(Dazai Crowley's POV)
Cerulean Academy, Present Day
The details of the exam have been discussed at length. Now, Class D must come up with a solution.
To do that, a simple question must be answered.
Who should be the leader of Class D?
"—Well then, who wants to be Class Prez?"
…Or, you could phrase it like that, I guess.
"Ugh, what's even the point in asking? I doubt anybody here would be willing to take it, right?"
"Yeah, no, I'm good. Somebody else can have it."
One by one, students voiced their agreement.
Unsurprisingly, it descended into it being a way to pass off the buck to someone else.
As of now, nobody willing has yet to come forward.
"Sigh, maybe we should let Mrs. Gwein decide?"
"Dude, what are you even talking about? No way it would be that simple."
I wonder. Would that tactic even be allowed?
"Hey, it's not like it's against the rules, right, Sensei?"
"No, not exactly. As the rules stated, you are free to use whatever method necessary to decide. As such, using your teacher to decide is also a viable option. However, despite that, I will still have to decline. I'd much rather see you all come to a consensus on who to choose on your own accord."
"....—I see."
So although such methods were considered legal, it wasn't one the students of Class D could rely on.
That line of questioning had gone up in smoke.
"Damn, but what else can we do? At this rate, we really aren't going to get anywhere…"
"True. But why the rush? Don't we have a month to decide? Shouldn't we just take our time?"
Certainly.
There was no reason for us to decide this today.
—However, not everyone here isn't as patient.
"I mean, sure, that's fine and all, but I rather we get this over with as soon as we can. I really don't want to risk losing my precious points."
"I agree."
Precious?
It hasn't even been a week yet and most students here have already grown attached to our allowance.
"—Ugh, fine. Whatever."
The student who suggest to wait rolled his eyes.
"Right then, now that's settled, let's put our heads together and brainstorm a way to decide that."
"Let's see…—How about we try hosting a rock paper scissors tournament?"
"Nah, I'm pretty bad at that, believe it or not. How about a game of spades? I got enough cards."
"No way, that would take way too long. And what if you tried cheating? I don't trust card dealers."
"O—oh, uhh, I have a—an…idea."
Suddenly though, one girl in particular stood up.
All eyes were then casted towards her.
"Yes? What is it?"
"U—umm…"
However, the girl never answered. Instead, she simply twiddled her fingers in reluctance.
Was she having stage fright?
Naturally, I wasn't the only one who noticed this.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. Just take your time and say what you want to say slowly."
As soon as I reached this conclusion, another girl in particular immediately noticed this and assisted her.
"U—uh, right!"
The girl then resolved herself to speak up.
"—Back at my last school, we used to draw l—lots to decide our Class President…S—so I think that if we were to write our n—names down inside a box and draw at random, I'm sure we'll h—have our answer!"
"Hey, that's a great idea!"
There was a lot of stuttering happening as she spoke, but atleast she was able to convey her point.
In short, she was suggesting a lottery system, huh.
Given the simplicity in its nature, I figured someone was eventually going to bring it up. Additionally, this particular method wouldn't require a lot of time in order to decide our "leader". With it, we could put an end to this test before the day was even over.
However—
"—Are you sure that's really such a good idea?"
Ryoku's question cut through the air like a blade.
"W—what? Why? Is there something wrong with it?"
"I didn't say "that" exactly. I'm just asking if drawing lots is really such a wise idea."
"I mean…—it's a quick and easy way to decide this, right? I d—don't see a problem with it."
"You're right, it would be easy to just up and decide like that and get it over with. However, in a situation like this, I don't recommend we should rely on a probability based method to decide."
"Huh? Why?"
"Why? Just stop and think about it for a moment. We've already established that Class Representative is akin to being the official leader of our class. Therefore, wouldn't it be unwise for us to give such a role to someone incapable of being our leader?"
"T—that's true."
Ryoku's argument was certainly valid.
Putting a weak person into a position of power would cause more trouble for us in the long run.
History has proven this to us multiple times after all.
"In that case, allow me to ask you again. Are you sure it's wise to rely on a method based on luck?"
She pressured her point even further, emphasizing her attack on the student who suggested the idea.
The short answer is no, most certainly not. If this was under normal circumstances, then regardless of how we handle this situation, I suppose it wouldn't matter. However, our circumstances are different seeing as how our dreams are at risk.
As it stands right now, Class D cannot afford to be so careless with how we should operate.
No, on the contrary, this was the perfect opportunity to set up preparations for a counterattack against the other classes.
With that said though, this entire conversation just ended up right back at square one.
"So then, how should we decide to do this then?"
Ryoku smiles.
"—There is no need for us to decide."
"Huh?"
Her moment had finally arrived.
Suddenly, she stands back up and faces the class with a humble pose.
"If there isn't anybody willing to accept, I will be more than happy to volunteer for the role myself."
And there it was.
"Ehh!!?"
"Seriously!?"
All eyes immediately fell to her.
"Looks like she finally revealed her hand."
Ester makes that single observation.
I silently nod in agreement.
During the flow of this conversation, Ryoku Varja has managed to realize two very important things.
The true power that comes with being the "class leader". And how little others truly desired it. In other words, it was the perfect conditions to set yourself up and suddenly rise within our class.
So she decided to do exactly that.
Slowly sowing seeds of doubt and indecision, subtly manipulating the flow of the conversation, shifting the role of leader into an unfavorable light, and then finally throwing yourself to the crowd as a martyr.
It was a simple plan to rise to power.
Yet effective all the same.
However—
—There was just one problem standing in her way.