The audience erupted with passionate cheers the instant the host announced that they were resuming the show. There was probably not a soul left in the crowd who saw this as merely an attraction for the school festival anymore. This was a serious match with two student council presidential candidates’ pride on the line, and the passionate cheers from the crowd were proof of that.
“Our next topic…is math! Here’s your first question! Which of the following is the correct geometric net for this three-dimensional object? Timer starts now!”
“Whoa?!” exclaimed Masachika at the strangely difficult question. This was obviously not something you could solve within ten seconds, no matter how you looked at it. Maybe you could put two of the nets together in your head if you were quick enough. As a result, both Yuki and Alisa punched in their completely different answers almost simultaneously when there were only two seconds left to go.
“Time’s up! The correct answer is number three! …Oh no! This is the first time both contestants got the answer wrong!”
“Yeah… Not much anyone could have done about that,” said Masachika with a bitter smirk.
It was essentially a luck-based question, after all.
“Incidentally, only eleven percent of people got the answer right! I guess ten seconds was a little too short, huh?”
“…What?”
Masachika’s smile fell.
Wait… What did the host just say?
A chill ran down his spine, and the clearly unusual comment instantly put Masachika’s slowly drifting brain into overdrive.
Only 11 percent of people got the correct answer? That doesn’t seem right. Probability-wise, you have a one-in-four chance of getting the answer right. But if we assume there were at least a few people who actually knew the answer, then wouldn’t at least 20 percent be more realistic? There’s no way only 11 percent of people got the answer right… Unless…
Unless the people answering were influenced by Yuki’s and Alisa’s incorrect answers.
“…!!”
The instant it hit him, Masachika’s heart began to race. He couldn’t even breathe as something similar to fear shot through his body.
Wait, wait, wait. Then that means…
There was no time to worry about how the quiz was going any longer. Masachika placed a hand on his chin, getting lost in his own thoughts.
The percentage of correct answers from non-contestants wasn’t something they calculated beforehand after surveying strangers. They’re using the audience’s answers to calculate the percentage. In other words, the audience can manipulate the score. But that sounds like it would be pretty pointless if Yuki and Alya kept getting the right answer… Wait! How stupid am I?!
There was an obvious way to manipulate the scores to one’s advantage, and it was right under Masachika’s nose.
So that’s why they have the answers displayed here!
Although an extreme example, what if everyone here copied Alisa’s answer? If she got the answer correct, then the general percentage of correct answers would be 100 percent. In other words, she would get zero points. But if Alisa got the answer wrong and Yuki got it right, then the general percentage of correct answers would be a whopping 0 percent, which would instantly give Yuki a hundred whole points in the blink of an eye. And if that were to happen, then there would be no way for Alisa to catch up, no matter how many questions she got right.
Ha…ha-ha… This is a feature of an election. Each answer the audience gives is a vote that directly influences how many points Alya and Yuki get.
There were probably not that many people in the audience who had realized this…yet. But what if people started to catch on? How many people in the audience were fans of Yuki? At the very least, she had far more people who would vote for her over Alisa. Which meant…
I need to get as many people on my side as possible and have them copy Yuki’s answers! That should at least prevent her from getting a huge advantage! There’s one more thing I need to do—
Masachika sprang into action, pulling out the contact list on his phone while turning on his heel to leave the area.
…Masachika had the right idea, but he made a huge mistake in his calculation… There was already someone who had caught on to this point system long before he did.
“Sorry, Kuze, but I need you to stop right there.”
“Huh…?”
Once he started to walk away, a familiar female student suddenly appeared right in front of him. Immediately, another familiar face appeared on his left and yet another right behind him.
“You guys are…”
They were friends of friends, so he had met them a few times before, and there was only one reason why they would prevent him from leaving.
“I am deeply sorry, Master Masachika, but I must ask you to stop what you’re doing.”
Right when he heard yet another voice coming from his right, someone grabbed his right wrist tightly, stopping him from using his smartphone. He immediately looked down to find a very familiar girl looking up at him with her usual blank expression.
“You… Oh.”
Masachika wasn’t the first person who realized how the scoring worked, but it wasn’t one of the hundred members sitting in the audience, either.
“I am well aware of how disrespectful this is of me, but I am doing it all for Lady Yuki’s victory. I am not letting you go until this trivia show is over.”
It was Yuki’s partner, Ayano.
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