Chapter 115: The Princess Carry!
Hachiman's physical ability was average, roughly at the level of a typical male student. And considering that his class consisted of the weakest students selected through evaluation, his physical ability could barely be considered above average among them.
However.
Hachiman didn't believe that his current speed would be sufficient to use the leader's card and swiftly claim all the strategic points across the island.
Furthermore.
Since they had secured an early advantage, they naturally had to maximize their benefits as much as possible.
Therefore.
The best choice for the leader should be the fastest person in the class.
Hachiman's class had two students with exceptional athletic ability.
One of them was Sudo, who had joined the basketball club and become a starting player within a week of entering school.
However, since enrollment, Sudo hadn't shown much improvement.
Additionally.
If they were to rely solely on Sudo, they also had to consider whether he had a poor sense of direction. Although he was fast, there was a risk of him getting lost while moving quickly through the island's forested areas.
Thus.
After filtering through the candidates, only one person remained.
And so.
"For the selection of the leader," Hachiman turned toward a particular direction, "I recommend… Koenji-kun."
Hachiman spoke a name that no one had expected.
"Koenji?"
Hirata was slightly taken aback, completely unprepared for this suggestion.
"Can he really do it?"
Horikita frowned. In her eyes, Koenji was on the same level as Sudo—isolated from the class, antisocial, and unable to contribute anything meaningful.
The only positive aspect was that, at least so far, he hadn't caused any trouble.
"Koenji-kun is a genius," Hachiman stated.
Hearing his name called, Koenji turned to look, and Hachiman promptly gave him a lofty compliment.
"Not only is he highly intelligent, but his physical abilities are also exceptional."
"Moreover."
"For someone like him, the forested terrain shouldn't pose a problem, right?" Hachiman said, looking directly at Koenji.
Since personal belongings were not allowed, Koenji, who often admired his own reflection with a small mirror in class, thinking about how beautiful he was, usually went unnoticed.
But now.
"Heh…"
"A small island of this level is, of course, not a problem for me," Koenji replied confidently. "I've been to several islands before, and the ones I visited were far larger and more dangerous than this one."
I see.
So, he really is from a wealthy background.
A young master from a rich family who can afford to explore different islands.
Hachiman had already suspected as much.
It was highly likely that Koenji came from a background no less prestigious than Sakayanagi's.
His suspicions were confirmed on the cruise ship. While Hachiman enjoyed the amenities and continued his habit of observing human behavior, he noticed that despite all the services available on the ship, Koenji remained indifferent—either maintaining strict self-discipline or indulging in his narcissism. He would occasionally swim in the pool but would then walk across the deck with wet feet, frustrating the staff.
The crew repeatedly advised him to dry off.
To which he responded, "Since birth, I have never dried my own body. Being given the opportunity to wipe down someone as important as me, who bears the future of the nation, should be considered an honor."
So, yeah.
He was definitely the child of an upper-class elite.
Not only did he have wealth, but he also had the resources to train his body to an exceptional level.
"Then, can I entrust the leader's card to you?" Hachiman asked.
"Nope." Koenji refused outright. "I have no interest in participating in this kind of activity."
Of course.
Hachiman had expected this.
During the behavioral assessment test, Koenji had refused to cooperate. Now, simply assigning him a task and expecting him to accept it was just as unrealistic.
Hachiman also recalled how, during that exam, he had directly criticized Koenji.
At that time, Koenji had only agreed to follow the class's self-discipline agreement to avoid expulsion.
In other words, despite being placed in Class D, someone of his elite background had a compelling reason to stay enrolled.
Not getting expelled was his bottom line.
Using the same leverage again wouldn't work; in fact, it might completely turn him against them.
That would be a serious problem.
So, Hachiman quickly changed the subject.
"I've recorded 11 possible strategic points," he stated. "At the center of the island, there is a white tower. If we climb to the top, I believe we'll be able to spot even more strategic locations."
