This Is a Golden Opportunity to Rake in the Rewards

"Ah... Karuizawa didn't mention this to me yesterday either."

Kitagawa Ryo stirred the ice cubes in his glass with a straw. He really didn't know that Horikita Suzune would collapse on the spot after the Uninhabited Island Exam. After all, he hadn't looked into the information about Class D in the past few days. The only few pieces of information he had were revealed by Karuizawa Kei during a casual chat yesterday.

"Actually, I think Horikita put too much pressure on herself, especially since her mistakes caused the Class Points."

Ichinose Honami analyzes Horikita Suzune's behavior from her own perspective, but Kitagawa Ryo knows very well that it's not like that. Horikita Suzune is a girl who only feels that her existence has meaning when she is recognized by specific people. Whether you say she cares about everything in Class D or not, she actually wants to achieve the final result by leading Class D to Class A. If you have to summarize it, you can be considered a Leader who doesn't understand people's hearts.

Oh, the Leader of Class D is no longer Horikita Suzune.

Thinking back to how Horikita Suzune was annoyed when school started by being assigned to Class D, a class full of flawed students, and now she can't even be among the leaders in Class D, she wondered if she had really been too harsh on her.

Kitagawa Ryo thought to himself as he sipped his cold drink.

"Kitagawa-kun, would you like to go visit Horikita together?"

Ichinose Honami tried to extend the invitation in this way, and the concern in her eyes didn't seem like she was being fake.

"Did Honami call me here today just for something like this?"

"Huh? What else?"

Kitagawa Ryo gripped the glass, now covered in water droplets, and sighed as he felt the cool touch on his palm.

"Isn't Honami curious about the final results of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam last time? For example, why did the scores of each class change like that?"

I always feel that Ichinose Honami becomes very slow to react when it comes to things that require questioning. In the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, Class C scored 181 points despite almost everyone withdrawing, clearly indicating that they had control over all the Leader of the three classes. In fact, the other three classes didn't even need to ask other classes for confirmation; they only needed to look at their own class's contract with Class C to deduce that Class C had signed a contract with all the classes in this exam, which was essentially a selfish act of betraying everyone.

I heard that Katsuragi from Class A has been trying to find an opportunity to confront Kitagawa Ryo about betraying his ally these past few days. However, Kitagawa Ryo has been keeping a low profile these past few days, but he has been bothering Ryuen Kakeru for several days. Yesterday, Ryuen Kakeru complained that he had his first time having a high-end spa treatment, and the person lying on the next bed was a bald, muscular man.

Kitagawa Ryo initially thought that Ichinose Honami from Class B had called him out for this matter as well. After all, Class B had adopted a near-total defensive strategy during this operation, and apart from Kitagawa Ryo, almost no members from other classes had approached Class B's camp. Given this impregnable defense, the fact that information about Class B's Leader had been leaked should have led any normal person to suspect that Kitagawa Ryo had tampered with it.

"Regarding the Uninhabited Island incident, although there were discussions in the class about whether Kitagawa-kun leaked information about Class B, I was the one who invited Kitagawa-kun to stay at Class B's camp. So, if we're going to investigate, I should be the one primarily responsible. Besides, although Class B was temporarily surpassed by Kitagawa-kun's Class C in this Special Exam, we still managed to get second place, which significantly narrowed the gap with Class A."

Ichinose Honami replied with a smile, seemingly genuinely not intending to pursue the matter on the Uninhabited Island. Is this the mindset of an optimist?

"However, there is one thing on the Uninhabited Island that I am somewhat concerned about."

Then, as if remembering something Ichinose Honami spoke again:

"Did Kitagawa-kun take the sachet I gave him as a return gift back to the ship? I'm still a little concerned because I couldn't find it at the camp after the exam."

"Yes, I got it back."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded:

"Should Honami take it back?"

"Uh... that's not what I meant."

Ichinose Honami quickly waved her hand, then simply smiled reassuredly and clasped her hands together in front of her chest, saying:

"Kitagawa-kun, please keep it. It would be great if it could be of any help."

"When I first met Kitagawa-kun, he gave me an Iris. But I'm not particularly good at growing flowers, and I didn't want to see it wither away, so I bought some more and made a sachet with them."

"I think this is the best way to preserve the fragrance of a flower for the longest time."

Ichinose Honami's tone was very gentle, and a faint sense of satisfaction shone in her azure eyes. This transmission of kindness was probably the most beautiful thing for her.

"Have you read 'The Little Prince', Kitagawa-kun?"

"I've seen it."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded. He had not only read it, but upon closer reflection, Ichinose Honami was the third girl to discuss this book with him.

"In the scene where the fox asks the Little Prince to tame it, the Little Prince asks about the meaning of taming. Although there have been different interpretations of this scene, in my opinion, it is about asking about the meaning of establishing a connection, a process of building memories."

