Can Skip

Faced with the students' rising doubts and loss of composure, Hoshinomiya-sensei still wore her trademark sweet smile, but her eyes held an unmistakable certainty.

"Yes~ (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧" She clasped her hands together and nodded playfully, her voice light but clear enough to rise above the commotion. "You can't return to the ship during the exam unless you have a valid reason! You'll be making a home for yourselves on this adorable little island~ From finding a place to sleep to preparing delicious food, you'll have to use those clever little brains of yours to figure everything out!"

She ticked the items off on her fingers, as if listing the school's "generous" provisions:

"The school will give you a little help to get started: each class will receive two tents~ two flashlights~ and a box of little matches for starting fires and cooking!" She gestured as she spoke. "As for sunscreen, it'll be supplied without limit to protect everyone's delicate skin! (´▽`ʃƪ) Toothbrushes, one per person, so take good care of your teeth~" Her gaze swept over the girls, and her tone grew more considerate. "As a special accommodation, feminine hygiene products will also be supplied without limit! If you need any, just discreetly tell your homeroom teacher! And that's all~☆"

Those final words fell lightly, but struck everyone like a boulder. They meant that aside from those items, the school wouldn't provide so much as a slice of bread or a drop of water!

"What the hellllll—!!!" Kanji Ike's howl instantly shattered the tenuous calm on the beach. He sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, flailing his arms as his face turned bright red. "Are you kidding me?! Real deserted-island survival? This isn't some shonen manga! Two tents? Who's supposed to sleep in those? What are we supposed to eat? What are we supposed to drink?! This is impossible! Absolutely impossible! I don't believe it!!!" He shouted himself hoarse, as if he could yell this absurd reality into pieces.

The scenes he'd pictured—hunting wild animals, bathing in a river, making wooden beds by hand—were things that only happened in movies. And now they were supposed to be part of their "exam"? It was absurd!

Yet the sweet smile on Hoshinomiya-sensei's face didn't waver in the slightest. She showed no sign of "correcting her joke."

"You don't believe it?" She tilted her head, her tone tinged with innocent confusion. "That's only because you haven't traveled far enough or seen enough of the world yet~ ヽ(•̀ω•́ )ゝ" She held up a finger and spoke earnestly. "In fact, there are major corporations that really do throw their employees onto deserted islands for a 'trial by love'! And they're the kind of super-impressive companies the whole world knows about! They use this sort of thing to train their talent!"

"Th-that's completely different!" Ike was at a loss for words, his face turning even redder as he struggled to argue back. "Those circumstances are too unusual! They're an exception! This is a school! It's an exam! This is ridiculous! Absolutely impossible!"

"Enough!" A cold rebuke cut off Ike's tirade.

Chabashira Sae stood with her arms crossed, her gaze sharp as a blade. "If you keep making a scene, you'll only embarrass yourself further. What Hoshinomiya-sensei said is only part of reality." Her voice wasn't loud, but its immense pressure silenced Ike at once. "The world is vast, and full of strange things. Offices without chairs, companies that decide salaries with dice... Reality is always broader and more complicated than your impoverished imaginations." She gave Ike a cold look, then fixed her gaze on his face and delivered her verdict. "You're the one who can't tell what's real and what isn't."

Since their homeroom teacher had said it, she must have had her reasons. Now it really was impossible to tell what was real.

Though Chabashira had silenced him, the students' discontent hadn't faded. Suppressed murmurs and resentful looks rippled through the crowd.

"Sensei!" A relatively calm voice rang out. It belonged to a student from another class. "Even for corporate training, they wouldn't trick people into coming here under the pretense of a 'vacation' and then put them through this, would they? Isn't that fraud?" This argument, grounded in "common sense," struck right at the heart of the issue.

"Mhm~ You make a very good point! (｀・ω・´)" This time, Hoshinomiya-sensei didn't argue. Instead, she nodded in agreement, her expression softening a little. She understood the students' anger at having been deceived. "You're right about that. I completely understand why you're all upset~"

Ike's outburst had come from panic about survival, while this student's question challenged the school's conduct itself. These were two very different kinds of "discontent."

