Chapter 018: Tsukishiro's Final Uninhabited Island Stage / Cute Shiranami Chihiro
After returning to the classroom, Shimizu Akira opened the OAA and carefully double-checked the total number of students. It was slightly different from the 480 people mentioned by Chabashira-sensei; the actual total was 463.
There were 159 freshmen, 159 sophomores, and 145 seniors.
As for the first-year expulsions, it was Hatano from Class 1-C. For the second years, it goes without saying—Yamauchi Haruki.
As for the third years, Shimizu vaguely remembered that when Nagumo Miyabi first became Student Council President last year, he dealt with seven or eight people in one go.
Calculated this way, the third years had 14 fewer people than the first and second years, which was a disadvantage in a sense. With 463 people, they could form a maximum of 77 groups.
Next, he carefully reviewed the card effects again.
The Free Ride Card could only be used on the day of grouping; it would be void once expired. This rule was clearly meant to prevent people from placing bets late in the race based on established rankings.
To put it simply, it was a gamble with early stakes. You bet on a group you favor, and if you win, you get half of their earnings—with the school footing the bill.
Shimizu Akira began to calculate the theoretical maximum profit.
There were a maximum of three Special Cards per grade, totaling nine across three grades. If Basic Cards were distributed evenly, each grade would have about 90. And don't forget the Additional Cards, which could double individual points.
If a large group collected all the "Increase Member" cards from three grades, and all nine members held "Additional Cards," that would be a ninefold return. The basic reward for first place was 1 million points; nine times that was 9 million. And each Free Ride card could take half of that 9 million, which was 4.5 million. If enough Free Ride cards were bet on the same group, one could theoretically sweep away hundreds of millions at once.
A massive move. Truly a massive move. The room for manipulation in this Uninhabited Island exam was indeed large, and the rewards were absurdly high. However, Shimizu Akira soon shook his head.
Theory was, after all, just theory. Setting aside the fact that it was impossible for one group to collect all member-increase cards, it was even more impossible to get the entire school's Free Ride cards to bet on them.
Such a strategy would be the equivalent of rigging the first-place spot behind the scenes.
Nagumo Miyabi held sway over the third years. With him there, Shimizu didn't think that man would obediently cooperate and give up first place.
Nagumo's obsession with high rankings was anything but shallow. The first years were even more chaotic. Ishigami Kyo, Yagami Takuya, Hosen Kazuomi—especially the latter two—had a desire for victory stronger than the last.
Wanting to unify operations? Not a chance.
Shimizu Akira suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Horikita Suzune beside him.
"Suzune, you've been in the Student Council for so long. Has there ever been an Uninhabited Island exam with rewards as big as this one?"
Horikita Suzune thought for a moment and shook her head.
"No. This should be the first time all three grades are on the same field. The rules are the most complex, and the rewards are the largest."
This school held Uninhabited Island exams every year, too many to count.
But this year was definitely special.
"Did Tsukishiro come up with this himself?"
"Mhm. Nagumo Miyabi offered some suggestions, but it was mainly pushed forward by Acting Chairman Tsukishiro."
Shimizu Akira was deep in thought. After finishing lunch, he took out the phone number Sakayanagi Arisu had given him earlier and dialed it.
"Chairman Sakayanagi, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
A familiar voice soon came from the other end.
"Hm? This voice... it's Shimizu-kun! It's been a long time. Don't worry, since being suspended, I've been quite idle. It's noon now; there's no such thing as a disturbance."
Just as Sakayanagi Arisu had said, Sakayanagi Narumori recognized his voice immediately, and his tone was as gentle and friendly as he remembered.
"You're too kind, Chairman. Actually, I'm contacting you so abruptly because I wanted to ask about a few things."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"Regarding this Uninhabited Island special exam," Shimizu Akira cut straight to the point, "No matter how you look at it, it isn't very beneficial for the school, is it? The amount the school has to pay out is too large. How on earth did Tsukishiro convince the other departments to agree?"
There was silence for a few seconds on the other end, followed by Sakayanagi Narumori's voice.
"Shimizu-kun is indeed sharp. The board was originally very opposed to this special exam, but Tsukishiro forced it through by using his own position as a guarantee, promising that absolutely no accidents would occur.
Perhaps Tsukishiro himself feels that this is his last chance. He likely knows that although I am suspended now, my reinstatement is a certainty by the second semester at the latest."
Shimizu felt a chill in his heart. As expected.
"That's why he's in such a hurry. He wants to deal with me and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka before you return."
"Exactly. So for this special exam, Tsukishiro will likely make many preparations," Sakayanagi Narumori's tone became serious.
"Shimizu, you and Ayanokouji must be careful. I'm worried the people from the White Room might not follow the exam rules and might attack you directly."
With Tsukishiro's style, he was indeed capable of such things.
After all, the uninhabited island was so large that surveillance couldn't cover every corner. If an "accident" were to happen, it would be all too easy to explain away.
"If you encounter a situation, see if you can handle it yourself first. If not, go find Mashima Tomonari; he will help you. It's okay to give up on the exam if necessary. Remember, protecting yourself is the top priority," Sakayanagi Narumori instructed earnestly.
"I understand. Thank you, Chairman Sakayanagi." He nodded in response.
"Alright, that's all. Contact me anytime." With that, Sakayanagi Narumori hung up.
Shimizu Akira put down his phone and silently repeated the name in his mind.
Mashima Tomonari! Truly one of the few reliable male teachers in this school.
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During the lunch break in Class 2-C next door, a small discussion was also sparked by this special exam. However, Ryuen Kakeru's attention was not on the card rules; he was staring at another inconspicuous detail.
"Interesting. For this exam, if a class is at the bottom and can't pay the points, the school foots the bill?" He smiled.
"This gives me a pretty good idea for a plan."
Shiina Hiyori glanced at him.
"Don't forget, we currently have 852 points." Her mind worked fast; she naturally knew what Ryuen was plotting. It was nothing more than a repeat of last year's "zero points" plan.
Ryuen immediately became frustrated.
True. Their class points were so high that even if the bottom three were deducted 600 points, it wouldn't be enough to cause a "bankruptcy" reset.
"Oh, July 20th!" Their class's blonde new student—Koenji Rokusuke—suddenly interjected.
"If one were to simply withdraw from the exam, wouldn't they get to enjoy the luxury cruise for three weeks in advance?"
"That's right!"
"Speaking of which, we returned to the ship early to enjoy ourselves last year too."
A few delinquents with slower brains immediately had their eyes light up, as if they had discovered some grand benefit.
Ryuen glared at Koenji, strode onto the podium, and slammed his palm on the table: "Get lost! You guys sure are good at dreaming! I'm telling you, for this Uninhabited Island exam, no one is allowed to leave early without my permission! And I'm not going to prepare one million private points for each of you."
In the previous two months, their class had indeed spent over two million points cooperating with the first years. But there were still 32 million left on the books. If he really wanted to, he could scrap together one million for most people, excluding a few problem students. But the class funds were Ryuen's lifeblood—how could he use them for something like that? Besides, wasn't that just admitting defeat in advance?
"Dragon Boy is as serious as ever," Koenji Rokusuke took out a small mirror and leisurely adjusted his blonde hair.
"Just looking at you is exhausting and not at all beautiful. Please move away from me."
Ryuen clenched his fists in anger. If he hadn't sent his underlings to test this guy on the first day of the transfer and found his combat power to be ridiculously high, he would have attacked long ago.
What was the meaning of this? Leading the charge in inciting a hedonistic atmosphere and then complaining that his management was annoying?
This Koenji Rokusuke was a complete disaster.
From the day he transferred to the class, he hadn't done a single productive thing. It was one thing to be lazy and slippery, but he also invited the girls in the class out to dinner every other day, and several had already fallen victim to his charms.
This guy hadn't been like this when he was in Class B! At least back then he didn't "eat where he lived" and mostly went after upperclassmen.
