Chapter 31 - Expectations

"We are not trying to force you out. If anything, Ibuki-san is welcome to stay here for as long as you want. It's just..." Hirata paused.

"Just what?" Ibuki eyed him with skepticism.

"Hah~" Hirata closed his eyes and replied, "I think it would be the best for you if you resigned."

Ibuki didn't seem too surprised with that response. If anything, she was probably expecting it from the beginning.

"And how is that?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Well, your classmates have already decided to let go of this special exam instead of using it. They've received irreplaceable damage by spending all their points. This is a group exam, so I don't think your efforts alone would be enough to make any significant change in those numbers. That's why I think it would be for the best if you returned to your comrades back in the ship rather than staying here on this island."

"Comrades? Heh..." Ibuki chuckled in a deprecating tone. "Don't make me laugh. What kind of comrade would beat up their own and leave them without even bothering to do something as little as to inform?"

"That's..." Hirata was about to say something but applied brakes and went silent after realizing that he had no rebuttal against it. The other members who were within the conversation diameter remained silent, simply witnessing the play unfold, including me. This time, I simply wanted to be with the audience instead of joining the play.

"Hah..." Ibuki exhaled before saying, "You know, really envy you guys. There are so many good people here in your class, and you guys have great camaraderie, unlike my class which is full of idiots." she paused. "To think that they'd leave me behind like that."

She muttered the last part while patting her left elbow, trying to look hurt. Some were taken aback by her vulnerable stature. But some individuals weren't convinced by her performance.

"Ibuki-san, I must apologize for suddenly putting you in the spot like that. However, you need to make a decision now. Your choice would greatly impact how we would proceed from here." Straight to the point, Horikita asked with a serious face.

"If you don't mind me asking, how would it impact you guys?" Ibuki retorted. "You guys didn't say things like this when taking me in."

"Indeed. Some of my classmates did agree to shelter you on the first day. However, you should also keep in mind that it was because it was an avoidable situation. My classmates were too kind to leave an injured girl like you alone in the wilderness." Horikita threw a glance at me, and in reply, I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

"I'm sure you couldn't leave because of how the exam was designed. Up until now, you had been pushing yourself for the sake of your class." she continued. "But now that your classmates have completely exempted themselves from the exam, you've lost that sole reason for staying on this island. Logically, I don't see a single benefit in your staying here. At this point, any person with a rational mind would choose to drop the exam without delay. But for the sake of clearance, I'm asking you again..."

After a brief and intense pause, Horikita asked...

"What are you going to do?"

Horikita's blunt lecture left everyone astounded. She didn't tell her anything directly, but her passive aggressiveness bore the message, 'Get out, you're an obstacle'. I wondered if Ibuki had already caught on to that because, later she contemplated about her future words for a good few seconds.

"What I'm gonna do, huh?" Ibuki sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

Is she seriously going to leave?

"Ibuki-san, are you sure about this?" I asked regardless.

"To be honest, I don't even want to see their faces. But at the same time, I dislike the thought of being a burden to you guys either. And, besides, the boat's already sank, so there's no point in sleeping on rocks anymore, is there?" she replied with a dead-eyed expression.

"I'm glad that you understand," Hirata replied and sighed in relief.

"Eh... Whatever. I'll go pack my things." Ibuki slumped her arms before facing the interior of the cave, probably going to do what she said.

And with that, the argument was over.

"Wow, that certainly was... intense," remarked Satou.

"Yeah. True that." Shinohara...

Everyone began chattering about the event that had just unfolded before them. I looked inside the cave, keeping an eye on Ibuki.

"You seem to be deeply pondering about something." someone approached me.

"It's nothing. I was simply filtering all the pros and cons of my actions." I replied.

"Oh really? Then tell me, which one has the overwhelming number?" he asked.

I looked back at him and peered straight into his eyes.

"Pros, of course," I replied.

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Day 4, 10:30 AM.

"It sure was a short stay, huh?" I remarked while waving off a bunch of vines in front of me.

"Shut up and keep walking." Ibuki shot me down.

"Yes ma'am."

