Chapter 126: Don't Startle the Snake in the Grass, Let Ryuen Do the Work!
Ike had gone to find Yamauchi. He had already realized that Yamauchi was in great danger now, and if nothing was done, everyone would choose Yamauchi to be expelled if there was an exam where someone had to leave.
He didn't have many friends, and to be honest, there were very few people who talked to him—Yamauchi was one of them.
Moreover,
If Yamauchi were expelled, what would happen to him? He would become the next one to be at the bottom.
So he quickly went to find Yamauchi.
However,
"Huh? Can't interact? Why? Ike, are you jealous of me?" Yamauchi said.
This caught Ike completely off guard.
At this moment,
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"
At the entrance of the cave, there was the sound of Sudo suppressing his anger, and the students in Class C were already used to his irritable temper. After all, Sudo was like this every day.
But this time, there was something a little different.
Because the targets of Sudo's anger were two students from Class D.
Ibuki, watching as Ike dragged Yamauchi away, furrowed her brows and prepared to head out to the beach to take attendance.
But she was blocked by someone.
And many of the people standing there were familiar to her, as they were the two students who had recently been the plaintiffs in the incident where Sudo had hit someone—Komiya and Ishizaki Daichi.
Of course, the outcome had been that Ryuen's class lost the case, and these two had been punished.
But meeting Sudo felt like a confrontation between old enemies, and tempers flared.
"Class D really lives up to its reputation. Always shouting and yelling!" Komiya said. "Sudo, you haven't made any progress at all."
"What did you say?!" Sudo immediately became angry. "And who are you calling Class D?! This is Class C now, you are the ones who are in Class D!"
"Heh, that's because you guys used tricks to get to where you are," Komiya said. "I would even say, Sudo, that even if your class got promoted, you didn't contribute at all."
"You despicable guy! You're the ones who framed me!" Sudo clenched his fists but couldn't come up with a retort.
Although during the trial, Horikita had presented evidence that turned the case around in his favor, the fight had been part of a plot by Ryuen's class. But... he had been chosen as the target of the attack.
And his usual behavior made him seem like the easiest person to bully.
"Komiya, Ishizaki, what are you two doing in Class C?" Ibuki, noticing that Komiya and the others were about to clash with Sudo, spoke up.
Ibuki had already arrived at the cave and seemed ready to head out to the beach to take attendance.
She was quite sensitive to the atmosphere around here. Although she had been taken in, there were many in this class who didn't want her to stay.
Only Yamauchi and a few others agreed with her staying.
But just a moment ago, the students from Class C around the campfire had been looking in her direction with eyes full of hostility.
At the same time,
Ike had taken Yamauchi away and even told him not to interact too much with her in front of her.
She realized that the class had become more wary and hostile toward her.
This wasn't good for her mission as a spy.
Yes.
She was a spy, here to gather information about Class C's leader.
She wasn't very smart, her grades were poor, and the only way she could move up to Class A was by following Ryuen's orders.
So, Ibuki was really just carrying out her mission seriously.
"Oh? Ibuki, after just one evening apart, you're already speaking up for students from another class?" Ishizaki Daichi said.
"I'm just showing some gratitude for them taking me in," Ibuki replied, maintaining her calm.
"Heh, then you might as well stay with them and join them," Ishizaki Daichi said.
"We're here to deliver Ryuen's orders," Komiya said. "Ibuki, given that you and Kaneda have resisted Ryuen, Ryuen has decided to punish you."
"You two are not allowed to return to the ship!" Komiya said.
"What do you mean?" Ibuki frowned, and at the same time, Hachiman and Horikita from Class C were paying attention.
They were speaking loudly enough by the entrance of the cave that it was impossible not to hear.
"You two opposed Ryuen. It's hard to trust that you won't deliberately avoid taking attendance or do something to deduct points," Ishizaki Daichi said. "So, Ryuen has decided to forfeit."
"We're going back to the ship, and you two... well, you can stay here on the island and suffer!" Ishizaki Daichi said.
"Wait a second!"
Hearing Ishizaki's words, Horikita stood up from the campfire.
"Horikita Suzune..." Ishizaki Daichi muttered.
It was Horikita who had presented the video footage from before their attack on Sudo during the trial, turning the case around. For Ishizaki, who had lost in that situation, she was someone to be cautious of.
Hachiman also walked over to Horikita's side.
"Did you say Ryuen decided to forfeit?" Hachiman asked. "Wasn't he planning to go all out in this exam?"
"You don't understand. Our class has found a shortcut for this exam."
"We traded all our initial points for supplies to Class A, and Class A will provide us with the equivalent of 300 points' worth of living expenses until graduation. So, we get to go back to the ship and enjoy a more comfortable life instead of this hard life on the island," Ishizaki explained.
"What does that mean?"
A student didn't understand.
At the same time, Koenji, who was sitting by the fire and looking at himself in a small mirror he had exchanged using initial points, glanced over at them.
Because this was indeed a good way to cope with the exam.
Of course, compared to his strategy of single-handedly securing a bunch of bases, it wasn't impressive.
Once the initial points were used up, the only way to gain points would be through compensation.
But the base points he had taken not only contributed to the class's evaluation score but also brought in income.
"I guess it means that since participating in the deserted island exam will certainly consume initial points, rather than letting them be used up, it's better to sell them all off and trade them for supplies and other classes," Hachiman explained.
"Is that really an option?"
Upon hearing Hachiman's explanation, the students from Class C displayed looks of surprise.
Because, in other words, Ryuen's class hadn't earned any class evaluation points, but... they had directly converted the 300 initial points into cash!
Hey, hey, hey!
Is this even allowed in the exam?
To be clear...
