Chapter 145: The Shocked Crowd, Complete Victory 2.0 (Two-in-One 5k) (Patreon)

Around seven in the evening, in one of the cruise ship's drink shops.

At this hour, with the second group discussion approaching, only a handful of students were in the shop, scattered here and there.

Hikaru Naruse and Kei Karuizawa sat together in a two-person booth. She had her head resting against his shoulder and was looking down at her phone, plainly content.

The first-year Class D students were clearly more at a loss with this Special Exam. Nobody had any idea how to guess the VIPs, and after the first group discussion that morning, they were lost about where things were heading.

"The discussion's starting again soon, right? I don't think we can cooperate at all."

"Yeah, the Class C people have zero interest in working together. Their attitude's awful."

"I can't even guess who the VIP in our group is."

"Me neither…"

"Are we really going to have to wait until the last day?"

Watching the messages scroll past, the corners of Kei Karuizawa's mouth curled into a smile.

Class D really was just as Hikaru Naruse had said. Apart from a small handful who were passable, most of them were flawed goods, and each one was flawed in a different direction.

Chosen by the school as a sample group, their overall level was, by nature, the bottom tier of ordinary high schoolers.

Kei was scrolling on her phone while Naruse, sitting beside her, talked with Kohei Katsuragi on the phone. He made no attempt to hide it from her, which only made her feel more secure.

"I'll give you the specific contract tomorrow. On Class B's side, Ichinose-san has already picked her three people."

"Good. It seems everything is going according to your plan, Naruse-san."

"We've tentatively set the time for seven thirty, so about ten more minutes. Once everyone's answered, the school should need some time to verify, but no more than ten minutes."

Naruse said slowly, phone in hand.

"So tonight's eight o'clock second discussion will be canceled too. The exam will be over, after all."

"I've already synced up with everyone in the class, Naruse-san."

"Mm."

The line went quiet for two seconds. Katsuragi hesitated, then spoke.

"Naruse-san, I have one more idea."

"Go ahead."

"I've talked with several people in the class. We all agree that you contributed the most in these two Special Exams, so we've decided to give you an extra reward."

"Oh?"

"According to your plan, once all nine groups answer correctly, we'll receive 300 class evaluation points and 4.5 million Private Points. Add Class B's 3.5 million and that's 8 million in total."

"After the points come in, I'll call for a vote. As for those points… I'd like you to take 3 million Private Points for yourself. You've earned it."

"?"

Naruse was a little surprised. Three million points was no small sum, and Katsuragi's willingness to bring it up proved he was an upright and clever man.

After all, every first-year knew by now that the most important member of Class A was Naruse himself. With both exams over, he had indeed done great service, helping the class earn more than 500 class evaluation points at the very least.

Giving the biggest reward to the one who'd done the greatest service fit the principle of rewarding merit, and it would unify everyone's view.

"Naruse-san, you don't need to agonize over this. You've earned it. Even if someone objects, I'll work to persuade them."

Katsuragi was an upright man who believed in leading by example and in fairness. With Class A on the verge of a total victory in both exams, he, as the nominal head of the class, naturally had to show proper respect to the man who deserved the credit.

Respect wasn't saying thanks out loud or telling someone how awesome they were. It was a real distribution of substantial gains.

"And the rest of the points?"

Naruse was suddenly curious.

"The rest will be divided fairly. After all, you're the one who got hold of the VIPs' names, Naruse-san, but everyone's contribution was about the same, so splitting it equally is the fairest way."

Katsuragi seemed to chuckle softly on the other end before continuing.

"Of course, within that equal split of 5 million, there's a share for you too. You'll get another 125,000."

"All right then, I won't refuse."

Naruse's tone was relaxed. He'd put in the real effort himself, so naturally he should take the biggest piece. There was no need to dwell on it.

"Mm."

Katsuragi approved of Naruse's attitude. Better to accept cleanly than to dither. It was his due anyway.

With the cake-cutting settled, Naruse moved on to business.

"At seven thirty, I'll post the number 1 in the group chat. Everyone I've chosen has to answer immediately. Make sure Katsuragi-san gets that across."

"Don't worry, I just got off the phone with all nine of them."

"Good."

After hanging up, Naruse picked up the juice in front of him and took a sip.

Then he looked down and opened his phone. In his student account lay more than 2 million Private Points, quietly waiting.

Beyond that 2 million, the two Bond Cards in his system were still generating returns. Together, the two cards still earned 500,000 Private Points a month.

As for Manabu Horikita, they could keep talking after returning to school.

After all, as Student Council President and a top student of third-year Class A, he had led Class A through Special Exams for at least two years. Add the monthly points the school handed out to the class, and the Private Points at his disposal were probably substantial, in the tens of millions at the very least.

