Hiyori's Plan Comes Together

Even though Shiina Hiyori was one of the few friends she got along well with in Class C, Ibuki Mio had rarely seen Shiina Hiyori show such an expression.

"... Woke up so early today?"

Ibuki Mio cautiously and tentatively asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's Mio. Good morning! Hehe~."

Completely different from usual, even her voice seemed softer, and she was giving inexplicable silly laughs.

Ibuki Mio thought back carefully and realized she hadn't heard anything strange last night. But surely there shouldn't be any mountain spirits or demons in the world that could brainwash people?

Where are we going today?

Shiina Hiyori and stood up. Since only Ibuki Mio was in the tent, she didn't hesitate to change her clothes.

"Well, we'd have to see what research projects are available nearby first."

Ibuki Mio answered weakly, clutching her forehead.

"That's right."

As a result, Shiina Hiyori nodded seriously. At that moment, she was putting on her sportswear top, and the hem of the top drew a perfect semi-circle in front of her chest with her movements. Her chest shape and size were quite symmetrical, which made Ibuki Mio glance at her a few more times.

Recalling the rumors circulating in the class recently, Ibuki Mio suddenly crossed her arms and blurted out:

"How about we go find Kitagawa Ryo?"

"OK."

Shiina Hiyori answered instantly, almost instinctively.

"Good, my foot!"

Ibuki Mio rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache. She naturally didn't know that Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo had unexpectedly met again at midnight that night. After all, in her memory, nothing had happened between Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo that night; they had simply gone to sleep early together.

Judging from Shiina Hiyori's current reaction, Ibuki Mio has reason to suspect that the two have really made a secret engagement as rumored.

Thinking of this, Ibuki Mio helplessly squatted down and began to sigh.

The two-person team was inherently at a disadvantage in terms of scoring efficiency. Shiina Hiyori was also holding the riskiest special card, the [Double-Edged Blade] card. If the team's ranking did not make it into the top three, they would also lose Class Points.

Although Ibuki Mio didn't care much about whether her class could advance to the next level, Class Points were still related to her monthly Private Points, so she was a little upset about having them deducted.

"That's why we need to go find Liang."

Having already changed her clothes, Shiina Hiyori stretched again.

Is this love-struck?

"This isn't being love-struck."

Shiina Hiyori tilted her head slightly, then directly activated her watch and sent a call request to Ryuen Kakeru.

Under Ibuki Mio's bewildered yet impressive gaze, Shiina Hiyori quickly finished explaining her thoughts to Ryuen Kakeru, asking him to help her find out Kitagawa Ryo's exact location.

"Alright, there's only one thing left to do today."

Shiina Hiyori patted Ibuki Mio's arm and smiled at her:

"Find a reason to intervene."

The girl pursed her lips; she was a little greedier than she had imagined.

At the very least, they won't be satisfied with just a few seconds of time spent together thanks to the handshake ticket.

Chapter 172: Miss Hiyori's Plan Goes Through

"It seems Totsuka hasn't returned to his group."

After Totsuka Yahiko left listlessly, Hirata Yosuke also noticed that the direction he left in was not his group's, but a completely opposite direction.

"Actually, Katsuragi, you were a bit too harsh just now, especially in front of so many people."

Kushida Kikyo shook her head as well. Her personality would never allow her to do something so embarrassing that it would be impossible for someone to back down. Besides, while the other members of Class A might look down on Totsuka Yahiko, Katsuragi Kohei was the last person who should say such a thing.

As a master of interpersonal relationships, Kushida Kikyo knew how to make use of such mediocre people who were only loyal, even if it meant using them as scapegoats.

After being repeatedly advised by Kushida Kikyo Hirata Yosuke, Katsuragi Kohei, feeling somewhat embarrassed, called over Kamuro Masumi, a member of his group, and said:

"We probably won't be participating in any other projects today. Kamuro, go and keep an eye on Yahiko to prevent him from doing anything irrational."

