COTE: Popularity System

During the briefing before the exam started, the teacher emphasized two points.

1. This exam tests the students' thinking, or rather their ability to think.

2. When the discussion begins, everyone must introduce themselves, meaning they must state their name.

So, why did the teacher first say the English word [thinking], and then follow up with the word [Thinking], which has the same meaning?

The answer is that the group names needed to be translated.

The groups in this exam were named according to the Chinese Zodiac, so each group had to be translated based on the ranking of its corresponding animal in the Chinese Zodiac.

The Rat Group, when translated, is Group One, the Ox Group is Group Two, and so on.

Next, the focus of this exam was to test the students' thinking ability.

Did finding the VIP within the same group test the students' thinking?

There was a test involved, but it focused more on conversation skills and the ability to gather and distinguish information, which didn't align with the teacher's emphasis on testing thinking ability.

Therefore, the key was to think about the known information and deduce the rule for victory in this exam. That is, the group order and the names that must be introduced.

Takada Hikaru explained, "The school sorted all members' names in each group according to the Gojuon order, and then, based on the group's sequence number, selected the student whose name ranked that number."

"For example, our Rabbit Group ranks fourth in the Chinese Zodiac. Therefore, when sorting all members' names in our group by Gojuon, the fourth person is the VIP, which is Karuizawa Kei."

"I see."

Kanzaki Ryūji nodded. "You asked us for the names of Class A's VIPs and the member list of all groups before the discussion started. Did you already have a guess back then?"

Takada Hikaru said with a smile, "It was just a guess at the time. I needed to confirm my idea, and I also needed to know the VIPs of the other classes to be certain."

"During the first discussion, I focused my observation on Kei-san, and after confirming she was the VIP, I knew my idea was correct."

Kanzaki Ryūji said, slightly astonished, "I'm impressed you managed to figure that out. I recall Class D also didn't participate in the discussion, yet you were able to deduce the person's identity without any dialogue."

Takada Hikaru said with a light chuckle, pointing to his eyes, "I have great confidence in my observational skills."

[Oh, so it was that simple all along.]

[Simple? If it was simple, why couldn't the leaders of the other classes figure it out?]

[It's indeed very simple, provided you know the VIPs of two classes, you can deduce all the VIPs.]

[How is that possible? Didn't you hear what Ichinose Honami just said? Money-Giving Guy required Class A and Class D not to participate in the discussion, plus Class B wasn't discussing either. With no one speaking, how could you possibly guess the VIPs of the other classes?]

[So Money-Giving Guy had other motives after all.]

[On the surface, he was fighting Ayanokoji for a girl, but secretly he earned 37.5 million with tears of joy. Money-Giving Guy is awesome.]

After proactively explaining the VIP selection pattern, Takada Hikaru's Popularity Points increased once again. Clearly, actively helping the audience resolve their confusion also brought him popularity.

Speaking of which, these viewers watching the anime were actually lucky. In the original novel, the VIP Exam concluded in Volume 4. However, the selection pattern for the VIPs was revealed in Volume 5. The gap between them was at least three months.

Fortunately, they were watching the anime now, and only needed one week to learn the secret of the VIPs.

However, among the comments posted by the audience, Takada Hikaru saw some different voices.

[Ayanokoji hasn't won anything except for bargaining during the midterm exam. Is he really the protagonist of this anime?]

[I feel like all the highlights are focused on Money-Giving Guy. Ayanokoji, the protagonist, is almost becoming a clown. Is the animation production team being too biased toward the former?]

[Classroom of Sudō? It's Classroom of Money-Giving Guy.]

It turned out that he had too many high-stakes moments and gained too many benefits in the plot, leading the audience to feel that he was the protagonist, creating a sense of contradiction.

Takada Hikaru had long anticipated this kind of situation. If the supporting character always wins and the protagonist always loses, it certainly affects the viewing experience.

Protagonists naturally carry the emotions and identification of many viewers, so suffering too many setbacks will naturally cause resentment.

Takada Hikaru had considered these factors before executing his plan. However, he ultimately decided to proceed anyway. Because the subsequent special exams were completely uninteresting.

The highlights of Classroom of the Elite are the class competition and the special exams. And the peak of the special exams was precisely the Deserted Island Exam and the VIP Exam.

The later special exams, such as the Sports Festival, Paper Shuffle, and Mixed Training Camp, combined couldn't hold a candle to the Deserted Island Exam.

Especially the second-year Uninhabited Island Exam, which the audience jokingly called the Classroom of Might.

If he didn't increase his popularity during these two exams, any effort in the subsequent exams would be useless.

Let alone increasing his status through later special exams, merely maintaining his current status without losing it would be considered a success.

That's why Takada Hikaru performed crazily in these two exams, increasing his popularity even at the expense of the anime's longevity.

Otherwise, when the later special exams became increasingly boring, it would be too late for him to significantly boost his popularity.