And Naruse's relationship with Suzune Horikita had grown much closer now. With that connection, he could naturally make good use of Manabu Horikita.

While Naruse was lost in thought, Kei suddenly lifted her small face to look at him.

"Hikaru-kun, will the exam end at seven thirty?"

"Mm."

Looking at the sweet, obedient girlfriend in his arms, Naruse said gently,

"Kei, how many points do you have left?"

"Me?"

Kei checked her phone. Class D's class evaluation points had still been in the double digits in August, so they hadn't received much in total.

"A little over twenty thousand."

"After the exam ends, I'll give you another hundred thousand." Naruse smiled warmly.

"Huh? That's… not really okay, is it?"

Naruse had already transferred her fifty thousand points before, so Kei hesitated. She didn't want to look like a "gold digger."

"What's not okay about it?"

Seeing her "embarrassed" look, Naruse continued in a mild voice.

"Kei, listen to me. Once the exam ends, because of how special the VIP Exam is, the school will give the winning classes a lot of Private Points."

"And you told me you were a VIP, Kei. That's a great service too."

"But…"

Kei said, a little bashfully, "But didn't you already guess who I was ahead of time, Hikaru-kun?"

"Right, I guessed correctly, but you volunteered the answer, and that gave me a way to verify it. That's how I became more certain my guess wasn't wrong."

Naruse stroked her head lightly and said softly,

"Kei, you're worrying about the strangest things. Me giving you points to spend has nothing to do with whether you want them."

"Because you're my girl, I want you to live more comfortably."

"Understand?"

Hearing her boyfriend's explanation, warmth flowed through Kei's heart. She could feel how much Naruse doted on her, and she snuggled even closer against him.

"Besides, after the VIP Exam ends, your Class D will lose 150 points, so your class evaluation points will probably drop back into the double digits."

"I want to see you in more outfits, Kei. I can't let you be so short on cash, of course."

"Really? What style of clothes does Hikaru-kun want to see me in?" Kei was a cute-natured, honest-to-goodness high schooler, and naturally she was interested in all kinds of pretty clothes.

"Mm, I don't have any demands about the outer stuff. What I care about more is…"

Naruse said it on purpose, and Kei got it at once. Her little face instantly turned red.

"Hikaru-kun, you pervert…"

"Is that so?"

"Fine, I get it! I'll buy more styles of lingerie… and then I'll let Hikaru-kun put them on me himself!"

Hearing Naruse say that, Kei's heart began to race, and her face flushed even deeper.

"Now that's something to look forward to."

—————————————————————————————————

In the last few minutes before seven thirty, Naruse sent a message in Class A's group chat.

"Everyone I've privately messaged before, please pay attention. Send your answers at exactly seven thirty. Make sure there are no mistakes in what you send, and check the names three times before sending."

After the message went out, the nine chosen people replied one after another.

"Got it, Naruse-san. I've already typed it up."

"No problem, I can submit anytime."

"I checked the names several times. No errors."

At the same time, Honami Ichinose sent Naruse a text as well.

"Naruse-san, our three people in Class B are ready and can submit anytime."

"Good."

After replying, Naruse glanced at his phone and began the countdown.

Kei naturally knew what was about to happen. She nestled into his arms and watched the phone's clock count down with him.

"Last ten seconds."

"Heh, why are you getting nervous too, Kei?" Naruse had an arm around the girl and could feel her body tense.

"I'm looking forward to the final result just like you, Hikaru-kun."

At last, seven thirty arrived. In Class A's group chat, those who had sent their answers began reporting the results.

"Reporting: Snake Group's answer submitted."

"Reporting: Horse Group's answer submitted."

"…,…"

Nine answers in all. Everyone finished submitting at the planned time, and on Ichinose's side, her class's three people had submitted as well.

Scanning over the replies, a smile of the utmost satisfaction spread across Naruse's lips.

"No problems."

"Now let's wait for the school to tally the results. They should announce the exam's end before eight."

"Mm-hm."

The girl in his arms nodded, then picked up her milk tea and held it out to Naruse.

"Try this, Hikaru-kun. It's blueberry."

"Oh? Then I'll have a sip."

—————————————————————————————————

Shortly before eight, the assembly area on the cruise ship's second floor.

Yosuke Hirata, Kikyo Kushida, and Horikita had arrived a few minutes early at the door of the big meeting room.

Just then, a text from the school arrived, catching all three off guard.

Hirata froze for a moment, then quickly opened his phone. After reading only the first line, he stood rooted to the spot, stunned.

