It's Only Natural for White Scenes to Appear in the White Room, Right?

"Is Class A really that important?"

Sakayanagi Arisu, peering in from outside the door, sighed softly. She watched the increasingly hysterical atmosphere in the classroom just a wall away and nudged Kitagawa Ryo with her elbow.

"Hey, how will Liang choose?"

"This is not a decision that one person can make."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, his gaze settling on Tomoda face was contorted with struggle.

"As United States psychologist Philip said, there are many factors that turn ordinary people into evil people, one of which is anonymization and depersonalization, and of course, group pressure."

"In this situation, the role of the Leader will be reduced to a minimum."

As expected, Tomoda seemed to lean more towards the opposition, finally stood up and said that everyone could choose to support it, because even though the opposition still seemed to have the upper hand, the supporters could no longer be persuaded.

This is not a game of the minority obeying the majority, but a game of those who can be persuaded obeying those who cannot be persuaded.

But the second question immediately follows.

[Who should be expelled?]

The classroom fell silent again. Everyone was cautiously peering at each other, at Tomoda, afraid of hearing their names mentioned.

But, to everyone's surprise, Tomoda, the Leader of Class 3-B who had guided them all the way, suddenly smiled with relief and said his name:

"Everyone, please vote for me. I'll just drop out of school."

No one spoke.

At this moment, no one dared to speak up to comfort or apologize, as if speaking would immediately lead to being asked to replace Tomoda.

Perhaps it was only at this moment that they realized that while they might indeed be very sad, what they really hoped for was to be promoted to Class A.

Because it involved his own interests.

All resources at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School are reserved for students in Class A, resulting in a 100% university entrance rate and employment rate...

"Don't feel sorry for me, this is the best choice for the class."

Tomoda was still trying his best to liven up the atmosphere.

When the voting time arrived, everyone, while feeling apologetic, cast their votes for Tomoda without hesitation.

This is Tomoda's wish, and all we can do now is fulfill it.

He uglyly comforted himself, masking his sophisticated egoism.

But the result surprised everyone.

[For: 33 votes. Against: 1 vote.]

There is opposition.

As if they had suddenly found an outlet, the boys began to shout loudly:

Who exactly is it?

"There's nothing we can do."

"Tomoda himself said he was willing."

"Let's not waste everyone's time and Tomoda's good intentions, okay?"

Ten minutes passed noisily but without any resolution.

Let's vote again.

[For: 33 votes. Against: 1 vote]

Like a nail piercing everyone's eyes, in this moment of righteous indignation, a girl whispered that she had seen Tomoda confess to Chabashira Sae the day before.

All eyes turned to Chabashira Sae, who was sitting there with a pale face, including her best friend Hoshinomiya Chie.

Their eyes were filled with questioning and incomprehension:

"Hey, is this Chabashira?"

"I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do. We've already decided to expel him."

Various opinions came from all directions.

But Chabashira Sae, with her eyes closed and hands clenched, still chose to object.

"Tomoda! Why don't you try to talk to your girlfriend?"

One of the girls couldn't take it anymore and screamed at the top of her lungs.

But Tomoda just shook his head. Considering that the other party had voluntarily agreed to drop out of school, no one else could force them to do anything more.

"Throw the Chabashira out."

"Since she's so eager to keep her boyfriend, let's just let her replace Tomoda."

I think it's fine.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the students in Class 3-B began to change their approach.

"Hey, Chabashira, if you don't want Tomoda to drop out of school, how about you drop out yourself?"

Chabashira Sae glanced at Tomoda with pursed lips, recalling the Confessions at dusk yesterday, and nodded without fear.

She felt like a knight protecting a princess in a story, filled with self-pity and courage. Chabashira Sae thought this was love.

[For: 33 votes. Against: 1 vote.]

But Chabashira Sae is still not out of the running.

This time, it was Tomoda voted against it.

Amidst the frustrated, indignant, and painful shouts of the students in Class 3-B, Chabashira Sae felt as if she were seeing Don Quixote charging at the windmill.

This association is nonsensical, like the unanswerable question of why a crow resembles a writing desk.

Even when her best friend Hoshinomiya Chie, rushed up and angrily grabbed her front, Chabashira Sae didn't sense anything unusual.

She could no longer hear any questions or pleas; she simply turned her gaze to Tomoda and then devoutly pressed the "oppose" button again and again.

Oppose, oppose, oppose, oppose...

Class 3-B faced the end of their time in despair.

All students took the exam together, Class 3-B failed and had 300 Class Points deducted.

"Completely incomprehensible."

After watching the whole thing Sakayanagi Arisu looked confused.

"Is this what they mean by turning both people into idiots when you're in a relationship?"

Kitagawa Ryo, who also found the show utterly disappointing, spoke up in a rather dull tone:

"Intense, passionate feelings are not proof of love; they only indicate how lonely and bored those men and women were beforehand."

