Chapter Summaries

Ryuen ordered Hiyori Shiina to inspect Class C’s school messages, and she found that its four VIPs were scattered across different groups. With the class unable to safely share information with other classes, Shiho Manabe proposed approaching Kei Karuizawa, whom she suspected of being a VIP, and Ryuen approved the plan.

• Ryuen had Hiyori Shiina check Class C’s Student Terminals for official messages while Mio Ibuki suspected they had staged their earlier confrontation.
• Shiina identified four Class C VIPs assigned to four separate discussion groups, leaving the class without a concentrated lead.
• Shiina reasoned that the group assignments followed a larger logical pattern but warned that exchanging VIP records with other classes risked severe penalties and unreliable cooperation.
• Shiho Manabe named Kei Karuizawa as a VIP suspect and proposed approaching her with several Class C girls under the pretext of their past conflict.
• Ryuen approved Manabe’s approach and ordered the rest of Class C to stay put and await further instructions.

Hirata tried to persuade Koenji to cooperate with Class D in the next round, but Koenji dismissed the exam and the class’s lost points. The conversation ended when a school-wide notice announced that the Monkey Group’s first round had been completed and warned other groups against rule violations.

• Hirata gathered Ayanokoji, Yukimura, and Koenji to share information and prepare for the second round.
• Yukimura shared his records of Class D students’ movements and clues from text messages, while Ayanokoji said Class B might cooperate and mentioned Suzune Horikita’s plan.
• Hirata asked Koenji not to abandon the group as he had during the Uninhabited Island Exam, when his withdrawal cost Class D 30 Class Points.
• Koenji said he did not care about the class or its points, prompting Yukimura to accuse him of harming Class D.
• Koenji dismissed the exam as a boring game, used his Student Terminal, and headed for the door.
• A school-wide notice announced that the Monkey Group’s VIP had been identified and its first round had ended, while other groups were told to continue the exam.

Koenji ended the Monkey Group's exam early by locking in its VIP, angering the other students and alarming Class D. Hirata, Yukimura, and Ayanokoji shifted their focus to protecting the VIPs Kushida and Minami, while Ayanokoji later watched Koenji on the deck and noticed something that made him stop.

• Hirata received messages about Koenji ending the Monkey Group exam and apologized to the other group members on Koenji's behalf.
• Ayanokoji told Hirata and Yukimura that Koenji's action could not be undone and urged them to prioritize protecting Class D's VIPs.
• Hirata revealed that Kikyo Kushida from the Dragon Group and Minami from the Horse Group had contacted him as VIPs.
• Hirata, Yukimura, and Ayanokoji made a plan to protect Kushida and Minami, with Ayanokoji watching the Dragon Group.
• Koenji went to the deck, dismissing the couples and the exam as boring, while Ayanokoji watched him and then noticed something across the deck.

Ayanokoji overheard the teachers discussing Kira’s placement in the Dragon Group and the attention Ayanokoji had drawn during the island exam. The next morning, he defended his decision not to stop Koenji from ending the Monkey Group exam, then turned the conversation with Horikita toward protecting the VIPs.

• Ayanokoji saw Kushida speaking privately with Kira and left them alone.
• Ayanokoji overheard the teachers say Kira had been deliberately placed in the Dragon Group to test his potential, and the Class B teacher noted Ayanokoji’s leadership during the island exam.
• Horikita confronted Ayanokoji about failing to stop Koenji from submitting a Monkey Group VIP answer and ending the exam early.
• Ayanokoji argued that Koenji would not have listened and might have identified the VIP correctly, while Horikita conceded that stopping him would have been difficult.
• Ayanokoji agreed to try to intervene next time, then urged Horikita to focus on protecting Kushida and Minami and invited her to breakfast.

Ayanokoji asked Horikita what she knew about Kei Karuizawa, then Ryuen revealed that he had identified all the VIPs in Class C and could force classmates to surrender their phones. The conversation ended when Ayanokoji spotted a phone Ryuen had left recording beneath his chair.

• Ayanokoji asked Horikita about Kei Karuizawa, and Horikita warned that Kei could expose their plan if they brought her into their group.
• Horikita described Kei’s concern for her social standing, her clique, and her conflict with Shiho Manabe.
• Ryuen sat down beside Horikita and said he had identified all the VIPs in Class C by checking classmates’ school messages on their phones.
• Ryuen claimed he understood the exam and left after taunting Horikita.
• Ayanokoji pointed out that Ryuen’s phone was recording beneath the chair, and he and Horikita parted.

