Both Hirata and Hamaguchi watched the discussion for five minutes through the monitor.
The participants seemed to be probing each other through the discussion, but there weren't many ways to tell if they were lying or telling the truth.
Suspicious students were spotted, but whether they were actually honor students was another matter. With no clear direction, the representatives had basically two choices: strike first to identify the roles and press the opponent, or avoid risks and wait.
At least, the two sitting here wouldn't recklessly push through with the risks.
'Please proceed with nominating or passing. You have one minute.'
After that announcement, a brief silence followed. In this classroom, apart from two students, there was only one adult present. It wasn't the second-year homeroom teacher who had been explaining things until just a moment ago, but a face they had never seen before. Without uttering a single word, he observed the students' conversations and movements from a corner of the classroom.
"It's a tough exam. Even you don't seem to understand it right away, Hirata-kun. Right?"
Hamaguchi asked, sounding skeptical.
Hirata, not fond of strategizing, simply nodded in agreement.
"Trying to figure out who's suspicious makes everyone look suspicious. It's not easy to decide at first glance."
Like the 14 participants who had discussed earlier, the two vanguards cautiously exchanged words. Both shared a common trait: they were not adept at telling the kind of lies that torment others. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they showed a distaste for such methods.
"...Alright."
Hamaguchi, after taking a breath, unhesitatingly chose to pass on the tablet. Without a definite answer, the risk was high. That was why, without hesitation, he made that decision and waited for Hirata's judgment.
On the other hand, Hirata also couldn't afford to take risks. Among the 14, the representative had to discern two honor students, one teacher, one graduate, one underclassman, and one upperclassman. In other words, they would simply have to guess six out of fourteen roles in order to achieve results.
The probability was about 42.9%. Some might not consider the odds that bad, since it's relatively high.
In reality, however, since the roles to be nominated were divided into five categories, excluding ordinary students and traitors, the probability was significantly lower. With both sides deciding to pass, the process moved on, and the effects held by the teacher and the graduate roles, as well as nominations by participating honor students would occur. Since it would naturally narrow down the participants when only specific roles operated the tablet, other roles without special abilities also had to choose who they currently suspected on the tablet.
The honor student ordered Karuizawa to leave. Her departure was decided in an instant, and before frustration could even surface, she quietly left the classroom.
Now there were 13 people. As the probability subtly shifted, the second round of discussion began. The two representatives stared intently at the monitors, their breaths so stifled that even the sound of their breathing seemed to disturb them.
The discussion seemed short yet long. Participants frequently stumbled over their words. And still, many didn't know how to act.
They were observing everyone with suspicion.
Every little gesture, every little action, everything felt suspicious.
When the second round ended, the representative's right to nominate came around once again. Hamaguchi glanced sideways at Hirata, who was staring at the tablet and deep in thought, hoping that Hirata had not yet figured anything out.
Half of his wish was granted; Hirata had not obtained any new information, just like in the first round.
Soon, Hirata looked towards Hamaguchi. They made eye contact, and they silently challenged each other in their minds. As the time limit approached, both made the same decision again.
Judging it too risky, they chose to hold and pass. Consequently, an honor student made a nomination, and another student left. Naturally, the student's role remained unknown.
Yet, the total number of participants kept steadily decreasing.
Preparing for the next round, Hamaguchi leaned forward and focused on the monitor again.
The number of participants had decreased by two, but the real targets were the honor students, who could take away three of the opponent's lives. With the number of participants itself decreasing, it seemed like a good time to strike.
The vanguard only had five lives. If Hamaguchi could identify one honor student, he could push his opponent into a corner. The third round began with such calculations in Hamaguchi's mind.
Yukimura's persistent remarks directed at Nakanishi caused more agitation than expected, leading to a situation where Nakanishi, under intense criticism from those around him, was on the verge of panic.
As his classmate, Hamaguchi knew well that Nakanishi wasn't the type to overact, so he decided that it was time to nominate him as an honor student, despite the risks.
On the other hand, Hirata didn't share the same sentiment.
