Arisu Asakusa

Still nothing, not even a mention of his confession.

What?!

You heard my confession in person, and you told me you heard my confession on the beach, and you responded to me.

Why did you so readily ignore the written confession that I felt was supposed to be very formal, that I had hesitated and worried for a long time before finally putting pen to paper?

You have a pen, right? If you have a pen to write in your diary, why don't you write a reply to me?

I can understand since you were taking exams yesterday, but the exams are over today! And you even went to see the chairman with Ryuen, but you didn't even think about seeing me!

... Sigh.

Gurgle...

A slightly aggrieved sound rippled through Shiina Hiyori's throat.

... She clearly said that I was her favorite.

The girl's small hands repeatedly turned the last page of the Diary, but his reply never came.

There was no reply, nor was it mentioned in the Diary or in public, and I was never seen.

She suddenly began to doubt whether she had imagined what she had heard at the beach.

"--Pat."

The crests of the waves slapped against the hull, splashing up a torrent of water.

Horikita Suzune stood on the railing at the bow of the ship, gazing at the Uninhabited Island in the distance, her upper teeth pressed against her lower lip, her expression not at all relaxed.

Before her was Uninhabited Island she had spent less than a day and walked for less than half a day after disembarking.

All the students have returned to the cruise ship, but many staff members are still offboard cleaning up the mess they left behind.

... No, it should be said that it was the mess left behind by the other three classes.

Their Class D never managed to set up camp and survive for even a single second.

A strange sense of sadness crept in.

Looking back, my expectations for the Uninhabited Island Special Exam were to show off my skills, to stand out, to demonstrate my talents, and to show my progress, so as to wash away the impression of incompetence that my brother had left on me.

But now, the Uninhabited Island Special Exam is over, and looking back, he realizes he has left nothing behind.

There's nothing there...

If we don't count the supplies we brought.

Horikita Suzune felt a pang of heartache at the thought of those supplies.

Fortunately, Class D managed to exchange money with Class B and Class C through a deal.

Although the exam results haven't been announced yet and the money hasn't arrived, she's not in a situation where failing the exam will leave her impoverished.

The various grievances brought about by the exam are heartbreaking, but what truly breaks Horikita Suzune's heart is her diary entries from the past two days.

Sakayanagi, Ryuen, Sakayanagi, Ryuen.

Flipping through the diary, which totaled dozens of pages from the past two days, and looking at the numerous words written on it, Horikita Suzune could only find the names of these two people no matter how she turned the pages.

... without a self.

They can't see their own activity, their own brilliance, or even their own name.

Your name will only appear in the mocking section, not in the active section.

While other classes were showing off their skills, she had to leave the stage in disappointment along with the students from Class D.

... No, it seems she was the only one feeling dejected.

The other students in Class D were happy that they could get a large sum of money without having to work hard.

Chapter 232 Asakusa Arisu

They can indeed be happy about it.

The students from the other classes had no intention of keeping the exam on the island a secret. Everyone on the cruise ship now knows that the only winner of this Uninhabited Island Special Exam is Class A.

Class C used up all their points and had a great time playing all afternoon before returning to the ship, while Class B was disqualified from the exam on the spot for serious violations.

Only Class A will be the winner.

In other words, the other two classes not only failed to score a single point in this Special Exam, just like them, but they also had to pay them Private Points for contracts they had already signed and for supplies they didn't even need.

This couldn't be more satisfying. Thanks to this, the students in Class D now stand up straighter and walk with more arrogance. That's why Yamauchi was treated like a nobody and kicked away by Ryuen when the exam ended.

It was because, before Class A the ship, he mindlessly went up to Class B and Class C and mocked them several times.

Otherwise, there's no point in going anywhere to see him; Ryuen Kakeru really didn't need to go out of his way to kick him and get rid of him.

Horikita Suzune was watching from the side at the time, but she didn't say anything because she also thought that idiot Yamauchi deserved to be beaten.

Because she was watching from the side, she saw not only the Matoba Ryuen Kakeru kicking Yamauchi Haruki, but also the unexpectedly exciting Matoba sunlight shining on the two of their faces as Ryuen Kakeru extended his hand to Asakusa Toru Tetsu.

'Seeing the true face of the school'

That was quite a powerful statement. If only I had said it, or if I had been the one invited...

The sound of waves crashing against the hull shattered the nascent fantasy into pieces.

The reality is harsh.

She could only be the 'Little Sister-chan' who was humiliated in the Diary with mocking words and pretentious accusations made as if she were her companion.

They left on the first day.

Still in Class D.

I have no money and no Class Points.

Each word was like a knife stabbing into her chest, causing her heart to bleed profusely.

I'm about to cry.

"Elder brother..."

The girl murmured a cry for help.

Those who were supposed to open the boxes did so, those who were supposed to cry cried, and those who were supposed to hug someone were still hugging someone.