Before noon hit, Ibuki and I were walking toward the southern beach where the cruise ship was anchored. I was accompanying Ibuki on her way to formally exclude herself from the exam and board the ship.

"You didn't have to escort me there, you know? I know how to read a map." Ibuki uttered.

It was a voluntary decision. I had my reasons for doing this. But Horikita for some reason, was unnaturally hesitant to let me go with Ibuki. I had to persuade her by explaining that it was all for the sake of the exam. I wanted to keep surveillance on her to make sure that she was going there to drop the exam and not do anything else. In the end, she gave up and let me do what I wanted.

"Like I said before, it's dangerous to navigate alone in this island forest, especially when you're inexperienced. Besides, I was the one who brought you to our camp, so I think I should also be the person to show you the way out." I replied.

"Then tell me, how are YOU going to return once we get there?" she asked in an annoyed voice.

"Well, I have decent camping knowledge, and I can navigate just fine. That's why they left me with you and not someone else."

"How thoughtful of them..." She rolled her eyes as she muttered under her breath.

We were walking silently again. Ibuki was irritated by my presence. As long as I was there with her, she wouldn't be able to complete her task. That wasn't really my reason to tail her though. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn't amused by the sight of her getting frustrated like that. I almost wanted to actually foil her plan just to see what kind of reaction she would make

"Hey, we're almost there," I remarked.

"Already?" she looked forward only to see traces of that gigantic cruise ship grounded near the beach. Though her face didn't show any significant changes, I could easily tell how nervous she was. Anyway, I silently began walking forward while she hesitantly followed me. The closer we got to the beach, the more restless she grew.

Is she going to stop me, or will she really going to get along with it?

"I'll take things from here. You go back to your camp now."

Great! And here I was thinking that she wouldn't even bother stopping me.

"But we're almost there though?" I replied nonetheless.

"What? Are you worried that I'd lose my way from here? Don't be an idiot. They're probably waiting for you. So you should go."

"Well, if you're going to insist me that much, then I suppose I'll leave you be." I raised my arm and offered her a handshake, "This is goodbye, Ibuki-san. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Ibuki looked at my extended arm for a moment before shaking it.

"Same to you." She said.

After that she and I, we both parted ways.

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Day 4, 11:54 AM.

After a little detour, I was then allowed to resume my spot-capturing conquest like before. Yesterday, I ended up claiming nine spots within two hours and eleven spots on the second run. I was careful enough not to pry too deep into the central forest and did not push myself to claim more.

Why?

In the story, Hashimoto from class A met up with Ryuen and sold their leader's name. It was for the sake of tarnishing Katsuragi's reputation as a leader and reducing his influence. But that's not the point. Hashimoto was able to meet Ryuen while being on a tight clock and not let Katsuragi suspect him. It proves that Ryuen's hideout location was somewhere near class A's camp. In short, the area near class A's base was a minefield. I'd rather not risk my plan being compromised for the sake of gaining a few lousy bonus points.

Aside from that, that day was even warmer than the day before. I've noticed that the humidity in the air was higher than ever, hinting toward a potential downpour or a storm. Exactly like the story. The day after tomorrow will be the final day. It would probably be quite hard for us to resume our food collecting operations as we won't be able to go out when it's wet outside. There was the option to buy meals for a whole class with only ten special exam points. They would also provide each of us with bottled water.

Twenty points shouldn't be too much of a sacrifice, right?

Then again, there was also an alternative option to buy meals individually, which cost six points per person. If we took this route then it would've cost us a whooping two-hundred-and-forty points for each time we ordered. Yet they end up providing meals for all of us with only an additional four points.

Someone, please explain it to me... Only the school seemed to know some kind of god-forbidden knowledge as to why they formulated such a laughable option distribution.

"Levent-kun, you came back." After returning, I was immediately confronted by Horikita who was seemingly restless. "What took you so long?"

Did something happen while I was gone? Or was my absence the reason itself?

"I got lost on my way here," I replied. "Don't worry, Ibuki Mio dropped out from the exam. You don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Is that so? Then is it safe to assume that class D is now a harmless existence?"

