Let's Play a Real Game of Werewolf on the Cruise Ship

"Huh? When did you plant a spy in Class D as well?"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Ryuen Kakeru had a smug look on his face, with great interest and asked.

"Hmph, you're not the only one with this ability, and maybe my spies are even more useful than yours."

Ryuen Kakeru crossed his arms and snorted coldly:

"Because of your previous trip to the pool with Karuizawa, there are rumors circulating in Class D that you and Karuizawa are dating, and many students in Class D are starting to have doubts."

"Tch, it's just that Class D currently has enough Class Points to pay off its debts, so it doesn't need the points that Hui got from Class B. But just when things were getting through the difficult time, they started to deliberately cause internal strife. Class D certainly didn't disappoint me."

Kitagawa Ryo smacked his lips:

"Who is your spy? Did he specifically seek you out to trip up Hui?"

No, she only has one request.

Ryuen Kakeru gave Kitagawa Ryo a deep look, as if trying to figure out what he was thinking:

"Expel Horikita Suzune from school."

"Forehead."

Kitagawa Ryo wore a strange expression, probably the kind of smile that comes from discovering long after the breakup that your ex is now doing worse than you—a smile that's both funny and a little embarrassing, tinged with a bit of pity and a sense of deservedness.

"It wasn't easy for Suzune to get through... that too."

"If Class D wants to gain the upper hand, the VIP should proactively report their identities."

After confirming that she was not VIP, Horikita Suzune took the initiative to find Karuizawa Kei Hirata Yosuke, coughing as she offered her opinion:

"Only after we know VIP are can we take action. Whether it's protecting them or misleading them into making the wrong guess, it all has to be based on our knowledge of VIP are."

"This is a golden opportunity for us to increase our Class Points in one go."

After expressing her opinion, Horikita Suzune looked expectantly at the two of them, who were currently the two most prestigious members of Class D.

Knowing she lacked the prestige to rally support and that doing so might further damage her reputation, she opted for a less desirable option: leveraging the names of Karuizawa Kei Hirata Yosuke.

"While I am touched by Horikita's consideration for the class, however..."

Hirata Yosuke scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed, and said:

"But I also hope that Horikita- san can understand the feelings of those VIP. After all, being selected as VIP is already a lot of psychological pressure. They are probably all thinking about hiding their true selves to achieve result two and obtain 500,000 Private Points."

"I agree with Hirata's point of view. After all, doing so could easily cause dissatisfaction among the students in our class VIP. If this were to be exposed to other classes, the losses would be too great."

Karuizawa Kei listlessly echoed Hirata Yosuke. Because of her impulsive behavior at the pool last time, she hadn't been able to find a chance to meet Kitagawa Ryo these past few days. She finally managed to meet him yesterday, but they barely exchanged a few words, which was quite a pity.

"Private Points are completely unimportant now. Even if all the VIP in the class can be successfully hidden, how many Private Points will that add?"

"We've already built a 700-point lead over the classes ahead of us, and if we don't catch up in the Special Exam..."

As Horikita Suzune explained her perspective, she glanced at the two of them suspiciously, as if recalling something:

"I'm saying, is there VIP between you two?"

"..."

Hirata Yosuke looked at Horikita Suzune with a headache. He even hoped that she would stay in bed quietly. He didn't know if it was because the impression from the previous times was too deep, but whenever Horikita Suzune opened her mouth, she always gave him the illusion that Class C was going to win a great victory this time.

"Of course not, but it's a good thing, because if either me Hirata were to VIP, it might be discovered very quickly in this Tatsu Group."

Karuizawa Kei replied absentmindedly, fiddling with the ends of her hair. She couldn't wait to start the first discussion, after all, it would be a legitimate opportunity to meet and chat with Ryo.

Seeing that Hirata Yosuke and Karuizawa Kei were unmoved, Horikita Suzune stomped her foot angrily, coughed twice while covering her mouth with her hand, and turned to leave without paying attention to Hirata Yosuke's concerned questions.

"I feel like Horikita has been in a really bad state lately."

Hirata Yosuke watched Horikita Suzune's retreating figure with some worry.

"You've driven yourself to this point; once you understand it, it'll be alright."

Karuizawa Kei asked casually:

"But Hirata, do you even know who the VIP are in the class?"

"Yes, Nan from the Horse Group was very uneasy after being selected VIP, so she messaged me privately. I told her to be careful and not to be afraid."

"Yeah?"

Karuizawa Kei nodded. It's understandable that girls would Hirata Yosuke, but who would boys choose...?

