When I urged the examiner to check, they began to ask for detailed confirmation via the intercom on their ear.
“It’s not an issue,” reported the examiner.
“So, we’re both waiving our right to use the traitor, hmm. I never thought you’d propose something like that,” said Ichinose.
Normally, a development like this should have been a welcome thing for Ichinose.
“There is only one reason I want to abandon the system of using a traitor. It’s because I want to make sure that, if at all possible, no one is expelled from my class or from your class, Ichinose,” I replied.
“Yeah. If there aren’t any traitors, then we won’t need to worry about that.”
With less than thirty seconds remaining in the countdown, I wondered what her answer would be.
“What if I ask for a few conditions? I certainly agree that the right to use a traitor isn’t necessary. But if we manage to reach the end of the discussion with the traitor still remaining, they’ll get a reward. So, instead of waiving it, could you instead make it so that we’ll overlook it? I think that would probably be better for my class and your class, Ayanokouji-kun, because that way, we would be able to safely get fifty points,” said Ichinose.
If the proposal I was making was based on collusion, then it would be preferable to end the discussion with the traitor remaining. There were two options for rewards, Private Points or Class Points, but all we needed to do was pick a safe, smart student who would always choose Class Points. I deliberately refrained from mentioning that myself, but I figured that Ichinose would pick up on it. For Ichinose, who believed that she wouldn’t lose if she took me head-on and fought with a frontal attack, the traitor was her sole concern. The ideal development would be for both of us to be able to each use up our traitor rights in a mutually satisfactory manner.
“The discussion will begin starting now.”
An announcement was made. But I didn’t pay it any mind and continued speaking.
“Got it. I’m fine with accepting that condition. I just want to make sure we have our stories straight so that other students won’t find out about this. Colluding so that we throw away our right to use the traitor means we are foregoing a precious means of turning things around. If I ended up losing as a result, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a laughing matter. I just don’t want to have the process occur from something like ‘Oh, I just couldn’t find the traitor,’ basically,” I told her.
“So that’s why you wanted to find out through dialogue, and wanted it to be, like, our right to use the traitor just got used up, right?” said Ichinose.
“Right. So I’m planning to call the traitor out for dialogue during in the middle of the discussion,” I replied.
I told Ichinose that there were some priorities greater than Class Points, and we were headed to an agreement on our proposal.
“We have different goals, but we’ll exercise our right to use traitors based on our mutual interests. Is that okay with you?” I asked.
“Okay. But still, do you really want to nullify your right to use a traitor so much that you’d offer me a proposal like this?” asked Ichinose.
She probably asked me that because I was showing no aversion to the idea of her gaining fifty Class Points despite being her opponent.
“Unlike your class, which is more cohesive, Horikita’s class still has some weak links. I’m sure that you have some ideas in mind as to who, but let’s say if, for example, Kouenji were the traitor, then he might betray us without batting an eye. And for his own benefit, of course. Besides, engaging with Kouenji in one-on-one dialogue is likely to be a nasty negotiation. Also, students like Ike and Hondou could get swept up by the sweet temptations the role offers and end up succumbing to it. If such a situation were to arise in the middle of a serious competition, we’d be forced to make a weighty decision, in the worst-case scenario,” I replied.
We wanted to eliminate the traitor system precisely so that we could protect our allies. Ichinose nodded strongly as she imagined such a situation, as if to say she understood what I was trying to say, and painfully so.
“I can trust you to keep your promise that we won’t fight in this round then, right?” asked Ichinose.
“Of course. Even when it comes to entering the choices into my tablet, I’ll show you all of the steps directly,” I replied.
“All right, that sounds good to me. Let’s go ahead and get rid of the right to use the traitor then,” said Ichinose.
When the time came for us to decide upon our groups, I stood up with my tablet and went over to show it to her. While I disclosed what all five of my groups were, I made a suggestion.
“Let’s throw out the initial discussion so that we can eliminate the traitor system. So you can go ahead and choose any student you want to be the traitor. It should help make the dialogue go more smoothly,” I offered.
“Okay then, I’ve got it,” said Ichinose. “I think I’ll have Mako-chan do it, then.”
Following her request, I exercised my right to send in a traitor. I selected Amikura Mako and confirmed my selection right in front of Ichinose.
“Okay, now you should be 100 percent clear on who the traitor is,” I told her.
“Yep. All right, then, what should I do?” asked Ichinose.
With that, Ichinose showed me her tablet, and I indicated the student that I wished to designate, then had her confirm. Now we were going to go into the discussion while knowing each other’s traitors. After returning to my seat, I grabbed on the backrest of the chair and lifted it up to place it directly in front of Ichinose, and sat down. The monitor was behind me, which meant that I would be entering a debate where I couldn’t see the discussion on the screen. From Ichinose’s perspective, my body would also be in the way of her view of the monitor, as well.
“Return your seat immediately. This is an act of sabotage,” ordered the examiner.
“Whether it’s interpreted as sabotage is up to my opponent. As I’m sure you’ve heard, I intend to disregard this discussion so that I can eliminate the traitor. I decided that, to be on the safe side, I needed to show that I wasn’t going to watch the discussion, to prove that I wouldn’t betray my opponent, which was why I moved my chair. So, Ichinose, is there a problem here?” I asked.
“No, not at all. I’m not going to do anything in this discussion either. This makes us equal,” said Ichinose.
A student turned his back on the monitor, which everyone was supposed to have been staring at with rapt attention, no matter who they were. A student who accepted his proposal and looked only at me, not at the monitor. I was sure that for the examiner, such a turn of events must have been outside of the realm of imagination. A discussion began among the participants alone, with no designation by the representative.
“Ichinose, even for someone like you, for whom it’s a given that you’d figure out who the traitor is normally, you ought to exercise your right to engage in dialogue a few times, where it feels appropriate. It’d come off as unnatural for a representative to act in such a way to eliminate the traitor, after all,” I offered.