Inside an empty classroom requisitioned by Arisu Sakayanagi,
The leaders of the four classes sat opposite each other at a square table, all observing the students from the other three classes.
Class A's Honami Ichinose sat in the lead, with Ren and Airi Sakura sitting behind her as small attendants.
Class B's Arisu Sakayanagi sat in the front, with Kōhei Katsuragi and Masumi Kamuro standing silently behind her.
Class C's leader, Kakeru Ryūen, had not brought Ishizaki this time. His attendants were Albert Yamada and Hiyori Shiina, who was still playing with a Rubik's cube.
Class D's lineup was strange: Yōsuke Hirata, Kikyō Kushida, and Suzune Horikita were lined up side by side, as if no one was suitable to sit in the front.
Kakeru Ryūen, placing one leg on the stool, looked toward Class D and said mockingly: "Hey, hey, who is the Class D leader? If you can speak up, why don't you sit down?"
The intention to stir up trouble was obvious.
Ichinose and Arisu Sakayanagi, who were already seated, did not refute him.
Ichinose was still contemplating the information Ren had sold her and currently had no leisure to worry about the feelings of the three Class D students.
Arisu Sakayanagi, seeing that Kiyotaka Ayanokōji hadn't shown up, was also uninterested in Class D.
She somewhat agreed with Kakeru Ryūen's point.
This was a major discussion regarding the special exam, and a true decision-maker needed to step forward.
Yōsuke Hirata, adhering to the principle of ladies first, took a step back, yielding the position of Class D leader to Kikyō Kushida and Suzune Horikita.
Kikyō Kushida, thinking about the difficulties she would face as Class D leader, felt a rush of disgust and certainly would not compete for the position.
"I'm counting on you, Horikita." Kikyō Kushida, who had no intention of leading Class D, conveniently passed the position to Suzune Horikita.
The situation became clear. The four class leaders seated were: Honami Ichinose, Arisu Sakayanagi, Kakeru Ryūen, and Suzune Horikita.
Kakeru Ryūen, still wanting to cause trouble, pointed at Ren, who was sitting behind Ichinose, and was about to speak.
"Are you going to break the finger you're pointing with yourself, Ryūen, or should I do it? If I do it, it won't just be one finger."
Noticing Kakeru Ryūen's small action, Ren stopped stroking Airi's hand, looked up, and stared coldly at Kakeru Ryūen.
Crack… A crisp bone-breaking sound echoed in the empty classroom.
Under the unbelievable gazes of everyone else, Kakeru Ryūen gritted his teeth and broke the finger he had just pointed at Ren himself.
[How ruthless…]
Everyone present, except Ren, increased their wariness toward Kakeru Ryūen by a level.
"Now, shall we discuss the purpose of our gathering?" Tapping the floor twice with her wooden cane, Arisu Sakayanagi shifted everyone's attention. She then stated her suspicion.
"I'll be direct. The White Cat did not appear in Class B even once during these seven days. I suspect the White Cat does not exist at all."
Masayoshi Hashimoto deserved that beating. The revelation that Masumi Kamuro being the White Cat was indeed a lie stung Kakeru Ryūen. He endured the pain in his finger and decided he would beat Masayoshi Hashimoto up the next time he saw him.
He must have gotten too arrogant after I beat him up. Kakeru Ryūen blamed Masayoshi Hashimoto for this misfortune.
Kakeru Ryūen, only wanting to end the negotiation quickly so he could go to the hospital to fix his finger, didn't waste time: "Forget the nonsense. What is your win-win solution?"
"No, the White Cat exists."
Suzune Horikita spoke up, directly breaking Kakeru Ryūen and Arisu Sakayanagi's speculation.
Rokusuke Kōenji and Ren often associated with each other. Suzune Horikita felt it was completely fair to gauge Ren by Rokusuke Kōenji's words.
Therefore, she did not doubt the truth of Rokusuke Kōenji's words.
