Chapter 7: Intertwining Strategies

The second and third days of the exam continued with a flurry of tasks. Individually, these trials had yielded small, almost negligible shifts in the overall tokens— hardly enough to warrant concern. But minor gains had a way of compounding. Like drops of water wearing away at a stone, the steady accumulation had subtly reshaped the landscape of the exam. Before long, a handful of students had quietly amassed three-digit fortunes.

10

It was against this tense, shifting backdrop that the final morning broke. Faint rustling outside her tent pulled Ibuki from her sleep.

For a moment, she lay still inside the tent, listening. The air was quiet in that thin, early-morning way, before the camp had fully begun to stir. She blinked against the gloom, shifting her arm to glance at her wristwatch. The luminous hands pointed just past six o'clock.

Straining her ears, it did not take long for the sound to reveal itself as footsteps. They passed along the side of the tent, then continued on, gradually fading into the distance. Judging by the direction, whoever it was seemed to be heading toward the shore.

It wasn't completely unusual for an early riser to take a morning stroll, and her first instinct was to just ignore it. Yet, for some reason, the footsteps nagged at her.

Careful not to wake Morofuji, Ibuki quietly sat up and peeled back the tent flap just enough to peek outside.

The retreating figure slipping into the forest was none other than Kushida.

“That girl…”

The image of Kushida pressing her forehead to the dirt in a desperate dogeza yesterday flashed through Ibuki's mind; a raw, unforgettable display of her fierce determination to survive at this school.

If the special exam ended right now, there was a very real chance Ibuki would finish in dead last. She had earned so few tokens herself that it was almost laughable.

What would happen to her once the exam concluded today?

Would she be confined to the cruise ship on standby until the others returned, or would they toss her on a small boat and ship her back to the mainland immediately?

Either way, she might never get another chance to speak with Kushida one-on-one.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Ibuki slipped out of the tent and followed the path she had taken.

Before long, Kushida’s back came into view. She was standing barefoot at the water's edge, gazing out across the vast expanse of the ocean.

Kushida was fighting a war inside her own head. A massive, suffocating wave of frustration had been building within her since the very start of the special exam. She was gripped by a powerful urge to scream her lungs out, but she firmly swallowed it down.

Even though she had put some distance between herself and the campsite, a loud shriek might still carry through the morning air.

“This is so damn irritating…” she muttered.

On top of the exhausting effort to constantly maintain her ‘good girl’ mask, having her true nature exposed to her classmates was a source of immeasurable stress. Shinohara confiscating her tokens. Ike’s vulgar, lingering stares. And worst of all, being coerced into a humiliating dogeza; her pride torn to absolute shreds under the threat of exposure to the other classes.

Kushida was harboring a darker, more intense rage than she had ever felt in her entire life.

Even so, the only reason she managed to keep herself from screaming was the bitter lesson she had learned in the past. Ever since she had foolishly let her guard down and allowed Ayanokōji to discover her true self, the gears of her meticulously crafted life had started to slip out of sync. She wouldn't— or rather, couldn't— make that same mistake again.

Standing there, she entrusted the sea with the dark emotions swirling inside her, desperate for the tide to wash them away.

She had come here seeking a small, solitary world of her own, a fleeting respite born of sheer desperation, like a drowning girl grasping for air.

Kushida took another step forward. The returning tide washed over her feet, soaking her to the ankles. Narrowing her eyes at the faint, cooling comfort of the water, she steadied her breathing.

“I'll figure something out…” she whispered to the wind. “Even if the absolute worst comes to pass, and I have to go crying to Horikita... I will definitely stay here───!?”

Right then, a sudden, heavy impact slammed into her back. Before her brain could even process what was happening, she was sent pitching forward. She instinctively threw her hands out to catch herself, but with nothing to break her fall but the ocean, she plunged face-first into the seawater, getting completely drenched.

6

Sputtering and completely bewildered, Kushida pushed her upper body off the wet sand and whipped her head around. Standing right behind her, legs planted wide and glaring down sharply, was Ibuki.

4

“...Huh?”

Kushida stared in sheer disbelief. Her mind couldn't make sense of the situation, but the moment the low sound escaped her lips, her irritation surged forward like a tidal wave.

“Ibuki-san…” she said, her voice darkening. “just what do you think you're doing?”

“What does it look like? A tackle, I guess,” Ibuki replied flatly. “You had your back turned to me, looking completely, stupidly defenseless. I just couldn't help myself.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you mean...! Why would you do that?”