"This is the list of all three students in Class D VIP."

At noon, Ryuen Kakeru received a letter on his phone from Class D. He sipped his coffee and smiled with amusement. He never expected that Kushida Kikyo, who had a good reputation throughout Class D grade and even among the upperclassmen, would take the initiative to contact him and ask for a deal.

The details of the transaction are also very simple:

In this and the Special Exam that follow, she will provide as much information as possible about Class D, but Class C must do everything in its power to help her drop out of Horikita Suzune.

As for why they approached Ryuen Kakeru instead of Kitagawa Ryo, the Leader of Class C, it's actually quite easy to guess.

After all, there were some rumors about Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune in the grade, and on the surface, the two "affectionately" addressed each other by their first names. Kushida Kikyo chose Ryuen Kakeru to avoid taking any risks, since there had always been rumors that Class C seemed harmonious, but Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Kakeru had irreconcilable conflicts. Ryuen Kakeru had even been severely reprimanded in public for several mistakes.

How can we ensure the authenticity of the list?

Scrolling through emails, Ryuen Kakeru waited patiently for his prey to take the bait, like a hunter patiently waiting for it to bite.

"You already have other verification channels, right? Just verify them yourself."

The reply came quickly, and its contents made Ryuen Kakeru's lips curl into a smile. Sure enough, Kushida Kikyo knew that Class C had planted spies in Class D besides herself. Although it was possible that she was deliberately trying to bluff, considering her social network, it was not impossible for her to have grasped this information through subtle clues.

Knowing about the spy's existence yet remaining silent, it seems the other side doesn't care much about Class D.

"I have fulfilled my promise. Class C, please also fulfill your promise as soon as possible."

Perhaps seeing that Ryuen Kakeru hadn't replied, Kushida Kikyo sent another message.

"Of course, Horikita Suzune will drop out of school when the time is right."

Ryuen Kakeru casually brushed it off, leaning against the headboard and looking at Kitagawa Ryo, who was still sleeping on the other side. The other was engrossed in playing a game with a controller, even though the Special Exam had already started, but this guy didn't seem to be taking it seriously at all.

Having confirmed that the list given to him by Kushida Kikyo also included "Minami-san from the Horse Group," whom Kitagawa Ryo had recently obtained through Karuizawa Kei, Ryuen Kakeru's cautious heart was somewhat relieved.

However, he did not interrupt Kitagawa Ryo, who was still struggling in the game, but instead began to figure out the pattern of the VIP by looking at the six names and groups.

"Hey, Ryuen, your spies are so slow! It's almost time for the first discussion."

About twenty minutes later, Kitagawa Ryo took off his headphones and casually asked a question.

Go play your game, I'll tell you when I get back.

Ryuen Kakeru twirled his pen and replied irritably. Kitagawa Ryo also smiled and turned his head away. He quickly became immersed in the world of the game again, which could be seen from his focused eyes.

"Asshole..."

Frowning, Ryuen Kakeru overturned another hypothesis and muttered as he began the next permutation and combination. Although he knew that if he called Kitagawa Ryo over, they might be able to find the pattern quickly, Ryuen Kakeru was inexplicably stubborn at the moment.

He simply wanted to solve the mystery first, not for the pointless reason of proving himself stronger.

I simply wanted to use my own strength to help the other party.

Ryuen Kakeru sighed and turned his gaze to Kitagawa Ryo, who was excitedly playing a game. He snorted irritably, but quickly laughed again.

Let this guy enjoy it a little longer.

It's better than when I excitedly challenged Kitagawa Ryo to another fight, only to see him being carried out of the school building on Matoba stretcher.

Ryuen Kakeru hated this feeling of helplessness, knowing that by the time he saw it, it was already over.

"It's the order of the fifty sounds."

At 12:50, Ryuen Kakeru finally discovered the pattern among the VIP. He had initially thought the school would use more rigorous and difficult rules to select VIP, but the final conclusion was so simple that it left him somewhat dumbfounded:

Simply sorting the names of the members in each group according to the Japanese syllabary (五十音) order reveals that the VIP of the subgroup is ranked first, and the member of the Ox Group is ranked second. Once you understand the logic, you'll understand why schools don't use simple numbers like "one, two, three, four, five" for grouping, but instead use the convoluted "Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao" (子丑寅卯) Zodiac order. It's probably intentionally hiding this pattern.

It makes sense that the list of all group members couldn't be photographed or taken out. The discussion session was purely misleading. If judgments were made based on verbal communication, the most basic group list would be overlooked. In this light, the school did put in some effort.

"Wow, Ryuen is amazing!"

Kitagawa Ryo only then noticed Ryuen Kakeru's actions, and he patted Ryuen Kakeru's shoulder in amazement.

That is...

Ryuen Kakeru accepted his friend's praise without hesitation, and after a moment's hesitation, he asked:

"And then, what should we do?"

He knew that Kitagawa Ryo's initial plan was to gain a large number of Private Points through this Special Exam, but yesterday Shiina Hiyori proposed a tactic to attack the other three classes and let Class C win alone, and Kitagawa Ryo did not express a clear rejection or agreement to this.

"What do you think about Ryuen?"

"Me?"

Ryuen Kakeru paused for a moment, hesitated, and finally replied with a smile:

Just do what you want to do.

This is a rather vague and ambiguous statement, Ryuen Kakeru, who is ruthless in his actions and has a clear purpose, rarely says this.

After he said that last time, Kitagawa Ryo, who could barely support himself, took in a white cat that was also emaciated from being a stray.

After he said that last time...

A hideous Blood Red flashed before his eyes for a moment, and even after several years, it was still so dazzling that it made him dizzy.

Therefore, he can understand Shiina Hiyori's remarks last night.

Karuizawa Kei... shouldn't see Kitagawa Ryo anymore.

Chapter 42: Let's have a real cruise ship Werewolf!

The first day of the VIP Special Exam, at 1 PM, was the first discussion.

Because of the delay caused by the calculation rules, when Kitagawa Ryo led the three students from Class C to conference room 203 on the second floor, the other three classes had already arrived.

Class B and Class D seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Hirata Yosuke and Ichinose Honami were both the type with good personalities and many friends in the grade. Karuizawa Kei occasionally chimed in, but Horikita Suzune just sat in a corner of the sofa with her arms crossed, it was unclear whether she was feeling unwell or simply unable to join in the conversation.

Like Horikita Suzune, the four members of Class A, led by Katsuragi Kohei, also did not participate in the conversation. However, after the Uninhabited Island Exam, Katsuragi Kohei had essentially lost the ability to lead Class A. With his loyal follower Totsuka Yahiko not being assigned to the same group, Katsuragi Kohei's distance from the other three was quite subtle, as if he had been isolated.

"Good afternoon."

Upon seeing Class C enter the meeting room, Ichinose Honami stretched out her arm and waved. It was just a simple greeting, but coming from Ichinose Honami, it carried an extra touch of Affinity. Kitagawa Ryo nodded in response.

"Good afternoon."

Class A and Class D also greeted them, since everyone in the room would be working as a group for the next four days, and no one wanted to strain relationships right from the start. Even Horikita Suzune came over specifically to say:

"Now that everyone's here and it's about time, let's get started on the discussion."

"Suzune is very anxious."

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at Horikita Suzune, who seemed rather impatient. Perhaps because she wasn't fully recovered, she had added a white jacket over her shirt.

"The collar isn't aligned."

After leaving Horikita Suzune with those words, Kitagawa Ryo pulled up a chair and sat down. The conference room was quite spacious, with plenty of room around the large round table in the center.

Because of the round table setting, it was inevitable that the members of the two classes would sit together. So, Karuizawa Kei had just seized the opportunity, pretended to be nonchalant and was about to sit down next to Kitagawa Ryo when she found that the two seats next to Kitagawa were immediately taken by a man and a woman.

Ryuen Kakeru and Shiina Hiyori.

For some reason, even though she had never had any contact with these two people before, Karuizawa Kei felt a jolt in her heart, as if they harbored some kind of hostility towards her.

However, apart from these few people, the remaining students didn't pay attention to the seating order. They each found a chair and sat down, waiting for the class Leader to speak.

The discussions in other groups might quickly devolve into a chaotic mess, but the twelve people assigned to Tatsu Group are basically the elites of their respective classes, and the (former) Leader of each class are all present. Whether it's Kitagawa Ryo or Ichinose Honami, someone should be able to take the initiative to steer the discussion in the right direction.

With this in mind, a dozen or so people kept their eyes and noses down and paid close attention to the situation.

"Now, let's begin the first round of group discussions."

The announcements played over the loudspeaker in the meeting room began, marking the start of the first discussion.

As expected, Ichinose Honami was the first to stand up:

"Actually, everyone doesn't need to be so nervous. If you don't know how to proceed, how about I be the host?"

"Of course, I would be very happy to take your place if someone is willing to."