Stop Getting Involved with Karuizawa Kei

"... Class C is a very strong group."

As if stunned by the list, Ichinose Honami paused for a moment before continuing:

"I wonder if Class AD also has this configuration."

Kitagawa Ryo naturally understood her meaning. Judging from the grouping of Classes B and C in this group, this group was undoubtedly an elite group. If the school really adhered to this grouping philosophy, then the members of Class A and Class D in this group should also be the Leader of their classes.

"Ichinose, Kitagawa-san, you're here early."

As soon as the two finished speaking, Hirata Yosuke's hearty laughter rang out, but unlike Class B, it seemed that he was the only one there.

Noticing the strange looks from the two, Hirata Yosuke explained:

"The other two members of our group are Karuizawa and Horikita, but Horikita isn't feeling well, and I don't want to go into the girls' room, so I'd like to trouble Karuizawa to remind her that it wouldn't be good if she missed the meeting time."

Although Hirata Yosuke's reasons were valid, Kitagawa Ryo felt a pang of unease whenever he thought Matoba Karuizawa Kei facing Horikita Suzune.

"Actually, we were just talking about group assignments. Seeing Hirata here, I'm even more certain that the composition of this group was arranged by the school."

Ichinose Honami, however, didn't think too much about it and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Hirata Yosuke:

"Judging from this, Katsuragi should be a member of this group."

"Is that so? Then please take good care of me."

Hirata Yosuke nodded. For Class D, which was already weak, this grouping was a considerable pressure. Whether it was Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, or Katsuragi Kohei, whose reputation had plummeted, they were all opponents that Class D needed to take seriously.

Just as the three were chatting and laughing, Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune arrived late. Since it was already 8:30 pm, it seemed that the two had already taken a shower. Karuizawa Kei did not tie her hair up in a high ponytail as usual, and Horikita Suzune also did not braid her hair, which was unusual. They came to the second-floor conference room with their hair loose.

"Kitagawa... cool."

Upon seeing Kitagawa Ryo sitting there leisurely, Horikita Suzune's previously pale face flushed an unnatural red. After the Uninhabited Island Exam, she had fallen ill for three days before her health had even improved, and had only just begun to recover. However, whenever she thought about what happened on the Uninhabited Island, Horikita Suzune would fall into endless self-blame and doubt.

From a young age, Horikita Suzune followed in Horikita Manabu's footsteps, believing that everything could go according to her wishes, and that she could do anything as long as she worked hard, without needing any friends or partners.

Until he met Kitagawa Ryo.

This idea created friction with reality. The genius hailed as Horikita Suzune seemed to suddenly lose all her special qualities.

He's just a kid who can't do anything.

"Are you feeling better, Suzune?"

Contrary to Horikita Suzune's expectations of a teasing or even mocking tone, Kitagawa Ryo's gaze genuinely revealed concern and worry. However, it was precisely this pitying look that made Horikita Suzune even more unbearable.

"Thanks to you, it's not very good."

Horikita Suzune returned a cold gaze. For the past three days, she had been almost constantly wandering in hazy dreams. What annoyed and embarrassed her was that Kitagawa Ryo's figure kept appearing in various Phantom Dream, and there were even many instances where she defeated him. What did this mean? Did it mean that Horikita Suzune could only try to defeat Kitagawa Ryo once in her dreams?

"I lost the last exam, but I'll win this time."

Kitagawa Ryo was initially worried that Horikita Suzune might have really suffered too much of a blow, but seeing how weak she was yet still uttering such harsh words, he rolled his eyes and lay back down.

"Then good luck!"

Unlike Horikita Suzune, who was at odds with Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Kei Kitagawa Ryo to talk to him, but considering the large number of people around, she felt embarrassed to be too intimate with him. After all, she wasn't like Ichinose Honami, who had maximum social skills in the grade. Her trip to the swimming pool with Kitagawa Ryo a couple of days ago had already been noticed by many people in Class D, so it was best to keep a distance for now.

However, Karuizawa Kei, with a quick glint in her eyes, bent down and said:

"Ichinose, Horikita- san isn't fully recovered yet, may she sit here?"

Ichinose Honami naturally didn't refuse; on the contrary, she happily stood up and gestured for Horikita Suzune to sit in her previous spot and rest.

"I'm not that fragile."

Horikita Suzune did not accept the favor. Whether it was simply because she wanted to be stubborn or because Kitagawa Ryo was sitting next to her, she simply refused.

"Alright, alright, I'll get up too. I'll give you a bigger seat, okay?"

Kitagawa Ryo chuckled, shook his head, and stood up.

"If you're sick, just rest. If you have to withdraw from the exam due to health reasons, Class D might be affected in some way."

