Flowers and Stars

Hashimoto Masayoshi also wore an expression of utter grief and indignation. For him, the Uninhabited Island Exam was no longer important. In the few dozen seconds he returned to the cave, he had already been subjected to all sorts of stares. The thought that Kamuro Masumi break on the spot.

However, his legs were now so weak that he couldn't go to the toilet by himself, so he had to be held by Katsuragi Kohei and Totsuka Yahiko, one on each side of his arm.

"These symptoms look like those of acute dysentery."

Totsuka Yahiko cast an admiring glance at Katsuragi Kohei, who had spoken up. As expected of Katsuragi, he was able to analyze the situation without being affected even under these circumstances.

"Did you eat anything that wasn't right?"

"Today I just... ate the school's set meal."

Hashimoto Masayoshi's eyes were dead; his dull eyes looked at his trembling legs, and a twisted smile appeared on his face.

"The package deal... those must be supplies delivered by Class C."

"I know! Class C must have tampered with the exam, trying to make our members withdraw due to illness and deduct their Special Exam Points!"

Totsuka Yahiko nearby, immediately voiced his opinion.

"Would Class C really do something so obvious? And so far, only Hashimoto has been feeling unwell."

Katsuragi Kohei also offered his opinion, and the two of them surprisingly began to have a heated discussion amidst the pattering rain.

"Um... what should I do?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi weakly raised his hand:

"I remember there's a medical room on the cruise ship, can I go back?"

"But this will deduct thirty points."

Totsuka Yahiko instinctively retorted, turning his head to look at Katsuragi Kohei:

"What is Katsuragi thinking?"

"Let's investigate this thoroughly first."

Katsuragi Kohei replied in this way, and then raised his voice and shouted into the cave:

"Hashimoto only ate a set meal today. Are there any other classmates who ate the same thing as him experiencing any discomfort?"

"Ah... now that you mention it, my stomach hurts a little too."

Another boy staggered to his feet and ran into another makeshift toilet. Kamuro Masumi stared wide-eyed in disbelief; she hadn't drugged him either.

"I also feel a bit uncomfortable in my stomach..."

"Don't scare me!"

"How come I'm alright?"

What Kamuro Masumi didn't realize was that everyone was originally a sixteen or seventeen-year-old high school student, and their physical condition was bound to vary. Not every student in Class A could seamlessly adapt to life on Uninhabited Island. They didn't sleep well in the cave, and after Katsuragi Kohei finished negotiating with Kitagawa Ryo yesterday, he intentionally didn't exchange for food, but just had everyone find some fruit to get through the next day. As a result, one or two people did have minor stomach problems. It wasn't a big deal, but Katsuragi Kohei's words led them to unconsciously give themselves a psychological suggestion, as if their stomachs were really hurting.

Is there something wrong with the meal plan?

"Those guys in Class C are definitely capable of doing something like this."

"We can report this to the teacher, right? This is already an attack."

The other students in Class A also started to complain. Although it seemed that only Hashimoto Masayoshi was seriously ill at the moment, they were just being prepared. What if there was really a problem with the meal plan and they ended up like that tomorrow? After all, there were only two temporary toilets in the class, and damaging the Uninhabited Island environment would result in points being deducted.

"I remember there was some medicine for diarrhea in the supplies, should we go look for it?"

Just as the scene was becoming chaotic, with one group shouting for the teacher to arbitrate and another group discussing what to do about Hashimoto Masayoshi, a sentence suddenly came out from the crowd.

Only then did everyone realize that the most urgent task was to protect Hashimoto Masayoshi. If he withdrew from the exam due to illness, Class A would lose thirty Class Points for nothing. Thinking of this, several boys began to rummage through the supplies behind the cave.

"Found it! Found it!"

Not long after, a boy ran back with the medicine.

"Is the medicine okay? Wasn't it delivered by Class C?"

Katsuragi Kohei suspiciously took the medicine box and glanced at it.

"No problem, they're all unopened, those guys in Class C can't tamper with them."

The boy patted his chest confidently.

Katsuragi Kohei glanced at the instructions on the medicine box again, opened it again to check, and found nothing unusual. He quickly had someone bring water and fed it to Hashimoto Masayoshi, who could no longer stand. Others who said they felt unwell also took one as a precaution.

