Final day, 09:30 PM.
"Over this past week, we, your teachers, have closely watched your efforts in this special test. There were some students who took on the challenge honestly, head-on. There were some who devised schemes to tackle the test. Many things have happened, but overall, the test results were splendid. Good work."
Class A's homeroom teacher Mashima announced in front of all hundred and twenty students. A collective sigh of relief took over the beach. It seemed like everyone was finally starting to believe the one-week test was really over. However, that wasn't the time to relax yet. As the time of the results to come out grew closer, the level of anxiety and anticipation was reaching its peak.
"Hey hey! Don't start the party without me."
Exactly at that moment, an 'unexpected' face surfaced from the curtains of the forest.
'Huh?' is all that could come out of everyone's mouth. Not only my classmates, but the students from the other classes too. Everyone had the same question on their mind.
"What's Ryuen-kun doing here?" Kikyou asked.
"D-don't tell me this bastard actually stayed?" Sudou stuttered.
"But why?" Karuizawa shouted.
Everyone was taken aback by Ryuen's surprise appearance. I side-glanced at Horikita who also seemed shocked by that. The concern in her face was visible like the dark spots under my eyes.
"It seems your assumptions really did come to reality." She whispered.
"I figured."
Also it was kind of amusing to think that she was talking about reality when in fact the reality we were living in wasn't even real to begin with.
The very first thing he did after revealing himself was to come toward us; Horikita to be more accurate. Though it was indeed a daring entry, Ryuen's attire was in complete shambles. His clothes wrinkled, his long magenta hair dirty and ruffled. He even grew some beards along the way, which surprisingly suited him more.
"Yo, Suzune. That's an erotic expression you got there." Ryuen spoke with his signature smirk.
"I didn't give you permission to call me that." Horikita glared at him, which made him smile even more.
"So, how'd you like my little stunt there?"
"Your machination is unclear to me. Why would you pull a pointless stunt like that to begin with?"
"Pointless? Hah! Yeah, let's go with that." Ruyen snickered.
"I don't understand. You just lost. How can you be so smug like that?" I said.
"Haha.. Hahahaha!" he closed his eyes and began laughing maniacally. "Seriously... I'm jealous of the nerve of your small fry."
"That's... that was rude." I murmured.
Maybe my comment was rather amusing to him, like a joke. Even when he was laughing, he didn't even bother giving me a side glance. Which was good, because it came to show how much he had underestimated me. When Ryuen was done with his laughter, he looked directly at Horikita.
"Oh, but don't worry. I've got something special prepared for your class."
I guess he really was after our class this time. Makes sense.
"Hey, what's your problem dude? You tryna pick a fight with us or what?" after listening to our exchanges, a fuming Sudou came running toward us. Fortunately, Hirata was also there to stop a brawl from breaking out.
"It doesn't really matter whatever you say; Class D is still going to stay at zero points." Horikita replied in a confident manner.
"Heh heh heh. Don't be hasty. It's certainly true we used up three hundred points. However, have you forgotten the additional rules of this test?" Ryuen asked.
"You're planning to expose a class leader, aren't you?" She raised her eyebrow.
"That's right. I wrote it on the paper. The name of Class C's leader." Ryuen narrowed his eyes while putting emphasis on the last bit. From my perspective, Ryuen was simply trying to get a reaction out of Horikita. But as expected, she remained apathetic to his remarks.
"Huh?" Sudou widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Also, those guys in A and B wrote the same thing too. Do you know what this means?" Ryuen said.
"Class B too? Weren't we supposed to be on a ceasefire with them?" I looked at Horikita, trying to sound distraught by that statement. Her eyes visibly twitched at my poor performance.
"Don't take his words seriously. At this point, he's just bluffing to hide his flaws." Horikita answered regardless.
By the end of the exam, class B had neither lost nor gained any points by guessing a leader. They were playing it safe, taking the passive route in this battle. Just as Horikita said, Ryuen was probably bluffing.
Or was he?
"Ho? I wonder about that?" Ryuen uttered.
Class A and B, huh? Why would Ryuen mention something like that? Was it really a slip-of-the-tongue? Did he actually have a conversation with Kanzaki in secret? Even if Kanzaki new about our 'Leaders' name, he probably chose not to write down due to Ichinose. It was all just a speculation but, maybe Kanzaki was already envolved with Ryuen?
The secret collaboration between Kanzaki and Ryuen was one of the few unmentioned secret subplots of the story. I know for a reason that Kanzaki would most likely do the same here and in the upcoming VIP exam.
