COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 5:Part 7

Do you want to expel one classmate in order to gain 100CP?

In favour.
Opposed.

And there it was. The final question that Chabashira was dreading has arrived. I closed my eyes and started to think about how events will play out from this moment on. So far, it has been more or less going as I envisioned. I decided to give her a chance and vote opposed from the start.

In favour=2
Opposed=37

Even after generously giving her a chance, she still decided to vote in favour. But that was good for me. The more she antagonised the class and the easier it would be for me to break her.

As soon as the discussion period started, everyone started yelling and blaming others. Asking who would even vote in favour of such an issue.

"Are you the one who voted in favour, Koenji? What the hell!?"

Sudo started blaming Koenji. He was probably right to do so.

"Sudo-kun, please calm down. We don't need to panic here. We have 16 discussions remaining. If someone voted in favour, please speak up and give us a reason."

Koenji then looked back at Horikita and decided to speak.

"I did, in fact, vote in favour. As for the reason, it's simply because I believe this is the correct option. Not only could we get rid of a useless classmate holding us back, but we'd also gain 100 class points which gets us closer to class A as you all so desperately desire while giving me more points to spend on my personal desires. Everybody wins except the person who's been useless to our class all along."

Koenji makes a good argument. I would personally agree. If I had any desire to reach class A, I would go with the same option.

"You make a very good argument, Koenji-kun."

Sudo was about to speak up again, but Horikita signalled him to calm down with his hands.

"However, you also can't determine someone's potential. What if the person who appears useless right now ends up being a vital asset to our class later on? If we had this exam last year, Sudo-kun would be one of the top candidates for expulsion. He was by far one of the worst students in this school. Yet, right now, I wouldn't even consider expelling someone like him. I'd go as far as saying that if Sudo-kun gets expelled, we won't make it to class A. So, how can you say with confidence that the person you deem as useless currently won't grow in the future to assist us?"

Horikita also made an excellent argument. Even Koenji was somewhat surprised by her clever response. Sudo, on the other hand, seemed to be flustered upon hearing Horikita's high praises of him.

"Koenji-kun, I ask that you please consider my words and assist us during this exam. I believe that expelling a classmate for a mere 100 points is a decision we might end up regretting. As for the other person, I had asked Ayanokoji-kun to vote for the first option each time while I vote for the second so we could go into a discussion period rather than make a choice we could regret."

Horikita managed to successfully calm down the class that had gone into chaos by keeping her cool and providing sound arguments.

"You make a perfectly good point, Horikita girl. While I do agree that someone who is currently useless could improve over time. I also believe that sacrificing the chance at earning more points over a simple possibility that could never happen is a ridiculous decision that I won't take part in. As per our deal, of course, if it comes down to the very last discussion, then I suppose I'll have no choice but to vote opposed in order to avoid losing class points."

Koenji knew full well that waiting for the very last discussion period was way too risky. If, for whatever reason, anyone else decided to vote in favour during that last discussion, the entire class would be screwed. He wanted Horikita to do something else.

"Then I shall make you another offer, Koenji-kun. You said you have no desire to reach class A. Your goal here is your own personal points, correct?"

Koenji nodded without looking at her.

"Then I shall offer you 10,000 points from my own account each month until graduation. Is that acceptable for you to vote opposed?"

Koenji laughed while everyone looked at Horikita in shock.

"You're growing at an impressive rate, Horikita girl. I agree to your offer and will vote with you."

Horikita nodded and ushered the class to calm down before sitting down herself. She closed her eyes and started thinking. In everyone's eyes, it was over. But Horikita clearly felt uneasy. My words to her before this exam were probably playing in her head. She was wondering what would go wrong now. She would soon find out.

In favour=1
Opposed=38

We entered our sixth discussion period. Even after Koenji agreed to Horikita's offer, someone else was still voting against her.

When Horikita announced our plan last round, I decided not to speak up about me actually voting opposed in order to avoid further panic and give the traitor another chance. Thankfully, the traitor did exactly what I wanted them to do, but it wasn't time to make my move yet.

I looked at Horikita and noticed her somewhat panic. She was putting the pieces together now. She would first think that Koenji lied. But no, he wouldn't do that. If Koenji didn't want to agree, he would simply refuse. Then she would think I voted in favour twice for whatever reason. But that also didn't make sense. Then she would come to the conclusion that I never voted in favour once. Then who did? Who voted in favour twice? She realised who it was that had betrayed us. I could predict her thoughts from simply looking at her face.

"Ayanokoji, what are you doing?? You're supposed to only vote the first option once."

Sudo was looking at me with a confused expression.

"I did vote opposed."

"Huh?? Then who...Koenji, did you lie?? Did you vote in favour again??"

Sudo didn't understand what was happening, so I spoke up again.

"I don't think Koenji lied. I didn't vote in favour last round either. Someone else voted with Koenji and now voted alone."

"What the hell, guys!?! Who's voting in favour quit it!!"

Koenji chuckled in amusement. He probably expected my plan with Horikita but now realised that someone else actually supported the same idea that he had.

"Everyone, calm down, please. Let's just relax and give whoever it is a chance to speak up or change their vote. It's possible that someone made a mistake and will correct it in the next round. If that's not the case, then please speak up."

Nobody spoke up. Horikita tried to calm down and spent the next 3 discussions in silence, including this one. We now only had 12 discussions left, and Horikita was still giving the traitor a chance, but nothing was changing.

I was waiting patiently to make my move.