Why did he start ruining his own classmates the moment he arrived here?
What was the meaning of this?! He didn't see the class as his own, did he!
If he didn't know that the class transfer was a temporary arrangement by Chairman Tsukishiro, Ryuen would have suspected that Shimizu Akira had intentionally shoved this "Great Buddha" into his class just to disgust him.
Then again, among those who transferred were Manabe, Koenji, Totsuka Yahiko from Class A, and Kanzaki Ryuji from Class D.
Why was he assigned the most annoying one?
Shiina Hiyori sighed.
"With my stamina, I doubt I'll be of much use in this Uninhabited Island exam."
Ryuen withdrew his murderous gaze from Koenji and snorted coldly: "You weren't a physical type to begin with. Just play it by ear when the time comes."
Kaneda Satoru stepped forward at this time.
"Setting the special exam aside for a moment, should our class consider buying Manabe back?" Buying someone required 10 million private points. For the current Class C, while not a small sum, it was certainly affordable.
"We'll consider it later, what's the rush." Ryuen was actually a bit conflicted. However, his gaze subconsciously swept toward Koenji Rokusuke, who was currently leaving the classroom with his arm around a female classmate.
He gritted his teeth and said, "But at the very least, this 'product' absolutely cannot stay. You guys shouldn't have any objections to that, right?"
Shiina Hiyori, Kaneda Satoru, and several surrounding students all nodded silently. This was probably the single most undisputed matter in the entire class.
Let alone spending 10 million—even if the other party paid them private points to take him, they didn't want to keep Koenji Rokusuke.
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After school, Class B did not hold a meeting. It wasn't that they didn't want to discuss strategy, but rather that the card items hadn't been distributed yet, so talking now was
premature. Chabashira-sensei said the specific items for each person would be announced tomorrow morning, so everyone decided to wait until then.
Just as Shimizu Akira reached the corner of the stairs, he was called out by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. "Shimizu."
The other party got straight to the point and asked a nonsensical question: "Since the project selection match, it seems you haven't looked for a new girlfriend? According to your previous pattern, shouldn't you have gathered eight by now?"
"No. What pattern?" Shimizu Akira looked speechless.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
What "pattern"? Was he talking about the pattern of finding a new girlfriend after every special exam?
"Then has no cute girl taken the initiative to approach you lately?"
Ayanokouji's words had a hidden meaning.
"Hm? You mean Nanase?"
The first person to pop into Shimizu's mind was indeed Nanase Tsubasa.
"Speaking of which, she still owes me money."
Ayanokouji was slightly stunned.
He was clearly referring to Amasawa Ichika, who had been arranged to go there, so why did Shimizu think of Nanase Tsubasa? But on second thought, maybe Nanase wasn't a bad fit? She did seem quite suitable for Shimizu Akira.
There was just one thing he still hadn't figured out: where Nanase Tsubasa's mysterious hostility toward him came from.
Shimizu Akira naturally didn't know the twists and turns in Ayanokouji's mind; he simply recounted the general content of his noon conversation with Chairman Sakayanagi.
After listening, Ayanokouji nodded thoughtfully.
"I suppose it's a good thing. Tsukishiro is finally leaving this school."
Shimizu Akira leaned against the stair railing. "But that's only provided this special exam ends smoothly."
Ayanokouji said, "Then do you want to team up with me?"
This was a rare proactive invitation from him.
Shimizu Akira was briefly stunned, immediately remembering what Kikyo had said before leaving class—that the girlfriend group was still discussing the results and hadn't decided which two people would form a group with him.
He shook his head.
"No, I'll probably be teaming up with my girlfriends. Sorry."
Ayanokouji didn't say much more. "Fine, then I'll be by myself."
Since he was already being targeted, there was no need to drag anyone else down. Being alone was actually more convenient.
The next morning, after waking up, Shimizu Akira habitually opened the OAA to check his messages.
Sure enough, he found a Halving Card in his account; its effect was to halve the private points paid during a penalty.
This card was actually useless to him. After all, Shimizu's goal from the start was not to be at the bottom. At the very least, he had to aim for the top three.
