Of Course You Slack Off During Vacation

Faced with the enthusiastic smiles of the school staff who handed them a paper suggestion book, Kitagawa Ryo took the pen somewhat shyly, scribbled down a few of his signature positive comments, and said:

"Ah, no problem... You've all worked hard too, or rather, thank you for troubling the cleaning staff."

As it turned out, he couldn't withstand Amasawa Ichika's relentless advances. After replicating their behavior during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam once again, the only change was that they didn't have to do the cleaning work themselves.

"It's alright, it's part of our job. As long as you two have fun, you can always book this facility again when you have time."

"I'll come again if I have the chance."

I just don't know who it was with.

Rationally, Kitagawa Ryo didn't voice the subtle second half of his thought. After writing his positive review, he waved goodbye to the staff in charge of the private pool and reunited with Amasawa Ichika of anything amiss.

"Let's find somewhere to have lunch first. Where does Xia want to go this Ichika?"

"Yeah, didn't Ryo go to the shop with Karuizawa to buy souvenirs and gifts yesterday? I'd like to go too."

Ignoring for the moment the hint of stalking in Amasawa Ichika's words, Kitagawa Ryo nodded slightly in agreement:

"Good."

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Kitagawa Ryo made a reservation at a restaurant in advance today, spending a little more of his Private Points. After leisurely enjoying lunch with Amasawa Ichika at a window seat with a good view, the two of them went to another shopping street on the cruise ship.

Unlike the shops that He Hui visited yesterday, all the shops today were decorated in a cute pink style, and they sold mostly trinkets that girls like, such as dolls, plush toys, and phone charms. Surrounded by these adorable things, Kitagawa Ryo's mood gradually relaxed.

As he accompanied Amasawa Ichika along the aisle of the store, picking up a doll to touch it and trying out a pendant, he suddenly saw an unexpected figure after turning a corner.

If Kitagawa Ryo, who accompanied his female companion, could be considered to have perfectly blended into the shop's atmosphere, then the bald, burly man in front of him, stroking his chin and seriously examining a group of pink plush bunnies and beautifully packaged gift boxes of chocolates, was completely out of place.

Seemingly hearing his footsteps, Katsuragi Kohei from Class 1-D turned around and greeted Kitagawa Ryo very politely, his attitude and manners impeccable, as if the fight between the two classes on the Uninhabited Island had never happened.

Why is Katsuragi here?

Being greeted so earnestly, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't pretend nothing was wrong. He stepped forward and asked curiously. Amasawa Ichika quickly followed behind, but after recognizing that he was talking to Katsuragi Kohei, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

A man is fine.

No, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka should be excluded, because I always felt that there was something subtly off about the cold look in his eyes.

Just as Amasawa Ichika were racing and she began to wonder if the sex education in the White Room would have any adverse effects on the sexual orientation of the test subjects, Katsuragi Kohei also nodded steadily:

"I'm picking out a birthday present for someone."

Yesterday, Katsuragi Kohei was investigating a mole within the class, but today he saw him buying gifts in a place like this. Since Katsuragi Kohei wasn't the type to lie to someone's face, Kitagawa Ryo felt a little strange, but he didn't doubt what Katsuragi Kohei said.

"Is the gift for your girlfriend, Katsuragi?"

Amasawa Ichika spoke up at the opportune moment, then smiled and subtly added her own personal opinion:

"We came here because Ryo wants to pick out a gift I like."

"No... how should I put it?"

Katsuragi Kohei lowered his head in distress, then suddenly seemed to remember something, stepped forward, and asked Kitagawa Ryo:

"I remember, Kitagawa, you seemed to be able to leave school quite often, and you could even help bring back some things."

"Well, it's all because we're participating in the club's competition and trying to bring glory to the school. It's okay for us to work a little harder."

Katsuragi Kohei Kitagawa Ryo testing him and trying to find something to use against him, immediately became cautious and said something vague.

After listening to his words, Katsuragi Kohei gritted his teeth, as if he had made a decision, and suddenly leaned forward to whisper in his ear, telling him all the reasons why he had come here and the difficulties he was currently facing.

"Do you want to send a birthday gift to your younger sister who lives outside of school, but don't know how?"

"Hmm, if possible, I'm willing to pay! 100,000 Private Points... that's the highest amount I can offer."

