The sudden class reshuffling sent the entire scene into disarray. Many of the forr Class A students imdiately started blaming Katsuragi, while others rushed to Mashima-sensei to demand a detailed explanation of the special exam.
However, since the exam had already ended and the ship was set to depart in two hours, there wasn't much ti left for discussion. Mashima-sensei also made it clear that the special exam had been conducted fairly and that no further details would be revealed.
This was likely another test from the school. After all, in the real world, no one would explain your mistakes to you.
In the end, amidst complaints and angry shouts, Katsuragi, Totsuka, and the others from the forr Class A boarded the cruise ship in silence.
In this special exam, only Class B and Class D seed truly satisfied with the results. There was no need to ntion Ichinose's Class B—they had now risen to Class A thanks to this exam, leading by over 100 class points. They had gained a lot from this.
On the other hand, for Class D, which had been stuck at zero all sester, these 120 points were like rain after a long drought. Plus, they would now receive 10,000 private points per month. For many students in Class D, the results of this exam were completely acceptable.
"I'm back."
Inside the room, Ibuki spoke to the red-haired boy nearby.
"You didn't do what I told you to do?"
Compared to the wild and beaten-down Ryuen from before, he now looked refreshed—except for the clear wound at the corner of his mouth.
"If I had followed your plan, Class C would have ended up just like Class A, with nothing."
Ibuki said coldly.
Ryuen didn't argue. Instead, he touched his chin and fell into deep thought. "The state of Class A proves that not only did three classes correctly guess their leader, but that idiot Katsuragi also guessed wrong about Class B and Class D's leaders! Haha, that's just like you."
Ryuen stared at Ibuki with a chilling tone. "But, Ibuki, why did you know about this in advance?"
Class C had ended up with 71 points in this special exam. Based on Ryuen's calculations, if they had guessed the leaders of Class B and Class D correctly—plus used the inside information from a traitor in Class A to identify their leader—Class C should have scored at least 150 points. But the reality was only 71 points.
That ant Ibuki had completely ignored his plan and had only written down Class A's leader, giving up on Class B and Class D.
Otherwise, Class C would have made the sa mistake as Class A, guessing the wrong leaders for Class B and Class D and ending up with 0 points.
So, more than anything, Ryuen was focused on Ibuki's actions.
"I didn't know about it in advance, but I do know that Hikigaya isn't soone who's easy to beat."
Ibuki recalled what Hikigaya had said to her before leaving yesterday. It had actually been a hint.
She realized it too late—had Hikigaya already predicted that Ryuen would pull out of the exam? Was that why he had said that to her?
But she didn't understand what Hikigaya's goal was in doing so.
"I just made my own judgnt. The leaders of Class B and Class D were very tempting targets, but at the sa ti, they were risky—maybe even traps."
Ibuki explained her reasoning. "On the other hand, the info you got from the Class A traitor about their leader matched Hikigaya's goal of taking down Class A, so it was safer to use."
Ryuen suddenly stood up and stepped toward Ibuki. When he stopped in front of her, she remained still, showing no fear. Ryuen's gaze darkened as he stared at her.
"Hahahaha!"
Out of nowhere, he burst into laughter. But even though he was laughing, his voice was ice-cold. "So you trust that dead-eyed Hikigaya more than ?!"
"Hahahaha!"
The next second, Ryuen grabbed Ibuki by the collar, his expression twisted with rage. "I'll let it slide this ti. But listen up, Ibuki. You are just a tool! Tools don't need their own thoughts. Your job is to follow orders. Even if we lose everything, that's my problem, not yours. Got it?!"
With that, he yanked her collar and threw her against a nearby table, knocking it over.
Ibuki, now on the ground, looked at him coldly without saying a word.
...
"I've been looking all over for you!"
Hikigaya had been standing alone at a quiet spot on the cruise ship's deck, enjoying the breeze. Suddenly, a voice full of complaints ca from behind him.
"Kamuro?"
Hikigaya turned, surprised to see the purple-haired girl. "Aren't you busy right now?"
After all, now that Class A had dropped to Class B, the students had surrounded Katsuragi and the others the mont they returned to the cruise ship. As one of Sakayanagi's main supporters, Kamuro should have been even busier than usual.
Kamuro rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks to soone's 'help,' our Class B is a complete ss right now!"
She put extra emphasis on "Class B." Hikigaya scratched his head awkwardly, pretending not to understand.
"I'm just running an errand for soone."
As she spoke, Kamuro handed the phone to Hikigaya. A mont later, a familiar voice ca through from the other end—a silver-haired girl.
"Hello, Hikigaya-kun."
"Sakayanagi?"
Hikigaya's expression turned odd. This little troublemaker sure knew how to make an entrance. She even had Kamuro run around just to deliver the phone. No wonder people weren't in a good mood when they saw him.
"What do you think of the result? Katsuragi's faction suffered a crushing defeat in this special exam. This outco should be exactly what you wanted. If you feel like saying thank you, I'd be happy to accept it."
There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by Sakayanagi's light laughter. "Then I should really thank you properly."
Hikigaya could hear the weight in her tone growing stronger, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "No need to thank . So, how does victory feel?"
"Heh, Hikigaya-kun, you really made win completely. This is the first ti I've realized that even victory can leave a bad taste."
"So, does that an you won, or I won?"
Hikigaya still rembered the little "bet" he had with this troublemaker.
There was an unexpected pause, and Sakayanagi's voice suddenly turned a bit colder. "This ti, let's say you won."
"I won?"
Hikigaya sneered. "No, no, no. It should be you who won. After all, both on and off the board, you were the victor. You beat , and you beat Katsuragi."
She didn't respond.
"Alright, I'm exhausted. I'm hanging up now, Sakayanagi from Class B."
Without giving the silver-haired girl any ti to react, Hikigaya quickly ended the call. The mont he did, he couldn't help but chuckle.
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