Chapter 221

"Then deduct it."

She wasn't actually summoned by Asakusa Toru. The only people Asakusa Toru needed to negotiate and persuade were Ryuen Kakeru and Kamuro Masumi. Kushida Kikyo didn't have any obligation to get involved.

After all, in a sense, ever since they extorted money from the school through the Sakura incident, they had already become a so-called 'community of shared interests'.

Putting aside the physical connection and emotions, even the trust bound together by the huge sum of money in the account was enough for him to remove Kushida Kikyo from the scope of 'persuasion'.

"Negative scores are irrelevant." Ryuen Kakeru waved his hand. "I won't comment on your tactics and strategies. Since you intend to do this, consider it a sign of your sincerity in cooperating. I will 'completely comply' with your decision for this exam."

"But you need to answer a few of my questions."

Although I said before that if they wanted to guard against the school, they shouldn't have 'integrated' together so openly and blatantly.

But since Asakusa Toru had taken the initiative to approach him, and given that this exam clearly required some 'cooperation,' Ryuen Kakeru thought it best to just go along with it.

"Speak," Asakusa Toru, spreading his hands.

With a thud, Ryuen Kakeru jumped off the table, pacing back and forth as he spoke:

"First and foremost, and most importantly, the most crucial."

"How do you want to win?" He pointed out the problem. "Not the outcome, but the means."

"I can give you the list of VIP in Class C. I probably don't need to worry about Class A either; you should have already collected the list information by now."

"But..." he said, turning his head to look at Kamuro Masumi by the door and Kushida Kikyo by the bedside, "Class B and Class D ... I have my doubts about that."

Ryuen Kakeru didn't have any particular trust in either of them.

Trust in Asakusa Toru is based on the premise that they have communicated, confronted each other, and cooperated.

But Kamuro Masumi was merely Sakayanagi Arisu's guide dog; even Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't come over, so he didn't believe Kamuro Masumi could make any decisions.

He couldn't bear the thought of being betrayed by Class B after all the planning.

Needless to say, Kushida Kikyo is another example.

Ryuen Kakeru never believed in such a foolish assessment as "everyone's little Angel." Beneath all the friendliness lay a deep darkness that was imperceptible to the naked eye.

Kushida Kikyo is like that, Ichinose Honami must be like that too.

The doubts surrounding Kushida Kikyo herself are one aspect, but the doubts surrounding Class D are another.

The people in Class D are the dumbest. You can believe that they might accidentally, carelessly, or out of their minds, reveal their VIP status, or you can believe that they might hide it from their classmates because of their greed to keep 500,000 Private Points all to themselves.

Besides these two points of contention, there are also bigger problems.

How can you guarantee they will act according to your wishes?

The rules for the Special Exam clearly state that the names of the VIP in a given group can only be submitted within that group; the school will not accept answers submitted by VIP in other groups.

Asakusa Toru wanted to achieve the transfer of points.

In other words, there are two possibilities.

One is the situation of those VIP in Class D.

There's no need to worry about this. Just find a way to confirm the identity of the VIP, and then have the students in the same group who want to get these Class Points send their answers to the school. This will easily result in a third outcome.

But the other one is harder to say.

If the VIP is not in Class D, then to transfer the Class Points from Class D, it would obviously require the students in Class D to submit incorrect answers.

What should I do?

If you openly tell someone you're transferring your Class Points, who would agree?

Kushida Kikyo is just a little Angel, not a class dictator like him; her affability cannot become her rule.

Yes, that's right, she can pretend to reveal a name to a classmate and identify the other person as the VIP.

But then what?

The students in Class D submitted the wrong names, and the school then announced the result as failure.

Do you think her Kushida Kikyo will be questioned?

Ryuen Kakeru couldn't think of any reason why Kushida Kikyo would sacrifice her credibility and the trust she had in the students of Class D to help them complete this transfer of Class Points.

Not to mention the Special Exam that will be held in the distant future, and the one after that, with absolutely no idea what they will be like.

In his opinion, he should definitely focus on the immediate benefits.

The more Ryuen Kakeru thought about it, the more he felt there was a problem.

If Asakusa Toru can provide a reasonable explanation, he can comply.

But if that doesn't work, he has to question it and try to fight for the class's interests in his own way.

"You're right." Asakusa Toru nodded slightly. "That's why I didn't just notify you to carry it out unilaterally. Instead, I brought you here for a meeting to resolve the only problem."

Kamuro Masumi finally couldn't help but speak up:

"Only?"

No, Ryuen pointed out more than one problem, how can it be the only one?

She felt that her brain wasn't quite up to par, or rather, her brain had never really been up to par.

I really don't know why Sakayanagi let her come alone.

When Kamuro Masumi received the message from Asakusa Toru, she simply relayed it to Sakayanagi Arisu was still looking rather listless and lifeless.

I thought the other party would squint their eyes and chuckle as usual, then raise their neck and personally lead the expedition.

