Morning Tea Reconnaissance, Ryuen's Provocation, and Hidden Recording

Suzune Horikita checked the time, and since the previous topic had been mostly covered, she agreed to head out.

Inside the breakfast buffet, warm yellow light spilled softly over every table. The air was filled with the toasted aroma of bread, the richness of coffee, and the fresh sweetness of fruits and vegetables. On this cruise ship, the morning seemed to have shed some of the gravity brought on by the special exam, thanks to this touch of mundane life.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Horikita found a corner seat by the window. Their plates held only simple toast and hot milk; neither had the heart to enjoy the breakfast, as their recent conversation still lingered in their minds.

"By the way, Horikita," Ayanokoji said, avoiding her gaze as he gave a light cough, "you count as a girl, so there's something I'd like to ask you."

Noticing the change in Horikita's expression, he immediately clarified, "That's not what I meant. I wanted to ask about the female perspective."

It seemed Horikita was even angrier now.

"Never mind, I'll just ask directly. How much do you know about Kei Karuizawa?" The response he received was, naturally, one of confusion.

To Horikita, Kei Karuizawa was a girl lacking in academic ability, dull-witted, willful, and capricious—a person full of flaws with no redeeming qualities.

Upon hearing the name "Kei Karuizawa," the anger on Horikita's face froze, instantly replaced by deep bewilderment. She stared at Ayanokoji, stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief as if she had heard something utterly inconceivable.

In Horikita's impression, Karuizawa and Ayanokoji were people from two different worlds. Karuizawa lacked academic prowess, ranking near the bottom of the class in every exam. She was dull-witted, possessed poor logical thinking, panicked at the slightest inconvenience, and was incapable of staying calm. Furthermore, she was willful and capricious, prone to throwing her weight around by leveraging her status within the girls' clique and her position as Hirata's girlfriend. She acted tough toward weaker classmates and was not well-regarded by those outside her immediate circle in Class D.

Why would Ayanokoji suddenly ask about a girl so full of flaws and devoid of merit? Horikita's heart was filled with doubt, and she even sensed something amiss—judging by Ayanokoji's tone and attitude, he didn't seem merely curious. Instead, it felt as if he intended to recruit Karuizawa to participate in their plan to protect the VIP.

It could be inferred from Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's words that he intended to recruit Karuizawa. It seemed to offer absolutely no benefit.

Horikita took a small sip of her hot milk, her brow still slightly furrowed. With her confusion undiminished, she couldn't help but ask, "Kei Karuizawa—why on earth are you asking about her?"

"You aren't thinking of recruiting her, are you?" Horikita stared into Ayanokoji's eyes, her tone laced with disbelief. "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, get a grip! Recruiting her offers us no benefit whatsoever. If anything, she'll only drag us down or leak our plans. She's so impulsive and can't keep a secret; if she accidentally lets slip the identities of Kushida or Minami, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing!"

Ayanokoji had anticipated that Horikita would have such an assessment of Karuizawa. After all, Horikita always pursued perfection and rigor; naturally, she would have no fondness for a girl as flawed as Karuizawa. However, he didn't know the proper way to broach the subject.

Watching Ayanokoji's completely unruffled gaze, Horikita sighed helplessly. Her tone softened slightly as she said, "I don't know much. She likes excitement, loves to dress up, and cares deeply about what others think of her, especially regarding her status among the girls. Most of the girls in her clique are weak-willed and just follow her lead. The only one who is slightly reliable is probably Chiaki Matsushita, though even she just listens to Karuizawa and lacks her own opinions."

"Besides that, she seems to have some conflict with Shiho Manabe from Class C. I saw them arguing in the hallway last time. I don't know the specific reason, but it's clear their relationship is very poor," Horikita added, her tone still carrying a hint of dissatisfaction. "That's all I can tell you. As for whether you want to approach her, that's your decision."

"Right, thank you," Ayanokoji said with a slight nod, his tone flat. He didn't ask anything further. He committed what Horikita had said to memory—Karuizawa's concern for others' opinions, her connections among the girls, and her conflict with Shiho Manabe. These pieces of information might prove highly useful in the upcoming exam.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the dictator of Class C appeared once again. Ryuen sat down beside Horikita with a wicked grin, likely intending to give her a routine show of force. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was, naturally, ignored.

However, this time Ryuen brought explosive news: he already knew the identities of all the VIPs in his class. At first glance, it didn't seem particularly special. After all, a class is a collective, and it should be possible to trust one another.

Though, one could not rule out the possibility of someone selfishly hiding the truth to keep the rewards for themselves.

Still, Ryuen's methods seemed rather radical.

"What I want isn't a negotiation about who the VIP is; I want a result where no one can lie. Don't look so confused—I just need to require everyone to hand over their phones for me to check, to confirm the text messages sent by the school. As for this violation of personal rights, you needn't worry; I naturally have ways to keep them in line."

His wicked words arrived, giving Horikita no time to counterattack as Ryuen continued his offensive: "And I've already mastered everything about this exam, don't be surprised, little cutie. It would be too boring to end the exam now. Let me have some fun, won't you?"

After delivering these inside details that seemed disadvantageous to his own class, Ryuen swaggered away.

Horikita was about to say something to Ayanokoji, but he stopped her. Ayanokoji guided her gaze to the underside of the chair where Ryuen had just been sitting. A mobile phone was there, silently operating in recording mode.

Were it not for a sudden text message lighting up the screen (revealing its location), he would have said no more. After a brief silence, the two dispersed and went their separate ways.