Cooperation with BC Class?
Ichinose Honami's proposal came as something of a surprise to Tennoji Kaede.
But this somewhat childish, idealistic idea did fit the spirit of B Class right now.
Kaede replied, "I can pass along B Class's willingness to cooperate... But, Ichinose, aren't you worried at all? C Class might overtake B Class after just one Special Exam."
Kaede carefully watched the expressions of the B Class students. Ichinose didn't seem fazed.
He continued, "I'm sure everyone remembers the extra Special Exam in June. Everyone except D Class was completely defeated, and D Class gained 125 Class Points in one go."
"I have good reason to suspect that the School Administration will hold more Special Exams capable of creating a gap of over 100 points. There might even be one during the upcoming summer break."
Not far away, Kanzaki Ryuji's eyes lit up. He clearly agreed with that assessment.
Ichinose still wore a confident smile as she voiced what she truly thought.
"It's all right. I believe B Class won't go down easily. And even if another class does overtake us someday, we'll work hard and keep improving!"
The B Class students nodded one after another, placing their complete faith in Ichinose.
Kaede quietly pursed his lips, thinking, It'd be nice if things really worked out that way.
"I understand. I'll pass this along to C Class's leader today."
Ichinose happily clasped her hands together. "Thank you. It's still early, so please stay and hang out with us for a while, Tennoji."
Kaede pretended to be thrilled. "I'd be delighted. I'd like to spend more time with everyone. After all, I really admire the harmonious atmosphere in B Class."
"Tennoji really is so kind—and he's super handsome, too..." Kobashi Yume, with her blue bob, boldly chimed in.
Kaede hurriedly played it down.
Kobashi Yume was B Class's very own Kushida Kikyo, and she was famous for having friends in every class.
"Hey~ I want to ask, what exactly is your relationship with Kosho?"
"...Huh?"
Minami Kosho had already suffered enough embarrassment, and never expected the conversation to circle back to her. She immediately grew as anxious as an ant on a hot skillet.
She glanced sideways at Tennoji Kaede beside her. Their eyes met, and she quickly looked away in embarrassment.
Kaede grinned. "There's no doubt that Minami and I have a connection. I guess you could maybe...possibly call us friends?"
Kaede's vague answer piqued the B Class girls' interest in the gossip, and the atmosphere grew lively.
Kaede was fine with it. To be honest, he liked bratty girls, but they were few and far between at Gao Yuzhong.
As for the white-haired leader in Class A, she leaned more toward demonic...
Amid the chatter, Minami Kosho curled up like an ostrich, her face unbearably cute and red.
Xiao Xiao Wanzi? Kaede could handle her with ease!
In the end, Kaede still left the gathering early.
After all, he was from another class, and staying in someone else's class for too long made him feel a little out of place.
As for Ichinose's offer to cooperate, Kaede wasn't foolish enough to bring it up with Ryuen now.
He'd bring it up when the time came.
Just moments ago, Sakagami, their homeroom teacher, had confirmed that starting August 1, the School Administration had arranged a two-week luxury cruise to an officially designated deserted island.
This was the last class of the First Semester at Gao Yuzhong.
As expected, they had to stay in their classroom and wait for the bell to ring during what was supposedly a free Class Meeting.
Everyone was looking forward to the luxury cruise that would begin on August 1.
The final exams at the end of July had also gone smoothly.
Judging by Kaede's above-average academic ability and perspective, the final exams hadn't been too difficult.
It would probably be hard to score badly enough to get expelled, wouldn't it?
After asking around and gathering the post-exam impressions of the C Class Kaede Faction, he could tell that everyone should be fine.
"Phew~ The First Semester is over... I still feel like I haven't adjusted to life at this school."
Kaede knew that Ibuki Mio was suffering from pre-vacation anxiety.
Ibuki didn't need to worry about that just yet. When the vacation was almost over, she'd find out what real anxiety was.
Besides, vacations at Gao Yuzhong were what they were—everyone knew they were guaranteed to be fun.
"Hey, Tennoji, what's there to do on a deserted island? Have you ever gone camping?" Ibuki crossed her legs and leaned an arm on the back of her chair, looking every bit like a delinquent girl.
"No. I used to be a total homebody."
"Tch, I don't believe you. With those freakish skills of yours, I bet you spent all your time training like crazy at a dojo back in Middle School!"
Kaede rolled his eyes, not bothering to explain.
He began going over his planned strategy for the Deserted Island Special Exam, carefully considering whether there were any flaws.
In the original story, Ryuen had teamed up with Katsuragi from Class A for this Deserted Island Exam, and came up with a somewhat showy plan to score zero points for C Class.
Kaede thought that was far too risky.
Still, he had to admit that Ryuen was a man of action. He'd managed to survive alone on the island for days without any auxiliary equipment.
As Kaede recalled, in the anime Ryuen had lived like a wild man, even roasting snakes to eat.
The thought gave Kaede goosebumps.
Ryuen was trying too hard. In pursuit of his so-called 800 Million Points Strategy, he'd made enemies of the other three classes in a single exam. There really was no need for that...
Kaede decided to go with his planned strategy.
"By the way, you don't need to go out of your way to prepare a bunch of stuff for tomorrow. I heard the cruise ship has everything."
The truth was, it wouldn't matter if they prepared things anyway. Everything would be confiscated once they reached the deserted island.
Ibuki agreed without much concern, while Hiyori quietly read a book nearby. Its title was For Whom the Bell Tolls.
On August 1, after the July final exams and daily assessments, each class's Class Points received their final update for the First Semester:
Class A 980→1011cl Class B 760→802cl Class C 700→723cl Class D 170→196cl
The gap with B Class had indeed widened.
The bonus and penalty limits for the final exams probably only carried a weight of 50 points.
It was clear that academically strong classes like A and B had a significant advantage.
After the new Private Points rewards were distributed at the beginning of the month, Kaede's total had climbed to over 4.5 million.
He had that ever-so-generous shop clerk to thank—the one who kept pestering Sakura: Kamiki Ansei.
He had actually donated nearly 1.5 million Private Points to Kaede.
It was probably his entire fortune after working at Gao Yuzhong for years. Kaede accepted it with a smile.
But even that wasn't enough money.
Ibuki Mio often found opportunities to make him pay for a couple of expensive meals. Kaede had also joked about giving Ibuki and Hiyori "salaries."
They both refused, saying he should give the money to the poorer Airi in D Class instead. That left Kaede having to rack his brains to persuade Little Shizuku.
Even giving money away was hard...
Five in the morning.
The First Year students boarded four large buses dispatched by Gao Yuzhong at the school gate.
Kaede chose a window seat. The seats held three people side by side, and Hiyori and Ibuki sat to his left, in that order.
The bus sped along.
When they reached the large port in Tokyo Bay, a huge cruise ship was waiting before them.
This was the first time Kaede had ever gone on a sea voyage, and he was in a good mood.
After registration and inspection, the cruise ship sounded its departure horn and pulled away from the shore.
The First Year's First Semester summer vacation trip had officially begun!
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