“Why?” Ibuki looked down at her without the slightest hint of apology. “Well, a while back, Horikita was moping around with that exact same gloomy aura hanging over her back. I gave her a good kick from behind when she did it, so... I guess I felt a similar urge?”

“No, even with an explanation, I seriously do not get it!” Kushida looked down at herself, drenched by the seawater. “Look at me— what are you going to do about this!?”

Seawater had already seeped all the way through to her underwear. It was a lost cause.

12

“Serves you right,” Ibuki said.

“I don't see why I have to take that from... Ow...!”

Kushida tried to rise, only for pain to twist across her face. Her strength gave out, and she dropped back into the shallow water with a muted splash.

A small, muffled groan escaped her lips.

She placed one hand near her waist and made no further attempt to stand.

“What,” Ibuki frowned. “Did you actually hurt yourself just from that...?”

Thinking she might have gone a bit too far against an amateur, Ibuki tossed her shoes aside and waded into the water.

“I can't really stand... Pull me up,” Kushida said, reaching out a trembling hand.

Reluctantly, Ibuki took it, only to be violently yanked forward.

“Wha───!?”

Because she had genuinely believed Kushida might actually be hurt, Ibuki's guard had been completely down. With a massive splash, she pitched face-first into the sea, saltwater instantly rushing into her parted lips.

3

“Ptooh! Ptooh! God, that's salty!”

Right on cue, as if to add insult to injury, Kushida scooped up a double handful of seawater and splashed it directly into Ibuki's face.

“Uwah! What the hell are you doing?!”

“I think that's my line, isn't it?” Kushida shot back, her tone suddenly bright and venomous.

“Faking an injury, you dirty sneak!”

Scrambling to her feet, Ibuki put some distance between them and violently kicked the surface of the water, sending a retaliatory wave crashing back at Kushida. From there, it devolved into a petty, childish brawl, a relentless battle of splashing seawater back and forth.

Whether it lasted one minute or two, in the end, there was no victor. The battle ended in a complete draw, leaving both of them soaked, breathless, and sitting in the water.

“Haa, haa... Why do I have to deal with this first thing in the morning…” Ibuki panted. “you idiot Kushida.”

“Like I said, that's my line…” Kushida replied, also short of breath. “Fufu... You really are an idiot, Ibuki-san…”

The two of them sat chest-deep in the ocean, glaring at one another. But then, in a sudden, shared moment of clarity, they both burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity of what they were doing.

1

“...You know,” Ibuki muttered once their laughter finally subsided, “maybe you don’t need to be that pessimistic about getting expelled.”

Kushida looked toward her.

“The initial tokens,” Ibuki continued. “They were distributed based on how long students lasted in the survival game special exam, right? You lasted pretty close to the end too, didn’t you? Even if Shinohara’s managing your tokens, you should still have a bigger safety net than me. I don’t think you need to panic over missing out on a few tokens now.”

“That's just a margin of error,” Kushida dismissed. “More importantly, I don't think Katsuragi-kun would just abandon you like this.”

If Katsuragi were to provide her with twenty or thirty tokens, the individual gap between her and the others would easily close.

“So you're saying I'm the prime candidate for last place?” Ibuki sighed. “That guy Katsuragi... he genuinely intends to distribute our tokens equally. He was dead serious about it. Giving preferential treatment to someone like me who can't produce individual results, and potentially sacrificing another hard working classmate in the process, he'd never forgive himself for that. Besides, he was talking with Ryūen on the radio last night. He might have even gotten direct orders to just cut me loose.”

It was a strangely un-Ibuki-like thing to say. There was no anger in it. Only a kind of detached resignation. Hearing this, Kushida was completely convinced that the suspicion she had harbored yesterday was spot on.

“I see. It's true that you don't have a single redeeming quality, Ibuki-san, so that's probably the right call,” Kushida replied bluntly.

Even though there had been tasks where Ibuki could have shined, she had been forced to compete directly against Ayanokōji at crucial moments. Thanks to a cascading series of bad luck, all her efforts had merely spun their wheels in vain. Despite her fretting over the tasks being systematically checked off by the others, time marched on, refusing to wait for her.

2

“So, I guess I've just given up…” Ibuki murmured. “I don't know, it's a weird feeling.”

For some reason, Manabe’s face flashed inside her mind, her former classmate who had been expelled.

In Manabe’s case, it had been an instant ‘death’. A surprise attack. Something like being struck down before she even understood the blade had fallen.

This was different.

“How should I put it…” she said. “It feels like I'm slowly ‘dying’ from poison.”

Back when she and Ryūen had challenged Ayanokōji during the survival game and suffered a crushing defeat, she never could have imagined it would come to this. A hollow laugh bubbled up in her throat at the thought of how drastically her environment and position had shifted in just a few short days.

“You don't know that for sure yet,” Kushida said. “You might be close to the bottom, but there are plenty of other groups out there. It's highly unlikely that there are zero other students struggling just as much as you.”

“What's that?” Ibuki asked. “Supposed to be comforting?”

“Not really. I only care about saving myself. It's just reassuring for me to have you down at the bottom.” Kushida replied. “And it would be even more reassuring if there was someone lower than you. I just said it because it's what I was thinking.”

It was such a perfectly Kushida-like answer that Ibuki felt, strangely enough, a little relieved.

“Do you really want to graduate from Class A that badly?” Ibuki asked.

“Obviously. I'm an honors student, after all,” Kushida declared as she stood up and began wading toward the shore. “I'm going to graduate from Class A. I'm going to be respected by everyone around me, respected by my parents, and become a member of society that everyone else envies. I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

2

Reaching the wet sand, Kushida glanced back. “There are only a few tasks left now, and I really don't see you making a sudden comeback, Ibuki-san. Still, it wouldn't hurt to hold onto a little hope that someone else might trip up, or that Katsuragi-kun will save you, right?”

“I'm heading back,” she added, leaving those words behind as she returned to the campsite ahead of her.

It was a situation much like yesterday. Yet, despite the looming threat of expulsion, Ibuki's heart felt undeniably lighter than before.

“I'm different from Kushida,” she murmured to the empty beach. “I still don't feel any burning desire to avoid expulsion. But…”

If she were to be expelled just like this...

Thinking about it in those terms, she realized there was exactly one lingering regret left inside her.

3

Our current location was F7.

The clock had just struck 5:00 p.m in the evening when the supervisor called everyone together.

“Thank you for your hard work over this three-night, four-day special exam,” Urushihara said, diving right into his explanation. “I will now announce your final task.”

1

They could finally return to the ship; that fact slightly, but surely, lightened the hearts of the students.

“Your task is to head to the goal location by 7:00 p.m. The destination is Area F13.”

1

F13 was almost the same as our starting point.

In other words, we were being told to return to where we had begun, and to do so within the allotted time.

“The other groups will be aiming for the exact same goal,” Urushihara continued. “While their current locations differ, they are starting from roughly the same distance away. You may even spot students from other groups along the route.”

Though the school had tried to distribute everyone fairly, the reality of the island's terrain meant there would inevitably be some groups with a slight advantage or disadvantage in terms of distance.

“Your arrival will be officially recognized thirty seconds after your wristwatches register that you've entered Area F13. Students who reach the goal within the time limit will be awarded three tokens as a reward. Should you fail to arrive on time, Class Points will be deducted in accordance with the rulebook. Furthermore, the penalty for straying too far from your supervisor is nullified from this moment forward. Finally, as I mentioned during the initial briefing, please keep in mind that the moment you cross the finish line, your token count will be permanently locked in. You will absolutely not be able to transfer tokens after that point, so please plan accordingly.”

2

With that, Urushihara pulled out four cell phones.

“I will now distribute one of these specialized phones to each class representative. Checking the GPS will help you navigate to the goal. Furthermore, these devices function as walkie-talkies. By linking them to your wristwatch and paying a one-token fee, you can contact the phones of other groups or reveal their locations. Feel free to use these features as needed.”

It seemed the communication and tracking functions we’d had access to since the start of the exam were fully integrated into these phones.

“From here on, I will not be able to accompany you. Therefore, any penalties related to my presence will be invalidated,” Urushihara concluded. “Please proceed toward the goal at your own pace. I wish you all the best of luck.”

Basically, it was up to each group to decide whether to run or walk.

The phones were not merely there to keep us from losing sight of the goal, or to prevent members from becoming separated. They were probably also meant to grant us a grace period to transfer tokens as needed before reaching the goal, thereby expanding the range of our strategies.

For the most part, events were unfolding exactly as I'd anticipated. There was no need to alter my plan.

“What's our move, Ayanokōji?” Yoshida asked. “We could head for the goal separately, but having a majority of the group arrive is the absolute minimum requirement. If we fall out of step and get separated, it could create a massive headache later on. We should definitely move together as one.”

“I agree,” I replied. “Does anyone have any objections?”

Figuring that none of the Class D students would raise an issue, I turned my attention to the remaining Class A.

“I'm on board too,” their representative, Shinohara, answered without hesitation. It was the brightest smile she had shown in days. “In the end, we all need to cross the finish line together.”

1

It was just past 5:30 p.m. Group 2 had already set out, determined to be the first to reach the goal.

Given that all the groups had started at roughly the same distance, it was highly unlikely that anyone had crossed the finish line yet.

Hirata marched at a brisk, unrelenting pace, his expression growing grimmer by the minute. The exact same could be said for Ryūen. However, their minds were occupied by vastly different concerns.

Hirata was solely focused on the physical safety of the group and the stability of his class. Ryūen, on the other hand, was entirely consumed by the exam’s impending results and the massive shift in class rankings it would trigger.

So far, Ryūen had amassed a total of 110 front-side tokens. He was undoubtedly the top earner in his group, securing what could easily be called a solid result. Reaching the goal would add another three tokens to his count, and if their group finished in first place, they would retain 100% of their tokens through the final multiplier.

It was by no means a bad position. Even so, by his own rough calculations, he had missed out on at least twenty tokens along the way. Knowing Ayanokōji, there was a very high probability that he had secured far more tokens than Ryūen had managed.

Even assuming Ayanokōji only had 130, Ryūen would need a 20% multiplier advantage to beat him. That meant if Group 2 defended first place with their lives, Ayanokōji’s group would still need to place fifth or lower.

That was the absolute minimum baseline required to keep any hope of victory alive. It would be easy enough to contact Katsuragi and order him to stall outside the goal area. But since a group's ranking was locked in the moment a simple majority finished, the conditions would still be met even if Katsuragi and all the Class B students in that group resisted. All the sabotage would accomplish was leaving the resisters with a severe penalty for failing to finish.

If Ayanokōji coasted safely to the finish line as things stood, the Class Point gap between them would shrink by 100. And if, by some stroke of luck, his group also took first place? The gap would widen by 200. It would be an undeniable, crushing defeat.

How could he proactively sabotage Ayanokōji and snatch that victory away?

“...Guess I’ve got no choice,” Ryūen muttered.

You had to be willing to let the enemy cut your flesh if you wanted to sever their bones. Without that kind of ruthless resolve, he would never be able to drag Ayanokōji down into the dirt and deal him his first real loss. He couldn't grasp victory without discarding his hesitation and taking a massive risk.

Ever since he had deciphered the hidden mechanics of this special exam, a certain strategy had been smoldering in the back of Ryūen's mind.

Just as he was about to put that plan into action, Hirata made a move.

“Ryūen-kun, do you mind if I confirm something with you?”

Despite their need to hurry, Hirata stopped in his tracks, forcibly dragging Ryūen into a conversation.

“What is it?” Ryūen asked.

“Having come this far, there's no way you haven't realized anything, right?”

Hirata's words were heavy with implication. His gaze bore into Ryūen, sharp and analytical, as if trying to peer straight through into his thoughts.

“No idea what you're talkin' about,” Ryūen replied casually. Then, finding the situation unintentionally amusing, he let out a dark chuckle. “What exactly are you aimin' for, Hirata? Let's hear it.”

“We’ve taken this exam seriously and earned as many tokens as we possibly could,” Hirata began. “And right now, we’re using a single ‘indicator’ to buy ourselves a fleeting sense of safety. But even so, I know there are students here who are still feeling anxious. So, before we go any further, I want anyone who is worried to come forward, regardless of what class you're in. If you check your token count and feel there's even a slight chance you might end up in last place, tell me. I will support you as much as I possibly can.”

2

He addressed the entire group, his tone implying that even Ryūen was no exception to the offer.

“I thought I had your personality figured out to some extent,” Ryūen scoffed. “But it seems you're an even bigger softhearted idiot than I imagined. Or do you have some ulterior motive?”

“You think I have some ulterior motive?” Hirata's eyes remained perfectly calm, completely unreadable as they locked onto Ryūen. “After spending this entire exam in the same group, I think you already know the answer to that, Ryūen-kun.”

“Hah. Well, do whatever the hell you want,” Ryūen shot back. “As long as the group's total token count doesn't drop, it ain't got a damn thing to do with me.”

Following Hirata's declaration, two students cautiously stepped forward. After confirming their standings, Hirata transferred a few of his own tokens over to them to ensure their safety.

“Alright, we can't afford to fall behind any further,” Hirata announced, turning back toward the trail. “We're almost there. Let's do our best.”

As Hirata resumed his brisk pace, Ryūen followed close behind. But inside his head, the gears of his strategy never stopped turning.

“Ain't no way I'm letting this special exam end just like this,” Ryūen muttered.

“...What do you mean by that?” Hirata asked.

“The token-gathering tasks in this exam were pretty much tailor-made for the highly capable,” Ryūen explained. “A guy with high academic ability could scrape together close to a hundred tokens just off that alone. Throw in being quick on your feet and having good intuition, and you could stack up even more.”

At Ryūen's gesture, Kaneda immediately stepped up beside him.

“Indeed. Unlike the absurd survival test on the uninhabited island, the contents this time constituted a proper academic exam,” Kaneda noted.

“Which begs the question...Just how many tokens do you think that bastard Ayanokōji managed to gather?”

2

Ryūen turned his gaze to Hirata, former classmate of the subject in question.

“A proportionate amount, I'd imagine,” Hirata replied calmly. “Knowing him, it wouldn't surprise me if he's already exceeded one hundred and thirty, or even one hundred and forty.”

“I share that assessment, Hirata-shi,” Kaneda agreed. “That is precisely why it is paramount we force his reward multiplier down, even if only by a fraction. It is the very reason we are currently rushing to the goal.”

“But even if we knock his multiplier down a peg, it won't mean jack shit if that bastard’s holding enough tokens to blow right past it anyway,” Ryūen shot back.

4

Ever since the rules of this special exam had been announced, a singular thought had been swirling in the back of Ryūen's mind.

A massive gamble to prevent Ayanokōji from winning.

“There's someone I need to contact right now,” Ryūen declared, his voice rough.

Recalling his decision to show no mercy, he made Kaneda use a token and grasped the cell phone in his hand.

A call to Shiina. After waiting for about 7 rings, the line connected, and Ryūen called out to her.

2

“Is something the matter, Ryūen-kun?” Shiina's voice crackled through the radio.

Ryūen had fully intended to cut straight to the chase, but for a split second, the words caught in his throat.

“No───”

He was a man entirely accustomed to being called atrocious, a tyrant who reveled in his own cruelty. So why, at the very last second, was he hesitating?

But that tiny gap of silence was more than enough for Shiina to understand exactly why he was calling.

“You're thinking... that if things stay as they are, we will lose, at least in terms of individual token counts. Am I right?”

"According to Katsuragi's report, Ayanokōji's done pretty damn well for himself," Ryūen admitted.

“I see…” she murmured softly. “What should I do? Please, give me your orders.”

“...Right. I'll relay the instructions now.”

As Ryūen coldly outlined the plan, Kaneda, who had been quietly eavesdropping beside him, rapidly turned pale.

And finally, when he was finished, Shiina voiced a single wish.

“Even if I end up being expelled over this... please do not use your Private Points to save me.”

7

Ryūen had been hoarding Private Points for a long time, desperately saving them up to bring his plan closer to reality. If he coughed them up now, he could invalidate her expulsion. But doing so would cause his entire overarching strategy to collapse. If the opponent knew that saving her using Private Points was the premise, even if he employed similar methods in the future, a reliable effect could not be obtained. It was precisely because he would truly cut her off that it became a meaningful strategy.

“Obviously,” Ryūen replied.

“I'm relieved to hear that. Well then…”

With those soft words, the call abruptly cut off. Ryūen lowered the phone and cast a sideways glance at Kaneda, whose lips were trembling.

It was 5:40 p.m. Our group had made good time, advancing just far enough to slip out of Area G11.

Up to this point, our march had gone smoothly, with no one sustaining any major injuries. However, it was also around this time that the creeping anxiety began to take a visible toll on the students.

“Damn it, I wonder how we're holding up right now,” Sonoda muttered restlessly from the middle of the pack. “I can't help but worry about where all the other groups are.”

We could use our tokens to verify the positions of the other groups. But spending a token only revealed the location of a single person. To pinpoint the whereabouts of all nine groups currently racing toward the goal, we would need to burn through a minimum of nine tokens.

