Chapter 122: Class C, Internal Strife Breaks Out?
After receiving the consent of his classmates, a smile appeared on Katsuragi Keima's face.
"I didn't expect you to be so proactive in helping the class this time. It's truly rare." Horikita Suzune looked at Katsuragi Keima with a smile. Previously, he had seemed indifferent to everything, as if his only purpose was to play games. This time, he was being remarkably proactive.
"Now, students, please hand over all your personal belongings to be kept by the teachers for unified storage."
Just then, Chabashira Sae's voice came from a distance. She walked up to the Class D students and began collecting items. "Everything must be confiscated, including all electronic products."
'Wait a minute...'
Horikita Suzune suddenly realized something and snapped her head around to look at Katsuragi Keima beside her.
"Wait, you didn't volunteer just because you were worried about your game console being confiscated, did you?!"
While Horikita was dazed, Chabashira Sae had already walked up to them, prepared to take the handheld console from Katsuragi Keima's hands.
Katsuragi Keima spoke immediately. "Sensei, I want to use points."
"What?" Chabashira Sae froze for a moment.
"I want to use points to trade for the right to use my game console, and additionally trade for a power bank."
"Are you sure...?" Chabashira Sae let out a somewhat helpless sigh, but this was indeed Katsuragi Keima's style.
"Yes. You should have heard just now; I am in full control of the class decisions for this exam."
Chabashira Sae pursed her lips but ultimately agreed to Katsuragi Keima's request. Not only did she not confiscate his console, but she also brought him a power bank, costing 15 points.
"Hey, hey, hey! So that really was it!" Horikita Suzune gave Katsuragi Keima a "death stare," but the latter ignored her completely, talking to himself: "I had to prepare the game console and power bank."
"Why?"
"Because without games I have no motivation, without motivation I'll think about slacking off, and if I think about slacking off, we're finished this time." Katsuragi Keima suddenly looked at Horikita Suzune with dead seriousness.
"It is the girls inside the games who give me motivation."
"You really are as strange as ever." Horikita Suzune simply laughed helplessly. Katsuragi Keima was just like this; there was no helping it.
"Now it's time to discuss what to buy next—tents, portable toilets..."
Just as Class D finished discussing their strategy and everyone was preparing to disperse to organize their supplies, a sudden commotion broke out from the Class C camp nearby.
"What the hell do you mean?!"
Ryuen Kakeru's voice was sharp and piercing, completely devoid of the composed manner he had shown just moments ago. His voice carried undisguised anger—rage, even.
Everyone's attention was drawn over.
In the Class C camp, Ryuen Kakeru was glaring at Ibuki Mio, his face ashen. His eyes were wide and round, veins bulged on his forehead, and he looked as if he might pounce and strike at any second.
Ibuki Mio stood opposite him, her expression as cold as ice. She tilted her chin up slightly, her eyes filled with obvious disdain and defiance.
"I said, there's a problem with your plan," Ibuki Mio said coldly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of everyone nearby clearly. "In this kind of exam, your violent methods won't work. Do you think this is a street brawl?"
"Won't work?" Ryuen Kakeru laughed, but the laughter was full of fury, twisted and terrifying. "Who do you think you are? You dare to question me? You're nothing but a dog of Class C!"
"A dog?" Ibuki Mio's gaze grew even colder. "Even that is better than a useless waste who only knows how to bark."
The surroundings fell instantly silent. It was so quiet that one could hear the waves crashing against the rocks. Everyone held their breath.
The Class C students looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief. Kaneda and Yamada stood with their mouths agape, completely unsure of how to react. A few tried to step forward to break up the fight, but were glared back by a look from Ryuen that looked like it could devour a man.
"Ibuki, remember this." Ryuen's voice dropped low, but became more dangerous, every word squeezed through his teeth. "In this exam, I have the final say. If you don't like it, get the hell back to the cruise ship right now. Class C doesn't need people like you."
Ibuki Mio clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white from the force. "You think I'm afraid of you?"
The two confronted each other, sparks practically flying in the air. The surrounding Class C students didn't even dare to breathe. Kaneda tried to say something to soften the mood, but was shut down immediately by a "Shut up" from Ryuen.
