1:00 P.M. - Luxury Cruise Ship, Dragon Group, Second Floor
The voice of the broadcast echoed through the room.
["Let's begin the first round of group discussion."]
Hikigaya looked around at the others in the room.
Strictly speaking, everyone here was an old acquaintance.
The ever-friendly Hirata Yosuke, the cold and calculating Horikita Suzune, and the ever-smiling but secretly manipulative Kushida Kikyo from Class D were all present. From Class C, there was the cunning and aggressive Ryuuen Sho.
Beside Hikigaya sat Kanzaki, a level-headed student from Class B, while a short-haired girl wearing glasses from Class A sat nearby, deeply engrossed in her book.
Ryuuen was the first to break the silence, scanning the room with a cold smirk.
"The preferential treatment person should just come forward now," he declared. "If you waste my time, you won't get those points so easily."
Hikigaya raised an eyebrow. Is he planning to beat someone up?
Ryuuen was making an obvious threat, but technically, he wasn't singling out anyone. Maybe he thought this would force the preferential student to reveal themselves.
"Oh, how convincing," Horikita sighed. "Do you really think intimidation will make them confess?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Ryuuen sneered as he walked toward her, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "I'm just offering a friendly suggestion. By the way, Suzune—" He leaned in close. "Are you the preferential treatment person?"
His snake-like gaze locked onto Horikita, attempting to pressure her into submission. But Horikita met his stare head-on, unfazed.
"If you continue this nonsense, don't be surprised if the school rules it as intimidation," she warned coolly.
Ryuuen grinned. "Oh? Thanks for the reminder."
He moved on, turning his attention to the next person.
"Or maybe it's you?" His gaze fell on Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida maintained her usual sweet smile. "Ryuuen-san, no one here is going to be intimidated by you. No need to sound so scary."
"You never know until you try," he chuckled, before moving to his next target.
Hirata Yosuke's face was tense, but he quickly composed himself. "Ryuuen-san, if we keep this up, it'll only make everyone more anxious. Why not start with simple introductions instead?"
"Whatever," Ryuuen muttered, unimpressed.
"I'm Hirata Yosuke, Class D," Hirata introduced himself, though Ryuuen wasn't listening.
His real target was Class A.
But no matter how many questions he threw at them, Katsuragi—the bald and disciplined leader of Class A—remained silent, eyes closed as if meditating. The others in Class A didn't even acknowledge Ryuuen's presence.
Even the short-haired girl next to Hikigaya kept reading her book, as if completely uninterested in the conversation.
"He's talking to you," Hikigaya said, nudging her.
The girl finally looked up. "Are you not thinking straight?"
Kanzaki and Okakura Asako also shot Hikigaya confused looks.
Hikigaya let out a dry laugh, scratching his head awkwardly. Maybe I should stay quiet.
"Katsuragi?" Ryuuen frowned. "Is this Class A's strategy? Playing dumb like a coward?"
Katsuragi remained unfazed.
"So," Horikita Suzune spoke up, her sharp eyes analyzing the situation, "can I assume that the preferential treatment student is in Class A? Katsuragi, did you decide on this strategy for their sake?"
"You can think whatever you want," Katsuragi finally opened his eyes, his deep voice calm and unwavering. "But no one in Class A will engage in any discussions."
With that, he closed his eyes again.
This exam had twelve preferential treatment students—three from each class.
Class A's tactic was simple: complete silence.
By refusing to participate, they could effectively hide their preferential students without any risk. They wouldn't gain class points, but they would secure 1.5 million personal points.
A defensive "turtle strategy" that also obstructed other classes from gathering intel.
Hikigaya observed Katsuragi thoughtfully. So they've given up on offense… but why?
If this were the deserted island exam, he wouldn't have found it unusual. Class A had a significant lead at the start of the semester, nearly 400 points ahead of the lower classes. Playing it safe made sense back then.
But now, the gap between Class A and Class B had shrunk to just 200 points. Worse, Class B had actually ranked first in the previous exam. If this trend continued, Class B could easily surpass them.
Why would Katsuragi adopt such a passive strategy now?
Hikigaya's mind raced. During the island exam, Class A had aggressively seized strongholds and stationed people to guard them. Katsuragi had always played both offense and defense.
So what changed?
There's a traitor in Class A.
Someone must have leaked information to other classes during the island exam—someone working against Katsuragi. That would explain why Katsuragi had abandoned offense entirely.
Perhaps even Katsuragi himself didn't know who the preferential treatment student in his class was. If information leaked again, it would undoubtedly be the work of the Sakayanagi faction.
Interesting.
Meanwhile, Ryuuen was still making his rounds.
"That just leaves you," he grinned, stopping in front of Hikigaya. "What's with that confident smile? Are you the preferential treatment person?"
Uh-oh. He figured me out.
"What do I have to say to make you believe me?" Hikigaya asked, doing his best to sound calm.
Ryuuen narrowed his eyes. "How about you show me your phone?" He smirked. "I'll even pay you."
Hikigaya's eyes gleamed. "How much?"
The room went silent.
"Hikigaya," Kanzaki frowned.
"Hikigaya," Horikita said sharply. "The moment you asked for a price, everyone here knew you weren't the preferential treatment person."
"…Oh. Whoops."
Suppressing his amusement, Hikigaya scratched his head.
But the damage was done. A chain of suspicion had been set in motion.
Was he lying to throw people off? Or was he genuinely not the preferential student?
The others eyed him with uncertainty, their suspicions only growing.
Hikigaya smirked inwardly. See? This is what makes Werewolf fun.
Kanzaki shot him a disapproving glance, clearly annoyed that he was making the game more chaotic.
Finally, Ryuuen lost patience.
"Just show me your phone already."
Hikigaya grinned. "For 30,000 personal points?"
"What a joke."
"The reward for being a preferential treatment person is 500,000 points. If divided among the group, each person should get at least 40,000."
Okakura Asako helpfully added, "Actually, it's about 41,666."
Hikigaya grimaced. "Ugh. Fine, 40,000 then."
Ryuuen burst into laughter. "This bastard really tried to shortchange me!"
Despite his annoyance, he agreed. "Fine. 42,000 points. Keep the extra as a bonus."
"Much appreciated," Hikigaya replied cheerfully, pulling out his phone.
He wasn't sure if anyone else realized it yet.
But this was what made Werewolf fun.
Not just finding the truth—but making sure no one else did.
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