On August 7th, the special uninhabited isnd exam officially came to an end.

  “This past week, we, the faculty, have truly witnessed the effort you all put into this special exam. Some of you faced the challenge head-on, while others employed different methods to tackle it. Despite the variety of approaches, overall, I believe the results of this exam are outstanding. You’ve all worked hard.”

  Mashima-sensei’s voice echoed from the speakers. However, rather than relief, the students from each css remained silent, waiting for him to continue announcing the results.

  “Now then, I will proceed with announcing the results of the special exam.”

  Here it comes!

  Everyone's hearts tightened.

  “The css that pced st… with zero points—C-Css.”

  Upon hearing this, Ibuki momentarily froze before quickly turning to look at the css most likely to have correctly guessed C-Css’s leader—B-Css.

  However, Uesugi Gen’s face was also full of confusion.

  Wasn’t it him?

  Ibuki repyed the entire pn in her mind, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

  Mashima-sensei continued announcing the rankings in his usual indifferent tone.

  “Third pce, with 20 points—A-Css.”

  The students of A-Css immediately erupted in disbelief. To them, this score was even worse than C-Css’s zero.

  “Hey, Katsuragi, expin this! Weren’t we supposed to have over 500 points?!”

  “Yeah! And this is even after we signed that extra agreement! If we had known, we should’ve just taken the test properly!”

  “This is exactly why we shouldn’t have let you lead A-Css! No—at this point, we’re already just B-Css now!”

  …

  A-Css students continued berating Katsuragi Kōhei, pressing him for an expnation.

  Caught off guard by the unexpected result, the usually level-headed Katsuragi was momentarily frozen. He raised his hands in an attempt to calm his cssmates. “Wait, let me think this through…”

  Ignoring the commotion in A-Css, Mashima-sensei moved on.

  “Second pce, with 123 points—D-Css.”

  Ohh…

  Uesugi Gen gnced over at Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, whose expression remained indifferent, and Hirata Yōsuke, who was struggling to contain his joy.

  Looks like they set their sights on securing bases from the beginning. Makes sense—D-Css didn’t have many points to begin with, so their only chance at a high score was to focus on this strategy.

  “And finally—”

  Mashima-sensei paused briefly, rechecking the scores to ensure there were no mistakes before making the final announcement.

  “First pce—B-Css, with 503 points. That concludes the results announcement.”

  For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the entire gathering.

  Not only the students but even the teachers were stunned.

  The combined scores of the other three csses didn’t even add up to a third of B-Css’s total…

  How… How is that even possible…?

  All eyes slowly turned to the boy standing among the crowd.

  B-Css’s final score breakdown:

  Initial supplies: 300 points

  Correctly guessing A and C-Css leaders: +100 points

  Uesugi Gen’s absence penalty: -5 points

  Kanzaki Ryūji’s withdrawal penalty: -30 points

  Points from secured bases: +138 points

  Final score: 503 points

  Good thing I memorized that satellite map right from the start. Made finding the bases a breeze.

  Ignoring the curious gazes from everyone around him, Uesugi immediately bolted toward the ship as soon as Mashima-sensei finished speaking.

  “No phones, no computers—I'm never coming back to this godforsaken pce again!”

  “Wait, Uesugi!”

  Katsuragi Kōhei, who was still struggling to comprehend the outcome, quickly called out to him, determined to get an answer.

  In response, Uesugi shook his head dramatically as he looked at the bald, serious-looking man before him, his tone ced with exaggerated pity.

  “Oh, little brother, you got pyed by Ryūen.”

  He let out a deep sigh, as if deeply regretful.

  “Ryūen knew from the very start that leaders could be swapped. That’s why he graciously handed over the leaders of B and D-Css to you. On top of that, from your words and actions, he deduced that your leader was Totsuka Yahiko. Then, he ran straight to our camp and fed me that information. Judging by the results, he probably did the same with D-Css too. His goal was clear—to drag you all down from A-Css.”

  Uesugi delivered this fabricated expnation with a straight face.

  Well, Ryūen isn’t here, so it’s not like he can pop up and refute me.

  Then, turning to Ibuki, who had stormed over with anger written all over her face, he smirked.

  “Judging by that expression, I take it you were C-Css’s leader? Tsk, tsk. That’s what happens when you toy with people’s feelings.”

  “The moment D-Css realized they’d been deceived, they got pissed and wrote your name down. And wouldn’t you know it? Just like a blind cat catching a dead rat, they happened to hit the jackpot.”

  “So, the lesson here is…”

  Uesugi crossed his arms and shook his head with an air of wisdom.

  “It’s better not to imitate Ryūen. Do too many shady things, and karma’s bound to get you.”

  Hirata Yōsuke opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka pulled him back.

  “As for our css…”

  Adjusting his colr, Uesugi stepped into the sunlight, spreading his arms wide, as if embracing divine radiance itself.

  “Only those who take the test fair and square can achieve true victory. Our css scored so high simply because we’re good, honest people who received a generous supply donation from D-Css. Then, through completely legitimate means, we earned additional points.”

  With that, he turned around and strode off toward the ship, not looking back.

  Not like the exact point distribution will ever be revealed. I just threw out a bunch of random numbers to stir the pot. What a perfect setup for some juicy conflict.

  Hearing Uesugi’s expnation, Katsuragi seemed to piece everything together.

  Indeed, 20 points… If Ryūen hadn’t deliberately leaked the leaders’ identities to three csses, then what? The alternative would be that A-Css’s leader was somehow identified by all three csses simultaneously? That was simply too unlikely. Combined with the substitution pn Uesugi had mentioned, everything made sense now.

  Ibuki also fell into deep thought.

  She and Ryūen had only decided to swap leaders on a whim. After switching, they hadn’t encountered anyone else. Even if they had guessed the wrong leaders for B and D-Css, they should’ve still earned some points from bases.

  So… it really was just dumb luck?

  Meanwhile, the teachers and B-Css students—who actually knew the truth—were collectively twitching at the corners of their mouths.

  This guy… He just straight-up lied without hesitation. And somehow, he actually made it sound pusible enough to fool all three csses?!

  As for Ryūen Kakeru—

  After knocking himself out yesterday and successfully making it back to the cruise, he had taken a quick shower before sleeping like a log.

  Now that the special exam was officially over, he, confident in his own victory, had arrived early at the cruise’s entrance, eager to witness the defeated expressions of Uesugi and the others.

  “Heh heh~”

  Ryūen struggled to keep his lips from curling into a smirk. The mere thought of Uesugi’s miserable, tear-streaked face made him burst into ughter.

  “Hah! Hah! Hah—!”

  And then—

  He saw them.

  Two figures who had been waiting at the entrance.

  Both slowly turned to look at him.

  With expressions that could only be described as watching an idiot in real time.

  Kanzaki Ryūji and Horikita Suzune.

  ---

  T/N: AHAHAHAH and yay! Css D got second! and yeah I knew that they weren't gonna take the risk with guessing Css D's leader