Hikigaya doesn't want to be a force of strength

Ichinose spoke doubtfully.

She instinctively felt that Hikigaya might have discovered some clue about the identity of the leader of Class A, found something pointing to the other party.

However, the examination on the uninhabited island cannot identify the leader based solely on clues.

The rules of this exam do not allow students from each class to nominate the leaders of other classes based on just a little suspicion.

"If we only get clues about the leader, it can't be used as proof." Kanzaki Ryuji next to him also took the initiative to remind him, "After all, if we successfully nominate the leader of another class, we will get 50 points, but if we fail, we will also bear the risk of losing 50 points if the nomination is wrong. If the intelligence is not % accurate, we can't make such a high-risk attempt."

"Kanzaki-san!"

After hearing what Kanzaki Ryuji said, before Hikigaya could say anything, Ichinose became anxious first, "Hikigaya is my friend, what you just said was too rude!"

"This... I'm sorry."

As the two leaders of Class B clashed with each other, Hikigaya instinctively reacted to a certain term uttered by Ichinose.

Huh? Friend?

Have you become friends with Ichinose?

when?

Because of this moment of distraction, he missed the great opportunity to explain.

Ichinose said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Hikigaya-san. Kanzaki-san is a little too rigid. However, I can understand his concerns. After all, he is thinking about our class. Even if it is the information you gave us, Hikigaya-san, we can't easily believe it."

Ichinose's attitude was very humble. Her sincere and frank words, coupled with her outstanding yet gentle appearance, would make it impossible for anyone to feel any emotion.

In fact, Hikigaya didn't care at all.

After all, no matter what, he is a member of Class D, not Class B. He can only be considered an outsider no matter what, and it is impossible for him to truly establish a trusting relationship with the people in Class B.

The "friend" that Ichinose just mentioned was probably just a polite concept.

Just like when I was in elementary school and reported to my parents about my school situation, I would always say, "I have made several friends in school."

In fact, whether it is 'several' or 'friends', they are nothing but hypocritical lies.

Even if told with good intentions, a lie is still a lie and cannot become the truth.

Moreover, he had anticipated that the other party would distrust his intelligence, so he had prepared a way to persuade Class B from the very beginning.

As the saying goes, the best way to solve a problem is to make the problem itself not a problem.

In other words, fraud.

Hikigaya Hachiman has been the worst fraudster since long ago.

"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-san. It's rare that you're so kind."

Ichinose's face was red, and it looked like he was still embarrassed for rejecting Hikigaya's help. There was no sign of pretense on his part.

This kid actually cares so much about his own affairs...

As expected, Ichinose is a very gentle girl.

"It's okay. I know you'll have concerns about me outside of the class." Hikigaya waved his hand calmly. "But even if you don't name the leader of Class A, it shouldn't be a problem for you to just listen to the information I gave you."

"This……"

Hearing Hikigaya's conciliatory words, Ichinose and Kanzaki looked at each other.

After confirming the situation with each other, Ichinose nodded slowly: "I understand. If I just listen to the content..."

"Whether or not to nominate Class A is entirely up to us."

Kanzaki Ryuji suddenly spoke.

He seemed determined to play the bad guy to the end, or maybe he was just worried that Ichinose would be fooled by Hikigaya and do something impulsive, so he took precautions in advance.

Hikigaya just smiled at Kanzaki's overly wary look.

Kanzaki Ryuji is unlike Ichinose Honami, who devotes himself wholeheartedly to the good of the class.

Therefore, towards people who are not in his class, he will always display a strong defense mechanism and doubt every word he says.

Although this would make the conversation difficult to start, it was not a bad thing for what Hikigaya was going to do next.

"Don't worry, I don't have the power to interfere with your class's actions. I don't think Ichinose-san will impulsively give the name of Class A's leader just because of a word I said."

Hikigaya said this just to lighten the mood.

Unexpectedly, the expressions of Kanzaki and Ichinose in front of him became quite subtle.

"That's not necessarily true." Kanzaki Ryuji said with a look of doubt.

“I, I really won’t do that, probably…” Ichinose denied it with all his strength, but it seemed that he couldn’t completely deny it.

What's going on with this B-class duo?

Are you doing crosstalk here?

Hikigaya shook his head, ignoring their strange behavior, and said silently: "The thing is, before coming to the uninhabited island, I met a girl from Class A named Sakayanagi Arisu..."

"Class A?"

"Arisu Sakayanagi?!"

After hearing Hikigaya's words, Kanzaki Ryuji and Ichinose Honami's expressions changed almost at the same time.

Because the reactions were so consistent, Hikigaya couldn't help but wonder if the two could really debut as a crosstalk group, which might lead to them becoming very popular.

Having said that, Hikigaya knew very well that his relationship with Sakayanagi could not be kept secret.

Therefore, instead of waiting until the fact that the relationship between me and Class A is unclear is exposed, it is better for me to speak out directly.

"What do you think of Sakayanagi?"

Hikigaya didn't beat around the bush and directly asked his question.

"Ah?" Hearing Hikigaya's words, Ichinose murmured in surprise, "What, what does this mean? Hikigaya-san, do you like Sakayanagi-san?"

"What the hell."

Could it be that this child has the legendary love-brain?

What is this all about...

"That's not what I meant. I just wanted to hear what you think about Sakayanagi." Hikigaya quickly corrected the subject to prevent the two from having any strange misunderstandings about him.