The tension reached its peak.
"If the teachers weren't right here, Ibuki, you know what would happen to you." Ryuen Kakeru let out a few cold laughs.
"I will absolutely not follow this guy's orders!" As she spoke, Ibuki Mio turned and walked straight away.
The people nearby were all stunned.
"What the hell are you all looking at!" Ryuen roared at those around him. "Get back to what you're supposed to be doing!"
The Class C students hurriedly averted their eyes, pretending to be busy with their own tasks. But whispers couldn't help but break out.
"How could this happen..."
"Wasn't Ibuki always following Ryuen?"
"It's over, how can we even take the exam like this..."
This farce lasted for a good ten minutes. Students from other classes gathered to watch, and whispers rose and fell.
"What's going on with Class C?" a girl from Class B asked softly.
"In-fighting!" another boy said gleefully. "Serves them right! That's what they get for being so arrogant normally!"
"Isn't Ibuki Mio pretty strong? She actually fell out with Ryuen?"
"No matter how strong someone is, there's a point where they can't take it anymore. Who could stand a tyrant like Ryuen?"
Class B's Ichinose Honami looked over with a worried expression. "Are they okay?" she whispered. "Should we go and try to persuade..."
"I suggest against it. After all, what we need to consider now are the internal matters of our own class," Kanzaki Ryuji said with a serious expression.
Ichinose Honami hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. Although she was worried, currently Ichinose had to prioritize her responsibility to her own classmates. But as she watched the silhouette of Ibuki Mio sitting alone by the sea, a trace of pity flashed in her eyes.
In the Class A camp:
Katsuragi Kohei stood with his arms crossed, his brow slightly furrowed. Behind him, several Class A students were whispering about Class C's internal strife.
"Katsuragi, this is beneficial for us," a boy with glasses said excitedly. "Class C falling into chaos first means we have one less rival!"
"Exactly, exactly!" another girl chimed in. "Let them make a scene; it's best if they cause enough trouble to withdraw from the exam!"
Katsuragi did not answer. He stared toward Class C, his gaze moving back and forth between Ryuen Kakeru and Ibuki Mio.
Something was wrong. He felt something was off. Based on his understanding of Ryuen Kakeru, although that man was arrogant and eccentric, he was never a fool. On the contrary, the reason he could secure a foothold in a place like Class C was because of his precise judgment and ruthless methods.
Would such a person expose their internal conflicts in front of a public audience?
And... he looked at Ibuki Mio. The girl sat by the sea with her back to everyone, her shoulders not trembling in the slightest. If she had truly left out of anger, her body language shouldn't look like that.
She was too calm. Calm to the point of not appearing angry.
"Katsuragi?" The boy with glasses asked cautiously when he saw him not speaking. "What do you think?"
Katsuragi was silent for a few seconds. "Continue to observe."
"But—"
"No 'buts'." Katsuragi interrupted him. "Ryuen Kakeru is not someone who does meaningless things."
The students looked at each other and stopped talking. But in their hearts, they all felt Katsuragi was being too cautious. Class C was clearly in-fighting; what kind of plot could there still be?
Katsuragi Kohei knew that Ryuen Kakeru must have his own plan—however, half of the class didn't know that he had already reached a cooperation with Ryuen Kakeru. Only those belonging to his own faction knew. The students in the Sakayanagi camp were still unaware.
But Katsuragi felt a bit strange. Even though Sakayanagi was absent and he had absolute control over this exam, why did the students of the Sakayanagi faction seem so cooperative for the moment?
Well, it didn't matter.
Katsuragi Kohei and Ryuen Kakeru exchanged a look—after the exam officially started, they would meet up inside the deserted island and exchange plans. At that time, he would naturally know what Ryuen Kakeru was up to.
In the Class D camp:
The group also watched the farce with varied reactions. Ike Kanji was the first to laugh gleefully: "Great! Class C is in chaos first! That's one less rival for us!"
"Exactly!" Sudo Ken agreed, his eyes shining. "Let them argue; it's best if they start fighting! It would be satisfying if a few withdrew!"
"Don't say that..." Sakura Airi said softly, though she also couldn't help but glance over. "Are they really okay?"
"What could be wrong?" Ike Kanji waved his hand. "Just dogs biting dogs."
Karuizawa Kei breathed a sigh of relief, the tension on her face fading slightly. "Seems Class C isn't all that much after all," she said with a smile. "That Ryuen Kakeru person usually looks pretty tough, but it turns out he can't even manage his own class."
Sato Maya nodded. "This is a good thing for us. Their internal strife means one less opponent for us."
Only Kushida Kikyo did not speak. She looked over with a complex gaze. On that face that always wore a perfect smile, there was now a hint of contemplation.
No. She had seen too many people who acted one way on the surface and another behind the scenes. She was that kind of person herself. So she knew that sometimes the scenes that looked the most real were often the fakest.
She looked at Katsuragi Keima. The man was still looking down, playing his game. It was as if the commotion over there had nothing to do with him.
"Keima-kun." She walked over and asked softly, "What do you think?"
Katsuragi Keima didn't even look up. "Fake."
Kushida Kikyo froze. "Fake?"
"Yeah." Katsuragi Keima's fingers continued to dance across the buttons, his speed not slowing down in the slightest. "A person like Ryuen wouldn't have internal strife in full view of everyone. Even if he really had a conflict with Ibuki Mio, he would solve it behind closed doors. Arguing in front of everyone? It's too deliberate."
He paused. "And, look at Ibuki Mio's expression."
Ibuki Mio sat by the sea, and although her back was to the crowd, she would occasionally tilt her head slightly as if looking at something. Kushida Kikyo looked closely. What was she looking at? At Ryuen Kakeru?
No. She was looking at the reactions of the people around her.
"Are you saying..." Kushida Kikyo's voice dropped even lower, "They are acting on purpose?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Katsuragi Keima pushed up his glasses. "To make people lower their guard. To make the other classes think Class C is internally divided, thus underestimating them. When the actual exam comes, they can catch everyone off guard." He looked up and glanced at the farce over there. "Ryuen is much smarter than he looks. He knows how to exploit others' contempt."
Kushida Kikyo fell silent. She looked toward Class C again. Ryuen Kakeru was still grumbling while packing things, and the Class C students were surrounding him cautiously, not daring to breathe. Ibuki Mio was still sitting by the sea, her lonely silhouette looking incredibly desolate.
The scene looked incredibly real. But if what Katsuragi Keima said was true... then Ryuen Kakeru was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
"Then what should we do?"
"Nothing." Katsuragi Keima looked down. "Just watch the show."
"Watch the show?"
"Yeah. Since they want to act, we'll cooperate and watch. Let them think we believe it." He paused. "The exam is long. It's not certain yet who will have the last laugh."
Kushida Kikyo looked at him. "Understood."
Horikita Suzune also walked over. "Katsuragi, what do you think Class C will do this time?"
Katsuragi Keima thought for a moment. "They will stay low-profile for a few days, letting everyone think they are truly failing. Then, at a critical moment, they will suddenly exert their strength."
"What critical moment?"
"The last day," Katsuragi Keima said. "The segment for guessing the leaders. That is the only chance to flip the board. Ryuen Kakeru will definitely seize that chance."
Horikita Suzune nodded thoughtfully. "Then we—"
"We don't need to do anything," Katsuragi Keima interrupted her. "Just proceed according to my previous plan: find water sources where we need to find them, and set up camp where we need to set up camp. If Class C wants to act, let them act."
He looked up toward Ryuen Kakeru's direction. "As for what happens later, we'll deal with it then."
Horikita Suzune gave him a deep look. "Water sources aren't easy to find, are they?"
"No, it's not hard. The school letting us out to see the scenery earlier wasn't just for sightseeing; it was to give us a chance to memorize the terrain."
"You already memorized it?"
"I memorized it long ago," Katsuragi Keima said slowly. "Game maps are meant to be memorized."
This left even Horikita Suzune somewhat shocked. Was this person truly only playing a game? She suddenly felt that if one day she were to become his enemy... it would certainly be terrifying.
No, very terrifying.
And over by Class C, the conflict between Ryuen Kakeru and Ibuki Mio was still continuing. Or rather, the performance was still ongoing.
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