We had the authority and the means to check, but we simply couldn't afford to pull the trigger. It was like having a terrible itch, scratching it to suppress the urge was easy, but if you wanted the wound to truly heal, you had to endure the agonizing urge to touch it.

As the students continued their march through this frustrating stretch of time, the Class C cell phone in my pocket began to vibrate.

I pulled it out. The screen simply displayed the name ‘Ayanokōji Kiyotaka’, meaning this call was directed specifically at me. Because it didn't show a caller ID, I wouldn't know exactly who was on the other end until I picked it up, but I already had an idea who it could be.

Telling Yoshida and the others to go on ahead, I let myself fall to the very back of the group. Ike and Shinohara were bringing up the rear, walking side-by-side. I gave them a brief gesture with the phone to signal I was taking a call, prompting them to pass me by.

“Looks like you raked it in on those tasks,” Ryūen's voice crackled through the earpiece the instant the line connected. “I already got Katsuragi's report on you.”

“Just decently well.” I replied. “Did you go out of your way to confirm something like that right before the goal?”

“How many tokens did you gather?” Ryūen asked.

“That's quite a straightforward question, but unfortunately, I can't tell you.”

“130? 140? I might not know the exact number, but I can easily guess you earned more than me.”

He knew I had no intention of answering, yet he pressed on anyway.

“If I had to list my one real advantage here, it's just that the goal is right before our eyes.”

Whether he was telling the truth or bluffing, there was only one logical response I could give him.

“Then I recommend you hurry up and reach the goal.”

4

“Yeah, well, I figured I wouldn't be breakin' a sweat if I could win just on the multiplier alone,” Ryūen said. “You've probably got all the rules memorized anyway, so I'll put it simply. Group 4 is currently in Area H10. And I just ordered one of my classmates in that group to march straight toward K14, completely in the opposite direction of the goal. You understand what that means, right?”

Group 4. One of the groups I hadn't encountered even once during this Special Exam.

And it was the group that Shiina Hiyori from Ryūen's class belonged to.

“And?” I asked.

“Hah, ‘and’ you say.” Ryūen scoffed. “If things go south, Shiina's gonna get expelled.”

I quickly ran the numbers in my head. Assuming it took Hiyori an hour to hike out to Area K14, it would take her at least an hour and a half to double back to the goal at F13. Given her walking speed, it was a mathematical certainty: she absolutely would not make it back in time.

2

“That doesn't sound like a bad thing to me,” I replied. “But what's the purpose of sending Hiyori off on a solo counter-march? The issue concerning Class B is your problem, not mine.”

“I wonder if you actually mean that, or if you're just putting on a tough front.”

Ryūen, dropping his voice to a low tone, continued further.

“I had her leave just one token on hand and entrust all the rest to her team mates. Then I told her to just wait on standby at K14 until the Special Exam ends───”

“Did you want to choose the student to be expelled yourself?” I interrupted. “If you didn't need the groundwork I laid for you, I would've appreciated being told.”

“To you, Shiina is a person with value,” he replied.

“Using a friend as a decoy is certainly an interesting strategic move,” I conceded, “but since we're in different classes, its effectiveness is incredibly thin. We are friends, nothing more, nothing less. You're calling me under the assumption that I'll abandon my position to go save her. If your expectations are off, this is nothing more than an act of self-destruction.”

Whether Hiyori reached the goal or got expelled had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of this exam. However, the price of losing an excellent student would have a massive negative impact on Class B in the long run.

“You aren't that foolish,” I continued. “Which means there's a very real possibility you're just feeding me a fabricated story.”

Ryūen's lie, concocted with the thought that I, worried about Hiyori's current location, would consume tokens to verify the truth at least a few times from here on out. His aim was to shave off my tokens, even if only slightly.

But ultimately, avoiding that was also easy. I just had to ask Yoshida, Sanada, and the others to consume theirs instead.

“Even if everything you just said is true,” I added, “losing Hiyori is a massive blow to Class B. You'd bail her out even if it cost you twenty million Private Points.”

“Shiina said the exact same thing. That's why she told me absolutely not to save her with points.”

“If you earnestly executed this strategy, then that is the only correct answer. Bait only works when it actually functions as bait. Either way, though, both you and Hiyori made the same miscalculation.”

Staring quietly ahead, I kept my pace steady toward the goal.