"If you think about it that way, then my answer will probably be yes. At least you wouldn't have to worry about them as much as like the other classes." I replied.

It wasn't a lie, not at all. As Ibuki was now gone from class C's campsite, there was no need to worry about her causing any trouble, nor to be afraid of her constant surveillance. Whatever needed to be done was already done, and I'm confident that it would be more than enough for my trick to work.

"What do you mean?" she inquired in a confused tone.

"Think about it carefully. The last time we saw their leader, Ryuen Kakeru, what did he tell us?"

"If I remember correctly, he boldly declared that he would be targeting our class next." Horikita folded her arms.

"And yet he decided to drop the exam without delay. Isn't that interesting?"

"Could it be that he simply gave up on trying to exact revenge on us?"

"Keep thinking like that and you'll most likely make a blunder, Horikita."

"Right..." she brought one arm close to her face and kept pinching her lips while thinking. "Why would Ryuen-kun make a bold statement like that only to disappear from the exam?"

"That's assuming he even left the island in the first place." I sighed. Horikita turned to me with wide eyes in disbelief.

"Wait. So you're telling me that he's still on this island?"

"Hey, I'm just saying it's a possibility." I shrugged.

"But the entire class D dropped out from the exam. You were there to see it with your own eyes. They've most likely run out of rations too. So, how will he compete by going solo?"

I sighed and slumped down on a rock.

"Firstly, it doesn't matter whether his classmates are with him or not. Even if ninety-nine percent of class D students were to drop out, the exam would persist as long that one percent remains."

"I understand that part. But what about the rations?"

"That's where the second part comes. You do realize that we're on an artificial island, right?"

"Now that you bring that up, I do remember Sensei mentioning something like this island being owned by a training company." she affirmed.

"Correct. Which means that there's plenty of food out there for a person going solo. He can rehydrate simply by boiling water from any of the springs. As for the shelter, he'll just use any of the tents he bought with points. Even better if he's in cahoots with the other classes."

"By why would he go to such a length like that? The person I know him to be isn't really the type to do hard labor."

"Who can tell if this person called 'Ryuen Kakeru' has a few wires loose?"

Horikita opened her mouth but closed it immediately.

"All of that? Only for the sake of getting revenge?"

I think that conclusion was both correct and incorrect. On one hand, Ryuen had lost three of his lackeys and the title of class C which was once there. Not to mention the monthly allowance cut. I've probably said it time and time again. He was pissed, that much should be obvious by now. He wanted to get back at us by dragging us down. But on the other hand, even though Ryuen can be hot-headed, he's undoubtedly sharp, cunning, and a great strategist. I'm sure he wouldn't lose his cool and competence over something as 'trivial' as that.

Though it's all just an assumption on my part.

"As long as 'the leader' s identity is hidden, we should be safe," I replied as I prompted to walk away.

"Say, if Ryuen-kun were to stay on this island like you suggested, then what should we do?" Horikita asked. I stopped and looked back at her.

"Nothing," 

"Nothing? So we can't do anything about it?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Just wait till the exam is over. You'll understand." I replied.

"I don't understand why you're being so vague about it. Please tell me what you have in mind."

"I'll have to decline."

"Why?" she rasped in frustration.

"All I'm asking you to do is to trust me."

Although I've already exposed my cards to Ayanokouji, I'm sure he wouldn't do anything stupid like ratting me out. That would only be chopping his own feet with an axe. Overall, he's harmless for now. As for the person in front of me. I'm sure Horikita was capable of hiding such a grand scale of an illusion that I created. Yet I still felt like keeping her oblivious until the very last day.

"Very well." she sighed. "I trust you, Levent-kun."

"Thank you," I replied.

I'm glad that she's accepted my willingness to keep things vague. With that, I killed the conversation and walked toward my other classmates.

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Day 6, 01:50 PM

It had been drizzling since last night, which later changed into a heavy downpour not too long ago. The sky was overcast with dark clouds and the environment was gloomy. A stark contrast to the last couple of days when it had been extremely sunny and hot.

The excessive heat probably created a low pressure in the area, magnetizing all the humid air from the ocean at once. It may be a normal natural procedure, but it can get unexpectedly dangerous sometimes. Though I might sound pessimistic and the odds of a typhoon hitting us were stupidly absurd, I honestly can't help but speculate about all the 'what ifs in my mind.

"Since it's raining outside and we can't afford to catch a cold now, we're going to spend twenty points on food today, okay?" Kikyou briefed us.

"OK. No problem here." Karuizawa replied.

"Same." Onodera matched.

"It's a shame that we could've saved those points by gathering food but, I guess we can't help it." Yukimura sighed.

"Yeah..."

We were all grouped inside the cave. Usually, everyone would be outside doing regular things by now, like catching fish or finding food, etc. That was not the case that day. Forty people trapped by the rain inside a cave can hardly be called pleasant.

The day was mundane, eventless, and boring.

"I'll have to give it to you. You made a good decision by selecting this area."

I turned to Ayanokouji who was busy watching the rain.

"I was simply being mindful of situations like this. I mean, who would want to stay under the rainclouds with only a layer of plastic above their head?"

"Was that also part of your calculation?" he asked.

"Not really. I just wanted to sound cool."

As a response, Ayanokouji gave me a blank look and turned toward the opening again. "I wonder."

"In any case, today is the final day. We'll be leaving this remote island twenty-four hours from now." I remarked.

"Time sure flies by, huh?" Ayanokouji muttered.

"Yeah, it was interesting. I almost feel sad to leave this place." I replied.

"I think it was very chaotic, to say the least."

"Well, you're not wrong. We did have a fair share of disputes breaking out every day. Not to mention all the stress I had to endure for the sake of our classmates. But hey, at least I had fun along the way."

"Can't deny that either." he slumped his shoulder.

"You... You've had fun? YOU?" I doubted.

"Just what do you think I am?" Ayanokouji deadpanned.

"A depressed and edgy teenager with no soul would be just about enough to accurately describe your image." I mocked.

"Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror, Levent?" He shot back.

.....

Now that I think about it...I have said and done some questionable things in the past.

"You know, this whole thing kind of reminds me of 'The Magus'," I remarked, trying to take the conversation off that specific tangent.

"That came out of nowhere." he deadpanned.

Seriously? He hasn't heard of this?

"John Fowles. Have you heard of his works?"

He tried to recall something for a second before nodding in negative, "No, I haven't."

"Well, it is an old title and not well-known. And I doubt it will be easy to find a local copy here. So I don't blame you."

"How did you access that book anyway?" he asked.

"I pirated it."

"......"

"Don't give me that look. Go take it out on the people who provided me in the first place."

"But I didn't say anything." He replied.

"Your inner thoughts are obvious," I replied and we both shut up.

.......

"So... Can you tell me the synopsis?" he was curious

The idea of half-introducing a fact only to leave him in the dark and to keep him on the edge was tempting. However, I gave him the answer nonetheless.

"It's a 1960s mystery about a young man who befriends an alluring and dangerous individual when he accepts a teaching position on a remote Greek island."

See the similarities?

"I see..."

.......

"I want to read it,"

"I'll send it to you when we get there," I replied.

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Final Day, 09:03 AM.

August 7th. It was finally time for our weeklong uninhabited island exam to come to an end. Immediately after our morning attendance call, we were instructed to head to the eastern beach once we were done retracting all sorts of installations within the parameters of our camp.

"Before the test ends, we'll commence the naming of the class leaders."

Chabashira handed me a ballpoint pen and a single sheet of paper. It was a form where I could input the names of the leaders from other classes. Only a 'leader' like me had the authority to submit the names of other leaders. "Write who you think were the other classes' leaders on here."

It wasn't necessarily compulsory to put down a name though. She didn't even bother reminding me of that. I guess she had a decent grasp of what my true intentions were from the very beginning.

"Are you going to fill out the names?" Horikita asked.

"Dunno. What do you think? Should I do that?"