Seemingly sensing that Kitagawa Ryo couldn't easily trust him, the Leader of another class, Katsuragi Kohei also lowered his head sincerely and spoke in the most genuine tone.

After all, Katsuragi Kohei believed that if he were in Kitagawa Ryo's position, he would definitely not agree to such a risky personal request from the Leader of an opposing class, since the risk and reward were completely disproportionate.

To his surprise, Kitagawa Ryo agreed even more readily than he had imagined, and even warmly grasped his hand, as if he had found a kindred spirit, and earnestly replied:

"Since it's for my sister, I definitely have to help!"

Unlike Katsuragi Kohei, who looked completely bewildered, Kitagawa Ryo Amasawa Ichika from Ichinose Honami and the others, just pursed his lips helplessly.

But she immediately remembered what Honami had once said: that she and Kitagawa Ryo's younger sister had almost identical fluorescent yellow eyes.

Amasawa Ichika watched Kitagawa Ryo figure thoughtfully as he and Katsuragi Kohei enthusiastically began selecting a gift for each other's younger sisters. A certain unspoken thought unconsciously arose in her mind.

In that case... tonight.

She felt as if she had unlocked a whole new way to play role-playing games.

Written request for leave

My daughter went back to her hometown for the Lunar New Year today. The weather wasn't good and she was delayed on the way. I'm handing out the leave slip on her behalf. Sigh, I really wanted to touch it too, but unfortunately I can't these days.

Chapter 250: Of course I'll slack off during the holidays (5k)

Kitagawa Ryo was unaware that Amasawa Ichika was following behind him, had come up with some new role-playing game. He reached for a beautifully wrapped gift box from a nearby shelf and asked, "..."

"What is Katsuragi's sister's birthday?"

"August 29th."

"I see, then there's indeed less than a month left."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement. After two weeks of Uninhabited Island Special Exam, it was now early August.

Although it seemed a bit early in terms of timing, he still appeared completely understanding and agreeable. Isn't it perfectly normal to prepare a birthday gift for your sister a month or two in advance?

My sister's birthday is December 25th, Christmas Day.

As soon as Kitagawa Ryo said those words, Katsuragi Kohei, who had been somewhat confused by Kitagawa's sudden change in attitude, finally realized what was happening:

"So Kitagawa has a younger sister too?"

"Yes, but because she has a congenital genetic disease, she is currently receiving treatment abroad. Since my parents passed away many years ago, I am always worried about how she is doing over there."

Kitagawa Ryo replied with a touch of emotion, saying that in a sense, he now has two sisters: one who died in the original timeline and now exists in the cat's body as a kind of conceptual god, and the other who, because of his rebirth, changed her Fate in this timeline and thus survived.

But for Kitagawa Ryo, they were all equally important, the most cherished family members.

Perhaps it was the natural overflow of emotion in his words that softened Katsuragi Kohei's expression, and he even went so far as to imagine that the reason the other man had been frequently leaving school during the first semester was because he wanted to talk to his sister. His tone softened slightly.

"Yes, my sister is the same. She's been frail and sickly since she was little. Plus, our parents and grandparents have all passed away, and now she's being cared for by relatives. So I thought I had to make sure this birthday present reached her."

As he spoke, Katsuragi Kohei shook his head in slight annoyance:

"Although I thought I had figured out the school rules before enrolling, I didn't expect that I couldn't even send a package. It was indeed my own oversight, but I still want to send the gift out anyway."

"So leave it to me. I'm planning to go off-campus to participate in a competition right after my cruise vacation ends and I can make it in time."

Kitagawa Ryo was surprised to find that Katsuragi Kohei, who looked strong and imposing and had a somewhat menacing appearance due to his bald head, had this side to him. With the common topic of his sister drawing them closer, the two chatted familiarly for a while, and after helping each other choose birthday gifts, they said goodbye in a friendly manner.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo had finished dealing with this unexpected little incident and was about to turn back to continue shopping with Amasawa Ichika, the other party asked with great interest:

"Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever met Ryo's younger sister. Her name is Hotaru, right?"

"Well, Ying isn't in the country right now, but I have some photos here. Do you want to see them?"

"Okay, okay."

Seemingly feeling that his conversation with Katsuragi Kohei wasn't enough, Kitagawa Ryo enthusiastically logged into an old social media account on his personal phone and found several old photos of him and Hotaru in the album.

Aside from solo selfies, most of the photos are group photos with him or Ichinose Maki, who is Honami's younger sister. Compared to her peers, she appears somewhat slender, but with her delicate and cute appearance, she exudes a sense of vulnerability. However, what caught Amasawa Ichika's attention the most were, as expected, her fluorescent yellow eyes, which were almost identical to hers.

"She's really cute. I hope she recovers soon. I'd love to see her in person someday."

There will be other opportunities later.

Kitagawa Ryo took the phone from Amasawa Ichika and replied with a smile that Hotaru's condition was not the kind of congenital heart disease that was almost incurable like Sakayanagi Arisu's, which was only cured by his cheat code in the simulation. As long as the high treatment costs could be paid, it was completely curable.

He had already earned that money through Actor before he even enrolled in school, not to mention the golden talent he now possessed—the 'Heir of the Wealthy Family' —that emerged from Horikita Suzune's one-life simulation.

In theory, Kitagawa Ryo had no need to come to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School after his rebirth. In fact, he had never intended to apply there before. However, it was precisely because of the talent he developed during the simulations related to Suzune that he started in junior high school that he was somewhat involuntarily drawn into the struggle between the Naoe and Onigashima factions, which led to his rivalry and competition with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

However, Kitagawa Ryo didn't object to everything that this talent brought him, because this setting not only played an important role in persuading Koenji Rokusuke drop out of school when he started, but also facilitated his vision of making everyone happy in all aspects, especially in terms of material and social foundations.

The only thing that made Kitagawa Ryo feel a little complicated was that his blood relationship with Hotaru had been abruptly severed because of this talent. Although he wasn't the type to use kinship as a standard to get close to people, the fact that the blood ties between two lifetimes had been ended like this left him with some complicated feelings.

However, considering that thinking about these things now would only add to his troubles, Kitagawa Ryo finally put aside his chaotic thoughts and focused his attention back on what was in front of him.

"Is there anything you want in Ichika?"

As he asked, Kitagawa Ryo reached for a large orange teddy bear on the shelf next to him.

How about this one?

"It feels great. Summer is over and then it's autumn and winter. It's all fluffy, and it would be so comfortable to sleep with it."

Amasawa Ichika seemed quite satisfied with Kitagawa Ryo's choice and reached out to take the doll.

Because of the size difference between the two, the teddy bear that looked just the same size in Kitagawa Ryo's hands suddenly seemed to have been enchanted in her arms, becoming huge and blocking half of her body. After a while, Amasawa Ichika's little face finally peeked out from near the doll's shoulder, and she said with some difficulty, "Let's go pay the bill," which made Kitagawa Ryo unable to help but chuckle.

After paying 8,000 points at the front desk, Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika decided to put the big thing back in their room for the time being. After all, it was a bit inconvenient to carry around while shopping, and considering their plans for the afternoon and evening, it was even more of a nuisance.

But just as the two of them put the dolls away and prepared to continue playing on the cruise ship as planned, their cell phones in their pockets both rang simultaneously—text messages from the school.

Unlike the school's text message that only a few people received yesterday, which Karuizawa Kei received, Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously looked around as he took his phone out of his pocket. It wasn't just him and Amasawa Ichika; all the students in his field of vision seemed to have received the text message at the same time, and they were all frantically trying to take their phones out of their bags or pockets.

Judging from the way the notification was given to everyone, it really did look like a surprise Special Exam from the school. Although the school had already stated during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam that there would be no new Special Exam during the seven-day cruise vacation, many people still visibly showed signs of nervousness.

However, their expressions softened again after a dozen seconds, because the text message wasn't a notification about Special Exam, but rather a lottery event that at first glance seemed quite generous, even generous with perks.

[Treasure Hunt Game]

To reward all students for their hard work during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, and to further strengthen the friendship among students and help them relax, the school has decided to hold a special event, Treasure Hunt Game, starting today. This is a large-scale cruise ship game that students can choose to participate in or not, based on luck and with a 100% chance of winning. Interested students can go to the main hall on the fifth floor within half an hour to hear more details.

Note: You can still choose to participate or not after listening to the explanation.

"What's this?"

