26 Chapter 26 - The Operation
---Notice—
I demand Powerstones, lol. If you dont have any, and even if you do, I'd appreciate a review or even a comment.
Any support means a lot, can hopefully get this story out there.
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"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words" ~Philip K. Dick
Ichinose appeared utterly confused by my words. Not because I had found a loophole in the contract - it wasn't difficult to detect and could barely be called a loophole. After all, how could Class B expect me to know their leader after less than an hour of interaction with them? Even then, I could have simply declined this new agreement. If I had done so, it's highly unlikely Class B would have turned into professional investigators and harrassed Class D, given none of this is their fault, and they are cooperating.
They would have absolutely no luck in finding out Class C's leader after all the students leave for the cruise ship. I could deduce their leader because I saw through Ryuuen's tricks, but Class B isn't that capable. As for Class A, I guess they could guess their leader given the power struggle, but even that would be a risk since they wouldn't be able to be confident the information they get from Class A is reliable.
So, in the end, was it a loophole if it served no purpose but to mock them? A combination of all these reasons was likely why it got overlooked.
I whisper one more thing into Ichinose's ear before finally stepping away from her and giving Class B a smirk, one that probably looks friendly now, but they wouldn't think that for long.
On the other hand, Ichinose never stopped facing me, her confused and conflicted face never changing. She is strange; I've never met someone so opposed to hurting others. However, in my line of work, hurting others is necessary at times. It was interesting though; I could tell she was pained and confused by the thought that this was what I wanted, to have Class B think I was mocking them. She continued to stare at me before a member of her class finally spoke to her.
"Ichinose? Is everything alright?"
"Y-yes," Ichinose said, her voice shaking, probably still thinking about what I had just asked of her. After a short pause, she continued, "The name Eru gave me… he somehow knows the leader of our class. That was the name he gave me." Her voice, still conflicted over what I had requested, made it so that her words fit the situation perfectly as if this all wasn't a ploy.
"I told you we shouldn't have trusted him! Look at his smirk; he is obviously making fun of us!" one student from Class B yelled.
The barrage of insults from Class B began to pour in.
"You're truly despicable! If you had planned this from the start, why didn't you just reject the contract? Well, it's better for us. We will never, ever make another deal with you, Eru. At this point, we might have to reconsider our entire relationship with Class D because of you."
"It's a shame that Class D has someone like you. You'd fit in better with the bullies and tyrants of Class C."
"I wonder what Class D will do when we tell them about everything you've done! Hopefully, they will teach you a lesson."
Class B's relentless insults continued to rain down, but amidst them, Chabashira, who was standing right next to me, posed a question, "Was this really necessary? What's the point of this? To be despised by an entire class, I don't see how it can be beneficial to you or even to Class D in the slightest."
"It might seem that way as if I'm just stirring up drama for the sake of it, and to some extent, I am. But this is certainly advantageous. Class B's animosity towards me might slightly affect Class D and cause some annoyances for me within Class D, but Class B won't exert much pressure on Class D. They're too kind for that. And this hatred they're feeling now is only natural. After a while, most will let this incident go, and while some of them might want revenge on me in the future, none of them are capable of getting it. At most, I'll have to deal with a bit of isolation from the insignificant students of Class B," I say, my eyes flickering towards Hoshinomiya, "No offense, I just don't find the majority of your class interesting."
"There's no need to worry, Eru Kun. You said you're doing this to assist Class B, right? So, how could I possibly complain?" Hoshinomiya says in a hushed tone, a playful smirk gracing her features. "However, if the isolation becomes too much, make sure to come to me. I'll be sure to keep you company," she continues, her tone laced with a flirtatious undertone.
Before I could respond to Hoshinomiya, Ichinose turned to me and said, "Eru, I think it's best if you leave for now. As you can see, Class B is understandably not in the best of moods."
"I comprehend. I was contemplating the same course of action. Farewell," I say, shifting to commence my travel towards Class D's camp.
At the bare minimum, Class B shouldn't be preoccupied with informing my class about this incident at the moment. No, they will likely gather to strategize their next move, not that they possess many options.
This implies that I will be at liberty to conduct myself as I desire until the conclusion of the exam. At this juncture, Horikita and Kushida should have returned from Class A back to Class D. I doubt there is much to converse about with them anyway.
***
After bidding farewell to Ichinose, I quickly return to the Class D camp. Upon arrival, I saw the members busily engaged in their tasks.
"Ah, Eru, you're back. I was starting to worry something had happened to you. Are you okay? Did anything important happen?" Hirata asks upon seeing me.
"I'm perfectly fine, and no, nothing of significance occurred. At least it's nothing you need to worry about," I respond to him.
"That's good to hear," he replies.
"Do you know where Ayanokoji is at the moment?" I ask.
"I'm not sure; he finished all his tasks but said he needed to step away for a bit. It sounded like he was just going for a walk or something, so he should be back soon," he responds after some thought. "But shouldn't you check in with Horikita or Kushida? They seemed worried about you; they mentioned you left suddenly while out with them."
"I'm sure those two understand better than anyone that I'm fine," I assure him.
