Chapter 139: Two Leisurely Days, the Benefactor Exam Begins (Two-in-One 5k) (Patreon)

After the tender moments with Suzune Horikita, the night passed quietly.

After seven days surviving on the deserted island, the students of all four classes were exhausted by the day the exam ended.

A few with energy to spare went off to enjoy the cruise ship, but most turned in early. The real downtime would come the next morning.

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 8th, Hikaru Naruse finished washing up, changed his clothes, and left his room.

According to the original story, August 8th and 9th were "bonus days" after the exam. On the 10th, the second cruise ship werewolf-style exam would begin: the VIP Exam.

So he planned to spend these two days comforting the girls around him.

On the morning of the 8th, the first person Hikaru Naruse had promised his time to was Ai Morishita. She had put on a dress especially for the occasion, and the two of them went window-shopping together.

The news that Hikaru Naruse had a girlfriend had already spread through the entire first-year class. Even so, today the two of them were openly walking hand in hand around the ship, drawing sidelong glances from everyone.

"So they're not even pretending anymore? Won't Karuizawa be angry?"

"I guess this is a privilege of the strong. Class A won big this time, and I heard it was all Naruse's doing."

"Must be nice."

Only first-years were aboard, so news naturally traveled fast.

Hikaru Naruse and Ai Morishita ignored it all. After lunch, he picked out a small gift for her: a silver bracelet with a little cloud charm.

"Not bad. This suits you."

"Naruse does have good taste."

A smile touched Ai Morishita's pretty face. Then the two of them headed to the cinema to catch a movie.

They played until three or four in the afternoon, when Kei Karuizawa showed up for the "shift change."

"Have you had enough time today?"

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and studied Hikaru Naruse and Ai Morishita, who were sitting together with drinks, trying to look calm.

"Enough."

Hikaru Naruse had been so gentle and considerate today that Ai Morishita was in a good mood.

She glanced at the gift on her wrist, then looked up at Kei Karuizawa.

"Fine. I'll give him back to you."

Ai Morishita's gaze met Kei Karuizawa's in midair. After several seconds of standoff, she finally gave her answer.

"Hey…"

Hikaru Naruse watched the two of them settle the question of who "owned" him, and suddenly found it hard to keep a straight face.

"Naruse, I had a great time today. See you tomorrow."

Ai Morishita stood up, bent down to nip his cheek, then turned and floated away.

Left behind, Kei Karuizawa immediately pulled two wet wipes from her pocket and shoved them right in front of Hikaru Naruse's face.

"Hikaru-kun, chin up!"

"Uh…"

He saw what she was planning and obediently went along with it.

After she'd scrubbed his face hard several times over, he said helplessly, "Kei, how did you know we were here?"

"Because you're my boyfriend, Hikaru-kun, so I have to keep an eye on you every day."

"Is that so."

The whole "shift change" went off without any drama. From Hikaru Naruse's point of view, it was strangely, eerily harmonious.

What's going on here…

"Okay, forget about her. Now it's my turn, Hikaru-kun."

"Sure."

The two of them wandered the ship. With Hikaru Naruse, Kei Karuizawa finally found an outlet, and she kept venting about what was going on in her class.

They'd been together for a long time now, and this was a cruise on top of that. Her original plan had been to bring him along to hang out with her Class D friends.

But after the exam ended, a lot of things had shifted in subtle ways.

For one, Class D had placed second. They'd earned over a hundred points, but the gap to first-place Class A was huge, and that naturally stirred up some discord.

Rumors said Kei Karuizawa had leaked Class D's representative to Hikaru Naruse, since the two were a couple.

There wasn't a shred of real evidence, but Class D was definitely getting restless. Yosuke Hirata kept urging everyone not to talk like that, yet overall he couldn't hold it down.

"Honestly, everyone's just jealous. Jealous of your ability, Hikaru-kun."

Naturally, Kei Karuizawa was furious when she heard the rumor. She gave up caring about the group entirely, and when she was with Hikaru Naruse, she didn't want to see anyone from her class.

"It's fine. Rumors like this are normal. They'll die down after a while."

"And besides…"

Rumors weren't the only thing that bothered her. What mattered more was that the girls around her sometimes made sour remarks too.

"Earlier I overheard a few girls talking about it. They said I threw myself at you, Hikaru-kun, because I don't deserve you."

"They're actually saying that?"

Hikaru Naruse knew this was the moment to soothe her and keep Kei Karuizawa from spiraling.

"Why not just tell them I'm the one who chased you, after all?"

"I know, but I can't help getting mad."

"Can't be helped. Just be a bit more careful from now on, Kei. Don't make friends with trash."

"Mm-hm, I know."

Kei Karuizawa's face lit up with a bright smile.

