Keep the Music Playing, Keep on Dancing

Kitagawa Ryo pulled a photograph from his pocket and mysteriously handed it to Ryuen Kakeru. The caution in his movements made Ryuen Kakeru tense up as he deliberately used his body and the chair as cover to quietly reach under his legs and take the photograph.

"What is it?"

"The member who sacrificed the most in this operation, Ryuen, I hope you will remember his contribution."

Ryuen Kakeru frowned. There shouldn't be any absent members in the class. His fingertips deftly flipped the photo over, and he caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye:

"What... what is this?"

Kitagawa Ryo patted him on the shoulder, thinking that the other man should now understand how he felt.

"Isn't that Ying? But you remind me of something, what happened to the cat while you were gone for two weeks?"

Ryuen Kakeru, speechless, tossed the photo back to Kitagawa Ryo and casually asked while crossing his legs.

"Someone is taking care of it for me."

Kitagawa Ryo stretched and turned his gaze to the dormitory building that was now far behind him:

"Wrong."

"It should be said that Ying successfully used herself to hold back our biggest competitor."

"Sakayanagi Arisu?"

Ryuen Kakeru's gaze sharpened, and he gently tapped his thigh with his fingers:

"I remember the year you went missing was related to her, right?"

"After all, such a big incident happened back then. If the Sakayanagi Family hadn't covered for me, I wouldn't be able to come here to study. I might still be wandering somewhere now."

Kitagawa Ryo recalled the Matoba and said with his eyes closed:

"So maybe I don't dislike Sakayanagi Arisu... who knows?"

"Pretentious."

Ryuen Kakeru glanced at Kitagawa Ryo and uttered these two words.

The azure ocean shimmered under the sunlight, and the salty sea breeze gently enveloped his body and brushed against his nose. Kitagawa Ryo stood on the deck of the cruise ship, took a deep breath, and enjoyed this rare moment of leisure all by himself.

"Wow! This is amazing! Aa..."

However, the other students did not seem to have the same leisure and elegance as Kitagawa Ryo. Faced with the magnificent sea, most of them, like Ishizaki Daichi, could not help but roar out loud. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that not only Class C, but also Class D, Class B, and even Class A had a large number of students gathered on this deck, shouting at the sea as if they had nowhere to vent their joy, jumping up and down like baboons.

Kitagawa Ryo even saw a couple from who-knows-which-class were raising their hands on the deck of Luxury Cruise Ship, striking the classic pose from Titanic.

Something feels a bit ominous...

"What a beautiful view! I'm so touched!"

"Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School is the best!"

"It's so great to be here!"

The group of women, who had prepared sun protection, emerged from the boat one after another. They smiled broadly, just like the boys, and chattered excitedly as they pointed at the sea.

"The scenery is really amazing."

One of the group members, Ichinose Honami, also exclaimed with genuine admiration, leaning on the deck railing and gazing at the sea.

The azure ocean gently washed away the hardships and torments of the past semester. The students of Class 1-D were even moved to tears. As the only class in the entire grade with four students dropping out, and with a mere 87 Class Points, a significant portion of the students in Class D usually survived on free mountain vegetable meals. You see, the Luxury Cruise Ship they boarded today had all its facilities, including various restaurants, cinemas, and spas, open to the students free of charge. This VIP treatment would last for two whole weeks. Just thinking about it made them want to cheer.

"What about Ryuen?"

Kitagawa Ryo casually pulled Ishizaki Daichi, who was loudly arguing about what to eat for lunch, over to him.

"It seems Brother Ryuen didn't come to the deck; he must have gone inside the ship."

"Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, and Ishizaki Daichi leaned in and suggested:

"Hey bro, wanna have lunch together? I heard there's a really good restaurant on the third floor. Our class of boys is planning to go swimming this afternoon."

"Alright, you guys go ahead and have a good day. The school shouldn't cause any more trouble today, but remember to conserve your energy."

Kitagawa Ryo had his own plans and naturally didn't intend to go to the swimming pool with the boys in his class. However, he guessed that if the school were to hold a survival test on Uninhabited Island, it probably wouldn't be today. After all, everyone had taken a bus to Tokyo at 5 a. m. and then boarded the cruise ship. Kitagawa Ryo also believed that most students were probably too excited to sleep last night, and if the Special Exam started today, it would be difficult to guarantee the mental state of every student. Therefore, the test would most likely start tomorrow.

"Okay, if the boss sees Brother Ryuen, tell him too. Maybe Brother Ryuen will be interested in this."

Kitagawa Ryo gave Ishizaki Daichi a casual reply, and watching the boys from Class C walk away, Kitagawa Ryo yawned softly. He did know where Ryuen Kakeru had gone, after all, the school's announcement was:

"The first week will be spent enjoying a vacation in a guesthouse on Uninhabited Island, and the following week will be spent staying on a cruise ship."

If the first week corresponds to the Special Exam on the Uninhabited Island, then Kitagawa Ryo doesn't really think the school would be so kind as to let the First Year students continue to have a carefree week on this cruise ship. Corresponding to the first week, the school should also arrange a Special Exam, and the location—

It must be this enormous, Luxury Cruise Ship.