"Is that so? Well then, I'll leave you to rest. You must be tired from all the walking around the island."
After wrapping up, I head towards the boys' area to wait for Ayanokoji. However, after waiting for a few minutes, Satoru Kaneda shows up instead.
"Good afternoon, Eru. I don't think I've properly thanked you yet for trusting me and allowing me into Class D," Kaneda says.
"There's no need for thanks. I simply understand Ryuuen. If he were truly intent on spying on us, he would've sent someone more capable than you to keep me entertained. No offense, of course," I tell Kaneda.
"Hahaha," he laughs softly, making the situation slightly awkward. "Don't worry, none taken," he says, looking down. "That's an interesting watch, Eru. I'm curious, though, why would you get something like that for this exam? I've heard you're pretty smart. You can probably estimate the time of day just by looking at the position of the sun."
I glance at the watch on my wrist before responding, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Your class is a lost cost, given its circumstances anyway. Time is an important factor in this exam. The theme of this exam is 'freedom,' so one might think that precise times are useless in this exam as they relate to 'restraints.' But if you want to succeed in this island exam, you can't live freely. Take your Class C, for example; they are the very definition of a class living freely, but they will not be rewarded for their attitude towards this exam, which is quite the opposite. So, if you want to be rewarded in this exam, you must restrain your own freedom, you must be organized. Of course, that involves assigning roles to members of the classes and setting deadlines. Even the terminals on this island are deeply related to time, having to be reset every 8 hours and even counting down from the 8-hour mark to remind you of your job. It opposes true freedom, but it's how one must live to succeed in this exam. So having a watch that can serve multiple time-related purposes as a timer, alarm, and stopwatch can be very useful for this reason."
Kaneda muses, "Terminals and time… That's an intriguing perspective. I must admit, I hadn't given it much thought…" His voice trails off as he ponders my words.
I advised him, "You should be more attentive if you wish to thrive in this school." Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Ayanokoji approaching the camp.
Kaneda nods, "I'll be sure to bear that in mind." As he acknowledged my advice, I began to move away from him, heading towards Ayanokoji.
"You're back, huh? I have business by the river; will you come?" Ayanokoji asks, his tone completely neutral.
"Sure, that works," I reply.
As we start walking, Ayanokoji throws another question my way, "Find anything interesting about Class C?"
"Not really, they are moving as expected," I answer, pausing for a moment before adding, "Though, Ryuen seems to be showing a slight interest in getting me to join his class."
"That could be interesting," he comments, his voice betraying no emotion.
"Maybe, but for now, I'm still finding Class D entertaining," I tell him.
"I can't see what's so entertaining about this school," Ayanokoji responds, his tone flat. "Even Sakayanagi, despite her disability and genius status, doesn't seem interested in her class."
"You noticed Sakayanagi's lack of interest, too?" I ask Ayanokoji, but he doesn't respond. "Yeah, I found her interesting as well. It's not complete disinterest, but she definitely lacks care. That's what makes this all the more interesting. Maybe her class doesn't interest her, but there's something in this school that does, or else she wouldn't have agreed to receive my help with Katsuragi. After all, why be a leader if you're not interested in anything here?"
I mention this to Ayanokoji, who's aware of my arrangement with Sakayanagi. I had given him a brief rundown after we agreed to collaborate.
"Speaking of which, have you identified the leader of Class B?" he asks.
"Indeed," I respond, a hint of a smirk on my face. Ayanokoji knows some of my plans, but not all. "Chihiro Shiranami is their cardholder."
"I see. They also picked someone they thought would blend in," he observes, then turns to me. "But that smirk suggests there's more. I'm not a fan of secrets."
"Would you share your plans if our roles were reversed?" I ask Ayanokoji, met with silence. "I'm not keeping you in the dark for any bad reasons. I just thought you'd find the unfolding of my plans more entertaining. You clearly find this school boring, so why not watch my plans unravel? That should be more entertaining than me just telling you."
Ayanokoji doesn't respond to my statement. Instead, he changes the subject. "So, we know all three leaders. I got lucky with Class A, and you figured out Class B's. The cardholder for Class C is pretty obvious once you consider that Ryuuen's class will be leaving for the cruise ship, leaving only him and his two pawns on the island. So, this exam will be ending soon."
"I'm curious: what do you predict the final point totals will be for all four classes?" I ask Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji pauses for a moment before responding, "It's a bit early to say, but if I had to guess, I'd say Class C will end with 0, Class A and B will each end with about 100 class points, and Class D will end with around 350."
I nod, Ayanokoji's analysis is fairly accurate. Not perfect, but he's missing some information that's currently inaccessible to him, so that's to be expected. One thing's for sure, the school will likely be shocked by the overwhelming dominance of a single class in this exam.
"Well then, I guess that's all for now," I say, and with that, we both head back to camp.
I was fortunate that Ayanokoji didn't object to my plan to expose the leader of Class B. Class B would likely keep my actions under wraps until the end of this exam. Horikita was too ill to question my whereabouts, and Kushida probably didn't care what I did in my spare time. There was just one person I needed to explain my plan to now.
