Chapter 226 Turning the Tables: Horikita Suzune Seizes the Initiative
"Huh?!"
Shimizu Akira was speechless. He felt a dull headache coming on.
'Does this girl really not understand her own status?'
"Horikita, you are the leader of Class D. You can't just go running off to other classes' camps whenever you feel like it. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to ask someone else to investigate?" He recalled his previous doubt.
"By the way—when you went to Class C, did Hirata or the other students not try to talk you out of it?"
"..." Horikita Suzune's expression, which looked ready to huff at him, instantly froze. Embarrassment quietly crept up her cheeks. She instinctively looked away.
How could they not have said anything? She knew it herself—what leader personally loiters around another class's territory? If she accidentally slipped up and gave them leverage, Class D's entire plan could be compromised.
Moreover, Ryuen Kakeru was meticulous; the slightest slip-up would alert him.
In fact, many in the class had opposed her going. Hirata, in particular, had repeatedly tried to dissuade her, his voice full of worry. But at the time, her mind was set on uncovering Class C's movements.
She ignored the advice and stealthily scouted the perimeter of their spot.
After all, in this school, aside from her brother and the Shimizu Akira standing before her, almost no one else was worth her attention, let alone her concern.
'Then again, what is with this guy?!'
Every time she managed to build up enough momentum to refute him—or even huff at him—why did he always interrupt her a step ahead, blocking the words right in her throat?
Thinking back, this had happened more than once or twice! Was he her natural counter? Like type-advantages in Pokémon; whenever she faced Shimizu Akira, she always ended up on the losing end, failing to even get a rebuttal in.
Shimizu saw her turn her head away and easily guessed the rest.
"I take it Hirata tried to stop you quite a few times?"
Horikita waited a few seconds before speaking in a low voice.
"I know what they were worried about. But at the time, only by personally visiting the vicinity of Class C's spot could I confirm Ryuen's movements. You can't judge his true purpose for
hoarding supplies just from someone else's account. If we miss a key clue, it's Class D's points on the line."
Well, even she felt that sounded like an excuse. Logically, a leader truly shouldn't go to other camps. If roles were reversed and someone else was leader, she wouldn't have permitted such recklessness.
With that thought, Shimizu's decision to send someone else to investigate was flawless.
'Wait... so Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and I both went to Class C, and according to Shimizu, he summarized a lot of useful information just like I did?'
"He probably wasn't as detailed as me," Horikita said, lifting her chin slightly.
In her heart, she harbored a faint sense of superiority toward others—except for her brother Horikita Manabu and Shimizu—and that included Ayanokouji. How could that guy, who had almost no presence in class and stayed quiet in the corner, possibly observe more detail than she could?
"Hahaha..."
Shimizu couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing. It was here. It had finally arrived.
Horikita Suzune's signature "confident cuteness" was back online—that slightly proud, dead-serious way of looking down on others.
Even though it was the same every time, Shimizu never grew tired of seeing it. He was thoroughly amused because he knew she was about to be "face-slapped" by reality.
Seeing his blatant laughter, Horikita's face tightened. The thought that he's making fun of me again sparked a flash of annoyance.
"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong? Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is silent in class and barely speaks during group discussions. How could he understand how to observe clues better than me?"
In this class, she believed she was second to none but Shimizu.
Shimizu didn't argue immediately. He just shook his head with a smile and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket—the itemized list of Class C's supplies organized by Ayanokouji—and handed it to her.
"This..." Horikita was completely stunned. Her fingers gripped the paper as she stared at the content. Every item in Ryuen's possession was recorded clearly, categorized into "entertainment" and "food." Even the "transceiver," which she hadn't noticed at all, was listed.
She had completely missed such vital information during her scout.
"And Ayanokouji didn't just organize a list," Shimizu added, watching her shock.
"Based on the single clue of Class C buying massive amounts of water, he concluded that Class C's partner is Class A."
Horikita fell into a brief silence, her brow furrowed as she processed this. She looked up at Shimizu. "Because Class A's spot lacks water most, Ryuen bought the mineral water to trade for cooperation? Is that it?"
"Exactly," Shimizu nodded.
Horikita was smart; she was the type who understood everything once given a hint.
Currently, the gap between her and Ayanokouji was significant. If they were game characters, Ayanokouji was a level 90 maxed-out veteran, while Horikita was still a low level—but she came with a 10x experience boost, "Mega Evolution" capabilities, and a metaphorical Sharingan.
Given time, she might actually catch up.
However, while Shimizu was secretly worried that Horikita might feel discouraged by being "outperformed" by Ayanokouji, her expression remained calm. She simply turned to him and asked flatly, "So, is that it? Is there any other key intel?"
"Huh? Ah?" Shimizu blinked, failing to follow her train of thought for a moment.
'Wait, from her tone... did she analyze some other truth that Ayanokouji missed?'
"Oh? So you don't know?" Seeing his blank look, a very faint smile played on Horikita's lips. She didn't say more, turning her gaze toward the flickering campfire.
"Eat the BBQ first. I'll tell you in a bit."
"...Okay."
Shimizu narrowed his eyes.
