Share Half When We Meet

Ryuen Kakeru didn't think much of it. After all, bringing it up now wouldn't cost him anything. If Uesugi Gen really had abused his authority as Vice President of the Student Council to rig things behind the scenes, then Ryuen would have a lot to gain.

The main reason his underhanded tricks against Uesugi Gen had never worked was that whenever he tried something, it usually ended with them arguing it out at the Student Council—and he was always the one who lost.

Damn, politics really was filthy!

Ryuen clenched his fists in frustration.

If he could use this opportunity to strip Uesugi Gen of his position as Vice President of the Student Council, he could even get revenge for the beating he'd taken last time.

"I have the same question. Judging by Class B's behavior just now, they must have known this Special Exam would involve surviving on an uninhabited island. Where did they get that information? If they learned it through his position as Vice President of the Student Council, wouldn't that be unfair to the other classes?"

Katsuragi Kohei, who had caught on to Ryuen's intentions, raised his hand without hesitation. It would be ideal if they could deal a blow to their main rival, Class B, right at the start of the exam.

Mashima-sensei turned to look at Uesugi Gen.

"Uesugi, although I have no authority to demand an explanation from you here, if they take their complaint to the school, you'll inevitably be asked to explain yourself anyway. So I suggest settling this here."

As Class B's English teacher, Mashima Tomoya knew a little about Uesugi Gen. He understood that someone as capable as Uesugi couldn't possibly have made such a glaring mistake; he must have figured it out by noticing some subtle clues. At the same time, Mashima was curious about how Uesugi had figured it out.

At that point, it was Class B's students whose hearts began to pound. Based on what Uesugi Gen had said, the information about this exam had undoubtedly come from the Student Council...

If that was true, Uesugi Gen was in trouble.

Uesugi Gen waved a hand, signaling that the students of Class B didn't need to worry.

Then he stepped out from the Class B group, took the megaphone from Mashima-sensei, and turned the volume all the way up.

He immediately fired off a taunt.

"Tell me, do none of you have any friends?"

At that moment, Horikita gave a cute little sneeze from the side.

Uesugi Gen continued in a tone of exasperation.

"If you knew even one upperclassman and asked them, you'd know that surviving on an uninhabited island is one of the school's most common exam topics. A really nice senior I know told me ages ago, very enthusiastically, that the school holds an uninhabited-island survival exam almost every year."

"So when I heard the school was sending us on vacation to an uninhabited island, I immediately knew this exam would be about surviving there. Just how terrible are your social skills that you don't even have one person to tell you the information?"

But, Uesugi-kun, I don't have anyone either.

Ichinose wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said with a smile.

Uesugi Gen's speech left the entire first year in silence. Many students looked bewildered.

Could it be... that my social skills really were that bad? Did the upperclassmen actually hate me, and that was why none of them had told me about this Special Exam?

Ryuen Kakeru's expression turned uncertain.

He knew better than anyone how bad his social skills were. But he could have extorted them for the information! Why hadn't he thought of that? Was he really not as devious as Uesugi Gen?

Katsuragi Kohei rubbed his smooth head.

Just what sort of person was this nice senior, Uesugi Gen? He knew so much confidential information. Could he introduce Katsuragi to someone?

Mashima Tomoya watched the silent first-years with a headache.

The students might not know, but he did. Information as valuable as the details of a Special Exam could be traded for a large number of points. How could anyone just tell someone else so easily?

But the reason Class B had fallen silent was different from the other classes'.

They'd known for ages that surviving on an uninhabited island was a common school exam... In other words, there was no top-secret information from the Student Council President at all. Then... what about their money?

In an instant, all the students in Class B looked at Uesugi Gen strangely.

Uesugi Gen handed the megaphone back to Mashima-sensei, returned to his group with an unchanged expression, and declared:

"What do you mean, your money? This is my money. My money! Go on, try calling it yours and see if it answers."

The students of Class B glared at him in unison. Just wait—we'll settle this with you later!

Seeing that things had calmed down, Mashima-sensei continued reading the rules.

