You don't want your year-end bonus deducted, do you?

In the afternoon, Ayanokoji woke Hirata from his deep sleep in the tent, preparing to find someone to help him support Hirata toward the cruise ship.

He poked his head out of the tent and scanned the surroundings.

Ugh...

You'll do, Ike!

Seeing you looking like a man of unappreciated talent, I'll offer you some enlightenment.

With that, Ayanokoji called over Ike, who was sulking by the stream.

Then, the two of them supported the injured Hirata together and began walking toward the cruise ship.

"Don't you think Ayanokoji and Ike have been getting pretty close lately?"

Yamauchi said abruptly to Sudo, who was standing beside him.

"Well, I noticed that a long time ago. Is that guy getting tired of hanging out with us or something?"

There was a hint of resentment in Sudo's voice.

"Well, children have to leave their parents eventually when they grow up."

"? Then I guess I'm the father?"

"You're a 'man-mom,' you know."

"..."

Shortly after, the two slackers were called back by the girls to help build the bathroom.

With Horikita supervising nearby, Sudo worked exceptionally hard today.

"Sudo-kun, are you an Ox?"

Wang Meiyu, who hailed from the Dragon Kingdom, couldn't help but ask as she watched him sweating profusely.

"What do you mean by 'an Ox'?"

Sudo asked, confused.

"...It just means you work very... impressively."

Wang Meiyu was a bit surprised for a moment. She had accidentally discovered during a chat with Ayanokoji earlier that he understood the Chinese zodiac, so she had assumed that people in Japan were all familiar with it.

"Oh... oh, thanks."

Sudo said, feeling a bit embarrassed, and seized the opportunity to glance at Horikita's profile from the side.

Catching this scene, a look of having "spilled the tea" appeared on Wang Meiyu's face.

In the forest, Ayanokoji was walking with Ike, with the injured Hirata supported between them.

"Sorry, Ike, because of me, the class is going to lose 30 points."

"Well, it's not like I was counting on having many points left anyway," Ike said with a hint of resentment.

He had originally thought his wilderness survival skills would come in handy during this exam, helping the class save some points while letting him have his moment to shine.

He hadn't expected that, in the end, they would still spend a massive amount of points on food, water, and temporary toilets.

Although this was a unanimous decision, he still felt a sense of regret and unwillingness in his heart.

"Sigh."

He let out a subtle sigh. If only the people in the class could understand him.

If they could have fought for more points during this exam, he might have had his living expenses for next month sorted out...

Ayanokoji walked silently on the other side, having long since noticed that Ike had been feeling down for the past two days because he couldn't show off his skills.

He already had an idea in mind, and Ike's current state of mind fit his plan perfectly.

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?

Before long, they arrived at the shore where the cruise ship was docked.

The beach was a mess, covered in the filth left behind by Ryuen.

Since points wouldn't be deducted for rule violations once a class hit zero, Ryuen had held this beach party without a single care in the world.

The three of them crossed the beach and arrived beneath the cruise ship.

They could faintly hear the sounds of Class C having fun on the ship.

"Tch, they're certainly carefree," Ike said, venting his frustration on others.

Hirata smiled at him upon hearing this, then reached out to tap the help button on his wristband.

Not long after, Chabashira Sae walked down from the cruise ship.

"As expected. Congratulations, you have become the first class to have a dropout."

Can't you speak without being sarcastic?

Ayanokoji slightly raised his eyelids, looking at Chabashira with a weary expression, and said:

"Teacher, Hirata is the leader."

"I recall that if there are special circumstances, the leader can be changed, right?"

"Oh? That is indeed the case."

Chabashira said with a look of interest.

"Have you decided who will become the leader? If you have, take the key card and come with me; we need to update the information to the next leader."

She tilted her head to gesture toward an office on the beach.

"Yeah."

Ayanokoji took Hirata's key card out of his pocket and nodded, saying:

"I'll go with you. Ike, you help Hirata onto the ship."

"...Oh."

Ike responded, then supported Hirata as they walked step by step toward the cruise ship.

Ayanokoji followed Chabashira to the service point.

"Oh? Are you sure it's him?"

Chabashira confirmed with Ayanokoji for the second time.

"Yeah."

Upon receiving the affirmative reply, a look of confusion appeared on Chabashira's face.

"Ayanokoji, you remember what I told you before, right?"

A sharp glint flashed in the corner of her eyes.

Ayanokoji glanced at the staff member nearby, blinked slowly, and said coldly:

"I've said it before, I only act according to my own will."

Chabashira looked into his empty, hollow pupils, her expression turning grave.

"By the way, I want to buy something..."

In the next second, Ayanokoji changed the subject, holding up the key card with the updated information.

When Chabashira heard the item he wanted to purchase, her expression became even more solemn.

"Ayanokoji, the ship doesn't have everything!"

She said with a hint of helplessness.

"Uh... the rules say so anyway..."

"Teacher, you wouldn't want to be penalized for violating the rules, would you? I heard the school's year-end bonus assessment is quite strict."

"You..." Chabashira's face darkened further; she was clearly getting anxious.

"I will try my best to find it for you, but you had better not let me down."

"That's hard to say."

Ayanokoji replied indifferently.

Chabashira snorted coldly, deducted 2 private points from the key card, and returned it to him.

A few minutes later, she handed the item Ayanokoji requested to him.

"Hmm, still quite efficient, aren't you?"

Ayanokoji teased her with one last remark, unlocking a new expression of annoyance on the homeroom teacher's face, and then he left the school's service point with satisfaction.

While waiting for Ike to return, he walked over to a base on the beach that he had noticed earlier on the way.

He tentatively pressed his key card against it.

As expected, a non-leader cannot capture a base.

He laid the card flat on a rock, took out the paint can and brush he had just bought from Chabashira—which matched the color of the key card—dipped the brush, and completely painted over the name on the card.

After smoothing it out, he examined it carefully for a while.

...It was a bit off, but not a major issue.

This sense of incongruity was only apparent to someone like him who had seen the full appearance of the key card; those who hadn't looked at it closely would basically never notice the trick.

Because of the importance of the key card, the cautious Hirata had almost never taken it out in front of others, so no one else in Class D besides him had seen the thing up close.

Uh... not bad.

Quite artistic.

Ayanokoji gave his "work" a high rating.

Since Horikita wanted insurance, he would give her double insurance.

Watching Ike walking slowly toward him in the distance with a gloomy face.

His thoughts surged.

The layout of the entire chessboard had already sprung to life in his mind.