"If we get the names right, we'll get fifty points for free. We'll be dragging the other class too. But at the same time if we guess it wrong, then we'll lose points. A high-risk-high-return scenario."

"In any case, what do you want me to do?"

"Do you even know the names?" Horikita sighed.

"Let's see... Class A's leader is Yahiko Totsuka. Class B's leader is Chihiro Shiranami. And lastly Class C's leader... well... You'll see."

"Wait. Hold on. Are you being serious right now? This is a joke, right?" Horikita narrowed her eyes.

"No, I'm Joker. I'm the joke." I deadpanned.

"When did you even get those names anyway?"

"I'll explain everything to you properly when we get there."

"Are you sure those are the actual names?"

"Stop being indecisive. Do you want it, or not?"

I gave her an ultimatum. Her decision would greatly impact this timeline. Whether she should choose to believe me or not was completely up to her. It was a big decision. If I were to make a wrong guess, then all of our week long struggles will be worthless. Of course on the other hand, I would definitely hold a grudge against her if she didn't. Not only will my points go down the drain, but all my efforts and brainstorming will be for nigh.

"Let me rephrase that question. Do you trust me, Horikita?" I asked.

Horikita pondered for a moment before coming up with something to reply.

"Fine. You win, Levent-kun."

"Brilliant."

I held the pen and began scribbling down the kanji characters of each names on the form only leaving class B's section blank. As per our ceasefire agreement, I was not allowed to write their leader's name. But was it worth it? As far as I'm concerned, the moment our exam results would come out, class B will immediately turn into our primary enemy. Our contract would most likely go null and void the moment we step into that ship.

I'll see it when it happens.

After filling out the form, I gave it back to Chabashira.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Horikita sighed.

"We'll see."

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, I decided to help my other classmates with taking down some of the installations. When we reached the beach, the students from the other classes were already present. I noticed a few familiar faces standing among them, like Ichinose, Kanzaki, and Shibata. However, they didn't seem to notice me, so I didn't bother. Things would probably get awkward between us after this. So instead, I walked toward one of the provisional tents where all my classmates were gathered.

"We're now tallying up the test results. Please wait a moment. Feel free to use the rest area if you would like, or have a drink." Mashima's voice resounded from the mic.

After that announcement, all the students gathered together toward the rest area near the ship. Underneath the provisional tents, they'd prepared tables and chairs for our use, so we could get comfortable.

"Haaaa~ it's finally over!" Karuizawa moaned in relief.

"Yeah. How do you think our score will turn out to be?" asked Satou.

"I'm not sure. But I hope they didn't figure out our leader," she replied.

"You're right. We had Ibuki-san living with us for a few days too." Satou nodded.

"What if she really was a spy back then?" Shinohara fretted from the back.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fine. Levent-kun did his best to remain natural." Kikyou replied.

"Yeah, but still. I can't help but dread that something bad is going to happen." Shinohara shivered.

"Hey, stop saying scary things like that! It's a bad omen!" Ike yelled.

"Class D is already out of the picture. Shouldn't it be fine then?" Minami pondered.

"The gap between our class points will only increase now. They can't possibly hope to recover from a slump like this. Yet for some reason, I can't help but wonder if there's something more to it. Just what in the hell were they thinking?" Yukimura pondered.

"Dude, you're scaring me." Miyamoto cowered in fear.

"You're over thinking it. Don't worry. I'm sure nothing like that will happen. I have a good feeling about this." Matsushita added.

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you. However, we can't be sure about anything during times like this." Yukimura sighed.

"If you say so. But I must say, it sure was quite the trip, no?" Satou remarked.

"Yeah... Surprisingly I've had more fun than expected!" Onodera added.

Everyone probably had the same remark as her. For a whole week, we had to survive on this island by relying on each other. We gathered food together, cooked meals together, explored different terrains together, and we even slept under the same roof together (though there was a tent separating us, but you get the point). We were pushed to communicate with each other, which was something I barely noticed in our normal days. Our camaraderie increased significantly. So after a proper assessment, I can confidently say that the exam effectively served its purpose.

