Chapter 205 Regarding the Fact That My First Kiss Partner Stepped Up Again
"No way? Class 1-C is having an internal revolt before the exam even starts?!"
"Is that red-haired guy serious? He actually plans to blow all 300 exam points?!"
"No wonder those two girls are that angry—I'd blow a fuse too! Even if he's the class leader, he can't be this reckless. Class points aren't his personal property!"
Students from other classes couldn't help but whisper among themselves, the murmurs rising and falling like waves. In their eyes, the red-haired leader of Class C seemed almost like a "comedian." Before the exam had formally begun, he had already adopted a stance of surrender, preferring to waste 300 points on pleasure rather than making any plan for survival.
Not to mention that back in June, Class C had been docked 100 Class Points because of him, according to what the blue-haired girl said. At this rate, any student in Class C would be unable to suppress their fury.
Hearing the surrounding gossip, Ryuen Kakeru's face darkened instantly. His gaze became terrifyingly sharp as he raised his hand, seemingly about to strike Ibuki directly.
At that moment, someone from another class finally couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward.
Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B, looking as if she could no longer watch, dashed out from her class line and hurried forward.
"Please stop, Ryuen-kun! You shouldn't hit your classmates! The school will confiscate all your personal points!"
"Ryuen-kun, please don't do this! Ibuki-san is innocent; this is too much bullying!"
Shimizu Akira was slightly startled when he heard this. He wasn't surprised that Ichinose Honami stepped in—she was a famous "do-gooder" who couldn't stand conflict. What surprised him was that immediately following her, another voice spoke in agreement.
This voice... seemed to come from Class D?
He instinctively looked back and saw Kushida Kikyo standing behind him. His "first kiss partner" gave him a sweet, soft smile, her fingertips brushing his arm as if by accident, before she walked toward the dispute with a gentle expression.
'Wait, why is Kushida Kikyo joining this mess?'
Shimizu watched her walk forward until she stood side-by-side with Ichinose Honami. The two girls flanked Ryuen and Ibuki, creating a subtle standoff. His brow quirked. However, having known Kushida for four months, he understood her nature all too well. It only took a few seconds to figure out the logic.
'Ah, right. For her, this is a rare 'performance opportunity'.'
He remembered how, back on the bus on the first day, Kushida had proactively asked someone to give up their seat just to leave a good impression. She clearly enjoyed being the center of positive attention. Seeing Ryuen being rough with a female student provided her a perfect chance to "stand on the side of justice."
Furthermore, Shimizu recalled a scene he had accidentally witnessed in June—Kushida kicking a railing and muttering, "Ichinose Honami stole all the spotlight." It seemed she harbored a competitive "don't want to be outdone" attitude toward Ichinose. Stepping out now was likely a move to prevent Ichinose from occupying the moral high ground alone.
Ryuen glanced sideways at Ichinose, a disdainful sneer curling his lips.
"Tsk... it's you. Who told you that hitting someone would cost all my personal points? The guidebook says clearly that the rule only applies to 'other classes'—is your eyesight bad, or can't you read for yourself?"
He pressed forward half a step, his voice full of resentment.
"The 100 points our class lost last time were thanks to your two classes. Who do you think you are, trying to manage Class C's business?"
"That was because you instructed your students to harass our class first!" Ichinose countered, bringing up previous grievances.
"Not just that! Sudo-kun from our class was almost framed and suspended by you!" Kushida interjected immediately, bringing Class D's involvement into the light to further burden Ryuen's lack of moral standing.
"Stop it, Ryuen Kakeru!"
At this point, boys from other classes began to shout in support.
"The little tricks you played the last two months, we could barely understand as being 'for the class's benefit,' but hitting a female student—what is that?!"
"Exactly! How dare you speak to Ichinose-san like that!"
"What kind of man bullies girls? If you're so tough, go after the guys!"
"Don't you dare use that tone with Kushida-san!"
"And about what you did to our class before, I haven't settled that score yet!"
For a moment, voices of agreement popped up from various class lines. Since Ichinose Honami and Kushida Kikyo were the famous "angels" of the first year—one brave and righteous, the other kind and approachable—their joint stand for justice naturally drew massive support. In an instant, Ryuen Kakeru became the target of public criticism.
"Hmph, what I do has nothing to do with any of you!" Ryuen sneered. He turned back and waved at the Class C students. "Hey! You lot, move out! I'm taking you to experience what a 'real summer' feels like!"
"Don't be like these people, stingily counting points and worrying about where the next meal comes from! How embarrassing! If we run out of points, we'll just withdraw and go back to the cruise ship to enjoy ourselves—it's better than suffering on this dump of an island!"
After saying this, he glared at Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio, who were still dazed.
"You two, keep up! If you want to withdraw, wait until I've spent all the points first—didn't you see the manual? Every student who leaves costs the class 30 points. Don't waste my points now. Once the points are gone, I don't care if you stay or go!"
"Yes! Whatever Ryuen-aniki says!"
"We'll follow you!"
A group of Class C students immediately echoed him, following Ryuen in a large swarm toward the distance.
"Shiina-san, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Ibuki-san, were you frightened?"
Ichinose Honami and Kushida Kikyo stepped forward almost simultaneously, their voices full of genuine concern as they checked on Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio.
"...I'm fine, thank you for your concern," Shiina Hiyori replied with a gentle shake of her head.
"...Ah, I'm fine too!" Ibuki Mio replied instinctively, though she still forced a tight smile to show she was alright.
At that moment, Sakagami Kazuma of Class C pushed up his glasses and walked over quickly.
