Horikita thought she had found the right answer, and she felt rather proud of herself.
Unfortunately, there was another smart person in the Dragon Group.
Katsuragi, who had always adhered to a policy of silence, had been observing Horikita and Ryuuen's conversation from the sidelines. Something was off. Ryuuen seemed completely unconcerned about whether his scheme would succeed.
That was the flaw—a flaw Ryuuen had deliberately exposed. He wanted to use this exam to temper Horikita's somewhat arrogant nature.
That was right.
Horikita was somewhat arrogant, or rather, self-righteous. Her grades were exceptionally good, her Physical Ability was also strong, and she had achieved fairly good results in the Uninhabited Island Exam.
That was why she had developed the illusion that she could earn a huge number of points in the Benefactor Exam and escape Ryuuen.
What Ryuuen wanted was to arrange a complete failure for her. A momentary victory would not bring about change; the lessons of failure were far more memorable.
In this Benefactor Exam, Ryuuen intended to make Class D earn nothing and lose 150 Class Points, forcing them to give back all the Class Points they had earned in the Uninhabited Island Exam.
However, Katsuragi had not completely seen through Ryuuen. He had indeed noticed Ryuuen's flaw earlier than Horikita had, and where benefits were concerned, he stood on Horikita's side. Thus, Katsuragi decided to remind Horikita at this moment.
"I never expected Suzuki Eijun to be someone who liked cats." Katsuragi spoke. Ryuuen was rather surprised, but quickly understood why he had done so.
"Ah, haha, I've liked cats since I was little." Suzuki Eijun explained, scratching his head.
"Is that so? Then what breed is the cat on your phone wallpaper? I don't know much about cats either, but the one on your wallpaper looks quite cute." Katsuragi had become more talkative, and more aggressive. It seemed that when their interests were threatened, even turtles would bite.
"Uh, just an ordinary cat." Suzuki Eijun did not know what breed the cat on the wallpaper was.
Idiot, Ryuuen cursed inwardly.
Katsuragi had set a trap for Suzuki Eijun the moment he spoke. He had not asked Suzuki why he had changed to that kitten wallpaper; instead, he had stated with certainty that Suzuki liked cats.
If Suzuki had denied liking cats and said he merely liked the wallpaper, Katsuragi would not have pressed him about the cat's breed. Yet Suzuki Eijun had said that he had liked cats since childhood. Katsuragi dug a pit for him, and he jumped right into it without hesitation.
Horikita glanced at Katsuragi in surprise. This silent man would not say so much without reason, and at the same time, she noticed that something was wrong with Suzuki Eijun.
"That isn't your phone." Horikita made that judgment.
The situation had turned once again, but the group members were not focused on Ryuuen, the true culprit. What concerned them more was whose phone Suzuki Eijun was holding—who the phone with the kitten wallpaper actually belonged to.
Only five minutes remained before the exam ended.
Time trickled away second by second. Ryuuen could see the anxiety on Horikita and Katsuragi's faces. Delighted by their misfortune, he ordered every Class C student to place their phones before Horikita, including the phone with the kitten wallpaper. "The answer is right in front of you."
Ryuuen was digging another trap.
Ryuuen had previously told all the group members that the Benefactor was in Class C. Of the Class C members present, aside from Ryuuen and Suzuki Eijun, only one girl remained: Kinoshita Minori.
The phone with the kitten wallpaper most likely belonged to Kinoshita. However, Horikita could not make that judgment, because she could no longer be sure whether Ryuuen had lied to her. Once bitten by a snake, she feared even a well rope for ten years. Horikita retreated and looked at Katsuragi. "Who do you think the Benefactor is?"
Ryuuen curled his lips. She had improved a little. At a time like this, the most correct course was to pass the buck. When she could not determine right from wrong and could not bear the risk, she should transfer that risk to someone else.
The answer was obvious. If Katsuragi had to make the judgment, he could only choose Kinoshita. Whether Katsuragi or Horikita made that choice, if they were right, everyone would be happy; if they were wrong, all they would receive was the resentment and disappointment of their classmates.
Horikita gave Katsuragi the chance to identify the Benefactor. Naturally, Katsuragi saw through her intention. "Since this was your proposal, Horikita, it would be better for you to make the judgment yourself."
"Tch, now you're playing turtle again." Horikita gritted her teeth. This was the first time Ryuuen had seen such an expression on her face.
Katsuragi's face twitched. It was one thing for Ryuuen to call him a turtle, but why was Horikita calling him that now too?
"There are only two minutes left before the exam ends," Ryuuen reminded Horikita.
"I know." Horikita's voice sounded angry and anxious.
Time was tight, but in truth, Ryuuen had given Horikita only one choice. She could only guess that Kinoshita was the Benefactor, unless Horikita crossed the line now and searched through the phones' private information to determine the Benefactor's true identity.
If Horikita really did that, then even if the Dragon Group truly achieved Result One, they would not feel any gratitude toward her. Instead, they would become even more wary and disgusted with her. After all, no one would thank a peeping tom.
Just then, Horikita's phone rang. Someone had sent her an anonymous message:
"Horikita, Ryuuen from Class C deleted all the Benefactor messages sent by the school from his class. Also, based on my deduction, the Benefactor in your Dragon Group is Kanzaki Ryuuji from Class B."
This message was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue, but it was also Horikita's lifeline. She did not know who had sent it anonymously, but with time running out, she had no time to think. Instinctively, she assumed the anonymous sender was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"You people from Class C deleted all the Benefactor messages!" Horikita demanded of Ryuuen.
"You actually found out. That's a little unexpected." Ryuuen rubbed his chin, putting on a troubled expression.
"The Benefactor is Kanzaki Ryuuji!" Horikita declared with certainty.
At the same time, the people from Class A and Class D picked up their phones and entered Kanzaki Ryuuji's name.
Ryuuen toyed with the phone in his hand. "Suzune, didn't you question whether that message was real?"
"You tricked me!" Horikita realized belatedly. Ayanokouji had no reason to send her an anonymous message. Even if he did, he would not have sent it two minutes before the exam ended. That was completely unlike Ayanokouji's style. Ayanokouji always made thorough preparations.
Kanzaki Ryuuji was a fake Benefactor.
But there was no room to turn things around anymore, because the exam had ended.
It was clear from Horikita's dejected appearance that she had been hit hard. Throughout this exam, Ryuuen had toyed with her. From beginning to end, she had never touched upon the correct answer.
Ryuuen walked over to Horikita and patted her shoulder. "Sometimes the answer isn't that important. The process isn't important either. What we have always pursued is the result."
"You never intended to let me win." Horikita looked up at Ryuuen.
Ryuuen snapped his fingers. "You've finally discovered the key to the problem. If I don't want you to win, you won't win. So what if you guessed the Benefactor correctly? I would still deliberately enter the wrong answer and bring about Result Two. Too bad you couldn't even guess the Benefactor right."
"Why? What does that do for you? You didn't gain anything from achieving Result Two." Horikita still did not understand Ryuuen's motive.
"Sometimes, compared with gaining things for yourself, watching others lose them is more pleasing to the body and mind." Ryuuen patted Horikita's little head.
"Besides, I didn't lose out. Didn't this make the little cook work for me for another semester? Or are you planning to break the agreement?"
Horikita slapped Ryuuen's hand away. The people from Class A and Class D all wore bitter expressions. They were the ones who had suffered the most in this exam.
The Benefactor Exam had ended, and the result was beyond everyone's expectations.
Before you continue