COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The Rabbit Group room sank into a deathly silence. The central air conditioning blew cold air in steady hums, stirring the sky-blue curtains by the window.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Fuyuji's mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something in his defense, only to press his lips firmly shut just as the words were about to emerge.

"Even I was taken by surprise. To think that two of the first-year upper classes would actually choose to cooperate in this exam."

Sakayanagi leaned on her cane, her silvery-white strands of hair swaying gently against her shoulders with each light, graceful step she took.

"The two of you engaged in absolutely no communication whatsoever during these group discussions. Had the phone's owner not been locked down with points, I doubt anyone would have imagined that the Class B president's phone actually belonged to a Class A student. However..."

Sakayanagi paused, her gaze slowly sweeping across the students whose expressions had turned varied and complex, finally coming to rest upon Ichinose.

"I suspect... even Ichinose-san herself probably didn't know who the original owner of this phone was. Two classes—one providing the phone, the other putting on the performance. No need for contracts, no need to shoulder any risk. It was indeed a near-perfect plan."

She strolled unhurriedly before Fuyuji, tilting her head slightly, her small chin lifting to a perfectly measured angle. She extended the phone in her hand toward him, a radiant smile on her face.

"Here... Fuyuji-kun. To have gone two whole days without once greeting a lady—I might just get angry, you know."

"..."

Silently accepting his phone, the corner of Fuyuji's mouth twitched.

I'm sorry... could you please not act like we're so familiar? We've barely even met more than a handful of times, have we?

"At this moment..."

Having returned the phone, Sakayanagi turned around and raised her head to gaze at the full moon hanging high above. She spoke with keen interest.

"I imagine... the Class B students in the other groups have also carried out the very same operation based on this plan."

The words had barely landed before Ichinose's expression changed dramatically.

"Could it be—"

"Correct."

The smile on Sakayanagi's lips continued to curl upward as she watched, with playful amusement, the expression on Ichinose's face darken as though shrouded by a layer of gloom.

"I instructed all the students of Class D: if anyone within their group took the initiative to reveal themselves as the VIP and produced the text message as proof, they were to record the internal phone serial number and conduct a unified search."

With a heavy thud, Ichinose seemed to lose all strength. Her body swayed, and she collapsed heavily back into her chair. Both hands dropped powerlessly to her sides as she stared at the floor.

Fuyuji also lowered his head. His bangs fell forward, completely veiling his eyes and brows. Only the tightly clenched line of his jaw and his faintly trembling shoulders could be seen.

"In a situation without contracts, to successfully mislead others into deducing the wrong pattern, displaying the VIP text message to earn trust is an absolutely indispensable step. Otherwise, the other classes would never fall for it."

"And the text message sent by the school absolutely forbids any form of duplication, forwarding, or alteration—violation means expulsion. In other words, the original owner of a phone containing the VIP text message must, without a doubt, be the VIP!"

Shiina, who had been holding her book in silence the entire time, felt her expression shift subtly. Her fingers, wrapped around the book, abruptly tightened. She suddenly raised her eyes, her pupils dilating sharply. She whipped her head around and stared blankly at Fuyuji.

"In other words..."

With a sharp tap, the cane struck the floor, producing a crisp, clear sound. A smile of pure delight blossomed across Sakayanagi's face as she delivered her verdict of victory.

"After this discussion ends, the number of VIPs I hold in my grasp will absolutely exceed six. The game is already over."

"Guh—!"

Fuyuji abruptly raised a hand and slammed his fist viciously into his own thigh, letting out the mournful wail of a defeated dog.

"Damn it! How could this be?! Our Class A... actually lost... It's all the fault of that useless Katsuragi for coming up with this kind of plan!"

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Kito Hayato: "..."

Kito's rigid face lowered in helpless resignation. Both hands shoved in his pockets, he stared at the brownish-red floor and sank into a self-isolated stupor.

Kamuro sat with her legs crossed, her expression cycling through a series of dark and uncertain shades. After stewing for a while and wrestling with the impulse several times, her signature look of utter disgust surfaced on her face.

