That was basically the same for Sakayanagi and Ryuuen’s classes. But when it came to competing and winning here, that wasn’t everything. It wasn’t just about correctly identifying the model students and the position holders, as has been incorporated into the rules. You could also make your opponent nominate someone irrelevant or provoke them into self-destructing. That was why I was sure that some of the earlier representatives had tried to shake their opponents up mentally too.
Are you really sure you want to nominate that student? Isn’t that student over there suspicious? They would try to mislead with statements such as that. If you increased the number of choices from two to three, the probability of error increased accordingly. If a student wasn’t used to real competitions, words like that would probably have some effect. However, they would hardly work at all on someone like Ryuuen, Sakayanagi, or Ichinose. Instead, they would become more cautious and may even end up seeing something that they hadn’t been able to see before.
So how could you deceive the minds of students who were such leading figures and deprive them of the ability to make normal decisions? If their minds were focused on the special exam, then the answer lay outside of that. It was vital to completely shatter their clear, levelheaded thinking by introducing a completely unrelated topic. If you knew that a part of your body was being targeted, then anyone would make sure to protect that area. However, if someone were to then go after your legs in an unexpected way, it would naturally be difficult to respond to that.
“Do you remember? There was a little incident that happened in our grade last year. When it came to light that a certain class leader had shoplifted in the past,” I continued.
“About me, you mean,” replied Ichinose.
Ichinose, still unable to understand the situation, found herself suddenly being dragged by her feet into the darkness.
“That incident was partly caused by you, who never doubted anyone, relaxing your guard and telling Sakayanagi about it. But was the story getting revealed to the entire school actually Sakayanagi’s handiwork in the first place, truly?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Ichinose.
“The incriminating notes that were discovered in the dormitory mailboxes. Was it really Sakayanagi who planted those? Haven’t you ever wondered about that, at least once?” I asked.
Ichinose was silent, perhaps because she was thinking back to what happened then.
“There were a few rumors that circulated before that revelation, though. Terrible, awful rumors about you, Ichinose. Things about how you had a history of violence, paid dating, and theft. I think that it was probably Sakayanagi who had disseminated those rumors, but at that stage, they were simply rumors and gossip, with plenty of outright lies mixed in. That was why even you were able to endure it, Ichinose.”
Ichinose’s eyes were downcast, but I kept speaking without hesitation.
“What if I had been working behind the scenes, to give things just one more push, at that time? What if I was the one who planted the letter in the mailbox, mentally pushing you toward confessing the truth?”
“What are you saying?” asked Ichinose.
Even when I explained it in plain terms, Ichinose seemed unable to understand. That was understandable, though. It wasn’t just Ichinose; other students had also believed that it was Sakayanagi’s handiwork. There was also the fact that Kiriyama was used to blatantly spread lies outside of Class A, including Horikita’s class.
“You seem to think this is a bad joke on my part. But can you say for certain that isn’t what happened?” I replied.
I crossed my legs, asking Ichinose that question, after she had built up strong defenses thus far. In the past few months, Ichinose had undergone a series of peculiar mental changes. That had created a kind of composure, which allowed Ichinose to move forward in this exam as one of the strong ones. However, one of the underlying reasons for that was my existence, and what if that existence was actually much more cruel than she imagined? What if she knew that I was someone who would betray others without hesitation, and even drive Maezono to expulsion?
“Because, I mean… Ayanokouji-kun, you… There wouldn’t be any benefit for you in doing something like that…” stammered Ichinose.
“That’s not true. Sakayanagi may have intended to just keep things at a level where you would take it as a warning, so that she could use it to threaten you at a later time. However, by forcefully involving myself at that point, I was able to take that away from her. And by helping you, Ichinose, your trust in me would inevitably increase. No matter how you look at it, that is a sufficient benefit,” I explained.
“I can’t believe that…” muttered Ichinose.
“I understand that you don’t want to believe it, but it’s the truth. If you want, you can go ahead and ask Sakayanagi after the exam. Ask her, ‘Was it you who put those letters in the mailboxes?’ I’m sure if you told her what I told you, she’d give you an honest answer,” I replied.
Now, if I just delivered the final touches thoroughly, that would be the end.
“For everything I have ever done with you, Ichinose, there has always been an ulterior motive. Every single thing. Whether it was that time on the uninhabited island or that night of the school trip, I only ever acted in my own interest. I was merely using you, nothing more. And the promise we made one year ago too…”
Ichinose was no longer sure what was right anymore, not even those words we spoke to each other, confirming that promise, on the bench just a little while ago. Those words had certainly been spoken, but there was no longer any belief in them. The first discussion was over, and the interval before the next discussion had begun.
“Representatives, please select a new group.”
I did as the mild-mannered announcement instructed and selected a group. Ichinose operated her own tablet a moment later, but her expression was blank. But that was to be expected, when things like this special exam had already been pushed into the back of her mind. She had been dragged into a deep darkness. Even the matter of Maezono’s expulsion was now a distant memory.
You could say that everything had gone hazy. The man in front of her wasn’t an ally. He wasn’t a supporter. The more honest and decent someone’s thinking was, the more they would be dragged into the darkness, so much so that they’d be beyond help. I pulled back my chair and put it back where it was. Ichinose’s eyes, watching the monitor next to me, didn’t have the light and vitality that they had held just moments before. Even though she was looking at the monitor, the conversation we just had was probably firmly stuck in her head.
Reality and falsehood. Truth and lies. She would end up thinking about it even if she didn’t want to. People are creatures who, even if they weren’t speaking, cannot easily empty their minds. In fact, I’m sure that the more she turned her mind toward the exam, which she needed to concentrate on, the more those thoughts would grow. I figured that, at this moment, Ichinose probably felt like she was under attack, like her mind was going blank.
Her vision certainly captured what was happening on the monitor, and her hearing was most certainly working as well. Yet, that information wasn’t reaching her brain like normal. That wasn’t magic or anything, it was just the structure and mechanisms of the human body. Her heart rate and blood pressure were elevated, and her peripheral blood vessels were constricted. Her pupils were dilated, narrowing her field of vision. And the workings of her prefrontal cortex, which controlled relative and rational functions, were degraded. Recovery from that condition would not be easy at present.
In that case, the rest was easy. I could watch the debate quietly at my leisure, make my deductions, and find the model students. My opponent no longer had the trump card of sending in a traitor either. The debate could continue without incident. It didn’t take very long before the time came.
“Ayanokouji-kun identified the model student, so Ichinose-san loses three Life Points. Now that Ichinose-san’s Life Points have been depleted, Ichinose-san has been defeated… We ask that you please leave the room at this time.”
Horikita’s class had won a major victory, without being forced into a difficult battle at all.