Sawahara's Plan

"Our class will be forfeiting this special exam entirely."

Sawahara announced this to the members of his class.

"This..." The students looked at one another, many feeling that this was a poor decision, especially since it was an opportunity to gain a large amount of Class Points just by enduring for a week.

"I'll give you one hour. You can choose supplies worth one hundred Private Points from this catalog, spend the day having fun at the beach, and return directly to the ship tonight."

Sawahara gave the order directly.

"Sawahara-kun..." Kaneda looked at Sawahara, unable to understand why he, who had been actively preparing for the exam until now, would suddenly say such a thing.

"Kaneda, Shiina, Ryuen will explain it to you later." Sawahara knew they would have questions, but Ryuen should already be clear on his plan.

"Just assist Ryuen in managing the class; I have some other matters to attend to.

Mashima-sensei, please accompany me. I'm afraid I'll need you to step in later."

Mashima nodded in agreement; as long as it helped the class, he rarely refused a request from his students.

"Ibuki, after we disperse, follow the Class A group. You don't need to stay too close, but remember to leave marks along the way using this."

While Mashima was explaining the rules, Sawahara quietly assigned a task to Ibuki.

Because he wanted to avoid being overheard, Sawahara leaned in close to her ear, which startled her; his warm breath caused her ears to flush red.

Even though some time had passed, the memory of that moment still made her feel somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.

Huff, what am I thinking? I almost lost them. Ibuki patted her cheeks to snap herself out of it, dropped a button on the ground, and continued walking forward.

This was the item Sawahara had given her to use as a marker. Since the teachers would strictly inspect their luggage when boarding the island, they couldn't carry much, so Sawahara had simply ripped the buttons off the shirt he was wearing.

There weren't many, but since the main group was mostly following man-made paths, markers were only needed at forks and turns, so it was barely enough.

Following in the footsteps of Class A, the distance to the beach grew ever greater, and she only had two buttons left in her hand. However, the good news was that Class A had stopped moving, though there was also bad news.

"You're from Class C, aren't you? It's really been hard on you to follow us all this way, but this is as far as you go." Hashimoto Masayoshi looked at Ibuki with a smile, blocking her path. He had two other boys with him; one was looking at Ibuki, while the other was staring intently at Hashimoto.

"Hah? What makes you think I'm following you? Move aside, don't block the road." Ibuki's expression turned ugly. She felt both annoyed and anxious—annoyed at her own carelessness in being discovered by Class A, and anxious because the main Class A group was already moving further away, making it difficult to catch up.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss."

"Are you puzzled by my decision, Sensei?" Following the marks Ibuki had left behind, Sawahara walked toward the depths of the island, not forgetting to chat with Mashima-sensei along the way.

"A little, perhaps. I believe that with your ability, you could have significantly increased the class's points in this exam." Mashima nodded; it was a pity to give up such a good opportunity to earn Class Points.

"Perhaps, but there are too many uncertain factors."

Sawahara did not deny it. If they took the exam seriously and used Class D's special exam points to survive, they would save three hundred points from their own, plus the eight strongholds he had already discovered, which would be another hundred-plus points. Later, by guessing the leaders, he could obtain information on at least two other classes' leaders.

"Not to mention whether any students in the class might have health issues leading to point deductions, whether someone might betray the class, or whether the leaders might be discovered by other classes—all these must be considered.

I prefer to hunt the biggest prey from the very beginning.

Class D's special exam points are being sold at a premium of 1.5 million Private Points per month.

With that information, Sensei, how many points do you think Class A would pay to buy our class's points?"

Mashima understood Sawahara's idea. "At least the same price."

That alone would be equivalent to a gain of seven hundred Class Points, which already exceeded what could be obtained through a normal exam.

"But in that case, Class A and Class B's Class Points will also increase significantly. It will be hard to catch up later."

"That's not a problem. Sensei, don't forget the rule about guessing the leaders."

When a leader is correctly guessed, the reward points obtained from occupying strongholds are nullified, and fifty points are deducted.

If they guess incorrectly, the class that guessed wrong will have fifty points deducted.

"I don't actually intend to do nothing." Sawahara had already formulated a plan.

"Phew, as long as you've calculated everything, Sawahara-kun, then there's no problem." Mashima-sensei let out a long breath. He was still somewhat disappointed, as the trade-off between Private Points and Class Points was... well, disappointment aside, he would still fulfill his duties as the homeroom teacher of Class C.

"I will cooperate with you within the limits of the rules."

In fact, teachers were not supposed to accompany students, but he had obtained permission under the pretext of confirming the location of the Class C stronghold.

"Thank you very much." Sawahara smiled and thanked Mashima-sensei. Having such a flexible teacher was a huge advantage for their class.

As they spoke, Sawahara caught sight of Ibuki. As expected, she had been intercepted, but this was enough.

"Are you from Class A planning to use violence against a female student from our class?" Sawahara quickened his pace and spoke loudly, seizing the initiative.

"How could that be?" Seeing Mashima-sensei panting behind him, Hashimoto denied it without hesitation. If they were labeled with such a charge, their Class A would be finished this exam.

"We were just enjoying the scenery here."

Regardless of other aspects, Hashimoto was certainly commendable for his thick skin.