Meanwhile, Princess Alice, the subject of these past two days' diary entries, is still hesitating about whether or not to read today's entry.

Led by her guide dog Kamuro Masumi, Sakayanagi Arisu the meaning behind Asakusa Toru's last words.

If someone asked him to bring it, what does "wishing you sweet dreams" mean? I don't understand it at all.

She tried to understand the meaning of the words through various metaphors, allusions, and references, but she couldn't find the answer at all.

It's as if this statement truly was just a sincere blessing.

It's puzzling.

Unable to figure it out, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't intend to waste any more time thinking about it. Compared to that statement, there were two more important things for her right now.

One aspect is the review of this Special Exam. There were many behind-the-scenes maneuvers and numerous manipulations that showcased her abilities. If these analyses weren't shown to her subordinates, they, who only saw the exam results, wouldn't understand her talents at all.

In plain terms, her subordinates only see the result of failing the exam and being disqualified; they don't see all the efforts Sakayanagi Arisu made to prepare for the exam.

Therefore, a review is necessary.

Secondly, there was the execution of war criminal Kito Hayato. The reason for escalating the punishment to execution was that the outcome was indeed quite unpleasant.

Not only did they not receive a single point, but they were also penalized with a deduction of one hundred. It would be difficult to convince the public without punishment.

However, since they live in a civilized society, they wouldn't actually hang someone on the guillotine for execution.

Simply scolding someone won't convince anyone, while merely deducting Private Points seems too perfunctory.

After considering his classmates' opinions, and with nearly ten days left before the end of the cruise trip, no punishment seemed quite right. Sakayanagi Arisu made a bold decision to sentence him to seven days of confinement on the cruise ship, with a fine of 200,000 yen and confiscation of his Private Points.

The biggest punishment is that everyone else is playing but he can't.

Reflect on your mistakes and examine your actions.

To avoid him harboring too much resentment, he was given three days to play.

According to the peak-end rule, as long as he is in a good mood at the end, he won't have much resentment.

After finishing up most of the business, Sakayanagi Arisu returned to her room.

Although there were many facilities to enjoy on the cruise ship, she had tried them before. Unlike her classmates, she wasn't particularly intrigued and didn't care much about the Luxury Cruise Ship itself.

The theatrical performances weren't very interesting, a casual meal was fine, she couldn't swim at all, and as for spas, they weren't really suitable for her.

The same goes for other miscellaneous entertainment facilities such as billiard halls and arcades.

Sakayanagi Arisu's only expectation for the cruise ship was the vast ocean, which she rarely had the chance to see on a regular basis, but now that it was docked at the seaside, there wasn't anything particularly beautiful to see.

She left two days earlier than everyone else; by then, she should have been tired of everything she was supposed to see and do.

Therefore, for her, Diary might be a better way to pass the time.

Of course, there was actually something else she had decided to do, but hesitated about before starting.

Asakusa Toru was captured.

As mentioned before, she urgently needs a replacement for Kito Hayato.

Obviously, Asakusa Toru, who clearly has feelings for her and seems like she could be won over with a snap of her fingers, would be a perfect candidate.

Besides being a good fit, snatching the man she liked from Ichinose Honami and taking away the pieces he was satisfied with from his Diary were all very fulfilling things.

She added Asakusa Toru's contact information in an attempt to get closer to him.

That's why she hesitated after hearing the message, whose meaning she couldn't understand at all.

After hesitating for a long time, amidst the noisy rustling of pages turning, Sakayanagi Arisu finally decided to read the diary first.

Even though the evil Diary had foreshadowed what he was going to do yesterday, even though he clearly knew that the next entry he would read was likely an attack on him.

But Sakayanagi Arisu still reached out and picked up the Diary.

See?

You still have to read it; this tattered diary has that magical power.

She really wanted to know if that abrupt "sweet dreams" was actually something the Diary had brought up.

So, Sakayanagi Arisu opened her Diary.

Then this was confirmed at the beginning.

... Like a dream, or an illusion?

What are you expecting?

Am I dreaming?

That's truly dreamlike.

Besides that, as expected, there's the exam...?

Just as Sakayanagi Arisu was about to continue reading, a passage of text that seemed to attack her eyes caught her eye.

'Dragon boy is the best~'

"Kouqu--"

Her cheeks twitched violently; Sakayanagi Arisu really wanted to ask the Diary itself if it felt disgusted by this passage.

Would you dare watch it again?

The passage with a hidden message, the passage that parodies Ryuen, is followed, unsurprisingly, by the passage that 'retributes' itself.

Taking a deep breath, Sakayanagi Arisu revealed a resolute look in her eyes.

Remote testing is a brilliant idea, but also a clear violation of regulations...

Unexpectedly, praise came first, followed by criticism.

It seems that simply saying that this matter was against the rules was not convincing enough, so a passage in the Diary provides an example.