Chapter 7: Sakayanagi Arisu’s Choice

Chapter 7: Sakayanagi Arisu’s Choice

Chapter 7:

Sakayanagi Arisu’s Choice

A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR had passed since the special exam had started. Though Class A, led by Sakayanagi, had gone through several votes and break periods, things were moving along quite smoothly. And now, they had arrived at the final issue.

ISSUE #5: In exchange for expelling one of your classmates, gain 100 Class Points.

(In the event the class is unanimously in favor, a vote will be held to choose the student to be expelled.)

Seeing the word “expel” startled the students, but they proceeded to cast the first round of votes in silence as they were instructed. In order to avoid any unexpected incidents, Sakayanagi, like Horikita, had given her classmates instructions in advance to ensure that votes were split among the four people closest to her. Because there were two options in this vote, that meant it was a given that there would be two For and two Against .

As such, the results showed…

Round 1 Voting Results: For: 2 Votes, Against: 36 Votes

And that was that. The results showed that, aside from the two controlled votes that Sakayanagi had engineered to be in favor, all the students were against the issue.

“Welp, there you have it. So, what are you gonna do, Princess? Are we all votin’ no next round?” Hashimoto immediately looked to Sakayanagi for confirmation once the interval period began.

Hashimoto was given the assigned task of always voting for the first option, so he had voted in favor of the issue.

“What do you think, Hashimoto-kun?” asked Sakayanagi in return.

Hashimoto was a little surprised by that, as he hadn’t expected his question would be met with another. He read the issue once again in his mind.

“If we wanna head straight to a conclusion, then we should oppose the issue,” he said. “But when I step back and think about it more logically, I feel that going for 100 Class Points is surprisingly not that stupid of an idea.”

“Meaning you think we should move to gain those 100 points, even if it means expelling one of our classmates?” asked Sakayanagi.

“Well…I wouldn’t say all that, no. I’m just saying I wonder if it’s okay to completely disregard those points so casually. That’s all.”

“If this exam had come toward the end of a competitive school year, then I would’ve likely had no choice but to adopt a policy of abandoning classmates,” Sakayanagi said. “However, as it stands now, our class is by far in the lead. With that in mind, one might say it would be quite nonsensical for us to choose to expel someone here and now to gain 100 Class Points.”

“Of course. I was just sayin’ that it’d be too bad if we were regrettin’ these Class Points later, y’know?”

“A reduction in the number of people also comes with its own disadvantages,” Sakayanagi said. “Simply put, the total number of Private Points our class would gain every month would decrease, the class’s morale would decline, and there would be feelings of distrust. It’s an interesting move to be sure, but we do have the option of deliberately choosing to expel a student now, only to turn around and save them by spending 20 million Private Points. That way, we could gain Class Points without sacrificing anyone. However, doing so would have an adverse effect on our assets, which would in turn affect the upcoming sports and cultural festivals. Even talking about a difference of 100 points, if we take the possibility of unforeseen factors into account, I believe that there isn’t much difference in terms of gains or losses no matter how this issue plays out. Or perhaps…is there anyone in this class who would willingly volunteer to be expelled?”

Sakayanagi briefly surveyed the class. Of course there was no way that any of them would voluntarily drop out of Class A because, as Sakayanagi had said earlier, their class was in the lead by a wide margin.

“I’m sure that the other classes must be struggling with this issue, since they’re essentially in a three-way contest right now,” she added. “Even if one of those classes makes the difficult choice of choosing someone to expel, that class may not necessarily rise in the ranks. Losing a fellow classmate is not such a simple matter, after all.”

And with that, Class A’s plan of action had been set. Hypothetically, if Class A had chosen to expel someone, they would have come to a unanimous decision on it without delay. And in all likelihood, whatever student Sakayanagi had chosen would be the one to be expelled.

“All of you, my classmates, are different from those we have lost, meaning Katsuragi-kun and Totsuka-kun,” Sakayanagi said. “I would never do anything to abandon my friends who are working so diligently for me.”

What Sakayanagi said was a lie. In the unlikely event that Class A was pushed into a corner, she wouldn’t hesitate to make the choice to expel students. However, if she chose to expel students carelessly in a non-critical situation like right now, it would sow the seeds of mistrust. She had simply decided that as things currently stood, she’d have more to lose by putting herself into that situation.

Round 2 Voting Results: For: 0 Votes, Against: 38 Votes

They had arrived at a unanimous decision Against , just like Ryuuen’s class and Ichinose’s class. But as those classes arrived there after a great deal of stress, Class A had come to their decision in just the first interval, spending just over half of the interval ensuring that their classmates would vote accordingly.

“Well then, that’s everything,” said Mashima. “That concludes all the issues in the Unanimous Special Exam. This class has completed the exam with the fastest time. Please note that the other classes are still in the middle of their exams, so please exit the classroom as instructed. The rest of your day will be spent in self-study in the dormitories, as planned.”

Although the students were not allowed to leave the dormitories, they essentially had free time.