"Class A is truly at ease, having so much spare time." Sawahara smiled and then dropped a bombshell. "I just don't know if you'll still be so relaxed after finding out that Class B has bought Class D's special exam points."

"What!?" The three from Class A were stunned upon hearing this. As students selected for Class A, they quickly realized what kind of consequences this would lead to.

"Is this news true?" Hashimoto dropped his smile and looked at Sawahara with a serious expression.

"You can verify the truth for yourselves, though the students from Class D should have already returned to the ship by now." A faint smile hung on Sagara's face. "I also have something to discuss with Katsuragi regarding the special exam points for our class. Could you please ask him if he has a moment?"

The three members of Class A looked at each other. In the end, they left an unfamiliar boy behind to keep watch, Hashimoto went to find Katsuragi, and the third person went to verify the information.

One has to say, as expected of Class A members; they were attentive to every detail even when delegating tasks.

Since he had time to kill, Sagara asked for the boy's name and learned he was called Nomoto Taiga.

"I'm sorry, I failed the mission." Iori's face was filled with frustration. If she hadn't been distracted, she wouldn't have been discovered.

"No, you did well." Sagara shook his head. However, for this competitive and stubborn girl, telling her directly that he had never expected her to tail Class A indefinitely would only make her angry.

"They are students from Class A, after all. Even if Ryuen had done it, he wouldn't have done any better."

Because that guy Ryuen would have definitely just circled around to the front to intercept Class A rather than actually attempting to tail them.

"Hmph, isn't that obvious?" Hearing Sagara say this, Ibuki felt a little better.

After waiting for a while longer, Katsuragi finally appeared.

"Hashimoto said you wanted to see me. Speak, what exactly do you intend to discuss?" Katsuragi looked at Sagara with a stern expression; he had already guessed what the topic would be.

"You didn't bring your little sidekick this time?" Sagara was somewhat surprised. Totsuka, who was always by Katsuragi's side, had not appeared.

"Since you're here, sign this." Sagara took out a contract; it was one he had prepared back when he signed the contract with Class B.

'After the contract is signed, Class A will provide Sagara Zoya with two million Private Points every month.

Class C will provide Class A with supplies worth two hundred special exam points, with the type and quantity of supplies specified by Class A.'

Looking at this contract, Katsuragi's expression turned incredibly ugly, and he threw it right back.

"You're asking for the moon. There is no way I will agree to these terms."

"Katsuragi, you might want to reconsider." Sagara stated the reality with a calm face. "Class B has already obtained the supplies from Class D, and their base points already far exceed yours. If nothing goes wrong, this exam will likely end with Class B in first place.

Furthermore, your position has become increasingly unstable lately, hasn't it? After all, you applied to the Student Council but failed, while Ichinose Honami of Class B is already in the assessment period, and someone from Class C has even successfully joined the Student Council."

This was one of the reasons why Sakayanagi chose to strike at this time. The people who had originally gathered around Katsuragi due to his competence had begun to waver; after all, if the Student Council President thinks you aren't up to the task, it is highly probable that you really aren't.

"Even so, I will not accept this contract." Katsuragi still refused, even knowing that if he rejected this contract, he might lose his position as leader due to a failure in this special exam.

'The gap between people from the same class is truly vast. Is this the diversity of humanity?'

Sagara sighed inwardly.

"In that case, there is nothing left to talk about." Sagara calmly took back the contract, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

After walking about ten meters forward, Katsuragi finally couldn't hold back and spoke up again.

"The previous contract won't work, but we can talk further."

After all, their Class A needed this contract. If they let Class B win this exam, the gap between them and Class B would narrow by at least half, a reality they could not accept.

"Fine."

This negotiation was far more difficult than the one with Kanzaki because the bottom lines of the two sides were simply too far apart.

Class A was only willing to pay one million points per month for these supplies, which was almost the same price as Class B, but how could Sagara let such an opportunity to extort them slip by?

At the very least, Class A had to pay 1.6 million Private Points per month.

"1.4 million, and you must provide information on the leader of one class, and I must see concrete evidence. This is my final bottom line."

Katsuragi gave the maximum concession he could manage. If this proposal still didn't work, he would have no choice but to give up.

"...1.6 million, information on two leaders, and seeing the physical evidence is no problem." Sagara thought for a moment and adjusted the conditions.

"...Fine, but one of the two leader profiles must be the leader of Class B." Katsuragi guessed Sagara's intentions at a glance. Getting information on the leaders of Class C and Class D might be profitable, but their priority was to suppress Class B.

"If you want the leader information for Class B, then I cannot provide physical evidence, and you cannot reveal the source of the information to Class B." Sagara added further conditions; getting physical evidence from Class B was simply too difficult.

"Then how can I be sure your information is true or false?"

"That depends on your judgment."

Katsuragi looked at Sagara deeply. By this point, he knew Sagara would not back down any further. After thinking for a long time, he finally signed the contract.

'Class A will provide Sagara Zoya with 1.6 million Private Points every month.

Class C will provide Class A with supplies worth two hundred special exam points, with the type and quantity determined by Class A.

Class C will provide Class A with the leader information of Class B and one other class; the leader information for this other class must be supported by physical evidence.'

This was the full content of the contract.

With this, the first step of Sagara's plan for this special exam had been achieved.