“I have acquired as many tokens as possible. Assuming I secure a decent overall rank, there's a very high probability I'll earn a special prize for my individual results. And since we've temporarily dropped down to Class D, earning Class Points here is an absolute must. By any reasonable measure, I am not going to save Hiyori.”

1

Without waiting for a response, I severed the connection.

Picking up my pace, I quickly caught back up with Yoshida and the rest of the group.

“Who was that on the phone?” Yoshida asked.

“Just a final obstruction from another class,” I replied. “A desperate, futile struggle.”

“Obstruction? ...Is everything okay?”

“Don't worry about it. More importantly, let's pick up the pace and aim for the goal. Our group's ranking is far more crucial right now.”

I hadn't expected any response to the arrow I'd set in motion, let alone an attempt to catch me off guard, but..

“You've played a bold hand, Ryūen.” I muttered softly.

1

Even knowing there was a very real chance it would amount to nothing, he had gone through with it anyway.

Right after the communication with Ayanokōji ended, Kaneda, unable to suppress the emotions he had been enduring, pressed in on Ryūen.

“What exactly are your intentions here... Ryūen-shi...!”

1

“Hah? What's there to wonder about? It's exactly like you heard,” Ryūen replied callously. “I feel bad for Shiina, but I had her play the bait to lure Ayanokōji out. If that bastard doesn't bite, I'll just have her get expelled right here.”

“T-That's completely absurd! Shiina-shi is an incredibly important student to our class! For you to do something like this...!”

“Ain't it just that you're lettin' your own damn feelings get in the way 'cause you don't want her expelled?”

1

Like a frog caught in the glare of a snake, Kaneda stiffened, momentarily paralyzed by fear.

However, he immediately shattered that invisible curse through sheer force of will and argued right back.

“No, you are entirely mistaken...! Even you should understand that much, Ryūen-shi! It's clearly a foolish plan... No, to call it foolish is far too generous. It's nothing short of barbarism!”

Behind the lenses of his glasses, Kaneda's eyes were blazing with an unprecedented, unconscious intensity.

“I think it's best if you calm down and cool your head, Kaneda-kun,” Hirata interjected softly, trying to defuse the situation.

Having been granted permission to listen to Ryūen's entire conversation, he had heard everything from start to finish.

“I am calm,” Kaneda snapped back. “It is precisely because I am calm that I am saying this!”

3

“It's real simple,” Ryūen said, his voice dropping low. “Just shut your mouth and obey what I decided.”

"I cannot obey... Please lend me the phone. I will contact Shiina-shi and tell her it's unnecessary."

“If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to obey me, then you’ll just have to try making me yield by force,” Ryūen sneered, lazily looking away.

“Tch!”

Utterly infuriated by the blatant disrespect, Kaneda impulsively shot out his right arm, and grabbed Ryūen by his collar.

2

“You're shaking, Kaneda,” Ryūen mocked softly. “You actually got it in you to hit me?”

“I-if raw force is the only language you'll listen to….even then… I’m prepared to—!”

“Stop it!” Hirata stepped in before the situation could escalate any further, forcefully prying Kaneda's grip off of Ryūen's uniform. “Doing this won't solve anything.”

Kaneda stumbled back, his fingers trembling. “...Excuse me. This is the first time I've ever felt quite like this... But things have certainly become clear. So, this is the emotion known as anger... Ryūen-shi, I don't care what logic you devise, I will absolutely never accept this.”

6

“It's true that as a strategy, there’s nothing to be praised,” Hirata said, stepping between the two. “I also think you should contact Shiina-san again even now. But let me ask you one thing. Can you declare that this is the absolute best plan to prevent Ayanokōji-kun from winning? I am genuinely curious.”

“I gave the order 'cause that's what I decided,” Ryūen growled, glaring at Hirata. “I ain't got no obligation to sit here and spell it out for you.”

Kaneda had been terrified by that very same glare, but Hirata received it head-on, not shrinking back in the slightest.

“...I see,” Hirata murmured. “You truly believe that Shiina-san is someone Ayanokōji-kun would save even at the cost of victory.”

Because he was missing context, there were parts of this conflict Hirata didn't fully understand. At the same time, there were parts he found easy enough to accept. It was certainly true that Ayanokōji treated Shiina differently from everyone else. However, he had never imagined her as an existence Ayanokōji would voluntarily abandon victory for, someone he would go so far as to save even at the risk of his own expulsion.

