Meanwhile, on the other side.
After finishing their meal, Houtarou and Suzune went to the bar on deck to have drinks and enjoy the ocean view.
For students who had been restricted by the school for three months — and would continue to be for over two more years — this was one of their rare moments of freedom.
In the distance, students were feeding bread to seagulls that had landed on deck, though some discovered the birds seemed to prefer french fries.
The cloudy weather made spending the afternoon on deck pleasant.
Suzune ordered coffee, while Houtarou got a mango pomelo sago drink. Though sweet drinks were popular among girls, he didn't mind them either.
"So Ryūen publicly proposed cooperation with Class B during today's Dragon Group discussion?" Houtarou asked.
"Yes." Suzune nodded, "During this morning's Dragon Group discussion, I informed everyone about gathering at 3 PM."
But Kakeru had directly sought cooperation with Ryūji's side. He seemed to understand what Houtarou was planning yet was unwilling to accept it.
He wanted to make one last stand. The plan to obtain Class D's VIPs had failed, and Class A wasn't an option either.
If the two factions in Class A had been opposed, he might have had a chance. But now Arisu's faction was under Houtarou's control. There was no possibility of information leaking unless a student wanted to risk class expulsion.
Besides, no Class A student would be foolish enough to sabotage their own class's advantage. Even if Kakeru wanted to buy someone off, he couldn't afford the price of betrayal.
So Kakeru could only turn to Class B.
"Yo—"
Speaking of the devil… Just as he was mentioned, a disgruntled Kakeru appeared.
He arrived with Albert — their first sighting of him on deck.
"You two seem close." He said, "But, Horikita... Oreki spent a lovely evening with other girls last night."
Houtarou: "..."
"?" Suzune looked over.
Houtarou: "..."
Indeed, there had been some pleasant experiences before bed last night, but Kakeru mentioning this meant he had checked the safe.
He was in a foul mood, deliberately trying to provoke them.
But attempting to drive a wedge between them was pointless. Though they had been holding hands moments ago, Suzune was oblivious to romance, and Houtarou hadn't considered dating in high school.
Kakeru sat down on the bar stool to his left.
"I don't want to talk to you right now." Houtarou said, "Whatever you have to say, let's meet at 3 PM."
"Heh..."
Rebuffed, Kakeru left with a frozen smile, Albert following close behind.
"Don't we need to take more precautions?" Suzune asked while watching him leave, "If he goes to cooperate with Class B..."
Earlier, Houtarou had explained to her that Kakeru was cunning — the type who needed to fail once before he would listen.
And now, he was still resisting.
"Ryūen's talk about cooperating with Class B is fake." Houtarou said.
"Hm?" Suzune was confused.
His side, through Arisu, had already deduced the VIP pattern using information from Classes A and D. If Kakeru's side could obtain Class B's VIP information, they could also figure it out—
So, was this cooperation really just a bluff?
"Shh—"
Houtarou quietly raised a finger.
Suzune watched as he walked to the nearby chair where Kakeru had just been sitting.
When he turned the chair sideways, they discovered a white-cased phone taped underneath. The phone's screen was lit up, clearly in recording mode.
This was the same chair Kakeru had occupied — his sitting down had merely been a pretext to plant the phone and eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Ryūen has an agreement with Class B to exchange Base Points for supplies on the island. However, since he sent spies and traumatized Class B students, convincing Ichinose or Kanzaki would be difficult, especially on such short notice. We've already scheduled a meeting with representatives from all four classes at 3 PM. He doesn't have time. His talk about cooperating with Class B is just theater — creating an atmosphere in hopes of getting information from us." Houtarou explained.
It was his final desperate move.
Suzune marveled at how extraordinary the students at this school were.
But you're the most formidable of all, aren't you? Reading Kakeru's moves like an open book...
She noticed Houtarou messaging both his homeroom teacher and Kikyō from Class D.
"Hm?" Suzune wondered.
She saw Tomonari's reply stating 500,000 points, while Kikyō provided a phone number.
"Ryūen is exceptionally confident." Houtarou said, "We saw it during the island exam when he chose to be the leader and survive in the wilderness. He prefers handling things personally. That's why I believe this phone is his. I got his number from Kushida."
