The last day of the exam.
After the morning roll call, the people of Class B cleaned up the camp's trash together, and Kaneda also assisted everyone with a smile.
Hachiman hid the empty MAX Coffee can in his backpack.
Waiting for the exam to end.
However.
What was confusing was why Kaneda was still here. Logically, after completing his spy work, he should have vanished quickly.
Forget it, it's fine to leave him be.
Approaching noon.
"Everyone, the exam ends here!"
Chie Hoshinomiya announced the end of the exam with a smile. She walked to Ichinose with a clipboard and smiled:
"Write the names of the leaders of the other classes on this. If you don't know, you can choose not to name them!"
Ichinose took the clipboard.
Classes A, C, and D were listed on it, while Class B was crossed out with a red line.
If they could correctly guess the names of the leaders of other classes, they could gain fifty class points from the opponent.
At the same time, it would invalidate the points the opponent gained from occupying spots over these days.
But,
Guessing wrong carried the risk of losing fifty points.
"We can't write down a single one."
Ichinose laughed apologetically.
"The penalty for guessing wrong is fifty points; there's no need to take the risk."
Kanzaki and the others nearby said, and others chimed in.
"Yeah."
Ichinose returned the clipboard to Hoshinomiya, not caring: "Our remaining points have exceeded two hundred. There's no need to take a risk."
Shibata and others also showed confident smiles.
Seven days of hard work had filled their hearts; such a result was already satisfactory enough.
"Then, everyone, gather at the beach~"
Hoshinomiya waved her arms.
The people of Class B began to move. Hachiman couldn't help but glance at Kaneda. This guy was actually still following, and he was constantly suppressing a smile at the corner of his mouth.
In a short while.
The blue sea and yellow sand appeared before everyone's eyes.
The people from Classes A and D seemed to have already arrived. They were a bit later because their spot was at the wooden cabin.
At the same time.
"Rustle."
The bushes rustled.
A man with disheveled hair and a stubbly face walked out.
His burgundy hair was shoulder-length, and his gaze was as sharp as a venomous snake.
He looked like a delinquent at first glance.
"Ryuen!"
At this moment, a startled voice suddenly rang out from the Class A camp. Hachiman turned to look and found it was a bald man with a rugged face.
Speaking of which.
Is this guy really a high school student? He looks like an uncle in his thirties. That delinquent must be the Class C leader, Kakeru Ryuen.
How scary.
Why haven't they started fighting yet? Hachiman thought to himself. He looked at Class D again but couldn't find Suzune Horikita.
In that case, that person still used his plan.
Given Horikita's nature, she shouldn't betray his trust.
She should give the money.
"Why are you here?"
After a brief adjustment, Katsuragi looked serious.
"Heh, why?"
The corner of Ryuen's mouth curled up: "You'll find out in a bit, Katsuragi. Next, you'll see a good show. This exam will be Class C's victory!"
"I see, so that's how it is."
The man named Katsuragi thought for a moment, then closed his eyes and fell into silence.
Hachiman was a bit surprised.
While it wasn't strange for the two leaders to know each other, the relationship between these two seemed a bit too good.
Just then.
In the Class B camp.
"Hum... hum hum hum~."
Kaneda suddenly let out a strange chuckle, as if he could no longer endure it.
"Kaneda." Someone from Class B showed concern: "What's wrong with you? Are you okay?"
"Hahaha."
Kaneda pushed up the glasses on his nose and said coldly: "You fools, haven't you noticed yet?"
"Eh, what do you mean?" Watanabe and the others were a bit dazed: "Kaneda, are you alright?"
"Idiots."
Kaneda sneered, looking full of disdain:
"I already told Ryuen who Class B's leader was last night. You're all still kept in the dark. Utterly foolish."
"What?"
A girl suddenly got angry: "How could you do this? We trusted you so much and even took you in. Kaneda, don't you feel any shame?"
"Shame?"
The corner of Kaneda's mouth curled up as if he had heard a huge joke, filled with disdain:
"It seems you still don't understand the situation. This is a school of 'strength supremacy.' Everything depends on strength. You only have yourselves to blame for being so stupid as to be tricked by me, you idiots."
Well.
There really are people like this in the world.
Even after taking advantage of others' kindness, they still feel everything was obtained through their own strength.
Hachiman, standing aside, couldn't help but feel nervous.
After all.
He had just done his best and had no idea if his actions had worked, or if Ichinose had some other backup plan.
"Well, but you don't have to worry too much."
Kaneda spread his hands and teased mockingly: "Class B is indeed decent. Even if the leader is guessed, you should still have over 100 points left. You should be able to take second to last! Isn't it nice to be at the bottom with Class D?"
"Damn it."
Shibata said angrily: "Kaneda, you're being too despicable."
Before anyone else could speak, Ichinose stopped them.
She stared seriously at Kaneda:
"Kaneda, I'm very confident in Class B's security. You shouldn't have seen who the keycard was with."
"Ha."
Kaneda sneered: "I indeed didn't see it, but I'm equally confident in my judgment. Isn't it just..."
"Shut up."
Just then.
Ryuen's cold voice rang out: "Kaneda, get over here."
He was also a bit puzzled. According to the plan, Kaneda should have returned to the ship last night; he shouldn't have stayed here.
It seemed the fear he instilled in this bunch was still not enough.