Just then, the room's broadcast suddenly rang out.

[Five minutes remain until the conclusion of this discussion. All groups are to disperse within five minutes and return to their respective cabins. Repeating once more: this discussion...]

"The timing is just perfect."

Sakayanagi raised a hand and, with an elegant gesture, tucked a stray lock of silvery-white hair that had slipped past her cheek behind her ear. She swept her gaze across the students of each class, still steeped in the throes of defeat. Lifting the hem of her skirt, she gave a slight bow, her movements fluid and graceful.

"Tonight's time ends here. Please allow me to take my leave first. I thoroughly enjoyed myself this time. Thank you for your cooperation, everyone. Good night~"

Having spoken, she leaned on her cane and, leading the three other Class D students behind her—whose faces likewise struggled to contain their excitement—was the first to leave the room.

"Tch... what a failed scheme. To think even our class got caught in the crossfire."

Ibuki Mio irritably ruffled her already somewhat disheveled hair with force, then grabbed the still-dazed Shiina and addressed the two other Class C girls.

"We're heading back first. We've got to let Ryuen know about this!"

Manabe Shiho and the other girl nodded and followed close behind as the second group to leave the room.

A short while later, only the students of Classes A and B remained in the vast room.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya looked at Ichinose, whose face had already turned deathly pale, then at Fuyuji, who was still grinding his teeth. He let out a helpless sigh and spoke in consolation to Ichinose.

"Class President, let's head back. Even though we lost this exam, thankfully it's only a deduction of 150 points. Not yet a crippling blow. We'll just work harder next time."

"Alright..."

Ichinose forced a strained smile onto her face. She braced her hands on the chair and rose to her feet, hanging her head despondently as she stepped out of the classroom.

As the sound of chaotic footsteps gradually faded into the distance—

Fuyuji could hold it in no longer. He let out a miserable, wretched wail and collapsed to his knees with a thud, pounding the floor in a tearful, heart-wrenching display.

"Damn it! It's all Katsuragi's fault! All the school's fault! All Hashimoto's fault! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have lost today..."

"My dreams! My ideal university! My bright, beautiful future—all of it, turned to ashes because of them!"

The heart-rending lament of the defeated echoed through the silent room, passing through the open door and lingering in the empty corridor. It sounded utterly devastating to the ear.

"Oi!"

Two long, fair legs appeared within Fuyuji's line of sight. Kamuro stood with her arms folded, her eyes half-narrowed, and demanded in exasperation, "Are you quite done yet?"

That familiar tone. That scene of overwhelming deja vu. Heaven only knew how many times this guy had rehearsed this privately with Morishita.

Fuyuji didn't raise his head. He waved behind him perfunctorily, his voice thick with a heavy "sob."

"You two go on ahead. When you leave, turn off the room lights for me. I want to savor the state I was in just now. I keep feeling like my performance wasn't perfectly convincing."

Kito's tall figure froze in place, the corner of his mouth twitching several times.

At this moment, he very much wanted to say:

Boss, that one's a natural-born talent. You can't just pull it off.

Before long—

With the crisp click of Kamuro's footsteps departing without a shred of reluctance and the heavy thud of Kito's strides vanishing beyond the door, a soft click sounded. The entire Rabbit Group room was instantly swallowed whole by thick, impenetrable darkness.

Only the moonlight beyond the window still stubbornly streamed through the glass, casting a few distinct columns of pale white light upon the floor—like the spotlight beams on a theater stage.

In the darkness, inside the silent room, after confirming that the footsteps had thoroughly faded into the distance, the shadow curled up on the floor suddenly ceased its shuddering.

After a few seconds of absolute silence, Fuyuji rose soundlessly to his feet. He dusted off his knees and hands, then stretched leisurely with a wide, satisfying yawn, loosening his muscles and bones. A contented sigh escaped him.

He strolled unhurriedly toward the window.