"But~ there's no need to worry!" Hoshinomiya-sensei changed her tune, her voice brightening again as she spread her arms wide. "If this exam forced you into a hellish training course, then of course it would deserve criticism! But—" She deliberately drew out the word and winked. "Even though it's called a 'Special Exam,' you don't have to imagine it as something scary or complicated!"

She painted an enticing picture for them. "For the next week, you can swim and play in the sparkling blue sea~ You can have a delicious barbecue party on the beach~ And at night, you can gather around a bonfire and share stories and laughter with your friends! (◕‿◕✿)" She opened her arms as if to embrace the blue sky and sea. "The theme of this Special Exam is—'freedom'! ヾ(●ω●)ノ"

"Huh? Freedom? An exam... freedom?" One student was completely baffled, his thoughts all tied in knots. "We can play? We can have a barbecue? Then... is this even an exam? I'm going to... need to use my brain..." The ideas of carefree play and a serious exam collided violently, leaving the students more confused than ever.

"That's right!" Hoshinomiya-sensei nodded emphatically, her smile radiant. "As your ticket to this Uninhabited Island Adventure, first of all—" She raised her voice. "Each class will receive three hundred super-precious points that can only be used for the exam! As long as you make good use of them, you can enjoy the week just like a real dream vacation! And to help you make your wishes come true, we've thoughtfully prepared a nice, thick guidebook~ (ง •̀_•́)ง"

She took the booklet, dozens of pages thick, from the teacher beside her and held it up high, giving it a wave.

"This 'Magic Manual' lists all the goodies you can exchange your points for! Drinking water and delicious food, the necessities of life, are a given~" She opened the booklet and quickly ran her finger down the page. "Want to have a barbecue? We've got a complete grill set and fresh ingredients! Want to play in the water? We have everything from snorkeling gear to surfboards! And if you want to throw a little beach party, we've got that covered too! (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧"

As she described all the tempting possibilities, the students' tense expressions finally began to crack. Their seriousness gave way to curiosity and a hint of anticipation.

So they really could "buy" anything with points?

"So..." one student asked cautiously, "as long as we spend points, we can get anything we want? Like at a resort?"

"Bingo! That's right! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧" Hoshinomiya-sensei playfully snapped her fingers. "As long as you plan carefully and budget wisely, spending a relaxing, enjoyable week here is totally possible! Of course, it's still an exam, so you'll have to follow a few basic rules for living together," she said with a wave of her hand, as casually as if she were explaining the rules of a game. "But don't worry~ They're all very easy to follow, nothing difficult at all!"

"Then... would it really be okay if we just played for the whole week?" Another student still found it hard to believe.

"Of course—it'd be fine!" Hoshinomiya-sensei drew out the cute little ending. "I told you, it's 'freedom'! How you want to spend your time is entirely up to you! (◕‿◕✿)"

Just as the students were nearly won over by this vision of a "free vacation" and the atmosphere began to ease, Hoshinomiya-sensei suddenly changed tack and dropped the real bombshell:

"Oh, right, right! There's one more very important thing I need to tell you—" Her voice carried a hint of mysterious excitement. "When this Special Exam ends, whatever points each class has left will all, without a single point missing—" She paused deliberately as the students held their breath. "Be added to your Class Points! This big reward will officially take effect after summer vacation ends! ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ"

A sudden sea breeze swept over the scorching beach, kicking up fine sand that stung the students' faces and legs.

Hoshinomiya-sensei's announcement swept through everyone's minds like the wind, delivering the strongest shock of the day!

"Points... added to our Class Points...?" someone murmured after a brief silence.

"So that means... if we can hold back from spending them, or spend very little..." another voice continued, trembling with disbelief.

"Starting next month... our personal points... will skyrocket?!" A feverish light erupted in Kanji Ike's eyes. His earlier panic was replaced by overwhelming greed, and his voice broke with excitement!

"Each class only gets one manual!" Hoshinomiya-sensei added at just the right moment, giving the booklet a shake. "You can get a replacement if you lose it, but you'll have to pay points for that, so protect it carefully, like a treasure! (｀・ω・´)" She paused, her tone taking on a hint of appropriate regret. "Also, the classmate who couldn't come this time because she wasn't feeling well is from Class B... According to the rules, withdrawing from the exam costs thirty points. So, students in Class B, do your best! Your adventure starts at two hundred and seventy points! (◞‸◟)"