How dare he disobey his orders.
"Humph."
Kaneda snorted at the Class B people before returning to Ryuen's side, hesitating for a moment before explaining.
"Don't worry, I'm sure."
Ryuen only looked at him coldly; he would deal with this guy later.
"Then, I am now going to announce the rankings for the special exam."
"Last place—"
Just then, the Class C homeroom teacher, Manabe, spoke deeply into a megaphone: "Class C with zero points!"
"What?"
Ryuen's pupils shrank.
He simply couldn't believe his ears.
Zero points!
What on earth happened?
"No, no."
Kaneda suddenly shouted in a panic: "This is impossible, we definitely guessed at least one correctly..."
Before he could finish, he felt a pain in his abdomen.
Right in front of the teacher.
Ryuen kicked him over onto the ground without any mercy, saying coldly: "Don't embarrass me."
"Ryuen, what do you think you're doing?"
The homeroom teachers were about to step forward to scold him.
How dare he hit someone in public? He simply has no respect for teachers.
Hachiman was quite surprised.
Is this the man who rules Class C with violence? He's actually this ruthless.
How terrifying.
Better to keep a distance.
"No... it's nothing."
Feeling Ryuen's cold gaze, Kaneda stood up tremblingly and said: "It was me, I accidentally tripped."
As long as the victim doesn't admit it.
The school can't do anything to them.
Although Kaneda might have been scared, or didn't want the class points to be penalized, Hachiman still felt this guy was being foolishly stubborn.
"Heh."
Just then, Katsuragi folded his arms and let out a soft laugh: "Teacher, I think we shouldn't waste time on people like Class C. Please continue announcing the next ranking."
Several staff members glanced at Kaneda and returned to their positions with helpless faces.
Whether this kind of behavior—sacrificing one's own safety for the sake of profit—was good or bad was hard to say.
"Very well."
The Class A homeroom teacher, Mashima, nodded seriously: "Third place, First Year Class A, 120 points!"
"What?"
Katsuragi was momentarily stunned.
This score was far from what he had imagined.
This meant at least two or more classes had correctly guessed Class A's leader. Katsuragi was momentarily lost in shock.
"Katsuragi, what exactly happened?"
"How can we be in third place? You'd better explain this clearly."
"...Katsuragi, you bastard, how are you going to take responsibility for this!"
For some reason,
The Class A group, which was originally dead silent and well-disciplined, erupted into chaos as if it had been planned.
Several boys even grabbed Katsuragi by the collar to interrogate him.
Oh oh oh.
They're fighting, they're fighting.
Hachiman was a bit excited, though unfortunately, the camera had already been handed in.
"Silence."
Mashima spoke coldly, and the people of Class A returned to calm as if nothing had happened.
Hey.
Your acting is a bit too unprofessional.
This is clearly acting against Katsuragi-kun.
Although he heard that Class A had two leaders, Katsuragi and Sakayanagi, Sakayanagi is really ruthless.
Even if it meant internal conflict, she wanted to drive Katsuragi from power.
He remembered the class points in July were:
Class A: 1004
Class B: 663
Class C: 492
Class D: 82
The gap was already so large; Class A just needed to maintain its advantage normally.
Sakayanagi still wanted to crush Katsuragi.
Hate it~ How scary.
Better keep a distance.
The leaders of each class are just too unique. After all this, Suzune Horikita seems to be the normal one.
Hachiman decided to stay away from all of them.
Anyway, he rarely goes out, so he probably won't run into them just like before.
Being assigned to Class B.
Having a gentle, beautiful, and understanding boss like Ichinose.
It's really great.
"Next."
Mashima continued: "Second place, First Year Class D with 222 points. First place, First Year Class B with 303 points!"
"Great!"
"Kushida-chan, we're in second place."
"We did it, Honami-chan, first place!"
"303 points! With this, we're less than 200 points away from Class A, right? We'll be able to rise to Class A soon!"
Classes B and D erupted in cheers at the same time.
The corner of Hachiman's mouth curled up slightly. Regardless, getting closer to Class A was something worth being happy about. They were only about two hundred points away.
Class A: 1124
Class B: 916
Class C: 492
Class D: 309
Leaving everything to Ichinose was fine; she was indeed an outstanding leader.
"No, this is impossible."
At this time.
Kaneda, who was clutching his abdomen, stared with wide, unbelieving eyes. Just as he was about to say something, he was dragged away like a little chick by Ryuen.
"Humph."
Mako Okakura shook her small pink fist in a demonstration: "Evil deeds have evil consequences. Serves them right."
"Mako-chan, saying that is a bit too much."
Ichinose helplessly tapped her little head: "Kaneda was just working hard for his own class. It's just that his methods weren't very honorable. We were just better."
"Blehh."
Mako Okakura playfully stuck out her tongue.
Looking at the scene before him, Hachiman's mouth curled up slightly.
It seemed.
His efforts weren't in vain. Kaneda was indeed affected and failed to guess the leader, otherwise he wouldn't be this angry.
Hachiman satisfiedly followed the team onto the cruise ship.
He felt a sense of achievement, like a hero who leaves quietly after completing a mission.
I am the Shadow.
One who lurks in the shadows and hunts the shadows.
Thinking this.
Hachiman felt a bit of joy, and his steps lightened.