Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

"Geez, why did you call me here, Katsuragi? It's so damn early."

"I'm just trying to make sure things won't go haywire, Ryuuen."

The time was 6:00 in the morning. Two students met up in an inconspicuous place, somewhere around the stern. Following the events of the first day, every student on the ship felt wary, albeit to varying degrees. Katsuragi Kouhei wasn't an exception.

"So? What do you want?" asked Ryuuen.

"Cooperation," answered Katsuragi.

"Keh, are you a masochist or something? Or perhaps you have a plan?"

"You're trying to figure out the VIPs' names, correct?"

"That's right. What of it?"

Ryuuen's smile grew sinister. He seemed to know where this was going.

"Let's make a contract again. If you happen to find the pattern, you will give me their names. I'm not asking for every VIP, but I'll exchange the 500,000 private points that we'll get for every name." Katsuragi explained his proposition.

Detailed contracts are viable when the negotiation is mainly focused on private points. Since Katsuragi's plan doesn't do anything to guarantee the manipulation of results, the contract will be deemed valid.

"Hoh? Now isn't that interesting? Well, some sort of pattern definitely exists, but I'd need two or three names from another class." Ryuuen leaned on the rails and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you're already aware of this, Katsuragi... but everything could be over in a flash if you just tell me all the VIPs from Class A, you know?"

"Of course, but I can't do that. Unless you can provide ironclad proof that you won't betray me, meeting your demand is impossible. And unfortunately, I don't have any VIP names outside of Class A's."

A disciplined and cautious man like Katsuragi will never give in to something so risky. Ryuuen understands that, so he has no choice but to back off.

"Well, 'guess there's no way around it then. With the Memorandum Restriction, making shady deals like this just isn't possible." Ryuuen smilingly sighed, looking exasperated. "Hahh... C'mon, Katsuragi. You gotta provide me with some results. I'd be more motivated to cooperate with someone who does, you know?"

"I will try to help you in any other way, so there'd be no harm in cooperating with me. And besides, Class B and C are already collaborating. Unless we do the same, it would spell trouble for both of our classes," said Katsuragi.

"Heh, Class B and C? Bullshit. If they're taking their alliance seriously, this exam would've been over on the first day. Those clowns don't fully trust each other which means I still have a chance to rake in all of the rewards." Ryuuen scoffed with a shrug.

"Are you planning to break their alliance off by cooperating with one of them?" Katsuragi's eyes narrowed with a glint.

Given his methods, "chicanery" would be the more fitting word. Even if coercion wasn't a viable method, Ryuuen could still use verbal expedients to deceive his opponents.

"Those straight-laced damsels wouldn't want to hear anything out of me."

"Horikita and Ichinose, huh?"

"They could be pretty entertaining opponents. I could say the same for Kanzaki and Hirata, but as I've said before, I can crush them whenever I want. I've had my fun with you on the island, so I'll let you go this time. You're out here playing defense and using me as a failsafe, anyway. This deal might turn out to be of benefit to me," Ryuuen replied as the light in his eyes reflected a great thirst for prey. "If I really wanted to feel satisfied with a victory, Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji are the perfect stepping stones for me. It's unfortunate that I can't crush them right now, but I'll get my chance."

Katsuragi knew the kind of person Ryuuen was. He cared little for his show of arrogance, diverting his attention towards Class B's true leader instead.

"Ayanokouji won the first exam while being more than a hundred points ahead of Class C. Surely, he's an opponent that requires the highest amount of caution to fight against, but it seems like he's leaving this exam to Horikita."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Of course. I'm constantly on guard against whatever he may do, but right now, he's not even bothering with the discussions."

"I don't know about your experiences with him, but Ayanokouji isn't someone who lives in the light. He feeds on it." Ryuuen stood up straight before turning around. "That guy moves around in the dark. It's the reason why we lost without even knowing how."

"Then, that's perfect. I want you to keep an eye on him while you're at it. My hands are already full with keeping Sakayanagi's subordinates in check, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just get the contract and money ready as soon as possible. Even if I don't get more names, I still have other methods to crack the code. Who knows? It's possible that I already know all of the VIPs and I'm just playing around with everyone." With those parting words, Ryuuen walked away with his hands inside his pockets. "If everything goes wrong for you like what happened during the island exam, don't blame me if this ends up completely destroying your position in Class A."

Katsuragi watched him leave with skeptical eyes. Provocations and taunts rarely worked against him, but this time, he felt that something wasn't right.

Around the same timeframe, Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka were also having an early morning meeting with their allies from Class C; Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuuji.

"I'm sure the two of you already know the meaning of this, right?" said Horikita.

"I refuse to believe it, but I still want to ask... Are you targeting us?" Kanzaki asked with a slight glare.

Since Horikita and Ayanokouji called them there, intending to talk about what happened last night, then everything would line up. They knew that the VIP was from Class C which means the traitor was from Class B.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kanzaki-kun. We don't intend to break off our alliance this early," sighed Horikita. "The cause of the incident was Kouenji-kun. I'm sure you already know about him."

"Kouenji-kun, is it? He's a member of the Monkey Group, and as Ayanokouji-kun has mentioned to me before, he doesn't participate in anything class-related apart from written exams," said Ichinose.

"If I recall correctly, he also retired from the island exam without letting anyone know," contemplated Kanzaki. "So you're saying that he's to blame? He submitted a name on his own?"

"That's right. He made another selfish and reckless move because he refused to participate in the exam," replied Horikita.

After learning about the situation, Ichinose and Kanzaki appeared more composed. However, it didn't last long.

"And about the outcome... Do you think he got it right?" asked Ichinose.

"We think so, given your reactions. He submitted Minamikata-san's name," answered Horikita.

Ichinose and Kanzaki were momentarily shocked. Both Horikita and Ayanokouji immediately noticed this and concluded that Kouenji had indeed put in the right answer.

"Lying about it won't help us now, so we'll just admit it. Kozue-chan was indeed the VIP. Kouenji-kun probably performed some cold reading on her, but I still... find it appalling," said Ichinose.

Of course, there's always the chance that Kouenji didn't care about the risk. He might've decided to enter a random name and got very lucky. They didn't count that possibility out.

"There's one thing that I'm suspicious of. If Kouenji didn't care about your class, I doubt he'd give you the name so easily. It's possible that you're just working together with him," mused Kanzaki.

He didn't have a problem with playing the devil's advocate if it led him towards the truth.

"That's not the case. It was Ayanokouji-kun who managed to negotiate with him." Horikita looked at Ayanokouji as if to pass the baton.

"Simply put, I made a deal with him. The details are only between the two of us, though. Even Horikita and the others don't know about it." Ayanokouji responded with a shrug.

"I see. Then I won't ask further..." Kanzaki nodded before facing Ichinose. "What do we do now, Ichinose?"

"If our plan works, then we might be able to recover from this... But it's still not a guarantee," she replied.

"You have a plan, Ichinose-san?"

"Hm? Yep, we do. Of course, we can't tell you the details, but if everything goes accordingly, our class might still have a chance. Of course, we're still willing to find the pattern. This secret plan of ours is just a failsafe." Ichinose answered without hesitation.

Ayanokouji observed Kanzaki's reactions. Seeing how he was unperturbed by Ichinose's seemingly reckless babbling, Ayanokouji concluded that it was also part of her strategy to let them know the existence of this so-called "secret plan".

"I envy you in that regard, then. My strategy is completely centered around finding the pattern. If I fail, then we'll have no choice but to force a stalemate, which isn't too bad given our current position." Horikita answered with a sigh.

She was also aware of Ichinose's way of thinking. By revealing Class C's plan, Ichinose indirectly forces Horikita to reveal her own plan. However, both of them were unafraid.

"That said, we actually have a proposal for you," said Ayanokouji. "If you would, Horikita."

"A proposal?"

"It's just another form of trade. We'll sacrifice one of our VIPs and have you trigger Outcome #3 in one group. In exchange, you'll give back the 500,000 private points you'd gain from us," explained Horikita.

"I see... In other words, you'll sacrifice your chance of instantly gaining speed against Class A for a massive amount of private points," replied Kanzaki.

"That's a great plan, isn't it? You're basically focusing on the long-term, or at least, a little over two months ahead," added Ichinose.

If Class B receives an additional 50 class points, that would be equal to 40 students receiving 5,000 more private points in a month, netting 200,000 private points in total. Only after two and a half months would those 50 class points become as valuable as the instant 500,000 private points.

"But wouldn't that benefit us more in the far future?" mused Kanzaki.

"That's not necessarily true. Apart from daily expenses, private points have more uses that may help us in the upcoming exams. I'm sure you're aware of that already," countered Horikita.

The answer was obvious. Having a large number of private points at your disposal is a big advantage for future negotiations and purchases. After all, in this school, it wouldn't be unthinkable for a student to buy test scores from teachers.

At that moment, the two leaders of Class C pondered on the pros and cons of this deal.

"I have one last question." Ichinose crossed her arms. "Wouldn't triggering Outcome #4 be a faster option? There wouldn't be any need for us to sign any contracts."

"You pose a valid point, Ichinose-san. However, that's giving Class C too much of an advantage," answered Horikita.

She knew exactly what Ichinose was trying to achieve.

"I see. It seems like you've thought this through, Horikita-san," said Ichinose.

"It was a team effort between the four of us, though Ayanokouji-kun wasn't really present during our meeting last night."

"Hey, I made up for it by joining a group call," he bantered.

Ichinose chuckled after seeing their friendly exchange.

"Alright, we accept. We'll probably get the contract ready by tonight..." Ichinose narrowed her eyes with a bitter smile. "Because of the Memorandum Restriction, you might still be able to betray us in some way. If you ever do so, then that would be the end of our friendly relationship."

"Of course. We wouldn't do something so stupid. We're just taking advantage of Kouenji-kun's foolhardiness and treating that 50-class-point bonus as a bargaining chip. And if we're giving those points up, we'd rather let our allies have them." Horikita sighingly replied.

"Any time today should be fine. I'll be the one who decides which VIP name to give you. If I'm not within the area, you can just send me a picture of the contract once it's done. I will send you the VIP name and their group after that," said Ayanokouji.

"I understand. Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun, Horikita-san." Ichinose bowed lightly.

Their group split up and got ready for the day.

It was a tense early morning, to say the least. Such an atmosphere was driven by the chaos caused by a single student named Kouenji Rokusuke.