"So, why can't we team up with students from other classes?"
Just as lunch break began, Kitagawa Ryo received a call from Karuizawa Kei. Her tone sounded frustrated.
When she first heard that this year's deserted island exam would differ from previous ones due to Student Council Vice President Nagumo's interference, Kei had imagined it might be a full-grade competition like the previous sports festival. She had hoped that B-Class could justifiably cooperate with D-Class again. But Nagumo had completely let her down.
"Even though it's a group-based competition with last-place eliminations, in the end, it still pits the four first year classes against each other."
"That's just how Advanced Nurturing High School operates. After all, the student council president is still Horikita Manabu. Nagumo could only slip in a bit of his 'strength-first' ideology symbolically. This is the result."
Switching his phone from right to left hand, Ryo stopped in front of a vending machine and spoke while picking out a drink.
"Did you manage to form a team, Kei? Even though the cards haven't been handed out yet, aside from the special [Double-Edged] card which requires forming a team around it, the others aren't too restrictive."
Bringing up team formation turned out to be a mistake. Kei's tone grew glum again, as if Ryo could see her pout through the phone:
"Of course I can't form a team in three minutes like you. Actually, four people might not even be enough for you, right?"
Just imagining Ryo with three other girls on the deserted island—pitching tents, lighting campfires, chatting and cooking under the stars—was enough to loosen something inside Kei. Emotions surged like water from a broken valve, spilling out into her words.
She had always told herself she was secure. But over the past few days, Kei had realized that belief was just self-comforting talk.
She had already failed twice. This chance was her last. That's why she wanted to become the best version of herself. Forgetting the past was already an arduous task, and though she thought she had moved on, her core motivations still stemmed from what had come before.
As if she could redeem all her past regrets with this one opportunity.
Last chances were always associated with words like "ultimate," "absolute," "perfect," and "pure."
Yet the girls around Kitagawa Ryo only kept increasing.
Especially after facing off with Horikita Suzune a few days ago, Kei had felt an intense sense of crisis.
"We might still run into other groups on the island."
"I trust your B-Class students. If we meet, we can even hold a joint party at night."
Ryo picked up on her subtle emotions and took the initiative to comfort her.
"Or we could agree in advance to meet at a certain challenge site. Swimming or beach volleyball would be great. After all, that swimsuit you're bringing was a gift from me. Wouldn't mind seeing you in it a few more times."
"...Fine, let's go with that."
"Yeah. It's just a fourteen-day special exam. Stay safe and have fun."
After ending the call with Kei, Ryo thought for a moment and walked toward Class 1-C.
Unlike Kei, who had both status in B-Class and strong personal abilities, Shiina Hiyori's situation in Class C concerned Ryo more. Though Hiyori had excellent academics, her physical strength was below average.
And in the deserted island exam, no matter what, physical ability was still a basic requirement for all students.
But after a moment of consideration, Ryo turned and decided to head back to his own room first.
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"Ayanokouji-kun, can you tell me if there's a chance you can take one of the top three spots in the deserted island exam on your own?"
First year Class A's leader, Katsuragi Kohei, unusually didn't bring his usual follower Totsuka Yahiko this time. He had asked Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to meet privately. Once confirming no one else was nearby, Katsuragi posed the question with a serious expression.
Like the other classes, Class A understood the significance of this special exam. If they could secure first place in class ranking and claim all top three group rankings, they could potentially earn up to 900 class points.
Of course, that was the best-case scenario.
Still, Ayanokouji's capabilities made Katsuragi hope that this seemingly impossible outcome might actually be achievable.
Though Katsuragi was considered the leader of Class A, he was well aware that Ayanokouji was the most capable student in their class. That was why he asked the question now.
Class A held a clear advantage in overall strength. Katsuragi believed he could form a team to aim for top three. If Ayanokouji could claim another top-three spot solo, Class A would reap the greatest benefits.
With a calm expression, Ayanokouji replied:
"Katsuragi, you place too much faith in me. We only know part of the rules, and our intel is still incomplete."
Ayanokouji clearly understood Katsuragi's intent. Katsuragi didn't expect him to truly go solo. If he had agreed just now, Katsuragi would undoubtedly have assigned him three of the class's weaker students as teammates.
"With great power comes great responsibility" — though Katsuragi had lived by this principle, Ayanokouji did not share the same belief.
In the White Room, the concept of 'comrades' didn't exist. There, the truth was: the more capable you were, the more authority you gained.
Seeing Ayanokouji's response, Katsuragi smiled wryly and rubbed his shaved head.
"Then what are your thoughts on forming a team?"
"I still intend to go solo."
Ayanokouji answered without hesitation, then explained:
"Teaming up certainly has its advantages. But it's not impossible for a solo participant to win. In fact, there are benefits to acting freely without being tied down by teammates. And in certain cases, solo efficiency might even surpass that of a group."
"The point of group formation is to complement each other's abilities. But if someone's comprehensive strength is high enough, they don't need a team."
He looked Katsuragi in the eye and deliberately emphasized the word "solo."
"...Then Ayanokouji-kun, what result can you achieve alone?"
Katsuragi caught on to his meaning and asked again:
"First place?"
