In the forest, Kakeru Ryūen emerged from behind a large tree.
"Oh my, Ryūen-kun, when did you get back?" Hiyori asked with a smile.
Ryūen looked at the two of them sitting against the tree and sneered, "Since the part about 'the chaebol heir bowing down to Ichinose's skirt.'"
Ibuki pursed her lips. "Tch, doesn't that mean you heard almost everything?"
"It's alright," Hiyori soothed the girl in a gentle voice. "I don't believe I said anything I shouldn't have."
She had always been discreet in her speech and knew what position she should take. She had never uttered a single word or piece of information detrimental to Class C.
"That's true," Ryūen said, crossing his arms and leaning lazily against the tree, his tone calm. "But still, should I say this year's students have powerful connections? Sakayanagi from Class A, Kanzaki from Class B, Kōenji from Class D... it feels like this place is becoming a playground for the children of chaebols."
The Mitsuba Group, Kanzaki Heavy Industries, a Cabinet Minister.
"Are you planning to give up, Ryūen-kun?" Hiyori Shiina tilted her head.
"Are you underestimating me?" Ryūen retorted casually before speaking thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about buying someone from another class who's good at socializing. Any recommendations?"
Hiyori thought for a moment. "Hirata and Kushida from Class D, and Kobashi Yume and Ichinose from Class B. I suppose those are the main four."
"Do you honestly think that's possible?!" Ryūen's face darkened.
These well-known social butterflies are all core members of their classes; they can't be bought over so easily.
"In the end, where did you get so many points?" Ibuki, annoyed by his attitude, retorted on Hiyori's behalf.
"I have 28 million in cash," Ryūen said casually, shooting her a sidelong glance. "I've gained quite a bit from this exam, too. If things go smoothly, I should be able to rake in about 2.4 million points each month from now on."
"That much?!" Ibuki's pupils quaked.
Symon did a quick mental calculation and remarked inwardly, "Come to think of it, I hadn't really noticed. Including the 2 million in class funds each month, calculated over 30 months, it seems Ryūen's 800 million point plan is already one-fifth complete."
"A pity that this is probably the limit~"
Hiyori replied gently in her mind, then spoke aloud in a somewhat casual tone, "Speaking of which, Ryūen-kun, you've seemed very busy these past couple of days. Are you planning something?"
Ryūen thought for a moment. Although he didn't think there were any flaws in his plan, he still took two steps forward, sat cross-legged in front of them, and began,
"For this special exam, I've divided my plan into four phases."
Hiyori Shiina blinked. "Four?"
Ryūen nodded. "Phase one. According to the plan, before the exam started, I approached Class B and sold them 200 temporary Class Points, bundled with the key card information, for a total of 200 Class Points."
Hearing this, Symon was a bit surprised. "Ryūen is actually willing to take a loss?"
Hiyori Shiina was just as confused and casually asked him about it.
In response to her confusion, Ryūen explained calmly, "The school has a supplementary rule—at the end of the exam, a maximum of only 300 base temporary points are counted. The problem is, this exam doesn't require nearly that many temporary points. For the sake of my future plans, I can accept a small loss."
Hiyori Shiina nodded in understanding.
"The second phase of the plan is one you already know—selling the key card information."
As he spoke, Ryūen took the key card out of his pocket and recounted the mix-up that happened during the deal with Classes A and D.
He added with a cold smile, "Although there was a small accident, the outcome is still developing in a positive direction."
"I... don't know what to say to that," Ibuki said, rubbing her forehead, finding it hard to process.
Symon stated deadpan in her mind, "Well, I'm certain now—a fool's flash of inspiration and a wise man's careful deliberation look pretty much the same."
"That's a bit of a dry joke, but I have noticed that Mr. Ghost is trying to cheer me up," Hiyori replied with a mental smile.
Symon: "..."
A glimmer flashed through Hiyori's light purple eyes—so he admits it.
While the two were whispering in their minds, Ryūen, sitting opposite them, organized his thoughts and continued,
"I'm currently executing the third phase of the plan."
As he said this, Ryūen explained his plan to backstab Classes B and D, and also mentioned his bet with Katsuragi. Before the two could offer any comment, he said with a cold smile:
"The final phase is something I've been planning since before we landed on the island—placing surveillance cameras at all the strategic spots on the island to obtain information on the other classes' leaders."
With that, Ryūen took out his phone, pulled up two pictures for Hiyori to see, and said calmly,
"With Yahiko from Class A and Suzune from Class D, if things go well on Nishino's end, the people in our class can get 50 points of pocket money when the exam is over. It'll mean these seven days of hardship weren't for nothing."
Ibuki gave him a strange look. "Ryūen, you bastard... you actually have a conscience?"
Symon: "But not much of one."