"Ichinose-san, Kushida-san, thank you for your kindness. But during a special exam, we won't trouble you with your concern."
"This..." Ichinose paused, seemingly wanting to say more as her gaze swept over the two girls.
"Understood, Sakagami-sensei," Kushida Kikyo replied first.
"Since you put it that way, we won't interfere further. We'll leave the rest in your care."
"Let's go, Shiina, Ibuki," Sakagami said softly to the two remaining girls.
Shiina Hiyori watched Ryuen's group in the distance and let out a soft sigh. She gently pulled the sleeve of Ibuki Mio, whose brow was still knotted with anger. The latter, though her face was full of reluctance and her lips were pressed tight, didn't argue further and began to follow with sluggish steps.
The three of them eventually merged back into the Class C group, disappearing as the crowd moved away.
"Ichinose-san is so kind! She stood up for girls from another class!"
"That's just like her, always brave and gentle."
"Kushida-san is amazing too! She wasn't intimidated by Ryuen Kakeru at all; she had so much presence!"
Amidst the admiring gazes of the other three classes, Ichinose and Kushida responded modestly before returning to their respective lines.
However, Shimizu Akira remained there with a frown, his heart full of doubt.
'This is wrong. This whole thing feels bizarre from start to finish.'
First, how could Ryuen Kakeru be someone who prioritized pleasure? Currently, if he just spent points sparingly, he could likely walk away with 100 or 200 Class Points. Why would he suddenly declare he was going to spend it all? This was completely inconsistent with Ryuen's usual style; the man was a calculator who looked at class interests clearly. He wouldn't make such a losing deal.
Second, the timing of the argument was too deliberate—erupting exactly when everyone from all four classes was present.
While Shimizu couldn't guess Ryuen's specific plan, he knew that a decision involving the class's fate would normally be made after they had established a camp and assessed the situation. Instead, Ryuen dropped the decision right in front of everyone.
Furthermore, knowing Ryuen's personality, would he "notify" his classmates like this? With his arrogant and impatient nature, he would more likely just spend the points and kick anyone who dared to question him, not bothering to explain a single word.
In short, there was definitely a catch—Ryuen's act looked entirely staged. But what was he plotting? Shimizu couldn't figure it out yet. He lacked key information.
However, he did capture one vital piece of information from Ryuen's words.
Since Ryuen said, "Once the points are gone, you can withdraw," did that mean the Special Exam Points couldn't become negative? In other words, even if points were exhausted or deducted for violations, it wouldn't impact the class's existing Class Point total.
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The Class C drama was ultimately just a minor interlude. Class D's focus soon returned to inventorying supplies and reviewing the rules. The school provided two large tents that could
house eight people each—but Class D had forty people. This was clearly insufficient. More troublesome was the lack of toilets; the school only provided a simple device that looked like it was made of cardboard boxes.
As everyone worried over the supplies, Chabashira Sae handed the guidebook to a student to pass around while adding a crucial detail: "Regarding this island, I must add a supplementary rule—there are so-called 'Bases'..."
The manual soon reached Shimizu. He flipped through and found the detailed rules for "Bases":
Occupying a Base requires a special exam Key Card. Without it, occupation is impossible. For every successful Base occupation, the class receives 1 point. Additionally, the occupying class can freely use the Base's facilities. Using a Base occupied by another class without permission results in a 50-point penalty. Possession of a Base automatically resets every eight hours. After reset, any class can re-occupy it if it's unclaimed. One class can occupy multiple Bases simultaneously. Only the designated "Leader" of a class has the right to use the Key Card to occupy a Base. The Class Leader cannot be changed without a "valid reason." On the final day (Day 7), a special test called "Guess the Leader" will be held. If you correctly guess another class's Leader, that class loses 50 points, and all extra points they earned from Bases are voided. If you guess incorrectly, your own class loses 50 points.
After reading the rules, the confusion in Shimizu's heart vanished. This was the core of the island exam—a game of "Base Occupation" and "Leader Identity Secrecy."
'Finally, the true zero-sum game begins.'
Among these rules, what Shimizu cared about most wasn't the point mechanism, but the phrasing in Rule 6: "The Leader cannot be changed without a valid reason."
"Valid reason"... Those two words were like a fuse. It immediately led him to a key thought—did that mean that as long as there was a "valid reason," a Class Leader could be changed at any time?
If so, the solution for the Day 7 test seemed clear: if you could change the Leader right before the final assessment, wouldn't that be the ultimate counter to "identity guessing"? Any intelligence gathered by other classes would become worthless, and the probability of them
guessing the new leader would drop to near zero. You could avoid the 50-point penalty and protect your accumulated Base points.
Hello everyone! I'm VarieTL
Thank you as always for your support!
I wanted to announce that I posted a new Fanfiction!
Saving the World with Crossovers, starting with replacing Natsuki subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman
Kawata Osamu transmigrated and became a God.
Wonderful start, right? Unfortunately, this world is destined to be destroyed by the Abyss...
The only thing he can do is try to merge many worlds together thanks to the "Children of the World."
If he can show everyone their adventures and evoke enough emotion, the worlds will merge! Kawata Osamu decided to start by replacing Natsuki Subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman!
2nd Arc: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in Redo of Healer
3rd Arc: Shirogane Miyuki in Inuyasha
4th Arc: Kousaka Kyousuke in Overlord
I have already posted 264 Chapters of this Fanfiction!
Mostly because it's really really good, so I wanted to continue working on it XD
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting