Hikigaya considered revealing his identity to end the exam quickly, but doing so would violate his principles. He sighed, glancing at Hiroya Tokito, the guy with the slicked-back hair who always seemed to be looking for trouble.
"Even if you ask me to lead, I have no idea what to say," Hikigaya admitted. "How about we start with introductions?"
"Ugh, not that again! Can't you come up with something original, copycat?"
"Well..." Hikigaya sighed internally. Hiroya was just here to stir the pot.
As Hikigaya debated whether to put him in his place, Matsushita, standing nearby, spoke up.
"But didn't the teacher emphasize that we had to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the exam? I'm not sure what the penalty would be if we didn't, but don't say we didn't warn you."
"Hmph, they probably just said that for show. If someone wants to introduce themselves, fine, but no one's stopping them."
Though Hiroya's words were defiant, his tone softened, as if he was looking for a way out.
"Alright then," Hikigaya replied casually, "we'll skip your introduction. I'm curious to see what kind of punishment you'll get. Maybe you'll even get expelled since the rules this time are pretty strict."
"Tch... Fine. I'm Hiroya Tokito."
Hikigaya was mildly surprised. He had expected Hiroya to stick to his guns, but it seemed even he wasn't immune to a little pressure.
With that, the rest of the group followed suit, each giving a brief introduction—just names and class affiliations. On the surface, it seemed pointless, with no clear reason why it was necessary.
Maybe, as Hiroya suggested, it was just a dictatorial rule.
However, as Hikigaya listened, he began to sense there was more to it. Why had the school insisted on self-introductions?
If it was merely to facilitate discussion, then why were there no restrictions on the content of those discussions? They could, in theory, remain silent the entire time, and it wouldn't matter.
This was contradictory.
In an extreme scenario, if the preferred student's entire class remained silent, it would be nearly impossible for others to identify them. After all, guessing wrong would result in a hefty penalty of fifty points. No one would take that risk, even with a one-in-three chance.
If that happened, the exam would be unmanageable.
So, why did the school mandate self-introductions? Perhaps the intent was simple—to ensure everyone knew each other's names. In other words, as long as they knew their teammates' names, the exam could proceed, even in complete silence.
Otherwise, the rules on paper made it too easy for the preferred student.
But... names, huh?
During the briefing, Mashima-sensei had mentioned ignoring the usual class divisions in this exam, implying they all needed to work together. If the outcomes were limited to just Result One and Result Two, that might be feasible. But since Results Three and Four involved class points, true cooperation was impossible.
So, what if they interpreted this literally?
An idea struck Hikigaya. He took out his phone, opened the file manager, and copied the list of names from earlier.
Class A: Kobashi Yume, Ninomiya Yui, Watanabe Norihito
Class B: Sawada Kyomi, Shimizu Naoki, Nishiharu Kana, Yoshida Kenta
Class C: Hiroya Tokito, Nomura Yuuji, Yajima Mariko
Class D: Hikigaya Hachiman, Sudo Ken, Matsushita Chiaki, Sakura Airi
Following Mashima-sensei's advice, Hikigaya removed the class designations, leaving only the names.
According to the list, Hikigaya was the eleventh person, and the Rooster is the tenth in the zodiac...
Maybe there's another way to arrange this.
Among the twelve groups, aside from the Dragon Group, which was composed entirely of leaders, the distribution didn't follow any clear pattern—neither in academic nor athletic ability. And on the ship, it was impossible to verify these things, so they could be ignored.
In this case, the only possible order was alphabetical, something everyone could easily check.
Hikigaya thought for a moment and sorted the names alphabetically:
Yume Kobashi, Kiyomi Sawada, Airi Sakura, Naoki Shimizu, Ken Sudo, Tokito Hiroya, Kana Nishiharu, Yui Ninomiya, Yuuji Nomura, Hikigaya Hachiman, Chiaki Matsushita, Mariko Yajima, Kenta Yoshida, Norihito Watanabe.
The software sorted them using the gojūon order, placing Hikigaya as the tenth, perfectly fitting his hypothesis.
