On the evening of the first day of the special exam, the members of Class C lined up at the camp to receive the dinner that Hiyori and the girls had spent the entire afternoon preparing.
The boys who got their food first sat around the campfire, gulping down chunks of potato while sneaking glances toward the cooking area.
There, Hiyori Shiina had her hair tied up. Holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, she was gently distributing freshly cooked pieces of fish to everyone. Beside her, Ibuki would occasionally help wipe the sweat from her brow.
"How nice..." someone murmured with a sigh.
"Heh~" Ryūen sneered, glancing at the peeping boys around him, and offered a piece of 'friendly' advice: "Don't even think about it. That woman is in a completely different league."
As soon as he spoke, the boys all looked at Ryūen. Seeing him in the rare act of giving well-intentioned advice, one of them grew bold and asked curiously, "Ryūen, what about you...?"
Ryūen gave them a cold look. "Even I keep a respectful distance."
The boys pouted, clearly unconvinced. Only Kaneda silently pushed up his glasses, making no comment.
Ryūen observed this reaction and, after a scoff, offered no explanation.
In the end, it was because Hiyori Shiina was too good at hiding, preventing the class from discovering her 'two faces.' If these guys had realized how abnormal she was, just as he and Kaneda had, they would absolutely keep a respectful distance from her.
But it didn't matter. The reason these guys were making a fuss now was simply because the atmosphere was good. After a night's sleep, once they'd cooled down, they would naturally suppress any unnecessary thoughts. There was no need for him to say anything more.
After that brief interlude, the girls had also finished getting their food. Hiyori Shiina joined them, sitting on the waterproof tarp by the campfire to enjoy the evening meal.
"Delicious~!"
Ibuki nodded. "Hiyori, you're a great cook."
"Tch, she's the only one in the whole class who knows how to make a bento. Of course it's good," Manabe said with a pout, then lowered her head and took another bite of the pan-fried fish.
Ibuki looked somewhat surprised. "I didn't think you were capable of saying something human for once, Manabe."
Manabe glared at her. "Mio Ibuki! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Ibuki, completely unfazed by her, replied casually, "Can't you tell? I'm saying you don't usually act like a…"
"No fighting, okay?" Hiyori reached out and covered Ibuki's mouth, gently interrupting their sharp exchange.
At the same time, their homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami, emerged from the woods. He glanced at the students sitting around eating, then took out a keycard and handed it to Ryūen. "Here is your keycard. According to the rules, since you failed to designate a leader before nightfall, I have randomly appointed one."
"Understood." Ryūen nodded calmly, watching Kazuma Sakagami leave. Without looking at the name on the card, he casually put it in his pocket and showed no intention of occupying the spot.
Seeing this, the members of Class C looked at each other in confusion. After a moment, it was Tokitō from the opposition faction who finally spoke up, frowning. "Ryūen, aren't you going to check in?"
Ryūen glanced at him sideways. "Check in? Just for a few spot points?"
Seeing his attitude, Tokitō felt a surge of frustration and retorted, "What if the spot gets taken? This is the base camp everyone spent the whole afternoon building!"
"Then let them take it," Ryūen said, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "As long as they can afford the price for doing so. I doubt there are any idiots that stupid on this island."
With that, Ryūen picked up his bowl, using the fish soup to wash down the rest of his food. He stood up, glanced at Tokitō who was clearly unable to accept his explanation, and turned his back to the group. He walked alone into the dark forest, leaving behind a single, calm sentence:
"I'm going to collect the results of today's operation. If there's anyone who doesn't understand, then follow me."
"..."
Hearing Ryūen's words, Tokitō stared at the menacing jungle looming in the darkness. After a moment's hesitation, he stood up. "I'm going with you!"
And from the girls' group, Nishino Takeko hesitated for a moment as well before standing up. "I'm going too."
From the start of school until now, this was the first time Ryūen had explained his actions to anyone outside his direct subordinates. Although many were dissatisfied with him, in the end, only these two stood up.
After the three of them left, Ibuki looked at the carefree Ishizaki across from her and asked coldly, "Aren't you guys going?"
Ishizaki scratched his head. "Ryūen-san didn't call for me, so why would we go?"
Ibuki clicked her tongue, then turned to the silent Hiyori beside her and asked, "Hiyori, what is Ryūen plotting...?"
"How should I put it..." Hiyori Shiina mused for a moment, glancing at the curious faces looking her way, and said gently, "Before the exam even started, Ryūen-kun had already figured out a way to guarantee our victory. But as a consequence, we don't have many temporary points left."
Everyone was shocked. "No way! Hiyori, were you involved?"
"I only provided some minor analysis," Hiyori Shiina said with a smile, clasping her hands together. "Ryūen-kun took on the hardest work all by himself. From here on, I'll need everyone to persevere with me until the end of the exam. It might be a little tough, but I believe it will be worth it."
"Osu!!!" — That was the excited Ryūen faction.
If Hiyori is involved, then there's definitely no problem — that was what the rest of them thought.
"Hiyori, you've been corrupted. Doesn't your conscience hurt, deceiving them like this?" Symon teased her mentally with a laugh.
Whether they participated in this exam or not wouldn't affect the final outcome. Its greatest significance for Class C was likely to provide them an opportunity to cooperate and foster reconciliation—and it was clear Ryūen was already working on that.
"If everyone can get along, I think it will be forgivable..." Hiyori poked at a piece of sweet potato in her bowl and replied softly, "Besides, wasn't this Mr. Ghost's suggestion?"
"No, that was advice for Ryūen."
Symon spoke with a hint of grievance, "Right now, I wish your name was on that card. Then we could go back to the cruise ship and relax."
"But you had the chance to become the leader..." Hiyori Shiina said, then after a moment of thought, she had a realization. "I see. Is it that you didn't want to voluntarily become the 'traitor,' Mr. Ghost?"
Symon replied calmly, "The chances are low, but I can't rule out the possibility that Ryūen might try to screw us over. You can never be too careful, you know."
Actually, there was another reason. The term 'leader' itself is a bit sensitive. He deliberately avoided taking the keycard to prevent anyone from misunderstanding that Hiyori had ambitions to usurp power.
"Let's drop it. Let's go take a bath, quick. I can't stand being this sticky anymore."
"Hai~ hai~"
...
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