Perhaps Kitagawa Ryo's words had a persuasive effect, and Horikita Suzune finally sat down in that seat. Karuizawa Kei stood next to Horikita Suzune as if to take care of her, while Kitagawa Ryo stood right next to the wall. After Ichinose Honami got up, she naturally returned to Class B's camp. After this series of actions, Karuizawa Kei secretly gave herself a thumbs up.

The distance between the two suddenly closed considerably. Just as Karuizawa Kei was about to quietly lean in and smell Kitagawa Ryo to see if he smelled the perfume she had given him, the other man abruptly walked away.

"It's cold, come and get it."

It turned out that it was Shiina Hiyori who arrived with Ryuen Kakeru and Kaneda Satoru. It was Shiina Hiyori who had called Kitagawa Ryo away. She was holding two ice cream cones in her hand and staring intently at the three stacked ice cream balls above her, as if afraid they would fall.

"They're here, they're here."

Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo didn't notice Karuizawa Kei movements at all. He quickly took two steps forward and took the ice cream cone from Shiina Hiyori's hand. Ryuen Kakeru and Kaneda Satoru had almost finished eating, and because they were chewing, they just nodded to Kitagawa Ryo.

When it comes to eating ice cream, Kitagawa Ryo is quite the bold type, taking a big bite without any hesitation, which looks like it would hurt your teeth. But Shiina Hiyori still licks it little by little like a lady, which looks a lot like Hotaru licking water.

Because it was a sight he had never seen before, Kitagawa Ryo watched Shiina Hiyori's posture with great interest after finishing his own. Every time she tried to take a small bite, she would frown slightly, which looked quite amusing.

It was soon 8:40 when Class A, led by Katsuragi Kohei, finally arrived. Since it was already time, the other three classes didn't bother with small talk, just exchanged brief greetings and went into their respective meeting rooms. Kitagawa Ryo, however, caught a glimpse of Kamuro Masumi.

"Cold..."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo Kamuro Masumi, he felt Shiina Hiyori tug at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw the girl holding up an ice cream cone that was still a third full, with a pained expression on her face.

"We can't finish it."

Of course, Shiina Hiyori couldn't bring the ice cream cone into the meeting room, but it felt a bit wasteful to throw it away. Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to take the remaining bit from her hand, swallow it in a few bites, and walk into the meeting room while feeling the tingling sensation in his teeth.

Upon closer inspection, one sees Chabashira Sae teacher of Class D. After confirming that all four classes have arrived, she begins explaining the rules:

"This exam will be conducted in twelve groups based on the Zodiac and Earthly Branches. Your group is the Tatsu Group."

Chen... Dragon?

The rules were no different from what they had heard before, and were even a bit boring. Apart from spending a little time memorizing the list of all the members of the Tatsu Group, Kitagawa Ryo almost fell asleep. It took him a good twenty minutes to finally get through the meeting room before the four members of Class C left.

As they came out, they bumped into Class A, who had also just finished listening to the rules explanation. Katsuragi Kohei immediately stepped in front of Kitagawa Ryo:

"Kitagawa, during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, you betrayed three classes, didn't you?"

What does "betrayal" mean?

Kitagawa Ryo hadn't expected that even with the second Special Exam already underway, Katsuragi Kohei was still brooding over the previous result, and replied somewhat helplessly:

"Contracts are signed by both parties; I didn't force you to sign them."

"But after you signed the contract, you revealed the information about the Leader Class A to other classes. Isn't that betrayal?"

Katsuragi Kohei's height was quite intimidating, and his emphasized tone carried a hint of aggressiveness.

"But the contract doesn't stipulate that we can't reveal information about the Leader of Class A, and shouldn't this be the reason why Class A didn't protect him properly?"

Kitagawa Ryo raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and said:

"Oh, thinking about it carefully, the Leader of Class A is actually Totsuka Yahiko. What are his strengths in having someone like that as Leader?"

"Hmm... does always liking to be around Katsuragi count as that?"

"You!"

In just a few words, the conversation veered to Katsuragi Kohei's nepotism that led to Class A's defeat. Katsuragi Kohei also subtly sensed the gazes of the three classmates behind him. Since the Uninhabited Island Exam, his reputation in Class A had already plummeted, and if someone were to use Kitagawa Ryo's words to kick him while he was down...

"Then how are you going to explain the problem with the medication?"

"Medicine? What medicine?"

Kitagawa Ryo feigned confusion and asked, but quickly replied with a smile:

"Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that. Apparently, Class A traded 200 points of supplies for 10 points of medicine with Class D."

"Have you considered that after this exam, other classes will refuse to cooperate with Class C again? Those who act justly will find many supporters, while those who act unjustly will find few. Class C's way of doing things will eventually lead to their downfall."

