COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

In the end, Ichinose Honami, who had argued from the premise of maximizing benefit for all and attempted to achieve Result One, was unable to convince Sakayanagi Arisu.

Or rather, Ichinose lost to Sakayanagi's reasoned yet unreasonable sophistry.

Without a moderator to organize them, the members of the four classes within the group remained deeply wary of one another, even after having shared the same drama together. Naturally, the situation in the room devolved into exactly what Sakayanagi had described: the classes separated, each doing their own thing.

After the self-introductions concluded.

On the Class B side, Ichinose no longer attempted to rally the group into discussion. Instead, she pulled out a deck of playing cards and idly played a game of Old Maid with her two groupmates. It seemed she had originally intended to use this method to bridge the distance between the classes, but had been forced to abandon the idea due to Sakayanagi's interference.

On the Class D side, Sakayanagi wore the smile of victory. She had procured a chess set from who-knows-where and was playing against herself, left hand against right. Karuizawa Kei, appearing somewhat disgusted by her two male groupmates, sat nearby and focused on doing her own nails.

As for Class C, Ibuki Mio, the girl with short blue hair, seemed to be on poor terms with Manabe Shiho and Yamashita Saki. After introductions, she had put considerable distance between them.

And as for Class A...

Staaaaare—!

Fuyuji lowered his head and stared at the detective novel Miss Holmes had brought, pretending as if nothing were amiss. In truth, cold sweat was streaming down his back, and internally he was panicking hard.

Ever since a while ago, at regular intervals, he could feel a gaze from the not-too-distant right-rear—Kamuro's stare, cold and solid as a sneer.

The gist of it was probably: You're dead the moment this group discussion ends. You told me to draw Sakayanagi's attention, while you slipped off to enjoy yourself?!

Don't be like that, pal...

Fuyuji kept his head down, staring at the dense text printed on the yellow-white pages.

Today, you've taken on the heaviest task in the entire class—shielding Special Agent Fuyuji's true identity from being discovered by the evil Sakayanagi. Isn't that thrilling enough?

Meanwhile, what Fuyuji didn't know was that even as he covertly observed Kamuro, the quiet, bookish girl seated right beside him—Shiina Hiyori—was also observing his every move.

The afternoon sunlight filtered sparsely through the gaps in the blinds, slanting onto the floor in bands of light where dancing motes of dust floated.

The girl sat right at the edge where the light halo soaked in. Strands of her silvery-white hair were gently lifted by the breeze from the air conditioning. Her dark grey knee-high socks wrapped prudently around her legs, the slightly tightened tips hinting at the elegant curve of her calves, the hems ending neatly an inch below the hem of her skirt.

The light fell upon her knees, softly brushing across the open pages of the book resting there. Yet those pages had not been turned for a very long time.

Uncharacteristically, the literary girl named Shiina Hiyori was not focused on her beloved books this time.

She kept her head lowered, her long silver hair cascading down like a waterfall, forming a small screen on either side of her cheeks that hid her quietly pursed lips. Her fingertips unconsciously toyed with the corner of a page, curling and uncurling faintly.

Through the fine gaps in her hair, if one looked closely, one would discover that her violet eyes, like a fawn hiding behind a thicket, were cautiously, timidly spying on the every move of the boy beside her.

Whenever Fuyuji turned a page with a soft rustle, or raised a hand to adjust his sitting posture, those long lashes would flutter faintly in response, like the wings of a butterfly resting on a petal.

That Mister Moriarty was very likely in Class A—this was the conclusion Shiina had reached during the last deserted island special exam.

But she had not told anyone this conclusion.

Because, according to Albert-san's initial account...

Violet eyes swiveled deftly and came to rest softly on the dark-haired boy beside her.

Male. Good-looking. He fit that characteristic too, didn't he?

At this thought, Shiina's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken by half a measure.

The hand resting on the page quietly slipped down and hid beneath the hem of her skirt. Her small, delicate toes curled restlessly inside her low-heeled leather shoes, the thin stockings producing a faint sensation of friction.

The light outside the window fell on the side of her neck. That warmth seemed to grow even more distinct.

The first two incidents involving Ryuen-kun—regrettably, Shiina still had no real leads on them even now.

But on the deserted island, the move of singling out Ryuen-kun when all three classes could have been guessed—that style of action truly did seem like the handiwork of that Mister Moriarty.

If she thought about it carefully, the possibility of Mister Moriarty being in Class A was indeed the greatest, far surpassing the other two classes.

Class C was impossible. Otherwise, Albert-san would have recognized who he was back then.

As for Class D, on the surface, there was a fair possibility. After observing for several weeks, Shiina had discovered that Class D actually had quite a number of talented individuals who excelled in particular areas. Moreover, Ryuen-kun's second incident had targeted Class D, so it would make sense for Mister Moriarty to have acted then.

This was also the class Ryuen-kun currently suspected.

But there was one point that didn't add up. The video of Ryuen-kun had fermented rapidly on the school forums in just a short time, becoming known to the entire school. This would have been very difficult to accomplish without a certain amount of manpower.

Yet at that time, barely a few days had passed since the start of school. Could there really have been students in Class D capable of such an organized, disciplined offensive at that stage?

This alone indicated that Mister Moriarty possessed superb social skills.

As for Class B—the same ecological niche was already occupied by Ichinose-san. And given the atmosphere of Class B, it didn't seem like the kind of class that would do such a thing.

Then, what remained was only Class A, standing at the very apex of the first year.

If Mister Moriarty were in Class A, everything became logical.

Targeting Ryuen-kun was because any class was a potential enemy of Class A. If a handle was unexpectedly obtained, it wouldn't be strange at all to covertly take action against Class A.

Being able to organize a disciplined offensive within days of the school year starting—Class A could accomplish this as well. Judging by the 970 points Class A had earned in the first month's behavioral standards exam, Class A had discovered the school's secrets and unified their class at the earliest possible stage.

Add to that the results of the deserted island exam—Class A had guessed Class C's leader but not those of the other classes.

Shiina estimated there was at least an eighty percent chance that Mister Moriarty was in Class A, and that his standing within Class A was by no means low.

Because he had been able to bypass Katsuragi Kohei and directly write in Class C's leader's name, yet chose not to write in Class B's or Class D's. This required extremely high prestige within Class A.

Then... who... was he?

For reasons she couldn't explain, the first person that came to Shiina's mind was the boy beside her—the boy she had missed so many times in the library before finally meeting, becoming friends, becoming book companions, becoming partners...

"Rustle—"

The soft sound of a page turning rang out beside Shiina's ear and fell upon her heart, making it quiver faintly.

"Hm?" Fuyuji beside her seemed to keenly notice her anomaly. He turned his head, his gaze lifting from the book and landing on that cascade of silver hair. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." She shook her head lightly and lowered it once more, her eyes half-lidded.

If Mister Moriarty truly was, as she had deduced... him...

[Which is more important—the one who poses the problem, or the one who solves it?]

[I believe it's the one who solves the problem.]

[I think... whether it's Mister Moriarty or myself, we would both think so.]

Slender fingers turned a page. Shiina silently bit her lower lip. The scenes of exploring the crime scene together with Fuyuji surfaced in her mind one by one.

Far too cunning, Mister Watson...

She gently raised a hand and pressed it over her heart.

If Mister Watson truly was that Mister Moriarty... did he fit these conditions?

Good-looking. Strong social skills. Extremely high standing in Class A.

Setting aside the good-looking condition for now—Shiina shook her slightly burning head. After all, that was a subjective opinion. Perhaps everyone's aesthetic sense differed. Yes, that was it.

Strong social skills—this was something she had personally experienced beyond doubt. Even though he bore the title of Class A's oddball, she still felt incredibly comfortable when spending time with Mister Watson. This was an experience she had never had with anyone else.

And the incident just now was a clear example. Mister Watson had used a few bags of chips to rapidly close the distance between everyone, allowing them to complete introductions in an extremely short time.

As for having extremely high standing in Class A, Shiina's eyes swiveled and quickly swept over Kamuro Masumi and Kito Hayato, both from Class A.

This point was completely impossible to discern.

Still, as she once again turned a page absentmindedly, Shiina locked her gaze firmly onto Fuyuji.

In this exam, Mister Watson—or rather, Mister Moriarty—would definitely make a move again, just like in the deserted island exam. All she needed to do was watch him closely and see if he took any special actions.

Because Mister Watson had clearly told her himself that he didn't participate in Class A's internal struggles and didn't have much standing in Class A.

To Shiina's surprise, Fuyuji truly didn't seem to be making any moves, nor did he appear to have any intention of taking action to root out the VIPs of other classes.

Had her deduction been wrong?

Or was it that the Rabbit Group's VIP was actually in Class A, and the current situation was favorable to them, which was why he hadn't acted? No, logically speaking, Class A had also deleted the VIP text messages sent by the school. They themselves didn't know whether they were the VIPs either. They should be actively searching.

"Fuyuji-kun doesn't seem particularly concerned about this exam. Aren't you in a hurry?" Shiina suddenly spoke, her voice much softer than usual.

She shifted her chair slightly, drawing a little closer to him.

A strand of silver hair blown to her cheek was gently tucked behind her ear, revealing a small, exquisite ear whose rim had quietly dyed a faint pink.

"Mm... I'm indeed not in much of a hurry." Fuyuji mused for a moment and spoke offhandedly. "Because Class A currently holds a huge lead. Even if all of Class A's VIPs were correctly guessed, that's only a 150-point deduction in class points. The other classes would still find it very hard to catch up."