Ichinose Honami propped her head up with her hand and looked out the window at the First Year students laughing and playing freely.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted as love; any emotion can create unique memories."

"Just as the fox said, after the Little Prince tamed it, the golden wheat field became special to it, because whenever it saw the golden waves of wheat swaying in the wind, it would think of the Little Prince's golden hair. This was a tacit understanding between them, giving ordinary things extraordinary meaning."

The girl turned her head back and looked directly at Kitagawa Ryo, saying:

"Beichuan-kun told me a lot of truths at the beginning of school, but after one semester, I feel that Beichuan-kun didn't do what he said."

"Like a robot, leading Class C, always making the right decisions and never doing anything unnecessary or meaningless."

Ichinose Honami said this:

"While there's nothing wrong with this approach, it doesn't quite resemble the proper way to live a campus life."

"Even if it's just wishful thinking on my part, I was still quite happy for Kitagawa-kun when I heard that he and Karuizawa Kei went to the swimming pool together yesterday. After all, it's really too much for him to lock himself in his room. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you out today."

Kitagawa Ryo stared at Ichinose Honami's smiling face, and suddenly laughed:

"That really fits Honami's personality."

"Since Kitagawa-kun always uses such a familiar tone, then I'll assume we're fairly well-acquainted."

Ichinose Honami returned the smile with a bright smile as well.

"Just as the fox imbued the golden wheat field with special meaning because of the Little Prince, I hope we can also build our own memories and imprints together."

The girl winked playfully with her left eye.

"Is that sachet something like this?"

"If Kitagawa-kun thinks that way, that's fine too."

Ichinose Honami nodded seriously, and added:

"I specifically looked up the meaning of Iris; they symbolize good news, messengers, and missing you."

"Because one day we will all graduate from this school, and if Kitagawa-kun sees Iris by the roadside someday and is reminded of these memories we've built, I think that would be wonderful."

Kitagawa Ryo thought for a moment, then nodded seriously and said:

"Since we're getting to know each other, shall Honami call me by my first name from now on?"

"Is it cool...? It does feel more intimate this way."

"Um."

Kitagawa Ryo reached out his hand under Ichinose Honami's somewhat strange gaze. He seemed to be doing it unnecessarily, yet introduced himself with utmost seriousness:

"I'm Ryo, Honami."

"What's wrong with you? You're acting like a little kid."

Ichinose Honami chuckled, but she didn't refuse and still held Ryo's hand.

"Hmm, it's cool."

After completing this childish ritual, which resembled that of kindergarteners, the two simultaneously withdrew their hands. After all, it was rather awkward to solemnly extend one's hand to shake hands in a coffee shop Kitagawa Ryo, as if trying to alleviate his embarrassment, finished off the rest of his drinks in one gulp.

"Shall we go visit Horikita?"

Ichinose Honami brought up the old story again, but rather that she had this as her initial intention when she asked Kitagawa Ryo out.

"Yes, let's go see her together. After all, if we think about it carefully, I also bear some responsibility for her falling ill."

Horikita Suzune's face flashed through Kitagawa Ryo's mind. Although he hadn't seen her fall, he could roughly imagine her expression at the time. He wondered if Suzune, with her personality, could get along well with the other roommates. But perhaps, given Suzune's personality, she would probably get out of bed and pour herself a glass of water if she wanted one.

Just as Ichinose Honami and Kitagawa Ryo were about to step into Horikita Suzune's room, their cell phones suddenly rang at the same time.

The sharp, high-pitched sound indicates an instruction from the school, as this is the email ringtone used only when there are changes to the program.

Under this mandatory contact system, even if the phone is on vibrate or silent mode, it will still make a sound to ensure that students receive school notifications as soon as possible.

Is there really a second Special Exam?

"Could this be a second Special Exam?"

Ichinose Honami and Kitagawa Ryo spoke up almost simultaneously, speculating that as Leader of their respective classes, this was the first thing they thought of.

Almost simultaneously, an announcement was made inside the ship.

"To all students: The school has just sent an email with contact information to all students. Please check your mobile phones and follow the instructions. Also, if you haven't received the email, please contact a nearby faculty or staff member. Because the information is very important, please make sure you check carefully. To reiterate..."

Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami exchanged a glance:

"Looks like I won't have time to visit Horikita right now."

Let's see what tricks the school will pull this time.

Kitagawa Ryo followed the instructions broadcast and opened his email on his phone. The email contained the following content:

[Special Exam is about to begin. Students are requested to assemble in their designated rooms at the designated time. Those who are more than ten minutes late will be punished. Please assemble in room 204 on the second floor before 8:40 PM tonight. The exam will take approximately twenty minutes. Please use the restroom, etc., and put your mobile phone on vibrate mode or turn it off before coming to the assembly point.]