Hiyori smiled faintly, her eyes crinkling. After a moment's thought, she gently reminded him,
"There are some problems with the plan... When Horikita-san came to gather intelligence today, she showed signs of a fever. There's no medicine in the guidebook, so I doubt she'll be able to last until the end of the exam."
"Is that so?" Ryūen frowned, finding this hidden rule about changing leaders rather annoying.
Meanwhile, Symon spoke up in her mind with a laugh, "There's actually a way to solve this problem—we just need to send a few people to the cruise ship to keep watch in shifts. That way, we can confirm if any class has changed its leader."
"To confirm the new leader's identity, we can retrieve the cameras from the empty spots and, during roll call, slip them into the homeroom teachers' tents. The only problem is the risk of filming something we shouldn't."
"Regarding that issue, you can go talk to Kazuma Sakagami about it. Have him test the school's attitude and pass the difficult problem on to someone else."
After hearing Symon's words, Hiyori glanced at Ibuki beside her, hesitated for a moment, and then repeated them verbatim.
Across from her, Ryūen and Ibuki stared at each other for a moment. After some thought, they got up and went to find Sakagami-sensei.
"Put cameras in the homeroom teachers' tents?" Kazuma Sakagami pushed up his glasses, his fingers trembling slightly. He spoke as if in pain, "Do you really have to do this?"
"Sensei, you should understand," Ryūen said, his arms crossed and his tone frigid. "This hidden rule about changing leaders is fundamentally unreasonable. If every class changes its leader on the last day, then the guessing game, which is supposed to be the main event of this exam, will become completely meaningless."
At this point, Ryūen sneered mockingly, "Do you know how that woman Shiina evaluated this rule? 'The designer's left brain was fighting with their right brain.'"
"That's... quite the merciless evaluation."
As Kazuma Sakagami said this, he let out an imperceptible sigh, took a satellite phone from his pocket, and dialed the Chairman's office.
Meanwhile—
In the Advanced Nurturing High School Chairman's office, Arisu Sakayanagi, dressed in a white one-piece, was lying lazily on the sofa with her feet up, playing chess against a computer.
Ring, ring~! The phone rang.
At the desk, Sakayanagi Narimori averted his gaze and picked up the landline. "This is Sakayanagi."
"Chairman, this is Kazuma Sakagami."
On the other end of the line, Kazuma Sakagami relayed Ryūen's request, adding his own thoughts on the unreasonableness of the "hidden rule," and finally asked for Sakayanagi Narimori's opinion.
In his office, Sakayanagi Narimori fell silent for a moment before replying, "Regarding this matter, considering the sensitive nature of the problem and the rather aggressive actions of the Class C students, I cannot give you an answer at this time. Please wait for now."
With that, Sakayanagi Narimori hung up the phone, retrieved the relevant documents for the first-year special exam from a cabinet, glanced at the name of the person in charge, and silently set them aside.
"Father, I heard that," Arisu Sakayanagi said with a smile, standing on her tiptoes in front of the desk. "It was Hiyori-chan, wasn't it?"
"Yes." Sakayanagi Narimori nodded, handing her the documents.
He said casually, "The exam rules have a serious flaw that practically closes off all avenues of competition. The solution Class C has come up with is to install surveillance equipment in the homeroom teachers' tents."
"Mmm, in terms of not playing by the book, that's very much in Hiyori-chan's style."
As Arisu Sakayanagi said this, she skimmed through the special exam design proposal, reading ten lines at a glance. After a moment of thought, she grasped the meaning behind his words and said with a smile,
"If you want to remedy the situation, you just need to have all the homeroom teachers return to the cruise ship to spend the night."
"No, I plan to refuse," Sakayanagi Narimori said calmly.
"Is that so..." Arisu Sakayanagi glanced at the various signatures and stamps on the document, a pleased curve forming on her lips. "Are you not planning to admit this mistake, Father?"
Sakayanagi Narimori shook his head with a sense of helplessness. "I will find a reason to deal with the person responsible. As for Class C, I can only ask those children to endure this injustice for now."
The approval of a single document inevitably goes through multiple layers of review, involving far too many people—more than one member of the board of directors alone. Under these circumstances, he had no choice but to let the mistake stand.
"Well, I think I understand your predicament, Father," Arisu Sakayanagi said with a smile. "After all, an ordinary person probably wouldn't even notice this problem. Even I had to think for a moment to follow her train of thought."
Sakayanagi Narimori sighed in admiration. "She is a genius, just like you, Arisu. No wonder you like her so much. Are you friends?"
"Half a friend, perhaps..."
"Half?"
Arisu Sakayanagi tilted her head. "Have I not told you? Hiyori-chan has a dual personality, you know~"
"I-Is that so?" Sakayanagi Narimori wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.
Arisu Sakayanagi casually set the document down and said with a smile, "The boy personality is quite fond of me, and the girl personality is worried I'll steal him away. But I actually prefer the girl personality."
Sakayanagi Narimori: "..."
____
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