Patience

The sea breeze brushed gently past and lifted a few loose strands of Kiyona's hair beside her cheek. She didn't ask for details. Their long-standing rapport and her unwavering trust in Kanade meant she kept her question brief and direct, getting straight to the heart of the matter:

"What's your final judgment?"

Her tone was calm and natural, conveying that she was handing the decision entirely over to him. When it came to analysis and judgment, she had always let Hoshino Kanade take the lead.

Hoshino Kanade's gaze remained steady. His eyes swept over the island's winding coastline and undulating jungle like a precision instrument, etching every detail into his mind.

At Kiyona's question, he paused almost imperceptibly before answering in a tone as calm as if they were discussing what to have for dinner:

"Based on what we've observed so far, the bias in the broadcast's guidance, and the deliberate traces of human intervention on the island... the most likely answer is already clear." He turned to look directly at Kiyona, his deep eyes steady. "It looks like this will probably be a survival exam."

"So—" He drew out the word, not because he needed to make sure she understood, but as if he were casually building a little suspense. "If the rules allow it, we'll stick to the original plan and go 'on vacation' with Shiina."

At his words, Kiyona's delicate brows lifted ever so slightly. Then a look of understanding—as if to say, "I knew it"—spread through her cool eyes.

The scene of Shiina Hiyori inviting them on deck, and Hoshino Kanade agreeing without hesitation, came back to her in an instant.

"Did you know from the start?" she asked softly. There was no surprise in her voice, only calm certainty. After all, Hoshino Kanade had made the decision, and he could always see several moves further ahead than ordinary people.

She tilted her head slightly, her clear gaze resting quietly on his face as she waited for him to explain further.

A barely perceptible smile touched Hoshino Kanade's lips. "I wouldn't say I knew from the start." He honestly rejected that description. "Back then, it was only a vague guess. This kind of judgment comes down to following limited clues through logical deduction to arrive at the most probable answer, or..." He paused, his voice low and certain. "What you might call an 'intuition' built on a foundation of reason."

He deftly described the process in objective terms, leaving out the deeper truth of his "foresight."

"Heh..." Kiyona let out a laugh that held both understanding and a trace of helplessness.

Now that she understood his reasoning, she had no objections at all.

Then the trace of helplessness faded quickly, like mist dispersed by the wind.

In its place, a tiny spark quietly ignited in the depths of her clear, cool eyes.

She gazed toward the exam island so close at hand, cloaked in the trappings of paradise.

"An exam... I don't feel like wasting my energy on it either." She spoke frankly, her tone as aloof as ever.

But the next moment, a subtle note of enthusiasm lifted her voice. "Still..." She paused, her gaze brushing lightly past Hoshino Kanade as if looking through him toward the unknown adventure she would soon embark on with Shiina. "Since I'll be going with a 'friend,' treating it as a special 'survival vacation' in a scenic spot sounds..." The corner of her mouth curved ever so slightly. "Not too bad, I guess?"

For once, her voice held a hint of lightness and curiosity.

Years of training and experience had long since worn away her fear of survival itself. Now, instead, her curiosity had been quietly stirred. She wanted to see what novel twists this survival game might take on a stage so carefully arranged.

Exploring unknown rules and challenges alongside a trusted companion... there was something uniquely appealing about that.

Hoshino Kanade caught the fleeting glimmer in her eyes and gave a slight nod.

There was no need to say more. They understood each other. The goal remained unchanged; the "vacation" would proceed as planned.

Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona turned at the same time, their gazes returning to the island as it grew larger in the dusk.

At last, the Luxury Cruise Ship cleaved through the blue waves and approached its destination, an island covered in lush vegetation. Like a giant emerald set in an endless sapphire, its outline came into clear view for all the passengers.

The D-Class students were drawn in by the magnificent scenery too. They flocked to the best viewing spots at the front of the deck, their excited chatter and exclamations rising one after another. For a moment, the deck was filled with anticipation and cheer.

