The End of the Exam

As the midday sun shone down on the golden sand, the exam was set to end in half an hour.

The tired students from each class were gradually getting ready to gather and head back to the ship.

The kind Ichinose hadn't been able to bring herself to probe other classes' leaders. She felt that prying into others' privacy wasn't noble, and in the end, she could only discuss it with Shiranami, "It looks like we'll just have to try our luck."

Shiranami had no strong feelings, "Sounds good."

"According to what Hoshinomiya Chie said, only Ibuki from Class C is left on the island, so let's guess Ibuki is Class C's leader."

Shiranami nodded.

"For Class D, Horikita Suzune seems very likely, so let's guess Horikita Suzune."

Shiranami nodded again.

"As for Class A, I don't really have any ideas. Chihiro, do you have any thoughts?" Ichinose felt a bit embarrassed that Shiranami had simply agreed with her, and she hoped the final decision would be something they discussed together.

"Hmm, I'd guess Katsuragi from Class A. I think he's quite likely," Shiranami speculated.

Ichinose shook her head, "I don't think someone as steady as Katsuragi would make himself the leader."

"Then how about we guess the blonde student next to Katsuragi?"

"You must mean Hashimoto. Why would you guess him?" Ichinose was a bit confused.

"Just a hunch, I guess. That blonde guy left a pretty strong impression on me, and I don't know anyone else in Class A." Shiranami tilted her head. It was all just a guess anyway, so it didn't matter who they picked.

Ichinose thought for a moment and nodded. She had no real clue about Class A's decision either, so she decided to trust Shiranami's intuition this once.

And so, Class B's answers were set. Meanwhile, Class A gave up on guessing the leaders.

Ayanokoji from Class D was hesitating. After saving Horikita Suzune last night, Ayanokoji had given her some medicine, and by now, Horikita Suzune had withdrawn from the exam. The name on the Magnetic Card had also been changed to Ayanokoji. Although Ayanokoji could now confirm the leaders of Class A and Class B, he had no clue about Class C.

Ibuki didn't have a Magnetic Card on her; Ayanokoji had confirmed this last night. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Ibuki had hidden it. But if Ibuki was Class C's leader, then there would have been no reason for her to escape last night. She could have simply waited in Class D until the exam ended.

Her reason for escaping could only be to meet up with other members of Class C.

Analyzing Class C's members rationally, the only ones with sufficient physical stamina to remain on the island should be Albert Yamada, the black student, and Ryuuen. Albert Yamada was too conspicuous, which left only Ryuuen.

Actually, if Ayanokoji had kept following Ibuki last night, he would have naturally discovered that Ibuki was the leader. But he couldn't leave Horikita Suzune there. To bring Horikita Suzune to Chabashira to change the leader, Ayanokoji had to give up tracking Ibuki.

And Ibuki finally arrived at the tree where she had arranged to meet Ryuuen. Digging into the ground, Ibuki found a Magnetic Card and a list inside. The Magnetic Card had Ibuki's name on it, and the list contained Totsuka Yahiko, Shiranami Chihiro, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"That jerk! He dumped everything on me!" Ibuki took the Magnetic Card and tore up the list. On her way back, she also dug up Horikita Suzune's panties. They were dirty, the originally white panties now a grimy black-gray and somewhat damp from the mud. This was a gift for Ryuuen, and Ibuki hadn't forgotten it.

And so, the guessing lists for all four classes were finalized.

Teacher Mashima was very efficient. After the four classes submitted their lists, the results were officially announced.

Ryuuen also brought his classmates forward, and the Class B students, who had mostly recovered from their treatment, also came before Teacher Mashima.

Everyone was there except Sakanagi Arisu. When Ayanokoji saw Ryuuen disembark from the ship, Ayanokoji's face darkened.

"Now, for the results!"

"Fourth place, Class A with 69 Points." (100 Points deducted for being guessed by Class C and Class D, 169 Points remaining from class resource purchases.)

Almost everyone in Class A looked at Katsuragi, but no one questioned him at that moment. This was Class A's self-awareness.

"Third place, Class B with 86 Points." (50 Points for guessing one leader correctly, 100 Points deducted for being guessed by Class C and Class D, 136 Points remaining from class resource purchases.)

Ichinose's anxious heart finally settled. The reason they achieved third place wasn't because they guessed Ibuki's identity correctly, but because some classmates withdrew from the exam midway and they received Points bought from Ryuuen, which resulted in a lot of remaining Points.

"Second place, Class D with 88 Points." (100 Points for guessing two leaders correctly, 50 Points deducted for being guessed by Class C, 38 Special Points remaining from class resource purchases.)

As soon as Ayanokoji saw Ryuuen disembark from the ship, he knew that first place in this exam was out of reach. Although second place wasn't bad, Ayanokoji felt that he had lost, lost to Ryuuen, who had withdrawn from the exam midway. This feeling was very unpleasant and sent Ayanokoji into deep thought.

"First place, Class C with 100 Points." (150 Points for guessing three leaders correctly, 50 Points deducted for being guessed by Class B.)

The students of Class C erupted in celebration. They never imagined they could get first place even after withdrawing from the exam. Although they weren't usually very close to Ibuki, the boys and girls in the class surrounded Ibuki.

"That's amazing, Ibuki! How did you do it?" Ishizaki grabbed Ibuki's shoulders.

"Don't touch me, get off!" Ibuki pushed Ishizaki away in disgust, but no one cared. Everyone could tell Ibuki was happy too.

However, at this moment, the school authorities approached Ryuuen.

"Come with me," Teacher Mashima's tone was unyielding.

Ryuuen nodded indifferently. Hiyori gave him a worried look, and Ryuuen waved his hand, indicating he was fine.

Ayanokoji, Horikita Suzune, Katsuragi, Ichinose, and Shiranami Chihiro—those who had interacted with Ryuuen—all wanted to know why the school authorities were looking for him.

Teacher Mashima led Ryuuen to a closed meeting room.

Inside sat a man in an exquisite black suit. His neat hair and finely trimmed beard made him appear quite mature and steady. His eyes conveyed an air of confidence and decisiveness, and his firm jaw gave him a rather domineering CEO-like aura.

After observing for a moment, Ryuuen had a rough guess.

"This bottle is yours, isn't it?" The man, wearing white gloves, took a soda bottle from under the table.

"You already know, so why bother asking such a pointless question?" Ryuuen didn't hold back either, casually crossing his legs and sitting on the sofa. The moment the man in the suit took out the bottle, Ryuuen knew what this conversation was about. Luckily, he was prepared, so he wasn't flustered at all.

"This is attempted murder, punishable by death in Japan." Seemingly displeased with Ryuuen's nonchalant attitude, the man in the suit's tone was not friendly.

"Then I'll accuse you of slander. I was on the ship the whole time, how could I commit murder?"

"The surveillance footage shows you handing the bottle to Shiranami Chihiro."

"Then go arrest Shiranami Chihiro. The media will find out that the Special Exam at Advanced Nurturing High School endangers students' lives. I'd like to see how the school handles that," Ryuuen had already seen through their bluff.

If the school truly wanted to punish him, they would have approached him the day the Class B students were poisoned, not waited until after the exam.

Besides, Shiranami Chihiro was the real poisoner. If they were going to arrest someone, they shouldn't let her off the hook. Since Shiranami Chihiro was fine, it meant the school intended to simply classify this incident as food poisoning.

"Let's get to the point. I don't like wasting time with men," Ryuuen said, eyeing the man in the suit.

"You truly deserve to have come in first place in the exam. I'm here to propose a collaboration," the man in the suit said, tossing the bottle into the trash can to show his sincerity.

"Collaboration? Then you need to tell me how much benefit you can offer."

"You're not going to ask what it's about?"

"It can only be something I'm capable of. If I'm capable of it, then we can directly discuss the profit. As a businessman, there's nothing I'd refuse if you offer enough."

"You're very confident."

"Because I have the ability."