Their class had treated the deserted island exam as a camping trip, thinking that other classes wouldn't be able to compare to them.
But Ryuen's class was even more outrageous—they forfeited and returned to the island, and at the same time, because they made trades with their initial points, they could get compensation.
It seemed that the income they received wouldn't be any worse than the 300 class evaluation points that were guaranteed for other classes.
"So, what we need to notify you about is this, Ibuki. You won't be allowed to return to the ship," Ishizaki said. "Of course, if you're willing to submit to Ryuen, then returning to the ship wouldn't be impossible..."
"How could I ever submit to him!" Ibuki interrupted Ishizaki's words, her emotions rising.
Her face still had bruises, so it made sense that she would say such things.
After all, she had been beaten by Ryuen, and now to ask for his forgiveness was simply unacceptable.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Ibuki's firm attitude, Ishizaki and Komiya stopped talking to her.
"Back to school. Next time, our class won't lose!" Ishizaki declared as he was about to leave, issuing a challenge to Class C.
This meant they would skip this exam and go all out for the next one.
But the students in Class C were still in a daze from the fact that Ryuen's class could operate in such a way.
Hachiman was still at the cave entrance, while Horikita furrowed her brows.
She hadn't expected Ryuen's solution to be like this.
"Our class has plenty of supplies," Karuizawa said at this moment.
"Oh," Hachiman nodded.
"..." Karuizawa.
She felt that Hachiman hadn't understood her point.
Because...
Since Ryuen's class could sell supplies, couldn't their class also sell some supplies?
They could make a little living money.
But Hachiman was also very aware of this.
If there were supplies, they could certainly be sold.
And not just the supplies exchanged from the school, but also fruits, corn, and fish could be sold.
However...
If Ryuen really exchanged the 300 initial points for supplies, then at least they would have enough to cover the consumption of an entire class.
So, selling to Class A would be difficult.
As for Class B, it was an allied class.
It wasn't great to ask them for money, and B Class's Ichinose and the others were waiting for the 8-hour occupation period to end before they could occupy a vegetable garden.
In other words, the little angels in Class B had vegetables to eat now.
They could also be self-sufficient in food.
So selling supplies would at most be a nice bonus, but it wouldn't bring in much.
Also, they'd been at the school for more than two months, and it would make sense that they had some understanding of the school, but their own class still had so many saints.
When trading with other classes, what they would get was the living expenses to be shared by everyone, not the class evaluation points.
Hachiman didn't really want to put in the effort.
So...
What he wanted to do was to get the class promoted to Class A, and in the process, take some of the class evaluation points to secure that large income.
But he also needed to pay attention.
Aside from Ibuki, Ishizaki had mentioned another person called Kaneda who also stayed on the island.
Then...
Had Ryuen really given up?
Hachiman felt that if Ryuen truly sold the initial points, he wouldn't give up.
And if Ryuen hadn't given up and really sold all the supplies to Class A, then everything would be easier.
Thinking it, he did it.
"Sudo!"
Hachiman looked at Sudo, "You run quickly to the beach and check if Ryuen's class has really forfeited."
"Got it!"
Sudo moved quickly and ran off immediately.
He wasn't happy with Ryuen's class either, so he also wanted to find out if they had really quit, as Ishizaki and the others had said.
So, grabbing a flashlight, he prepared to run toward the beach.
Ibuki was still there.
Normally, she would be going to the beach for roll call, but now she had suddenly received the news that the class had forfeited.
If the class forfeited, then going to take attendance wouldn't matter anymore.
After hesitating for a moment...
"I'll go too," she said to Sudo.
"..." Sudo looked back at her. "I'm really fast, you might not be able to keep up!"
"I'm not slow either!"
Ibuki said this, then immediately set off. From her back, it was clear that her speed was not slow.
Half an hour later.
Sudo returned.
"Ryuen and his team..."
"Really?"
"When I got there, only ten students from Ryuen's class were still on the beach, but when they saw me, they immediately boarded the shuttle boat," Sudo reported.
"So, at least ten students forfeited," Hirata, who had just finished showering and came out to notice the commotion, sighed and said.
"If one student forfeits due to illness, they lose 30 points. So, under Sudo's observation, at least ten students forfeited. This means… if Ishizaki and the others lied, Ryuen's class would definitely lose 300 points."
The initial points were 300, so Ryuen's class was really at 0 points.
"Moreover, what's ridiculous is that they also took the free supplies given by the school. It seems they were determined not to leave anything for Ibuki," Sudo said.
This statement made everyone silent for a moment.
They all felt that Ryuen was truly ruthless.
"So Ryuen's class really forfeited the exam."
"But they traded with other classes, so they will get some compensation," Hirata added.
Because students from Ryuen's class were involved, now more than 30 students from Class C had gathered around the campfire.
At the same time, Karuizawa was drawing circles on the ground with a small stick and said, "But since Ryuen's class forfeited, does that mean their leader forfeited as well?"
This topic was actually worth discussing.
Because the rules stated that leaders couldn't be changed without a valid reason.
So, if the whole class forfeited, could it mean that the leader's position was automatically nullified?
But since Ibuki was still on the island and the whole class hadn't forfeited, it could almost be confirmed that Ryuen's class leader didn't have the right to forfeit.
However, the spy, Ibuki, was back now.
She was staying in the cave.
Directly answering the question would certainly raise suspicions.
Hachiman was certain that Ibuki had been sent by Ryuen to gather information on their class leader.
Since the mission was still ongoing, Ryuen wouldn't just stop here.
It was likely that the guessing of the class leader would continue.
Hachiman also had his eyes on the class leader guessing points.
It was almost exactly in line with Ryuen's plan.
But Hachiman may have had a deeper plan in mind.