"I don't care what they think. As long as you win, Hikaru-kun."

"You're really playing favorites. Don't forget which class you belong to."

"Of course I'm playing favorites. I've made up my mind: you're what matters most to me, Hikaru-kun. As for those people in Class D, they can do whatever they like."

"Will it affect your standing in class?"

"Only a little. I know what I'm doing."

Rumors were rumors, but Kei Karuizawa's status and position in Class D really hadn't been affected. Even if people were jealous or badmouthed her, none of them dared to actually cross her.

After all, her boyfriend was Hikaru Naruse, an intimidating presence in his own right, so all they could do was mutter behind her back.

"Mm, that's good."

Hikaru Naruse cupped the girl's pretty face in his hands and spoke slowly, one word at a time.

"No matter what happens, Kei, protect yourself first. Nothing else matters."

"What about you, Hikaru-kun?"

"I don't need your protection. I can protect everyone."

"Hmph!"

*

On August 9th, Hikaru Naruse received a text from Airi Sakura early in the morning, asking him to meet her in one of the smaller screening rooms.

It was much like the room where he'd met Suzune Horikita last time, a small hall with only about thirty seats. It was early, so hardly anyone would come.

When Hikaru Naruse arrived, he swept his eyes over the room and suddenly frowned.

"?"

There seemed to be two figures in the third row.

"What's going on?"

As he drew closer, he realized he hadn't misread it. Two people really were sitting in the third row: one was Airi Sakura, and the other, unbelievably, was Kikyo Kushida.

They sat side by side in the third row, deliberately leaving the middle seat empty for Hikaru Naruse.

"What is this?"

He sat down, glanced left and right, and couldn't make sense of the setup.

Airi Sakura blushed and said, very embarrassed, "Hikaru-kun, I really just wanted to see you today. Kushida-san, she…"

She didn't get to finish before Kikyo Kushida cut in, leaning her head close to Hikaru Naruse with a beaming smile.

"I call this hitching a ride."

"I wasn't planning to see you this morning, but I spotted Sakura sneaking out of the hallway all alone, looking around nervously."

"So I figured she must be going to meet you."

After listening to Kikyo Kushida's explanation, Hikaru Naruse pinched her cheek and said, exasperated:

"So you just tagged along? Aren't you afraid of upsetting Sakura?"

"Not at all."

Kikyo Kushida's big eyes laughed as she gazed at his face, her smile soft at the corners of her mouth.

"Besides, isn't a threesome exactly the kind of scene you boys dream about?"

"…"

Kikyo Kushida grinned mischievously, her tone carrying a distinct flavor.

"What, you don't like it?"

"Do you know where we are? This is a movie theater. Don't get any ideas."

Naturally, Hikaru Naruse had no intention of doing anything with the girls in a place like this. It was absurd, and he wasn't so desperate that he'd go that far.

"I'm not talking about today. Today is just a dress rehearsal."

Kikyo Kushida had a smooth line for everything, and it even gave Hikaru Naruse a new thought.

Could this girl have already struck some kind of deal with Sakura behind my back?

"I'll have you know, I steeled myself mentally before coming for something like this."

Kikyo Kushida glanced at the silent Airi Sakura and kept teasing. "Do you think every girl would agree to this?"

"Steeled yourself?"

Hikaru Naruse smiled, amused. "I thought nothing ever bothered you."

"Hmph~ What kind of person do you take me for?"

"A perv…"

"Don't say it!"

Kikyo Kushida and Hikaru Naruse roughhoused for a bit. Then Airi Sakura got up on her own initiative and sat right on his right thigh, resting her head against him.

"Hikaru-kun… do you want to watch a movie together today?"

"Sure."

"Right, I came along today to watch the movie too."

Kikyo Kushida copied her, getting up and sitting on his left thigh, which let him wrap an arm around each of them.

"Fine, we'll just watch the movie for now."

"Once we're back in the school dorms, I'll deal with you two together!"

"Think I'm scared?"

Kikyo Kushida breathed against the boy's face, and the familiar scent washed over him.

"I don't believe you can beat both of us at the same time."

"We'll see about that!"

Since they were in a movie theater, Hikaru Naruse didn't actually do anything with the two of them. There were only hugs and kisses, and nothing further.

The three of them sat pressed together and watched an entire romance film.

Whether Airi Sakura had picked it on purpose or it was a coincidence, the movie turned out to be a melodramatic love triangle, so Kikyo Kushida kept up a running commentary.

"This lead is such a wimp… If you like her, just confess."

"A chance encounter, and another chance encounter."

"Can't he just have both? What a spineless man!"

"Can you be quiet?"

Hikaru Naruse bumped his head against Kikyo Kushida's little head, telling her to keep it down.