As for Ryuen Kakeru, his first priority was naturally to figure out the layout and structure of the entire cruise ship, as well as the most important monitoring range.

Since his initial success, Ryuen Kakeru has become increasingly skilled in this area.

After Ishizaki Daichi, other acquaintances tried to invite Kitagawa Ryo to meals or other entertainment venues. To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, even some girls from other classes whom he didn't know blushed and boldly extended invitations to him, but he politely declined them all.

Actually, there was no one he was waiting for, nor anything he was in a hurry to do. Kitagawa Ryo propped himself up on the deck and quietly enjoyed the sea breeze for another half hour. After the initial novelty wore off, most of the students had left the deck to explore the cruise ship's facilities, making the few figures remaining quite conspicuous.

"Is Kitagawa-kun waiting for someone?"

Turning around, she saw Ichinose Honami speaking to her. She still wore her Affinity friendly smile and stood naturally beside Kitagawa Ryo, leaning against the railing with him as they gazed at the sea.

"I've been standing here for almost an hour now."

"Where's Honami? I remember you spent just as much time on deck as I did, didn't you?"

"Me?"

Ichinose Honami didn't mind Kitagawa Ryo's approach of answering questions with questions. She reached out and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear, her azure eyes reflecting the color of the sea.

"Nothing special, I just saw Kitagawa-kun standing here and wanted to ask him something."

It sounds a bit ambiguous, but considering Ichinose Honami's consistent personality, Kitagawa Ryo isn't surprised:

"I'm fine, but Honami had better not get involved with me."

"After all, Class B and Class C are currently the most direct competitors."

Class B currently has 683 Class Points, while Class C has 656, a difference of only 27 points. This gap has narrowed compared to the 60 points reached in the first month of school. Considering that Class B also provides Karuizawa Kei with 800,000 Private Points each month, Class B currently earns even fewer Private Points per month than Class C. It seems that Class C replacing Class B is almost inevitable, especially considering the significant animosity between the two classes in the past.

Although Ichinose Honami doesn't need to worry about Kitagawa Ryo's popularity in Class B, he'd probably feel uneasy if the students in Class B saw their class president chatting and laughing with them from Class C.

"Kitagawa-kun is considerate of others, isn't he?"

Ichinose Honami understood Kitagawa Ryo's meaning, but had no intention of leaving.

"Chihiro's matter has been resolved. If we underestimate Class B now, Kitagawa might also fail."

After Kitagawa Ryo provided information about Shiranami Chihiro as an "undercover agent," Class B resolved the aftermath of the incident in the fastest and most direct way. After a class meeting where everyone was honest with each other, Class B ultimately accepted Shiranami Chihiro back without any reservations. In this respect, it seems that only Class B among the First Year classes could do this.

"Actually, I've always thought of Chihiro as a little sister, and I never realized... that she actually had those kinds of feelings for me."

"However, it was precisely because I failed to realize these feelings in time that the students in Class C were able to exploit this loophole and threaten her into becoming an undercover agent."

Ichinose Honami spoke with a wry smile. For her, who regarded her classmates in Class B as treasures, dealing with this kind of relationship was indeed a bit of a dilemma. However, she remembered the conversation she had with Kitagawa Ryo when they were eating ramen, and in the end, she managed to politely reject him and resolve the matter.

"I'm very sorry about the last shopping trip. Due to personal reasons, I had to ask Kitagawa-kun to leave first."

Of Ichinose Honami had no idea that the entire shopping trip was planned by Kitagawa Ryo, and instead sincerely apologized:

"I was so agitated because I really didn't want to see the theft, and that's why I chose to talk to Kamuro alone."

"It's fine."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head:

"Let's make an appointment again next time we have time."

"Yes, I'm available anytime."

Ichinose Honami responded with a smile, seemingly having said what she wanted to say, and walked away from Kitagawa Ryo, intending to return to her cabin.

"Then I'll be going now, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Kitagawa Ryo watched Ichinose Honami's figure gradually disappear. He lowered his head, logged into an anonymous account on his phone, and scrolled to the bottom of his contacts list.

"Shiranami Chihiro".

The plan proceeded as scheduled. Kitagawa Ryo had long anticipated that, given Ichinose Honami's personality, she would definitely hold a class meeting, openly expose Shiranami Chihiro's betrayal of Class B, and then ask her about her grievances, thus helping her reintegrate into Class B.

However, what she didn't know was that Shiranami Chihiro actually had two secrets: one was that she liked Ichinose Honami, and the other was the recording of Ichinose Honami recounting her past.

Shiranami Chihiro naturally wouldn't choose to reveal Ichinose Honami's past in front of the whole class. After all, she chose to betray Shibata Sō in the first place to hide this fact. Therefore, Shiranami Chihiro only had one choice left: to expose the relatively easy-to-accept fact that she liked Ichinose Honami and replace the leverage she had against Class C with this fact.