The message was simple. The school had sent it to everyone.

[This exam has concluded. All twelve groups have submitted their answers.]

[In all twelve groups, the result was the same. The traitor answered correctly, resulting in Result 3.]

[Based on the above results, the following are the point adjustments for the four classes.]

[Class A: +300 cl, +4,500,000 pr]

[Class B: +0 cl, +1,500,000 pr]

[Class C: -150 cl]

[Class D: -150 cl]

[Note: class evaluation points: cl, Private Points: pr]

When he made out the final numbers on the screen, Hirata felt his brain about to crash.

"W-what's going on?"

"Is the exam really completely over?"

He instinctively glanced at the time on his phone. It read 7:58, which meant that fewer than twelve hours had passed since the VIP information was announced that morning.

And in those fewer than twelve hours, Class A had already made their move and secured the final victory.

Judging by the result, Class A's harvest was truly rich. They'd already gained over 400 points from the Uninhabited Island Exam, and now another 300 from the VIP Exam.

Surely by the start of the second term, Class A's class evaluation points would be approaching 2,000, wouldn't they?

Thinking of that hopeless outcome, Hirata gave a wry smile.

"Looks like we're all just running along for the ride."

He turned around and saw Horikita looking down at her phone with a calm expression. Kikyo, for her part, looked fairly fine, and even spoke up to comfort him.

"It's okay! At least Class C is in the same boat as us."

That was true. Thinking about Class C, they were actually the biggest losers of these two exams.

In the Uninhabited Island Exam, Class D had at least scored points, while Class C got zero.

"The gap between us and Class C should have narrowed a bit too, right?" Hirata grasped at the last straw.

"Yeah, we should only be a few dozen points behind now."

After agreeing with a few more words on the surface, Kikyo suddenly thought of Naruse.

Now that the results were out, she knew that Class A's total victory this time had to be linked to Naruse.

But… how had he guessed the VIPs?

She suddenly wanted very much to see him.

—————————————————————————————————

A lounge on the cruise ship's third floor had become Class C's temporary gathering place.

Mio Ibuki and Hiyori Shiina sat on one sofa, while the burly Yamada stood by the door a short distance away.

After a while, Kakeru Ryuen pushed the door open and walked in. Behind him were the three boys who, like him, were members of Dragon Group: Takumi Oda, Hidetoshi Suzuki, and Masashi Sonoda.

Once everyone had arrived, Ibuki was the first to speak, her tone cold.

"Every group got Result 3. We lost 150 points."

"Is this what came of you confidently asking everyone to cooperate with you? Ryuen!"

"I was just one step too slow. People who sat in the back waiting for results have no right to blame me."

Though Kakeru Ryuen's face looked ugly too, he wasn't the type to be eaten up by self-doubt, and his tone remained forceful.

"Judging by the results, Class A must have struck a deal with Class B. I never expected Naruse to trust that Ichinose woman."

"Isn't it normal for them to cooperate?"

Ibuki folded her arms and said with disdain.

"They're both upper-ranked classes, and besides…"

"Besides what?" Ryuen asked.

"Nothing."

Ibuki didn't answer him directly. She had no interest in romance herself, but the girls in the class loved to gossip while changing in the locker room, and since she was there, she naturally heard a few rumors.

Like the rumors about Naruse and Honami Ichinose. Some people said the two had secretly gotten together, which would make it perfectly natural for them to trust each other.

"…Add this failure to the Uninhabited Island failure, and you've shown everyone that this is all your ability amounts to."

"It's only two failures. No one can guarantee they'll win forever!"

Ryuen gave a cold laugh and continued.

"There'll definitely be more exams later, and we still have a chance to turn things around."

"Heh."

Ibuki sneered, then spoke in a thoroughly mocking tone.

"You already boasted to everyone before, and what you got was two failures."

"As the saying goes, three strikes and you're out. If you fail one more time, how many people do you think will still back you?"

Ibuki was stating a fact. Every targeted plan since the start of term had come from Ryuen, and because they worked well, his supporters had grown.

But now, with two crushing defeats in a row, some people were bound to waver.

Ryuen actually agreed with this. Class C students had no loyalty to speak of. Whoever could bring everyone gains would be the one they elected leader.

"Don't worry. Next time, I'll definitely win it back."

"I hope that's not just empty talk."

Ibuki stood up and left the room together with Hiyori Shiina.

Albert Yamada, like a loyal bodyguard, quickly followed the two of them out the door.

Ryuen glanced at the boys beside him and drove them out too. Once they were gone, his emotions finally exploded.

He smashed his fist through the glass of the coffee table, and blood ran down the back of his hand.

"Damn it!"