Kamuro Masumi also found it difficult to adapt to the crowded atmosphere, so she took the opportunity to leave the crowd. She leisurely hung behind Totsuka Yahiko, following him to the outside of Kitagawa Ryo's group's camp.

Meanwhile, Ryuen Kakeru, who arrived first, noticed the secret approach between the two from Class A before Kitagawa Ryo.

With a flick of his finger, he brushed away an unidentified caterpillar that had landed on his forearm. Ryuen Kakeru then concealed himself in the tree, using the branches and the sound of the wind as cover, and leaped over Totsuka Yahiko and Kamuro Masumi, diligently searching for other traces.

This morning, he received a message from Shiina Hiyori.

"I am Shiina Hiyori."

Unlike her usual lazy tone that made people feel she didn't care about anything, Shiina Hiyori once again showed a completely opposite attitude in front of Ryuen Kakeru.

The last time I saw Shiina Hiyori like this was when Ryuen Kakeru established his initial authority in the class through violence at the beginning of the school year. Amidst the delinquents rolling on the floor, Shiina Hiyori calmly stood up and threatened to record the incident, conveying her desire to leave the classroom.

It was precisely because that first meeting was so memorable that Ryuen Kakeru always harbored a deeper sense of apprehension towards Shiina Hiyori than towards other students. This was also partly the reason why he didn't press her to reveal what kind of card she possessed.

In fact, Ryuen Kakeru himself did not expect that after he already had a [Resurrection] special card, someone in Class C would be assigned a special card. He had initially imagined that the distribution would be one card per class out of the four classes.

However, the [Double-Edged Blade] card that Shiina Hiyori possessed did indeed lead him to reluctantly choose to cooperate with Kitagawa Ryo.

"This is Ryuen Kakeru. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to know the specifics of your deal with Ayanokoji, such as how many Private Points he would have to pay you if he failed to make it into the top three of the group."

The reason why Ryuen Kakeru provided supplies, intelligence, and any possible assistance within the project to Katsuragi Kohei's group in Class A was because he had made such a deal with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Although Kiyotaka had mentioned some of this on the night of the Tempest, he was still vague about the specifics.

Five million Private Points.

After hesitating for a moment, Ryuen Kakeru still chose to answer.

He didn't explain this at the time mainly because Kitagawa Ryo from another class was present, and it wouldn't be a problem for Shiina Hiyori from his own class to reveal some specific information.

"Are you sure? What if he can't produce it?"

"Ayanokoji showed me his personal bank account."

Ryuen Kakeru still feels somewhat surprised and uncertain when he recalls the string of numbers he saw back then:

"His personal account has a whopping seven million Private Points."

"It seems like he's handling all of Class A's points, and Class B does the same thing, allocating a portion of Private Points to Karuizawa's account as class funds or something..."

"That's not how it works."

Shiina Hiyori quickly interrupted Ryuen Kakeru:

"Your information about Class B is correct, but Ayanokoji's points and Class B's origins are different."

"They're upperclassmen."

"Upper grades?"

Do you remember Koenji Rokusuke who was expelled from Class A in the first month?

Shiina Hiyori mentioned a name that seemed somewhat distant.

"I have some recollection of it, but I was still integrating the classes at that time, so I didn't pay much attention to information from other classes."

Ryuen Kakeru shook his head. At that time, he was busy building his prestige and getting rid of Tokito Yuya troublemaker.

"He was the only son and sole heir of the Koenji Conglomerate, so as soon as he entered the school, many upperclassmen wanted to get close to him. There was a photo that went viral on the forum at the time, showing him surrounded by several upperclassmen in the cafeteria."

Ryuen Kakeru frowned:

"You mean, Ayanokoji is like that Koenji? An only son of a zaibatsu?"

"That's one way to understand it, but the main purpose of my example is to make Ryuen realize something."

Shiina Hiyori chuckled and said:

"The campus and the outside world are not absolutely closed off, and we won't stay on campus forever. Once you understand this, it's easier to understand some people's thoughts and actions."

