Chapter 150 Near the Water, One Gets Hikigaya First
"Ahahaha~ as expected of Hikigaya-kun, to think of such a twis... er, unique strategy!"
Ichinose Honami didn't know how to evaluate it for a moment.
"You wanted to say 'twisted,' didn't you?" Hikigaya saw through her lack of sincerity.
'Seriously, there's no need to be that gentle with me.'
"Choosing to go against a character like you was the worst decision I ever made." Katsuragi Kohei had a look of immense regret on his face.
"Hmph! On that point, I actually agree with you..."
Seemingly feeling that this statement sounded too weak, Ryuen Kakeru added seriously: "Of course, it's not that I'm afraid of Hikigaya; I just don't want to be disgusted by those dead-fish eyes anymore!!"
"Ryuen, the level of your stubbornness is enough to tow a truck." Horikita Suzune spoke with a poisonous tongue.
"Tch! You certainly have the nerve to speak, Horikita."
Ryuen Kakeru retorted: "I heard you're seatmates with Dead-Fish Eyes? How does that saying go... 'Near the water, one gets Hikigaya first.' You clearly hold such a huge advantage, yet you still haven't taken him down. Aren't you getting anxious?"
"..." Horikita Suzune bit her lip with her pearly teeth, a look of inexplicable complexity flashing across her face.
"To correct you, the idiom is 'Near the water, one gets the moon first.'"
Ichinose Honami's eyes shifted slightly upward as she issued a righteous rebuttal: "Furthermore, it is common knowledge that Horikita-san is someone solely focused on her studies. Please do not spread rumors, Ryuen-kun."
"Huh? Ichinose, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Not only was Ryuen Kakeru confused, but everyone else also thought her words sounded strange.
Horikita Suzune remained silent. Although she felt Ichinose was right, she felt a trace of unpleasantness in her heart.
"Horikita-san and Hikigaya are just ordinary seatmates." Kushida Kikyo added with a beaming smile.
Now, Ryuen Kakeru finally understood.
His gaze swept back and forth between Horikita and Kushida with a strange look, before finally focusing his playful eyes on Hikigaya.
"Kukuku!" Ryuen Kakeru laughed without saying a word. Hikigaya's expression said: Laugh at your mother!
"Um, let's get back to the topic of the exam!"
Ichinose Honami felt the atmosphere was a bit weird and quickly changed the subject.
"Hikigaya, you really are a man of deep sins!" Ryuen Kakeru still couldn't resist a sarcastic remark.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Hikigaya feigned ignorance.
"By the way, are you going to agree to my conditions or not?"
"Hmph~ I'll give you a favor this time." Ryuen Kakeru was clearly unwilling, but faced with the threat of a "self-destructing truck," he could only choose to back down.
"In that case, we can achieve Result One?" Ichinose Honami felt a surge of joy.
Katsuragi Kohei and Hashimoto Masayoshi looked at each other; they had no objections. After all, they had no bargaining chips and could only choose to accept passively.
"Wait a minute!
Before that, I also have a request!" Surprisingly, the one who spoke up this time was Kanzaki Ryuji.
"Kanzaki? As expected, you aren't as easy to talk to as Ichinose..."
A flash of surprise crossed Ryuen Kakeru's face, though it was within expectations.
"I want to know—the Monkey Group has already been declared over. How do we settle that account?"
Kanzaki Ryuji cast an unfriendly gaze toward the Class D group. It was precisely because of the early guess initiated by Koenji Rokusuke that the Monkey Group ended prematurely.
"That... I am very sorry." Hirata Yosuke looked troubled.
"This isn't something that can be settled with just an apology!" Kanzaki Ryuji's attitude remained very firm.
"Don't be like that, Kanzaki-kun. After all, we don't know the exam results yet." Ichinose Honami leaned toward compromise.
"Ichinose, you're just too kind."
Kanzaki Ryuji's gaze was sharp: "I have a certain understanding of that man Koenji; his personality is that of an arrogant, egotistical guy. Even though his way of doing things is eccentric, I don't believe he would submit a guess without any certainty!"
The VIP of the Monkey Group was Shiranami Chihiro. If she was guessed correctly, Class B would lose 50 points. Under these circumstances, if the four classes negotiated Result One, Class B would fall behind the other classes.
"Then what do you want to do?" Ryuen Kakeru didn't waste time and told him to state his conditions directly.
"I want Class D to sacrifice one group to lead to Result Four."
Simply put, he wanted to designate a group containing a Class B VIP and have Class D submit a guess with the wrong answer, thereby granting Class B 50 points. This way, the four classes would return to their original score gap.
The Class D group looked at each other and finally focused their gaze on Hikigaya in unison.
"No, why are you looking at me?" Hikigaya looked speechless: "I'm not interested in class competition. If it were up to me to answer, I wouldn't care either way."
"Class B's request is a bit too demanding. After all, we don't know the Monkey Group's result. What if Koenji answered incorrectly?" Horikita Suzune tried to argue back.
"I don't care about that. In any case, if Class D doesn't agree, our Class B will refuse to facilitate Result One." Kanzaki Ryuji applied verbal pressure.
"Hey, hey? Who's the person in charge of Class B? Is it Kanzaki or Ichinose?" Ryuen Kakeru spoke with deep meaning. The attempt at sowing discord was too obvious.
"In terms of protecting Class B's interests, I agree with Kanzaki-kun's viewpoint." Ichinose Honami was clearly not a "sweet but dumb" girl.
"Please allow us to discuss this further..." Horikita Suzune was somewhat unwilling. Among the Class D students, she was the only one who still held certain fantasies about moving up in class rank.
"Horikita-san, I think we should agree to Class B's conditions. Losing a few class points is no big deal." Kushida Kikyo was clearly acting against Horikita.
'You want to move up? Then I'll drag you down and piss you off!'
"I think so too. During this time, everyone's points haven't been enough, and much dissatisfaction has accumulated. Achieving Result One would greatly improve everyone's economic situation." Hirata Yosuke's whole heart and soul were focused on class harmony.
With opinions at two against one, plus Hikigaya abstaining, Horikita Suzune felt like a lone tree unable to support a falling building.
Five minutes later. Horikita Suzune gave up the struggle and accepted Class B's conditions.
"Very good!
Since no one has any objections, let's sign the contract together!"
A winner's smile appeared on Ryuen Kakeru's face. In this special exam, Class C would become the biggest winner!
However, at that moment, Hashimoto Masayoshi's phone suddenly received a text message from the school.
[In your Rabbit Group, someone has submitted an answer, triggering the quick-response mechanism. It is now announced that all members of the Rabbit Group have ended the exam early!]
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