From the spot where I was standing, I could see all the homeroom teachers sitting at a distance. They were heavily concentrated at their desks, shuffling between a bundle of papers and scribbling with their pen. There was an inexplicably heavy atmosphere around them. All the students were agonizing in anticipation, waiting patiently to see their weeklong struggles being adapted into numbers.

"So what do think?" I asked the person beside me.

"Think what?" Ayanokouji asked back.

"You know what I'm talking about..."

"I don't. Just what in the world do you think I am?"

"I'm talking about that." I prompted toward a certain direction.

Immediately we both peered at our respectable homeroom teacher. As if it was a natural reaction, the intensity of my gaze immediately amplified by tenfold. She was fidgeting through a bundle of papers and calculating something, being the homeroom teacher and stuff. Her expression was as stoic as ever. However, now that she went back to her office uniform, she looked more like the elegant and refined woman we all were used to seeing. Rather than her gym outfit, I kind of prefer to see her in her usual officewear.

The same thing could be said about her 'figure' too, if you know what I'm saying, right?

.....

As if reading my indecent thoughts, Chabashira immediately looked at us, sending an ice-cold glare at me specifically, which genuinely sent chills down my spine. Seriously, how did she know?! Are all women born psychics?

But then again, I also noticed something interesting about her. I couldn't really be sure if I saw it correctly, but for a second there, I thought she was giving me a devious smirk. It was still scary though.

Yeah, definitely my imagination.

"I think the answer is obvious. What do 'you' think?" Ayanokouji broke me out of my train of thought.

"It's too soon to decide. I think we'll both know the answer soon enough." I replied.

"I agree with Levent-kun. We don't know anything about the results." A voice came from behind.

"Have you been eavesdropping on our conversation?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I didn't eavesdrop. Your conversation was too audacious." Horikita replied.

"Sure.." I narrowed my eyes.

"Ahem.. In any case, it seems Ryuen-kun isn't here yet, contrary to what you told me." She remarked.

That's because he's hiding in the bushes to make an unnecessarily dramatic entry in a critical moment.

"Seems so..." I shrugged.

"Doesn't that mean we're completely safe now?" she asked.

I was trying my absolute best not to laugh at that remark.

"Does it need to be questioned?" I answered.

"Hey, I'm just asking you. What's wrong with that?" She pouted.

Well, there's nothing wrong with that. It just comes to show how unconfident she was about her analysis.

"Just so you know, whatever has happened had already happened. And no matter what we do now, or how much we fret about it...the results won't change. All that is left to do now, is to accept what we'll get with a grain of salt." Ayanokouji replied.

"Yeah. It's just like he said. There's no point in worrying about it now." I replied.

Horikita seemed unconvinced. But she took a deep breath and released a sigh.

"Then let me ask you this. What do you think our results would be?"

I  looked in front of me with bored eyes. Not bored, but uncertain. A lot of things happened differently from the original novel. A lot of things could go south in an instant. For us, will it be a marginless victory? Or an overwhelming defeat? Even I wasn't sure what to expect. 

.....

Was I?

"Don't worry. Only time will tell." I smirked.

[E: Heya! I'm back! Just like I promised. How's my life? Maybe go reread the last update post because, things are preetty much the same. So yeah. Nothing had really changed except I'm currently in the middle of my mid terms now. You see, we architecture majors reeeeeally look forward to our theory exams. So, in a way I'm more happier than usual. Why?

Because we don't have to draw shit for like 10-12 hours during the exams.

That being said, I assume you already know that this isn't the end of the volume...YET. Trust me, I'm not doing this on purpose. I could literally just write, "Yeah that happened and they won. THE END." But I don't do that. I can't do that. I always try to make my work perfect in my own way, which quite possibly ended up giving me a high standard. Now after knowing that, do I really need to explain why it takes me so long to write a single 5k word chapter?

Anyhoo... I'm glad to let you know that the next chapter may or may not come sooner than expected. Hope you enjoyed. And with that, I bid you farewell....

Initial allotted special exam points: 300S¶

Remaining Points: 180S¶

Current balance: 1,294,970¶¶