"... You didn't call me all this just to lecture me, did you?"

Of course not.

Shiina Hiyori completely ignored Ryuen Kakeru's somewhat suppressed and low tone, and said in a light tone:

"Can you help me find Liang's exact location?"

"Kitagawa Ryo?"

He did say he would help you get into the top three.

This collaboration was initiated by Kitagawa Ryo on that the Tempest night. He could help Shiina Hitoshi, who holds the [Double-Edged Blade] card Hiyori Group advance to the top three in the team rankings, but he would need to provide as much assistance as he could and information about Class A.

This also made Ryuen Kakeru a double agent who operated between Class A and Class D, or more precisely, between Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo.

"So are you going to meet him to fulfill that promise, or are you just going to have a romantic relationship? It seems like his group is all girls."

"I just hope to determine Ryo's behavior and thoughts today by checking his location. It would be even better if I could find Ayanokoji."

"Ayanokoji?"

Ryuen Kakeru was somewhat surprised. In this Uninhabited Island Exam, the gap between Class A and Class D was enormous, and the two shouldn't have had any interaction or conflict.

Please silently repeat what I just told you.

"... Is it off-campus again?"

"That's about it. The communication time is almost up, so please confirm Liang's location first."

Shiina Hiyori's tone was unquestionable. Ryuen Kakeru hung up the call and snorted coldly, but still began searching for Kitagawa Ryo through continuous inquiries and tracking.

"They were just in cell C6, the [Olympiad Math Test] question cell."

"Now it has moved to grid D8, [Comprehensive Test of Humanities Knowledge]."

"I see."

After receiving the intelligence, Shiina Hiyori quickly reviewed the descriptions of the two topics and soon determined that Kitagawa Ryo's team's strategy today was to prioritize gaining points and attacking the top-ranked Class A team.

"It seems there's been some kind of conflict between Class A and Class B. The conflict occurred at the [Singing] topic in cell E5."

As Ryuen Kakeru ran through the forest, he exchanged information with Shiina Hiyori.

"It seems that Karuizawa Kei from Class B is being targeted by students from Class A. The students from Class B have heard about this and want to protect their class representative."

Ryuen Kakeru chuckled as he said this:

"Completely led by the nose."

"Head south to grid E7, the [Two-Person Cavalry Battle] project area. Ryo and Ayanokoji should be there."

Shiina Hiyori checked the electronic map on Ibuki Mio's watch, then gave instructions.

"Ultimately, why should I listen to you...?"

"Because that way Class C will win."

In response to Ryuen Kakeru's criticism, Shiina Hiyori replied quite quickly and directly.

"If both of their groups are present, then it's up to you to perform. After the assignment is over, just follow Liang and his group."

"This is the first time I've seen you so Shiina, Shiina. It's truly rare."

Ryuen Kakeru whistled, but Shiina Hiyori had already hung up the call.

When Ryuen Kakeru arrived at grid E7, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo did indeed appear at the [Two-Person Cavalry Battle] challenge site, just as Shiina Hiyori had predicted.

Then came his practiced fake fall and lightning-fast exit.

After reviewing the day's events in his mind, Ryuen Kakeru squinted and scanned the quiet forest around him once more.

Apart from Kamuro Masumi and Totsuka Yahiko, who were still squatting there, he still couldn't find Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

If it weren't for Shiina Hiyori's confident assertion that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would definitely choose to follow Kitagawa Ryo's group, Ryuen Kakeru would almost have wanted to give up this pointless search.

Just as Ryuen Kakeru was feeling a bit sore in his eyes, his watch beeped softly, indicating that someone had sent him a communication request.

For Ryuen Kakeru, who wanted to conceal his presence, this undoubtedly exposed his location. On the other side, Totsuka Yahiko and Kamuro Masumi also noticed the commotion and looked over.

[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka]

The watch's screen displayed the caller's name. Ryuen Kakeru frantically tried to decline the call, but the next second, a calm voice came from under the tree where he was hiding: