Chapter 141: The Exam Ends, Class D Wins!
After Ryuen Kakeru departed, a worried Horikita Suzune walked over to Katsuragi Keima's side.
"What happened?"
"I've reached a preliminary cooperation with Ryuen Kakeru."
"What?"
Horikita Suzune froze for a moment.
Cooperation? Cooperation with Ryuen Kakeru? For real?
"Yes. He can provide us with intelligence on other classes. In return, we won't write down his class's name when guessing the leaders—and of course, Ibuki will be joining our study group later."
Hearing Keima's words, Horikita Suzune found it hard to believe. Would a guy like Ryuen Kakeru take the initiative to discuss cooperation? Could it be a trap?
But Ryuen was clearly hiding well; why would he choose to do something so irrational as to expose himself voluntarily?
Could it be... Keima did something?
Horikita's heart was filled with doubt as she stared at Keima. "What did you do?"
"Strictly speaking... I didn't do anything."
"Forget it, it's a waste of breath asking you."
"It's getting late. Go get some rest."
Horikita was filled with helplessness; eventually, she just shook her head and said, "Alright."
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The final day of the exam.
Sunlight filtered through the clouds, spilling over the shimmering sea as the deserted island gradually woke up in the morning light.
Students from various classes emerged from their tents one after another, their faces carrying an expression of relief—it was finally over.
In the Class D camp, students were packing their supplies to return to the shore. Tents were dismantled, gear was organized, and the campfire was completely extinguished.
But no one was in a hurry to leave. Everyone was waiting for one thing: the exam results.
"What rank do you think we'll get?" Ike Kanji asked while folding a tent, his voice filled with expectation and nervousness.
"Definitely not last!" Sudo Ken said, though his tone clearly lacked confidence. "We occupied so many spots; we shouldn't be too bad, right?"
"That depends on the 'Guess the Leader' phase," Sato Maya spoke up. "That's the key to the exam."
The group fell silent.
The leader-guessing phase—each class had to submit their guesses for the leaders of the other three classes on the final day. A correct guess adds 50 points; a wrong one subtracts 50. If your own leader is caught, you lose an additional 50 points and all bonus points from occupied spots. The swing can result in a difference of hundreds of points.
"Who did we guess?" Sato Maya whispered.
"I left it all to Keima," Horikita Suzune told everyone.
The group looked toward the large tree. Katsuragi Keima sat there, handheld console in hand, the faint glow of the screen reflected on his face. His fingers danced over the buttons, looking no different than usual.
"Do you think... he'll get it right?" Ike Kanji whispered.
"I believe in him," Horikita Suzune nodded with absolute seriousness.
Karuizawa Kei and the others nearby also nodded. "We believe in Keima-kun too."
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Meanwhile, at the Class A camp, Katsuragi Kohei stood before a temporary platform, holding a piece of paper with their final answers. His expression was grave, his brow furrowed.
Class D Leader: Katsuragi Keima.
After long deliberation, Katsuragi Kohei had settled on this answer.
"Katsuragi, are you sure?" a boy wearing glasses asked. "The intel from Class C said the Class D leader is Elsie, that airheaded girl..."
"Fake," Katsuragi interrupted him. "The intel from Ryuen Kakeru can't be fully trusted. Even if I saw it with my own eyes, it could just be a smoke screen. The true leader of Class D must be Katsuragi Keima. He is the core of that class."
He tucked away the paper and looked at the sea. The cruise ship was docked there. He had to win. This exam was his best chance to prove himself. With Sakayanagi absent, he wanted everyone to see that he, Katsuragi Kohei, could lead Class A to victory.
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10:00 AM.
All students had returned to the shore. The beach was crowded, with the four classes occupying their respective areas, eyeing each other, speculating, and waiting.
Mashima-sensei stood on the stage, holding an envelope. His expression was as stern as ever, betraying no emotion.
"I will now announce the exam results."
He opened the envelope, scanned it, and looked up. "First, points from occupying spots."
The numbers jumped onto the big screen:
Class A: 75 points Class B: 92 points Class C: 45 points Class D: 108 points
Whispers erupted below. Class C had 45 points? Didn't they withdraw early? And why was Class D's score so high?!
Mashima-sensei raised his hand for silence.
"Next, the leader-guessing phase. For each correct guess, a class gains 50 points. For each wrong guess, 50 points are deducted. If your own leader is correctly identified, an additional 50 points are deducted."
The deck went silent. Everyone held their breath.
"Class A," Mashima-sensei read from the paper. "Guess for Class D Leader: Katsuragi Keima. Guess for Class B Leader: Ichinose Honami. Guess for Class C Leader: Abstained."
Katsuragi Kohei stood at the front of the Class A line, back straight. His expression was calm, but his fingers tightened slightly. He was confident in his results.
"The result—" Mashima-sensei paused. "All wrong."
"What?!" Katsuragi's face changed instantly. "What? Impossible!"
Mashima-sensei ignored him and continued reading, "Class A final score: 0."
The deck was silent for a second before exploding into chaos.
"Fourth? Class A is fourth?"
"0 points? Isn't that last place?"
"What was Katsuragi doing? He got two wrong? And was our own leader caught too?"
Katsuragi stood there, his ears ringing with a buzzing sound. He couldn't hear what they were saying; he only knew one thing—he had lost. It wasn't a narrow loss; it was a total defeat. He thought he was smart, thought his plan was flawless.
But the result? He was in last place.
As his thoughts returned to reality, Katsuragi heard the resentful voices of his classmates behind him.
"Katsuragi! What is the meaning of this?"
"Why are we at 0 points?!"
"You said we would win in the end!"
"You're not even half as good as Sakayanagi!"
Mashima Tomoya's expression wasn't great either. As the homeroom teacher for Class A, seeing them fail was difficult, but he followed the rules strictly and would never show favoritism.
"Class B," Mashima-sensei continued. "0 points."
Ichinose Honami stood at the front of Class B, her expression calm, but her fingers gripped her skirt so hard her knuckles turned white. Her classmates were also buzzing. Ichinose had played it safe and hadn't guessed other leaders to avoid deductions. Yet, they had 0 points? This meant their own leader had been identified. Was it because of the spy from Class C?
"Class C," Mashima-sensei read. "Total score: 95."
Ranked second. Ryuen Kakeru stood there, looking at the numbers. 95 points, second place. Not first, but not last. He should be satisfied. But he knew in his heart that this second place wasn't his doing.
It belonged to Katsuragi Keima.
Because he correctly guessed Class B's leader, he gained 50 points. If Keima had simply written his name down, along with the confusion caused by Elsie's identity, his class would have also been at 0.
"Class D." Mashima-sensei's voice echoed across the deck.
Everyone looked toward Class D. Katsuragi Keima was still sitting in the corner playing his game, not even looking up. Horikita Suzune stood at the front, her expression calm. Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, and Sato Maya were all holding their breath.
"The result: 208 points."
Horikita's lips curled up slightly. Karuizawa Kei grabbed Sakura Airi in a hug, nearly squeezing the life out of her. Sato Maya jumped up and high-fived Hasebe Haruka. Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken hugged each other like toddlers. Kushida Kikyo maintained her smile, but it finally looked real.
Hirata Yousuke looked up at the screen, his mouth twitching slightly. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka leaned against the railing with his hands in his pockets, expressionless, but his gaze lingered on Keima for a long time.
"First! We're first!"
"208 points! Over a hundred points more than second place!" "Keima-kun! Keima-kun!"
Everyone was shouting Keima's name. But he just sat in the corner, head down, fingers dancing on the buttons. Elsie crouched beside him, eating grilled fish—she wouldn't be able to eat it once they were back on the ship. She looked up, waved at the cheering crowd, and went back to eating.