"First place... I'd say there's a 50% chance."
His words were ambiguous, but even so, Katsuragi couldn't help clicking his tongue.
"Even a 50% chance is impressive."
He didn't doubt Ayanokouji. From Katsuragi's perspective, Class A was the strongest in the school, and Ayanokouji the strongest within it—so naturally, he was the strongest in the grade.
"There are only two possible outcomes: either I take first place, or I don't. That's a 50% chance."
"...Seriously?"
Ayanokouji ended the conversation with a dry joke.
"Anyway, we should wait until everyone receives their cards before deciding on team formations."
"Yeah, got it."
Noticing more students approaching, and seeing Totsuka waving at him in the distance, Katsuragi nodded and walked away.
Ayanokouji watched his sturdy figure fade into the crowd before turning and walking off in another direction.
In truth, his earlier words weren't a joke or a play on probabilities.
Because when it came to first place in the group rankings, there were only two possibilities:
Kitagawa Ryo or Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
That was all.
-------------------------------------
Technically, this was Kitagawa Ryo's first time coming to the entrance of Class 1-C. Although he had spent a rather pleasant time here during Kei Karuizawa's second simulation, aside from the two of them, no one else remembered any of it.
However, one of the achievements from that simulation had left a small trace behind:
[Congratulations, Player. Achievement unlocked: "Class Advancement" — Initial favorability with Class 1-C increased.]
More importantly, what weighed on Ryo's mind was a certain ring he had never taken out since then:
[A ring: It should come in a pair, but currently, you have no idea who holds the other one.]
It was a reward from unlocking the achievement called [Heartbreaker], so there was little doubt that the other ring must be with Shiina Hiyori. After all, it had been a confession gift he gave her back then.
But ever since meeting Shiina Hiyori again, she had never brought up anything about the ring. And naturally, Ryo hadn't mentioned it either. If not for the sight of the [Class 1-C] sign triggering a memory, he might've forgotten it entirely.
The girls of Class 1-C were rather bold. Seeing a handsome boy from another class standing outside their classroom deep in thought, they approached him with playful curiosity.
"You're Kitagawa-kun from Class D, right? Are you here looking for someone?"
Though Ryo had once manipulated the tension between Ryuuen and Tokito Hiroya within Class C to his advantage, most students weren't aware of those details. To them, Kitagawa Ryo was simply pleasant to look at and easy to approach.
As for how they recognized him? That would be thanks to the girls who compiled the "Top Handsome Boys of First Year" rankings.
"Yeah, I'm here to see Hiyori."
Ryo tucked away his thoughts and responded with a nod and a gentle smile.
"Ah, Shiina-san."
The girls seemed quite familiar with her.
"Her seat's over there."
One of them pointed through the window. After peeking in, she added:
"She's still reading. She's been on that same book since morning. I'm a little worried she hasn't even registered the rules of the special exam."
"Just a few homemade sweets. Thanks for looking after Hiyori."
Ryo pulled out a box of handmade desserts from the bag he had brought back from his room and handed it over politely.
"Oh…"
The girls looked a little flustered. They were, after all, just ordinary classmates of Shiina, not close friends. Being thanked like this felt a bit too much.
"I'll head in now."
Not giving them time to respond, Ryo casually placed the exquisite gift box in one of their hands and confidently stepped into Class 1-C's room, looking completely at home.
Since lunchtime was already halfway through, most students had either gone to the cafeteria or returned to their dorms. Besides the few girls who had just stepped out, only two people remained inside.
As Ryo expected, one of them was Ibuki Mio.
The fact that she didn't have friends was entirely unsurprising.
She was dozing off on her desk and didn't notice Ryo's sympathetic glance. The only one who reacted to his approach was Shiina Hiyori, who had remained engrossed in her book.
Yet she didn't close it. Instead, she slowly raised it to forehead level, revealing her violet eyes as she softly spoke:
"Ryo, are you here to form a team with me?"
"Wake up. Cross-class teams aren't allowed this time."
Ryo pulled a chair over and sat down across from her. Out of habit, he reached out to flick her forehead but ended up tapping the spine of her book instead.
"And Then There Were None? Reading it again? Haven't you gone through this one plenty of times?"
He noticed the title and the name Agatha Christie on the cover and asked with mild curiosity.
"The homeroom teacher explained the rules of the deserted island exam this morning, and it reminded me of this."
Hiyori nodded gently, her silver hair swaying beside her face.
"See? The story takes place on a deserted island too."
She placed the book on the desk, open to the page with the famous nursery rhyme:
"Ten little soldiers went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine..."
She softly hummed the dark tune.
But Ryo didn't feel any sense of horror. In fact, he hadn't even considered the grim tone.
It reminded him of something from The Little Prince—when you love someone, even the most ordinary things will bring them to mind. Just like how the fox, after falling in love with the Little Prince, would always think of his golden hair upon seeing golden wheat fields.
As he listened to Hiyori's quiet singing, Ryo thought only of takoyaki, watermelon slices, goldfish scooping, ring toss, brilliant nighttime drone shows—and those two rings.
It was a mystery game about love between two detective fiction enthusiasts.
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