"President Nagumo, what's the matter?"
Kiriyama Ikuto immediately asked.
"From what I can see on the GPS, it seems like you're taking some kind of action, right?"
Nagumo Miyabi's voice came through the radio.
"That's right..... I thought Saiki might pose a threat to you, so I wanted to help you deal with Saiki."
"Help me?"
"No, no, I mean, I wanted to help reduce some of the trouble for you, senpai."
Kiriyama Ikuto quickly replied, lowering his voice by half.
Once, he had deeply despised Nagumo Miyabi, but now he had come to accept his methods and had become his subordinate.
"Did I give you such instructions?"
Nagumo Miyabi's voice carried a weight that made Kiriyama Ikuto feel significant pressure. He knew very well that his ability to rise to Class A at the end of the term depended entirely on Nagumo's will.
Now, Kiriyama Ikuto could only act according to Nagumo's instructions. If he made Nagumo unhappy, his future would be as good as ruined.
"Sorry....."
"I've noticed Saiki's movements recently. Since he wants to settle things with me in this exam, let him come at me. It's a good chance to see what he's really capable of. So, when the tasks are announced tomorrow, you'll help me....."
Nagumo Miyabi then gave Kiriyama Ikuto his instructions for the next day, leaving the latter somewhat surprised:
"President Nagumo..... are you sure about this?"
"Yes."
"I understand...."
The radio then beeped, signaling the end of the communication.
"Sigh."
Kiriyama Ikuto sighed, shook his head, and could only lead his classmates to another area.
"Saiki-kun..... what rank are you aiming for in this exam?"
Inside the tent, Tsukishiro Tokinari smiled as he looked at Saiki.
"I should..... aim for first place and put in a bit of effort."
Saiki said slowly.
"Is that so?"
Tsukishiro Tokinari was surprised and asked with a puzzled expression.
He couldn't quite understand why Saiki, who usually didn't care much about grades, was suddenly taking this exam so seriously.
"Uh, Saiki-kun? May I ask..... why are you taking this exam so seriously? I mean..... Saiki-kun, you usually don't care much about grades, right? Why are you suddenly aiming for a good result this time?"
"Because..."
Saiki hesitated.
After all, he couldn't directly reveal the fact that there were bombs buried beneath the island.
After thinking at lightning speed, Saiki spoke up:
"After being at this school for almost a year, I feel it's time to prepare for my future."
"I see, so it's time to show your true abilities, huh?"
Tsukishiro Tokinari patted Saiki's shoulder and smiled again,
"If there's anything you need, please let me know right away... Uh, Saiki-kun, although I'm currently working for the White Room..... if you ever need help, I can assist you."
[I'll show goodwill to Saiki first, leaving myself a way out. Plus, I might be able to find out what kind of forces are behind Saiki.]
"Uh..... Thanks for your hard work."
Saiki could only nod.
"Then I'll take my leave now. Here's my business card, please take it....."
After handing the business card to Saiki, Tsukishiro Tokinari bowed respectfully and then left the tent.
"Sigh....."
Saiki sighed. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Let's deal with it tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Tsukishiro Tokinari was walking back to the starting point.
"It seems the plan for this uninhabited island exam can't be carried out anymore."
Tsukishiro Tokinari sighed. Originally, he had planned to take some action against Ayanokoji Kiyotaka during this exam, such as teaming up with Shiba Katsunori to deal with him.
But now, Tsukishiro Tokinari couldn't proceed with this plan.
After all, Yagami Takuya's encounter with Saiki was unexpected. If they angered the forces behind Saiki, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Not only that, but because Shiba Katsunori had almost taken action against Saiki earlier, Tsukishiro had no choice but to knock him out. Although Shiba's physical condition had recovered somewhat, he wasn't at his peak, making it difficult to carry out the plan.
Their plan had to be abandoned.
For Tsukishiro Tokinari, there was one thing he couldn't explain.
Why hadn't Ayanokoji Kiyotaka taken any action?
Theoretically, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka should have contacted Chairman Sakayanagi. Under normal circumstances, Tsukishiro Tokinari should have already been under external pressure and about to leave the school.
For Tsukishiro Tokinari, this would have been a good thing, as it would have allowed him to leave this place sooner.
Tsukishiro Tokinari really didn't want to stay at this school any longer.
But now, Tsukishiro Tokinari felt no pressure at all.
It was as if..... Chairman Sakayanagi didn't want to return.
"How much longer...."
Tsukishiro Tokinari sighed.
The next morning, after waking up, Saiki checked his surroundings.
Perhaps because of Tsukishiro Tokinari's intervention, Saiki wasn't harassed by Kiriyama Ikuto this time. He prepared to continue with the exam.
There were still a few days left until the end of the exam, but for Saiki, there was more than enough time to secure first place.
As long as he continued to manipulate the distribution of tasks around him.
Of course, this behavior couldn't be too obvious, or others might become suspicious. So, Saiki would also participate in tasks that were slightly farther away.
On his way to the tasks, Saiki could sense that someone was following him.
It was Kiriyama Ikuto and his group.
However, Saiki noticed that their behavior was different from yesterday.
Yesterday, they had tried to stop Saiki from reaching the task locations, but today they were just following from a distance, with no intention of obstructing him.