'What is this? The tables have turned?'
Horikita Suzune actually had a day where she held the key information and the initiative. Usually, he was the one leading the clues; now, she had hidden a card and was using BBQ as the "bargaining chip."
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Afterward, Horikita seemed to pour all her focus into the grilling. The scene felt like their previous trip to the BBQ restaurant—the same familiar roles: one focused on grilling, the other on eating.
As soon as Shimizu finished a skewer, a hot new one was handed to him. Having not eaten enough since arriving on the island, and with Horikita's skill—the meat was perfectly charred on the outside and well-seasoned—Shimizu inadvertently downed seven or eight skewers.
Once he seemed satisfied, Horikita finally picked up a freshly grilled skewer, blew on the tip to cool it, and took a bite. As she chewed slowly, her eyes darted toward him like a little bird—waiting for him to ask, yet full of anticipation to reveal the answer.
Shimizu saw through her immediately. He shook his head and spoke up.
"Horikita, it's about time you tell me that other important clue you found, right?"
Hearing this, Horikita stopped chewing and nodded with satisfaction.
"When I approached the Class C spot, I happened to run into Ryuen Kakeru arguing with three of his classmates. It was quite a loud scene; I could hear it from several trees away."
Shimizu's hand paused.
"Which three?"
Horikita recalled.
"Two were people who argued with him yesterday, a girl named Ibuki and another named Shiina. The third seemed to be someone named Kaneda. The core of the argument was still about the fact that all their points were spent. But Ryuen's attitude was harsher than yesterday.
He declared that since the points were gone, the whole class would withdraw to the ship tonight—except for those three. He forbade them from returning and forced them to stay on the island for the full seven days.
He even threatened that if they tried to return to the ship, he would 'punish' them and ensure they have no place left in Class C."
Shimizu's brow furrowed into a knot. This news hit him harder than the A-C alliance.
'An argument? On the second day, and it just happened to coincide with when Horikita was scouting? That's too convenient.'
And... it was Ibuki, Shiina, and Kaneda?
What bothered him most was that he knew one of them—Shiina Hiyori. Ryuen had kicked her out of the class? That meant she currently had nowhere to stay.
"Kaneda? Who is he?" Shimizu asked. He hadn't heard the name.
"He didn't seem involved in the argument yesterday, right? Why is he involved today?"
"He's a boy who stood up to Ryuen to speak for Shiina-san. He looks quite frail, wears glasses, and clearly isn't a fighter." Horikita's tone turned somber.
"Later, Kaneda and Ibuki were both beaten up by Ryuen. When Ryuen was about to strike Shiina-san, Ibuki threw herself in front of her with everything she had. Because of that, Shiina-san was the only one unhurt."
Horikita had seen it clearly. Ryuen was ruthless. Even against a girl like Ibuki, he didn't hesitate; the sound of his fists hitting home could be heard from several paces away. Later, seeing Shiina frozen in fear, Ryuen looked ready to charge her until Ibuki grabbed his arm and shielded her.
Shimizu felt a surge of relief—at least Hiyori wasn't hurt. As for Kaneda and Ibuki, since he didn't know them, he didn't feel much. However, hearing Horikita say Ibuki protected Shiina caught his attention. In his mind, that "protection" was likely 50% acting.
He asked, "What time did they argue? And who else saw it?"
"Around 10:00 AM," Horikita replied. "Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B was also nearby. He must have seen it."
"Do you think they were really fighting, or was it a performance?"
"It was a performance," Horikita said without hesitation.
"Oh?" Shimizu nodded. Their judgments were perfectly aligned.
"What's your basis?"
"There's no reason to escalate a fight to that point right now. Furthermore, it happened exactly when I and Kanzaki from Class B met—it's too coincidental," Horikita analyzed calmly. "Looking back, they had a similar fight before the exam started. Ryuen is definitely acting to create an illusion of class discord. Ending with zero points and an internal collapse doesn't fit his character at all. But I don't know what his ulterior motive is, given he's already cooperating with Class A."
She frowned, trying to connect the dots, but got stuck. The clues were too scattered.
Shimizu thought for a moment and began to analyze.
"It's likely a setup for the 'Guess the Leader' segment on the seventh day. For instance, he 'expels' these three so they can infiltrate other classes as spies. Think about it: the expulsion was witnessed by us (Class D) and Class B. Yesterday, Kushida and Ichinose even stood up for them. Naturally, these two classes are likely to take them in. I'm not sure about Class D, but Ichinose from Class B will definitely take them.
The transceivers Ryuen bought are likely for this spy mission. If any of those three can identify the leader of the class they've infiltrated before the exam ends, they can radio the name to Ryuen. He then fills in the 'Guess the Leader' form accurately on day seven. If this works, Class C gains a solid 100 points. This is Ryuen's shadow plan, running alongside the Class A alliance."
As Shimizu spoke, a question struck him—did Shiina Hiyori herself know the truth of Ryuen's plan?
Back in the second month, their roles were "Suspect" and "Detective." Now, the positions were reversed—Hiyori had become the "Suspected Spy" he needed to guard against.
It was truly becoming interesting.
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