The Odd One Out

Chapter 5.2 - A Bizarre Encounter

After careful consideration, you were not chosen to be the VIP student of the Cow Group.

I received a message from the school. Everyone received a message telling them whether or not they were chosen as the VIPs.

After careful consideration, so they say. Just what criteria did they use to determine the VIPs? 

Immediately after, people started sending messages in the class group chat.

People wrote lists of members in their groups. Quickly, we had a list of each group's members. Those who were VIPs also told the group chat.

It turns out we did have 3 VIPs. Karuizawa from the Horse Group, Satou from the Rabbit Group, and Yukimura from the Rat Group.

Hm? Is that how they decided?

In the class group chat, they were wondering how they decided the VIPs. Some people deemed it unfair, which was understandable as the VIP had such a big avantage. Being the VIP has basically no downside from an individual point of view.

With three VIP names, it can be difficult to figure out a potential pattern, if there even was one. However, I already had a pattern in mind that was consistent with the VIP selections.

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"My my, this is quite the meeting."

It was time for our meeting, and Arisu was the last one to arrive along with Hashimoto and Kamuro.

"Hey, Sakayanagi-san!" Ichinose greeted her with a bright smile.

"Kukuku, I can't wait to crush every single one of you. Especially you, Ayanokouji..."

"I'm not getting involved in the exam, Ryuuen."

"Oh ho? Is it perhaps too easy? Have you already figured out the VIPs?"

"Who knows?"

"Kukuku... you make my blood boil."

"How about we start by introducing ourselves?" Ichinose suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary, Ichinose. We all know each other, don't we?" Arisu said.

The others nodded.

"I suggest we aim for Outcome 1," Ichinose followed up.

"Don't give me that crap. There's no we in this exam. My sole goal is to crush every single one of your classes," Ryuuen disagreed.

"What do the others think?"

"Well, it is true that Outcome 1 is the best outcome for everyone, but is it a realistic one?"

"Achieving Outcome 1 is definitely easier said than done."

"Screw this, you guys leave me alone in this. I'm not cooperating with anybody," Ryuuen suddenly said, "Come on, Albert, Ibuki, Shiina, let's sit on the sides while these idiots argue."

The four of them immediately left the table and went to sit on the sofas on the side.

"Fufufu... seems like Dragon Boy is as troublesome as always."

"Shut the hell up you handicapped loli!"

"Fufufu."

"What should we do?" Ichinose asked once more.

"What an unproductive meeting," I heard Horikita quietly mutter.

"I think we should all give this some thought before deciding," Hirata said.

Thanks for the obvious advice, Hirata.

"It'll be incredibly hard to decide on a collective objective," Horikita reasonably said, "This is an opportunity for each class to gain class points. Aiming for something that benefits everyone goes against what we're fighting for."