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo stubbornly refused to admit it, Katsuragi Kohei also spoke in a deep voice.

"But I agree more with another saying: there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends when it comes to interests. Didn't Class A agree to the contract with Class C this time because they were greedy for benefits?"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Katsuragi Kohei with disdain:

"And the question you should be thinking about now is whether Class A will fall behind after this exam."

"Tsk tsk, Class A was relegated before the first semester even ended. Katsuragi, your name will be remembered forever."

This time, Katsuragi Kohei didn't get angry. He simply looked into Kitagawa Ryo's eyes and said, word by word:

"Then let's give it a try. The gap between Class A and Class C can't be bridged with just a few tricks."

After uttering these harsh words, Katsuragi Kohei turned and left. Behind him, Kamuro Masumi gave Kitagawa Ryo a wink, and Kitagawa Ryo nodded knowingly.

"Well then, now we just have to wait for the email at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

After Katsuragi Kohei group left, Kitagawa Ryo lazily yawned.

"Liang, what's Class C's strategy this time?"

Shiina Hiyori unusually inquired about the exams, something she wouldn't normally do, simply following the steps agreed upon by Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Kakeru. Hiyori wasn't one for conflict, so Kitagawa Ryo had never asked for her opinion.

What is Hiyori thinking?

It was rare to see Shiina Hiyori offer her opinion, so Kitagawa Ryo countered with a question.

"Um..."

Shiina Hiyori thought for a moment, then smiled and spoke softly:

"I want Class A, where Classmate Sakayanagi is, to lose."

"Hmm, I see..."

Before Kitagawa Ryo could respond, Shiina Hiyori continued speaking, her tone as casual as if she were discussing a novel with Kitagawa Ryo:

"It's not bad that Class B, Ichinose is, lost."

"As for Class D, they can get points from Class B every month to pay for their contract with our class anyway."

"So it's okay if the Class Points drops to zero, right?"

Chapter 41: Don't get involved with Karuizawa Kei anymore.

"Now, all boys, please hand your phones to Ishizaki Daichi, and all girls, please hand your phones to Shiina Hiyori."

At 7:55 a. m. on the first day of the VIP Special Exam, just as the school was about to send an email informing them of their VIP status, the students of Class C had already gathered at the bottom of the ship's cabin. This was also one of the few locations in Ryuen Kakeru's intelligence that was not under surveillance. Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the time on his phone and spoke.

"You don't need to worry about me looking into your privacy. I'll only glance at the school's text messages on each phone, not even for three seconds."

Sensing the students' slight hesitation, Kitagawa Ryo reiterated his assurance:

"This is an important step in passing this exam, and we hope everyone can cooperate."

His usual prestige and past performance came into play at this moment. The Class C's cell phones were quickly confiscated and piled up in front of Kitagawa Ryo. As soon as it was eight o'clock, he immediately began to browse through them. After looking at each cell phone, he would casually delete the email.

Although the school prohibits unauthorized access to other students' phones to obtain information about VIP, rules are rules, but people are flexible. Indeed, only Class C can instantly grasp the information of all VIP in the class. Although Class B has enough cohesion, Ichinose Honami's personality would never allow her to do such a thing. At most, she would just suggest that students who feel troubled because of their VIP status can seek her help.

Kitagawa Ryo suspected that there might be some kind of pattern to the identities of the VIP, but finding the pattern would take time. He didn't want anyone to discover any flaws in the individuals from Class C who were chosen as VIP. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he had to eliminate it. Therefore, he had to ensure that only he and Ryuen Kakeru knew the specific VIP from Class C.

To deceive your opponent, you must first deceive yourself. If the VIP doesn't even know they are VIP, there's no way they can guess correctly.

So after discussing it with Ryuen Kakeru, Kitagawa Ryo's first step was to delete the emails after reading them himself.

Forty phones may seem like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes. After returning the phones to the class, Kitagawa Ryo told them to disperse and just casually attend the 1 p. m. discussion.

"How about it?"

After most of the students in Class C had left, Ryuen Kakeru came over and asked.

"Just as we guessed, there are three VIP. The school did indeed allocate them according to the quota of three students per class."

"Hmm, what's the pattern? Have you figured it out yet?"

"The sample size is too small; with only three samples, it's impossible to tell anything."

Kitagawa Ryo sent the names of the three VIP from Class C and their corresponding groups to Ryuen Kakeru, rubbing his temples as he said:

"We need to find a few more. If we have six, it should be easier to find the pattern."

However, neither Kitagawa Ryo nor Ryuen Kakeru were discouraged at this point; instead, they both smiled knowingly.

"I have connections in Class D."

"I can get intelligence from Class D."

Almost simultaneously, Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Kakeru spoke at the same time.