Because he didn't want others to find out that he actually liked a girl, and that it was the class president Ichinose Honami, he was threatened and manipulated by Ryuen Kakeru Sho from Class C.

While the reason was somewhat far-fetched, it was still plausible. Moreover, given Ichinose Honami's personality, she had already planned to forgive him, since the unity of Class B was the most important thing. Going with the flow, Shiranami Chihiro successfully cleared her name and reintegrated into Class B.

[Only a spy who has regained trust like this can destroy Class B in one fell swoop.]

Kitagawa Ryo lowered his eyes and clicked on the other person's profile picture:

"So you didn't release that recording after all."

"So, you still want to keep Ichinose Honami's secret, right?"

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Music Continues, the Dance Continues

"I can't wait to swim on my private beach soon."

"Yes, yes, although there are swimming pools on cruise ships, the ocean is much more exhilarating!"

"I want to ride Jet Ski!"

Perhaps because their destination was so close, the First Year students' enthusiasm only increased on the second day of the cruise, as they enthusiastically discussed entertainment options once they arrived on the island.

Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School seems to have its own artificial island in the south. Just as the students could almost glimpse the outline of the island on the azure sea, the ship's loudspeaker suddenly blared:

"Attention all students. If you have time, please gather on the deck. We will soon see the island, and you will surely see some very interesting sights in a short time."

The ship suddenly broadcast this "strange" announcement. Most of the students didn't seem to mind at all. They were so focused on where to go and how to have fun that they cheered with great anticipation. However, the students in Class C tensed up immediately. The reason was that Kitagawa Ryo, who had just been chatting and laughing with Ryuen Kakeru, suddenly stopped smiling and put his right index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

"In a moment, I'll look to the east, and you look to the west."

Kitagawa Ryo whispered his instructions, and Ryuen Kakeru nodded with his hands in his pockets.

The school's reminder this time was too obvious. It wasn't just the two of them; it seemed that outstanding students from other classes also noticed the phrase "meaningful scenery."

A few minutes later, figures appeared on the island.

More students emerged from the cabins and gathered on the deck, causing a sudden crowd. Because Class C had arrived early and appeared to be a group of delinquents with fierce looks, few dared to push their way in. However, some aggressive male students from Class D appeared and pushed aside the Class D students who were occupying good spots.

"Hey, you're in the way. Get out of the way, you defective products."

A boy, while making a threatening gesture, shoved aside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's shoulder, who was standing there. The impact caused Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to stumble slightly, and he quickly grabbed the deck handrail to avoid falling.

The male students laughed contemptuously when they saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's vulnerable state.

"What you do!"

Sudo, who was originally standing at the front, immediately came over. Since he had earned 100 Class Points for the class, most students' impressions of him had changed. Of course, this was also because the students in Class D no longer had to pay points to Class C every month.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently slipped behind Sudo's broad back. Since the crisis in Class D was resolved, he had returned to his initial state of slacking off over the past two months, except...

"You all understand how this school is structured, right? This is a meritocratic school. Class D has no human rights. Flawed products should behave like flawed products. We are the noble Class A."

A boy from Class A spoke arrogantly, like a lackey. Kitagawa Ryo turned his gaze to the boy who had been spouting nonsense. Sudo was somewhat annoyed, but he had already heard the same thing on the first day of school. Back then, he had lost control and ended up causing great damage to Class D. Therefore, Sudo just frowned, using his strong physique to put pressure on the boy in front of him, while sending someone to call Karuizawa Kei or Hirata Yosuke, who were in charge of things in the class.

The standoff between the two classes immediately attracted the attention of other students. However, when they saw that the two sides facing off were Class A and Class D, most people lost interest. After all, no matter how you look at it, Class D is not even remotely comparable to Class A. If the gap in strength is too large, it is more like a one-sided "trolling" than a "standoff".

"Totsuka Yahiko from Class A? I remember you were at the bottom of Class A in both academics and sports, right? But maybe that's why Katsuragi considers you a confidant. After all, it's easy to discard you afterward without feeling any regret."

Before Karuizawa Kei Hirata Yosuke arrived, Horikita Suzune, standing to the side, spoke sharply first. In the past two months, the girl had deeply understood the importance of information, so she not only recognized the boy's identity immediately, but also gave him a sarcastic remark. However, unlike her sharp remarks, Horikita Suzune seemed to lack some energy, but because Class D had been intentionally isolating her recently, no one noticed.

Totsuka Yahiko was hit where it hurt by Horikita Suzune's words and was about to retort when the members of Class A arrived first. The man in the lead had a physique that did not look like a high school student at all. He had a square face and a calm expression, but what was most eye-catching was his shiny bald head.

"Enough, Yahiko. I sent you here to negotiate, not to provoke us."

The man first reprimanded Totsuka Yahiko, then stepped forward and introduced himself:

"I am Katsuragi Kohei from Class A. I am very sorry for what happened just now. Class A had no Malice towards Class D, so I hope you will not take it to heart."

"That's right, after all, it's the prestigious Class A. Our Class D isn't worth even a second thought."