"Come to think of it," Fuyuji suddenly set down the book in his hand and turned his body toward Shiina, looking her up and down as she sat properly in her chair, "isn't Shiina-san the same? You don't seem particularly concerned about this special exam either."

"It's because, in this situation, Ryuen-kun doesn't trust our judgment. Under these circumstances, his only requirement of us is not to act clever and recklessly send in the names of VIPs we've guessed on our own."

Shiina's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Fuyuji's fingers tapping against the book, then quickly darted away.

Fuyuji nodded in agreement. "That's actually a pretty good approach."

Indeed, given Ryuen's suspicious nature, he would absolutely never easily trust the VIPs identified by his own classmates. In that case, it was better to simply forbid privately sending the names of other classes' VIPs and rely on himself to search slowly.

"And what about Fuyuji-kun? What's your view on this special exam?" Shiina's airy words drifted from her throat as she attempted to lift Fuyuji's veil.

"If Shiina-san wants to know..."

Fuyuji was particularly indulgent towards Miss Holmes.

He snapped the book shut, a smile surfacing on his face. He crooked his finger lightly, signaling for her to lean in closer.

"..."

In the blink of an eye, a pink flush dyed her small, round earlobe. The girl shyly tucked her hair back and, carrying a faint fragrance, slowly drew closer to Fuyuji.

Strands of silver hair, carrying the scent of shampoo, were lightly lifted by the air conditioning breeze and brushed against Fuyuji's face, tickling slightly.

Fuyuji looked at the increasingly red little ear, lowered his voice, and spoke softly with a smile.

"If it were me... I would perhaps seek to maximize the benefit for the entire grade."

Shiina's eyes suddenly widened. Result One for everyone?

No! Impossible!

Result One for everyone, with the school having explicitly banned contracts, was already an absolutely unachievable outcome. On this point, Shiina was certain!

And if they truly wanted to achieve Result One for everyone, they should have immediately negotiated with the leaders of the other classes the very day the rules were explained, discussing this possibility—not now.

It was already the first group discussion. No one could guarantee whether some student might send a text message after this discussion ended. Once sent, whether right or wrong, Result One for everyone would already be impossible to achieve.

So what Fuyuji-kun was referring to was definitely not Result One for everyone!

Then... was there another possibility?

Shiina's small mouth parted slightly. She had just been about to press further when the broadcast on the wall suddenly rang out.

[The first group discussion ends here. Students may now freely disperse and leave.]

The moment the broadcast ended, the Class D students, led by Sakayanagi, were the first to walk out of the room. The remaining three classes also had students leaving one after another.

Fuyuji picked up the book from Shiina's lap, his fingers inadvertently brushing across the thin grey knee-high socks on her legs. Stacking it together with his own book, he smoothly slipped them into Shiina's canvas tote bag and carefully zipped it shut for her.

Gently handing the bag to Shiina, their fingertips briefly touched, then quickly drew apart as if sensing something.

"Alright. Let's continue this topic next time. Someone's invited me for afternoon tea. I'll be off first. Bye-bye."

This time, unexpectedly, Fuyuji didn't wait for Shiina's reply and simply strode off on his own.

A long moment passed.

Shiina looked at the white canvas tote bag in her hands. As if waking from a dream, she quickly stepped out of the room and seized Fuyuji's wrist with a sharp slap, confirming once more.

"What Mister Watson mentioned—that shouldn't be Result One for everyone, right?"

"..."

Fuyuji reached out and stroked her little head. The silvery-white strands slid obediently through the gaps between his fingers, like fine silk or freshly melted snow—cool and smooth.

"If Miss Holmes says it's not, then it's not." Fuyuji gently stroked her hair as he consoled her. He took out his phone and glanced at the time. "Alright, that was just my personal opinion. A bit fanciful—not to be taken seriously. Let's go grab something to eat. The ice cream on this ship is pretty good."

"Okay..."

Shiina's voice was barely audible. She nodded dazedly. Her mind was somewhat muddled at the moment. The top of her head, where he had just ruffled her hair, still seemed to retain that warmth. She needed a little time to calm down and think.

...

At the same time.

In the Rat Group room, also on the second deck, the moment the bell rang, Morishita strode out with light, quick steps and headed straight for the Rabbit Group room.

And then she came to an abrupt halt. She stood there, frozen, watching as that bastard named Fuyuji Mikage smiled and lowered his head, stroking the head of that Class C friend he'd just made on the deserted island, gently saying something.

"..."

Before her brain could even sort through her thoughts, Fuyuji had already pulled that Shiina Hiyori along and headed off in another direction, vanishing around the corner.

A long while passed.

"Hmph!"

Morishita's small mouth crumpled. She lifted her chin, tossed her two small braids, clenched her little fists, and stomped off in another direction with heavy steps, kicking up a tiny whirlwind thick with resentment.

Fuyuji Mikage, you are so dead!!

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