"What?"

Kikyo Kushida turned and saw that on the other side, Airi Sakura, leaning on Hikaru Naruse's shoulder, had already fallen asleep.

She had organized the movie outing herself, but nestled against him was so comfortable that she'd drifted off in a daze.

"She actually fell asleep…"

"Maybe the exam wore her out…"

With an arm around each girl, Hikaru Naruse could hardly move. All he could do was tuck in his right arm a little so Airi Sakura could lean more securely.

"Then I'll take a bite first."

"Hm?"

The short-haired girl on his left leaned in, catching Hikaru Naruse completely off guard.

"Mm…"

*

The last stretch of downtime came on the afternoon of August 10th.

Hikaru Naruse and Suzune Horikita were having a meal together in the restaurant. They'd agreed not to be too intimate in public, but when he'd invited her to eat, she hadn't refused.

As for Kei Karuizawa, his proper girlfriend, he'd gone swimming with her again the night before, so she wasn't here today. She hadn't asked what his plans were either. That was a girlfriend's wisdom.

Kei Karuizawa knew Hikaru Naruse had a lot on his plate and a lot of people who needed his company.

If she clung to him all the time, it might backfire. Boys all liked obedient, well-behaved girls and disliked ones who made scenes for no reason.

Besides, everyone in school now knew she was Hikaru Naruse's girlfriend. However the rumors developed, they couldn't change that verdict.

In that case, she'd rein in her jealousy a little and give him more room.

That way, Hikaru Naruse would think she was even more sensible and would make it up to her twofold.

Being a girlfriend took serious cultivation too. Someone who leaned on her status to throw tantrums couldn't stay with a boy like Hikaru Naruse. Kei Karuizawa had understood that very early on.

Come to think of it, that was thanks to Ai Morishita's provocation.

Kei Karuizawa had analyzed Ai Morishita's motives before. She was always looking for chances to cuddle up to Hikaru Naruse, but she never interfered with his decisions and never asked what he did with his private time.

And as his girlfriend, Kei had to do even better.

In the restaurant, Hikaru Naruse smiled at the black-haired girl across from him and spoke first.

"You seem to have something you want to ask me. It's fine, just say it."

"It's only a small matter."

Suzune Horikita hesitated slightly. She did have a question, but she didn't know how to bring it up.

"If it were small, you wouldn't have looked up and then down several times in a row."

Hikaru Naruse took a sip of water and said with a smile.

"We're companions now. You can ask me anything directly."

"Okay…"

What Suzune Horikita was worried about was actually simple: the deal Manabu Horikita had made with Hikaru Naruse.

That points arrangement was called a "babysitting fee." Now that her own relationship with Hikaru Naruse had come this far, she didn't know how to handle it.

As his companion, she would surely spend a lot of time with him from now on.

Did the two of them still need that contract to bind them?

If she ended it, would he be angry?

Suzune Horikita had a lot on her mind, which was why she was so torn.

But in the next moment, Hikaru Naruse seemed to sense something and brought it straight into the open.

"Is it about the babysitting fee I collect from Manabu Horikita every month?"

"?"

Suzune Horikita was startled, her small face twitching.

"Heh, why so surprised? That one should be easy to guess. Your situation with Manabu Horikita is pretty complicated, after all."

"Mm… Yes, that's what's been on my mind."

Suzune Horikita dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and once she'd calmed down, she studied Hikaru Naruse's face seriously.

"The first term is over. Next month, will you keep working with… my brother?"

"Hm…"

Hikaru Naruse had thought it through. Given Manabu Horikita's siscon way of thinking, he surely intended to give his sister some help before he graduated, and only hadn't because of their awkward relationship.

Now that Hikaru Naruse had become the go-between, he could of course keep the arrangement going.

"My original thought was to continue…"

Before he could finish, the ship's built-in speakers suddenly came on.

A sharp, piercing sound burst out of the loudspeakers installed in every corner at the same time, instantly seizing everyone's attention.

Students who had been eating stopped, chopsticks in hand. They looked up and glanced around, not knowing what had happened.

The next moment, an electronic female voice, clearly processed by a machine, came through the broadcast.

"Attention, all students. The school has just sent each of you a text message containing notices."

"Please check the messages on your phones immediately and act according to the instructions in them. Those who fail to cooperate will bear the consequences."

"If your phone did not receive the message, please contact the faculty member in charge of your class immediately."

The content of the announcement was simple: check your messages. It repeated those few lines five times, running for almost a full minute.

Hikaru Naruse pulled his phone out of his pocket. The message had already arrived.

His gaze swept over the text, and the boy smiled faintly.

The second VIP Exam had finally begun. He hoped this one would be at least a little fun.