To everyone's surprise, the other person simply propped their head up with one hand and casually waved their hand.

"You can go, make your own decision," she said.

Kamuro Masumi couldn't hold back any longer.

I?

Ha?

Should I make the decision?

They're already discussing what outcome to choose to end the exam and divide the rewards. Even if I were in their shoes, there's nothing I could do!

This is utterly ridiculous.

However, despite cursing in her heart, Kamuro Masumi couldn't refute Sakayanagi Arisu.

So in the end, she obediently came over.

Of course, she had some reservations about the meeting being held in a girl's room, but seeing Ibuki Mio and Kushida Kikyo present, she wasn't particularly worried.

To be fair, Kamuro Masumi is quite confident in her athletic abilities.

It can't compare to that guy who cruises across an Uninhabited Island at the speed of light.

If it were just Ryuen, I would definitely be worried, but with Asakusa Toru added to the mix... I feel much more at ease.

Cough.

It's not that she's obsessed with looks... she might be a little bit obsessed with looks, but the sense of security she feels compared to Ryuen Kakeru and Asakusa Toru is worlds apart.

Ryuen Kakeru is a complete hoodlum; no girl wouldn't be worried about being alone with him in a room.

But Asakusa Toru was different.

He's handsome, so even if he does something to benefit the girl, she'll be the one who gets the better deal.

Yes, that's how realistic it is.

In short, since Sakayanagi has dumped the responsibility on her, no matter how unwilling she is, she has to find out the truth and then go back to Sakayanagi Arisu to make a new decision.

Just kidding, of course she wouldn't actually listen and make decisions on her own here.

Who does she think she is?

"Ah, the only problem is how to get the Class D students in the groups of those VIP who don't belong to Class D to obediently hand over their Class Points." Asakusa Toru nodded decisively. "Anyway, let's look at the list first."

As he spoke, Asakusa Toru pulled out a printed list that Ichinose Honami had prepared for him.

The complete list of the twelve groups.

"To put it bluntly, I basically know the pattern schools use to select VIP," he said. "It's stupid, but also very simple, so simple that knowing it makes you wonder if the schools didn't even use their brains."

"There's no need to worry about whether the VIP in Class D will hide."

Asakusa Toru raised his Personal Terminal and casually sent a few messages.

The next moment, everyone's Personal Terminal began to vibrate.

[The Horse Group's exam is over. Horse Group students do not need to take any further exams. Please be careful and do not disturb other students.]

"Consider it evidence. I just finished the Special Exam for the Horse Group, and the Horse Group's VIP is Nan Bofu from Class D."

Asakusa Toru raised his Personal Terminal and made this announcement.

Ryuen Kakeru: "?!"

Ibuki Mio: "?!"

Kamuro Masumi: "?!"

Except for Kushida Kikyo, who showed an expression of complete surprise, the other three all wore expressions of astonishment.

Ryuen Kakeru could understand that Asakusa Toru could see through the school's thinking and analyze the selection pattern of the VIP.

But, but, isn't this too fast?

It's only 10 o'clock!

The exam rules were announced yesterday, and the list of VIP was only confirmed this morning. He even took the time at 8:00 AM to collect everyone's phones to verify the list of VIP in each class.

In less than two hours, he had already identified all the VIP.

That's really... way too much.

It was just as outrageous as the first day of school, so outrageous that it made one wonder if he didn't even need to take the exam, and could just glance at the rules and know how to play.

But perhaps this is the Asakusa Toru.

At least in Ryuen Kakeru's ears, the name already carried that much weight.

Ryuen Kakeru was initially surprised but then came to terms with it, while Kamuro Masumi was completely baffled.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at Kushida Kikyo beside her.

The student VIP was from Class D. Is it possible that this student told Kushida Kikyo about it, and Kushida Kikyo then leaked the name to Asakusa Toru?

"It wasn't me who said that~" Kushida Kikyo shook her head with a smile. "I haven't received a single message from any other classmates yet."

"Wow, it seems they're really not trusted at all."

She sighed and shook her head, but seemed to show no regret whatsoever.

That's how Class D is; everyone has different thoughts, and the moment they receive a text message, different ideas arise.

Even if it were to tell her about her VIP status, she would hesitate and agonize over it before considering telling someone she trusts.

For them, the class is always secondary.

Kamuro Masumi: "???"

Didn't you reveal it?

Kushida Kikyo had no reason to lie under these circumstances, so--

Kamuro Masumi turned her head and looked directly at Asakusa Toru.

Is this guy really that terrifying?!

"Anyway, do you believe me now? If you need me to prove myself again, I'll end this one."

Asakusa Toru casually uttered some rather terrifying words.

Ryuen Kakeru: "..."

After a moment of silence, Ryuen Kakeru finally spoke:

"Message me privately and tell me the name of one of the VIP."

He had already completely believed it, but he still needed to give the others an explanation.

So, Asakusa Toru simply switched to Ryuen Kakeru's chat window.