As a Substitute, Would It Be Okay If I Did It?

After they finished sharing the exquisite cake, it had gotten rather late, and Aoyama and Ichinose walked back to the dormitory together.

A cool sea breeze drifted through the tree-lined path, and Ichinose broke into another happy smile.

"Honestly, I'm even happier than you are. I mean it." Thinking of the happy news, Aoyama couldn't help smiling again.

The ten-pull after the double SSR had only given him two SRs, but the rewards were still pretty decent.

[Professor Agasa's Multifunctional Glasses: Tracking, eavesdropping, telescopic vision, night vision, and thermal imaging. How awesome is that?]

[Professional Level Drawing Skill: I only took a part-time job as a manga artist's assistant, so how did I learn to draw?]

"I'm the happier one."

"I don't want your opinion. I want mine." As he spoke, Aoyama pulled a small gift box from his pocket. "I forgot to give you your present earlier. Toss it if you don't like it."

He'd been so excited about getting two SSRs that he'd completely forgotten he'd prepared a gift.

It was a delicate silver bracelet. It wasn't too expensive or too cheap; the sales clerk at the accessories store had recommended it.

"Thank you, Aoyama. But I just got a present, so I'm the happier one, right?" When she opened the little box and saw it wasn't the expensive gift she'd imagined, Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.

If it had been too expensive, she wouldn't have accepted it, no matter what. It wouldn't have been appropriate.

"That's right, that's right. You're the birthday girl today, Ichinose. Whatever you say goes."

Seeing that Ichinose accepted the gift without refusing, Aoyama replied with a chuckle.

When they returned to the dormitory, the two equally happy people said a reluctant goodbye outside the building.

Students had far more time to prepare for the final exams than they had for the midterms.

As a result, the first-years managed to achieve the same feat as they had during the Midterm Exam: no one dropped out.

And for the students, the summer vacation they'd been looking forward to began after the final exams.

"You should be happy. To reward you for all your hard work this term, the school has prepared a fourteen-day luxury trip."

The day before vacation, Mashima-sensei calmly announced the good news at the Class A meeting.

"Luxury? Just how luxurious are we talking, Mashima-sensei?" Totsuka Yahiko called out from his seat.

"If you arranged the trip yourself, it would probably cost several hundred thousand yen."

Mashima answered Totsuka without changing his expression, then slowly explained the itinerary.

They would meet at the school gates at five the next morning and take a bus arranged by the school to Tokyo Bay.

A luxury cruise ship would be waiting for them there.

After half a day of sailing at high speed, the ship would reach a resort island in the south, where they would spend seven days.

Then they would board the ship again and return to school after a leisurely seven-day voyage.

The best part was that every activity and meal aboard the luxury cruise ship would be free.

"That's amazing!"

Totsuka, who'd been complaining at first, immediately changed his tune.

The other Class A students also looked forward to the trip.

Cruises and high prices went hand in hand. Perhaps only one or two of them had ever been on a cruise.

"Everyone has to attend, except students who can confirm they're unwell." As the students whispered among themselves, Mashima turned to Sakayanagi, who was looking thoughtful.

Ordinarily, even students who had difficulty walking would be required to attend.

They could opt out, but they'd still have to go through the motions.

But from the hints he'd received from the higher-ups, he knew that Sakayanagi Arisu, the Chairman's daughter, had the right to stay behind.

"I'll be fine, Mashima-sensei."

Sakayanagi smiled elegantly and made it clear she wanted to take part.

After Hashimoto's explosive betrayal and defection, the Sakayanagi Faction in Class A had grown even weaker and had been completely overwhelmed by the Katsuragi Faction.

If she didn't show what she could do soon, things would only get worse.

"It might be very difficult."

"I believe my classmates will lend me a hand when I need it." Sakayanagi's voice was confident. "Besides, there'll be a Special Exam during this trip, won't there?"

Her words sent a ripple through the room.

Class A fell silent for an instant, then erupted into a hubbub.

"Mashima-sensei, is Sakayanagi right?"

Totsuka, the class's most impulsive and impatient student, was the first to shout the question.

Then Katsuragi, their leader, stood up calmly and asked Mashima if he could confirm it.

"That's not something I can answer." Mashima smiled, then replied to Katsuragi.

That confirmed to the Class A students that Sakayanagi Arisu had been right.

"How did Sakayanagi know? That's amazing."

Shiraishi Asuka, one of the class's liveliest students, pressed her palms together in admiration.

Her friend, Nishikawa Ryoko, chimed in at just the right moment.

Soon, the Class A classroom was filled with praise for Sakayanagi.

"Just like the hundred thousand points we received at the start of the school year, I think we should investigate more carefully whenever the school gives us some unexplained benefit."

"Aoyama, if you have any valuable information, we can buy it with personal points."

As Sakayanagi responded to her classmates' praise, Katsuragi also made his presence felt.

"Of course I do." With a customer at the door, Aoyama, who'd been invisible for half the lesson, promptly gave Katsuragi an answer he'd like. "There are forty students in the class, so I'll charge ten thousand per person."

"Since you're the one buying, Katsuragi, I'll give you a twenty percent discount. That'll be three hundred and twenty thousand."

He couldn't share the finer details of the rules, but even the information that the Special Exam would take place on the Uninhabited Island and include a contest to see which class used the fewest resources was worth the price.

"Three hundred and twenty thousand? Why don't you just rob us?" a boy named Matoba Shinji blurted out.

They only got a little over a hundred thousand a month, and now Aoyama wanted three hundred thousand for a bit of information. He was jealous.

"You don't get to decide whether to buy it, and I might not sell it to someone else."

Aoyama glanced meaningfully at Sakayanagi, who wasn't smiling.

Sakayanagi could only pretend not to notice his provocation. She had no way to counter this shameless Aoyama.

If she attacked him for being selfish and not caring about his classmates, all he'd say was, "Exactly. So what?"

"I've decided to use class funds to buy the information. Does anyone object?"

Katsuragi silenced Matoba Shinji, who had wanted to say more, then firmly "asked" his classmates for their opinion.

Naturally, no one objected.

"To avoid being dragged down by certain people, I'll send the information directly to Katsuragi." After receiving the transfer, Aoyama continued to make pointed remarks.

Ever since Sakayanagi had tried to poach his Kamuro and Yamamura, he'd taken every opportunity to get under her skin.

That was just how petty Aoyama Shiki was.

Chapter 65: In Her Place, Could I Do It?

"Good work. There, there."

At the gym that evening, Aoyama didn't do what he usually did—drop Sakura off with Ichinose and the others before going off to exercise by himself until they left.

After the four of them ran on the treadmills for a while and took a break, he sat beside Shiranami and rested his large hand on her adorable head.

With her petite build, somewhat childish appearance, and the sweet, girl-next-door air of someone raised with good manners in an ordinary family, Shiranami Chihiro wasn't especially striking, but she was pretty cute.

"I told you not to treat me like a kid." Uncomfortable under the slightly teasing looks from Ichinose and the others, Shiranami blushed and pushed Aoyama's hand away with both hands.

"Don't work out for too long today. Tomorrow won't be a simple vacation."

Since Ichinose was his lucky charm, Aoyama decided to give Class B a hand. For now, he'd write off Class C, his original prospective ally.

The classes had all announced the sudden fourteen-day trip that morning.

Then, after the Student Council business wrapped up and they were dismissed for the day, Shiina had acted just as she usually did. He guessed Class C had also received some information about the Special Exam; otherwise, given Shiina's intelligence, she would've asked him about it long ago.

Only Class B still had no idea what awaited them.

"Thank you for the warning, Aoyama." After expressing her gratitude, Ichinose continued, "I was wondering why you suddenly came over. Turns out you're here to do business."

"You guessed wrong, Ichinose. I'll give you more information if you let me pat this girl's head."

To have dirty money to plunder, Aoyama generally avoided large, legitimate personal-point transactions, except for the period right after school started when he'd been short on cash.

He had that much foresight, at least.

"I told you, I'm not a kid! Honestly!"

Shiranami protested loudly, almost baring her teeth, but her good manners kept her from doing anything more.

If it had been Horikita Suzune, Aoyama would already have had a fist in his stomach.

"Huh, really?" Ichinose blinked at the unexpected offer to give it away for free, then came around. "Chihiro doesn't seem too keen on it. In her place... could I do it?"

A hint of shyness flashed across her face as Ichinose stood and sat beside Aoyama.

Being patted on the head by a boy her age...

Ichinose was looking forward to it, but she was also a little embarrassed. She'd grown up in a single-parent household, and as far as she could remember, no man had ever patted her head.

She'd seen how happy Sakura looked when Aoyama patted her head, and her anticipation outweighed her reluctance.

"No! You can only pat my head!"

Ichinose didn't mind, but Shiranami, who admired her, minded very much.

As she shouted, Shiranami gripped Aoyama's upper arm with both hands. Amikura Mako secretly covered her mouth and giggled.

"Risking yourself to protect your friend. What a good girl. There, there." Aoyama had been looking forward to patting Ichinose's head, but an angry, embarrassed Shiranami was just as nice.

Without holding back, he ruffled Shiranami's hair, leaving it tousled.

It felt a bit like picking on a child. It was pretty fun.

"Are you done, you big meanie?"

"Yep, all done. That felt good."

After ruffling her hair for quite a while, Aoyama finally took his hand off Shiranami's head with a grin. Along the way, he'd also poked her puffed-out cheek.

A light poke was enough to make Shiranami's pursed lips part.

"Ahhh, you big meanie, Aoyama!"

Her face instantly turned bright red. She sprang to her feet, sat beside Ichinose, and clung to her arm, glaring "fiercely" at Aoyama.

Ichinose couldn't help giggling, either. She put a hand on Shiranami's head and gently comforted her.

"The first Special Exam will be a seven-day survival challenge on the Uninhabited Island. The school will provide the option to purchase the necessary supplies."

"The fewer resources you use, the more Class Points you'll earn in the end."

Since he'd already been paid, Aoyama told them the main things to keep in mind for the Uninhabited Island Special Exam ahead of time.

With the exam starting tomorrow, he went straight to offering advice.

"The school offers a wide range of camping equipment. You can ask someone with a good memory to remember which items are cheap and useful."

"You can also hide small medicines, like anti-diarrhea pills and cold medicine, and bring them onto the island. For example, you could pin up your hair to make a little space and tuck them inside."

"You're allowed to bring toiletries like toothpaste and toothbrushes, and the inspections aren't strict—they'll only take a casual glance. If you want to save even more, you can cut open a tube of toothpaste, wash it out, stuff it with necessities like sugar, salt, and seasonings, then disguise it as it was before."

"There are fish in the river on the Uninhabited Island. You won't be allowed to bring fishing rods, but bait should be fine."

The school wouldn't tell the students that they were about to take a Special Exam until after they disembarked.

So the staff wouldn't thoroughly inspect students who followed instructions and brought only toiletries ashore.

As long as they weren't caught bringing things onto the island, it counted as the students' own ability. They wouldn't be considered to have cheated or have points deducted.