Chapter 101 ↦ Island Exam Rules

Having received some tips from Kakeru early in the morning, Houtarou and the others began their preparations.

Three days earlier, when boarding the ship, they had been instructed to pack personal toiletries in a small bag. Now it was time to put those items to use.

The three of them headed back to their respective dorms to get organized.

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Ten minutes later.

All first-year students gathered on deck, lining up according to their classes.

Due to limited deck space, Class D students stood next to Class A, with students from each class forming two lines by gender.

At school, everyone knew that ability was everything — Class A was the best and got priority in everything. Standing next to the lowest-ranked Class D students seemed unusual.

Yet since this was just a school-wide announcement, no one complained. Even Kōhei's group, who had mocked Class D students in the cafeteria earlier, stayed quiet.

After all, who would want to offend an entire class when surrounded by them?

Besides, the Class D girls were surprisingly attractive.

Each freshman class had 40 students — 20 boys and 20 girls.

While Class A had its share of beauties, like the elegant Princess Sakayanagi and the stern but beautiful Masumi, few others stood out.

In Class D, however, while some boys appeared rough around the edges, the girls were strikingly pretty.

The concentration of beautiful girls in Class D was remarkable.

There was the cute angel with short golden hair, the top-tier beauty with straight black hair and fox-like eyes, the well-figured girl with blue long hair and a beauty mark, and the charming gyaru with a golden ponytail—

The Class D girls were breaking all conventions with their beauty!

The general dislike of Class D stemmed largely from envy — how could these supposedly "low-quality" boys be classmates with so many attractive girls?

Perhaps driven by competitive spirit and wanting to distinguish themselves from the Class D boys, the Class A students stood especially straight, maintaining their dignity.

Houtarou stood in Class A's male line, positioned far back since he hadn't competed with Kōhei for the front spot.

He noticed the boys around him seemed unusually energetic, as if suddenly inspired to present themselves better.

His gaze moved forward. Despite standing relatively far back, he could still see Kikyō.

At that moment, the golden-haired angel standing near the front of Class D seemed to notice his familiar gaze. She turned back and gave a cute smile.

The effect was tremendous.

"Wow... Kushida-san smiled at me—"

"My heart is racing—"

"No, she smiled at me."

"Kushida-san is so cute, just like an angel—"

The Class A boys erupted in excitement one after another.

"..." Houtarou.

This girl's destructive power was still as strong as ever.

Houtarou shifted his attention to the group gathered about five meters in front of the students.

The teachers of all four classes stood there together. Though they frequently saw each other at school, this was their first formal gathering as a complete group.

Class A's homeroom teacher was the familiar Mr. Tomonari Mashima, a rational man who favored suits.

Class B's homeroom teacher was Ms. Chie Hoshinomiya, who had wavy, soft hair and sweet features that gave her a cute appearance.

Class C's homeroom teacher was Mr. Kazuma Sakagami, a tall, thin man with glasses and unremarkable looks.

And Class D's homeroom teacher was Ms. Sae Chabashira, a cool beauty who maintained a perpetually stern, emotionless expression.

Tomonari stood alone at the front, while Chie clung to Sae's arm, and Kazuma lingered in the back by himself.

On the surface, the two women appeared quite close — like good friends.

However, Houtarou noticed that Class B's teacher reminded him of Kikyō.

Perhaps Chie, aware of her cuteness, deliberately chose to stand beside the stern-faced Sae to enhance her own charm by contrast.

Of course, he knew he was probably reading too much into the Class B teacher's behavior.

So Houtarou refocused his attention.

Class A's homeroom teacher Tomonari raised a megaphone and began announcing the exam rules.

"Now we will begin this month's first special exam. The duration will be exactly one week, from now until noon on June 22nd. You will live together as groups on this uninhabited island. This special exam is designed to develop qualities needed in future corporate environments and will demonstrate your ability to work as a team."

"To be clear: during this week, you must stay on the island and cannot return to the ship. You'll need to handle everything yourselves — from setting up camp to finding food and daily resources. Each class will receive basic equipment: two camping tents, two flashlights, and a box of matches at the start of the exam. There will also be unlimited sunscreen available."

"As a special provision, feminine hygiene products will also be available without limit and can be requested from your homeroom teachers when needed..."

He calmly announced the rules.

Before he could finish explaining, the crowd below erupted.

"An exam!"

"So it's not a school trip but an exam?"

"No way—"

"Living on an island? I don't want to rough it — I want to stay on the ship! Can we forfeit?"

These protests came mainly from Class D and some of Class B.

The contrast was stark.

Class C and Class A remained unsurprised. Kakeru's group had already purchased information from upperclassmen and informed their Class C classmates, while Class A had received intel from Kōhei and the Arisu faction.

Both classes understood that the luxury cruise wasn't meant purely for enjoyment — it was the setting for this month's special exam. They had been prepared for an exam at any moment.

The school had still allowed them three days of cruise enjoyment before the exam, which seemed rather generous.

And now, the exam was about to begin!

"Quiet, everyone!" Tomonari raised his voice.

The students realized they hadn't heard the complete rules yet.

They quickly learned that this wasn't just a survival test like something from Bear Grylls — the school had added extra elements.

Each class received 300 Base Points to purchase daily necessities. They would get a booklet listing available items with detailed descriptions, and the school would provide any listed items.

While this seemed like getting supplies for free, these Base Points held special value.

The 300 Base Points would be calculated after the exam, with each Point converting to one Class Point.

In other words, if a class's survival skills were so exceptional that they spent no Base Points during the week, all 300 would convert to Class Points — meaning each student could receive 30,000 Private Points (300×100) next month.

The prospect of everyone enduring hardship together to earn 30,000 Points for living expenses seemed to energize the students.

Or did it?

Class D students nearly leaped with excitement after hearing these rules.

"Now I will announce the point deduction rules." Tomonari said through the megaphone.

He proceeded to list the deductions.

Points would be deducted for physical illness or serious injury, obvious environmental pollution, violence against other classes, or vandalism. Additionally, roll call would be held at 8 AM and 8 PM at the island's gathering point — 3 Points would be deducted per absent person.

Moreover, this was a mandatory exam for all grades. If a student became ill or withdrew, 30 Class Points would be deducted immediately.

The reality sank in. To preserve the 300 Base Points, they would not only have to survive a week but also navigate numerous potential point deductions.

Class D students' enthusiasm instantly evaporated.

When Tomonari announced the penalty for ill students, a stunningly beautiful girl in Class D's female line turned back and glanced his way.

It was Suzune.

She appeared relieved. Yesterday she had been feeling unwell, but after their meeting, her discomfort had vanished. Even after returning to her dorm, she had felt fine.

This morning too, she had woken up feeling healthy and ready to participate in the exam. The straightforward girl probably didn't realize this was thanks to him.

This was fortunate indeed. If Suzune had to face this exam while sick — considering both her inexperience and unsympathetic classmates — it would have been extremely challenging for her.

He knew that despite being in Class D, she wasn't one to give up easily. The exam would have been pure torture for her in that condition.

But now that concern had disappeared.

Surprisingly, Houtarou felt relieved, as if he had protected his future wife.

The thought was peculiar. Could he really end up marrying Suzune, the future lawyer?

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