Volume 4, Chapter 2: A Vast Array of Thoughts Part 5

Once I got back to my room, it was already late and I collapsed on the bed without talking with anyone. Once it was close to 00:00, I thought I'd go to sleep but then I heard a noise. It was Hirata who was staring at me anxiously. Yukimura too, was sitting in the sofa installed in our room. "Good work out there, Ayanokouji-kun. You're quite late" he said to me. "Yeah. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something Hirata" I tell him. "You must be tired, but if you're ok with just a while, I'd like to ask you something" Hirata tells me the exact same thing at the same time as me. "Hmm? You wanted to ask me something too?" Hirata asks me.

"No, I'll listen to you first, Hirata. My question is just something trivial". Yukimura also looks like he wants to ask something, probably something related to the exam at hand. If I refuse to listen now, the mood in the room would get awkward. Changing into my jersey, I walk over to the two of them. Hirata moves slightly a bit to give me space to sit on the sofa as well. I wanted to ask Hirata if he had any information on the person known as Sakayanagi but there's no problem listening to him first.

"I got asked for consultation on the exam from Yukimura-kun, so I thought I'd report it to you as well" Hirata tells me. "I did say not to include you to not disturb you, though" he added. I suppose Kouenji in the same room as us would not be interested in such talk after all. "Sorry Hirata Boy, I am currently perfecting my physical beauty" was what Kouenji said. Kouenji, with a naked upper body, was repeatedly doing push ups in the room. He seemed to be sweating quite a bit but that did not seem to affect him at all.

It's not something an ordinary high school student would be capable of. But is Kouenji even properly participating in this exam, I thought. Hirata answered as if knowing my exact thoughts. "Kouenji-kun is actually participating in the groups. After all, points do get deducted if he does not show up" Hirata offered.

"I actually received word from my friends that two of our classmates have been assigned as the "target" you know" Hirata tells me. "What? That means---". "I can't tell you though, they only told me because they trusted me" Hirata shot us down. "Are you saying you don't trust us, Hirata? If you know, I also have the right to know. Also, if we know who the "target" is we might be able to get a hint to clear the exam better. Besides, it's only natural that as fellow classmates, we share information with each other" Yukimura said that to Hirata. "Yeah....that's why I also thought to consult you on it...the truth is" Hirata said. That's why he wanted to talk to us like this, he already knew who some of the "targets" were.

"Hey Hirata, it might be better for you to tell us via phone just in case. There's no telling who's sniffing around where" I told him. "You're right, give me a moment" Hirata told us. Hirata then turned on his phone and flipped it in our direction. And two names were written there. Kushida of the (Dragon) group and Minami of the (Horse) group. These were the identities of two "targets".

"I got it" Yukimura said that without giving anything else away. Since Kushida is the "target", we might be in the advantage in the extremely contested (Dragon) group. But the fact that the "target" is from our class is also a scary thought. It would have been best if the "target" happened to be in another class. "Don't worry, everything's going well" Hirata assured me with a confident face. The three members of the (Dragon) group from Class D are all capable people who wouldn't betray their identity no matter what, he seemed to be saying. "Even in the (Rabbit) group, each class should have an equal probability of getting the "target" amongst them. But I think Class D could have three "targets", one in the (Rabbit) group who should be keeping their identity hidden right now".

"Yeah. Yukimura-kun's idea is correct. Perhaps they've consulted someone else instead of me is all. After all, consulting someone on their identity could increase the risk of being discovered" Hirata says. While we were having a serious discussion, Kouenji started to sing from across the room. Having been patient for a while, it seems Yukimura finally lost patience with Kouenji after hearing his humming that would seemingly last forever.

"Kouenji, can you stop humming that annoying song? And I won't tell you to do it seriously but at least see this exam through to the end. Don't suddenly retire like you did on the island test" Yukimura rebuked Kouenji. "It couldn't be helped, back then my body was in ill shape, I can't do the impossible" Kouenji simply replied. "Geh...it's just a fake illness". "But to think the exam will continue on for two more days, it sounds troublesome indeed" Kouenji who continued his push ups said that before getting up back on his feet and putting his towel on the bed.

"Troublesome? You're not even thinking about the exam properly" Yukimura accused Kouenji. "There's no meaning in continuing an uninteresting exam, it's just a simple quiz to find the liar after all" Kouenji told him. Kouenji then took out his phone and fiddled with it for a while. Then suddenly, all our phones rang at once and we received a mail from the school. "Kouenji, what did you do?" Yukimura cried out at Kouenji. Then me and Hirata both rushed to check the mail in our phones. It said "The (Monkey) group's test has ended. Students from the (Monkey) group are no longer required to participate. Please be careful not to disturb the other students".

"The (Monkey) group is yours, Kouenji!". "Exactly. Now I have my freedom back. Adieu" Kouenji simply said before throwing away his cell phone and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving us all in shock.

"D-don't fuck around! We're all doing our best and that guy---!". "We don't know yet, perhaps he did something...". "That's impossible, he's just doing it to be free as soon as possible". We all reacted to this news. I myself don't think Kouenji ever took the exam seriously. However, he is extremely perceptive and his observation ability is remarkable. If what he said about the exam "find the liar" is true, he may excel at it. Kouenji's actions became known to all the students as Hirata's phone started chirping relentlessly with messages flooding in.

The chat was overflowing with the voices of students who were surprised at the news. I'm sure Katsuragi, Ryuuen and Ichinose would also be surprised by this. No one must have expected a 'traitor' would appear on the very first day of the exam. Horikita has also sent a message to my phone. "Sorry. Things seem confusing. I'll call you now" was the message. "Shit. Thanks to Kouenji, things have escalated beyond a simple discussion". "I'm going out for a bit". It seems Yukimura won't be able to sleep after being irritated like that by Kouenji's actions. Having confirmed the discussion's flow has died down, I quietly left the room.

Although Kouenji's actions have ended one group's exam, I cannot keep on dwelling on this forever. Honestly, my actions would be limited in this exam. Even if I plan it out, it would be difficult to guide all the remaining groups to victory for Class D. You could even call it an impossible task. If all the students worked together hand-in-hand it would be possible, but that is not happening.

And I cannot interfere with another group's answer using my own phone. There are other methods but there's no time and the stakes are high. If I had information that could completely overturn the tables that's another matter. The ones holding the key to that are Class D's Hirata and Kushida. "This is impossible". There are three more days including the holidays. What's impossible is impossible after all.

Even if I gain both of their absolute cooperation, I still don't have enough eyes and ears on my side. I cannot know what is happening in the discussions of every group there is. Of course, including Horikita and Sakura, there might still be a possibility left. As expected, I need more eyes and ears on my side for this exam.