He dialed the number Ryūen had provided.
Moments later, the phone under the chair vibrated, confirming it belonged to Kakeru.
"I asked Mashima-sensei about the cost of replacing a lost school phone." Houtarou continued.
So that explained the 500,000 points — the steep replacement cost for a missing phone.
Wait a minute. Could it be...
Suzune looked on in shock as Houtarou summoned a staff member.
"That red-haired guy from earlier irritated me. Please dispose of the chair he touched." He said, "Throw it directly into the sea. I'll cover the property damage and add 100,000 points as your tip."
"Understood."
Replacing a chair would only cost five or six thousand points, but 100,000 points amounted to half a month's salary.
The staff member promptly accepted the payment and tossed the chair — with Kakeru's phone still attached — into the sea.
Despite the calm waters, they heard a distinct splash.
"And now…" Houtarou turned and said, "Ryūen has no choice but to yield. His class is short on funds, and they'll face reports from Ichinose's class upon returning to school. They've earned few points, both personal and Class Points. The Monkey Group's VIPs were leaked from his class. And now he needs 500,000 points for a new phone. He'll cooperate at 3 PM."
Suzune: "..."
Indeed, from this angle, Kakeru had run out of options.
At this moment, she realized how wise it had been not to pursue advancing to Class A with Class D from the beginning.
If she had, she would've been the one being predicted like this now.
With time to spare until the 3 PM meeting, Houtarou and Suzune decided to take a break.
He went to catch up on sleep, while she returned to reading "Flow" and "Time Management Master" — the books Houtarou had recommended — hoping to improve her efficiency.
Though she could study 10 hours daily without tiring, she envied his high efficiency.
And so, they both had a peaceful rest.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Half an hour later, Kakeru gathered his small team at the bar area to explain the situation.
"We're out of options. Horikita has already arranged for representatives from all four classes to meet." He said, "Our plan to obtain Class D's VIP information has failed — Oreki predicted everything. Ichinose's group still distrusts us after we leaked their information during the island exam. Our only hope now is to gather intelligence from the phone I planted under the chair and use it to pressure Oreki into better terms."
The others nodded.
Class C's situation was dire. The Monkey Group's VIP had been exposed, meaning they'd lose 50 Points before the exam even ended.
And when they returned to school, they'd face another 100-Point deduction because of Honami and the others — their classmates would surely revolt.
"I mentioned teaming up with Kanzaki's group in front of Horikita this morning." Kakeru said, "With luck, they'll discuss Class B's VIPs."
Hiyori and the others shared his hope.
Then they noticed something odd.
"What happened to the bar chairs?" Kakeru asked, looking around.
All the chairs had been replaced with red ones — they were definitely black before.
"Oh, that." The staff member said, "A customer asked us to dispose of the chair you sat in. Since one missing chair would look strange, we changed them all to match."
"??" Kakeru froze.
After checking the removed chairs, realization dawned.
"Ishizaki, lend me your phone!" He grabbed Daichi's phone and checked the GPS tracking.
Result:
"Ryūen, your phone can't be located."
Can't be located. Either it was out of battery and forcibly shut down, or it was damaged. And Kakeru knew very well this wasn't about being turned off, but about being thrown into the sea.
And since many of the school's exams sent notifications through phones, having one was essential.
"Hey, Sakagami-sensei... yes, I wanted to ask about a school-issued phone that's lost — well, more like impossible to recover..."
"..."
"So it's specially customized?"
"..."
"500,000 points? That's robbery! I mean — isn't that excessive? Damn… Sorry, I didn't mean to curse."
"..."
"I understand. Please help me file for a replacement. I lost my phone."
Kakeru ended the call, aware of his companions' eyes on him.
"The chair plan failed." He said, "Oreki had the staff throw my phone into the sea. And replacing it costs 500,000 points."
Everyone: "..."
Instead of gaining advantages for Class C, he'd managed to rack up a 500,000-point debt before they'd even begun.
Given Class C's dwindling Class Points and his previous collections from classmates, this would be a severe challenge to overcome.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Meanwhile, at the school.
It was Saturday, and while students had the day off, student council members were required to work.
⍟⍟⍟
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