To Hell with the Rankings

"Good morning, students. We will be able to see the island shortly. I trust you will all be able to witness a truly meaningful sight in a few moments!"

Listening to the broadcast in his room, Chiba Yu only felt it was noisy.

He lay on his bed in his pajamas, staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

The good days are over...

After a groan of feigned misery, Chiba Yu sighed and struggled to get up from the bed.

After changing into casual clothes, Chiba Yu followed the flow of people out to the deck.

He saw that a large crowd of students had already gathered there, looking into the distance with faces full of excitement.

There, an island with a dark green surface, brimming with vitality, gradually came into view.

For the students seeing this scenery for the first time, they were naturally filled with excitement; some even took out their phones with their friends, chatting away while taking pictures.

"Chiba!"

Hearing someone call his name, Chiba Yu slowly turned his head.

He saw Hirata standing behind him with a smile on his face, accompanied by Karuizawa Kei, Matsuhita, and a group of others.

Chiba Yu nodded in greeting, then asked, "Are you all here to admire the island too?"

Hirata walked to his side with a beaming smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, though I didn't expect you to come, Chiba. I thought you'd still be lying in your room."

Chiba Yu was speechless. So that's the image you have of me, huh?

While complaining internally, Chiba Yu didn't even realize that before coming here, he had been doing exactly what Hirata said—lying in his room staring at the ceiling, looking for all the world like a dead man.

"After all, the students in our class know exactly what kind of person Chiba-kun is, hee hee," Mori Nene said with a laugh.

Ignoring their teasing, Chiba Yu only found them noisy.

Silently shifting his gaze away, Chiba Yu followed the others' eyes and looked toward the small island.

Although Chiba Yu admitted that this was indeed a sight he had never seen before, as he watched, he keenly noticed something amiss.

Around the perimeter of the island, there were some inconspicuous three-dimensional devices distributed, looking like sensors or perhaps some kind of special surveillance equipment.

Damn it, my life is as good as over...

Just as everyone was immersed in the excitement of admiring the island, Karuizawa Kei walked up to Chiba Yu's side and murmured softly:

"It's so beautiful. If only we could go onto the island and see it for ourselves..."

"I, for one, think it's better not to."

Hearing Chiba Yu's reply, Karuizawa Kei squinted at him with disdain. "Heh, fair enough. A lazy guy like you wouldn't like this kind of activity anyway."

"..."

What's that supposed to mean? What did a lazy person ever do to you? Did a lazy person eat your rice?

"Hehe, if Chiba-kun could change that personality of yours, you might be more popular. At least, that's what a lot of people on the rankings say."

Rankings?

Chiba Yu heard an unexpected term.

"What is that?"

"Eh? Chiba-kun, you don't know?"

"No way?"

Surprised exclamations came from the girls.

So, what exactly is it? Why do you all have such knowing looks on your faces? It makes me look like an idiot. I hate this feeling of everyone being in the loop while I'm the only one left in the dark!

The group observed Chiba Yu's expression and realized he didn't seem to be lying.

"I didn't expect Chiba to actually not know. It's a ranking system established spontaneously by the students of our school, posted on the school forum. Things like the Appearance Ranking or the Gloomy Ranking," Hirata explained with a smile.

"Uh... I can understand the Appearance Ranking, but that Gloomy Ranking you mentioned, Hirata..."

"It seems Chiba-kun really doesn't know anything. Actually, besides some common rankings, there are many alternative ones, like the 'Most Hated Person' or 'Most Unpleasant Person' lists," Shinohara Satsuki, who was standing nearby, stepped forward to explain.

"..." Chiba Yu didn't know what to say. Did these people have nothing better to do?

"Come to think of it, I remember there are many other different lists, like the 'Person I Most Want to Kill' ranking."

"Hey, hey, that's a bit too terrifying, isn't it? 'Person I Most Want to Kill' and all that."

"Speaking of which, Chiba-kun, you're actually quite famous, you know."

"...Is that for the 'Person I Most Want to Kill' thing you just mentioned? Or that Gloomy Ranking?"

"Cough, cough! Actually, it's not that extreme. Let me think... I remember now! I recall Chiba-kun is quite high up on something called the Harmless Person Ranking! I remember you were in second place!"

"Come to think of it, the first place seems to be from our class too. Right, right, it's Ayanokoji-kun from our class!"

Well, thanks a lot, I guess. But honestly, there's nothing to be proud of for taking second place on a list like that, is there?

For a moment, Chiba Yu thought about what they had just said—the first place they mentioned... it was Ayanokoji, right?

In an instant, a peculiar emotion slowly welled up.

Damn it, can you two stop being so in sync at times like this!

"But Chiba, you're actually quite famous on the Appearance Ranking, you know. And I believe that if you could just change your personality a little, you might even become more popular."

Seeming to notice that Chiba felt a bit aggrieved, Hirata spoke up with a fitting smile.

For some reason, even though it was clear that Hirata was speaking up for him, Chiba Yu couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it at all.

Chiba Yu shook his head and shrugged. "Forget it. If I had to be that exhausted every day, I'd rather just drop dead."

"You, really..." Hirata let out a wry smile.

"Student Hirata acts just like Student Chiba's old mother, doesn't he?"

"Exactly. I suddenly feel like Student Karuizawa has it pretty tough too."

The girls watching the spectacle from the side chimed in with timely teases, though for some reason, the topic had inexplicably veered in a strange direction.

"What on earth are you all babbling about!"

After being teased, Karuizawa's face turned bright red, and she began waving her hands aimlessly toward Mori Nene and the others.

If things kept going like this, the misunderstanding would only grow, and it would become even harder to explain...

[Attention students, we will soon be landing on the island owned by this school. Please change into your sportswear within the allotted time and gather on the designated deck.

Please note, per the school's requirements for this trip, personal items such as student terminals and ID cards are not permitted on the island. Please dispose of them before gathering. That is all!]

The sudden broadcast interrupted our conversation. Looking at the island looming just ahead, the suspicions in my heart gradually began to turn into reality.

The storm is coming...