Sakayanagi Was Thoroughly Defeated

"I never expected this Special Exam to come to this."

Sakayanagi walked onto the platform, leaning on her cane, and grinned at Ayanokoji across the table.

Ayanokoji made no reply to Sakayanagi's attempt to strike up a conversation.

"In a one-on-one match, a coin toss will determine the order of play. The winner may choose whether to go first or second."

The referee came onto the platform with two new decks of cards. After checking them, the referee handed one to Sakayanagi and the other to Ayanokoji.

"Staying silent at a time like this isn't a good habit. I'm calling heads."

I could tell what Sakayanagi really meant: I'm going to beat you head-on.

"Tails."

Ayanokoji didn't want to say a word. Later, he told his Class D classmates that Horikita had taught him that tactic.

"The coin landed heads. Sakayanagi Arisu of Class A may choose the order of play."

"I'll go first."

There wasn't much room for fancy tricks in a one-on-one match. Often, the outcome of the first three rounds could decide the whole game.

"Ayanokoji, do you think the card you play in the first round matters?"

Sakayanagi rested her hand on a black card but didn't press it down. Instead, she tried to put pressure on Ayanokoji with her words, hoping to read something from his expression.

"No response? It seems my attacks aren't working, either."

Seeing that the boy in front of her hadn't reacted at all, his face still perfectly impassive, Sakayanagi sighed.

"My card is an 8. Your turn."

Sakayanagi chose a 6. Now it was Ayanokoji's turn to play.

In a one-on-one game like this, playing a 1 right away and giving away a point was a terrible choice.

It was like military chess: if you sacrificed a small piece at the start just to save your stronger pieces for later, all you could do was gamble on an unlikely upset, like having a double bomb on one flank happen to meet a powerful attack.

If you charged straight in with your strongest piece, it might be taken out by a division commander backed by a bomb. Then your opponent could work out where your bombs were, leaving you unable to make a move.

In the end, you still had to fall back on a conventional formation, gathering information before clashing with your opponent.

The situation in this exam was even more extreme.

Each player had only nine cards. The first to reach five points would definitely win, while reaching four didn't necessarily mean defeat. Even three points could still be enough. So the first move tested your courage and decisiveness.

You had to try to guess your opponent's limit, using the lowest possible card to beat an even lower one. That would give you the most information while also letting you establish an early lead.

After thinking briefly, Ayanokoji played a safe card: a 5. He hadn't come up here intending to win. If he won this time, he wouldn't be able to avoid the next similar situation, either. That was something he'd learned during this period.

"Results: Sakayanagi Arisu wins. The score between Classes A and D is 1–0, with Class A in the lead. Sakayanagi Arisu will play first in the next round."

"So Ayanokoji, the card you played wasn't a 9 after all. Would you like more time to think this round?"

There was no time limit, so in theory, the players could take as long as they wanted to play their cards.

"What a shame. If Ayanokoji had played a 9, you'd be in the lead now. You wouldn't even trade a 9 for an 8. You certainly have a big appetite, Ayanokoji."

Sakayanagi pointed at one of the white cards in the slot in front of Ayanokoji.

It didn't matter whether the white card Sakayanagi had picked out was a 9 or not. Psychological warfare should never affect you yourself.

Ayanokoji kept his poker face, privately grumbling to himself. He'd figured that if he went up there, said nothing, and just got on with the exam, he'd be able to end it quickly. But his opponent wasn't playing along. The quieter he stayed, the more relentless her attacks became, even though they had no effect on him at all.

"Ayanokoji, which card do you think matters more: the one you played in the first round, or the one you're about to play now?

"My card is an 8. My hand is different from yours; I still have another 8. Your turn."

Sakayanagi chose another black card in the second round and again declared that it was an 8.

Ayanokoji still didn't respond to her. He chose a black 6.

"Results: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wins. The score between Classes A and D is tied at 1–1. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka will play first in the next round."

"An excellent counterattack. Ayanokoji, you made the right choice. It's a shame you're mute."

By now, Sakayanagi had more or less figured out what Ayanokoji was trying to do. So in the third round, she changed her strategy and chose a 3.

Ayanokoji chose a 2 without the slightest hesitation.

"Results: Sakayanagi Arisu wins. The score between Classes A and D is 2–1, with Class A in the lead. Sakayanagi Arisu will play first in the next round."

"Well? Ayanokoji, did you figure out my plan from the card I played last round?"

Sakayanagi was now certain that Ayanokoji had seen through her pattern of play after just one round.

To deliberately lose to her, he had chosen to play the same card she had played in the previous round.

That was why his 2 lost to her 3 in the third round.

"Results: Sakayanagi Arisu wins. The score between Classes A and D is 4–2, with Class A in the lead. Sakayanagi Arisu will play first in the next round."

After the sixth round, both players had used all their cards from 1 to 6. Each had only a 7, an 8, and a 9 remaining.

"Trying to win this way is a little insulting."

Ayanokoji was now guaranteed not to lose. Sakayanagi had already lost to him in the second round.

Sakayanagi had won the match, and no matter how she played the remaining three rounds, her score could be no lower than four, while Ayanokoji's could reach no higher than three.

But in their exchange, Ayanokoji had already won the second round, right after losing the first. Sakayanagi hadn't caught on until after the second round, at the start of the third.

If she'd played a 5 in the second round to break the pattern, they could have kept fighting. But she was one step too slow. Ayanokoji had shown her what he could do while still achieving his own goal of not winning.

"Results: The match is tied. The score between Classes A and D is 4–2, with Class A in the lead. This match is over.

"Class 1-A has won first place in this Special Exam and will receive 50 Class Points and 1,000,000 personal points.

"Class 1-D has taken second place in this Special Exam and will receive 500,000 personal points.

"Class 1-C has taken third place in this Special Exam.

"Class 1-B has taken fourth place in this Special Exam and will be penalized 50 Class Points."

After the match ended, Sakayanagi didn't feel happy.

Playing against someone who was like a machine was no fun at all. Teasing Kamuro was more entertaining.