"In other words, if we act fast enough, I think our class can claim the majority of the strategic points."
"Aside from the initial points, we could gain over 300 additional points from capturing these locations," Hachiman concluded.
Then, he deliberately paused for a moment.
The surrounding students reacted.
"300 initial points plus 300 additional strategic points!"
"Our class is going to get 600 points?!"
The students became somewhat excited.
After all, the current class evaluation score was 550 points, and the monthly living allowance was distributed based on the class evaluation score multiplied by 100 per student.
In other words, their living allowance would increase by 60,000 points!
No one dislikes having more money.
"And, the fastest person in our class is Koenji-kun. He is the most likely person to seize all the advantages," Hachiman said.
This was also his reasoning for choosing Koenji.
His speed was the fastest—everyone could see that.
In an instant.
The students all turned their expectant gazes toward him.
"Hmph."
Koenji noticed the surrounding students' gazes. Were they trying to guilt-trip him?
Just because he was strong, did that mean he had to work hard for these people?
If that was their only plan, Koenji had no intention of complying. Hachiman, I thought you were smarter than this.
During the previous behavioral assessment exam, Hachiman had confronted him.
Back then, to avoid being voted out and expelled by his classmates, he had chosen to cooperate.
But he never believed this class had any future.
Yet, after more than two months, the class had actually improved to the point where there was still hope, which even Koenji hadn't expected.
Still, if this was all Hachiman had to offer, he was unimpressed.
Moral coercion wouldn't work on him.
And as he was thinking that—
"But simply assigning such a difficult task to Koenji-kun would be too unreasonable."
"Therefore," Hachiman continued, "if we allocate 100 class evaluation points to Koenji-kun, I believe that would be fair."
"In other words, if we can gain 300 additional points from the strategic locations, I propose that 100 points should go solely to Koenji-kun."
"What does that mean?" Hirata immediately asked.
Of course, he knew what it meant—it was essentially redistributing the school's issued living allowances by taking a portion from everyone and giving it all to Koenji.
However, this involved taking points from the entire class. If handled poorly, it could cause dissatisfaction among the students.
And since Hachiman hadn't discussed this with him beforehand, he had to act quickly to assist.
"Basically, it's rewarding those who contribute more," Hachiman explained.
As he spoke, he glanced at Horikita.
Horikita Suzune quickly realized that this was the same argument she had used when she asked Hachiman for help before.
Did he actually remember that?
But just as she was processing this thought, Hachiman had already looked away.
"..." Kushida.
She felt like these two were exchanging meaningful glances.
But now wasn't the time to ask about it.
Hachiman continued, "This isn't about dividing the class, but rather about properly rewarding outstanding students."
"That's why I propose that from now on, we establish a system to reward students who bring significant benefits to the class."
"For instance, in this case, if Koenji-kun can earn 300 additional points for the class, isn't it reasonable to give him 100 points as a reward?"
"But let's be clear, right now, Koenji-kun is the most likely person to bring those 300 points to our class."
"Moreover."
Hachiman added, "The other classes are already setting out."
At those words, everyone instinctively turned to look at Class D in the distance.
That was Ryuen's class.
After the previous incident involving Sudo's fight, they had become well aware of Ryuen's class. Now, Ryuen had already dispatched several people to scout ahead.
Even though setting out earlier didn't necessarily guarantee better results, it made others anxious just watching.
For example, Hachiman's current class.
They had a growing sense that they were about to lose their advantage—that those 300 points would slip away. Their gazes turned increasingly urgent.
Once again, Koenji became the center of attention, but this time, it wasn't just about moral coercion.
There was now an incentive.
As for the reward—
100 class evaluation points. Considering a class had 40 students, that equated to 400,000 personal points.
And class evaluation points lasted until graduation.
Which meant that if luck was on his side, he could accumulate around 10 million points by the time he graduated.
Thinking this, he glanced at Hachiman.
