Day Five of the Uninhabited Isnd Exam – Css B Camp.

  Inside a tent, a small group had gathered.

  Kaneda Satoru had already been sent off by Uesugi to collect firewood—and he wouldn’t be coming back until sunset. With him out of the way, everyone could speak freely.

  "So, it’s finally starting? I was beginning to think you’d just stall until the st day of the exam."

  Hamaguchi Tetsuya spoke with a serious expression.

  "Yeah, the timing is just about right."

  After five days, Uesugi had id out all the groundwork.

  All that remained was a single push—one that would send the other csses plummeting into the abyss.

  "Alright, let’s hear it. Show me your pn."

  Kanzaki Ryūji was also eager to know. Every time he had asked Uesugi about it before, he had only gotten vague responses—damn riddler!

  Ichinose, meanwhile, remained silent, simply watching Uesugi intently.

  "On the first day, I went to Hoshinomiya-sensei and asked her a question."

  Uesugi spoke clearly, ensuring everyone heard his words.

  "If Kanzaki were to raise his hand right now and say he wasn’t feeling well, requesting to withdraw from the exam—what would happen?"

  The moment he posed the question, the entire tent fell into stunned silence.

  "But Kanzaki… isn’t he the…?"

  Hamaguchi furrowed his brows, trying to process it.

  "He would probably be sent back to the ship… along with his leader status."

  Kanzaki, who had memorized the rulebook, answered without hesitation. After all, the rules clearly stated that the leader could not be changed without a legitimate reason.

  However, Ichinose suddenly voiced a concern.

  "But… the leader is part of the exam itself. If Kanzaki withdraws from the exam, would he still retain his status as leader?"

  Everyone fell into deep thought.

  Because—this situation created a contradiction between two exam rules.

  If a student withdraws due to illness or other reasons, they lose 30 points.

  A leader cannot be repced without a valid reason.

  Withdrawing due to illness was a standard excuse—Css C had already done it.

  However, the issue now was that a completely healthy Kanzaki would be using the same reason to withdraw—while also being Css B’s leader, who was supposedly irrepceable.

  "I think… what Uesugi-kun really wanted to ask the school was—"

  Ichinose looked up, her voice steady.

  "Does the leader have to remain on the isnd?"

  "Exactly."

  Uesugi snapped his fingers in approval.

  "So? What was their answer?"

  Kanzaki asked, curious about the outcome.

  "Unfortunately…"

  Uesugi spread his hands.

  "Nope. Without a valid reason, Kanzaki cannot leave the exam."

  Then, his expression became indifferent as he reyed the school's expnation.

  "'The leader is an essential part of the special exam. If they return to the ship, they are considered withdrawn from the exam, and their leader status is revoked. Furthermore, if a css no longer has a leader, the exam cannot continue, which would cause a system-wide failure.'"

  Uesugi sighed, his tone filled with exaggerated regret.

  "Such a shame. I was hoping that if leaders could return to the ship, I could scheme to force each css’s leader into a withdrawal situation—one where they technically had no legitimate reason but still had to leave. That way, their css bases would become invalid, and we could use our key cards to seize them all. The result? Their expenditure of points would skyrocket, while we’d cim total control of the isnd."

  He paused, gncing at Shibata Sō.

  "I even considered making you the leader if the school’s answer had been different. With a seven-day exam period, our entire css could storm through every single base, ciming them all. Then, we’d swap you out at the st moment, ensuring we’d score over 500 points."

  He chuckled.

  "With all the other css leaders sent back to the ship, and with ‘illness’ no longer a usable excuse, we could confidently guess who their leader was."

  Shibata shuddered.

  "Three times a day, running across the entire isnd, for seven days?! Uesugi, are you trying to kill me?! Even an athlete wouldn’t survive that!"

  Ichinose, Kanzaki, and Hamaguchi all remained silent.

  There was one major problem—how would they identify the original leaders of the other three csses?

  "But as, the school’s answer was a hard ‘no.’ Leaders must remain on the isnd."

  Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

  500 points—more than half of a css’s total!

  If the pn had worked, it would have been a victory of unprecedented scale.

  "So, what’s your actual pn?"

  Kanzaki pressed. Uesugi wouldn’t have gathered them here without good reason.

  "No rush."

  Uesugi raised a hand, signaling them to hold their questions.

  "Before you can understand my pn, there’s one more key condition to consider."

  He took a breath before speaking.

  "From Css C’s situation, it’s clear that identifying the leader is the core objective of this exam. Even if a css has zero points, they can still gain 50 points just by making a correct guess. It’s a no-risk, high-reward scenario."

  "In other words—the other csses will absolutely attempt to guess who the leader is. And since guessing requires at least one student remaining on the isnd…"

  He let the words sink in.

  "That means each css must leave at least one student behind."

  Shibata scratched his head.

  "And how does that rete to our pn?"

  Uesugi slowly raised three fingers.

  "Three key conditions."

  The leader must remain on the isnd.

  The leader cannot be repced without a legitimate reason.

  Each css must have at least one student on the isnd.

  "What do you think that means?"

  Instantly, Ichinose’s expression changed. She opened her mouth to speak—

  But before she could, Uesugi reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

  Meeting her gaze, he silently mouthed:

  "Don’t worry. I won’t forget."

  Kanzaki was the first to fully grasp the pn.

  He let out a long exhale before turning to Uesugi.

  "…That’s a bold and insane strategy."

  "Wait, what?!"

  Shibata, whose head was practically overheating, lightly punched Kanzaki’s shoulder.

  "Expin it to me before my brain explodes!"

  "I’ll handle it."

  Hamaguchi adjusted his gsses and stepped forward.

  "In this special exam, if a student withdraws, there are two possibilities: they are either a leader or a non-leader."

  "For non-leaders, it’s simple—they leave, and the css loses 30 points."

  "But for leaders, there are two scenarios. The first is what Kanzaki tried earlier—voluntary withdrawal while perfectly healthy. The school won’t allow it."

  "The second scenario, however, is if the leader is forced to withdraw due to unforeseen circumstances. In that case, they are sent back to the ship, and the css is required to choose a new leader."

  At this point, some of the students finally understood.

  "Do you see it now?"

  Hamaguchi continued, his tone firm.

  "If every other student in a css is removed from the exam—leaving behind only one person…"

  "That one remaining person—"

  Hamaguchi’s voice echoed in the tent as he delivered the final, decisive conclusion.

  "—must be the leader!"

  ---

  T/N: it's time to unleash the pgue! also ayanokouji from checkmate was able to do it tsk tsk you're so weak Shibata

  "......"

  - Gardevoir

  (End of Chapter—Support the transtor at [patreon.com/WiseTL]!)