[T/N: The gojūon order is the prevalent system for collating Japanese in Japan. For example, dictionaries are ordered using this method. Other systems used are the iroha ordering, and, for kanji, the radical ordering.]
—Wait, that's it?
Hikigaya hadn't expected the exam to be this simple, solved with nothing more than his phone's basic sorting function. Of course, this wasn't a guaranteed solution; he hadn't compared it with other groups yet, so he couldn't be certain. Still, Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a bit deflated.
"What are you doing over there?"
Hiroya's voice broke his thoughts. He was back, looking for another confrontation.
Hikigaya glanced up lazily. "What do you think? Just browsing some forums. Haven't you used a phone before?"
"You're supposed to be leading!"
"The school only required introductions. The rest is up to us."
With that, Hikigaya returned to his phone.
Hiroya, clearly irritated by Hikigaya's nonchalance, scoffed. "So you're just going to let the exam drag on like this? Until it's over? You've already given up, haven't you?"
"...Sigh."
Hikigaya couldn't help but sigh again. Hiroya was becoming a real nuisance.
"Honestly, I couldn't care less about this exam. Discuss whatever you want, just don't bother me."
"But if you don't participate, the exam won't progress," interjected Nishiharu, a girl from Class B, whose isolation suggested she was a staunch supporter of Katsuragi.
"For this exam to be successful, everyone needs to contribute. If there's anything unclear or any doubts, they should be raised. Silence helps no one."
Her words were undoubtedly correct but ultimately pointless.
Hikigaya sighed again.
"While you're not wrong, I'm not about to force myself to cooperate. So, please, just leave me out of it."
"Are you saying you're willing to jeopardize everyone else because of your selfishness?"
"And if I am?"
"Uh..." Faced with Hikigaya's blunt challenge, the room fell silent.
After a moment, Hiroya, forcing a grin, said, "Hikigaya, you're so opposed to discussions. Could it be that the preferred student is from your class, or is it you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Hikigaya replied with a straight face. "If anyone believes me, go ahead and submit my name. You might be in for a surprise."
"...Tch, you're just bluffing."
Hiroya sneered but retreated, his bluster fading. These days, it seemed no one believed the truth anymore, Hikigaya mused.
"And besides, do you think it's a good idea for me to get involved?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. If I take this seriously, you'll all be out of the picture."
Hikigaya propped his chin on his hand, looking thoroughly uninterested.
"Honestly, I don't even need to try. Just from the introductions, I already know who the preferred student is. And, funnily enough, I have you to thank for that, Hiroya."
"What?! Stop spouting nonsense!"
Hiroya jumped to his feet, while the others exchanged uneasy glances. Logically, they should have dismissed his claim, but no one dared to outright deny it.
"And why do you think I'm lying?" Hikigaya's voice was calm as his gaze swept over the room.
Those caught in his gaze felt as if they were being stripped bare, every secret laid open, their skin prickling under the scrutiny.
"At its core, this is just a simple game of identifying the impostor. It's similar to the island survival test... Names like Chihiro Shirakawa, Yahiko Totsuka, and Mio Ibuki should ring a bell, right?"
"Ugh!"
These were the names of team leaders from other classes, and Class A's members, in particular, were shaken. After all, according to the exam's results, their leader was never supposed to be discovered.
They had only heard that Hikigaya had helped Ichinose by revealing Class B's leader's name. They hadn't expected he had also identified their leader.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
No one knew how to respond to Hikigaya as if any action would be pointless. Perhaps, as he suggested, doing nothing was the best course—at least then, no one would suffer.
"Hmph! I don't buy it!" Hiroya suddenly stood up, pointing at Hikigaya. "You're nothing special! If you'd figured it out, you wouldn't be wasting time talking. You'd have betrayed us already!"
"...Sigh."
In the span of a few minutes, Hikigaya had sighed three times, close to breaking his record
"Hey, Hiroya, right? You've got the temper of Ryuen, but none of his abilities. So why don't you tone it down a bit? Or maybe seek his help?"
