Chapter 96

Chapter 96

3rd Person POV

"Oh? Now what do we have here? An unexpected face, most certainly."

Ryūen Kakeru spoke in an aloof tone as the other boy emerged and stepped out onto the deck. That boy was Kanzaki Ryūji.

The pair were currently rendezvousing at the bow of the ship, an area which is desolate during even the prime hours of the day.

It was currently very shortly after there first one-hour discussion period had ended, which meant that many students had met with their friends in recreational areas, intending to forget about their mental exhaustion.

What this meant is that there was no chance of anybody coincidentally stumbling upon their meeting here.

"Whatever could you be referring to?"

The boy with an odd shade of grey-violet gradient hair spoke back to Ryūen without a hint of cowardice. A feat that wasn't commonplace amongst the first years at the school, especially those that call Class C home.

"Kuku. Obviously, I'm talking about the fact that I called Honami here, not you."

"I see. Well, if you put it like that, I can see that my face would be unexpected to see at such a place."

Ryūen narrowed his eyes at the Class B student who stood at equal height to him.

"Honami isn't with you?"

"I expected that a call from Ryūen would probably involve class affairs, which is why I came here in Ichinose's stead." Kanzaki answered calmly.

"Meaning?" Ryūen interrogated back.

"As of now, Ichinose is no longer acting as the leader of Class B."

Hearing this, Ryūen burst out into haughty laughter. He took a moment to compose himself, before talking in a mocking tone.

"What, did Honami get cold feet after her little fall in the last exam? How disappointing. I thought she'd at least have the gall to put up a decent challenge."

"You're free to interpret it however you wish. However, I'd like to request that you refrain from speaking wrongly about Ichinose."

Ryūen seemed to ponder those words for a moment, and ultimately decided that it wasn't worth the provocations at the current moment.

"I see. In that case, forget that I said anything,"

To Kanzaki's visible surprise, Ryūen backed down.

"Thank you," Kanzaki said.

A lull of silence enveloped the duo, which Kanzaki broke shortly after with an inquiring question.

"So, why did you call Ichinose and, by extension, Class B's leader all the way out here, Ryūen?"

"Just wait. I'll explain it once the other one gets here." Ryūen answered vaguely.

"There's another person coming? Who?"

"One of my personal favourite people to play with," Ryūen told him, flashing his white teeth.

A gust blew over the deck, causing the two boys' relatively long hair to flutter up as the air rushed past. They silently waited, until a faint sound began reverberating to the floor.

Approaching footsteps. Not twenty seconds later, the source of the rhythmic steps made its presence known as it joined Ryūen and Kanzaki.

A lone girl with long, black hair and scrutinising, red eyes. This girl was the current de facto leader of Class E, a position she'd acquired due to the boost in admiration and respect she'd received due to the island exam.

As a result of Kōenji's antics, Hirata had ended up informing his classmates that Horikita, despite her failing health, had persevered through the exam and ended up in them maintaining a solid point total.

Consequently, Horikita had gained a strong degree of influence within her class. Although she still had ways to go, if she could manage to rally her classmates, perhaps she could become a full-on leader, ready to take the front foot against the other classes.

"Ah, Suzune, you kept me waiting, you know." Ryūen sarcastically complained as she stepped towards them.

The girl didn't break her stride and simply took one quick glance at the timepiece on her wrist.

"I'm on time. You're just early. I don't care if you end up waiting ten hours for me – I'm not coming any time earlier than specified."

These kinds of jokes don't work on Horikita – this became clear to Ryūen, who had received a retort much harsher than his original remark.

"Ooh, how feisty of you,"

"All right stop messing around," Horikita snapped. "Just get on with it."

"Yes. I'm also interested to know why you've called the two of us to this location," Kanzaki agreed with piqued curiosity.

"It's simple. I have an interesting proposal for you two," Ryūen told them with a smirk.

"A proposal?" Horikita echoed. "What kind?"

"A proposal to crush Class A and Class D." Ryūen answered.

Horikita and Kanzaki sent Ryūen a suspicious look, apparently not buying his words. Ryūen either didn't notice the gazes, or pretended not to, as he continued without a hitch.

"I already know all of the identities of the VIPs from Class C."

There it was. Just as Katsuragi had his own strategy, Ryūen had come up with a very Ryūen-like plan. Things were evolved to be much more complex than they were this morning.

"Three classes will share information about all the VIPs. That way, we'll bypass the school's rules," said Ryūen.

In other words, he wanted Class B, Class C and Class E to join forces.