At the Dragon Group’s fourth meeting, Honami Ichinose’s attempt to ease the tension with a card game failed, and the group made no progress identifying the VIP. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji focused instead on Kei Karuizawa’s unusual behavior and left suspecting it might reveal a clue to the test.

• Honami Ichinose offered the Dragon Group a deck of cards after the members refused to discuss the VIP, but Ryuen Kakeru, Kikyo Kushida, and the others declined to play.
• Kikyo Kushida considered using her VIP information to secure Yoshikage Kira and Class B’s help because she feared Suzune Horikita would uncover her past.
• Kiyotaka Ayanokoji recalled that Shiho Manabe and other Class C girls had been harassing Kei Karuizawa, while Karuizawa sought protection from Class A students instead of Hirata.
• Ayanokoji reflected on Karuizawa’s influence over others and her possible need for attention and control, but could not determine what drove her behavior.
• Honami Ichinose collected the untouched cards when the meeting ended without progress, and Ayanokoji left to investigate Karuizawa’s behavior as a possible clue to the test.

After the Dragon Group meeting, Kikyo Kushida feared that Suzune Horikita would expose her past and resolved to enlist Yoshikage Kira’s help. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji noticed her distress and followed her to discover what she was hiding.

• After everyone left the discussion room, Kikyo Kushida recalled how her leaked secrets had caused her middle-school class to collapse.
• Kushida feared Horikita might remember their shared middle school and expose her past, destroying her reputation and risking her expulsion.
• Kushida decided to ask Yoshikage Kira for help, offering information about the VIPs and the Dragon Group exam in exchange for stopping Horikita.
• Kushida left the room cautiously, determined to protect her secret and prevent Horikita from revealing it.
• Kiyotaka Ayanokoji watched Kushida’s anxious behavior and quietly followed her to learn what she was hiding.

After the Dragon Group meeting, Kikyo Kushida privately questioned Yoshikage Kira to learn whether Suzune Horikita had revealed her past, but Kira deduced that Horikita knew a damaging secret about her. When Kira sensed Kiyotaka Ayanokoji eavesdropping, Kikyo postponed her confession and arranged to meet Kira that night.

• Kikyo Kushida invited Yoshikage Kira to a quiet café and asked whether Suzune Horikita had told him anything about her past.
• Kira said Horikita had not discussed Kikyo, then reasoned that Kikyo's unusual persistence and Class D placement pointed to a damaging middle-school secret known to Horikita.
• Kira sensed someone nearby and spotted Kiyotaka Ayanokoji watching from behind the café's glass wall.
• Kikyo avoided revealing her secret or VIP status in public and asked Kira to meet her at eight that night on the third-floor observation deck.
• Kira agreed to the meeting, while Ayanokoji watched them leave after overhearing that they had arranged it.

After Kira exposed the painful history behind Kushida’s perfect persona, she wrestled with her past and prepared for their secret meeting. She applied lipstick as a private ritual and waited for the negotiation that could determine her future and her chance to belong.

• Kushida walked back to the dormitory, replaying Kira’s deductions and the interruption of her confession by Ayanokoji’s surveillance.
• Alone in her room, Kushida let her composed persona collapse and recalled how fear of isolation had driven her to absorb others’ troubles until she broke down in middle school.
• Kushida recognized that her efforts to build new relationships at Advanced Nurturing High School had been an attempt to escape her past and regain a sense of belonging.
• Kushida decided that rehearsing arguments would not change her limited bargaining position: her VIP status and exam information were her only leverage.
• Kushida applied muted rose lipstick as a personal ritual, then waited for the eight o’clock meeting with Kira aboard the deck.

Kikyo Kushida met Yoshikage Kira alone on the cruise ship’s observation deck to confess the truth about her past and negotiate a way forward. She confirmed that Kira’s deductions were correct and revealed Horikita’s connection to the incident, leaving the confession unfinished.

• Kikyo Kushida left her room and took a secluded route to the observation deck for her secret meeting with Yoshikage Kira.
• Kushida found Kira waiting by the railing, and they confirmed that no one had followed her.
• Kushida told Kira that his deductions at the café were correct.
• Kushida confessed that she had caused a middle-school class to fall apart in a serious incident.
• Kushida said Horikita had attended the same school, knew the whole truth, and had repeatedly rejected her attempts to befriend her.