After the exam ended, Hiyori Shiina didn't talk much with Sakura or Mei-Yu.
After seven days of life in the wild, the first priority upon returning to the cruise ship was naturally to go back to her dorm, take a bath, and finally catch up on some beauty sleep.
Then again, the four-person rooms assigned to the students by the school were fully equipped with appliances and a bathroom, and didn't feel crowded. There was nothing to complain about.
However, due to a certain ghost, Hiyori had topped up some points early after boarding the ship and exchanged them for a private room with a view. Fortunately, the school didn't demand an exorbitant price, settling for a symbolic fee of 10,000 points.
The young lady is sleeping...
Meanwhile, at the Advanced Nurturing High School—
In the Chairman's office, Arisu Sakayanagi sat on the sofa and made a call.
"What is it? I'm still taking a bath." On the other end of the line was Masumi Kamuro.
"Ara, did you miss me, Masumi-chan?" A smirk formed on Arisu Sakayanagi's lips, her tone slightly mischievous.
"I've been waiting for you since noon, you know."
"You were just waiting for the exam results, weren't you?"
"No, I truly was missing you," Arisu Sakayanagi said with a pleasant smile.
"But if I can get a definite answer, I wouldn't mind that either."
"Tsk."
Masumi Kamuro seemed to click her tongue in annoyance before speaking:
"Class A got 319 points, Class B got 341 points. The other two classes both got zero."
"I see..." Arisu Sakayanagi thought for a moment, mentally calculating the current class point totals:
Class A: 1088 + 319 = 1407
Class B: 921 + 341 = 1262
Class C: 773
Class D: 199
"Ara~ If Hiyori-chan had made a move, this result should be impossible. Are you hiding something?" Arisu Sakayanagi asked casually.
"I'm not finished—To get those points, Katsuragi made a deal with Class C. He has to transfer private points equivalent to 300 class points to Ryūen every month. I don't know if that's a loss or a gain."
"It's a loss. In the face of tangible benefits, he chose to preserve a meaningless sense of dignity." Arisu's tone was flat.
"It's probably a result worse than getting zero points."
"Well, Class B is in a similar situation, but they only have to transfer 200 per month," Masumi Kamuro said in a relaxed tone.
"As expected. All potential profits were squeezed completely dry." Arisu sounded a bit bored.
"Anything else interesting happen?"
"Yes. Class C's campsite caught fire yesterday. Ryūen says Ayanokōji was the arsonist. The rumor is spreading all over the ship now. I wonder if the school will get involved and investigate."
Arisu Sakayanagi slowly processed this, a question mark forming in her mind.
After a moment, she tentatively asked, "What about Hiyori?"
"She's fine. I asked Ibuki. She's probably sound asleep right now."
"I see... If Ayanokōji made a move, did Class D gain anything?"
"They lost spectacularly."
That was Masumi Kamuro's assessment. She then explained,
"I heard from some Class D students—Ryūen attacked their campsite late last night, estimated to be around four in the morning... Anyway, Class D suffered heavy losses because of it, and in the end, their entire class retired from the exam."
"A swift and decisive retaliation? That's undoubtedly the style of that Ryū-boy."
"Most likely. But from the sound of it, the school isn't even going to do anything about this?" On the other end, Masumi listlessly splashed the water.
Arisu Sakayanagi pondered for a moment before speaking,
"His situation is rather special. There many ways to explain it, but I'm more inclined to believe... his presence at this school is, in itself, a result of the spillover from turmoil in Japanese politics."
Here, Arisu paused, then said with a smile,
"So, without concrete evidence, it's impossible for him to leave this place. The board of directors wouldn't allow it either—do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Go explain it to your Hiyori-chan. Bye!"
Beep! Beep! Beep!—The call was disconnected.
The smile on Arisu's face froze instantly. After a long moment, she finally came to her senses, her eyes narrowing as a dangerous glint brewed within them.
She had figured it out, anyway. This little puppy probably didn't need gentleness. She was the type who'd tear the roof off if you didn't keep her in line.
------
At dusk—
Hiyori Shiina slowly sat up, hooked a fallen strap back onto her shoulder, and stretched as she got out of bed.
"Mr. Ghost," Hiyori called out softly in her mind.
"I'm here," Symon replied casually.
Suddenly back to their familiar routine, Hiyori found herself feeling a bit unaccustomed to it. After some thought, she got up, washed her face, changed into some fresh clothes, and soon arrived at the ship's French restaurant.
It was dinnertime, and the restaurant was almost full. Hiyori glanced around briefly, found a table, sat down, and began to look through the menu seriously.
A waiter quickly approached.
"Good evening. Are you ready to order?"
"Yes, thank you."
As she spoke, Hiyori recalled the two items the certain ghost had eaten the most of when Ryūen had treated them last time. She ordered those, along with a sparkling water and a dessert, then closed the menu and watched the waiter leave with a bow.
At that moment, Kikyō Kushida walked over and stood opposite the girl, asking tentatively,
"Shiina-san, may I sit here?"
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head, and after a moment's thought, smiled and nodded.
"I don't mind."
As for what she was truly thinking, no one, not even the certain ghost, knew.
...
_____
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