From this point on, I needed to be more mindful about him.
"What're ya yapping about?" Sudou asked, calmly.
"I had this interesting thought for a while. Y'know, maybe temporarily banding together with another class wouldn't be a bad idea, would it??"
"Hold on a minute. If yer telling the truth, then–" when a confused and fearful Sudou began shouting, a certain boy from class A joined the conversation from afar.
"Excellent work, Ryuen."
"Huh?" Sudou looked behind as his eyes widened in surprise. "Oy, Katsuragi? The hell's the meaning of this?"
Katsuragi remained silent to his question. He had nothing to say to him. Meanwhile Ryuen seemed to enjoy toying with Sudou. Hirata and I tried not to show any emotions. Horikita seemed unaffected in the naked eyes. However, I could tell that even she was having an internal strife going inside her head. She looked at me with eyes screaming of uncertainty. 'Another one of your assumptions came true' is most likely what she was thinking.
"N-no way." An unconfident voice came out of Sudou's throat. He then looked at us with a worried expression. I simply chose to close my eyes and sigh while shrugging, which fueled his anxiety even more.
"So, what do you think, Suzune? Still got a chance to turn things around?" Ryuen asked in a mocking manner. If it was the usual Horikita, she would've been done then and there. But this version of Horikita...
"I wonder about that." she didn't falter.
"Huh?" Ryuen's nigh-permanent smug demeanor changed and a small peck of disappointment surfaced on his face.
"There's no need to worry. Only time will tell whether I was right, or whether you were wrong." she replied before walking away.
Stop mimicking me please.
"Tch. Yeah, sure. We'll see who gets the last laugh real soon."
With that, the confrontation with Ryuen went cold. After losing interest, Ryuen turned to Katsuragi, who was right behind him listening to the entire conversation.
"What is it?" he rasped with furrowed brows.
"Ryuen Kakeru. Because of you, we of Class A will earn over 500 S-points. Let me extend a hand of gratitude for your hard work." Katsuragi extended his hand at Ryuen.
"Heh..." Of course, Ryuen didn't shake his hand. He snickered amusedly instead. "Oi, slow down, Katsuragi. Let's not get too comfortable now."
"What?" Class A's leader Katsuragi Kouhei, who had a confident and a determined demeanor up until now was completely flabbergasted. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just wait. You're about to see something interesting."
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"Looks like all the classes are here. Let's assume that all of you are ready."
Everyone replied in affirmative. After receiving the majorities consent, Mashima unveiled a piece of paper from an envelope.
"Very well. To get straight to the point, I would like to announce the results of the special test. We will not accept any questions regarding the results, no exceptions. We would like you to accept the results you have been given, analyze them, and use them to help you for the next test. It is what it is. Don't wet yourselves over these results. You must accept reality"
Everyone from my class held their breaths in anxiety. Meanwhile, Ryuen puffed his chest in pride and held his head high. It was all in high expectation of receiving a high number. Horikita clutched her fist and closed her eyes. I looked at Ayanokouji who had an apathetic expression glued to his face the whole time. Losing interest, I simply looked forward and closed my eyes.
"Now, we will announce the rankings."
*Inhale
From an arial point of view, most of the things went exactly how I imagined. But given the circumstances, even I wasn't entirely sure if my method had a hundred percent completion rate. Anything and everything could've gone wrong during the process. That was excluding all the factors I didn't take into account. Honestly, this was a gamble.
But...
"The lowest class is..."
Technically Ryuen wasn't completely wrong either.
*Exhale
They will indeed see something interesting.
"...Class D, with zero points."
"Huh?"
Ryuen was shocked. His confident and smug demeanor crumbled, nowhere to be seen. He didn't seem to understand the situation. "What the hell is going on?"
"Bwahahaha!" When Sudou heard the results, his anxiousness converted into amusement. He clutched his stomach in mocking laughter. "Y'all literally have zero points in the bank! What the hell happened to all those big words from before?"
"Eh? Zero? For real?" a student uttered in a confused voice.
"Then what was the point of all that flashiness earlier?" another student inquired.
"How pathetic!" a group of students began laughing out loud.
The other classes began discussing the odd turns of event. Paying no need to that, Mashima continued the announcements matter-of-factly.
"In third place is Class A, with 120 points. Coming in second place is Class B, with 140 points. And then, Class C..."