At the same time, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate in rapid succession.

[The Boar Group's exam has concluded. Students of the Boar Group are no longer required to participate in the exam. Please act with caution and do not disturb other students.]

[The Dragon Group's exam has concluded. Students of the Dragon Group are no longer required to participate in the exam. Please act with caution and do not disturb other students.]

[The Rat Group's exam has concluded. Students of the Rat Group are no longer required to participate in the exam. Please act with caution and do not disturb other students.]

...

"It's over..."

He pushed open the window. The pitch-black seawater churned and surged beneath the moonlight, producing a low, rushing roar. A gust of humid, salty sea wind blasted into the room.

The corner of Fuyuji's mouth curled upward uncontrollably. A low laugh spilled from his throat.

"Hmph haha... just as planned—"

"As I thought. You're still here!" A clear voice, brimming with absolute certainty, suddenly rang out behind him like a thunderclap on level ground.

Fuyuji, who had just been about to begin his villain monologue, jolted violently on the spot.

Whipping his head around, he saw Shiina Hiyori, who had long since left, pushing the door open with one hand. Her expression was deeply complex as she stared at Fuyuji.

The moonlight was like water, clearly illuminating her exquisite features and that head of long, silver hair.

The sea wind surged in, stirring the strands of hair on either side of her cheeks—like an elf silently emerging from a moonlit forest.

"Hm?"

Fuyuji leaned against the window as if nothing were amiss, revealing a perfectly measured blend of bewilderment and curiosity. "Shiina isn't leaving yet? It'll be nine o'clock soon..."

"And what about Mister Watson? Why are you still here?"

The door closed with a click. Shiina was unusually subdued—speaking not in her usual airy, floating tone, but with a voice that carried a note of deep, quiet calm.

"Having just lost the special exam... I'm in a bit of a bad mood. I wanted to stay here and be alone for a while."

"No. That's wrong."

Shiina shook her head gently, her silver strands swaying smoothly against either side of her cheeks with the motion.

Beneath the moonlight, her eyes were startlingly bright as she gazed directly at the boy bathed in the cool, clear moonlight.

"In this special exam... it was Sakayanagi-san who lost."

"Eh?" Fuyuji looked somewhat surprised. "Why would you say that? The winner of this exam should be Sakayanagi-san's Class D, shouldn't it?"

"No. That's wrong."

Shiina stared at the boy before her, bathed in moonlight, and spoke with absolute finality.

"It was Class A that won. Or, to be more precise... it was you who won, Mister Watson." She paused, as if weighing something, and then clearly uttered, "No... at this moment, I should call you—Mister Moriarty."

The moment the words fell, the window behind Fuyuji was suddenly blown completely open by a powerful gust of sea wind.

Under the tremendous difference in temperature between inside and out, the humid, sticky sea wind rushed madly into the room, violently whipping the sky-blue curtain high into the air. The moonlight flickered erratically in the wild, chaotic currents of air. Light and shadow rapidly interlaced and shifted across both their faces.

"In this special exam, you... manipulated the entirety of Class A, allied with Class B, and toyed with the entire grade in the palm of your hand."

"Hiyori, isn't that a bit too exaggerated? Why would you think I'm that Moriarty you've been searching for all along?" Fuyuji didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You just said I won. Look..."

Fuyuji spread his palms and began counting off on his fingers, analyzing for Shiina one by one.

"The VIPs in this special exam follow a pattern. By identifying roughly six VIPs, one can deduce the pattern for all of them."

"The school selects the VIPs in advance and sends the text message to the designated students' phones at eight o'clock. In other words, no matter how you swap SIM cards, the VIP's text message will remain inside the phone. As long as you know who the phone's original owner is, that person must be the VIP—"

"Then what if... it was done from the very beginning?"

Fuyuji's nonstop torrent of words came to an abrupt halt.

"What do you mean?"

Shiina raised a hand and pressed it against her disheveled hair. Drawing a deep breath, she advanced half a step forward and enunciated each word with deliberate clarity.