“I-I see.” Ichinose blushed for no apparent reason and spoke hesitantly, “Sakayanagi-san? I haven’t had much contact with her, but she seems to be a very powerful person.”

Ichinose doesn't seem to like talking bad about other students behind their backs and is very restrained in his words.

In contrast, Kanzaki Ryuji said directly: "I think that Sakayanagi Arisu is a very dangerous guy. It is best not to have too much contact with such people."

"Kanzaki-san?!"

"Why? I'm telling the truth."

"Even if it's true, you can't say that about others behind their backs..."

As Ichinose and Kanzaki Ryuji once again erupted into a crosstalk-like conversation, Hikigaya determined that Class B met the impression he needed.

In this way, we can negotiate with them with full confidence.

Yes, everything Hikigaya just did was to test Class B's impression of Class A, in order to understand how much Class B knows about Class A.

He had never heard Ichinose mention the class, and he didn't know if everything Class B showed him was just a disguise.

That's why he asked the two of them in such a roundabout way.

Hikigaya always habitually distrusts other people, which is his bad habit, but also something he likes about himself, so he is the strongest lone ranger.

No matter what happens, he can't unconditionally trust anyone other than himself.

So, friends are something that I really don’t have a connection with…

Unnecessary thoughts arose in his mind without him noticing, but Hikigaya quickly straightened himself out.

Now that Class B's perception of Arisu Sakayanagi has been confirmed, what he needs to do next is to make good use of this perception to create false misleading information.

The so-called fraud is to use false illusions to conceal the truth and create real results out of nothing!

"In fact, Sakayanagi knew about the uninhabited island exam from the beginning, and made a lot of preparations for it." Hikigaya said silently, "I am also one of the chess pieces she controls."

"what?"

After hearing Hikigaya's half-truthful words, Ichinose and Kanzaki had different expressions, but they all showed tension and confusion.

Without giving them time to sort out their thoughts, Hikigaya continued, "That girl is a very crazy person. She has held a lot of people's handles and used them unscrupulously. Even I accidentally fell into the trap and had to do things for her."

"How come? Even you, Hikigaya-san?"

Seeing that Ichinose seemed very worried about him, Hikigaya quickly said, "But my situation is fine. I only agreed to help her with the test on the uninhabited island. After it's over, I'll be completely clear with her."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Although Hikigaya's statement was completely correct in terms of the result, and he did work for Sakayanagi in this uninhabited island exam, the deduction process was completely wrong, and there was absolutely no doubt or loopholes at all.

This is what is called fraud.

Of course, what just happened was just a prelude, a psychological preparation for the real reason that Hikigaya would use to convince Class B.

Chapter 272: The most brilliant lie is telling the truth

Hikigaya successfully convinced the two members of Class B that they were being controlled by Arisu Sakayanagi.

Actually, this isn’t entirely a lie.

It was indeed at the request of Arisu Sakayanagi that he had to do his best to deal with Class A led by Katsuragi in the exam on this uninhabited island.

However, what he didn't tell Ichinose and Kanzaki was that he was not forced by Sakayanagi Arisu to try to work for the other party, but he had reached a deal with Sakayanagi.

This seemingly insignificant difference in wording was actually a language trap that Hikigaya had prepared for Class B.

Of course, he had no intention of doing anything bad to Class B, and the reason for setting up the trap was to make Ichinose and Kanzaki believe in him.

This can also be considered a kind of 'white lie'.

"So Hikigaya-san, you are actually working for Sakayanagi-san from Class A?" Ichinose figured out the facts bit by bit, confusion on his face, "But why did you tell us about Class B? And what does this have to do with the identity of the leader of Class A that you said you would tell us before?"

Kanzaki Ryuji has the same confusion as Ichinose.

The two of them obviously couldn't understand why Hikigaya had said at the beginning that he wanted to tell them the identity of the leader of Class A, but in the end he brought the topic to Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Of course it does."

Hikigaya looked at Ichinose calmly, "After all, aren't you curious why I, who am now Arisu Sakayanagi, would help you deal with Class A?"

"This……"

Hikigaya's leading question drew direct reactions from Ichinose and Kanzaki.

The two of them realized a possibility almost at the same time, and their eyes involuntarily focused on Hikigaya standing in front of them.

"Hikigaya, are you saying that... it was that Sakayanagi who told you about the identity of the leader of Class A? And he deliberately asked you to come and tell us?"

"..."

Hikigaya said nothing on the surface, but in his heart he was already congratulating, "Ichinose, you've been fooled."

Yes, from the very beginning, Hikigaya never thought of relying on his own abilities to convince Ichinose and Kanzaki.

After all, he didn't have any cards in his hand that could deal with Class B, and it was even more impossible for him to make Ichinose and Kanzaki believe that Totsuka Yahiko was the leader of Class A.

But without any cards in hand, can't we induce Class B to act according to our wishes?

As a fraud expert, Hikigaya knew very well that if he had no cards in his hand, all he had to do was make his opponent believe that he had cards.

This was also the reason why he deliberately changed the topic to Sakayanagi Arisu.

As long as they can make Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji believe that they are connected to Sakayanagi Arisu, and cover up all the inconsistencies with Sakayanagi's abilities, they can create a theory out of nothing that makes them feel self-consistent.

As the saying goes, the best lie is telling the truth.

Hikigaya was telling the truth, so he wasn't worried at all about his lies being exposed by the two, but at the same time, he was able to achieve his goal.

The fraud was established at this moment.

Of course, he also knew that this alone was not enough to convince Ichinose and Kanzaki to believe in him.