“Gin-san, don’t be like this! You may have lost your cssmates, but you still have me!”

  Uesugi Gen patted Kaneda Satoru on the shoulder, earnestly trying to console him.

  Bullshit!

  Kanzaki and the others following behind nearly cursed out loud.

  Unfortunately, Kaneda didn’t even hear Uesugi’s words. He was still frozen in his own little world, staring bnkly at the direction where his Css C comrades had fled.

  Seeing Kaneda remain unresponsive, Uesugi decided it was time for a reboot.

  “Right now, all your cssmates—including Ryūen—have withdrawn from the exam. You’re the only one left standing. But as long as you can score points for your css, you’ll be able to deal a major blow to Ryūen’s standing in Css C.”

  Yes, that’s right! I can’t give up! If I can just get my hands on Css B’s leader’s identity, I can prove my loyalty to Ryūen!

  Kaneda snapped back to reality, clenching his teeth as his determination reignited.

  By now, he fully understood that he had fallen into Uesugi’s trap.

  But there was no other way. If he refuted Uesugi’s words now, he’d lose his chance.

  I must endure! Once I obtain Css B’s leader’s identity, I will make him pay!

  Kaneda forced a smile onto his face.

  “…You’re right, Uesugi-kun. I’ll see this exam through to the end. Please take care of me for the next few days.”

  “No worries, I love helping people.”

  Uesugi grinned, his expression as wholesome as a hardworking farmer’s.

  ---

  Day Two of the Special Exam – Css B Camp

  Uesugi y sprawled on a rock, leisurely giving out orders.

  “Gin-san, go gather some firewood.”

  “Got it.”

  “Gin-san, chop the wood into fine kindling. I don’t want to see a single bit of bark left on it.”

  Kaneda took on the responsibilities of a true Css C man.

  “…Understood.”

  “Gin-san, actually, why don’t you glue the bark back onto the wood?”

  “……”

  I SWEAR TO GOD—!!!

  At that moment, Kaneda dug deep into his memories, searching for every single happy moment in his life to suppress his raging fury.

  In the end, all his happiness condensed into a single, exhausted response—

  “…I understand.”

  Nearby, Shibata Sō, who had been watching this unfold, quietly leaned toward Kanzaki.

  “Hey, Kanzaki. I think we need to keep a close eye on Uesugi when we sleep. Otherwise, one of these nights, Kaneda’s gonna strangle him in his sleep.”

  Kanzaki nodded solemnly.

  “We can’t let this continue. If we don’t pull Uesugi away now, one of them won’t make it to the end of the exam.”

  With that, the two moved in unison, grabbing Uesugi from both sides.

  “Uesugi, we found Css A’s camp during scouting. Let’s go check it out together.”

  “You guys can go. Just tell me the results ter.”

  Uesugi wasn’t the least bit interested in Css A.

  But Kanzaki and Shibata weren’t going to let him off that easily. Css A’s camp was just an excuse to get him away from Kaneda.

  Ignoring his protests, the two dragged him straight toward Css A’s camp…

  ---

  “So this is Css A’s camp? They’re really all-in on a defensive strategy, huh?”

  Kanzaki Ryūji examined the cave in the distance, its entrance completely covered with bck pstic.

  With this method, no one could determine how many students were inside, let alone how many points they had spent.

  Was this setup a result of their colboration with Ryūen, or just a reflection of Katsuragi Kōhei’s personality?

  “What now? We can’t tell anything from here.”

  Shibata scratched his head, visibly frustrated.

  “There’s no way to gather intel unless we talk to them directly. Since we’re already here, let’s go pay them a visit.”

  Without hesitation, Uesugi strode forward.

  Before he even got close, a figure leapt out of the cave and shouted at him.

  “What are you doing here? This isn’t your territory. This is Css A’s camp.”

  Uesugi barely spared the student a gnce.

  “I remember you—you’re one of Katsuragi’s ckeys, right? Where’s your boss?”

  “Katsuragi-kun! Uesugi Gen from Css B is here to scout!”

  Totsuka Yahiko instantly tensed up and shouted toward the cave, as if he had been explicitly warned about this scenario.

  “So you’ve come, after all. I knew your css wouldn’t just sit back and wait.”

  Before they could see him, they heard his voice.

  Katsuragi Kōhei’s deep tone echoed from within the cave.

  A rge, muscur arm pushed aside the pstic covering the entrance.

  Then, a bald giant emerged.

  “As you can see, in this exam, I believe the most important thing is preventing other csses from identifying our leader.”

  “That’s why I devised this strategy—it completely isotes us from outside reconnaissance.”

  Katsuragi crossed his arms, speaking with confidence.

  He was fully prepared. No matter what method Uesugi tried, he wouldn’t let him get any information from this camp.

  But—

  Uesugi didn’t make any further moves.

  “Well, that’s a shame. If you don’t want to let us in, I won’t force it.”

  Shrugging, he turned on his heel.

  “Kanzaki, Shibata—let’s go.”

  “Huh? That’s it?”

  Shibata caught up to him, looking confused.

  Uesugi didn’t answer. Step by step, he led them back into the forest.

  Once they were far from Css A’s camp—

  “Kanzaki, you understand, don’t you? Why I didn’t push any further.”

  “…Because we already got what we needed.”

  Kanzaki Ryūji, who had been trailing slightly behind, took his time before responding.

  “Katsuragi’s pn looks foolproof, but he didn’t consider something—inaction is also a form of action.”

  “Wait, what?”

  Shibata hated riddles.

  “Katsuragi himself told us the most important thing in this exam is protecting the leader’s identity, right?”

  “And what do we already know about Css A?”

  “That they’re working with Css C… and that Css C gave them supplies.”

  Uesugi snapped his fingers.

  “That’s more than enough. Unlike Css C, Css A hasn’t taken any action. They’re just sitting in a cave.”

  “That in itself is an answer.”

  “…You mean they shared leader information?”

  Shibata finally caught on.

  “He straight-up admitted that leaders are the most important factor, yet he’s doing nothing. That basically tells us that he’s already made his move. We just don’t know what it was.”

  Uesugi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  Css A is actually following Ryūen’s pn step by step.

  Seriously? They actually trust that guy?

  They really believed Ryūen’s nonsense and obediently pyed along with the exam rules.

  Katsuragi Kōhei, you’re way too gullible.

  There’s no way you’re beating Sakayanagi like this.