After stirring things up in Class A, Ryuen turned to Class D.
"Yo, Kanda. Good teamwork out there."
"It really was. Just look at how happy everyone in our class is."
Kanda Shuichi rested his arm on Miyake's shoulder for support.
Even with plenty of supplies, seven days on the island had left Kanda Shuichi exhausted. All he wanted now was to return to the ship and collapse on a comfortable bed.
"Let's work together again if the opportunity comes."
"Of course."
After a quick exchange, Ryuen walked away.
"Are you seriously planning to work with him again?"
After Ryuen left, Horikita Suzune approached with a frown.
Ryuen left a terrible impression on her, and if possible, she wanted nothing to do with him for the rest of her life.
"We'll see. If there's something to gain, working together isn't a bad idea."
Kanda didn't give her a straight answer. In matters like these, nothing was certain. Today's enemy could be tomorrow's ally.
"I'm just warning you to watch out for Ryuen stabbing you in the back."
"Don't worry. If he ever tries to stab me, I'll be ready to stab him back."
In this school, there were no eternal enemies or allies—only eternal interests.
Even Class B, which currently had a good relationship with Class D, could someday become their opponent.
So, let's toast to greater profits ahead!
After roll call, most of the students began boarding the luxury cruise ship one by one.
Some chose to stay and play by the beach, which was allowed, but the ship would only stay docked for two hours. If anyone missed it, it could easily turn into an incident.
After spending seven days on the island, the students were completely tired of it. Each of them wished they had an extra pair of legs to rush back to the ship as quickly as possible.
The scores of the four classes changed drastically after this exam:
Class A (Katsuragi-Sakayanagi): 892 points
Class B (Ichinose Honami): 969 points
Class C (Ryuen Kakeru): 678 points
Class D (Kanda Shuichi): 511 points
Although Katsuragi-Sakayanagi's class could still be called Class A for now, it was obvious to anyone paying attention that Katsuragi alone wouldn't be able to hold off the combined attacks from the other three classes.
"Congratulations, Hoshinomiya-sensei."
The Class C homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, smiled as he congratulated Hoshinomiya.
Although Class C didn't gain a lot of points in this exam, they managed to break Class A's dominance. As for Class B, both he and Ryuen shared the same thought: that class wouldn't last. Even if they rose to Class A, they would soon fall back during future battles, so there was no need to worry about them.
"Sakagami-sensei, please don't tease me." Hoshinomiya forced a smile. "No matter how you look at it, the winner this time is Sae-chan."
Chabashira Sae's expression didn't change at all. She simply replied calmly, "It's nothing. The students just worked hard."
Her indifferent attitude made Hoshinomiya grit her teeth in frustration.
Back in high school, the two had attended this very school, been in the same class, and even shared a dorm room as members of Class D. Until the third semester of their senior year, the gap between Class A and Class D was less than 100 points. It was a close match, where even a small mistake could completely tip the balance.
However, because of Chabashira Sae, Class D fell into despair, becoming the target of Class A and seeing all their dreams shattered. That event caused Chabashira and Hoshinomiya, once close friends, to become bitter rivals.
It was also from their graduating class onward that the school changed its dormitories from double rooms to single rooms.
Well, thanks, Chabashira-sensei!
That said, when Chabashira claimed it was "nothing," it really wasn't an exaggeration.
If Kanda Shuichi had gone all out, he could have accurately guessed the names of the leaders of both Class B and Class C. That would have propelled Class D to overtake Class C.
Thinking about it, Chabashira Sae sighed inwardly. *Is this your way of subtly mocking me, Kanda Shuichi? You really are a petty man.*
Back on the ship, Kanda Shuichi and Miyake Akito went straight to their room. As soon as they opened the door, a blast of cool air greeted them.
"Ah, I'm alive again!"
Kanda Shuichi let go of Miyake Akito's support, dropped his bag onto the floor, and took a few quick steps to the bed, where he collapsed onto it.
The moment his body touched the soft mattress, he bounced up twice due to its elasticity.
"This feels amazing~~~ Beds are the best. I never want to sleep in a tent again!"
Rolling over, Kanda Shuichi spoke with a peaceful expression.
"Me too… I hope there won't be any more uninhabited island exams."
Miyake's comment made Kanda Shuichi sit up immediately. He grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at him.
"Shut up, Akito!" Kanda Shuichi's face turned serious. "You can't say stuff like that! You're setting us up for bad luck, you idiot!"
"Huh? Even if I don't say it, if it's going to happen, it'll still happen, right?"
After getting hit on the head with the pillow, Miyake Akito felt Kanda Shuichi was being unreasonable. He grabbed the pillow and threw it back.
"No, if another uninhabited island exam happens, it'll definitely be your fault."
Kanda Shuichi caught the pillow and threw it again.
"It won't be because of me. I'm not taking the blame for this!"
Then another pillow flew over.
"No, it's definitely you!"
"It wasn't me!"
While the two were busy throwing pillows at each other, the door between them suddenly opened, and someone walked in. Before Kanda Shuichi could react, the pillow in his hand went flying…
It hit Hirata squarely on the head. The soft pillow landed perfectly and then slid to the floor.
"Uh… what are you two doing?"
Hirata, who had just been hit, didn't seem fazed. He only looked slightly confused at the situation before quietly closing the door.
Of course, neither Kanda Shuichi nor Miyake Akito could explain. Their behavior just now had been far too childish.
"Nothing. Akito said the pillows in the room seemed different, so he wanted to compare them with mine."
"Yeah, that's it."
Kanda Shuichi made up an excuse on the spot, and Miyake quickly nodded in agreement. There was no way they could admit the truth—it was out of the question.
"I see. Do you still want to check them?"
Hirata picked up the pillow from the floor and looked at Miyake.
"Uh, no, no need."
Miyake waved his hands quickly.
Hirata then handed the pillow back to Kanda Shuichi.
Since the room had wooden floors and was cleaned daily, there was no dust. Kanda Shuichi took the pillow and tossed it back onto the bed.
"I'm getting hungry. Want to grab some food together?"
After the brief interruption, Kanda Shuichi realized he was starting to feel hungry. Although they'd had breakfast that morning, the exam had lasted until noon, so none of the Class D students had eaten lunch.
Plus, traveling from the base to the beach and then boarding the ship, it was already close to 2 p.m.
"Let's get changed and go. Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too."
Miyake, who had just lain down, immediately sat back up. The two then turned to Hirata.
Hirata smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I already promised to eat with Karuizawa."
"I see. Well, that can't be helped."
Kanda Shuichi nodded. After all, it was his girlfriend, and they had planned it in advance.
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