"Katsuragi, what should we do next?"

Seeing that Hashimoto had taken their medicine, Totsuka Yahiko also came over and asked.

"Should we have the school officials come over? We need to at least confirm whether these supplies have really been tampered with. After all, Hashimoto- kun only ate this today. I personally think there's a high chance that Class C tampered with them."

"Doesn't this expose our deal with Class C?"

"No problem. Our transaction with Class C is guaranteed by a contract, and the validity of the contract comes from the school. There's no conflict at all."

Totsuka Yahiko had figured out the relationship, and he whispered to Katsuragi Kohei:

"If there are any problems, we can immediately eliminate Class C; if there are no problems, it will put the class at ease."

Seemingly moved by Totsuka Yahiko's words, Katsuragi Kohei nodded. After this incident, some members of Class A were indeed feeling uneasy. If the safety of the supplies could be confirmed, it would give everyone a boost of confidence.

Katsuragi Kohei's appeal received a response quickly. Soon after, the homeroom teachers of classes A, B, C, and D, along with seven or eight school staff members, arrived at Class A's camp. Class A's homeroom teacher Mashima Tomoya, frowned and asked:

"Katsuragi, what happened?"

Katsuragi Kohei immediately took out the contract he had previously signed with Class C from his pocket and spoke in a humble yet assertive manner:

"On the first day of the Special Exam, Class A signed a contract with Class C. Class A would spend one million Private Points per month, Class C would donate the supplies obtained by redeeming Special Exam Points to Class A. However, today we suspect that Class C tampered with the supplies, causing many students in Class A to experience physical discomfort."

"Katsuragi, right? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to slander his class without any evidence?"

Class C's Sakagami Kazuma, adjusted his glasses and took a step forward. Although he was not as large as Katsuragi Kohei, he showed no intention of backing down.

"Class C's supplies were all obtained through exchanges with the school, so how could there be a problem?"

"We'll have to wait until the school has inspected it before we can say anything."

Katsuragi Kohei was not intimidated by the fact that the other party was a teacher. Seeing his confidence, the homeroom teacher of Class A let school staff go in to check the supplies.

As for the homeroom teachers of Classes Class B and Class D, since it involves Classes Class A and Class C, it has nothing to do with them...

Hoshinomiya Chie of Class B, who was just watching the spectacle, suddenly noticed Chabashira Sae teacher of Class D, approaching. Before she could react, Chabashira Sae had already walked up to Katsuragi Kohei:

"What a coincidence! Just a few hours ago, some students in my class also reported an incident involving Class A. They said that after encountering students from my class, students from Class A used violence to seize supplies that originally belonged to Class D."

Katsuragi Kohei never expected Class D to get involved. He frowned and asked:

"Since Class Teacher Chabashira says so, then may I ask what supplies Class A actually seized from Class D?"

"Well, it's hard to say until we find out. Maybe they just misremembered, but it seems like they did say there was a little less..."

Chabashira Sae gestured for him to look at the document in his hand. It was still a contract, with the same format as the one signed by Class A and Class C yesterday, but the two parties involved had changed to Class A and Class D.

"Medicine."

Chabashira Sae awaited Katsuragi Kohei's reply. She didn't really know what Class D was doing, but since Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had asked her to do it, there must be a reason.

Katsuragi Kohei watched the school staff who had already entered the cave to inventory and inspect the supplies, a chilling fact suddenly came to mind:

It seems that the supplies Kitagawa Ryo provided in the contract did not include medicine.

Rather, it was precisely because the other party listed such a long and detailed list that he became less wary.

So... whose drug did Class A use just now?

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, has Class B used any points to exchange for medicine?"

In a split second, Katsuragi Kohei's mind raced, and he quickly asked Hoshinomiya.

"This is a class secret, you can't answer that."

Hoshinomiya smiled and refused Katsuragi Kohei's question.

[If a student commits acts of violence, looting, vandalism, or theft of equipment against other classes, the class to which the student belongs will be immediately disqualified, and all Private Points of the student will be confiscated.]

The strictest rules of the Uninhabited Island Exam immediately came to Katsuragi Kohei's mind.

He looked tremblingly at the contract in his hand; Class D had even already signed it, like a trap waiting for him to fall into.