"The White Cat exists?"
Not only Kakeru Ryūen and Arisu Sakayanagi, but Ichinose, who was deep in thought, also looked at Suzune Horikita.
[Could the White Cat have been hiding in Class D for seven entire days?]
This thought simultaneously occurred to the three class leaders.
But they quickly shook their heads, dismissing it.
Impossible. If that were the case, the assessment would simply be judged as a direct win for Class D.
"Reason. Horikita, we need a reason to believe you."
Arisu Sakayanagi looked curiously at Suzune Horikita. Could this girl also be a hidden genius?
Suzune Horikita, unwilling to reveal her source (Rokusuke Kōenji), refused: "That will be an additional price."
Equal exchange. This was what Suzune Horikita learned from Ren and Rokusuke Kōenji.
Behind Ichinose...
Airi, also curious about the special exam, whispered to Ren: "Ren, does the White Cat really exist?"
She might be slow, but Ren-kun is smart!
"Yes, it does~"
After answering Airi's question, Ren reached out to gently touch the flyaway strand of hair that was still standing up on the girl's head.
The touch was like grabbing Airi's lifeline, making the girl go soft and lean into Ren's embrace.
[That damned bastard!]
Kikyō Kushida, standing behind Suzune Horikita, looked at Ren with mixed emotions.
Kikyō Kushida hadn't sought out Ren during this period. Instead, she returned to her old routine of venting alone in her room.
But the more she vented this way, the more terrified Kikyō Kushida became. She felt like…
...this method was no longer effective.
She always used to vent this way, but now Kikyō Kushida feels something is missing...
Now, Kikyō Kushida knew what she was missing.
After communicating with Suzune Horikita, Arisu Sakayanagi quickly found the loophole in Suzune Horikita's words: "Horikita, you only know that the White Cat exists, but you don't know the White Cat's specific identity, do you?"
If Suzune Horikita truly knew the White Cat's identity, she wouldn't have brought the Class D students here.
Seeing that Suzune Horikita did not refute her, Arisu Sakayanagi smiled. My win-win strategy is still feasible.
"We will choose one class among the four to take the sole winning spot, and the other three classes will randomly accuse any student of being the White Cat."
"If we are lucky, the accusation succeeds, and you win alone. If it doesn't succeed, it doesn't matter."
"The class that is chosen to take the sole winning spot will, as compensation, issue 100,000 points to the other three classes every month."
"What do you say?"
This was Arisu Sakayanagi's proposed win-win method: one class sacrifices more than the individual points the White Cat brings in exchange for class points.
Ichinose did not wait for Kakeru Ryūen or Suzune Horikita to respond; she immediately spoke: "No, I think it's better for everyone to rely on their own ability."
Class A and Class B's class points were too close. Arisu Sakayanagi wouldn't possibly let Class A have this opportunity.
It would eventually lead to a deadlock, so there was no need to continue talking.
Having understood everything, Ichinose, unusually firm, said: "Ren-kun, Airi, let's go."
Leading Ren and Airi to the door, Ichinose thought for a moment, then turned to Arisu Sakayanagi.
"If Sakayanagi still thinks collaboration is better, you can voluntarily give up the right to accuse in this special exam. If our Class A genuinely wins the class points because of this, Class A will pay 100,000 individual points to the other three classes as promised."
Just as Ichinose thought, Arisu Sakayanagi's win-win plan concluded with Class B being the one to take the White Cat spot.
The four classes departed from the meeting dissatisfied.
In the end, Ichinose did not use the information Ren gave her to uncover the White Cat's true identity.
The seven-day time limit for this special exam has ended.
The fourth and fifth messages rang out consecutively,
This special exam is concluded.
The results are:
Third Year Class C found the White Cat on the first day, Class Points +200.
Second Year Class B found the White Cat on the first day, Class Points +200.
First Year did not have any class find the White Cat.
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