Class to lose points, proving that the school wanted all first-year students to compete fairly and showcase their abilities," Ichinose Honami also nodded, agreeing with this explanation.

This made Machida Koji even more confident.

"In that case, we can pass this exam in a way that doesn't cause any class to suffer losses, right?" Machida Koji said to everyone. "Since the VIPs are equally distributed, if all groups let their VIPs win, it would allow all classes to get the same number of points and peacefully end the exam. Isn't that great?"

This was the strategy A-Class wanted to adopt. No, it should be called a tactic.

No discussions, no answering, just letting all the groups' VIPs win to complete the special exam.

In this way, since each class has three VIPs equally distributed, no matter which class, everyone would get 1.5 million personal points. There would be no need to lose class points, no mutual suspicion, probing, or betrayal. The school would simply bear the loss for this exam and distribute points to each class.

That's what Machida Koji was trying to convey.

Nanaya Hori immediately saw through the underlying scheme.

Ichinose Honami wasn't foolish either, showing a helpless smile and speaking up, "This must be a suggestion from Katsuragi Kouhei, right? It's very much his style."

Indeed. This was definitely a plan proposed by Katsuragi Kouhei.

Nanaya Hori had thought that with Katsuragi Kouhei's conservative and cautious personality, he would prioritize protecting his class's VIPs first, then come up with a plan. However, Katsuragi Kouhei's measure was even more conservative and cautious than Nanaya Hori had imagined.

This person not only wanted to protect A-Class's VIPs but also the VIPs of all classes, passing the exam in the safest and least risky way.

This doesn't mean Katsuragi Kouhei lacked a competitive spirit. On the contrary, this approach greatly benefited A-Class.

Because, by not causing any class to suffer losses and giving all classes the same reward, there would be no point.

By removing the risk, the benefits would also vanish.

On the surface, this approach seemed to benefit all classes. But in reality, since no class would suffer a loss and everyone would gain the same rewards, the gap between the four first-year classes would not shorten at all, remaining the same.

This approach led to the trailing classes not being able to catch up to A-Class, not even closing the gap slightly.

As Ichinose Honami said, this indeed resembled Katsuragi Kouhei's style—conservative and cautious.

At this moment, in various groups, under Katsuragi Kouhei's instructions, A-Class students were likely making the same proposal.

In other words, all groups were currently being persuaded by A-Class.

Thus, Machida Koji very naturally said, "Maybe you think I'm saying this because the VIP of the Rabbit Group is in A-Class, so I'm trying to persuade you to let the A-Class VIP win. But now, everyone in the other groups is also receiving the same proposal from A-Class. You can ask them afterward to prove that A-Class is not doing this for itself, but for everyone to pass peacefully."

This was A-Class's reliance on making such a proposal.

Asking afterward would clarify whether other groups received the same proposal. This way, there was no need to worry that Machida Koji's approach was solely to protect his class's VIP.

"So, what do you think?" Machida Koji looked around at everyone present and asked.

"Do you accept our proposal?"