Chapter 8: New Expulsion

Chapter 8: New Expulsion

Chapter 8:

New Expulsion

I N SAKAYANAGI’S first attack in the second half of the exam, she shifted her sights from Horikita’s class to Ryuuen’s class, taking aim. Prior to the special exam, she had no particular plan for fighting Ryuuen’s class. That was because she thought there wasn’t any need to formulate a meticulous strategy against an opponent whom she could easily crush in any situation, with any method.

As of right now, however, Sakayanagi had extraneous information floating around in her mind. That was thanks to the phone call the night before from her classmate Hashimoto, who had given her some strongly worded advice. There were a few things that firmly stuck in her mind, one of them being that she should explore the possibility of eliminating Shiina Hiyori and getting her expelled.

Sakayanagi wasn’t interested in things like Hashimoto’s opinions, but when she heard the reason, she changed her mind. How Ayanokouji looked at Shiina, how he treated her. Hashimoto said that he looked and treated her differently than he did with other, regular students. That intrigued Sakayanagi. She wondered, if she could get Shiina expelled from school, would Ayanokouji show any emotion?

“But that’s no longer possible,” thought Sakayanagi aloud.

In the first half, Ichinose’s fighting style carried a stronger determination than ever. In the past, she would have shown hesitation in eliminating students from an opponent’s class, even if it were Ryuuen’s. However, when the fight began, Ichinose showed no hesitation. In the first half alone, she’d eliminated Ishizaki, Isoyama, Yano, and Morofuji. She was solely looking out for her own class, showing no mercy to the others.

Even if Sakayanagi only targeted Shiina and successfully eliminated her, it would be one of the other students who would be sacrificed. Aiming for Shiina’s expulsion, an unlikely result, would be a sacrifice in efficiency. Shiina had only made one mistake at this point. Even if it were possible to hit her directly with problems she couldn’t solve, it would be difficult to do it twice before she’d be protected. It wouldn’t be an easy move to pull off.

“Interesting…”

After taking first place in the first half of the exam, the game was growing tedious. Perhaps it was time to have a little fun with it. She changed her decision—it would be interesting to add a little challenge by getting rid of a specific target. After clearing that difficult hurdle, she would then naturally keep the lead and stroll to the finish line. So then, how to formulate a strategy to achieve this? In the few minutes she had before her turn came, she formulated a strategy.

Then, finally, her turn came. However…

On turn eleven, all five people Sakayanagi had nominated had been saved via protection. She had spent two points on her attack, and she absolutely needed that swing to hit. But what happened was the complete opposite of what she expected. One after another, the students in her class said things like “They just had a good round—don’t worry about it.”

Sakayanagi was not so convinced of that.

It was just one perfect score. However, it was too perfect; it couldn’t have been luck. She immediately nixed her self-imposed challenge of taking out Shiina. Abandoning all strategy and theory, she went ahead and chose at random. It was a combination of categories and nominations that nobody could predict.

The results were the same as turn eleven: perfect. Ryuuen had pulled off two consecutive miracles.

Her classmates couldn’t hide their bewilderment. It wouldn’t be surprising if the first thing they imagined was that they were losing strategically—perhaps their moves had been anticipated. That wasn’t even a possibility in Sakayanagi’s mind. Someone was up to something. In just those two turns, she was convinced of the only possible answer: there was a Judas in the class—a traitor.

It had to be a leak. There could be no other explanation. Sakayanagi decided to silently observe the students in her class until her next turn came. Some students exchanged looks and lamented Ryuuen’s good luck. Others were glued to their phones, trying not to be eliminated. Eventually, the thirteenth turn came. The class naturally fell silent.

Sakayanagi was also silent. She waited thirty seconds, then a minute. It wasn’t as though she were racking her brain to figure out a way to get around Ryuuen’s defenses. This silence was a nonverbal command from Sakayanagi to her classmates. She beamed out her intention: “You’re playing with fire, and it stops here.”

After maintaining the silence until the last possible second, Sakayanagi gave her nominations to Chabashira-sensei.

Once again, however, Ryuuen’s score was perfect.

“How unfortunate,” Sakayanagi muttered softly to herself, her smile fading.

As the information was leaking in real time, the methods by which the traitor was doing this were limited. One method would be via chat or email. But as students were busily studying, merely typing wasn’t suspicious. The next possible method was to say the names vocally, via telephone or other means. As soon as Sakayanagi notified the teacher of her nominations, that information could be immediately transmitted to her opponent. The traitor wouldn’t even have to touch their phone.