"The sending of the text message is determined based on the SIM card inserted in the phone. What if, before the school sent out the message, the SIM card was unlocked and inserted into a different phone—and then, after the school had finished sending the message, the SIM card was swapped back?"

Fuyuji sank into silence. The sound of the wind outside the window seemed to quiet a little. The curtain slowly drifted back down. A silent tension spread throughout the room.

"This way, the text message originally meant to be sent to the VIP could be successfully stored on a non-VIP's phone."

"After restoring the original SIM card, this person—aside from not actually being the school's designated VIP—would be, in every other respect, absolutely no different from the real VIP! On the other side, without the VIP's text message, no one would ever know that he was the true VIP."

The words, clear in logic and meticulous in reasoning, spilled from the young girl's lips, as if in the very next moment they would decisively checkmate Fuyuji.

"Mister Watson... do you know?"

Shiina half-lowered her eyes, a strange, shimmering light flickering within them, as if recalling something.

"Ever since yesterday, I've been wondering—exactly what was the purpose of your class's Hashimoto-san deliberately leaking intelligence to Class C? Now, I understand. The leaking of the intelligence was itself the purpose."

"It was simply to make Ryuen-kun delete the Class C VIPs' text messages. So that when Sakayanagi-san wanted to identify the VIPs, she could only choose from Class A and Class B."

"And the VIPs of Class A and Class B had already been swapped using this method long ago. Students who were originally not VIPs, upon seeing the message on their phones stating they had been selected as the VIP, would absolutely believe they had been chosen as the VIP."

"Sakayanagi-san... walked straight into your trap from the very beginning."

"There was never any possibility of her winning!"

Inside the silent room, Shiina voiced her final conclusion.

"Clap... clap... clap..."

Slow, unhurried applause rang out softly in the darkness.

"I see. That is indeed a very brilliant deduction."

Fuyuji withdrew his palm and rubbed his chin, nodding with unstinting admiration.

"However..."

He shifted gears and spoke with a beaming smile.

"There's a hole in it."

"Eh?" Shiina abruptly raised her head, a look of bewilderment and confusion surfacing on her face.

"But, dear Miss Holmes," he spread his palms in an obvious gesture of helplessness, "the prerequisite for doing this is that—at the point in time when the SIM cards are swapped, the person carrying out the operation must already know who the true VIP is!"

"Otherwise," he explained in a relaxed tone, "when the school sends out the text messages, if the SIM cards were simply swapped at random, the names of the false VIPs produced in the end would be nothing but a chaotic mess, completely failing to form any coherent pattern. Sakayanagi-san would see through the trickery at a single glance."

"I imagine... no matter how incredible a person might be, they couldn't possibly, before the school has even sent out the messages, predict with foresight what the pattern would be and thereby precisely swap the SIM cards of specific VIPs, could they?"

"So," Fuyuji let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly in coordination, and spread his hands, "the series of deductions Hiyori has made do not hold. Naturally, neither am I that Mister Moriarty."

To further bolster his own credibility, Fuyuji added one more line.

"And don't forget—even if Sakayanagi-san got her hands on the VIP list, she could still have made an error in her deductions. If, a moment from now, Class A just happens to get lucky and take first place, Hiyori needn't be so surprised."

"No, no, no! That's wrong!"

Shiina, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, immediately shook her little head as furiously as a rattle-drum. Her silver strands traced streaks of light beneath the moonlight.

"Mister Watson must have used some other method. Please, let me think a little longer."

"There's no more time, Miss Holmes. It's nearly nine o'clock."

Fuyuji smiled as he walked, step by unhurried step, toward Shiina, who stood at the doorway.

The moonlight slanted down, stretching both their shadows long.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Fuyuji looked at the adorable, utterly unique girl before him, whose head seemed to be practically emitting white smoke, and revealed a smile from the very depths of his heart.

As expected of you, Miss Holmes. To be able to deduce things all the way to this point.

You were just one step away... from succeeding...

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