"It's unclear yet, but judging from the description, it doesn't seem like Special Exam. Whether it's the rule that participation is optional or not, or the wording and tone of 'to reward students,' it does seem like a simple benefit. However, we need to see the specifics of this event before making a judgment. Anyway, I feel there's something fishy about it."

Faced with Amasawa Ichika's question, Kitagawa Ryo naturally thought of the test activity that Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori had participated in yesterday, but if only one day had passed, the school should not have just brought up that casino-like facility.

"Should we go over and take a look?"

After thinking about it for a while, Kitagawa Ryo also extended an invitation to Amasawa Ichika.

"Hmm, I'm also a little interested. Doesn't it say there's a 100% chance of winning? It would be great if they could give us some Private Points too."

Amasawa Ichika said with a smile that after secretly following Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei all the way yesterday, she had basically overheard all of their conversations, except for a few private venues and the luxury suite at night, which she was unable to sneak into. This included their conversation in the restaurant about ace, revolution, and class transfer.

Just like in the game of Tycoon, where one person can turn the tide by playing four bigger cards after starting a revolution, Amasawa Ichika also decided to start accumulating 20 million Private Points from now on.

If Kitagawa Ryo is successfully transferred to Karuizawa Kei's class in the future, she can either transfer there herself or have Ryo transfer back to her class. That way, she won't have to worry about being separated from him no matter what.

"Let's go take a look. The main hall on the fifth floor is right above us."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, took Amasawa Ichika's hand, and followed most of the other students who were equally interested upstairs. Soon they arrived at the location that the school had mentioned in the text message for explaining the specifics.

The number of students gathered in the venue was roughly the same as Kitagawa Ryo had expected. The vast majority of First Year students had been drawn to the scene by the incredibly tempting text message, and were excitedly and noisily discussing the topic with their classmates and friends.

As the entry time expired, under the expectant gazes of the students, Hoshinomiya Chie of Class 1-A, walked out from the main stage. Her vibrant smile and cheerful tone, belying her age of thirty, instantly lightened the atmosphere.

"Now, I'll give you some instructions for this Treasure Hunt Game. Please listen carefully!"

"As you saw in the text message, the school organized this event to reward and reward every student for their hard work on the Uninhabited Island. So, in every way, it's a rewarding event with plenty of benefits—if that's still unclear, please look at the big screen."

As Hoshinomiya Chie spoke, an explanatory image was quickly projected onto the white screen behind her. The first thing that caught the students' eyes was a QR code that took up half the screen.

"The rules of this Treasure Hunt Game are not complicated; in fact, they are very simple."

At the same time, Hoshinomiya Chie took out a piece of paper with a QR code about three centimeters by three centimeters from her pocket and continued to explain, referring to the screen:

"Throughout the cruise ship, there are pieces of paper with these QR codes printed on them. These are the treasures you participants are responsible for finding. After scanning the QR code with the special software provided by the school, you can choose to return to this venue and pay 5,000 Private Points to the school staff to obtain the treasure inside."

"Each person and each mobile phone can only scan a QR code once. A QR code that has been scanned by someone else cannot be scanned again. Also, anyone who removes or alters a QR code without authorization will be punished."

As she spoke, Hoshinomiya Chie smiled sweetly once again:

"Next, I will introduce the most important, and most concerning, aspect: the rewards."

"First of all, as mentioned in the text message, we are using a 100% winning model this time. Therefore, all the QR codes that are found can be redeemed after paying 5,000 Private Points. The minimum prize is a cruise card worth 6,000 Private Points, and all the points stored on it can be used freely during this cruise vacation."

"We've prepared a total of one hundred QR codes for this tier, accounting for half of the total. Then there are fifty prepaid cards worth 10,000 Private Points each, followed by twenty cards worth 50,000 points each and ten cards worth 100,000 points each. Finally, there are five cards worth 300,000 points each and three cards worth 500,000 points each, as well as one grand prize of one million Private Points!"

"However, although it's a game of luck, there's still a bit of challenge involved. The deeper and more hidden the QR code, the easier it is to win a big prize. Please keep that in mind."

After saying that, Hoshinomiya Chie clapped her hands and added:

"Of course, if you don't use up all the points on your prepaid cards during this cruise vacation, the school will convert them back into Private Points at a 2:1 ratio and return them to you upon your return to school."