Patterns

To people, other humans were like ferocious wolves.

"Remember to investigate Class D's VIPs and report them to me. Of course, it's fine if you can't do it—you'll just be punished again." Ryuuen walked out of the cabin, his steps far more carefree than when he had arrived.

Kushida Kikyo was still adjusting the bow at her collar and didn't feel like speaking. She fixed her hair using her phone. Though her makeup had smudged, it did nothing to diminish her charm. If anything, it gave her an even more fragile air.

She merely nodded, pouting. Kushida Kikyo wanted to hurry back for some water, but her legs were weak, so she could not walk very fast.

Not long after Kushida left, Ryuuen received her message: "I'm one of Class D's VIPs. I'll do my best to find all the remaining VIPs."

Ryuuen replied with a simple "Okay," then messaged Shiranami Chihiro. He was fairly confident in Shiranami, the spy planted beside Ichinose Honami. Their interests aligned, and she did not dare betray him. From the moment she poisoned someone, she had lost any way out. She could only follow Ryuuen down this dark path.

The second discussion session soon began, but every class stuck to its own approach, and no real progress was made. The Rabbit Group, where Ichinose was, was no exception. Whenever the conversation fell silent, Ichinose could only suggest games to pass the time, but with little effect.

After the discussion, Ryuuen gathered Ibuki, Kaneda, and Hiyori again. This time, however, he gave them another list containing some VIPs from Class B and Class D. "Tell me what you think."

"Based on the group names, could the VIPs have been chosen according to the zodiac?" Ibuki was the first to bluntly offer her opinion.

Then she saw the other three staring at her as if she were an idiot.

"What's with those looks? Want to fight?" Ibuki waved her fist at Ryuuen.

"Blame yourself for saying something stupid first. How could students in the same grade be eleven years apart?" Ryuuen rolled his eyes, while the other two nodded in agreement.

"Of course I know that. I was just livening up the mood. Do you even know what that means?" Ibuki flushed red, as if she had truly been embarrassed by her own stupidity, and forced out an explanation.

"Kaneda, what do you think?"

"While the zodiac theory is unlikely, if we follow that line of thought, could the VIPs have been selected according to the month of the students' birthdays?"

From a rational perspective, it was possible. Ibuki and Hiyori both began considering that direction.

Ryuuen sighed inwardly. Ibuki had led them astray. As expected, it was better not to expect anything from her. The correct direction was the ordering of names, but Ryuuen had no intention of pointing it out to the three present. This meeting was also training for them. Class planning could not always be decided by Ryuuen alone. His energy was limited, and he needed a capable second-in-command as well.

"Hiyori, what pattern did you find before?" Ryuuen could only place his last hopes on Hiyori.

"Um, I thought the pattern might be related to gender and surnames."

Hiyori's voice was truly pleasant to listen to. Ryuuen nodded approvingly. "I also think the pattern should be in the names. Think in that direction. I'll head back first."

Without explaining where he was going, Ryuuen got up and left. Before he even made it out the door, he heard Ibuki complain, "That bastard Ryuuen loves ordering people around. He's definitely running off to slack now."

Ryuuen ignored Ibuki. She was still complaining about how he had dumped all the work on her during the previous Uninhabited Island Exam. In truth, Ibuki did not really care, but she still had to grumble about it.

Ryuuen had long since figured out the pattern. If he wanted, he could designate one Class C student in each group as a traitor and obtain a total of 450 Class Points from the other classes.

But that was not what Ryuuen wanted to do. It was lonely at the top. If Class C gained the full 450 points in this exam, it would undoubtedly leap straight into Class A. But what then? Class C's overall strength was not even on par with Class B. Though they had increased their efforts in academics and training, it was still not enough.

Under such conditions, even if they rose to Class A, they would likely be squeezed back down quickly. After all, they did not deserve that position. If they fell from Class A, Ryuuen would suffer the most. By then, the resentment that had long accumulated within the class would erupt and shake his rule. A tyrant who could not keep leading his class to victory would be drowned by the masses.

For that reason, Ryuuen did not want to achieve Result Three.

So he was going to negotiate and obtain more Personal Points from the other classes. After all, Ryuuen's ultimate goal was to reach Class A with 800 million points.

There was still a long road ahead before reaching 800 million.

The first person Ryuuen approached was Ichinose. After all, he knew that Ichinose was one of the few rich girls in the school.

"Is there something you need from me, Ryuuen-sensei?"

Ryuuen invited Ichinose to have coffee at an outdoor location.

"Why are you so nervous? It's not like I'm going to do anything to you. I've always been helping your class, haven't I? Shouldn't you be happy that I came to see you?" Ryuuen played with the coffee cup in his hand. The cappuccino inside had already gone cold, and he had no desire to drink it.

Ichinose sat across from Ryuuen in casual clothes, both hands wrapped around her coffee cup. "It feels like whenever Ryuuen-sensei comes to see me, it's always about something serious. Not exactly a topic we can casually discuss."

That was a very tactful way of putting it. If it had been Horikita Suzune, she would definitely have said, "Ryuuen, you only ever bring trouble."

But Ryuuen did not dislike Ichinose's gentleness in that regard. That did not mean he would go easy on her, however.

"Kobashi Yume. Himeno Yuki. Sumida Makoto." Ryuuen quietly spoke as he looked at the latte art in his coffee. His voice was soft, but Ichinose heard every word clearly.

"Does it feel familiar?" Ryuuen stirred the latte art into a mess with his spoon.

Ichinose fell silent for a moment. This was a list of Class B's VIPs. "How did you find out?"

"Do you think I'd tell you?" Ryuuen pushed his coffee aside. "That isn't the important question. I want to make a deal with you, just like during the previous Uninhabited Island Exam. I want to exchange this for some Personal Points."

"The points you want won't be a small amount." Ichinose understood Ryuuen's purpose. Though she did not know how he had obtained the list, she did not want to consider the possibility that a traitor had appeared in her class.

What Ichinose did not know was that quite a few people in the class already suspected there was a traitor among them. They simply had not brought it up in front of her because they did not want to add to her worries.

Before Ichinose could decide whether to make a deal with Ryuuen, an announcement came over the broadcast: "The Monkey Group exam has ended."

The Monkey Group's VIP was Himeno Yuki.

"...Is this a threat?" Ichinose's expression darkened.

Ryuuen waved a hand. He had not yet arranged for a Class C student to act as a traitor in the Monkey Group.

Ryuuen remembered that Kouenji was in the Monkey Group. It was obvious that this was Kouenji's doing.

But explaining himself now would be useless, so he might as well go along with it. "Your class has two groups left. My price is four million Personal Points. That's well worth it for you. If you refuse, you'll lose one million Personal Points and 100 Class Points. Your Class Points are on shaky ground right now. One mistake, and you'll drop to Class C."

Ichinose did not rush to answer. Instead, she asked Ryuuen, "Don't you want to rise to Class B? Through this exam, you might even have a chance to reach Class A."

"Then take a guess. What do you think I want?" Ryuuen stood up and took the coffee from Ichinose's hands. She had drunk half of it, and it still retained a little warmth. Ryuuen drained it in one gulp, bitterness flooding his mind.