For an instant, Mashima's movements stiffened. However, he soon resumed speaking.
"...has come in first place with 345 points. This concludes the announcement."
"What?" Ryuen frantically looked at us.
"Yahoo! We did it! In your face!" Ike shouted in excitement and joy.
"Oi Oi... What the hell? How did we get that much?!" Onizuka matched his tone.
"I dunno what happened. But I'll take it!" Miyamoto crowed.
Bewilderment took over the minds of my classmates as they began dancing and screaming in celebration. Ayanokouji was perfectly unaffected by the environment. Perfectly normal human behavior.
Horikita seemed relieved after hearing the results. She was probably on the edge of belief and disbelief. I'm sure she had a mountain load of questions piled up in her head. But she refrained from asking on the spot, noticing that Ryuen and the others were there. After seeing that my words were worth more than the letters, I'll be sure to see a massive growth in her trust in me.
"What's the meaning of this Katsuragi?!"
The voices saying such words echoed from one corner of the rest area to another. A hoard of class A students circled around said class A leader. The student's trust in Katsuragi as a leader had finally cracked. Members from Arisu's faction had the opportunity to rub salt on the gaping wound and slowly began pressuring Katsuragi out of his leader position. If I were to comment on his situation, I'd say it was his retribution for his foolishness.
"Guys, I think it'd be best if we leave this place." Seeing all the commotion next to us, Hirata parted his lips.
"Couldn't agree more." Yukimura nodded.
"Well then, Ryuen-kun, if you'll excuse us." With those final words, Hirata began walking toward the ship alongside Sudou, Horikita and the others. Sudou raised his middle finger at Ryuen while sticking out his tongue. Ryuen could do nothing but stand there in silence.
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A mandatory attendance call was taken during the aftermath of the exam, to ensure that everyone was present there and nobody was accidentally left behind. After that, it was finally over, and the first-year students scattered. We were told that the ship was going to depart in two hours and, although we were free to play in the sea, we were also free to go into the ship. We chose the latter and walked aboard.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. How was your week on the deserted island?" Kouenji Rokusuke, on the ship's deck with a drink on his hand, greeted us.
"Glad to see you alive, Kouenji." I replied while sighing internally. Unsurprisingly, he began laughing hysterically at that remark.
"Well, I can certainly understand why you would feel blessed to be near the presence of a perfect being such as I."
Not blessed, but blursed.
"Kouenji, you jerk! We lost thirty points because of you!" Ike yelled.
"Calm down, little boy Ike. I was in poor health and was resting. I had no other choice."
His smooth and glossy skin proved that he had spent the week tanning. And his evidently 'perfect' condition made his claims even less credible. Pertrubed, the guys joined forces with Ike to yell at Kouenji as one.
"By the way... what's with that absurd result?" Kikuchi mentioned.
"Th-that's right... What happened, Levent-kun? I don't get it at all!" Karuizawa asked.
"Well..." before I could say anything, I threw a glance at Ayanokouji who then slightly narrowed his eyes. As if asking whether I was sure or not. Of course there was no need to think about it twice. He should understand it better than anyone else. "I think you'd better ask Horikita-san. She's the one responsible for this victory." I replied.
"Huh?" Horikita suddenly turned toward me, shocked by my words. I felt kind of awkward for some reason, and averted my eyes.
"Remember the time when Ibuki-san came to our camp? Turns out, she was actually a spy who was trying to squeeze my name out. It was thanks to Horikita-san who immediately suspected and took countermeasures against her. That's why Ryuen didn't win today."
"Wait! Why are yo-"
"She was also the one who found out the leaders from class A and D. When sensei gave me the form, she ordered me to write down those names. We won because her answers were absolutely correct. For the bonus points, she made me go through all those spots every single day! That's why we have so many points. It was all thanks to Horikita-san's brilliance."
"Levent-ku-"
Horikita called out to me amidst all the joy and confusion. However, being the key player in our victory, she was now surrounded by a great number of classmates.
"Wow! Horikita-san, you were so incredibly awesome! I think you're a genius!"
"Thank you, Horikita-san. If it wasn't for you, we would've been goners by now!"
"Yeah! I see you on a new light now! You're seriously amazing!"
"Wait a second!"
She was bombarded with questions from boys and girls alike. Seeing the chance I made an excuse and made my retreat. I was sure glad how things ended up being the way I directed. Our class took first place with an overwhelming gap and Horikita gained more popularity. But in doing so, I was partly under the limelight too. So to avoid getting caught by the crowd like her, I wanted to go to my room to rest.
"Haa~"
But of course, I needed to attend some unfinished business first.
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With a somber and uninterested outlook, I left the deck, then walked toward the other side of the ship where Chabashira was waiting for me. There was no one else nearby. It was completely quite before the conversation began.
"First, I'd like to say you did wonderfully. I'm honestly impressed to see your capabilities." Chabashira spoke with a grin on her face.
"Let's get this over with." I dug my hand inside my pocket and pulled the memorandum out in front of her.
"Quite the impatient one, aren't you?"
Despite her words, she had pulled her phone in front of me, as I did the same. After scanning the QR code from the Point management app, I had typed the intended amount, and hit send. A confirmation window popped in front of me, asking if I was sure.
Few seconds later, her phone vibrated notifying about the successful transaction.
"Hah~" That was probably the biggest transaction I had ever made in my two lives.
Was it worth it?
Depends on the perspective...
I certainly could've used those points for something else. Maybe I should've saved them for the future in case something unexpected happened.
There was an alternate route where I didn't have to invest those points. In that scenario, I needed to get injured in order to pass my leadership to Ayanokouji. Ibuki was required to stay with us for the whole week in order for it to work. Eventually that would've led to the 'Panty Theft Conflict' which may or may not have produced a crack in the classes 'Boy-Girl' camaraderie.
In any case, I did whatever I could. And I was satisfied with how the results came to be.
"With this, the transaction is complete." I announced.
"Indeed."
"Goodbye." If I was spotted like that, things would probably get much more troublesome for me. So I turned around, wanting to leave that place.
"Before you go, I'd like to have a few words with you." Chabashira stopped me.
"Can I refuse?"
"Of course we can have this conversation elsewhere. I'm sure you'd definitely want that."
Although I could've easily shrugged it off and left that place anyway, I was kind of curious about what she had to say. So I hit the brakes and turned toward her. But before anything, I decided to give her a piece of mind first.
"This memorandum we signed at the beginning of this exam... Both party agreed upon absolute anonymity. So if you're going to threaten me with those empty threats, I'd advice you to prepare for what's about to come next."
I could feel my voice grow cold as I stared blankly at her. Chabashira simply stared at me with unchanging expression.
"Relax. I'll keep it brief." she replied. Chabashira then leaned into the ship railing and looked at the sky above. "How do I appear to you as class C's homeroom teacher?"
I calmed down and genuinely thought about her question.
"I do think you're quite attractive among all the female teachers I've met. But that's not what you want hear now, is it?"
Her eyes didn't twitch when I made that remark. But I could feel her bloodlust rising.
"I don't care if you mind being compared to other teachers, but you don't seem to care about your pupil and exhibit cold behavior against them. You don't care at all about class C whatsoever. You're a cold and emotionless teacher with no interest in her students and their future. Personally, I'd much rather not have you as a teacher." I paused while looking straight in her eyes. "At least that's what a normal person would say..."
Chabashira's lips arched upwards, amused by that snide comment. "If a 'normal' person can be that sharp-tongued, then I wonder what would be the 'not-so-normal' ones?"
"Can't relate. There's nothing about me that screams 'more-than-ordinary' after all."
"Still keeping that façade, aren't you, Aozaki?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I shrugged.
Chabashira sighed and looked toward the sea.
"Your strategy... It's too odd for a first year student like you to pull off."
"The exam itself was odd to begin with." I countered while leaning into the railing myself. "Then again, the school itself is an anomaly, so what's the point in saying that?"
"Answer my question... How did you come up with a strategy like that?" she asked.
How does she even expect me to answer that?
"Intuition. Let's go with that."
"Intuition? Really? Then you must have a really good sense of intuition..." she snickered. "Perhaps your 'intuition' includes a few third year students?"
She had already caught up to that? Guess I really am valuable enough for her to chase me, huh? Of course, I, in no way, was connected to Chairman Sakayanagi, unlike the protagonist. So I doubt that I really stood out from the other files in any way. Face it, officially I'm average at everything. Looks, Athletics, Intelligence, Academics, Social skills etc.. (Although, I don't want to include looks into this equation. My 'increasing depression meter' would be off the scale if I did.) She was probably orbiting around me because of my apparent actions. I wouldn't be surprised if she ran a background check on me by now.
"I don't really know which senior your talking about. I've had conversations with dozens of seniors by now."