[Report Saiki's movements to President Nagumo.]
Saiki overheard Kiriyama Ikuto's thoughts.
'Nagumo, what is that guy planning now?'
Saiki didn't know Nagumo Miyabi's location, and he didn't want to use the GPS to find it.
But he naturally knew that Nagumo and his group weren't up to anything good—
So, Saiki slightly increased his speed.
[What?! How is this guy so fast?!]
[He's even faster than Mikitani!]
[Hurry, keep up!]
Saiki had only slightly adjusted his physical abilities, but the winding path felt like flat ground to him.
For those following him, however, it was a nightmare.
Finally, after about ten minutes, Saiki arrived at the task location and completed the registration. Another ten minutes later, Kiriyama Ikuto and the others arrived, sweating profusely and gasping for breath, looking like they were about to collapse at any moment.
Among them, Mikitani, who was considered one of the most physically capable students in the third year, was also completely exhausted.
However, the registration period for this task was quite long, so they managed to sign up as well.
Saiki looked down at the task description on his tablet.
Task: Rock-Paper-Scissors
Type: Other
Students will pair up and play rock-paper-scissors, best of three. The loser is eliminated until the final three are determined.
1st Place: 10 points
2nd Place: 5 points
3rd Place: 3 points
Individual registration. Multiple members from the same group can register, with a maximum of 16 participants.
Rock-paper-scissors—this task existed purely to allow some students to gamble on 'luck.'
And this task was perfect for Saiki.
After all, even if he won, others would just think he got lucky.
More students arrived to register, and Saiki noticed that they were all third-year students, as if they had planned to be here.
Over twenty people had gathered, but only 15, including Saiki, had registered.
It was as if they were waiting for someone.
Saiki, of course, knew who they were waiting for.
Nagumo Miyabi.
"Everyone, sorry for the wait."
At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi arrived with a group of people, entering the task area.
This was the first time Saiki and Nagumo Miyabi had met during this exam.
[Finally, I've found you, Saiki. To figure out which task you'd participate in today, I had Kiriyama and the others follow you from a distance. To ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the information, I deliberately didn't use the GPS.]
[After determining your direction, I ordered other third-year students to head this way and intercept students from other grades, all to create a one-on-one showdown between us.]
[I didn't expect you to choose the rock-paper-scissors task. Interesting.]
Nagumo Miyabi smiled and waved at Saiki:
"Saiki-kun, what a coincidence, meeting you at this task."
"It's not a coincidence at all."
Saiki replied directly.
"Haha, of course it's just a coincidence."
Nagumo Miyabi laughed and continued,
"I heard from Kiryuin-san that you're planning to compete with me in this exam? To see who can get the higher total score?"
'So Kiryuin did spill the beans..... Well, there's no helping it.'
Saiki sighed inwardly, then nodded,
"Yeah."
"I never thought someone like you would one day want to face me in a fair duel. Interesting."
Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes slightly,
"In just a few days, you've gone from outside the top 10 to the top 3. Impressive."
Hearing the words "top 3," Kiriyama Ikuto's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Since you've been wanting to face me, avoiding you wouldn't make sense. So, I've decided to settle things in this exam. But I have one condition. If you agree, I'll truly compete with you in this exam."
"Oh? What's the condition? As long as it's something I, as the student council president, can do, I'll definitely agree."
"I hope that after this duel, you'll stop focusing on me."
"Haha, I see. Alright, I agree."
Nagumo Miyabi laughed heartily,
"Fine. As long as you give it your all in this duel, regardless of the outcome, I won't bother you in the future."
"If possible, I'd like you to record this promise. After all, I can't guarantee that you'll keep your word."
"Can't guarantee?"
Nagumo Miyabi paused, then suddenly understood, his smile widening,
"I see. No wonder my plans during the training camp didn't succeed. It was you who secretly helped Horikita-senpai, wasn't it? You really are a special one, Saiki. Fine, I'll agree. Record it. As long as you give it your all in this duel, regardless of the outcome, I won't bother you in the future."
Nagumo Miyabi said,
"However, if you lose, you'll have to join the student council. Is that okay? We'll decide the outcome based on the final total score of this exam."
Although Nagumo Miyabi had always wanted revenge on Saiki, he also highly respected Saiki's abilities.
He was a meritocrat.
Moreover, having Saiki in the student council would make it easier for him to control him.
"Alright."
Saiki nodded.
Nagumo Miyabi smiled with satisfaction, then turned to the teacher and checked the task description.
"You chose the rock-paper-scissors task?"
"After all, I don't have any special talents. I'm just lucky."
Saiki said slowly.
"That's true."
Nagumo Miyabi replied, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
[Rock-paper-scissors—it seems like a 50-50 game based on luck.]
[To some extent, understanding personality and psychological control can influence the outcome of rock-paper-scissors—]
[But for me, that's not a problem. Saiki, with 16 participants, your chance of winning is only 1 in 16—but for me, it's completely different.]
All the third-year students present were Nagumo Miyabi's subordinates.
If he faced anyone else, the outcome of the rock-paper-scissors game could be easily controlled.
[Let's see just how lucky you are, Saiki.]