Nakanishi's actions seemed forced, and he took it as a sign that he wasn't an honor student.
Yet, whether he held another role was still undetermined at this point.
While focusing on the same person, they reached different conclusions.
Hamaguchi quickly used the tablet to nominate Nakanishi as an honor student. Meanwhile, Hirata decided to pass once more.
'Hamaguchi-kun has successfully identified Nakanishi-kun as an honor student, so Hirata-kun will lose three lives.'
Hamaguchi's decision and nomination were successful, revealing that Nakanishi was indeed an honor student.
"Tsk…
Expecting Hamaguchi to remain on the defensive, Hirata suffered a painful blow from his attack.
Hamaguchi had taken a significant head start but felt relieved realizing it was quite a reckless nomination. He had decided that Nakanishi was an honor student due to his impatience, but there was also a good chance that he played a different role. Acknowledging that luck played a part in the result, he resolved to stay composed and not let his emotions fluctuate too much.
As a result, Hirata quickly lost three lives, leaving him with only two remaining.
There was a significant change in the situation, where they had previously been keeping each other in check and progressing without speaking much.
Only one honor student remained. Hirata was pushed into a corner where he had to find another role—he became acutely aware of this as the fourth round began.
He realized how crucial it was to take the initiative in this special exam.
He could no longer carelessly choose to pass like in the previous three rounds.
He hoped for the discussion to progress and provide significant clues.
He impatiently wished for this, but things didn't proceed as he had hoped.
With Nakanishi confirmed as an honor student through the representative's nomination and having disappeared from the discussion, the remaining honor student would hide even deeper.
That was why, at this point, he wanted to rely on the students playing the other roles.
"Let's not hold grudges against each other, Hirata-kun."
"Yeah. Of course, I understand."
The discussion was progressing, albeit slowly.
It wouldn't be strange for new information to emerge soon.
About two minutes after the start of the fourth round, Yukimura finally declared himself a graduate.
Yukimura, having checked others for their roles three times, reported that all his previous checks were regular students and he had not yet determined who the honor student was.
However, this was a stroke of luck amidst Hirata's misfortune, a piece of good news.
If he nominated Yukimura as a graduate, he could reduce Hamaguchi's lives by two.
Of course, Hamaguchi would likely nominate Yukimura as a graduate as well, but then it would only cancel out.
This would allow the game to be decided in the next fifth round.
With no options left, Hirata would immediately nominate Yukimura as a graduate as soon as the discussion was over.
But…
'Hamaguchi-kun, Hirata-kun, both of you have made incorrect nominations and will lose one life each.'
After Yukimura was dismissed from the room, it was revealed that he wasn't a graduate.
Yukimura had only pretended to be a graduate to advance the stalemate and search for the honor student.
If he had observed Yukimura closely, he might've noticed that he was fabricating his role.
Hirata, in his impatience, failed to make a calm judgment and mistook him for a graduate who could identify the honor student.
It was a relief that Hamaguchi was also fooled, but still, their lives were now four to one. Shortly after the discussion had started, Hirata was still feeling a bit lighthearted, not realizing the weight of the end-of-year special exam. However, it suddenly began to weigh on him now.
The cautious battle between the two representatives had begun, and from here, a cautious exchange ensued.
The participants, who had grown suspicious of the fact that Yukimura wasn't a graduate, all simultaneously shut their mouths, were unable to draw out new information, and chose to hold off. As a result, both representatives decided not to use their abilities to nominate and chose to pass. The remaining honor students continued to nominate one after another, forcing Ōnuki, Makita, and Azuma to leave.
Without fulfilling the conditions to end the discussion, he realized that only six participants remained.
The discussion moved on to the eighth round.
And then…
'Hirata-kun has made an incorrect nomination and will lose one life. As this brings his lives to zero, Hirata-kun, please leave the room.'
The announcement flowed mercilessly.
The participants were at a stalemate and the discussions made no progress. Hirata, driven by impatience and the lack of options, took a gamble, but he missed his mark.
Saved by luck with Nakanishi's successful nomination, Hamaguchi's choice to continue passing led to his victory.