"So it really is Special Exam?"

Kitagawa Ryo quickly recalled what Ryuen Kakeru had mentioned to him before: the small conference rooms on the second floor with numerous surveillance cameras.

He checked the email again. It only mentioned the meeting point. Considering there were only twenty minutes left, it probably wasn't an on-site exam, but more like exam instructions, since the email didn't contain any text about the exam content.

"My text message contained this content."

Ichinose Honami proactively showed Kitagawa Ryo her emails. Surprisingly, the content of the emails she received was almost identical to Kitagawa Ryo's, except for the location and time, which were both 8:40.

At the same time, the class chat group erupted in excitement. Through the jumbled messages, Kitagawa Ryo realized that all the students on the ship had received the email simultaneously, just at different times. Ryuen Kakeru quickly understood this and used his administrator privileges to have each student speak in turn, reporting their time. A few minutes later, a definitive conclusion was reached—

There are twelve time slots in total. There are about three to four students in Class C in each time slot. The different time slots can be regarded as a kind of grouping. If we extrapolate from this, there are twelve groups in this Special Exam, which is a huge number.

Those assigned to the same time slot as Kitagawa Ryo —8:40—were Ryuen Kakeru, Shiina Hiyori, and Kaneda Satoru. Together with Kitagawa Ryo, they formed almost the strongest lineup in Class C on the surface. It seems the school's group assignments weren't random.

However, with so little information available, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't draw any effective conclusions. Ichinose Honami was also texted by a student from her class asking about her, so Kitagawa Ryo said goodbye to her and arranged to meet again at 8:40 p. m.

"Sakagami, you seem to have a lot of confidence in your students this time."

In the bar on the upper deck of the cruise ship, since the First Year students are not yet of legal drinking age and can only order lemonade, almost no one comes here. The usually deserted bar is unusually occupied by four adults today. They are the four homeroom teachers of Class D, and the one who speaks is Mashima Tomoya teacher of Class 1-A.

"This year's Class C is indeed very promising... oh no, it should be called Class B now."

Class B's homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya, was slumped over the bar, sighing without any decorum.

"Ichinose is really bad at dealing with those smooth-talking brats."

"However, Class A doesn't seem to have the same dominance as before this year. If they fail this Special Exam again, we might see the miracle of Class A being demoted at the end of the first semester."

This is what Chabashira Sae teacher of Class D, said: For a homeroom teacher like her who is determined to promote Class A, Kitagawa Ryo is an outstanding candidate. It is very rare in previous years that Class C, with its configuration, was able to surpass Class B in the first semester and even pose a real threat to Class A now.

"When school started, I felt that Beichuan was an excellent student."

Sakagami Kazuma smiled "calmly," but he seemed unable to contain himself and quickly covered his grin with his wine glass.

"Alright, alright, what do you think of this list allocation? Although the school has said it's to concentrate outstanding talents in the Tatsu Group, this time it's definitely quite intimidating."

Class A's homeroom teacher Mashima Tomoya, reluctantly avoided the topic.

"I hope Ichinose can hold on."

Hoshinomiya yawned and turned her gaze to the assigned lists of groups:

[Class A: Katsuragi Kohei, Nishikawa Ryoko, Matoba Shinji, Kamuro Masumi.

Class B: Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryuji, Himeno Yuki.

Class C: Kitagawa Ryo, Shiina Hiyori, Ryuen Kakeru, Kaneda Satoru.

Class D: Karuizawa Kei, Hirata Yosuke, Horikita Suzune.

"Sae still believes in Horikita Suzune."

"Let's do it one last time."

Chabashira Sae sighed and lit the cigarette in her hand.

Chapter 39: This is a golden opportunity to get freebies!

Around 6:20 p. m., the first batch of students who had entered the second-floor conference room began to emerge one after another. However, most of them looked bewildered, and many were scratching their heads and muttering something like "one, two, three, four."

"How about it?"

Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Kakeru, who were waiting outside the conference room, immediately stood up and asked, "Komiya and the others from Class C were among those who were asked to assemble at six o'clock. In order to obtain information ahead of time, the Leader of Class C had also gathered on the second floor early."

"Boss, the recording is here."

Unlike the students in other classes, the students in Class C seemed much more relaxed. Although they were all only vaguely aware of the rules, Kitagawa Ryo had instructed them beforehand to turn on their phone's recording function before entering the meeting room. This would save them time when repeating the information and ensure they could grasp all the details without missing anything.

"Um."

After signaling to Komiya to send the recording to the chat group, Kitagawa Ryo placed his open laptop on his lap on a chair in the corridor, plugged in his headphones, and intended to listen to what the school had said over the past twenty minutes.