From a long time ago, Kikyō Kushida had realized—she was a person with no talent. Not good at studying, not good at sports, with no special skills.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never reach the level of a talented person who could just 'casually learn'. In the end, the only things she could achieve through effort were 'kindness' and 'sweetness,' and only by going against her true heart and feigning compliance could she stand in the center of the crowd once more, becoming the one everyone flocked to.
However, even something like 'becoming friends with everyone' was a feat someone else could accomplish effortlessly, purely through their personal charm, like the person now walking past her: Waist-length, pink-gold hair, a beautiful face, a youthful and alluring body, a genuine, radiant smile, and a vibrant wave—this was her complete superior, Class 1-B's Honami Ichinose.
After responding with a smile she had practiced countless times in front of a mirror, Kikyō Kushida stood before her target.
Kakeru Ryūen casually placed his personal terminal on the bar and sneered, "I see, so I'm the real target?"
Kikyō Kushida glanced at the screen in her hand. It displayed an email from a certain An informant, containing only one sentence—'Class D's Kikyō Kushida met with Hiyori.'
"You're monitoring Shiina-san?" Kushida was a little surprised.
It seems Shiina's situation in Class C isn't that great either, Kushida thought.
"Don't put it so crudely," Ryūen said, picking up a wine glass with an inscrutable smile. "Rather, to let a woman who is a central figure in her class wander into a place like this alone... you Class D folks are really something else."
Sakayanagi always has someone with her, Ichinose is never short of company, Shiina has Ibuki sticking to her like glue, and even that woman Horikita has Ayanokōji following her around. Only Kikyō Kushida is the outlier, looking completely defenseless.
The smile on Kushida's face froze.
Ultimately, to acquire a 'protector' role like that, the prerequisite was to display a convincing level of ability. However, she knew her own limits perfectly well—what she couldn't do, she simply couldn't do.
"Alright, enough with the nonsense. What do you want from me?"
Kushida took a deep breath. "I want you to help me get someone expelled."
"Who?"
"Horikita... Suzune Horikita!"
"?"
...
Three days had passed since the end of the Uninhabited Island Exam.
According to the school's original schedule, the first-year students of the Advanced Nurturing High School remained on the cruise ship, enjoying its various facilities and a rare vacation.
In the afternoon, by the pool on the cruise ship's top deck, 'Hiyori Shiina' was draped in a sky-blue sun cover-up, a copy of 'And Then There Were None' resting on her lap. She was comfortably nestled in a beach chair under an awning, her gaze occasionally drifting toward the center of the pool.
There, Sakura was playing water volleyball with her classmate Haruka Hasebe, the water's surface churning with waves.
"Mr. Ghost, is it a nice view~?"
"Ahem!" Symon instantly averted his gaze and spoke in a feignedly serious tone: "The sky is vast and clear, the sea and sky meet at the horizon, green waves ripple, white foam drifts upon them—the scenery here is truly magnificent."
"Translation: Keep making things up."
Whether she believed him or not didn't matter; the priority was to max out his survival instincts.
"Mm, I'm listening~" Hiyori's voice was soft and sweet.
Symon flinched, not daring to talk back any further.
Ibuki, who was scrolling through dramas on her phone, noticed 'her' movement. She casually pulled the nearby sun cover-up and draped it over her calves before going back to her show.
Hiyori Shiina: "..."
Symon complained inwardly: "If that girl were a guy, I'd make sure to stay far, far away from her."
Hiyori chuckled lightly. "That's not a possibility, you know~"
As the two were chatting idly in their minds, a pleasant female voice suddenly sounded over the ship's broadcast:
"This is an announcement for all students. The school has just sent an email to every student containing important information. Please check your mobile phones and follow the instructions therein.' 'Additionally, if you have not received the email, please report to a nearby faculty member. Since the contents are extremely important, please do not neglect to confirm them.' 'I will repeat..."
When the broadcast finished, Symon took out the personal terminal and checked; indeed, an email from the school had arrived.
'A special exam is about to begin. Students are to assemble in their designated rooms at the specified times. Being more than ten minutes late will result in a penalty. Please assemble in Room 208 on the second floor by 8:40 PM tonight. The required time will be approximately twenty minutes. Please use the restroom beforehand and set your phone to vibrate mode or turn it off before coming to the assembly point.'
Meanwhile, the class chat group instantly burst into life, with messages popping up one after another:
'Manabe Shiho: Another special exam? I'm so sick of this!'
'Daichi Ishizaki: It's not gonna be another survival on a deserted island, is it? I don't want to be a savage again!'
'Kaneda Satoru: Relax, the cruise ship doesn't have the right conditions for that. Considering the competitive aspect, the most suitable area on the ship seems to be that unopened casino.'
'Kinoshita Minori: Oh, then wouldn't Hiyori-chan totally dominate?'
Judging by the speed at which the messages were appearing, the collective atmosphere in Class C had improved by more than just a little since the end of the Uninhabited Island Exam.
Just as the topic was about to go off track, Ryūen's avatar suddenly popped up in the chat:
'Kakeru Ryūen: Alright, shut up.'
'Kakeru Ryūen: I called Kazuma Sakagami. There's no exam info to buy this time. @Hiyori Shiina'
Symon was a little speechless and casually typed a reply:
'Hiyori Shiina: Path dependency is not a good thing.'
'Kakeru Ryūen: A useful trick never gets old.'
'Hiyori Shiina: Whatever makes you happy.'
After sending that reply, Symon turned to look at Ibuki beside him, only to see the girl holding her phone out to him: "I'm Room 203 at six o'clock. What about you, Hiyori?"
"Room 208 at eight-forty."
Symon also opened the email to show her.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side—
In the ship's business conference room, the homeroom teachers for all the first-year classes were gathered.
Mashima-sensei looked at the documents in his hand and asked with some resignation, "According to convention, the class representatives should be gathered in the Dragon group, right? What is all this..."
Chie Hoshinomiya covered her mouth with a light laugh. "Ara~ I just think Ichinose still has things she needs to learn."
Kazuma Sakagami pushed up his glasses. "Having Shiina in the Dragon group is enough. As for Ryūen, I'm just rather curious about that Ayanokōji. This should still be within the rules, right?"
"Oh, you think so too, Sakagami?" Hoshinomiya's tone was very cute. "I'm also very curious~ about the student that little Sae is so concerned with. He was the last one remaining at the end of the Uninhabited Island Exam, wasn't he? Is he little Sae's hope for a comeback?"
Yes, conventions and the like didn't matter. She just wanted to crush her old friend's unrealistic delusions—that was all.
Sae Chabashira crossed her arms over her chest. "No, that was just an accident."
____
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