The moment of truth had finally arrived.
Half an hour had passed since the final session, when the students from each group submitted their answers to the school so that their final results could be determined.
The results of five groups had already been decided between the first session and the final session in the evening.
It seemed Ryuen had been focusing on his objectives after all.
Things in our group had also gone smoothly. Ichinose had agreed to help us, and Sakayanagi had stopped getting in our way, so after the final session ended, I made sure to give everyone the correct name they were supposed to write down.
So we were waiting for the results.
However, for some reason, both Matsushita and Hasebe insisted that we receive the results together.
What was this? Had they suddenly developed some kind of group spirit?
What if we failed...?
Shouldn't everyone just hide in their rooms until we forgot about this?
This was unbearable.
"I feel strange waiting for the results..." Hasebe said, fidgeting with her hands nervously.
"I understand what you mean. It's as if the day of reckoning has finally arrived..." Matsushita said with an awkward smile.
Even though they were trying to hide their worries behind those naive smiles, both of them were still afraid of failure at this moment, as if the result of this test alone would determine their futures.
Well, the idea of failing this test didn't bother me that much.
Perhaps that was just self-comfort, but we'd done everything we could.
The results might be nothing more than numbers on a screen—or perhaps, as everyone else saw it, they were everything.
"There's no need to be nervous at this point. We all did a good job..." Yukinoshita said calmly as she sipped from her cup of tea.
Perhaps even she, someone who had pursued first place her entire life, had come to understand that it was fine to feel a little anxious, which was why she was praising everyone's efforts now.
"R-right. I don't feel like I did anything throughout this test. All we did was watch you two from the sidelines..." Hasebe said, stretching out in her chair dejectedly.
"Isn't that right, Yukinoshita-san and Hikigaya-kun took care of everything..." Matsushita said, supporting the girl beside her.
"I don't think that's exactly true. You attended every session and participated fully. Whatever result we receive, everyone played an indispensable role in achieving it," Yukinoshita said seriously, rejecting all of their claims.
"Everyone has their own role. That's what an experience is. It's still an experience no matter what happens during it..." I said indifferently, looking around to pass the time.
"You may be right, but it really was a good opportunity to work with both of you..." Matsushita said with a friendly smile.
"Yeah. I'm really glad I got to know you two better. Spending time with you was really fun..." Hasebe said, adjusting her hair.
Yukinoshita cleared her throat as she shifted nervously in her seat, trying to hide the slight redness creeping onto her face.
Well, let's just ignore this stupid atmosphere.
I took out my phone to pass the time until everything was over.
But then, as if all the phones around us had made some sort of silent agreement, they suddenly began ringing at the same time, announcing the arrival of new notifications.
The girls opened their phones together and checked them eagerly before sighs of relief spread throughout the room.
"We got the first outcome..." Matsushita said, staring at her phone with eyes that could hardly believe what she was seeing.
"Does that mean we'll receive 500,000 points?" Hasebe asked, checking her phone in amazement.
"Yes. We achieved the result we wanted from this test..." Yukinoshita said, still checking her phone to see the results of the other classes.
Only the Pig Group and Dragon Group had achieved the first outcome.
After their agreement with Ryuen that day, it seemed Hirata had done his job perfectly and secured the first outcome.
But apparently, Ryuen hadn't been satisfied with that.
His appetite for class points had been far greater.
200 class points for Ryuen's class.
And 50 class points for our class and Ichinose's class.
As for Class A, just as Sakayanagi had hoped, their result was at the bottom—with a disappointing zero.
Class A must be feeling extremely disappointed in Katsuragi after another string of negative results.
The path was now clear for Sakayanagi to take the throne without any competition or opposition.
That was still frightening.
"500,000..." I muttered, thinking about the amount that would arrive at the beginning of next month.
It was like finding half a million points lying on the side of the road.
If I added that to the points in my account, I'd soon have nearly one million personal points.
Hahaha... Looks like I'm going to become a millionaire.
I wish Komachi were here so I could brag about it in front of her.
But now, I think I have enough points to buy her whatever she wants without worrying about my spending money.
It was 50,000, if I remember correctly...
"I'm leaving now," I said as I stood up.
Yukinoshita calmly watched me get up, but Hasebe quickly stood up as well.
"Hikigaya-kun, I was really happy working with you..." she said in a friendly tone with a gentle smile.
I froze at her words, staring at her with a blank expression before quietly nodding and quickly leaving the room.
What did she mean by "working together"?
Had we become some kind of company or something?
I browsed through my phone as I searched my call history.
I think she had contacted me when we first arrived on this ship, so I should have saved her number.
Since almost no one ever contacted me, my call history was practically empty, so I found the number I wanted easily.
Without hesitation, I pressed the call button and held the phone against my ear.
Thinking about it, this probably wasn't the right time to talk to anyone.
Maybe I'd acted too quickly.
Should I hang up and wait until morning?
The phone didn't ring for long before the call was answered.
"Ah... Chabashira-sensei, sorry to bother you..." I said, scratching my cheek.
I really didn't know what to say while talking to a teacher over the phone.
