The School Has Its Rules (Continued)

Although not as prestigious as the neighboring Shuchiin, this Advanced Nurturing institution still had a few privileged children who somehow managed to enroll.

Koenji from Class D, the Little Princess from Class B, and... Kanzaki Ryuji from their class.

Of the four classes in the first grade, only Class C was truly composed entirely of commoners.

Okay, upon closer inspection, it wasn't entirely due to a sudden lapse in airflow.

The Little Princess came in because this is her family's headquarters. It is said that Koenji came in to make connections with the guy behind the school... Although Asakusa Toru couldn't understand what connection would involve spending three years of schooling instead of going to Shuchiin to make connections here.

Only Kanzaki Ryuji, the nobleman from Kanzaki Heavy Industries.

It was as if he had been thrown into exile on the frontier, without any explanation or justification, and he didn't show any of the demeanor a noble young master should have.

He had to act pitiful and pretentious to motivate his classmates to work hard.

Although Asakusa Toru felt there must be some hidden reason behind his enrollment, he had neither the interest to investigate nor the intention to find out.

What he wants now is simply to slightly rub the Kanzaki family's reputation into the school and put some pressure on them.

Since we've promised to do it, we should do our best.

Then.

Inside the conference room of the Advanced Nurturing School, a cacophony of sounds began to rise, like the din of a bustling market.

"What else is there to say? If violations of this level aren't punished immediately, what's the point of the Special Exam rules?"

"Hey, you can't think like that. Of course, we're not saying we won't punish anyone, but everyone needs to think carefully about the criteria for defining a violation and the scope of its judgment. Consider it thoroughly, think deeply, and think thrice before you act."

"Through meticulous analysis, a conclusion was reached that is more in line with regulations and procedures."

"This is what the school should show to the students; we can't rush things."

"Furthermore, as we have said before, we need to be extremely cautious about 'reporting,' and we cannot act irrationally based on a student's casual remark."

"In my opinion, this should be handled along with other violations and dealt with after the exam."

"But the exam rules clearly state that damaging equipment will be punished immediately. Isn't that why there's such a rule?"

"Yes, yes, but rules are rules, and enforcement is enforcement."

"Looking back now, although the purpose was to stop the Student Council from using underhanded methods like violence to influence exam results, the punishment was indeed too severe."

"Besides, destructive devices are destructive devices, but it's hard to say whether a terminal screen qualifies as a device. Considering that the terminal screen is made of glass, it's understandable that a slight accident might occur in an environment like Uninhabited Island. We shouldn't be too demanding of the students."

"But this time, it was that person from the Kanzaki family who reported it."

The debate ceased at that moment.

"..."

Silence, calm, followed by a quiet confirmation.

"... Kanzaki refers to the one from Kanzaki Heavy Industries?"

Do you think there are any other Kanzaki in this year's first-year students?

"..."

A suffocating sound echoed, and an eerie atmosphere filled the room.

Their eyes met frequently, their thoughts a jumbled mess.

The Kanzaki doesn't actually carry much weight.

Compared to 'Sakayanagi', who everyone present could clearly feel the pressure, or 'Koenji', who everyone had heard of, Kanzaki was just that kind of person.

It needs to be taken seriously, but it doesn't need to be given many preferential treatments or privileges.

If the current head of Kanzaki Heavy Industries were present, it might put a lot of pressure on them, but if it's just the young master and young lady, it creates a considerable sense of distance for most people.

But they remained silent.

Because everyone knows very well that if you do things according to the rules, no one will bring up the rules no matter how much you do.

It's like assigning Koenji to Class D and Kanzaki to Class B.

As long as a sufficiently reasonable excuse can be given, such as Koenji Rokusuke's extreme lack of teamwork skills as a major reference indicator, he will be judged as having a defect and will be assigned to Class D. Kanzaki Ryuji is not good at interpersonal communication, so even if he has qualities that are enough to be judged to be in Class A, he will still be assigned to Class B.

As long as it's acceptable, anything is fine.

As for things that are unacceptable.

It's still something that can be explained away.

If you're wondering why someone with obvious physical defects like Sakayanagi Arisu was placed in Class A?

The somewhat far-fetched reason is that physical defects are not within the scope of the school's assessment. If judged solely on personal qualities, she would undoubtedly be placed in Class A.

The reason, to put it bluntly, is that the interviewer who evaluated her admission had a rather special status.

So, it makes sense.

As long as it's plausible, it's fine.

But clearly, this matter is not so easily dismissed.

What's out in the open is the damaged terminal screen. Regardless of who damaged it or whether it was done by Sakayanagi Arisu, if they're going to follow the rules, they need to find the 'culprit'.

Then they will be punished.

The one who threw the punch, hidden from view and only visible to the school, was clearly the student from the Sakayanagi Class, Kito Hayato.

They could conceal this surveillance information and plead not guilty for Kito.

However, they must also produce further evidence that the base's terminal was compromised.

It's unacceptable to claim that the camera was broken and didn't record anything.

What's possible... to forge a recording of gravel or birds attacking the screen?

"..."

That would be incredibly stupid.

No matter what they do, they can't make decisions, especially not on behalf of their beloved chairman.

So, in the air of anticipation, everyone's gaze began to focus in one direction.

"..."

Sakayanagi Narimori sighed softly.

He knew very well that everyone was waiting for him to speak, and he also knew that no one would be willing to make a decision without his approval.

Because he is the person in charge of this school.

Power and responsibility are commensurate. Sakayanagi Narimori has always been very clear that the power one holds determines the responsibility one bears.

To be precise, if someone wants to use their power to push something forward, the corresponding responsibility will naturally fall on their shoulders.

As things stand now, this Uninhabited Island Exam can be considered a 'failure'.

But can this really be considered a failure?

Sakayanagi Narimori, however, did not think so.

The worst class was eliminated on the first day, while the class that exceeded the school's expectations took the lead on the first day, and the class led by Arisu and Class C engaged in repeated battles throughout the night.

The competition is fierce.

The intensity far exceeded the school's original expectations for the Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

In the school's expectations, the first thing everyone should focus on is the issue of survival.

How to meet the needs of the class for seven days with the fewest and most cost-effective points is a question that truly tests Teamwork Ability and planning skills.

Having accomplished this, they collaborate, work hard, and incidentally conceal their leadership roles, expand their territory, and engage in cutthroat competition fueled by suspicion.

But in reality, all these expectations were dashed from the very beginning.

What followed was a one-sided crushing of the leading coloring game, and various schemes to exploit loopholes in each other's gameplay.

... It was much more exciting than I had imagined.

Did Arisu win?

No, even if she had five more days to finish the remaining exams, given the current situation, she would have no way to change the status quo.

The disparity in physical fitness is a formidable barrier.

Unless she seeks help from someone else, there might be a chance to change the situation.

Unfortunately, that person left the stage with Class D.

He doesn't seem to have any intention of using his full potential.

Did Arisu lose?

Not necessarily. Arisu has a physical defect, should have been excluded from the exam from the beginning. He should have even said that it was not allowed to disembark.

However, she still dragged herself off the ship, quietly listened to the exam rules, and then did what she could.

Command, calculate, plan.

The reason they took advantage of the report to seize Class C's base was likely due to discrepancies in the transmission of orders.

It's not because they are inferior to humans in terms of Arisu ability.

She wasn't good at it, and shouldn't have needed to participate in this exam.

So, it's probably for the best that I've withdrawn.

"Schools have their rules, Special Exam should follow Special Exam rules." Sakayanagi Narimori spoke softly, "Since it was a violation, then it should be punished."

"The exam rules for the Uninhabited Island state that disqualification will be immediate, right?"

The questioning echoed in the room, and before it could be quiet for more than a few seconds, the chairman received a response.

"Yes! 'The class to which this student belongs will be immediately disqualified'—there is indeed such a rule in the Uninhabited Island Special Exam."

"Then let's follow the rules," said Sakayanagi Narimori.

That's right, it's just an opinion.

However, it's clear that enough opinions have been expressed.

"All the surrounding outposts have been checked, right...? Including those here and those in Class C's possession, there are forty-five identifiable outposts, is that right?"

"No, that's definitely not all. Knowing the school as I do, there are probably fifty outposts set up on this island."

"We just haven't found the remaining five hidden outposts."

Sakayanagi Arisu's slightly magnetic voice came through the walkie-talkie, and a slight smile appeared on her face on the cruise ship.

"But that's alright, finding these forty-five locations is enough, and the times have all been noted down. All that's left to do is perform simple calculations."

Time, distance, and speed.

With the reports from the chess pieces, the map of the island was roughly sketched out in her mind. Although the inability to conduct an on-site inspection would result in some errors, those errors were not important.

Each confirmed outpost will have a clear countdown, showing when the occupied outpost will become 'unclaimed'.

Based on the time intervals between strongholds, Sakayanagi Arisu could easily calculate how much time Asakusa Toru spent between capturing each stronghold, and how quickly he captured different strongholds.

Distance, time, and speed are all related to the distance traveled.

Substitute the values into the formula and calculate the result.

She can then find perfect loopholes in them.

Or rather, an opportunity to exploit loopholes.

Seize the opportunity, and she can have Kito Hayato seize the stronghold.

As long as we keep taking things little by little, even if we can't turn the tide, we can still tear off a piece of flesh from that guy.

Perfect.

"Stop what you're doing, everyone. The teacher has something to announce."

But just as Sakayanagi Arisu was about to let out a soft hum, Mashima Tomoya's muffled voice rang out from the other end of the walkie-talkie, in Class B's camp.

"Please call all the students who went out back here. And those who were planning to go out again, please don't go out anymore."

Since it's the class advisor, there's obviously no reason for anyone not to follow the rules.