Sakayanagi could ask the teacher for permission to submit her nominations on paper, as a precautionary measure. If that weren’t possible, she could switch to a plan that involved whispering her nominations into the teacher’s ear. However…

Sakayanagi directed her gaze at the large monitor displayed behind the teacher’s back. Even if Sakayanagi prevented audio leaks, there was no guarantee that the problem would be solved if the traitor used a cell phone camera. Was her only hope of defense to physically prevent information from being sent? She could have everyone stop using their phones and tablets. Then, she could employ a method of whispering her nominations into the teacher’s ear and have everyone in her class turn around and have their backs to her until Ryuuen finished inputting his five nominations, thereby shutting out all information. If that solved the problem, then that would be a satisfactory outcome. She would be able to stop Ryuuen’s rampage after only giving him fifteen points. As Sakayanagi continued to think, a voice reached her ears.

“There’s a leak.”

Morishita Ai had broken the silence, muttering those words dully with a blank expression.

“You may be right, Morishita-san. I think we should have everyone stop using their phones to check. There is a possibility that Ryuuen-kun has a scheme,” said Sanada, speaking up after a slight delay to agree with Morishita. It was an appeal to Sakayanagi to act.

Kitou and Hashimoto stood up immediately.

“There is no need for that,” said Sakayanagi.

“B-but…!” protested Sanada.

“You should all continue to use your phones to prepare,” said Sakayanagi.

While in the middle of this confusion, it was difficult to say whether continuing to study would be effective. They had received an unexpected order from their leader: to refrain from the required course of action.

“You sure, Princess? After seeing him get three perfect rounds in a row, I’m positive that’s what’s happening. No matter how you slice it, I think info is being leaked. We need to do some—”

“I’m not altering course. We will continue with the exam as-is,” said Sakayanagi.

She’d shut them down. No one had the authority to overturn her decision, yet her classmates wondered why Sakayanagi wasn’t doing what needed to be done.

Betraying one’s class wasn’t easy. If your opponent was blatantly getting all their protections right, then it would only be a matter of time before you realized there was a leak. If the traitor knew this and was still doing it, Sakayanagi was concerned that the problem wouldn’t be solved simply by taking away her classmates’ phones and blocking their view of the screen.

What would happen if measures were taken, but the information leakage didn’t stop? Sakayanagi expected that it would lead to a loss of access to information, leaving her classmates confused and bewildered. Even if evidence of the traitor did show up, Sakayanagi reasoned that if she were in the traitor’s position, she would not keep any evidence on her person. The traitor could plant it in a random student’s desk, in someone’s bag, or elsewhere in the classroom. If that happened, it’d just end up turning into an endless argument.

Students would probably start trying to pin the blame on each other, arguing, “It’s not me!” “Well, it’s not me, either!” back and forth. Naming a suspect would only lead to turmoil. In any case, the more noise she made now, the more she had to lose. Sakayanagi decided that avoiding coming in last place should be a higher priority than taking first. Even if the information leakage continued, it would not affect her ability to defend and score points.

Sakayanagi tried to parry Horikita’s attacks as much as possible and aim for third place, but it was futile. Based on how the exam was going and from what was shown on the monitor, it was also apparent that Ichinose was assisting Horikita. A strategy had been formulated to force Class A into last place. They continued to be at a disadvantage in the second half, and once the twentieth turn was over, they decisively failed. They ended up six points shy of third place.

“I’ve lost,” said Sakayanagi.

The four classes were competing against one another, and then Sakayanagi made a blunder, taking last place. Even if the situation was the result of a betrayal from within, she could make no excuse. Sakayanagi let out a small sigh. As the leader it was her responsibility to accept failure.

“Now that we have suffered defeat, I must choose someone to expel out of those who have been eliminated,” announced Sakayanagi.

The five students who had been eliminated over the course of the exam were Kamuro, Yamamura, Sugio, Toba, and Machida.

“The logical choice would be to make a decision based purely on your level of contribution to the class. I will not be doing that. From my perspective, you five are all at the same level,” said Sakayanagi.

“W-well, in that case, how are you going to decide…?” asked Machida, one of the eliminated students.

“Shall we have the students draw lots? It would be fair,” said Sakayanagi.

The proposal, which the students hadn’t even considered, elicited shrieks of terror from the eliminated.

“Have I disappointed you? Unfortunately, the most disappointed party won’t be around long to express it,” said Sakayanagi.

Through the silence, Sakayanagi quietly proceeded. Those who had been eliminated wanted to air their grievances, but they also didn’t want to make a bad impression on Sakayanagi and have her seal their fate. That was the outcome they most wanted to avoid.

“It is pointless to raise objections. The leader has the authority to decide who will be expelled,” said Sakayanagi.

“How the hell can you say a lottery is a decision?!” argued one student.

“It’s obvious. Think of it as a situation where a student with low OAA scores accepts the responsibility for it and is expelled. I have decided to judge that the unlucky one in this scenario is that student with no ability. Also, the first student to declare that they will not be participating in this drawing will in effect be stating that they have forfeited, and that person will be the one I will get rid of , ” said Sakayanagi.

