Chapter 134 Sudden Incident! Monkey Group Exam Ends
"Does it... does it really have to move toward confrontation?" Ichinose Honami wore a bitter smile.
"Hikigaya, your thinking is too pessimistic. I believe Ichinose-san's idea still has a possibility of being realized." Horikita Suzune expressed her support.
"Ah..." Ichinose Honami's face lit up with joy, and she immediately looked toward Kushida. "Then what does Kushida-san think?"
"Me...?" Kushida Kikyo's eyes flickered slightly. Given her personality and the persona she wanted to maintain, she should have supported Ichinose Honami.
However... "I think Hikigaya-kun's idea isn't wrong either. After all, forcing yourself to deal with people you hate is truly painful." Although Kushida Kikyo maintained a smile on her face, a trace of complexity flashed in her eyes.
Hikigaya was momentarily stunned. He vaguely felt that her words were not just about him, but also a subtle form of self-mockery. Horikita Suzune also heard the underlying meaning and fell into silence for a moment.
"Is that how it is?" Ichinose Honami's eyes widened, and then she grabbed Hikigaya's hand, apologizing with a face full of sincerity: "Sorry, Hikigaya-kun, I failed to be considerate of your thoughts."
"Uh, it's nothing..." Hikigaya was a bit speechless. He wondered if this girl was a bit too "familiar." Why did she keep grabbing people's hands at the drop of a hat?
One should know that most adolescent boys are prone to fantasies. Just by holding hands, they might skip straight to imagining marriage and even decide on the children's names! If it were the old Hikigaya, he probably wouldn't have been able to help letting his imagination run wild. But now, compared to his vivid dreams, mere imagination was far too childish; his heart remained unmoved.
"Ichinose-san isn't wrong; we just have different concepts." Hikigaya calmly drew back his hand from her grasp. Upon seeing this, the gazes of Horikita, Kushida, and Shiranami finally relaxed slightly.
'Sure enough, girls are difficult creatures to understand.'
"..." Just as Ichinose Honami opened her mouth as if to say something else, Shiranami Chihiro, who was beside her, suddenly let out a cry of alarm: "Ah?!"
"Chihiro-chan, what's wrong?" Ichinose Honami was startled, and her attention was immediately drawn away.
"How can this be..." Shiranami Chihiro held up her phone, which displayed a message sent by the school.
[In your Monkey Group, someone has submitted an answer, triggering the quick-response mechanism. It is now announced that all members of the Monkey Group have ended the exam early!]
"Wh-what is the situation?" Ichinose Honami was full of shock.
"Only one day has passed; how could someone have guessed already?"
Just a moment ago, she was confidently advocating for Outcome 1, and now someone had submitted a guess—this "slap to the face" came far too quickly!
Horikita Suzune was also completely baffled.
"In such a short time, could that person have already found the pattern of the VIPs?"
"Who exactly did it?"
"Isn't this too reckless?" Kushida Kikyo also found it hard to believe.
"Hikigaya-kun, you don't seem particularly surprised. Did you already expect this result?" Ichinose Honami cast an inquiring gaze toward him.
"More or less. Aside from that man, I can't think of anyone else." In Hikigaya's mind, the first person that came to mind was that man who often walked around the deck shirtless, saying "I am so beautiful."
"That man... are you referring to Koenji?" Horikita Suzune reacted quickly.
Upon hearing that name, Kushida Kikyo's expression couldn't help but change. Because her attempt to "become friends with everyone" had never received Koenji Rokusuke's approval; the man had even mocked her, calling her a "Mask Girl."
It had made her livid!
"It's Koenji, huh? If it's that person, then there's no helping it." Ichinose Honami had clearly heard of this eccentric celebrity. Even she, a social expert, couldn't communicate with Koenji.
"..." Shiranami Chihiro's expression was strange, looking very uneasy. Hikigaya's eyes moved, and he instinctively asked: "Shiranami-san, you're the VIP of the Monkey Group, aren't you?"
"Eh—!!" The others let out cries of surprise, though their expressions varied.
"Eto~ why would Hikigaya-kun think that?" Ichinose Honami forced a smile, trying to hide something.
"It was just a guess. During the discussion just now, Shiranami-san was very confident about the Monkey Group reaching Outcome 1. This suggested she either already had information on the VIP or she was the VIP herself."
Hikigaya paused and continued his explanation: "Also, after receiving the text notification from the school, Shiranami-san's expression was exceptionally panicked. She was likely worried that her identity as the VIP would be exposed, right?"
"Uuu~"
With every word Hikigaya spoke, Shiranami Chihiro's face grew a shade paler.
She bit her lip hard, looking overcome with shame: "I'm sorry, Honami-chan. I've held everyone back again..."
'This poor kid is sure unlucky enough.'
During the island exam, as Class B's leader, Shiranami Chihiro was seen through by the Class C spy Mio Ibuki, causing Class B to lose a lot of points. Now, having been chosen as a VIP, she happened to run into Koenji Rokusuke!
"Chihiro-chan, don't worry yet. There is no evidence yet that Koenji wrote your name." Ichinose Honami comforted her with kind words. According to the exam rules, results are not announced immediately after an answer is submitted.
"That's right, Shiranami-san. Maybe Koenji didn't see through your identity?" Kushida Kikyo also played the "Little Angel" to provide comfort.
"Koenji's personality is truly unpredictable." Horikita Suzune looked like she had a headache. One moment she was supporting Ichinose's Outcome 1 plan, and the next, Class D had launched an attack on Class B! Before the cooperation could even start, it was declared dead!
If he guessed right, it would be fine, but if he guessed wrong, Class D would lose points!
"That guy probably just didn't want to attend the meetings every day, so he ended the exam early." Based on his personal observations of Koenji, Hikigaya made a rational judgment: "However, I don't think he would just fill in a name randomly. Otherwise, he could have answered immediately after the sensei explained the rules this morning. So, Koenji likely grasped some information and finally, with a mix of deduction and luck..."
If he guessed right, he gets 500,000 points—sweet. If he guessed wrong, the class loses points—what does he care?
'Wait? Speaking of which, couldn't I do the same thing?' Hikigaya suddenly felt a bit tempted!
Hello everyone! I'm VarieTL
Thank you as always for your support!
I wanted to announce that I posted a new Fanfiction!
Saving the World with Crossovers, starting with replacing Natsuki subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman
Kawata Osamu transmigrated and became a God.
Wonderful start, right? Unfortunately, this world is destined to be destroyed by the Abyss...
The only thing he can do is try to merge many worlds together thanks to the "Children of the World."
If he can show everyone their adventures and evoke enough emotion, the worlds will merge! Kawata Osamu decided to start by replacing Natsuki Subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman!
2nd Arc: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in Redo of Healer
3rd Arc: Shirogane Miyuki in Inuyasha
4th Arc: Kousaka Kyousuke in Overlord
I have already posted 264 Chapters of this Fanfiction!
Mostly because it's really really good, so I wanted to continue working on it XD
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting