On the first day of the exam, when eight hours had passed since the initial occupation and we were heading out to refresh the spots.

“Sudō. Got a minute?”

“Yeah! What’s up, Ayanokōji? Need help with something?”

Sudō’s favorability toward me is fairly high.

Not as much as Horikita, but still up there.

Helping him avoid failing grades, backing him up during the violence incident, and the fact that I’m dating Matsushita—which rules out the possibility of me being Horikita’s boyfriend—are probably the main reasons.

“Yeah. Help me make the rounds of the spots.”

“Rounds of the spots? What do I gotta do?”

“Come along with a few others and pretend to update the spots. If I go alone, it might reveal that I’m the leader.”

“I see… don’t really get it, but if it’s something that uses stamina, leave it to me!”

I thought I explained it pretty clearly, but apparently “don’t really get it” was enough.

Well, whatever.

“Thanks. Also, from your perspective, who in the class seems physically capable?”

I already have some candidates in mind, but I want to hear other opinions.

Especially from Sudō, whose physical ability is among the best in the year.

It wouldn’t hurt to know how he evaluates others.

“How about him? You know, the archery guy.”

“Miyake.”

“Yeah, yeah. And uh… Hirata, and that Koenji bastard…”

With so few names to choose from, he ended up mentioning Hirata—whom he’s not too fond of—and Koenji, whom he outright dislikes.

After exposing how lacking our male students are physically, Sudō started naming girls.

“For girls, obviously Horikita… and probably Onodera.”

Onodera is from the swimming club. A sporty girl with short hair.

Makes sense. His picks are almost the same as mine.

But Koenji has already retired, Hirata can’t leave base camp, and Horikita isn’t in great condition.

That removes three candidates, so I add Matsushita, who has been hiding her ability.

That completes the team.

I called over Miyake, Onodera, and Matsushita, and the five of us moved to occupy the spots.

A spot loses its occupation effect after eight hours.

You have to tap the card key again to re-occupy it, earning one point each time.

Just one point isn’t insignificant.

Over seven days, updating every eight hours yields up to 21 points per spot.

Class D is far behind in class points. We can’t afford to miss any opportunities.

“Damn, harder to walk than I thought.”

I’m clearing branches and grass ahead, but the four behind me still struggle.

Not many people are used to going this deep into a forest.

“Ayanokōji, you’re handling it well. You don’t even look tired.”

“I’ve walked this path before. My body probably remembers it.”

“That’s not all. You’ve got stamina. Didn’t expect that. And I heard you’re a meter jumper from volleyball.”

“No way!”

Miyake is carefully observing me and comparing it to rumors, starting to realize my physical ability.

I might have jumped that high during beach volleyball.

Sudō reacts strongly to that—jumping ability matters in basketball.

“I saw you in swimming class too, your body’s really toned. Did you train in something?”

“Ayanokōji-kun did karate and judo.”

“Really? Then are you strong in fights?”

“I don’t intend to fight, but I can handle matches in karate and judo.”

“Didn’t expect someone like that in class. Not joining a club?”

Clubs, huh.

Chabashira-sensei and Ichinose mentioned that good performance in clubs can earn private and class points.

Still, I have no plans to join.

If anything, joining the student council under Horikita Manabu would bring the most benefit—but I turned that down too.

“I was made to do a lot by my parents. Hard to decide what to join.”

“You also did piano, calligraphy and tea ceremony. You’re really multi-talented.”

“That’s impressive. No wonder you can’t decide.”

Aside from piano, all of those are actual clubs here.

Onodera crosses her arms and thinks.

“If you’re unsure, how about archery? The seniors are pretty relaxed.”

“Swimming’s good too. It’s serious, but that’s what makes it fun.”

“Hold on, join basketball instead. With that jump, you’d beat Komiya easily and become a regular.”

Suddenly it turned into a recruitment event.

I don’t plan to join, but maybe trying out a club wouldn’t be bad.

Then I notice Matsushita laughing behind me.

“You’re popular. Having a popular boyfriend makes me proud.”

We kept chatting like that as we continued occupying the spots.