“Seems you got your own thoughts about Ayanokōji too,” Ryūen sneered at Hirata. “Well, can't really blame ya.”

“I would like to see it,” Hirata murmured, his eyes narrowed slightly. “I'd like to see how Ayanokōji-kun actually answers your question.”

“Hirata-shi, you are ultimately just a bystander,” Kaneda snapped, turning to Hirata. “You can say it so lightly because you aren't a student in our class! And the exact same goes for Ayanokōji-shi! He is in a position where he must continue to produce results in order to carry his class to victory. I absolutely refuse to believe he would willingly throw himself into massive risk just to go save Shiina-shi!”

3

“You can't believe it?” Ryūen taunted. “Or is it just that you don't wanna believe it?”

“T-That's not...!”

A vivid memory flashed through Kaneda's mind: an exchange he had witnessed between Ayanokōji and Shiina in the library. The way her expression softened when she spoke to him, a look that seemed identical to her usual smile, yet felt entirely, undeniably special, reserved for Ayanokōji alone.

2

The realization hit Kaneda like a physical blow. Delight at the sheer purity of her unmasked face clashed instantly with searing, defensive rage. A fierce cocktail of conflicting emotions coursed violently through Kaneda’s veins.

“If you wanna stop it that badly, then go pick her up yourself right now,” Ryūen provoked him. “But with those slow legs of yours, you'll never make it in time.”

“Then I will stop it even if I have to consume my Protection Point. Right now, I will drop my tokens to 0───”

“That's useless, Kaneda-kun,” Hirata interrupted gently. “Even if you transfer all your tokens and drop to zero, the penalty you incur for deliberate insolvency is entirely different from finishing in last place. The fact that you didn't even think of that is proof you aren't thinking clearly.”

If Kaneda dropped his tokens to zero right now, he would simply be disqualified and forced to wait out the rest of the exam on the ship. It wouldn't offer Shiina any salvation whatsoever.

“Furthermore, even if you ended the exam with exactly one token to tie with Shiina-san, your overall OAA rating is higher,” Hirata continued. “The tiebreaker would still dictate that Shiina-san is the one who gets expelled.”

2

In truth, Hirata didn't actually remember Shiina and Kaneda's exact OAA scores. However, he had deduced that if Kaneda could become a substitute using that method, Ryūen would’ve never let him listen in on the phone call to begin with.

1

“Guh...!” Kaneda gritted his teeth.

Desperately formulating a counter-plan, he briefly considered lowering Group 2’s overall rank to decrease the final token multiplier. However, he immediately realized that if Hiyori only possessed a single token, she wouldn't be affected by the multiplier math anyway. There was nothing the current Kaneda could do to shield her from expulsion.

“The only reliable way to save her is to physically reach Shiina-san before the exam ends and transfer your tokens directly to her,” Hirata explained. “Ryūen-kun waited until this exact moment to bring it up because he knew that.”

1

“If Ayanokōji goes to save Shiina, he ain't makin' it back to the goal in time, putting his final multiplier at 70%,” Ryūen explained. “And if he transfers his own tokens to her to save her, it'll also drain Group 3's total stash. That’s two birds with one stone.”

The only variable Ryūen couldn't control was whether he could force Ayanokōji to spend his visible ‘front-side’ tokens. There was always a chance Ayanokōji's groupmates had entrusted him with hidden, unrecorded tokens to act as a secret safety net.

“Since when…” Kaneda's voice trembled. “Since when did you decide to use Shiina-shi like this?”

“I ain't answering that.”

This was undeniably a major gamble for Ryūen as well. He may have set it all in motion, but the power to decide the outcome now rested with Ayanokōji.

Either Shiina would be expelled, or Ayanokōji would be defeated. There was no third possibility.

4

“If, by any chance, Shiina-shi actually ends up getting expelled…” Kaneda spat, his voice laced with venom. “I will never forgive you.”

“Before you start barkin' about forgiveness, first fulfill your own damn responsibility as a member of this group,” Ryūen ordered coldly. “Use those legs to reach the goal as fast as possible to make the class win.”

Ryūen was telling him the hard truth: the only thing Kaneda could do right now was reach the goal. That was it.

“And one more thing─ if you wanna punch me, next time grab my collar with your left hand.”

3

Punching with the dominant arm is what's important, Ryūen declared with a faint smirk playing across his lips.