***
The day had flown by since I returned to camp and had my chat with Ayanokoji. I glanced at my watch - 11:30 PM. Most of the students were asleep or getting ready for bed.
"I'm going for a walk," I announced, rising from my crouched position.
"This late?" Hirata questioned, to which I simply nodded. "Well, be safe," he added.
So, I ventured into the forest. The last thing I had whispered to Ichinose was to meet me in the area with the oddly curved trees northeast of Class B after she refreshed her terminal if she wanted a full explanation.
They had last refreshed their terminal at 3:25, so she should be there or on her way by now.
I quickly reached the meeting area. It was eerily quiet, and the strange trees gave the place an almost supernatural feel.
After a moment, I spotted Ichinose sitting with her back against one of these trees.
"You don't seem too cheerful," I observed.
She let out a sigh, "I'm sorry, it's just been a long day."
"No need to apologize; most of it is my fault anyway."
She shook her head, "No, it isn't. I chose to trust you, so this is my responsibility to handle."
"I see," I responded.
"So why? Why did you want me to tell the class that the name you gave me was Shiranami's?" she asked me.
"You see, my main target throughout this exam hasn't been Class B, but Class A," I replied, curious to see if Ichinose could piece together the puzzle.
"I figured as much, but you can't deny you've done quite a number on Class B," Ichinose says, her face showing disappointment. "But I still dont understand how does making Class B dislike you help if your goal is to harm Class A?"
"Before I made a deal with you, I had an agreement with Sakayanagi of Class A. I agreed to undermine the Katsuragi faction, and in return, she and Class A would help me take down Class B," I explain.
"I think I'm starting to get it. When you say you want to take down Class A, you mean you want to completely dismantle them, not just Katsuragi. You want to trick Sakayanagi by making yourself out to be Class B's biggest enemy. So when you and Class A finally move against Class B, she'll fully believe in your commitment to taking down Class B."
"It's not that simple, but yes, that's a basic outline of my plan. I don't see a need to go into details."
"But what about the future? Popularity is crucial in this school because of the class tests, Eru. If you're put in a situation where a group decision could lead to expulsion, you'll likely be the scapegoat!"
"I'll handle the future. I'm confident I won't be expelled. As I've explained, I've planned further than you've described. This isn't just a plan to backstab Sakayanagi at her weakest or least expected moment. She's not careless enough to fall for something so simple, no matter how unexpected. But this is still a scenario I must exploit. Sakayanagi's biggest weakness is that she's not here on this island. She has no way of knowing what I or others on this island are plotting or any way of passing instructions to her minions. It would be foolish not to take advantage of such an opportunity."
"I understand. I hope you know what you're doing. I wouldn't want to see a fellow student get expelled," Ichinose tells me.
"I'm not sure how that will work out. I plan on expelling many students in the future."
"There's one thing I wanted to ask you. You told me to vote for Class A's leader, Yahiko Totsuka and gave me an excuse to tell the class why I voted for him. But our contract says that we can only vote for the person whose name you've given us, and you told me to tell Class B that was Shiranami. So how am I supposed to vote for Totsuka when they think we can't vote for anyone because of the name you gave?" Ichinose asks.
"There's a minor 'loophole' in our contract, though I wouldn't really call it a loophole since it's essentially trivial knowledge. The wording of our contract was 'Class B will swear to only vote for the person whose name you have revealed to us.' Technically, I have revealed Totsuka's name to you, albeit at a different time, but 'have' refers to the past, not the future. You technically should have said, 'Whose name you will reveal.' Not that it matters much since I still agreed to give the name of a true cardholder, so I couldn't lie. But the argument is there that you can vote for any name that I 'have' revealed to you as a cardholder, which was the subject of interest in our conversation," I pause for a moment, thinking.
"Usually, this would be a useless 'loophole,' but in our case, it can be used to our advantage. I'm not sure if the school would accept this loophole since it's so technical, but you could just tell Class B it was accepted. If I don't report this as a breach of contract and accept this as a way the contract can be interpreted, how could the school punish Class B anyway? Their job was simply to stand witness to the contents of the contract in case one argues the other breached it."
Ichinose smiles as I finish speaking, "I knew you weren't a bad person."
"You have an unusual perspective," I respond. "Yes, I may have given you the name of a class leader, but I'll also be voting for your class leader. In the end, everything balances out, and that's before considering how I'll still manage to gain numerous private points from you directly through our contract."
"But in the end, you're still planning on protecting Class B from Class A. You're risking expulsion by helping us, so what do a few points matter?" she asks.
I sigh, "Interpret it however you like. I'll be leaving now," I say, turning to leave.
"Goodnight," she says.
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What do you guys think of recent chapters? Have things been getting out of hand or too difficult to understand? i know I've seen quite a few people confused recently I think I've explained everything now though, except one thing which we will get to. Anyway, tell me if you like how all the plots are unfolding or if you think it needs to be dumbed down a bit. I don't want to ruin the experience of reading for anyone.
Also, I try to use intelligent language for Eru because I feel like that is how L would talk; it makes him come off as eccentric, too, although I try not to make him pretentious or use words many haven't heard of. would you say you can understand what he is saying?
Thank you for the advice.
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