"With this agreement, it would be easy for you to stab us in the back," Kanzaki noted with narrowed eyes.

"It's natural that you wouldn't trust me. In that case, why don't we make a contract? We'll pledge to share the identities of our three VIPs and go after Class A and Class D. That way, our three classes will benefit while the other two won't."

"A contract is meaningless, since we won't know who might betray whom. If Class C betrays us, it'll all be over," replied Horikita.

The strategy proposed by Ryūen wasn't necessarily a bad one, but it seemed that Ryūen himself was the issue.

"You're talking as if you'll be fine simply passing up this opportunity," Ryūen chided her with a grin.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's simple, really. As it stands, it seems that every class has taken Katsuragi's strategy on-board. However, after this special exam, Class D will be promoted to Class B. In other words, the two classes I've proposed that we crush will be enjoying the status quo at the top. Do you really think it's wise to pass on this opportunity to close the gap? There's no telling how many special exams there will actually be before graduation, and I'm sorry to say but Class E isn't looking too hot right now." Ryūen explained while still wearing that smile.

The points he made were solid, and backed with sound reasoning.

Kanzaki and Horikita both fell silent as they took the time needed to properly digest what they'd just been told. In this situation, the best decision was definitely unclear.

"How can you assure us that you won't betray us, Ryūen?" Kanzaki asked him unsurely.

"Just use your head a little. While I could technically betray you for some short-term class point gain, that would also be letting Class A and Class D run free and enjoy life at the top. I want to bring those two down before the gap becomes too big – it's the top priority right now, a common goal we all share."

Ryūen spoke convincing words, but it seemed that the fact that he was Ryūen caused them to sound less trustworthy by default. An unfortunate side effect for someone who utilises such methods as him.

Horikita let out a sigh. "Considering the current state of affairs, I'm not exactly opposed to your proposal, Ryūen-kun. But don't start thinking I'm on board with you, either."

Horikita declared her firm neutral stance. It appeared that it would now be up to Ryūen to sway her one way or the other.

"Keeping things as they are is the preferred option for Class A, who sit at the top enjoying their luxuries. By nature, doesn't that mean that keeping things as they are is the thing Class E should be aiming to avoid the most?"

Ryūen put forward a question with a clear answer.

"Well, yes, that's true." Horikita replied.

"Therefore, it's wise for you to join hands with me, rather than simply allowing the dust to settle with no change."

"But the issue here is that there is no guarantee that you'll stay true to your promises, Ryūen." Kanzaki interjected, pointing out the obvious.

"Well, there's no guarantee that you won't betray me, either, is there? We're all taking a risk here." Ryūen countered.

"Considering your actions, especially those you've committed towards my class, I can hardly trust you easily, Ryūen." Kanzaki told him firmly.

Near the start of the year, Ryūen had attempted to cause a divide within Class B. Although it had failed, the whole situation had still caused damages in class points on Class B's end.

This event is what started Kanzaki's negative opinions on Ryūen. They had only worsened after the trick he'd pulled with the spies in the last special exam, taking advantage of their goodwill.

"That being said..." he continued. "It is as you say. Passing up this chance to even out the score would be rather foolish. There's no telling how many opportunities we'll get until graduation to close the gap to Class A."

Ryūen smile grew a fraction wider. "And what conclusion does that bring you to, Kanzaki?"

Kanzaki let out a sigh of admission. "I'm willing to cooperate with you this time. Ryūen."

Horikita seemed shocked by this development, while Ryūen simply wore a satisfied grin. It was almost as if he'd expected this to be Kanzaki's answer.

"Be warned, though, Ryūen. If you betray me for this exam, there will be no chance for further cooperation between our classes in the future. Considering that there's still a long three years until graduation, I hope you won't do anything stupid like that." Kanzaki added strictly.

"Well, obviously," Ryūen rolled his eyes. "If I betray you here, I will be branded untrustworthy by every other class in our year, pretty much closing off any cooperation between them and me. That will limit my options to an unimaginable degree in the future, which is something I cannot allow."

Ryūen appealed to Kanzaki and Horikita with cold, calculated reasoning. Well, it could be argued that this was the best way to get through to the two of them.

They were unlikely to trust him, based off of who he was, so Ryūen had deemed it more effective to approach the issue from a logical angle. For him, betraying Class B and Class E here would gain him only a minor bonus compared to sticking to his word, but it would have huge effects down the line.

It's likely that there would be numerous exams in the future that required classes to cooperate with one another – if one of these cropped up and Ryūen was unable to open negotiation due to his actions in this exam, he would likely lose by a landslide.