Mishuku Hana was a few meters away
from the answer button a few minutes before the winner of the third event was
decided.
She was following the strategy
decided by Lucille's initiative, and was in the role of guessing the answer to
the question by summarizing the information gathered by the other four
participants.
She also had changed her clothes to a
detective look. Combined with her own glasses, she looks intelligent. Thanks to
the effect of [Pretending], which she [Looting] from Ayase, she is in the best
condition for brainwork such as deduction.
「...But, I still don't have enough
information...」
She looks at her smartphone, which
she uses as a notepad, and sigh. With the wall of the school building behind
her, she avoids the risk of being seen, but so far there is no sign of
interference.
The following is a summary of the
information provided by Lucille and the others.
・Red ball- "A",
"M"
・Blue ball - "B",
"Y", "A"
・Orange ball - "B",
"I"
There is a duplication of
"B" and "A".
But the colors are well separated,
which is unfortunate considering that Marika's guess that each color is a
different set is correct.
...Also, the possibility of Japanese
text cannot be ruled out.
The ratio of vowels to consonants is
too good. If it is a Japanese sentence, the total number of characters would
jump up compared to the English sentence. It is possible that not even 10% of
the sentence has been confirmed yet.
Hana have even tried to search for
the word with an English vocabulary application, but she can't make a good
guess.
At least one or two more balls are
needed.
**a
And now, Chihiro has been attacked by
Kaname and Saki, which has slowed down the search.
Of course, he's doing a good job of
attracting both of them by himself, and Hana is worried... not resentful... but
concerned.
「It would be different if there was at
least a hit-and-blow system」
By then, she can narrow down the
answers based on the number of hits and so on. However, she has just witnessed
a student from Shibakkou Academy answering the question, and she has confirmed
that no information other than correct or incorrect answers can be given.
――After that, there is another way to
guess the answer from the answers of other teams.
The other teams should be able to
prepare their answers with a certain degree of confidence based on the
information they have obtained. The letters and words they used are also
valuable information.
Either the information from the
allies or the wrong answers from the enemies. Hana waits for either of them.
And then.
Ping! A small sound comes from
her smartphone.
On there, a small window appears on
the screen. It seems to be a message.
『Thanks』
A thank you.
Hana tilted her head for a moment to
see if the concierge function was malfunctioning or something, and then she
realized another possibility.
She wondered if such a coincidence
could happen at this moment.
Rather, it would be more natural to
think that someone has used his/her ability to send a message to her - a
provocation through hacking.
「Damn it!」
It was a mistake to use the
electronic terminal as a memo.
Hana jumps up and looks at the
entrance to the school. Just then, she saw a female student coming out of the
school building. She is one of the representatives of Shibaryuu Academy.
But Hana is too late.
The third event, also requires not to
attack the students coming out of the school building. Otherwise, the strategy
of exploiting students who came to press the "answer" button to get
information would be in effect.
In other words, the female student
answers cannot be stopped.
She smiled at Hana and pressed the
"answer" button without any obstruction.
「「Boys, be ambitious!」「
「That's right!」
Boys, be ambitious!
It seems that the correct answer was
a witty or intrusive phrase, typical of a high school event.
Probably, she not only hacked Hana's
terminal but also snooped on other schools' phones and e-mails. If she could
get the information of four schools, perhaps it would have taken her a long
time to answer the question.
Sigh... She lost the
information war. She has lost completely.
Now, the three schools are equal in
the competition.
And the game will be decided in the
fourth event.
**b
* * *
「Thank goodness you're all right」
「Thank you. Although it's a pity that
we didn't win, it was a good timing for me」
Chihiro met up with the members in
front of the entrance to the school, and smiled at Kamishiro's words.
In the end, he never got to hear what
Kaname was going to say. But in any case, if the game had gone on any longer,
it would have been a battle. It was a good thing that he didn't waste his time.
Besides, it is difficult to deal with
Kaname and the others during the game.
And for now, Chihiro and the others
decided to take their chances, and to move on after the game.
「Damn it, even though I just took
those things floating in the air on the rooftop...」
Among the Shibakkou Academy students,
Chihiro heard Minamoto swearing.
Was the staff using their ability to
make them float? So, there was a ball prepared in a terrible place.
『At any rate, it's fortunate that
Shibatsuru Academy didn't win』
「Yes. Now, the school with two wins
will be the winner」
The next event was announced to be
held on the field, and there was a 20-minute interval.
Immediately after the dismissal,
Lucille exhaled and looked back at Chihiro.
「So, Chihiro, what are you going to do
about that first-year student over there who almost killed you?」
「What do you mean?」
「Attempted murder is definitely a
penalty, isn't it? Don't you have to report it to the staff?」
「...But, in fact, I'm safe」
He glanced at the students of
Shibatsuru Academy.
The atmosphere seems to be a bit
chilly. Kaname and Saki are looking mysterious, Madoka and Tsukasa are looking
troubled, and Shizuru's expression is stiff.
But then, he heard a sigh in his
head.
（Nii-san is a soft guy, isn't he?
Especially for girls. Well, that's one of your good points）
But at the same time, it is a fatal
flaw.
After all, to increase the winning
rate of the competition, he should do everything within the legal range. He
knows this in his head, but he can't hurt Kaname and Saki.
They are victims brainwashed by
Kaito. He can't help but think so.
Yotsuba who was listening to Chihiro
and Lucille nodded her head and quietly said.
「I understand what Izumi-kun is trying
to say. But you know, I can't just stand by while my friends are almost killed」
There was anger in her eyes.
It was as if she would swallowed
someone if they made eye contact with her, as if she would kill them with her
emotions alone.
「I don't like it either, but maybe it
was just a joke, right? Then, if it's okay with Izumi-kun, it's okay, isn't it?」
「Kamishiro-kun says the same thing
even if he is the target, huh....? Are all our men idiots?」
Kamishiro and Chihiro exchanged a
look at each other at Hana's venomous remark.
Well, they couldn't argue with her.
「Anyway, I can't overlook the fact
that there was a clear threat to your life. No matter what Izumi-kun himself
says, I can't change my mind」
「...I understand」
"If this is what you really
want, use the effect of [Domination] on me".
Seeing Yotsuba's implicitly, Chihiro
nodded his head.
