COTE: The Quiet One Can Be Dangerous

Vol. 4 Chp. 5: Results Speak For Themselves

'...': Writing
'...': Sign language
"...": Text to speech

It was the final exam day, and I couldn't wait for this to end. There was heavy tension in the air.

"Kuku, I want to start this meeting by announcing that I know the VIP in the Dragon group," Ryuuen announced.

"There's no need to do it," Kanzaki said, "I'm the VIP."

Many of them were shocked that Kanzaki would come out and admit it.

A creepy grin appeared on Ryuuen's face, "You're saving me the trouble. You understand I could put your name down and end the group."

"You won't because you want Outcome #1. If Class A were the VIP, you would attempt to end the group," Kanzaki responded.

"Kukuku, am I that obvious?" The smirk didn't disappear from Ryuuen's face.

"What if you're bluffing about being the VIP?" Nishikawa asked.

"If you want proof, I could show you my email," Kanzaki said.

"Wait, Kanzaki-kun, are you sure...?" Andou seemed concerned.

"Yes, I already discussed it with Ichinose-san," Kanzaki reassured her.

Kanzaki reached into his pocket and pulled his phone, showing us his email.

"I want to see," Nishikawa asked.

Kanzaki gave his phone to Nishikawa. It looked like she was checking for something. A sigh escaped her lips, "It's the real deal."

She passed the phone back to Kanzaki.

"It's possible to switch the SIM cards in the phone. He could have switched with Andou-san or Tsube-san."

With this new information shared with the group, Ryuuen pondered before his eyes shot.

"Kuku, why didn't I think of that shit?" An evil grin formed on Ryuuen's face, "It doesn't matter because Class C will be the victor."

~Timeskip~

Ayanokouji's POV

The ship sailing in the deep, dark sea seemed somewhat lonely.

As 11 p.m. drew near, more and more people started arriving. Before I knew it, the café I had planned to go back to was bustling with activity, and seats were being occupied quickly. A girl came up to me while I had already reserved seats.

"Sorry for making you wait," The girl who shyly came over was Karuizawa Kei. Something about her expression seemed to be different than usual.

"Sorry for calling you out this late," I told her.

"No, that's fine..."

As I had nothing to say, I gazed at the silent scenery. Karuizawa's stare made me turn to face her.

"Ahh, umm...I was wondering if everything went alright," she asked.

"It's fine. I'm sure the guys from Class A sent the mail to the school with my name on it."

I can confidently say this because I had a backup plan in place. In addition to switching Karuizawa and Yukimura's phones, we had pre-planned to work together to maximize our synergy. With this strategy in place, there was no need to worry about any potential issues arising.

There was a problem with that, though. It seemed Ichinose was determined that Karuizawa was the VIP, which was strange.

"How can you say that for sure?" She asks. 

"Isn't that because the paper you gave me meant something, Ayanokouji-kun?"

The boy Karuizawa had tried to break up with, Hirata, surprised us from behind.