Hachiman's expression remained unreadable.
"Koenji-kun, what do you think?" Hirata asked, observing the expressions of his classmates and letting out a sigh of relief.
Although he felt that Hachiman's decision to directly allocate class evaluation points as a reward was somewhat aggressive and risky, even potentially causing conflicts—
It seemed that the class had accepted the proposal.
After all, if Koenji could secure 300 points, the class would still retain 200 points. This would mean a free 200-point increase in their class evaluation, translating to an extra 20,000 points in monthly allowances. Nobody would complain about that.
So, stopping this plan now would only make him the one hindering everyone from gaining more money.
That would be troublesome.
"It's a pretty good deal," Koenji finally said. "If you can guarantee the reward, then I don't mind putting in the effort."
Is that so?
Then perhaps Koenji-kun could become an ally.
This thought crossed Hachiman's mind.
It was an idea he had grasped from Sakura—anyone could be of use.
And what about someone like Koenji, the strongest member of their class in terms of stats?
In fact, the earlier proposal was also a way to test him—it showed that Koenji actually wanted points. But what did he want them for?
Wasn't the standard monthly living allowance of 55,000 points enough?
And Koenji was a young master from a wealthy family; he didn't need the school's points for financial reasons.
Which meant that if he was collecting points, it wasn't to exchange them for money. Then there was only one possible reason…
With 20 million points, a student could transfer to another class.
He could even transfer to Class A.
In other words, Koenji-kun might also be aiming for Class A.
Confirming this was an unexpected but valuable piece of information.
Then, Hachiman exchanged a glance with Hirata.
Hirata immediately stood up, stepped out from the crowd, and walked toward Chabashira Sae, who was standing nearby in her black office attire. He spoke seriously, "Sensei, we have decided on our team leader."
"I see. Understood."
Chabashira nodded slightly and handed an electronic card to Hirata.
Hirata then quickly passed it to Hachiman.
Although it was called a card, it actually had a display screen.
Once the class leader was confirmed, the card would automatically display their identity.
Now, the leader card for Class C showed the name " Koenji Rokusuke."
"Then, we'll be counting on you, Koenji-kun," Hirata said.
"Hmph. Just wait for the results," Koenji replied as he took the leader card and slipped it into his pocket.
However—
Everyone noticed that he was now walking toward Hachiman.
Koenji was tall and had a well-built physique.
He looked incredibly fit.
In comparison, Hachiman appeared rather thin.
And yet—
With a sudden swoosh, to the surprise of many students, Koenji lifted Hachiman into his arms.
"K-Koenji, what are you doing?!"
Sudo was startled by the unexpected action.
Hachiman had been standing right next to him. If he hadn't instinctively stepped aside just now, would he have been the one being carried in a princess carry?
"Obviously, I'm bringing Hachiman along as a map," Koenji said.
"I may have confidence in myself, but I know absolutely nothing about the best locations on this island to set up a base."
Is that so?
You're just going to say that outright?
But—
He wasn't wrong.
Koenji Rokusuke was supremely confident. He didn't need to gather the same information as everyone else.
But this also meant that Koenji had incredible physical strength.
So, with Koenji acting as the aircraft—no, as support—Hachiman quickly began recalling the footage of the island that Sakura had recorded.
Using proximity as a guideline, he started directing Koenji's movements.
Furthermore—
If they moved together, even if they were spotted, the other classes wouldn't be able to confirm who the leader was.
However—
If they wanted to capture a large number of strategic points, they had to be even more cautious.
Even a 10% chance of their leader being identified by another class was unacceptable.
They needed additional countermeasures.
Thus—
Even though they hadn't started securing bases yet, Hachiman was already thinking about the next steps.
Meanwhile, his class didn't waste too much time. Students from other classes, confident in their own abilities, had also started moving toward strategic points.
For example, in First-Year Class A, Katsuragi was leading his class toward the points they had spotted from the deck.