"Hikigaya, what do you want...?" Chabashira-sensei asked, her irritation obvious in her voice.
Was she annoyed that I called her?
Well, I knew I was annoying and unbearable, but I couldn't ask another teacher for this.
"I want to buy something, so I need to meet you now..." I said nervously, waiting for her response.
Silence filled the call for a moment before I heard her let out a deep sigh.
"Are you happy with the points you won or something...? Fine. Come to the upper deck..." Chabashira-sensei said before hanging up.
Ah...
She really was annoyed.
I was at least going to say thank you.
I put my phone back into my pocket and headed toward the upper deck to meet her.
...
I walked through the deck with heavy steps, looking around for Chabashira-sensei.
Eventually, I spotted a woman standing beside the ship's railing, wearing her usual formal suit with an unlit cigarette between her lips.
"Hello..." I muttered as I approached her.
The teacher paid me no attention and continued staring ahead, as if contemplating the darkness of the sea at night.
"So, what do you want?"
I placed my hands on the railing beside her and took my phone out of my pocket.
"I want to see a student's file..." I said, raising my phone to show her my point balance.
Chabashira-sensei stared at my phone for a moment before taking her own phone out of her jacket pocket.
"I thought you'd forgotten about this already."
"No... I've been waiting for the day when I'd save up a large enough amount."
Chabashira-sensei nodded as if she understood exactly what I meant.
"You know this won't change anything. Are you really interested in knowing the reason?" she asked, her tone softer than usual as she sought my honest answer.
I stared at the surface of the water for a moment, carefully considering my answer before holding out my phone to her.
"I really care about the reason."
"Do you really think you deserve a better class? I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of yourself..." Chabashira-sensei said as she prepared to receive my payment.
My hand stopped for a moment before I extended it fully.
It seemed she hadn't understood what I wanted exactly.
"I don't want my file. I want another student's file."
I had no desire to see the reason I had been placed in Class D in the first place.
In short, I didn't care.
I didn't feel like there was any class that truly suited me.
"Huh? Whose?" Chabashira-sensei asked, stepping back as the situation took an unexpected turn.
"Yukinoshita Yukino," I said, extending my hand fully while holding my phone.
Chabashira-sensei stopped where she stood, staring at my outstretched hand.
"100,000 points..."
Without any reason, she'd doubled the price this time.
"Why did the price suddenly go up?" I asked, gritting my teeth in annoyance.
The prices this teacher demanded were always ridiculous.
"No one has ever bought something like this before, so I don't even know whether it's legal or not. So if you don't intend to pay, back out now."
"Isn't there some kind of price-control committee?" I asked, already planning to file a complaint with them as soon as possible.
"No."
She answered indifferently, as if she didn't care about the ridiculous price she'd just set.
"Fine. I'll pay," I replied reluctantly as I transferred the agreed amount of points.
This was going to put me far from one million again...
Tch.
My dream of becoming a millionaire was even farther away now.
After Chabashira-sensei confirmed that she had received the payment, she began checking her phone.
She didn't have the files with her in paper form, so she would have to show me the information on her phone.
She held the phone out to me before returning to enjoy her cigarette.
I raised the phone in front of me.
For some reason, I could feel my heartbeat accelerating.
I took a deep breath before beginning to read the information in my hands.
My eyes moved from the simple details, such as the name and date of birth, to the important section.
My eyes moved between the lines nervously, trembling.
The words I was reading began to feel empty.
I couldn't understand them.
Or perhaps my mind simply refused to understand them.
"Sensei... what exactly does this mean?" I asked, gripping the ship's railing as I tried to steady myself.
"Hmm? Isn't it obvious?" Chabashira-sensei said, giving me a sideways glance before beginning to explain what I had read.
"I'll tell you this much. The reason written there is the same reason written in your file. It seems the two of you held a joint volunteer event at the end of your second year without the school's permission..." Chabashira-sensei said coldly.
"But... didn't we succeed?" I asked, barely able to remain standing as I struggled to process her words.
"Yes... but it caused a deficit in the student council's budget. The school and the parents' association also received complaints from people. So the school simply regarded the two of you as troublesome and reckless children who didn't consider the consequences of your actions."
I helplessly handed the phone back to her before losing control of myself and dropping it into the ocean.
"This is bullshit..." I muttered helplessly, resting my forehead against the railing.
"That's the truth. Your true place is Class D. If you have any objections, you know where President Sakayanagi's office is, although that won't change anything at this point," Chabashira-sensei said as she walked away through the corridor, leaving me alone.
My senses could no longer comprehend exactly what was happening around me.
It was as if my mind had erased everything else and was desperately trying to process what had just happened.
Was this really the reason?
Did all of this happen because of me?
I never thought that my selfish desire to spend more time with her, which had driven me to try to organize a joint event, would destroy her future along with mine.
This was almost impossible to believe.
Was my mind trying to deny it in order to escape responsibility?
Helplessness began to take over me, as if even my legs were no longer capable of supporting me.
Even the darkness of the sea's surface began to seep into my senses, spreading through my entire body with it.