* * *

Day six of the exam.

Through this uninhabited island test, Class D’s bonds have steadily deepened.

Working together, sharing meals, striving toward the same goal—these experiences matter.

Even Horikita, once a loner, has started being accepted into the class.

She likely wanted to make up for her earlier downtime due to illness.

And since she didn’t fake it like Koenji and never jeopardized class points, no one treated her harshly.

As a result, Horikita displayed her abilities fully, and her attitude softened slightly.

Only slightly, but the door she had kept shut has begun to open.

“Horikita, you’ve gotten a bit nicer, haven’t you?”

“Not really. I’m just doing what’s necessary.”

“That’s growth—being able to recognize what’s necessary.”

“Who do you think you are?”

I raise both hands in surrender.

She doesn’t have her compass, but her glare is still sharp.

“Anyway, how’s the spot occupation going?”

“We lost some to Class A, but if things continue like this, we’ll get about 150 bonus points.”

“…You’re clearly contributing the most to Class D. So much for your low-profile attitude.”

She seems pleased.

If our leader gets identified, those bonus points vanish—but she’s optimistic.

Still not enough. She needs to grow further.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Other classes are conserving points and occupying spots as expected… except Class C.”

“Yes. Throwing away such a rare opportunity is foolish.”

I find their zero-point strategy quite interesting.

Class C spent all their points on day one and mostly retired by day two.

Ryūen’s thinking resembles mine—exploiting loopholes, using any means necessary.

There’s a reason he stopped Ibuki’s spying.

By removing a suspected spy, he lowers our guard.

Especially effective against Matsushita and me, who directly suspected him.

He trusts no one.

Ibuki was just a tool—success or failure didn’t matter.

“…Rain.”

Heavy rain begins.

It drowns out surrounding sounds.

Perfect timing.

“I’ll go update the spots.”

“…Thank you. Even in this rain… be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Did you eat something weird?”

“Can’t you just accept gratitude?”

She kicks me lightly as I head out.

In the first few days, Class A guarded the spots.

But since we updated them in groups, they eventually gave up.

We continued group updates until day four, but it slowed us down.

Some spots were retaken by Class A.

So from day five onward, I acted alone.

And today, with rain, group movement would have been impossible.

And that’s exactly when Ryūen strikes.

* * *

The exam ended.

I greeted my returning classmates on the ship.

“Ayanokōji-kun, are you okay?”

“You ran around in the rain, it’s no surprise you got sick.”

They show concern.

In truth, I’m fine, but I accept it.

The results:

Class A: 120 points
Class B: 140 points
Class C: 0 points
Class D: 374 points

Class D erupted in cheers.

After everything, it’s understandable.

“Everyone, give him space. He’s sick.”

Matsushita calms them.

A perfect girlfriend act.

She leads me to a private room.

As soon as the door closes, she hugs me.

“Amazing, Ayanokōji-kun. Closing the gap in one exam…”

“The rules allowed it.”

“Mass occupation and leader change… Ryūen must be furious.”

She holds the key card labeled ‘Matsushita Chiaki’.

“You analyzed everything quickly.”

“Just connecting the dots.”

She really is capable.

“The rain helped. It gave a perfect excuse and drew Ryūen out.”

“You even checked the weather beforehand.”

“Only as a backup plan.”

I also identified the island location using the student ID tracking feature.

Matsushita joked about using it to track me—hopefully a joke.

“Ryūen waited for rain too. It lowered efficiency and masked camera sounds.”

“Right… and that’s when a leader might act alone.”

“Exactly.”

Class C and A were cooperating.

C transferred supplies, spied on others, and provided leader info.

But only if they had solid proof.

“Ryūen stayed alone on the island.”

“Yeah. He was staking out spots constantly.”

Simple but effective.

“By day five, he knew I was the leader.”

“And if it rained, he could capture proof.”

We think alike.

Which makes him dangerous.

“But you retired, took a 30-point loss, and avoided being identified. That’s a complete victory.”

“Was dating me worth it?”

“More than worth it.”

That’s good.

By evening, I “recovered,” and we enjoyed the ship again.