Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

Yukimura Keisei seemed to have finally lost his temper and spoke up against Karuizawa Megumi.

"What? Then tell me when and where I've caused you trouble? You're so annoying, just looking at you annoys me!"

Karuizawa Kei retorted without holding back.

【well. 】

When Saiki Kusuo heard Majima Tomoya, who was usually expressionless, sigh inwardly for the first time, he even reached out and rubbed his temples with a hint of helplessness.

Are these guys elementary school students?

I completely agree with that.

[I never imagined that a class like this could be promoted to Class B in the first semester of first grade... How did they manage to do that?]

To be honest, I didn't want it to be like this either.

"It seems you guys are quite bothered by small groups. Well then, let me answer your question. This isn't a conspiracy theory or an annoying prank; it's a very simple thing—because the group isn't made up of a class, but rather of about three to five people from each class."

Majima Tomoya finally had enough of this childish bickering and continued.

Will we be in a group with students from other classes?

Kusuo Saiki quickly understood why this exam was different.

"This is the list of our test group members. We are Group 'Mao'."

As Majima Tomoya spoke, he handed the list of test takers to everyone, and Saiki Kusuo quickly scanned the names.

Class A: Shigeru Takemoto, Koji Machida, Takuro Morishige.

Class B: Honami Ichinose, Tetsuya Hamaguchi, Ryota Beppu.

Class C: Mio Ibuki, Shiho Manabe, Nami Yabuna, Saki Yamashita.

Class D: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Karuizawa Megumi, Sotomura Hideo, Yukimura Teruhiko, Saiki Kusuo.

Are Ichinose and Ibuki in our group too?

Kusuo Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly. Honami Ichinose was alright, but Mio Ibuki was a bit more troublesome.

After all, the other party had previously infiltrated their class as a spy—and had been given incorrect information.

and.....

Kusuo Saiki couldn't help but glance at Megumi Karuizawa again:

'Ibuki probably has some misconceptions about Karuizawa.'

"Next is the exam content. Please read carefully."

Then Majima Tomoya distributed another document to everyone, which was filled with dense text.

Summer Group Special Examination Instructions

This exam uses the "preferential treatment" students assigned to each group as a baseline. By answering the questions to the school using the prescribed method, one of four possible results will be obtained.

1. The school will send out emails to students at 8:00 AM on the day the exam begins. Those selected as "preferential candidates" will also be informed of their selection.

2. The exam schedule is from tomorrow until 9 pm four days later (including one day of complete freedom).

3. Group members must meet twice a day in a designated room at a specified time for a one-hour discussion.

4. The discussion content is entirely decided by the group itself.

5. Regarding the answer section, after the exam, the school will only accept answers to the "Who is the preferential treatment recipient?" question between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM on the same day. Furthermore, each person can only answer the question once.

6. The school only accepts students to answer questions by sending emails to the designated mailbox using their own mobile phones.

7. 'Preferential treatment' recipients are not entitled to send answers by email.

......

Is it similar to a game of finding the undercover agent?

Kusuo Saiki quickly made a judgment on the exam rules.

'It's really baffling that a school always has to come up with these weird exam questions...'

His gaze continued to move, and below the document were written the possible results of the exam.

Result 1: If everyone answers correctly, except for the favored student and the students in the favored student's class, the school will pay all team members their individual points. (Students in the favored student's class will each receive the same number of points.)

Result 2: Except for the favored student and the students in his class, if any member of the group does not answer or answers incorrectly, the school will pay the favored student 500,000 personal points.

Looking at the vast amount of information, Karuizawa Kei frowned, her expression mirroring her inner thoughts.

I don't understand!

Majima Tomoya seemed to realize that Karuizawa Megumi had completely misunderstood the exam rules.

"There's one key point in this exam, and once you understand it, it's all good. That key point is the existence of the 'preferential candidate.' The name of this 'preferential candidate' is the answer to the exam. It's very simple. For example, let's say you, Yukimura, are selected as the preferential candidate. Then, the Rabbit Team's answer will be 'Yukimura.' The answer will then be shared with all team members. After the exam ends at 9 PM on the third day, the answer will be sent to the school via email. This way, the team will pass, and the final result will be confirmed as 'Result One.' All team members will receive a reward of 500,000 points—that's how the exam is structured. As a reward for leading the team to 'Result One,' the school will even double the reward to 'Preferential Candidate' by one million points."

"There is such a good thing!"

Upon hearing these words, a look of surprise appeared on Karuizawa Megumi's face, and she even began to imagine how she would use the 500,000 personal points.

"Next is the second result... This is the case where the student who was notified by the school to be a privileged student does not tell anyone about it, or induces everyone to choose a fake privileged student, and the true identity is not exposed until the end of the exam. Just as it is written, only privileged students will be given points, and the amount is 500,000 points."

"That would be fantastic if I were selected as a recipient of preferential treatment!"

Karuizawa Kei looked like she desperately wanted to be chosen as a recipient of special treatment.

No, the school would absolutely not provide such a mutually beneficial arrangement, and besides, there are four possible outcomes to the exam, two of which haven't been announced yet.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka analyzed it in his mind.

