“Hey, Yukimura-kun, what should we do?” asked Satou.
“Just follow the instructions. Besides, what class we’re in isn’t directly relevant to the discussion. If you, Karuizawa, and I were cast into the roles of average student and model student, then that would mean we’re enemies and allies,” Yukimura answered, coldly and bluntly. “That’s what this special exam is. The examiner said it before: The best thing to do is follow the rules and take things seriously.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but… It’s like, I guess I’m still not really understanding exactly how to do that,” said Satou.
Seeing Satou and Karuizawa fidgeting nervously next to him, Yukimura sighed internally. That was because he felt that such thinking, expressed as something particular to girls, was unpleasant to him. However, Yukimura was no longer thinking about things only in the self-centered way he did when he first entered school. Now, he spent time with Hasebe and Miyake whenever he could, and he had more friendly interactions with other people.
“I think that probably it’s not just you two who are nervous and panicking, Satou, Karuizawa. I’m sure that people in the other class are feeling similarly. To start with, why not try to get used to the feel of the room? Besides, you’ve played games like Werewolf before, right?” asked Yukimura.
“I think I’ve played that one a couple times. So we can think of this as, like, the same kinda thing?” asked Karuizawa.
“I haven’t played it before. Is there a trick to it?” asked Satou.
“Let’s see… All right, if you’re selected to be a model student, then it’s a good idea not to carelessly look over at the other model student. This may surprise you, but it’s quite noticeable when people look at each other like that, and you’ll give yourself away,” said Yukimura.
Even though he wasn’t used to this sort of thing, giving out advice calmed Yukimura down somewhat; he naturally understood the magnitude of this End-of-Year Special Exam himself. Although he was frustrated by the highly secretive rules, like how the school wouldn’t even let them know how the exam as going as far as the representatives were concerned, he flipped a switch in his mind and just focused on doing his best as a participant.
“Oh, I get it. That makes sense. Yeah, I guess, like, eye contact and stuff would be important, huh?” replied Karuizawa.
Karuizawa somehow understood the gist of it, and began to explain to Satou that they should keep tricks like this in mind. Seeing that, Yukimura allowed himself to think everything would probably be all right for the time being.
“Will we…be safe?”
One person whispered those words in a quiet voice, so that no one else would hear. The fact that Yukimura helped two girls that he had nothing to do with calm down somehow came back as a benefit to him. Yukimura headed over to the discussion area as he mulled that over.
The door to the classroom opened and the fourteen students stepped inside. Karuizawa and Satou made eye contact, signaling to each other to sit as close together as possible, and they sat with Shibata from Class D between them. They both wanted to sit as close together as possible, even if it wouldn’t actually do them any good. The other students also sat down in the chairs assigned to their class, each taking whichever seats they liked from the assigned selection. There were those who preferred to sit closest to the door and those who preferred to sit furthest from the door. Shortly after all the participants were seated, they heard an announcement signaling the start of the discussion.
“The End-of-Year Special Exam will now commence. Each student’s role is displayed on his or her tablet. Please check your assigned role before starting the first round of discussion.”
All of the students looked down at the tablets placed on their desks. The monitor’s screen temporarily switched over to show the number of students cast in their respective roles.
Average students: 8
Model students: 2
Teachers: 1
Graduates: 1
Underclassmen: 1
Upperclassmen: 1
As was explained to them in the rules, the students gathered here were assigned various roles. While everyone was hesitant to be the first to speak, it was none other than Yukimura Teruhiko of Class B who jumped right in.
“I’m just going to come right out and say it. I’d like to confirm whether or not Nakanishi is a model student,” said Yukimura.
“Wait, what? Why me, right out of the gate?” Nakanishi asked. “Why would I be a model student?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s just that you made eye contact first,” said Yukimura.
Yukimura, who wanted to get things started, attacked by phrasing his statement thusly, precisely because he was an average student. He spoke up, leading the group, prepared for things to get rough by naming someone from another class. From there, the discussion began to ramp up more and more.
5.3
OVER THE MONITOR, both Hirata and Hamaguchi continued watching the discussion for five minutes. The participants seemed to be feeling each other out as they conversed, but there was currently very little way to discern lie from truth. Although some students appeared suspicious here and there, confirming whether they were really model students was a separate matter.
With no idea how to tell what was what, representatives had essentially only two options. Either they could make the first move and go for victory, take the challenge of figuring out the assigned roles, and drive their opponent into a corner in one shot, or they could avoid risk by choosing to wait and see. At the very least, the two sitting here knew the dangers and weren’t going to push ahead recklessly.
“Please nominate or pass, starting now. You have one minute.”
After that announcement came a few moments of brief silence. Accompanying the two representatives in the classroom at that time was a single adult. Not one of the second-year homeroom teachers that had provided the exam summary previously, but a new face they had never seen before. This adult stood completely silent in the corner of the classroom, monitoring the students’ conversations and movements.
“Man, this exam sure is difficult, huh? I mean, it looks like not even you of all people get it right away, Hirata-kun,” said Hamaguchi, sounding like he was halfway between convinced and doubtful.
Hirata had the sort of personality that meant he didn’t like to engage in political maneuvering, so he just nodded in sincere affirmation.
“Yeah, once you start looking for someone suspicious, everyone starts looking suspicious. It’s not easy to make a decision in the first round, that’s for sure,” said Hirata.
Just like the fourteen students who engaged in discussion, the two vanguards were feeling each other out in their conversation. One thing that they had in common was that neither of them was good at telling the kinds of lies that would cause suffering, as they shared a strong abhorrence for such methods.
“…Okay.”
After taking a breath, Hamaguchi chose the option to pass on his tablet. Without a sure answer in mind, the risk was too high. That was precisely why he made his decision without hesitation and waited for Hirata’s judgment call. As for Hirata, similarly, he couldn’t take a risk at this point.