"After this incident Chabashira Sae and Tomoda can no longer be together."

"So, what do you think is the proof of love?"

Sakayanagi Arisu leaned in and whispered in Kitagawa Ryo's ear.

"... How would I know?"

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at his right hand, which was being held by Sakayanagi Arisu, and repeated it in a low voice:

How would I know?

Chapter 111: It's normal for white scenes to appear in White Room, right?

"I've figured out a way to pass the last challenge."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu stepped out of the school building, he heard the girl next to him clap her hands, a look of realization crossing her eyes.

"What?"

With great interest, Kitagawa Ryo asked a question. It was also the first time he had encountered such Special Exam with "Unanimous Vote." From his perspective, if Class D in reality encountered such an exam, they would probably also be in a tough situation.

This is not a problem that an excellent Leader can solve on his own. As the one who brought Class 3-B to this point, Tomoda is definitely a student with outstanding overall qualities. Class 3-B did indeed seem united before this Special Exam, but in the end, they still ended up with such a tragic fate.

Anything that becomes anonymous is bound to produce bizarre and unbelievable phenomena. This Special Exam, Unanimous Vote, was no exception. Selfishness and exclusivity allowed emotions that are usually buried in one's heart to run rampant in the anonymous environment.

Even Kitagawa Ryo himself couldn't say he truly understood the thoughts and feelings of every student in the class. Each person was a variable, and that was the real challenge of the Unanimous Special Exam.

Ultimately, it's the art of compromise.

Sakayanagi Arisu understood this as well, and while recalling the scene she had just witnessed, she slowly began to explain:

"Actually, the problem we just discussed can only have three possible outcomes."

"First, if one student successfully withdraws from the program, the Unanimous Vote exam and receive a total of 150 Class Points."

"Second, those who choose not to drop out, pass the Unanimous Vote, and obtain fifty basic Class Points."

"Third, if one student withdraws and the attempt fails, or if no Unanimous Vote, 300 Class Points will be deducted."

"Based solely on the benefits of Class Points, one is greater than two, which is greater than three."

"None of the students in Class 3-B wanted to achieve outcome three, so the only disagreement was whether to achieve outcome one or two, which is where the initial controversy began."

"Tomoda was initially an opponent aiming for result two, but he couldn't withstand the psychological pressure and ultimately chose to compromise, hoping to achieve the class's desired result one by dropping out of school."

Sakayanagi Arisu paused here, turned around and glanced back, then shook her head and said:

"However, he underestimated the presence of his newly dating girlfriend in the class, leading the two into a perplexing decision of mutual insurance, which ultimately resulted in outcome three."

"From Tomoda's perspective, the opposition would ultimately have to compromise with the pros, which is why he used his position as the class Leader to steer the outcome in that direction early on."

"But actually that's not the case."

"He overlooked another important factor in this process of negotiation and compromise."

"Do you know which one Liang is referring to?"

Sakayanagi Arisu turned around with her hands behind her back and asked with a smile.

"Nobody wanted to achieve outcome three, Tomoda overlooked this factor."

Kitagawa Ryo understood the crux of the problem after a slight reminder from Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Yes, that's it."

"The second outcome is less profitable than the first outcome, so someone will definitely want to pursue the first outcome."

"But actually, the benefits, or rather the costs, of outcome three are the most severe, and that's everyone's bottom line."

Sakayanagi Arisu raised her small face confidently and said:

"If I were Tomoda, I would drag this out indefinitely and resolutely oppose voting for any one person."

"If we can drag the vote out until the final round, everyone will only be able to choose option two, because Class 3-B cannot accept option three. By then, even those students who wanted to vote for one person will have to obediently vote against it. There won't be time for them to vote again to select the dropout."

"That is indeed one approach."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in affirmation, but he quickly retorted:

"But that's just 'Tomoda's' method; Arisu should have his own way of doing things."

"Does Ryo really think I'm the kind of Leader would sacrifice someone for the sake of Class Points?"

Sakayanagi Arisu answered the question with a question, staring into Kitagawa Ryo's dark pupils, as if trying to find an answer within them.

"Arisu will probably do the same thing as me."

Kitagawa Ryo folded his hands together, his expression calm:

"Because ultimately, [dropping out] and [Class A] are, for us..."

"It's never been a huge deal."

"Although it sounds cruel, just like our show over the past few months, it's all just creating a carnival atmosphere."

The Special Exam for third graders was over, and more and more third graders walked out of the classroom, hurriedly discussing the results of the Special Exam with each other.

Incredibly, Class 3-A actually gave up one student and chose 100 Class Points instead. Everyone gathered together to comfort the student who was chosen to drop out, and many girls shed sentimental tears.

"We are so sorry! Even after graduation, we will remember your kindness."

At the Cultural Festival, Izumiya, the Leader Class 3-A who was organizing a quiz competition and selling past exam papers, bowed sincerely to the person in the middle.