[Class 1-A is transferring materials worth 200 Special Exam Points (not secondhand) to Class 1-D]

The next sentence, which was completely at odds with his words, made Katsuragi Kohei gasp for breath, and he almost fainted on the spot:

[Class 1-D transfers medication (excluding cold medicine) worth ten Special Exam Points to Class 1-A]

The update will be a little late tonight.

The elderly person was discharged from the hospital today. The discharge procedures took half a day; everyone can check back tomorrow morning.

Speaking of which, "Classroom of the Elite" should premiere tonight, right? Anyone who's seen it, please comment. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I heard they changed the twelve zodiac animal groups to the solar system? It seems the production team is really planning to stick with the first season's setting of 25 students per class.

Chapter Thirty-One: Flowers and Stars

Why is Kitagawa here?

Hirata Yosuke looked at Kitagawa Ryo with some surprise as he strolled leisurely into the Class D camp. It was nearly dusk on the second day of the Special Exam, and he was grilling the fish he had caught. He had no idea that there were still people left in the Class C. After all, he and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had seen the Class C board the ship and abandon the exam that morning.

"I have my reasons for staying here. For example, how about we have a friendly collaboration with your Class D?"

Kitagawa Ryo was just about to find a place to sit down when Hiraiyoshi Yosuke arrived first with a cushion made of stacked plastic bags, and even had someone pour him a cup of hot water.

"I'm sorry, the conditions are a bit basic."

It must be said that Hirata Yosuke's interpersonal skills were impeccable. While instructing the other Class D students who had gathered to go back to their work, he spoke earnestly:

"Most of the students in the class haven't returned yet. If you're not in a hurry, Kitagawa, could you wait a little while?"

"Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo, having taken the hot water, casually glanced around Class D's camp. Indeed, many familiar faces were missing, such as Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune. Even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that Hirata Yosuke was the only one who could currently take charge.

"If it's urgent, Kitagawa-kun, you can tell me what you want to say first, and I'll relay it to you, how about that?"

Seeing Kitagawa Ryo looking around, Hirata Yosuke assumed he had something important to do.

"Well, actually there's no problem telling you, since you'll have to know eventually anyway."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded slightly and said:

"In fact, before this Special Exam even began, Karuizawa and I had already devised a collaborative plan."

"Cooperation? Does that refer to Class C and Class D?"

Hirata Yosuke asked thoughtfully:

"But I had never heard of this before."

"Because at that time, the specific content of the Special Exam and the specific methods of cooperation could not be determined."

Kitagawa Ryo took a sip of the hot water in the cup. The cup was made of hollowed-out bamboo, and although it was a bit rough, it was still usable.

"But the conflict between Class D and Class C..."

Hirata Yosuke still couldn't quite understand. Ever since the Sudo incident at the beginning of the semester, Class C had never stopped attacking Class D, and had even been responsible for the expulsion of four students from Class D during the midterm exams. Moreover, Hirata Yosuke didn't think that Class D was qualified to cooperate with Class C. After all, the class points were already 600 points higher than Class C's. From any perspective, Class C would not seek cooperation from Class D.

"That's why I think Class C and Class D need to start their relationship anew."

Kitagawa Ryo explained:

"The reason Class C targeted Class D before was because Classes C and D were direct competitors. If Class D wanted to be promoted, it had to challenge Class C. But now Class C is about to become Class B. Once Classes B and C complete their transfer, Class C and Class D will no longer have a direct conflict of interest."

"Besides, now all the debts that Class D pays each month have been transferred to Class B, and the four students who dropped out Midterm Exam... I even think it's a good thing for Class D, right?"

Hirata Yosuke recalled the constant arguments and low efficiency in the class during the Special Exam these past two days, and then, following Kitagawa Ryo's words, he thought about what would have happened if Yamauchi and Ike were still in the class at this time—well, Hirata Yosuke was beginning to think that Kitagawa Ryo's words made a lot of sense.

"So, how can Class D cooperate with Class C?"

It can be roughly divided into two parts.

Kitagawa Ryo held up two fingers:

"Has Karuizawa been withholding his Special Exam Points these past few days?"

"... Yes, quite a few classmates already have opinions about her."

Hirata Yosuke replied with a wry smile:

"Even now, Class D doesn't have a shower room. If this can't be resolved tonight, they might start arguing."