“Uesugi-kun, have you made up your mind yet? There’s less than an hour left before the exam ends, you know.”

  Sitting beside him, Ichinose Honami watched as Uesugi Gen leisurely fished by the water, unable to hold back her reminder.

  “Hm… about that…”

  Uesugi scratched his head, fshing an apologetic smile at the entire css. “I have absolutely no idea.”

  “…”

  Other than Ichinose, the entire B-Css erupted in unison:

  “You bastard! Are you kidding me?! Go to hell!”

  “Now, now, calm down, everyone, calm down.”

  Uesugi raised a hand, his pyful smile fading as he exuded confidence. “Because I’m still waiting for someone to tell me.”

  “Oh? The teacher’s here?”

  Uesugi waved toward Hoshinomiya Chie.

  “Gen-chan, have you decided whose name you’re writing down?”

  Hoshinomiya-sensei handed him the form to fill in the names of the other csses’ leaders.

  “Hm~ let’s see~”

  Uesugi turned to ask, “How much time is left until the exam ends?”

  “Less than 30 minutes.”

  “In that case…”

  Uesugi stood up and faced the css. “Let’s go! I’ll lead you all to victory in this exam!”

  With that, he led the students of B-Css up the mountain.

  “This area belongs to A-Css, right? Are they really going to tell us who their leader is?”

  Walking behind the group, Shibata Sō muttered skeptically.

  “This should be the spot.”

  Uesugi guided the css to the highest peak of the deserted isnd. From here, they could overlook the entire isnd.

  “Unless some kind of immortal descends to—”

  Mid-sentence, Shibata suddenly looked toward a certain direction. His eyes slowly widened, and a grin spread across his face.

  “Hey! Look over there—”

  “Haha! So this is how it works?”

  “Turns out, someone really is here to tell us the exam answers!”

  …

  The B-Css students, who had been filled with doubt moments ago, were now so excited they could hardly contain themselves.

  “From the very beginning, there was a blind spot on this isnd that no one noticed.”

  Uesugi raised his hands high, a smile on his face. “Now, let’s call out his name together!!”

  The students cupped their hands around their mouths and shouted in unison:

  “Kanzaki!!!”

  On the massive cruise ship several hundred meters away from the deserted isnd, Kanzaki Ryūji waved toward them through binocurs.

  “So that’s it. We can see the isnd from the ship… which means the isnd should also be able to see the ship.”

  Ichinose murmured as realization dawned on her.

  “Exactly. That’s why I said—only he could pull this off.”

  As long as they could see a person, there were plenty of ways to communicate information. But conveying it accurately was another challenge entirely.

  Uesugi now took out the high-precision binocurs he had specially exchanged for and focused on Kanzaki.

  “Alright, Kanzaki, tell me the answers to this special exam!”

  Following the secret signals they had arranged beforehand, Uesugi gradually decoded Kanzaki’s transmitted message.

  A-Css: 0 members returned to the cruise, 39 members still on the isnd.Original leader: Totsuka Yahiko.No leader substitution detected.Current leader: Totsuka Yahiko.

  C-Css: 39 members returned to the cruise, 1 member still on the isnd.Original leader: Ryūen Shō.Leader substitution detected.Current leader: Ibuki Mio

  D-Css: 38 members returned to the cruise, 2 members still on the isnd.Original leader: Horikita Suzune.Confirmed Horikita Suzune has returned to the cruise.Leader substitution detected.Current leader: Ayanokōji Kiyotaka or Hirata Yōsuke.

  “Horikita-san went back to the ship?”

  Uesugi let out a sharp whistle. “Ayanokōji Kiyotaka… you really are something.”

  Damn, what a waste. If I hadn’t promised your brother to look after you, I could’ve eliminated both you and Hirata yesterday.

  Oh well, consider it a reward for trying so hard in the exam.

  (Ryūen: WHAT THE—#@!&!!!*)

  Watching this unfold, B-Css students finally understood Uesugi’s entire strategy.

  Everything he had done was to send as many people as possible back to the ship. Whether the leader had been switched or was hiding on the isnd, they could verify it by checking if the original leader had returned to the ship.

  In the end, all they needed was a single person on the ship to rey the information.

  With this method—there was no way to guess the wrong leader!

  Casually filling in the names of A-Css and C-Css leaders on the form, Uesugi raised both arms and decred loudly:

  “This victory belongs to us—B-Css!!”

  “Ohhh!!!”

  On the way back down, Ichinose, still somewhat puzzled, turned to Uesugi with a question.

  “Hey, Uesugi-kun, Kanzaki only returned to the cruise yesterday, right? How did he gather all this information in such a short time?”

  Uesugi rested both hands behind his head. “Because of that 3 million yen.”

  “Three million?”

  “Yeah. Didn’t I tell you guys before? I spent all of it.”

  “In reality, I stored the money on the ship from the beginning. As long as Kanzaki used my password and verified the code with the right people, he could take out the 3 million. With that much money and a single night, it was enough for him to obtain the list of everyone who returned to the ship.”

  “…I see.”

  Ichinose finally understood.

  Now came this moment…

  Uesugi intentionally slowed his pace, allowing the two of them to fall behind the group.

  The scent of Ichinose’s hair, mixed with the earthy freshness of rain-drenched soil, wafted into his nose.

  Slowly, he reached out and gently took her soft hand in his.

  Gazing into the distance, he spoke in a low voice.

  “…Hey, Honami.”

  Ichinose’s heart skipped a beat, and her palms started to sweat.

  He… This is the first time he’s called me by name…

  “Do you… need something, Gen-kun?”

  Ichinose responded in kind.

  “I told you before, right? Leave this exam to me. I’ll prove to you that we can win with minimal losses.”

  Uesugi grasped her shoulders firmly.

  “I know, Honami. You don’t like making sacrifices."

  "So let me handle that part."

  "You just stay behind me and take care of the css."

  "I won’t let you go through that pain again.”

  “…Gen-kun…”

  Ichinose’s eyes glistened with a faint mist.

  “So, Honami—”

  Uesugi gazed at her deeply, finally revealing the true reason for all this buildup.

  “Make me the leader of B-Css!!!”

  “…Huh?”

  Ichinose’s expression froze.

  Then, as if rebooting, her signature sweet smile returned.

  “No can do, Uesugi-kun. You’re way too aggressive.”

  Without giving him a chance to argue, she flicked her long hair and strode toward the front of the group.

  “…Huh?”

  Uesugi watched her walk away.

  This… this wasn’t how the script was supposed to go…?

  Scrambling, he hurried after her.

  “Think about it! You don’t have the heart to deal with those scumbags outside! They’re ruthless!”

  “Nope.”

  Swift and absolute rejection. No room for negotiation.

  Realizing his pn had failed yet again, Uesugi let out a deep sigh and muttered:

  “Ichinose… you’ll regret this!”

  ---

  T/N: HJAHJAHAHAHAHAHa