Then the excitement abruptly gave way to commotion. Rough shoving and openly hostile shouts erupted from behind the crowd:

"Hey, you useless roadblocks! Move! You're in the way!"

Several tall male students with arrogant expressions rudely shoved aside the D-Class students in their way and forced their way into the best vantage point. The spiky-haired boy in front wore undisguised contempt on his face. He looked around, and when most of the D-Class students backed down without daring to protest, he fixed his gaze on Yamauchi Haruki, who was talking to Kanji Ike up ahead.

"I'm talking to you! What are you standing there for? Get out of the way!" Before he'd even finished speaking, he strode forward and slammed his shoulder into Yamauchi Haruki with all the force of an insult and a warning—a classic attempt to make an example of him.

"Ugh!" Caught off guard, Yamauchi stumbled backward from the impact, his back crashing against the cold metal Ship's Rail. The violent jolt ran up his spine. He grabbed the rail for dear life and barely managed to steady himself, avoiding an undignified fall.

Furious and shocked, Yamauchi whipped around, his cheeks flushed red. "What the hell was that for?!"

The spiky-haired boy folded his arms and looked down at Yamauchi's disheveled state, the utmost contempt curling his lip. "What was that for? Just teaching a D-Class loser with no sense of his place a lesson."

His gaze swept over the D-Class students, who had fallen silent at the confrontation. His voice suddenly rose, brimming with utter superiority. "Haven't you figured it out yet, defective products? This school believes in nothing but raw meritocracy! A, B, C, D! The ranks are clear! You defective rejects belong at the bottom like trash. Don't even dream of getting in the way of higher-ranked classes!"

His brazen declaration of the hierarchy struck like a poisoned icicle, freezing the excitement that the D-Class students' "vacation" had stirred in them.

Lies weren't blades; the truth was the sharpest knife.

Humiliation and resentment fermented in the silence. Many clenched their fists so tightly that their knuckles turned white, their hands trembling faintly at their sides as they endured it.

That bitter taste had followed them like a shadow ever since they enrolled.

A silent anger blazed through the crowd: Just wait... at the next exam... we'll do whatever it takes to earn Class Points! We'll change this situation once and for all!

"Defective products?"

A mocking voice, dragging out the words as if imitating someone, suddenly cut through the heavy silence.

Yamauchi Haruki, who had just been singled out as the "chicken" meant to scare the others, now stood up straight.

He faced the B-Class boy's contemptuous stare without backing down, mimicked the other boy's arrogant tone, and deliberately drew out his words:

"Oh—so you mean those 'noble' B-Class students who, after just one month of school, didn't have enough points and 'accidentally' 'fell' from the glorious A-Class, and now have to breathe the same air on this deck as us bottom-dwelling 'defective products'?"

He shrugged theatrically and spread his hands in exaggerated realization, his voice dripping with mocking sarcasm:

"Oh dear, my apologies! I really thought you were from A-Class, perched at the top of the pyramid~ Tsk, tsk. From the looks of it, you're not much better than us after all, are you?"

He paused, then added the final blow in a tone so flippant it was practically begging to get punched:

"You just seem... average to me."

Lies weren't blades; the truth was the sharpest knife.

Yamauchi's full-force mockery was like a sharp slap thrown right back at them, landing hard across the faces of the B-Class students.

The exaggerated emphasis on "fell" and the utter contempt in "You just seem average to me" might not have caused much actual harm, but the insult was off the charts!

"You... want to die?!" The spiky-haired boy and the B-Class students behind him instantly erupted, their faces livid and the veins in their foreheads bulging.

The spiky-haired boy in front was especially furious. He stepped forward sharply, his fists cracking as he clenched them, his ferocious gaze locked on Yamauchi. Having the deepest sore spot exposed in public by a D-Class loser enraged them far more than any punch could.

The air was taut as a bowstring. In the next instant, it seemed ready to shatter into violence!