NOVEL WEB Chapter 26: Alliance?
Omni POV
Yuto's mournful mood changed abruptly when his phone rang and Suzune's name was displayed. "Oh, it's Suzune," he remarked as he answered the call.
[Where are you?]
"'I'm on my way, remember I'm injured?" Yuto fibbed softly.
[Hurry up, we need to talk.]
"'I'm here,"' Yuto announced, gesturing to a nearby table. Ayanokoji and Horikita acknowledged him with a wave. Yuto took a seat next to Horikita and grinned playfully.
Horikita opened her mouth to speak as she said, "Nice weather, isn't it?"
The three turned around and saw Ryuen, Ibuki, and Albert. "Suzune, are you the VIP?" Ryuen asked. Horikita frowned as she replied, "You know I'm not going to tell you that.-"
But Yuto quickly cut in and gave Ryuen a fierce look. "Hey, Five-Fingered Forehead-kun," he warned, "Don't you dare call Suzune by her first name."
Ryuen's eyes narrowed as he met Yuto's gaze, and he ignored Horikita's attempt to speak. "Hey Suzune, tell your crippled dog here not to stick his nose where he doesn't belong." Horikita grimaced as she looked at Ryuen, sighing, "Don't call that masochistic idiot my dog." She glanced at Yuto, who blinked his eyes in delight. Ryuen looked at Yuto's expression and started laughing maniacally while Horikita pinched Yuto's thigh
Ryuen finally stopped laughing as he looked at Horikita with a straight face, "You should know why I'm here. Tell me, what did you do at the island exam?" Horikita scoffed, "As if I'd tell you that." Ryuen giggled, "Yeah, right," and took a picture of Horikta, who immediately stood up, "Don't take my picture!" Ryuen started laughing and waved his cell phone in the air. He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't have time because Yuto knocked the phone out of his hand with the stick. The phone fell into the sea.
Ryuen narrowed his eyes and glared at Yuto, "How dare you..." Yuto chuckled as he said, "What do you mean? I did the world a favour by erasing the mess you had in there!" He paused and frowned as his narrowed eyes took on a purple hue, "You should be glad I didn't break a bone or two," he growled in a low voice. Ryuen's face instantly burst into laughter: "What's a crippled dog like you supposed to do?" he gaped. Yuto had his emotions under control and simply stared at Ryuen, who then stood up and walked away with a grin.
Yuto sighed and looked at Horikita.
"Huh?"
She was blushing! "Suzune! I think you have a fever again!" Yuto panicked while Ayanokoji sighed, 'How stupid can he be with Horikita?' Horikita just stared at Yuto's worried expression as she thought, 'That was actually pretty cool...
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"Heyy! Kazuki-san, wait up!" Hashimoto called out. Yuto turned, a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh! If it isn't that lolli's steed!" he teased with a mischievous grin. Hashimoto chuckled, brushing off the quip, before getting to the point. "You're also in the cow group, right?"
Yuto's expression shifted, his eyes narrowing slightly, though his tone remained upbeat. "You seem awfully perceptive..." Hashimoto laughed, trying to diffuse any tension. "Hey, come on! It's only natural since you've garnered Sakayanagi's attention!" Before Yuto could respond, Hashimoto steered the conversation elsewhere. "Seems like we're here."
As they entered the room, Yuto's gaze fixated on one individual, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Reo Kondo felt a shiver course down his spine as he locked eyes with the last person he wanted to encounter. He fought back the urge to cry.
Claiming a corner seat beside Matsushita, Yuto exchanged waves with his acquaintance before surveying the room. Each occupant scrutinized him with keen, cautionary eyes, likely heeding the warnings from their respective class leaders. Yuto chuckled awkwardly, attempting to break the tension. "Hey guys, care to offer introductions?"
They exchanged glances before nodding assent.
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YUTO POV
"I didn't care much for introductions, nor did I pay attention to them. I glanced at Kondo, who had been avoiding my gaze every time I looked at him. I could end the exam right here if I wanted to. All I have to do is tell Kondo to name a random guy the VIP as the traitor, and I would win. However, doing this would risk Ryuen suspecting rats in his class. I couldn't allow that for a mere 50 class points. After all, in the island exam, it was very easy for us to maneuver around Ryuen, as Ishizaki had told us his entire plan.
That's how I concluded. I wanted to end the exam early. I placed my elbows on the table as I relaxed my chin on my wrist. Everyone directed their attention to me.
I narrowed my eyes to look serious as I spoke, "Listen, everyone." I paused, "Honestly, I don't plan on wasting six hours of my life pointlessly discussing who the VIP is or what case we should go with."
A few people gulped as they waited to hear what I would say next. "I want to end all the discussion today! So here is what we will do!" I said in a cheery voice. They all were shocked at my sudden change in expression. I turned my head to Yume Kobashi from Class B and began, "Kobashi-san, are you the VIP?" Yume looked shocked but she calmly replied, "Why would I tell you that?"
I put on a frown expression as I pushed a paper across the table to the classes. Hashimoto raised his brow as he looked at me, "Kazuki-chan, are you saying you want to go with Case 1?" I nodded as I said, "I plan to use this room as my resting place for the next 4 days, and it's the only one which shall benefit all the classes."
Hashimoto continued as he looked at the paper, "This contract states that no one will name the VIP until the end of the exam. In exchange, Class D shall form an alliance with the respective class for 3 months." I nodded as Hashimoto continued, "Then what is the point of all of this when you can just learn about the VIP on the last day?" I raised a brow as he pulled out a deck of cards, "I told you, didn't I? I want to relax and play here instead of having pointless discussions."
Hashimoto started chuckling as he replied, "And what if we don't take the contract?"
I narrowed my eyes as I said in an intimidating tone, "Then you shall be declared as Class D's enemy."