[A/N: Check out my new book; it's on my profile under original works, or you can search "The Last Quest: Ascension!]

As I walked with four people by my side, I thought of excuses I could use to isolate myself so I could check out the other bases.

Our group was led by Shibta due to his athleticism, so I increased my pace a bit to get beside him.

"While we were docking at the beach, I think I saw cherry plants nearby. Would you mind if I checked it out to see if I was right?"

"hmm, oh yeah, sure. Are you fine going alone, or do you want to take someone else?"

Looking at the 2 students behind me, I surprisingly recognized both as one Himeno Yuki and the other as my deskmate, Amikuro.

After pretending to think it over for a second, I responded.

"I wasn't sure if they were berries or something else, so I don't want to waste their time if I'm wrong."

"Ah, I see. Make sure to return to the camp soon."

I nodded at his words and began walking toward the beach to increase my credibility further. After about a minute of walking, I glanced back and didn't see them, so I looked for one of the artificial paths I had found earlier.

After a few minutes, I encountered one of the two paths, so I followed in for a minute. The island was really hot, and I couldn't be described as fit, but at the same time, I had to get back to Class B before they got suspicious. However, knowing Ichinose's naivety, she would shut down any suspicions about me. It also helped that I was the one who gave the Class the past-year midterm papers.

Nearing the end of the path, I saw a small podium with a cave in front of me. I was about to move closer to get a better look at the cave, but I saw the shadows of two figures approaching. Immediately, I hid against one of the trees and peeked my head to the right so I could see.

I saw Katsuragi heading towards the podium with a green keycard in his hands—the same one our teacher gave to Chiranami...

Was he the leader? That doesn't make sense; Katsuragi was in Class A, so I doubted he would be stupid enough to walk around with his keycard blatantly. Even if Katsuragi knew that nobody was near him, he would definitely conceal at all costs, so it made no sense for him to walk around with it if he was the leader.

Could it be a fake or a trick?

Then, another figure emerged from the cave. From my student council work, I learned the first years' names, so I recognized this student as Yahiko Totsuka.

"Man, we sure got lucky this time, right Katsuragi. Securing a spot like this on the first day."

"Lucky? I've had my eye on this spot since before we landed. Finding it was expected. Another thing is to be careful about what you say and do."

I guess I wasn't the only one who got the hint from the announcement saying "highly significant scenery."

After hearing Katsuragi say, "Be careful," I also deduced that he could not be the leader. Why would he say that while blatantly holding the keycard in his right hand?

"Right, Katsuragi."

"We don't know who might be eavesdropping out here, so take extra care not to reveal anything accidentally. As a leader, it's my responsibility to manage the class. Before we docked today, the ship took a slow lap around the island at a distance; that was a hint."

When Katsuragi raised his green keycard, saying, "As a leader," I almost scoffed. This was obviously an act to trick the people watching into believing that Katsuragi was the leader. It was obvious, as this guy was talking about being careful about being spied on while holding the leader's keycard out in public. Anybody in the right mind could see this obvious trick.

"What do you mean, hint, Katsuragi?"

"Even from that far away, I could see there were paths cut through the jungle. Then I knew I just had to find the shortest routes."

"You could tell what the school was trying to do just from that? Brilliant, as usual. You know what, man? Sakayanagis got nothing on you."

Jesus, this Yahiko guy is just a yes-man. For the fifth time, he's called Katsuragi brilliant.

"Hold on for a second; something's odd."

Katsurago moved away from the cave and thankfully walked in the opposite direction of me towards some bushes. After looking around the bushes momentarily, Katsuragi finally turned back and said.

"Let's go, we shouldn't stay here too long."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

How obvious could they be? Why would Katsuragi reveal his keycard when he knew something was off and then talk about all the spying shit. It was an act, a terrible one at that.

Once Katsurago and Yahiko reentered the cave, I got up from my hiding spot and checked the time on the podium.

[7:57:00]

Sure enough, it had just been renewed, and since the leader was definitely not Katsurago, it was Yahiko, as he was the only other person close enough. I guess my Class A blackmailing scheme is already almost done. I could call Katsuragi out right now, but that might attract some attention, so I decided to wait.

Walking away from the podium, I was about to reenter the forest when I heard a firm voice call out behind me.

"Wait"

I turned around and saw Katsuragi and Yakiho standing at the cave entrance. I guess my hiding skills were terrible, but why did Katsuragi search the bushes opposite of me if that was the case? Was there someone else hiding with me, too?

Though it was unlikely, I couldn't cross it just yet. Anyway, with Katsuragi in front of me, this was basically the perfect place to execute my scheme.

"What were you doing?"

I blatantly replied

"Spying on Class A."

Yahiko laughed and smirked from behind Katsuragi while Katsuragi asked again.

"What did you find out?"

Why was he asking? Did he want to know if his comedy routine tricked me or something?

I pointed to Yahiko, standing behind Katsuragi, and said.

"oh, I found out he's your leader."

Yahiko stepped back in shock, and his smirk transformed into a dreadful expression. On the other, Katsuragi maintained his neutral expression and asked.

"What makes you think that?"

??? Because I have a brain?

"Obviously, you're not the leader, and when I checked the podium, it was recently renewed, so Yahiko is the only option."

"..."

In a mocking voice, I said.

"Oh, c'mon, you didn't have that act worked, did you? Talking about carefulness from spies while blatantly holding the keycard, anybody in the right mind could tell Katsuragi wasn't the leader."

While Yahiko's expression sunk further into despair, Katsuragi maintained his expression. He probably knew I wanted something from them if I told them all of this. As expected, he asked.

"What do you want from us?"

Since Class A was worried about Class B guessing their leader and overtaking them, I asked for an outrageous price.

"4 million private points once we're back on the ship."

Yahiko spoke from behind Katsuragi.

"Oh, you don't really t-"

"Quiet, Yahiko. If our leaders are guesses, that's—150 class points. I can do 3 million private points as my minimum."

3 million was good enough for me, so I responded.

"Alright, sure."

I was about to ask if I could head to the beach to get a teacher as a witness, but Katsuragi pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled on it for a minute.

Wait, how the hell does he have paper? Did he sneak it in? What, why couldn't I have gotten some paper?

Through this conversation, I knew Katsuragi was a conservative, so there was no way he would waste points on paper. That meant that he had already used paper before this, and the only thing paper was good for was contracts. Katsuragi had already signed a contract with another class.

After reviewing Katsuragi's contract and ensuring everything was correct, I made a quick adjustment and returned it to him.

[Neither party may reveal the existence of this contract]

Although Katsuargi likely wasn't going to reveal that their leader had already been discovered, I added this for insurance as I didn't want to be targeted anymore.

Looking at my changes, Katsuragi nodded his head and signed the contract.

After a quick wave, which was ignored by the Class A students, I turned around and headed back toward the Class B base.

Surprisingly, I saw a familiar class A student walking towards the cave entrance, Kamuro.

Fuck, my spying skills really are an ass. To be discovered by two different sets of people within an hour, my disappointment was immeasurable. However, Kamuro couldn't hear my discussion with Katsuragi as she walked in the opposite direction.

Hoping to end the conversation before it started, I glanced at Kamuro and tried to head back into the forest. To no one's surprise, Kamuro quickened her pace and said.

"It's not nice to ignore someone who helped you so much."

"... I was in a rush."

"So, were you spying or what?"

I nodded my head, but thankfully, before Kamuro could interrogate me further, some other Class A students arrived back at the cave, so she left me alone.

Forgetting completely about my original mission of finding food, I headed back towards the Class B camp.

As I entered the camp, I could sense a harmonious atmosphere spreading throughout. Students were playing in the rivers and splashing around while talking.

Was this really a special exam?

Seeing no reason not to enjoy the vacation as I had already made 3 million private points, I found a spot under the shade of the tree and looked at my surroundings.

During middle school, I had dreamed of having lots of friends to hang out with, but here, I had been given that opportunity countless times, yet I denied it.

Seeing the tents and bathrooms around the camp, I could see that Class B had spent 110 points on all the equipment. That was actually pretty good.

As the night approached, I did various tasks, such as collecting firewood and purifying water, until it was completely dark outside. Since the class tried to save as many points as possible, there were four people in a single tent, so I was with Kanzaki and the two from the cruise ship dorms again.

As I lay down in the cramped and uncomfortable tent, I drifted off to sleep, as I needed energy for tomorrow's work.

[Day 2]

The next day went on as usual. I did mundane tasks around the camp to pass the time.

As I headed on another food search party with the same 3 others from earlier, our groups saw a peculiar situation.

A student had an obvious bruise on his face, sitting against a tree with tears in his eyes.

Immediately, the 3 do-gooder students around me rushed to aid this student.

How can they help someone of the opposing class so easily? I wasn't being harsh; if this guy were in pain, the watch would beep.

As we questioned him, we learned that he was Kaneda from Class C. He had gotten into a dispute with Ryuen about the exam, which led to his getting kicked out. Now, he was stuck and stranded, all alone on the island.

He gave the whole self-pity act, too.

"Oh, you guys shouldn't trust me; I'm from Class C"

"We're enemies; you guys can go along with your day."

I wanted to ask, does any actually believe this load of shit?

Seemingly responding to my question, Shibata said.

"Even if you're enemy, we can't leave you here alone. You're still a first-year like us. Don't worry about it, come with us."

Immediately, Shibata helped Kaneda and told us he would take him back to the camp. The two others agreed, so I agreed as well to fit in.

One thing really bothered me, though.

Are these students special? Did they hit their head or something?