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Top deck of the cruise ship.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat on a sofa, holding a book. The sunlight bathed her, and the sea breeze ruffled her silver hair. Her expression was calm, a faint smile on her lips.
Kamuro Masumi stood beside her with a tablet. "Hashimoto sent the info. Class D is first, Class C is second, and both A and B are at 0."
Sakayanagi nodded. "And Katsuragi?"
"Below. He looks terrible."
Sakayanagi laughed. "He thought he could win. He thought that with me gone, he could prove himself. But he forgot—there are people in this world who are naturally stronger than others. Not because they work hard, but because they were born that way."
Kamuro looked at her. "Are you talking about Katsuragi Keima?"
Sakayanagi didn't answer. She just looked out at the sea, smiling, thinking about before the exam. She had withdrawn without any panic, intentionally letting Katsuragi face it alone
because she knew he would lose. Not because she looked down on him, but because she knew Katsuragi Keima would win.
From the first time she saw him, she knew he was different. Not because he was smart or powerful, but because his eyes didn't hold this world. To him, the world was transparent; he could see what others couldn't and think where others wouldn't. He wasn't competing with people; he viewed everything as a game.
And in a game, he never loses.
"Interesting," she whispered. "He even tamed that guy from Class C?"
"What do you mean?" Kamuro couldn't understand at all.
"I suspect Ryuen cooperated with Keima; that's the only way Class C could take second place," Sakayanagi said with a smile. "But I'm also curious about what methods Keima-kun used. Wonderful."
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On the deck, the Class A crowd slowly dispersed. Katsuragi Kohei stood in place, staring at the numbers on the screen, motionless. 0 points. Last place.
He had prepared for so long, calculated so much, thinking this was his chance. But the result was a total defeat. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned toward the cabin.
"Katsuragi."
A voice came from behind. He stopped but didn't turn around. Ryuen Kakeru walked up to him with a smile. It wasn't a sneer, but an unidentifiable grin.
"Did you come to mock me?" Katsuragi asked.
Ryuen shook his head. "No. I came to tell you one thing."
"What?"
"You guessed the Class D leader was Katsuragi Keima, right? Do you know who the real leader was?"
Katsuragi looked at him. "Who?"
"Elsie. That airheaded girl, Keima's sister."
Katsuragi's pupils dilated. "Impossible. How could the real leader be moving about so openly? And didn't you yourself think it was a trap?"
"Actually, isn't it possible that all of that was the true psychological trap? When you think it's impossible, that's when it's real," Ryuen said. "Besides, Katsuragi Keima told me himself."
Katsuragi stared at him. "You were cooperating with him all along?"
"Not cooperation," Ryuen said. "It was a choice, an exploitation. I chose to stand on the winning side."
Katsuragi's face was grim. "You sold me out?"
"Not a betrayal," Ryuen said. "It was self-preservation. Do you know? Katsuragi Keima knew our plans from the very beginning. He knew about the deal between us, he knew your leader, he knew your every move. You thought you were in the dark, but in reality, you were always in his line of sight."
Katsuragi fell silent. He remembered standing at the cave entrance before the exam, intentionally letting everyone see his keycard. He thought he acted well, that he fooled everyone. But Keima knew it was fake from the start.
He remembered running through the jungle every day, gathering intel, analyzing data, making plans. He thought he was working hard, that effort would yield rewards. But Keima did nothing but sit under a tree playing games, and he won.
"Who... is he?" Katsuragi asked.
Ryuen looked at him and simply smiled. "Someone you can't see through."
Katsuragi Kohei fell silent. He remembered the look Sakayanagi Arisu gave Katsuragi Keima. That look wasn't one of admiration or curiosity, but a knowing look of "I knew it all along."
He suddenly understood why Sakayanagi's subordinates did nothing during this exam. It was because she knew this exam wasn't her battlefield.
It was Katsuragi Keima's.
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