A Gun's No Use-Why Rely on Martial Arts?

"Hey, Su Wei."

Just as Su Wei was wondering whether to join in, Ichinose Honami suddenly stopped and spoke softly:

"I mean... since there's a mechanism for 'random participants,' and this person counts as additional support for our exam..."

"Could we set aside everyone's individual needs and pool all the points we earn from hunting monsters?"

"Then we could give them to whoever needed them most, until every student who got dragged into this had earned the ten points needed to exchange for a Combat Suit?"

The more Ichinose spoke, the brighter her eyes grew.

"That way, even if another Intruder joins the exam, they might still be able to survive, right?"

Su Wei listened, then mercilessly burst her hopeful bubble.

"It's a nice idea, but it's not very practical."

"Even if we don't consider the selfish motives of anyone besides us two, just look at the points these monsters are worth in the exams so far. There's no way they could support your idea of pooling everything."

"Too many wolves, too little meat. If you try to feed everyone, you'll just end up with everyone starving."

Ichinose Honami lowered her eyes and fell silent for a long while.

Taking advantage of the pause, Su Wei addressed the D Class students who were still arguing among themselves.

"Horikita."

"What's the harm in letting them take part once?"

Horikita Suzune frowned, about to object.

Su Wei continued, "I think once they've faced a life-or-death crisis firsthand... no one will try to take your spot again."

At the harsh remark, Chabashira Sae glanced at Su Wei with interest but didn't intervene, as if she were watching a good show.

The three troublemakers she'd been treating like they weren't even there, however, immediately bristled.

"What?!"

Ken Sudō abruptly rolled up his sleeves. "You bastard, are you looking down on us?!"

"If it's for the class, why should Horikita be the one to go every time? Am I not part of D Class too?" Yamauchi Haruki chimed in.

Horikita Suzune gave Su Wei another long look before finally giving in.

She valued honor and recognition above all else, but she also knew that constantly standing in their way would only make those idiots think she was hoarding the opportunity for herself.

"Fine."

Horikita Suzune stepped aside, her voice cool.

"Since you're so insistent, the spot is yours this time. I hope you can do what you said and place higher than me."

"Heh! You could've just said so in the first place!"

Yamauchi Haruki clicked his tongue smugly. "What's that supposed to mean? You think we can't take first place?"

Kanji Ike sensed that something was off and tugged at Yamauchi Haruki's sleeve, speaking in a low voice.

"Hey, Yamauchi... Hirata's information doesn't seem fake to me. Su Wei may be an asshole, but he doesn't seem to have any reason to lie to us... Maybe tone it down."

Yamauchi Haruki was nervous too.

But in front of the girls in his class—especially their leader, Karuizawa Kei—there was no way he could admit defeat to Horikita Suzune.

He stuck out his chin and snorted. "What are you afraid of? Sudō, you go! I'm sure you're stronger than all these girls!"

Ken Sudō scratched his head.

At this point, he'd been put on the spot and had no way out.

"I'll go, then! Who's scared?"

He strode up to Chabashira Sae. "Sensei! Sign me up!"

His buddies cheered, but the girls weren't having it.

Karuizawa Kei pressed a hand to her forehead, looking desperate. "I have a feeling this is going to end badly... Can't we wait until Hirata and the others get back before deciding?"

Beside her, Matsushita Chiaki keenly spotted the same black material as Ichinose's beneath Su Wei's sleeve. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, simply nodding in agreement.

"I hope we don't get points deducted like Class C... I barely have any left, and I still want to buy some makeup."

"Haah—!"

Ken Sudō huffed again.

But before he could get out a couple of tough-guy threats, someone pointed at his feet in alarm.

"Sudō... y-you're disappearing!"

"Huh?"

Ken Sudō froze and looked down. Blue scanning light had already spread up to his ankles. "You're right. What's happening to me?"

"Once Chabashira-sensei submits the names and the tally's complete, the Black Sphere Exam starts."

Horikita Suzune spoke coldly. "Did you think you'd have to walk to the exam site yourself?"

Just then, one of the onlookers noticed something strange.

"So that's why Ichinose from Class B is doing the same thing—she's taking the exam... But why is Shiranami Chihiro from her class doing it too? And Su Wei?"

At Su Wei's name, Horikita Suzune glanced over.

Watching Su Wei disappear in the blue light right after Ichinose Honami, she only sneered, not bothering to explain.

After all, Kushida Kikyo had been there herself and loved showing off, so she could explain it.

Horikita had no time for that.

After all, spend too long around idiots and they really would make you dumber.

As the dizziness faded, Ichinose Honami opened her eyes again. She'd only just adjusted to the change in perspective when she hurriedly looked around for the unlucky person who'd been randomly selected—

The first people she saw were the Class A group.

Aside from the bald Katsuragi Kohei, Sakayanagi Arisu was sitting on the ground, cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, as if sulking.

And beside her...

"Kamuro?" Ichinose looked surprised.

Kamuro Masumi stood frozen in place, wearing an expression that said, "I want to die."

Apparently, although Sakayanagi Arisu had kept her promise and hadn't forced her, the Black Sphere hadn't let her off.

The others were Ryuen Kakeru, Shiina Hiyori, Su Wei, Ken Sudō, and Shiranami Chihiro.

They were all expected.

What truly left Ichinose stunned was the man standing in the corner, curiously looking around.

"Kanzaki?"

Ichinose Honami couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.

"What are you doing here... Was it because of the test?"

Hearing her call, Kanzaki Ryuji turned around.

Seeing Ichinose, his expression eased slightly.

"During the test just now, I struck a deal with Ayanokoji and the others."

"In exchange for revealing information about the winner and protecting them in the exams that follow... I became the only 'winner.'"

He paused.

"Though that first condition, the so-called 'revealing information,' was practically meaningless."

"But I think I still have a responsibility to honor the other conditions I promised."

"So."

"Of the S Points, immunity from Class B's two Intruder permissions, and the special privilege of participating..."

"I chose to participate, and... to obtain some information about the hidden monsters in this exam."

Chapter 38: A Gun's No Use—Why Rely on Martial Arts?

"S Points, immunity from the Intruder rule, and information about the hidden monsters... That's an awfully generous reward." Ryuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow.

Before Kanzaki Ryuji could respond, Shiina Hiyori spoke at just the right moment.

"There was a choice of three rewards. If the winner was decided through violence, the other three students who were forcibly made Intruders would have had little chance of surviving once they entered the exam, even if they were prepared..."

"I don't think trading three lives for one winner is too much."

Kanzaki Ryuji didn't seem inclined to hide anything, and briefly explained the rules of the Wolf and Sheep Game in the Advance Test.

After hearing his explanation, Ichinose Honami fell into thought.

"As Shiina said, in the last exam, we rushed around as fast as we could and only managed to save three students. If they were thrown straight into a monster horde while exhausted... I doubt many would survive."

"Thanks for all your hard work, Kanzaki."

"My plan succeeded thanks, in the end, to the reputation you've built, Ichinose..."

Kanzaki Ryuji smiled wryly and shook his head, about to modestly brush off her thanks.

Ken Sudō, who'd been itching to speak, suddenly pushed his way over.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

He interrupted Kanzaki with an excited look.

"So you have information about the hidden monsters in this exam?!"

"Holy shit, does that mean we've got a direct line of sight now? We're going to take off! Woohoo!"

Ryuen Kakeru glanced at the idiot who had no idea what he was getting into, then closed his eyes as if he couldn't be bothered to argue with a moron.

Katsuragi Kohei, however, crossed his arms and offered a warning.

"Given Ichinose's position, they probably wouldn't hide the information... But assuming everything will be fine just because you have it isn't wise."

"Information is only a guide. Reality can change in an instant, and relying on it too much could bring disaster."

"Tch, give it a rest."

Ken Sudō curled his lip and rolled up his sleeve to show off his biceps.

"Who are you looking down on? I might not be good at exams, but when it comes to fighting... heh! I'm a professional!"

Turning away from the pointless farce, Su Wei looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, who was still sprawled on the ground without a shred of dignity.

He sighed and reached out to her.

"Look, this can't go on forever. Why don't you ask the Black Sphere if you can use points to buy special permission to take a cane into the exam?"

Sakayanagi Arisu shot him an irritated look, but still took his hand naturally and used it to get up.

"And whose fault do you think this is?"

The girl smoothed out her rumpled skirt, her voice laced with reproach.

"When I found out about the Advance Test, I was already planning to come find you and discuss what to do. And what happened? I found out you'd gone off to meet Ichinose in private."

"I waited and waited until the flowers had withered. Then I looked again and, oh, look at that—you'd finished your little rendezvous, and there wasn't enough time left. What was I supposed to do?"

"In that situation, I couldn't exactly force Kamuro to come with me... Don't you think?"

As she spoke, the girl's gaze grew more reproachful. She glanced at the unlucky Kamuro Masumi before fixing her eyes on Su Wei's face, hoping to get a stronger reaction from him.

Su Wei remained as calm as ever and made no move to respond.