"I can't believe Class C teamed up with Class B." Kōhei said gravely, watching Class C's homeroom teacher leave.
This alliance meant Class A's careful plan to preserve 270 Base Points wouldn't maintain their commanding lead anymore.
"We can still pull ahead though." Houtarou said.
He shifted his gaze from Kazuma's retreating figure, wondering if Kakeru would truly retreat so easily.
This was a special exam where first-years could earn points, and Kakeru had purposely staged that scene on deck showing discord between himself and Class C students. His careful planning and significant effort were evident.
After all, when arranging for Ken and Rokusuke to be caught fighting by the Student Council, he'd willingly mediated to protect his class's points, paying 800,000 Private Points to resolve the situation.
Everything pointed to Class A being his target. While the alliance with Class B provided stable living expenses and reduced the risks of island life, it clearly hadn't satisfied his ambitions. Kakeru needed to achieve more in this exam.
Kazuma's loud announcement and abrupt departure were deliberate — a way to withhold information while appearing to share it.
This reasoning stems from the island exam's final score calculation:
Base Points each class has + Leader's outpost occupation Reward Points + Points added or deducted for guessing or being guessed as leader.
If other classes correctly guess your leader, your class loses 50 Base Points per correct guess, and all outpost Reward Points are nullified.
With Class D aggressively claiming outposts, leaving them unchecked would result in them gaining substantial Class Points after this exam. If Class D advanced, Class C would be the first to crumble.
Kakeru couldn't afford to stand idle. Either he — Class C's leader — or those students supposedly at odds with him might still be on the island.
Houtarou thought to himself.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
While Class D was somewhat surprised by Class C students' withdrawal, some of their own students also chose to leave.
"We exchanged supplies worth 200 Base Points with Class A, and everyone had a barbecue at the outpost in the evening. Our remaining supplies can only support about 20 students for the next 7 days on the island."
Class D students gathered at the roll call point to make their decision.
Having sold supplies to Class A meant they didn't have enough for their entire class. They had used up all 300 Base Points, but thanks to a rule preventing Base Points from going negative, missing roll call or withdrawing wouldn't cost them anything more.
The question remained: should everyone withdraw to the ship, leaving Rokusuke alone to take the exam?
"Let's keep half the students here." Yōsuke said, not wanting to divide the class or leave the narcissist to work alone.
While Rokusuke could prove his worth now, what about the future?
His desire to earn points independently seemed thoughtless.
Yōsuke hoped that experiencing hardship together would foster class unity and influence Rokusuke. With Class C's withdrawal, this became even more crucial — they couldn't let Rokusuke feel abandoned.
The situation was clear: Class D had depleted their Base Points. The question was whether to keep half their students on the island.
It was only day one, with 6 more days of island life ahead. The day hadn't been particularly demanding — they'd gone straight to the outpost Rokusuke captured with his leader card, only needed to set up two tents, and enjoyed an evening barbecue.
The first day had been relatively easy for Class D. But should they keep half their students?
Though it seemed entertaining, everyone knew they faced 6 days without phones or entertainment, and the food wouldn't compare to what was available on the ship.
"Kōenji-san has made outstanding contributions to our class." Yōsuke said, "And we need to keep half the students here. After all, this is everyone's exam. Now, those willing to stay, raise your hands."
Ten seconds passed without a single raised hand, leaving him stunned.
Meanwhile, Rokusuke remained aloof, admiring himself in the mirror.
"Can't we all go to the ship together?" One student suggested, clearly hoping to leave but too embarrassed to say it directly.
Everyone going to the ship together. And leave Rokusuke behind?
Rokusuke continued gazing in the mirror, remaining silent. He couldn't allow everyone to return to the ship — this was his exam, and too many had witnessed him using the leader card.
If they correctly guessed the leader on day seven, all their Reward Points would be nullified. He needed to use the rule stating "Leaders cannot be changed without valid reason" to his advantage.
Class D needed students to stay behind so he could exchange the leader position. He was curious to see just how his classmates would handle this situation.
"I choose to stay." Suzune announced suddenly.
"Good." Yōsuke said, looking at her gratefully.
"Horikita-san is staying — and Kōenji-san must remain on the island for six days. It wouldn't be right for us to relax on the ship." Kikyō said, "I'll stay too."
"Mm." Yōsuke nodded appreciatively.
Since the school year began, he and Kikyō had managed various conflicts among their classmates. With the students potentially splitting into two groups, they needed to consider who would mediate disputes — both on the island and the ship.
This concern was especially pressing since Class C had withdrawn to the ship.
Yōsuke had decided to return to the ship himself, believing the larger conflicts might arise there. With Kikyō staying on the island to handle any issues, his mind was at ease.
"Since Kikyō is staying, I'll stay too." Mei-Yu Wang declared.
The situation wasn't dire for those remaining. While supplies wouldn't suffice for forty students, they could easily sustain half that number.
According to Kiyotaka and Ken, who had explored with Rokusuke, the outposts contained corn, vegetable gardens, and fruit trees. They could manage even if it became pure survival living.
This novel experience might even prove interesting.
"I'll pass." Haruki interjected, "I nearly got bitten by a snake at camp today."
Though the snake had been harmless, everyone had seen it during their trek.
After this cowardly admission, others quickly raised their hands to withdraw.
"T-then, I'll stay." Came a quiet voice as another girl volunteered.
It was Airi Sakura, the timid girl with glasses and plain twin tails, raising her hand.
"Thank you, Sakura-san." Yōsuke said immediately.
Now there were four students willing to stay.
"Sakura-san is staying—" Haruki hesitated, "Well, I'll stay too then. Can't leave the girls feeling unsafe."
He flashed what he imagined was his most charming smile at Airi.
"Eek—" Airi startled, "Then I—"
She began to raise her hand tremulously, but it was too late to retract her offer.
"I suppose I'll stay too." Kiyotaka said.
"I'm staying too." Ken said.
In the end, sixteen students remained, with a balanced distribution:
Seven boys and eight girls, including Rokusuke.
⍟⍟⍟
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing