It felt like Houtarou was becoming more like Arisu. That girl had said similar things to her before.
She had said, "Kamuro-san, I hope you won't make any real friends at school. Once you treat others as true friends, you probably won't be able to spend time with me anymore. I know it's an unreasonable request, but I hope you can do it."
If she knew it was unreasonable, she shouldn't have asked in the first place.
Besides, Masumi didn't think she would have any true friends anyway.
"I'm going to borrow some books." Houtarou said as he stood up, "Would you like anything to read?"
"No thanks."
Masumi felt her current academic ability was sufficient.
She had discovered that people have limits. Even with Arisu tutoring her constantly, after reaching 80 points, gaining just a few more points became incredibly difficult.
"Besides, I don't think students should study all the time." She said.
"I agree." Houtarou shared this sentiment, "It's best to study efficiently, then not need any review afterward. That's why I never do homework."
"..." A student who studied 10 hours every day looked at them wordlessly.
"Horikita-san, don't be lazy." Houtarou said.
They were in a specially paid-for private room.
He had Masumi collect the group lists for all 12 groups. After marking the privileged students from Classes A and D, he had Suzune start deducing.
In other words, he was having the lone girl work on deducing the pattern of privileged students to figure out Class B and C's privileged student information.
To get all students to follow the 40 Million Plan, they absolutely needed to obtain the privileged student identities from all classes. Once their own class's privileged student information was leaked, they would have no choice but to comply.
Otherwise, it would lead to the worst outcome — privileged student information being exposed and the exam forcibly ending.
Of course, to intimidate Honami and the stubborn Kakeru, they needed to obtain their classes' privileged student information too.
Class B couldn't afford to lose. They were very united. Having already been infiltrated by spies during the island exam, they would be on guard.
And since Kakeru also couldn't afford to lose, the spies that Class A had arranged before were now useless. He would desperately protect his class's privileged student information.
So they could only deduce it through patterns.
Masumi had sent the known privileged student information and complete group lists to Arisu this morning.
Unfortunately, Arisu wouldn't arrive at the school gate to receive the information and make regular contact until 6 PM. She probably wouldn't be able to start deducing patterns until then either.
Was having Suzune deduce patterns now meant to find out the pattern early?
No. Rather, Houtarou felt the lone girl wouldn't be able to figure it out in just one afternoon. This was just to let her experience failure.
His assessment was simple: Kakeru was unruly, and Suzune was stubborn.
During the previous written exam, instead of studying the test papers, he had reviewed all versions of first-year textbooks from the past decade. He got a perfect score.
After Suzune found out, she borrowed all the same books he had borrowed. Here on the ship, she was studying hard.
Studying... She probably couldn't accept that he usually didn't study yet still got perfect scores. Because of this, she increased her study time from 10 hours daily to 13-14 hours, until her body gave out. She caught a cold and got sick.
That was his fault.
And while Suzune was very stubborn, now faced with this special exam and the 40 Million Plan, she had somewhat restrained herself. So she didn't study today.
But it would probably be the same afterward. Her body definitely wouldn't be able to handle it.
Regular persuasion wouldn't work on her either. So considering this, Houtarou prepared to let Suzune taste failure. Her afternoon of deduction wouldn't match up to Arisu's half hour.
The three hardest things in life: my parents are ordinary, I am ordinary, and my children are ordinary. Understanding yourself, knowing your limits, then finding what suits you.
Maximizing efficiency — that's what's most energy-efficient, Suzune.
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Lost in these philosophical thoughts, Houtarou arrived at the library.
The ship's library offered a wide selection of books. While textbooks were available, foreign classics dominated the shelves. Unlike the school library, this one carried more current titles.
Popular light novels like [Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami], [Surprise! I've Transmigrated Again!] and [Pokémon: My Mom is a Gardevoir] lined the shelves.
Though not much of a reader himself, Houtarou viewed reading as a means of gaining knowledge. Yet some knowledge, he figured, wasn't worth acquiring.
His real purpose for coming here was to meet someone.
"Have you been waiting long?"
Houtarou approached the bookshelf labeled J.
A girl stood there, peering up at the books as if searching for one to take. Her pink hair was tied in two large, somewhat old-fashioned pigtails, and she wore pink-framed glasses.
"Ah... um…um… no." She stammered.
She was quite cute.
This was Airi. During the island exam, it had become clear she was a top-class beauty who could rival Suzune. She'd revealed to Houtarou that she had worked as a model — a profession where beauty was essential.
While Arisu had compared Airi to Houtarou's pet dog kept in another class, he saw her more as a hamster: timid, introverted, yet endearing.
"I feel bad making you come out during afternoon break." He said.
"No, no, no." Airi waved her hands frantically, "Oreki-kun, you let me take those photos before, and then Yamauchi and the others suddenly forfeited and returned to the ship. They haven't harassed me at all today — I'm so grateful. It must have been thanks to you."
Ah. So she was here to return the favor.
No need for pleasantries, then.
"Actually, I called you here because I wanted to learn something about Karuizawa." Houtarou said.
Her behavior in the Rabbit Group that morning had caught his attention.
She had pretended not to know him, as if hiding something. He suspected she might be facing troubles but didn't want to burden him.
Through his Precognitive Dream, he knew about Kei's past — how other girls had bullied her for her cute appearance.
Though he had saved her, that experience had left her heart fragile and sensitive. Now she wore a facade to protect herself.
Since this was the path she chose, Houtarou resolved to protect her from the shadows. If problems arose, he would handle them.
"Karuizawa… you mean Kei Karuizawa?" Airi asked, her left hand shrinking slightly.
While she disliked stalkers, her own behavior sometimes showed stalker-like tendencies.
Being timid and sensitive to others' gazes, with a naturally weak presence, she was well-suited for gathering information.
"Yes." He nodded, "Has anything happened to her in class recently? Or any friction with other classes?"
"In our class... it seems the boys dislike her, and she dislikes those boys too, I also dislike..." Airi said hesitantly.
That made sense. After all, when Class D students first enrolled, they'd had to do that ranking exercise — it was natural to harbor some ill feelings.
At least, Houtarou doubted students from his class would confront her directly.
"But these things seem pretty normal." She continued, "However, the day before we came here for the exam, when I was taking selfies at the shopping street..."
Taking selfies at the shopping street? For someone supposedly shy?
Houtarou kept his thoughts to himself and listened.
"Then I saw Karuizawa in line at the bubble tea shop. She stepped away briefly, but when she returned, a Class C student accused her of cutting in line. She acted strangely." Airi said, "At first, she seemed ready to apologize and queue again. But after Maya Satō entered the store, she refused to apologize.
She insisted she'd been in line before and had only stepped away momentarily. The Class C girl, seeming quite fragile, ran away crying. I remembered it because Karuizawa's sudden change in attitude caught my attention."
Ah. Houtarou understood why Kei's reactions had been inconsistent.
Her gyaru persona was merely an act — a facade for protection. As the leader of the gyaru group, she had to maintain her tough image in front of other gyaru.
As for that Class C girl...
"Do you remember what she looked like?" Houtarou pulled out his phone.
He messaged Shiho from Class C, whom they had tricked during the store opening.
Shortly after, he received a photo of her with her friends.
The photo showed four girls: Shiho, along with today's Rabbit Group members Nanami and Saki, plus one timid-looking girl who resembled Chihiro from Class B.
"That's her—" Airi pointed immediately, "I think her name is Rika."
That explained it.
Kei must have felt she'd caused trouble but didn't want to burden him, hence keeping her distance.
But how would she handle this on her own? Her current attitude was just an act.
"Well, thank you for today, Sakura-san." Houtarou said gratefully.
"Um, I'm glad I could help. But... Um..." Airi seemed hesitant about something, "Oreki-kun, you're asking about Karuizawa because..."
"I met her in middle school."
"So she's your ex-girlfriend?" Airi asked eagerly.
Hmm. This fit the pattern he'd noticed with Kikyō — girls seemed particularly interested in romance.
Houtarou: "..."
Not exactly, since they hadn't dated yet. But according to his Precognitive Dream, they would.
Plus, Kei's affection level for him was maxed out, so it wouldn't be good to deny it outright.
"Something like that." He said after some consideration.
"Oh! I'll definitely keep this secret!" Airi said, clenching her fists enthusiastically, "I feel like I've gotten closer to Oreki-kun."
As she said this, she looked at him with sparkling eyes, showing a happy expression.
"..."
This girl's demeanor seemed somewhat familiar to Houtarou — just like how Kikyō had deliberately acted cute after her dark side was discovered.
He had to admit, when girls say things like "Now we have another secret together!" , it was quite powerful.
He thought to himself.
Since they hadn't come to the library to read books — though Airi had borrowed Madame Bovary — they prepared to leave.
As they were coming down from the third floor, they suddenly spotted four adults walking up from the first-floor stairway. If they went down, they would meet.
These four weren't strangers — they were the homeroom teachers of Classes A, B, C, and D.
While students were on break, the teachers seemed to be having free time too, walking up while chatting.
"Eh... I never expected to see all four class teachers together—" Airi began.
But before she could finish, she realized something was wrong as Houtarou grabbed her left hand and covered her mouth with his right.
"Mmph—" She could only make muffled sounds.
A sound came softly in her ear: "Shh—"
Airi quickly became quiet, hearing the teachers' conversation. Then she realized her position — Houtarou was holding her!
'Waaah—'
She felt her temperature suddenly rising, her heartbeat accelerating like a drum.
However, Houtarou's attention remained focused on the teachers ahead.
"The students are so lucky getting to rest now, while we still have to organize materials." Chie said.
"But it's been so long. It's rare for the four of us to hang out casually like this." Said the always rational Tomonari, "It must be fate. After all our wandering, we all ended up choosing to become teachers. Though Sakagami is the most pitiful, coming back because he got scammed and ended up in debt."
"I hate women!" The bespectacled Kazuma said.
This revealed quite a bit of information — all four teachers had been students at this school, even in the same year.
Houtarou thought he might be able to get more information, like why Honami was assigned to the Rabbit Group.
"By the way... what are you planning to do, Chie?" Sae asked.
"Wha, why are you suddenly saying that? What have I done?" Chie acted shocked.
"Don't act cute, Chie, you broke the rules, didn't you?" Sae spoke in an official capacity, "Conventionally, school policy is to gather class representatives in the Dragon Group, right? So why did you put Ichinose in the Rabbit Group?"
Hmm. Houtarou nodded slightly, still holding Airi. He felt eavesdropping had paid off.
This was exactly what he liked.
⍟⍟⍟
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