Sakayanagi solemnly cut off their escape route and forced them into participating.

“I made the lots for the drawing,” a female student, not reading the heavy feeling in the classroom, called out to Sakayanagi in a laid-back tone of voice.

“You are very quick in your preparations, Morishita-san. Moreover, thank you for anticipating our needs. In that case, I will spare no time. Shall we get this over with? I regret to inform you that whoever draws the slip of paper with color on it will be expelled,” said Sakayanagi.

There were five lots prepared in total. Four out of five were safe.

“Who will draw first? The odds will not change whether you draw first or last,” announced Sakayanagi.

They could either try to avoid expulsion by their own action or wait for someone else to be expelled. Machida, while suppressing his urge to refuse, took the initiative and drew his lot.

“Yeaaaah!” he exclaimed.

Machida drew a blank slip of paper and gave the biggest fist pump he’d ever given. Spurred on by this, Sugio and Toba followed in turn. One by one, they drew their lots, but the slip with color at the end wasn’t drawn. Only two remained: Kamuro Masumi and Yamamura Miki. The former had only been holding back because she felt like this was all too much of a hassle. The latter was too scared to move. Their reasons for hesitating couldn’t have been more different. Though the remaining two had been in her crew, and far more than the three who were saved earlier, Sakayanagi’s face didn’t change a shade. She’d already decided it didn’t matter who was gone.

“You can draw yours first,” said Kamuro.

Even though Kamuro urged her to go ahead, Yamamura didn’t move. She was shuddering at the thought that there was a one-in-two chance that she could be expelled. Her heart wasn’t prepared for it. She couldn’t even think about what would happen after getting kicked out of school. Her legs were paralyzed.

“I-I, I, um…” stammered Yamamura.

“Of for the love of… Fine, I’ll go draw then. You happy?” snapped Kamuro.

Yamamura couldn’t get words out. Just nodding her head repeatedly in affirmation was all she could do. Kamuro walked up to Morishita, the person who was holding onto the lots.

“Please wait.”

Just before Kamuro reached out with her hand, Sakayanagi told her to wait.

“I had said earlier that those who do not draw lots will be expelled. Yamamura-san, who has refused to draw, is now gone,” said Sakayanagi.

“Huh? B-but, wha…?” blinked Yamamura.

“There are no objections, I trust?” said Sakayanagi.

“H-h… Th-that’s…”

“What are you on about? What, are you trying to save me?” snapped Kamuro.

“No, I am not. I am simply stating the facts of the matter,” said Sakayanagi.

“Oh, okay, sure. If Yamamura and I draw out lots at the same time, problem solved, right?” said Kamuro.

Sakayanagi had tried to hastily settle the decision of who would be expelled, but Kamuro put a stop to it. She had calmly tossed aside the opportunity to avoid her own expulsion.

“Come on. Get your ass over here,” shouted Kamuro.

Kamuro walked over to Yamamura, who was unable to take even a single step forward, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her along.

“All right, this is our first and last chance to see who is luckier, me or you,” said Kamuro.

“Do you think you’re being too kind, Masumi-san? Why would you need to take the risk of helping someone who should have been discarded?” said Sakayanagi.

“It’s whatever. I just did it,” said Kamuro.

“I see… Well then, I will ask you both to draw at the same time,” said Sakayanagi.

Morishita presented the two lots. Yamamura was unable to make a choice. Kamuro took her left hand and forced it closer, and Yamamura reflexively grabbed one of the lots. After making sure that she took one, Kamuro grabbed the other.

“No hard feelings, okay?” said Kamuro. It was awkward, but still very kind to the frozen Yamamura.

“All right, I’m going to pull it out,” said Morishita. With that, she opened her clasped hands.

The two slips of paper swayed lightly from the slight draft. The expelled student held the paper with the colored tip, and that student was Kamuro. None of the students, except for the person in question, were able to speak up. They couldn’t accept the result yet.

“It’s done. Good for you, Yamamura. You survived,” said Kamuro.

“Huh? Wh…”

Kamuro gently patted Yamamura on the shoulder, who still hadn’t wrapped her head around the outcome.

A silence enveloped Class A. The situation was completely different from the time when Totsuka had been expelled; they had lost Class Points because of their defeat, and they had to choose someone. This was the first time Class A had experienced a true setback. What was surprising was that the sole casualty, Kamuro, remained calm and collected throughout. She brushed off the stares from her classmates, seemingly exasperated by the attention, and returned to her seat. Sakayanagi tore her eyes off Kamuro and urged Chabashira, the teacher in charge, to proceed.

“Well…this concludes the special exam,” announced Chabashira.

The Survival and Elimination Special Exam, which had taken quite a long time, was over.