"If you have understood, I will now explain the remaining two results to you."

Majima Tomoya continued.

I didn't understand a word of it.

Karuizawa Kei gave an answer in her mind without hesitation. Her focus was entirely on her personal points, and she didn't understand the specific rules at all.

Even so, Karuizawa Kei nodded, as if she understood.

A hint of doubt flickered in Majima Tomoya's eyes, but he continued explaining the other two results.

Result 3: If someone other than the privileged student reveals their answer to the school before the exam ends and answers correctly, the class to which that student belongs will receive 50 class points, and the school will pay the correct answer 500,000 personal points. Conversely, the class whose privileged student's identity is discovered will be penalized by deducting 50 class points—and the group exam will end at this point. Furthermore, if a student in the same class as the privileged student answers correctly, the school will consider their answer invalid and continue the exam.

Result 4: If someone other than the privileged student reveals their answer to the school before the exam ends and answers incorrectly, the class to which that student belongs will be penalized with a loss of 50 class points. The privileged student will receive 500,000 personal points, and their class will also receive 50 class points. The exam will end at the point where incorrect answers are given. Furthermore, if a classmate of the privileged student answers incorrectly, their answer will be considered invalid and will not be accepted.

'Just as I thought, this is actually closer to a board game like Werewolf.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

While the recipients received huge rewards in the first two outcomes, the rules were completely different in the latter two.

If you can guess in advance which class will receive preferential treatment but not your own, you can give your class extra class points and reduce the points of other classes.

[The privileged student can use their status to undermine other classes. They can deliberately reveal their identity to achieve a win-win outcome for everyone. However, they also need to worry about whether students from other classes will reveal the answers beforehand. In short, this is a test of psychological warfare.]

As Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought this, he began to analyze the various possibilities.

[If it were Qi Mu, he would be perfectly suited to conduct this exam; he should be able to easily analyze everyone's potential behavior.]

'Hey, hey, hey... your misunderstanding of me is getting deeper and deeper.'

Kusuo Saiki sighed inwardly.

'Although this exam seems very unserious, you can think of it as a simple board game... I don't like participating in these kinds of social games because of telepathy; I can read everyone's mind instantly—but now that I have the ring, maybe I can find a little bit of fun in this exam...'

As Kusuo Saiki thought this to himself, he reached into his pocket to put on the ring.

[Actually, the status of those receiving preferential treatment had already been determined; I wonder if these students can figure out the pattern.]

The recipients of this preferential treatment were selected based on the order of their names.

[The student receiving preferential treatment in this group should be this one named Karuizawa Megumi.]

‘…’

Kusuo Saiki felt somewhat helpless; some exams were over before they even began.

Normally, the information about Karuizawa Kei would be announced at 8:00 AM tomorrow, but Saiki Kusuo already knows that the recipient of the preferential treatment is Karuizawa Kei.

He turned his head to look at Karuizawa Kei, his eyes slightly narrowed, while she stared intently at the list of test takers in front of her.

Kusuo Saiki was well aware that Megumi Karuizawa's appearance and inner self were completely different.

Even if I'm disliked, it's better than facing the same situation again. I don't need my youth or my friends. What's important is protecting myself. For that, I'll do anything necessary, even by any means necessary.

I am just a parasite, a weak creature incapable of surviving alone.

Is he the only one we can rely on right now?

Chapter 78: Two people with facial paralysis, two people with facial paralysis, running fast.

Soon after the brief but unpleasant meeting ended, Kusuo Saiki and the others left the room, leaving Tomoya Majima alone inside sighing.

This was the first time he had felt utterly helpless towards certain students.

After leaving, Kusuo Saiki planned to go straight back to his room to rest, but after seeing that his classmates seemed to be gathering together, he had no choice but to follow them.

The others exchanged information about the exam, but some, like Kikyo Kushida and Suzune Horikita, had gathered later and hadn't yet attended the group meeting, so they could only learn about the specific rules of the exam from the others.

'Kushida and Horikita are meeting at the same time and place, so they will be in the same group.'

Kusuo Saiki glanced in the direction of the two women out of the corner of his eye. Suzune Horikita was sitting alone to the side, listening to the conversation of the others with a serious expression, while Kikyo Kushida looked on with curiosity, asking the others for more details about the exam.

But at that moment, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji came to Kusuo Saiki's side and asked softly:

"Qi Mu, what are your thoughts on this exam?"

"Karuizawa..."

Kusuo Saiki almost revealed that Kei Karuizawa was a recipient of preferential treatment, but thankfully he remembered in time that the recipient's identity had not yet been announced, and even Kiyotaka Ayanokoji would never know the recipient's identity.

"Karuizawa?"

"No, what I mean is that the most important task of this exam is to find out about the preferential treatment recipients' status, and then we'll make a decision based on the situation..."

Kusuo Saiki quickly changed the subject by saying a few innocuous words.

"The specific details will have to wait until 8 a.m. tomorrow to confirm the status of the recipients of preferential treatment."