The Mastermind Behind Class D (Ryuen Sho's Perspective)

--Ryuen Sho Perspective--

I am Ryuen Sho. Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed ruling over others through violence.

Ever since I learned the true nature of Kouiku, I have been excited every day. Because I am going to become the sole leader of Kouiku.

For this Uninhabited Island exam, I intend to turn it into a stage I have meticulously prepared.

On the first day of the Uninhabited Island exam, I found Class B and used 100 points to void the contract between Class B and Class C. By doing this, I could not only realize my "Zero Point Plan" but also prepare for future special exams that had yet to arrive.

Afterward, I had intended to use 100 points as a cost to have every student in Class A transfer 10,000 personal points to me each month. This would allow the "20 million point class transfer" I had envisioned to become a reality.

However, an unexpected person sought me out before that could happen...

"Yo! Ryuen-kun, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Hashimoto waved at me and smiled.

"Sakayanagi's lapdog? If you don't have anything to say, get lost. Don't think I won't do anything to you," I said, annoyed.

"Oh my, oh my, Ryuen-kun, no need for such a temper. The Princess, Sakayanagi-san, has something she wants me to pass on to you." Hashimoto paused and looked at me. I sat down in my seat, signaling for him to continue.

"She wants me to tell you that the leader of Class A is Totsuka Yahiko-kun," Hashimoto said, brushing his hair.

"Do you think I'll believe you just because of a few words?" I questioned, even though in my heart, I already considered this to be the truth.

For Sakayanagi to leak the identity of the leader like this, it could only be to make Katsuragi fail so that she could take control of Class A herself.

"Three hours from now, Class A will be checking in 3 kilometers west of here. You can go confirm it yourself," Hashimoto said before leaving.

I had been planning to look for Class A anyway, so confirming it was just a matter of convenience. Having obtained useful intelligence, I would have more leverage during future negotiations.

In the end, using the threat of exposing Totsuka Yahiko as the leader as leverage, plus 100 points, I signed the following contract:

1. Each signatory will transfer 30,000 personal points to Ryuen Sho every month until Ryuen Sho leaves this school.

2. Class C will provide definitive information on the leaders of Class B and Class D.

3. Class A and Class C will not guess each other's leaders.

It looked like a win-win contract, but in reality, Class C had already won at this point.

Returning to the Class C camp, I picked Kaneda and Ibuki, beat them until they were covered in bruises, gave them each a camera and a satellite phone, and assigned them to act as spies in Class B and Class D.

After that, I spent the remaining 100 points ostentatiously on luxuries, making the whole school believe that Class C intended to give up on this exam.

After playing around enough, I packed enough daily necessities into a supply box. I began my life of waiting for the results alone on the island.

At first, the plan went smoothly. If things continued this way, Class C would also earn a respectable amount of points.

However, an anomaly occurred that day...

A Class B student named Baiye Ying discovered me. I had no choice but to use violence as a necessary means to seal his mouth.

But Baiye was hiding his true strength; his martial arts were so advanced that I was left without any chance to fight back.

I don't understand why such a student has remained unknown until now. Or perhaps, it is simply because I didn't know about him. I must investigate him in the future.

Although my existence might be exposed, it wouldn't matter much at this point. It's just that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the shocked expressions of the other students, which would be a bit less fun.

The day before the exam ended, Ibuki and Kaneda both obtained intelligence on the leaders of Class B and Class D.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but both Ibuki and Kaneda's cameras were unusable for some reason, so they both ended up bringing the leader cards back with them.

I confirmed with Katsuragi of Class A, and they were the genuine leader cards.

The leader of Class B was Chihiro Shiranami, and the leader of Class D was Horikita Suzune.

After Ibuki and Kaneda returned to the cruise ship to rest, Sakagami found me and asked me to fill out the list of leaders.

However, I was more concerned about Baiye's actions. I always felt that things were not as simple as I had imagined.

First of all, the fact that I was the leader of Class C must have been exposed to Class B, so the 30 reward points I had worked hard to earn by checking in over the past few days were now void.

Because the contract with Class A forbade guessing the Class A leader, I would only get 100 points if I correctly guessed the leaders of both Class B and Class D.

I could be certain that the leader of Class D was Horikita Suzune, but as for Class B... my intuition told me there was a trap. So, in the end, I decided to play it safe and only filled in the leader of Class D. After all, with the contract with Class A, no matter the final result of this exam, Class C was a winner.

However, I could not accept the final result at all. Because it completely shattered my previous understanding of Class D.

"Ryuen-aniki, what do we do now?"

In a karaoke room on the cruise ship, Ishizaki asked me, bowing his head.

"Go catch the rat. The rat hiding in Class D."

I responded as such. The rat in the shadows of Class B could be confirmed as Baiye, but the fact that Class D also harbored a rat made me feel irritated.

At this moment, the image of a person appeared in my mind—that guy with reddish-brown hair who was always following behind Horikita. Could he be the rat of Class D?

Once this thought emerged, it took root and sprouted in my mind like a seed, leading me to find many things that could corroborate it.

"Let's go, go find the Class D people," I said, putting on my jacket. Ishizaki and the others followed behind me as I walked out of the karaoke room.

Arriving at the self-service drink area on the deck, I spotted my prey for this trip. There was even an unexpected surprise...

"Baiye, you were a huge help this time." Ayanokoji ordered a juice and sat down next to Ying.

"What? I didn't do anything," Ying said, taking a sip of the iced orange juice and lemon cola the bartender had just mixed.

At this moment, Ayanokoji looked toward a table on the left. Ryuen noticed Ayanokoji's gaze, stood up decisively, and headed over.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, are you the one pulling the strings for Class D this time?" Ryuen gave Ying a fleeting glance before locking his eyes onto Ayanokoji's.

"I don't understand what you're talking about. The leader of Class D is Horikita Suzune, and this entire plan was conceived by her." Ayanokoji responded indifferently.

"Fine, don't admit it then. I've already confirmed it for myself. One day, I will drag both of you onto a bright, shining stage and trample you beneath my feet!"

Ryuen dropped this threat and turned to leave.

"By the way, is it true that your Class D leader changed to you because Horikita got sick?" Ying added some coffee to his drink and asked Ayanokoji.

"That's right. It's hard not to admire her for holding out for a week in those conditions. What about your Class B? How did you end up becoming the leader?"

"Word is that Shiroba ate some undercooked oysters and got food poisoning. They had to ask Hoshinomiya-sensei to help reselect a leader, and it ended up being me."

Ying recalled what Hamaguchi had told him earlier and answered accordingly.

"Is that so? I'll be going then; Horikita is still waiting for me." Ayanokoji said as he stood up.

"Go die, you normie!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you might count as one too, Byakuya." Ayanokoji said, speechless.

"Ibuki, report on that person you mentioned again."

Back at the Class C base, Ryuen sat with his legs crossed and spoke to Ibuki. Although she looked annoyed, she still replied:

"It was a person dressed strangely. He was wearing a coconut mask, and his staff skills were exceptional."

Ryuen rubbed his forehead. Wasn't this description just Ying? But what puzzled Ryuen was that Ying was from Class B, so why would he appear in Class D?

'Byakuya, you've been a huge help this time.'

Ryuen recalled what Ayanokoji had just said. Could it be that...

Ayanokoji: You pushed the trouble onto me last time, so now I'm returning the favor.