It seemed his luck was average; he hadn't been assigned any special cards.
Next, he flipped through the OAA profiles of all the second-year students and noted down the owners of several special cards.
The Increase Member Card was in the hands of Asakura Asako from Class D. The Nullification Card belonged to Yano Koharu from Class A.
The Trial Card was obtained by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
As for Ryuen's Class C, not a single one was found. Shimizu couldn't help but click his tongue. It seemed he wasn't the only one with bad luck.
He was just about to head to the classroom when he looked up and found a familiar figure standing at the dormitory entrance.
Shiranami Chihiro. She was wearing a cute hair clip and holding a bento box, looking around. Seeing Shimizu Akira come out, her eyes lit up and she jogged over.
"Shimizu-kun, good morning."
"Good morning, Shiranami."
Shiranami Chihiro's cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head and asked softly, "Um... if it's okay, could Shimizu-kun exchange cards with me?"
"Exchange cards?" Shimizu Akira was slightly stunned.
"What is your card?"
Shiranami Chihiro quickly showed her phone screen: "My card is an Insurance Card."
The effect of the Insurance Card was that if the holder lost their qualification due to physical illness during the exam, they could get a one-day recovery buffer.
Shimizu recalled last year's rules; in fact, even if you faked an illness, the school usually turned a blind eye and let you rest. During the two-week exam period on the island, being able to return to the luxury cruise for a day of rest made this card one of the most useful among the common cards, second only to the Free Ride card.
"You want to exchange for my Halving Card?" Shimizu confirmed. "But my card is only useful if you're at the bottom; it's completely useless normally. Are you sure?"
Shiranami Chihiro nodded and explained seriously: "Yes, I know. But my physical fitness isn't very good, and my other abilities are average. I feel like I could easily end up at the bottom. If I have the Halving Card, I only need to produce 500,000 private points... this card is really important to me."
Shimizu Akira thought about it. The Halving Card was indeed useless to him; exchanging it for a practical Insurance Card wasn't a bad deal.
"Okay, let's swap." The two completed the exchange on the OAA then and there. The school rules stated that cards could only be traded once, so these two cards were now permanently bound to their respective accounts. Only the parties involved could use them.
Shiranami Chihiro stared at the newly acquired Halving Card on her screen, her expression visibly relaxing.
She gave a sweet smile: "Thank you, Shimizu-kun! You really helped me out this time!"
With that, she handed over the bento box she had been carrying.
"So, could you take this?"
Just as Shimizu Akira was about to say something, Shiranami Chihiro quickly added, as if afraid he would misunderstand: "I heard from Honami that Shimizu-kun has many girlfriends, so you should be eating lunch with them. So, what's inside the bento box is actually snacks I made; you can just take them and share them with them."
As she spoke, she looked up at him again, a hint of caution in her eyes as if she were afraid he would refuse. Shimizu Akira took the bento box and nodded slightly.
"Thanks, I won't be polite then."
"Mhm! Then I'll be going now." Shiranami Chihiro finally showed a cute smile, waved at him, and turned to trot away.
Shimizu Akira stood there, looked down at the bento box in his hand, and thought back to her words.
Specifically finding out about his situation and making snacks for him to share with his girlfriends... Honami had warned him a few days ago that Shiranami Chihiro might make a move recently. It seemed this was her proactive strike.
First the card exchange, then the bento.
Step by step, natural and appropriate.
Honestly, he didn't dislike this method at all. Where did she learn this? Thinking this, Shimizu Akira casually opened the bento box. Then he froze.
Inside the box were neatly arranged, exquisite snacks: macarons, small cakes, and shaped cookies. Moreover, every single one was made in the shape of a small animal. There were kittens, puppies, little snakes, and even chicks. Each one was incredibly adorable.
They were so cute it felt like a sin to eat them.
Shimizu Akira stared at these snacks for several seconds, momentarily unsure of how to even start.
While he was indeed a man, that didn't mean he had the heart to bite into something this cute.