Early Breakfast Probing, Ryuen's Taunt, and a Hidden Recording

Suzune Horikita checked the time. They had more or less finished discussing the previous topic, so she agreed to go.

The breakfast buffet was softly lit by warm yellow lights that spilled across every table. The air was filled with the toasty aroma of bread, the rich scent of coffee, and the fresh sweetness of fruits and vegetables. That morning aboard the cruise ship, the everyday warmth of it all seemed to ease some of the tension brought on by the exam.

Ayanokoji and Horikita found a corner seat by the window. Their plates held only plain toast and warm milk. Neither was in the mood to enjoy breakfast; their earlier conversation still lingered in both their minds.

"By the way, Horikita." Ayanokoji avoided her gaze and gave a light cough. "You're a girl, more or less, so there's something I'd like to ask you about."

When he saw that Suzune Horikita's expression had turned sour, he immediately explained, "That's not what I meant. I wanted to ask about something related to girls."

Horikita seemed even angrier.

"Never mind. I'll just ask directly. How much do you know about Kei Karuizawa?" As expected, she looked puzzled.

To Suzune Horikita, Kei Karuizawa was an academically weak, dull-witted, and spoiled girl, full of flaws and with no redeeming qualities.

At the name "Kei Karuizawa," Horikita's anger froze, quickly giving way to deep confusion. She stared at Ayanokoji, stunned and disbelieving, as if she'd heard something absurd.

In Horikita's eyes, Kei Karuizawa and Ayanokoji belonged to entirely different worlds. Kei was academically weak, ranking near the bottom of the class in almost every exam. She was dull-witted, had poor reasoning skills, and panicked over the smallest things instead of dealing with them calmly. She was also spoiled and willful, and liked to lean on her standing in the girls' clique and her status as Hirata's girlfriend to throw her weight around. She was harsh toward timid classmates, and wasn't particularly popular outside her own circle in Class D.

Why would Ayanokoji suddenly ask about a girl with so many flaws and no apparent merits? Horikita was baffled, and even sensed that something was off. From Ayanokoji's tone and manner, he didn't seem merely curious. Rather, it seemed as though he meant to bring Kei into their group and involve her in their plan to protect the VIPs.

From Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's words, Horikita could infer that he intended to bring Kei Karuizawa into their group. It seemed to offer no benefit at all.

Horikita took a small sip of her warm milk, her brows still faintly furrowed, the confusion in her eyes undiminished. Unable to hold back, she asked, "Kei Karuizawa—why exactly are you asking about her?"

"You're not thinking of bringing her into our group, are you?" Horikita stared into Ayanokoji's eyes, her voice edged with disbelief. "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, get a grip! Bringing her in offers us nothing and could even hold us back or expose our plan. She's impulsive and can't keep her mouth shut. If she accidentally reveals Kushida's or Minami's identity, all our efforts will have been for nothing!"

Ayanokoji had expected Horikita to judge Kei Karuizawa this way. Horikita had always pursued perfection and been meticulous and uncompromising, so she naturally wouldn't think highly of a girl like Kei, who was full of flaws. But he didn't know how best to ask about her.

Horikita looked at Ayanokoji's utterly impassive eyes and sighed helplessly. Her tone softened as she slowly continued, "I don't know much either. She likes being around people, enjoys dressing up, and cares a lot about what others think of her, especially her standing among the girls. Most of the girls in her clique are timid and just follow her around. The only one who seems a little reliable is Chiaki Matsushita, but even she just does what Kei says and has no mind of her own."

"Other than that, she seems to have some sort of conflict with Shiho Manabe from Class C. I saw them arguing in the hallway once, though I don't know what it was about. It was obvious they don't get along." Horikita added, still sounding somewhat displeased. "That's all I can tell you. Whether you approach her is up to you."

"Okay, thank you." Ayanokoji gave a slight nod, his voice flat. He didn't ask anything else. He committed every detail Horikita had shared to memory: Kei cared about what others thought, had connections among the girls, and had a conflict with Shiho Manabe. Those details might prove useful in the exam ahead.

As soon as he finished speaking, Class C's dictator appeared again. Ryuen sat down beside Horikita with a wicked grin, probably to give her his usual show of force. As a matter of course, he ignored Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

But this time, Ryuen brought explosive news: he already knew the identities of all the VIPs in his class. At first, it didn't seem particularly remarkable. After all, a class was a collective, and its students could naturally trust one another.

Though of course, some might selfishly keep their identities hidden and take all the rewards for themselves.

Ryuen, however, seemed to have taken a more aggressive approach.

"I'm not looking to negotiate over who the VIPs are. I want a result where nobody can lie. Don't look so puzzled, cutie. All I have to do is make everyone hand over their phones so I can check the messages from the school. As for this violation of their privacy, you don't need to worry about it. I have my own way of keeping them in line."

His sinister words left Horikita no time to respond. Ryuen pressed on. "Besides, I've already got this exam all figured out. Don't look so surprised, cutie. Ending the exam now would be far too boring. Let me find myself some fun, will you?"

After revealing the details behind these seemingly unfavorable disclosures about his own class, Ryuen swaggered off.

Horikita was about to say something to Ayanokoji, but he stopped her and directed her attention to the spot beneath the chair where Ryuen had just been sitting. A phone lay there, still recording, quietly capturing everything.

If an unexpected text message hadn't lit up its screen and exposed its location, Ryuen wouldn't have said another word. After a brief silence, the two parted and left.