The Uninhabited Island Exam Begins

"Splash—"

"Hey, Ichinose, why are you splashing me?"

Kitahara looked at Ichinose, who was playing in the pool, with a helpless expression.

"Hehe, Kitahara, you've already finished your work, haven't you? So..." Ichinose took advantage of Kitahara's distraction to edge closer, then quickly pulled him off the edge of the pool.

"Plop—"

Before he could react, Kitahara felt pool water rushing into his nose and mouth.

"Cough, cough... Ichinose, you actually launched a sneak attack. Well, don't blame me for what happens next."

With that, Kitahara suddenly kicked off and surged forward, startling Ichinose into a scream as she turned to flee, sending sprays of water pattering against the parasol by the poolside.

"Gotcha." Kitahara's hand clamped onto Ichinose's slender ankle.

"Ah, Kitahara, that's cheating!" Ichinose shrieked. The moment her ankle was caught, she lost her balance and tipped backward.

"Splash—"

Water flew everywhere. Kitahara acted with lightning speed, releasing her ankle to catch her waist instead, preventing her from choking on the water.

Ichinose instinctively grabbed Kitahara's shoulders. Wet strands of hair clung to her cheeks, and crystalline droplets hung from her eyelashes.

The two stared at each other at close range for a second before Ichinose's face flushed bright red. She shoved him away violently. "Ki... Kitahara, you're too cunning! That's a foul!"

Kitahara stumbled back two steps, unable to help but laugh. "You were the one who snuck up on me first, weren't you?"

"Th-that's different!" Ichinose argued, her face still red.

"How is it different?" Kitahara replied with a light chuckle.

"..."

The members of Class B watching their playful banter began to whisper among themselves:

"I told you, there's no way the relationship between those two is just simple friendship."

"Yeah, I didn't believe it at first, but looking at it now, it really seems possible." Even Kanzaki, who usually wore a serious expression, couldn't help but join the discussion.

"Indeed, indeed..."

"..."

"Hey, what are you all discussing over here?" Kitahara and Ichinose asked as they approached the group.

"N-nothing, just talking about what happened between you and President Horikita earlier." Seeing them walk over, Shiranami hurriedly explained.

"Oh, you mean that..."

Kitahara recalled the moment he parted ways with the president.

"Back then, before you guys came to find me, Horikita Manabu saw a message on his phone and let out a smile."

"But before I could lean in to see what could possibly make him change so much..."

"He pushed me away with his hand against my forehead."

Kitahara shrugged helplessly. "That guy, the president, just brushed me off by saying, 'This is a private matter.'"

However, after hearing about Horikita Suzune's speech from you all earlier, I finally understood what that message was about.

Upon hearing Kitahara's explanation, Ichinose said, "I never expected President Horikita to be so concerned about his younger sister."

"He certainly cares, but he's definitely not an honest person about it."

"Is that so... But Kitahara, did you find anything in the changing room?" Ichinose asked, remembering the incident.

Even the others who were chatting turned their gazes toward him; after all, if things were really as the president had said, it would be truly perverted.

Seeing their worried expressions, Kitahara paused and said:

"Actually, there really was someone inside..."

Everyone's curiosity was piqued; even the usually calm Kanzaki couldn't help but lean forward.

"Who was it?" Ichinose asked nervously.

"Actually, inside there was..." Kitahara intentionally dragged out his words, watching as everyone held their breath in anticipation, before suddenly laughing:

"Just a repairman. His clothes looked a bit like a regular cleaner's, which is why some students thought it was a cleanup job and left a sign there."

"As for why Sudo was there, the reason is likely related to what the president said about someone intending to peek."

Hearing Kitahara's explanation, everyone agreed wholeheartedly; otherwise, why would he have tried so hard to block the entrance at the time?

As for why no one asked Kitahara if Sudo had actually succeeded, everyone thought to themselves: could he have continued once he got inside and realized there were other people present?

Besides, if he had really succeeded, would Kitahara be speaking about it so casually?

Seeing the group's reaction, Kitahara thought to himself, President, I really did my best this time. As for how this ends up being rumored, that's no longer my business.

Back in his room, Kitahara took out his phone and saw a message from the president.

[The Student Council has issued a major disciplinary warning to Yamauchi, Ike, and the others, and Class D's class points have been reset to zero again.]

Upon receiving the message, Kitahara replied:

[If their class points are wiped to zero again, won't it draw their attention? How will you explain it?]

[Chabashira has already explained it clearly to them, so you don't need to worry.]

[Fine, since that's the case, I have nothing more to say.]

"..."

"Sudo, it's you again, the guy who caused our class points to be wiped to zero once more."

"That's right, why did you disturb the public order!"

At this moment, the Class D group chat was filled with people berating Sudo.

Indeed, Chabashira had just informed them that Class D's points had returned to zero for the month, explaining that it was due to Sudo disturbing the public order at an entertainment venue.

Consequently, the oblivious members of Class D began to denounce him, though only the Sudo Quartet and Horikita knew the true reason behind it.

This was why he, who might have retorted in the past, silently accepted the abuse this time; after all, if they were to learn the real reason, it wouldn't be a matter of simple condemnation, but a question of whether he could even survive.

As the situation in the group chat intensified, Hirata spoke up:

"Everyone, let's calm down for a moment. Chabashira-sensei just informed me that we will begin our cruise ship trip next week, and all entertainment facilities on board will be completely free."

"Really? Hirata, did Chabashira-sensei actually keep her promise?" Karuizawa Kei typed.

"Yes, that is indeed the case."

"Oh yeah, long live Chabashira-sensei!"

Just like that, the class that had been arguing moments ago was instantly filled with anticipation for the upcoming cruise ship trip.

It seems all of this was within Chabashira's expectations.

Current Class Points:

Class A: 1004cp

Class B: 906cp

Class C: 492cp

Class D: 0cp