"Don't even mention that guy! Just because you managed to beat Ryuen doesn't mean you should get arrogant!"
The mention of Ryuen made Hiroya livid.
…Ah, I see.
Hikigaya understood now. The 'troublesome person' Ryuen referred to was likely Hiroya Tokito. Moreover, the term troublesome didn't refer to Hiroya's abilities but his tendency to bite at everything like a mad dog. He probably resented Ryuen's leadership in his class.
Given the current situation, it was clear that Hiroya had not openly opposed Ryuen, at most just grumbled.
What a petty man…
"Even if we agree on our disdain for Ryuen, have you done anything to prove you're better than him?"
"I-I'll show you one day!"
Hiroya's response was childish, akin to a student's retort. Hikigaya decided to disregard him.
The first discussion ended after an hour with nothing accomplished. A broadcast echoed in the room, announcing that students were free to move around. Although continuing the meeting was possible, no one in their group had the motivation for it. The spark had fizzled out long ago, and staying a minute longer felt like torture.
"Finally, it's over!" Sudou stretched widely, standing up from his chair with renewed energy. The guy had fallen asleep halfway through the meeting.
"That wasn't so bad after all. I thought we'd be bombarded with questions, but sticking with you was the right call, Hikigaya!"
"...It wasn't intentional," Hikigaya muttered.
In truth, Hikigaya had merely wanted an excuse to avoid participating in the discussion. Socializing with others, especially a bunch of strangers, was far too troublesome. However, he never explicitly told them not to discuss things; it just seemed like his silence had cast a spell, and everyone had withdrawn into themselves.
Well, whatever. At least the peace was a welcome bonus.
"Hikigaya-kun, can I have a word?" Matsushita whispered while the others were distracted. "Did you identify the VIP?"
"I did."
"...But you don't plan to reveal it, do you?"
It seemed Matsushita had already figured him out to some extent. She wasn't easy to fool, possessing a keen sense of observation, and after spending enough time with Hikigaya, she could read him better than most.
"Since you know, why ask? You also know I'm not interested in this whole class rivalry nonsense."
Hikigaya's admission brought a smile of satisfaction to Matsushita's face as if she had just won a small victory. Seriously, why was she so pleased with herself for figuring him out?
"By the way... you might want to keep an eye on Karuizawa," he added.
"Huh?"
Matsushita froze at his unexpected remark.
"W-wait, what do you mean by that? Are you suggesting—?" Her mind raced with a sudden, implausible thought.
"It's just a suspicion, nothing concrete yet," Hikigaya said, shaking his head. "So could you check it out for me? You two are close, right?"
If his hunch was correct, based on the list Horikita had handed him earlier that morning, the VIP in the Rabbit group was Karuizawa, while in the Dragon group, it was Kushida.
Of course, aside from the Rabbit group, the others didn't matter to him. He was far more interested in seeing what Ayanokoji would do next.
"I got it... Heh, Hikigaya-kun, you're always as sharp as a blade," Matsushita chuckled, unable to hide her amusement.
"Sharp? I don't get what you're trying to say, and I don't see why you're comparing me to a monster."
While Matsushita might have found his deductions extraordinary, Hikigaya himself didn't think much of it. The trick was to analyze the hidden meanings in the teachers' words from the start. If you paid attention, the answer wasn't far off.
If anyone else in the class had made an effort, they could have easily identified the pattern with six names. Even with four or five names, they would have come close. But with only three? That would have been a challenge.
However, identifying the pattern didn't guarantee it was correct. Even if three VIPs in his class matched the supposed rule, that didn't mean it was foolproof. There could be other ways to organize the information, and for all he knew, there might not be a pattern at all.
These were all factors to consider.
Hikigaya, unfazed by the weight of class responsibilities, had no qualms about making bold guesses. But for a class leader, a mistake could result in significant point losses, not to mention giving rival classes an advantage. The gap between classes could widen in an instant.
Even someone like Ryuen would hesitate to decide until the very last moment.
But none of that mattered to Hikigaya. All he needed to do was keep his identity hidden and ensure his class didn't lose points.