"Merely greeting them 'Good Morning' and asking how they are is not a conversation, Aozaki. Stop lying, it's pathetic."
I want to cry.
"I spoke truthfully. The rest is up to you whether you should believe me or not." I closed my eyes.
"Very well. Let's agree that you have a good intuition. Then may I ask how you were able to gather that amount of points on such short time?"
"I have my ways..."
"How mysterious..." she replied without a hit of emotion attached to that tone. "But I enjoy mysteries when they're solved."
"I guess we both have the same preference."
"Do you remember what happened to the student I mentioned in the beginning of this term?"
She was talking about the student who had scammed the first years and garnered an amount total of twelve million points. He was later terminated without delay.
"Sensei, was that supposed to be a threat?" I calmly asked.
"I wonder about that."
Chabashira was determined to get a hold of me. She wanted to try and put me on a leash. A case similar to Ayanokouji. Quite possibly she ran a background check on me prior to this event in case she found some interesting info about my past. Honestly, even I was curious about the past I had in this land. But given what she's doing right now, I can only assume that she only found white pages.
[Break a leg.] I replied in pure English.
"What?"
Of course her threats wouldn't work on me. I didn't scam anyone, nor did I physically force them into a transaction. Technically, the third year students from the first month willingly gave me their points in exchange of overlooking their mistakes. And that bastard clerk, in exchange for not pressing any charges. In the end, all those points were rightfully mine.
"Feel free to launch whatever investigation you will. The results would only show blank pages. Fret not, for I wouldn't hold it against you if you tried."
Chabashira furrowed her brows against me. Having had enough pleasantries, I pushed off the railing and fixed my posture, standing straight.
"For the record, I'm already providing all these results on my own volition. You should already be satisfied with this. It's only because I find all of these a bit interesting. Leave Ayanokouji Alone. Also if you try to sew your strings through my skin one more time, then remember... An adults must always take responsibility for their actions and prepare for the repercussions."
"Hoh? What kind of repercussion could you possibly mean, Aozaki?" she definitely understood what I meant by that, yet asked with a smile nonetheless.
A gust of wind blew through there, ruffling my already messy hair. A few strands of hair poked my eyeballs even, causing an irking sensation. But I didn't bother pulling them back. Because there was something even more irking that was standing right in front of me.
"I may or may not feel like breaking you, sensei."
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After I finished the conversation, I went back to my room right away. An Hirata and Ayanokouji were peacefully sleeping on their respective beds. I changed my clothes quietly and dropped on my bed. My eye lids were practically heavier than my body. As I was about to turn my phone off and sleep, it started buzzing repeatedly. The name 'Horikita Suzune' was burning in my display. As expected, she was probably dying to know what happened, and wouldn't stop pestering me until I properly explained everything.
*Yawn~
I rejected her call and put my phone on airplane mode. Then I went toward the door and secured everything, from door nob to the tower bolt. It was all to make sure that I don't wake up in some dark basement all tied up, with an angry Horikita in front of me.
The moment I hit the bed, my consciousness left the world.
Current Class Ranking:
Class A ------------------- 1124 CP (+ 120)
Class B ------------------- 802 CP (+ 140)
Class C ------------------- 652 CP (+ 345)
Class D ------------------- 192 CP (+ 0)
Current Balance: 1,094,970
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[E: There won't be any author's note in the next chapter, so it's time to get emotional. If you haven't been skipping my notes from the chapter's, then you should probably know what's going on. But don't worry, this isn't goodbye. It's a temporary break until my semester ends. A hiatus...
Hiatus, huh? How long will I be gone for? Maybe a few weeks? Or maybe a month? Let's keep it a secret. Let me surprise you.
But I'll be sure to update the fic one way or another.
There's a few things I want to do during the break. I'll be janitoring through all the mess I had left behind. I'll be removing all the author notes and fourth wall breaking stuff, to give it a more professional look. No one likes those anyway. I have a few ideas about how to solidify Levent's plot and backstory. And a few other prospects that may or may not improve the story for the new readers.
As I said, there will be no AN in the next chapter. But have you noticed that I updated two chapters today?
Yah Yah no need to thank me. I know I'm kind and handsome! Consider it a gift before the hiatus. And an apology for not keeping up to your expectations. We were witness to Levent's journey together, and hopefully we shall laugh, smile, cringe and curse at Levent together in the future. Till then... thank you for everything.
Goodbye, but this is not goodbye... See you later.
You can scroll down now ;]