After the midterm exams ended, a rare period of peace settled over the school.
Perhaps because there were no good targets, Kakeru Ryūen, the biggest troublemaker among the first years, chose to lay low for a long time afterward—if you don't count his tyrannical behavior as causing trouble, that is.
During this time, Symon and Hiyori's daily life was also uneventful. However, as their circle of acquaintances expanded, some minor incidents inevitably began to pop up.
For instance: occasionally running into Masumi Kamuro on the sports field; Mio Ibuki and Mei-Yu Wang inviting her out on weekends; Airi Sakura sending a risqué photo now and then; Chihiro Shiranami seeking "relationship advice"...
Perhaps because Hiyori acted so gently and showed no signs of aggression, the other girls almost unanimously saw her as someone to confide in and share things with. In the process, they inevitably learned about the situations of key figures in each class.
Incidentally, after Shiranami sought Hiyori's guidance, no one knew what happened that night. However, the girl's planned confession seemed to have been put on hold—whether she was just biding her time or re-evaluating her feelings, only she knew.
Time passed amidst their daily routine. The first semester ended, and late July arrived.
Woooo~! The sound of a cruise ship's horn.
Standing on the bow deck, "Hiyori Shiina" spread her arms, letting the sea breeze whip through her hair as she gazed at the horizon and shouted with a smile, "Oh, ocean, you are made entirely of water!"
Pfft! Hiyori Shiina replied internally, holding back a laugh, "Mr. Ghost, you're not allowed to do silly things with my body."
An ocean that felt like a perpetual summer, an endless blue sky, a luxurious cruise ship sounding its horn, a gentle sea breeze—this was the summer vacation trip that the fabulously wealthy Advanced Nurturing High School had prepared for its first-year students.
At the end of the semester, organized by their respective homeroom teachers, the first-year students left the school grounds for the first time, boarding this luxurious cruise ship named the "Hope" for a planned two-week trip.
All expenses for the trip would be covered by the school. The facilities on board—including renowned restaurants, a theater, a swimming pool, and more—could be used for free, without even spending any points.
According to the schedule, the students would depart from Tokyo Bay on the luxury cruise ship, heading for an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. There, they would enjoy summer to the fullest in the island's lodges. Afterward, they would spend another week on the ship. It all sounded very comfortable—as long as the school wasn't planning any tricks.
Just as "the girl" was thinking this, a pair of feminine arms wrapped around her waist, followed by Mio Ibuki's obviously strained retort: "This is when you're supposed to say—'I'm flying~!'"
"I can't do that."
Symon verbally rejected her suggestion, saying with a smile, "I know you love movies, but now is clearly not the right time to recreate that famous scene from Titanic—after all, we're actually on a cruise ship."
Hearing this, Mio Ibuki thought for a moment, then decisively let go of her hands and nodded. "You're right, that would be a bit unlucky."
Everyone knows how Titanic ended. A cruise ship that hits an iceberg and sinks on its maiden voyage is unluckier than even the world's shortest-lived aircraft carrier. It was best to skip recreating famous scenes.
"Right?" Symon said, leaning against the railing and turning to ask with a smile, "So, Ibuki, did you need me for something?"
"I don't. Ryūen is looking for you."
Ibuki pouted, saying with some annoyance, "He wanted me to ask you what your thoughts are on this special exam."
Symon shook his head, somewhat amused. "It's a bit too early to ask that. I can only offer some thoughts that might not have any practical value. Do you want to hear them?"
On the second day of school, Ryūen had already figured it out—the school would periodically hold special exams that offered large Class Point rewards but could also result in expulsions.
Ever since the Behavioral Standards Exam ended, Class C had been bracing for the next special exam. Many were on edge, afraid the school would pull another one of its tricks.
After waiting for an entire semester, right up until this summer trip, everyone in Class C had a sinking feeling without Ryūen or Hiyori Shiina even needing to say anything—the next trick was finally here.
As he mused on this, he saw that Ibuki had already taken out her terminal and was seriously starting to record. Symon thought for a moment, then said casually, "Regarding this special exam, the only thing we know for sure right now is that it will take place on the uninhabited island."
"No one knows what the environment on the island is like."
"If it's truly uninhabited, will there be survival challenges? And if the school lied, is it actually a sports facility or a training ground? There are many possibilities."
"If we want to find out the answer without paying a price,"
"we could look for clues on the ship. Or we could get someone sociable to sound out the crew and ask them about their impression of the island."
"These are things we can try without any cost. As for whether we'll get an answer, and whether that answer will be valuable, that depends on the specific details of the exam, which we can only buy from our homeroom teacher."
"The problem is, even if we know the exam details in advance, it's uncertain whether we can establish a first-mover advantage. Whether those points should be spent is a decision only Ryūen can make."
Having said that, Symon blinked.
Ibuki understood instantly. She switched off the recording and, after a moment's hesitation, asked calmly, "Hiyori, are you planning on going to the pool?"
Without a doubt, the girl was trying to invite her, but unfortunately—
Symon immediately took a step back and waved his hand. "Sorry, that place is absolutely off-limits."
If Hiyori Shiina's objection was to the changing rooms, his was to providing fan service to others. The two souls in one body were in unanimous agreement about avoiding places like the public pool, and on this point, there seemed to be no room for negotiation.
"That's a real shame..." Mio Ibuki said, then asked casually, "But will that be okay? I remember you've only ever observed during swimming lessons. If I recall correctly, the teacher told us to learn how to swim before summer."
"..."
Symon fell silent for a moment, then tentatively asked in his mind, "Hiyori, you can swim, right?"
Hiyori Shiina sounded surprised. "Eh? You can't, Mr. Ghost?"
"Sorry, I'm a complete landlubber," Symon admitted frankly.
"Um... I've only ever taken swimming theory classes, but it should be fine... right?"
Symon was shocked. "Wait a minute, you can learn swimming through theory alone?"
Hiyori whispered softly, "There was no other way. Many schools don't have a pool, but swimming is a required subject, so..."
"Right, impressive! I never thought 'armchair strategizing' had an advanced version for dry-land swimming. You learn something new every day."
"..."
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