The Tsundere Sakayanagi

Beep! Beep! Beep! The phone rang.

"Moshi! Moshi!"

"You're quite capable, Nagami-san."

"To be able to drive Class A and Class C into a corner—even I would find that difficult. If I didn't lack the points, I'd almost want to buy you over to Class A."

Due to her health, Sakayanagi could not handle the rocking of the yacht on the sea and did not join this summer trip, forced to micromanage from home.

"Thanks for the compliment, little princess. When will you transfer the final payment? After all, in this school, points can buy anything."

"How heartless. I feel looked down upon. Once Class A is unified, I'll show you the true strength of Class A. I won't show any mercy then."

"Then I'll wait and see. But before that, let's settle the bill first."

Nagami spoke with his usual confidence.

"I hope you can bring me more surprises next time we meet."

With that, Sakayanagi hung up the phone.

"Always such a tsundere little princess."

After hanging up, Nagami looked at the scenery outside the window, thinking silently to himself.

"The beauty of life isn't in the pursuit itself, but in enjoying life during the process of pursuing. Points aren't the goal; what matters is the process of chasing them!"

I really am quite the philosopher.

The notification sound for the arrival of 50,000 points rang out.

"Time to get paid, boys!"

Nagami headed toward the restaurant with his earned points. Although most food was provided for free, a small portion of desserts required payment, especially the Macau Secret Portuguese Egg Tart, which was Nagami's favorite.

Passing by the pool, he saw a lively scene. Many Class D students were playing in the water, the splashes sparkling with crystalline light under the sun. Koenji was swimming rapidly as if no one else were there, his arms cutting through the water with speed.

On a lounge chair by the shallow end, Horikita was focused on her book, comfortably enjoying the caress of the sun.

At this moment, Kushida was still trying hard to get close to Horikita to build a relationship, but Horikita wore an expression of disgust and dodged to the side.

"Talk about a hot face pressed against a cold butt, little Kushida."

Nagami couldn't help but stop and watch for a while, because the figure Kushida revealed in her light red swimsuit was too eye-catching; even a sigma male like Nagami had to appreciate it for a moment.

After saying that, he headed toward the restaurant. The laughter from the pool behind him gradually faded, but that vibrant atmosphere seemed to be imprinted on the path he walked.

The fragrance of eggs and sugar mixed together wafted toward him, and the crispy, multi-layered crust made a faint sound of shattering with every bite.

Upon entering his mouth, he felt the soft elasticity of the filling—eggs, cream, milk, and sugar mixed in a golden ratio to create a unique flavor. Sweet but not cloying; that is the highest praise for a dessert.

The Macau Secret Portuguese Egg Tart truly lived up to its reputation.

"Special announcement, special announcement. We hereby notify all students that a special exam is about to begin. Please check the emails on your mobile phones."

"Please act immediately according to the instructions on your phones."

Hearing the broadcast on the yacht, Nagami felt displeased, his enjoyment of the food interrupted.

Soon after, the vibration of phones receiving messages began to sound.

[Please head to Room 504 by 18:00 today. No tardiness, early departures, or leave requests allowed.]

"The school really doesn't give us any time to rest. It's nerve-wracking."

After finishing his egg tart, Nagami immediately went to the gym to sweat it out. Muscles are the kind of thing that will atrophy if you don't train for three days; the human body is quite lazy.

Not to mention the seven days of hunger and lack of supplies on the uninhabited island, where his body weight had plummeted. Upon returning to the yacht, he immediately started his heavy-weight training plan.

"I have to train hard in this free, empty gym, otherwise I won't have the chance later."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A 100kg barbell for deadlifts slammed violently onto the floor; this was merely a simple warm-up.

Looking in the mirror, Nagami couldn't help but strike a standard Olympia arm pose to admire his own muscles.

I am so beautiful.

"Oh no, don't tell me I've been infected by Beautiful Guy."

17:50, 10 minutes before the special exam. Having finished his exhausting day, Master Nagami entered the designated Room 504.

"Oh, Ayanokoji, Karuizawa, Yukimura. All from Class D. What a coincidence."

"Why am I stuck with you lot? You're not even worth a single hair on Hirata-kun."

(It's rare to see a couple who still refer to each other by their surnames from the start of school until now. Even acquaintances wouldn't be this distant.)

(Could it be a fake couple? Either Hirata is too popular and adopted this strategy to reject confessions, or the gyaru is running a scheme to build a persona.)

No matter how you look at it, Karuizawa is just using Hirata's reputation to bluff.

"Ah, how mean, Karuizawa-san. We still have to get along for the upcoming exam, don't we?"

Smiling on the outside while cursing on the inside, Nagami couldn't be bothered to argue with the brat.

"Hurry and take your seats, the special exam is about to begin."

Class A homeroom teacher Mashima said.

18:00 The exam officially begins.

"I will now explain the rules for this exam. This exam will not be conducted on a class-by-class basis. The school will select 12 students from Classes A, B, C, and D to form a group, for a total of 12 groups.

There are cards placed in front of you with the rules for this VIP Exam written on them; please take a look."

(Not by class? Could it be testing our ability to think? According to my recent call with Horikita Manabu, the school follows three principles when holding special exams: physical ability, teamwork, and critical thinking.)

(For a makeshift group like this, teamwork is the first thing to be ruled out.)

"The VIPs will be announced via email tomorrow at eight o'clock. The VIPs are not chosen randomly; they follow a specific pattern."

"Each group will have only one VIP, and the VIP themselves cannot email the school to reveal their identity."

Mashima said.

In other words, the goal of this exam is to identify the VIP hidden within your own group.

Nagami carefully studied the rules on the card in his hand.

(There must be some hidden clues or logical loopholes in this.)

(With 12 groups and 4 classes, there are on average 3 VIPs per class. As core leaders of the class, Hirata or Kushida will surely know who the VIPs within their class are immediately.)

(Then, by finding the pattern between the class VIPs and their group connections, whoever discovers the school's logic first will gain the upper hand.)

"How are we even supposed to play this nonsensical exam!"

After reading the contents of the card, Karuizawa couldn't help but mutter under her breath. Clearly, her intelligence couldn't handle the complex rules, while Ayanokoji remained indifferent, looking as if he had everything under control.

"Quiet down, let's analyze the existing conditions carefully first."

Yukimura adjusted his glasses and said sternly.

"Is that all? Doesn't seem that difficult."

Nagami's bold statement drew Ayanokoji's attention.

Ayanokoji frowned slightly, wondering if this guy was being too complacent.

Nagami, however, didn't care about the gazes of those around him and continued to analyze the rules.

"Since the VIPs aren't chosen randomly, it must be related to some attribute we each possess. Perhaps it's our academic ranking or some indicator from the entrance exam."

Nagami said to himself.

"If it were that easy to guess, wouldn't this exam be too simple?"

Yukimura couldn't help but speak up.

"Of course it won't be that simple. But as long as we start investigating various possibilities, we will eventually find a breakthrough."

Nagami smiled.

Everyone fell into deep thought after hearing this.

"I'm going to find Hirata, you guys can think about it slowly."

Karuizawa snorted impatiently.