"As a basic premise for this Special Exam on the uninhabited island, we will first distribute three hundred points' worth of exam-only currency to each class. By making good use of these points, you'll be able to spend the week of this Special Exam as if you were enjoying a vacation. We've also prepared a guidebook for you."

Mashima-sensei accepted a booklet dozens of pages thick from another teacher.

"This guidebook lists all the items you can obtain with points. Needless to say, it includes necessities such as drinking water and food. If you want to have a barbecue, we'll provide the equipment and food as well. We've also prepared countless toys and games so you can fully enjoy the ocean."

Here it came: the basic provisions.

Uesugi Gen's lips curled up. Three hundred points—generous, in a way. If they didn't care about the Special Exam itself, those points were enough for everyone in Class B to have an enjoyable week.

Next came the most important rule—

the Leader System.

Each class had to choose one of its members to be its leader. The leader would receive a specially issued key card.

On the last day of the exam, during roll call, each class would be given the chance to guess the other classes' leaders. For every correct guess, the guessing class would receive fifty points. Conversely, the class whose leader was correctly identified would have to pay fifty points.

There were also several bases on the island. Leaders could choose whether or not to occupy them. Each occupation earned one point, and a base could be occupied once every eight hours. However, if their class leader was identified, they would lose all the points earned from occupying bases, so they would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

There were several other important supplementary rules.

o A special key card was required to occupy a base.

o Each occupation earned one point. The points earned from occupied bases could be used freely.

o Using a base occupied by another class without permission would incur a penalty of fifty points.

o Only the person appointed as leader could use the key card.

o The leader could not be replaced without a valid reason.

Those were the main rules of the Special Exam.

Watching Ryuen grin at him with a wicked, arrogant smile, Uesugi Gen sighed.

"I see you still haven't learned your lesson."

Ryuen Kakeru didn't think much of it. After all, bringing it up now wouldn't cost him anything. If Uesugi Gen really had abused his authority as Vice President of the Student Council to rig things behind the scenes, then Ryuen would have a lot to gain.

The main reason his underhanded tricks against Uesugi Gen had never worked was that whenever he tried something, it usually ended with them arguing it out at the Student Council—and he was always the one who lost.

Damn, politics really was filthy!

Ryuen clenched his fists in frustration.

If he could use this opportunity to strip Uesugi Gen of his position as Vice President of the Student Council, he could even get revenge for the beating he'd taken last time.

"I have the same question. Judging by Class B's behavior just now, they must have known this Special Exam would involve surviving on an uninhabited island. Where did they get that information? If they learned it through his position as Vice President of the Student Council, wouldn't that be unfair to the other classes?"

Katsuragi Kohei, who had caught on to Ryuen's intentions, raised his hand without hesitation. It would be ideal if they could deal a blow to their main rival, Class B, right at the start of the exam.

Mashima-sensei turned to look at Uesugi Gen.

"Uesugi, although I have no authority to demand an explanation from you here, if they take their complaint to the school, you'll inevitably be asked to explain yourself anyway. So I suggest settling this here."

As Class B's English teacher, Mashima Tomoya knew a little about Uesugi Gen. He understood that someone as capable as Uesugi couldn't possibly have made such a glaring mistake; he must have figured it out by noticing some subtle clues. At the same time, Mashima was curious about how Uesugi had figured it out.

At that point, it was Class B's students whose hearts began to pound. Based on what Uesugi Gen had said, the information about this exam had undoubtedly come from the Student Council...

If that was true, Uesugi Gen was in trouble.

Uesugi Gen waved a hand, signaling that the students of Class B didn't need to worry.

Then he stepped out from the Class B group, took the megaphone from Mashima-sensei, and turned the volume all the way up.

He immediately fired off a taunt.

"Tell me, do none of you have any friends?"

At that moment, Horikita gave a cute little sneeze from the side.

Uesugi Gen continued in a tone of exasperation.

"If you knew even one upperclassman and asked them, you'd know that surviving on an uninhabited island is one of the school's most common exam topics. A really nice senior I know told me ages ago, very enthusiastically, that the school holds an uninhabited-island survival exam almost every year."

"So when I heard the school was sending us on vacation to an uninhabited island, I immediately knew this exam would be about surviving there. Just how terrible are your social skills that you don't even have one person to tell you the information?"

But, Uesugi-kun, I don't have anyone either.

Ichinose wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said with a smile.

Uesugi Gen's speech left the entire first year in silence. Many students looked bewildered.

Could it be... that my social skills really were that bad? Did the upperclassmen actually hate me, and that was why none of them had told me about this Special Exam?

Ryuen Kakeru's expression turned uncertain.

He knew better than anyone how bad his social skills were. But he could have extorted them for the information! Why hadn't he thought of that? Was he really not as devious as Uesugi Gen?

Katsuragi Kohei rubbed his smooth head.

Just what sort of person was this nice senior, Uesugi Gen? He knew so much confidential information. Could he introduce Katsuragi to someone?

Mashima Tomoya watched the silent first-years with a headache.

The students might not know, but he did. Information as valuable as the details of a Special Exam could be traded for a large number of points. How could anyone just tell someone else so easily?

But the reason Class B had fallen silent was different from the other classes'.

They'd known for ages that surviving on an uninhabited island was a common school exam... In other words, there was no top-secret information from the Student Council President at all. Then... what about their money?

In an instant, all the students in Class B looked at Uesugi Gen strangely.

Uesugi Gen handed the megaphone back to Mashima-sensei, returned to his group with an unchanged expression, and declared:

"What do you mean, your money? This is my money. My money! Go on, try calling it yours and see if it answers."

The students of Class B glared at him in unison. Just wait—we'll settle this with you later!

Seeing that things had calmed down, Mashima-sensei continued reading the rules.

"As a basic premise for this Special Exam on the uninhabited island, we will first distribute three hundred points' worth of exam-only currency to each class. By making good use of these points, you'll be able to spend the week of this Special Exam as if you were enjoying a vacation. We've also prepared a guidebook for you."

Mashima-sensei accepted a booklet dozens of pages thick from another teacher.

"This guidebook lists all the items you can obtain with points. Needless to say, it includes necessities such as drinking water and food. If you want to have a barbecue, we'll provide the equipment and food as well. We've also prepared countless toys and games so you can fully enjoy the ocean."

Here it came: the basic provisions.

Uesugi Gen's lips curled up. Three hundred points—generous, in a way. If they didn't care about the Special Exam itself, those points were enough for everyone in Class B to have an enjoyable week.

Next came the most important rule—

the Leader System.

Each class had to choose one of its members to be its leader. The leader would receive a specially issued key card.

On the last day of the exam, during roll call, each class would be given the chance to guess the other classes' leaders. For every correct guess, the guessing class would receive fifty points. Conversely, the class whose leader was correctly identified would have to pay fifty points.

There were also several bases on the island. Leaders could choose whether or not to occupy them. Each occupation earned one point, and a base could be occupied once every eight hours. However, if their class leader was identified, they would lose all the points earned from occupying bases, so they would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

There were several other important supplementary rules.

o A special key card was required to occupy a base.

o Each occupation earned one point. The points earned from occupied bases could be used freely.

o Using a base occupied by another class without permission would incur a penalty of fifty points.

o Only the person appointed as leader could use the key card.

o The leader could not be replaced without a valid reason.

Those were the main rules of the Special Exam.

Watching Ryuen grin at him with a wicked, arrogant smile, Uesugi Gen sighed.

"I see you still haven't learned your lesson."

"Teacher, give me that key card."

While everyone was busy setting up camp, Uesugi Gen slipped over to Hoshinomiya-sensei without a sound and reached out to take the key card from her.

Hoshinomiya-sensei didn't question Uesugi Gen's attempt to get ahead of things. She knew his personality all too well; he was definitely the sort to act first and ask questions later.

"Then, Gen-chan, who are you choosing as our class leader?"

Uesugi Gen gave a cold laugh.

"Kanzaki."

"That guy already has a cold, expressionless face. Unless something major happens, his expression hardly ever changes. More importantly... I have something only he can do for me."