Inside the familiar cave, all members of Class A—except Arisu Sakayanagi, who didn't participate in the exam—gathered. The moment they heard the news, a tense silence spread through the group.
The key card had been stolen.
"What?! Say that again!"
The outburst came from a bespectacled boy, his voice laced with disbelief. Shock rippled through both the Sakayanagi faction and the Katsuragi faction.
Even their class teacher, Satoshi Mashima, who had come to assess the situation, furrowed his brows.
Katsuragi Kohei, arms crossed, kept his expression unreadable. "Yahiko and I were ambushed while scouting the cave. When we woke up, the key card was gone—along with Yahiko's bracelet. My bracelet was also damaged. Right now, we only have 120 test points left."
A heavy silence followed. Then, Takamichi—a key member of the Sakayanagi faction—laughed, though there was no humor in it.
"You're joking, right? The exam just started, and we've already lost our key card? Now we only have 120 points left? And you expect us to just accept that?"
Totsuka Yahiko clenched his fists. "Watch your mouth! You're acting like we lost it on purpose!"
Takamichi scoffed. "I don't have to 'act' like anything. You did lose it. What's worse, the Sakayanagi faction already had to take a 150-point penalty, and now you're telling us that your group lost even more?"
"You—!"
"Enough."
Katsuragi placed a firm hand on Yahiko's shoulder, silencing him. He exhaled slowly before speaking again. "The fault is mine. I take full responsibility for this failure."
Takamichi folded his arms. "And how do you plan to do that?"
Before Katsuragi could answer, another voice cut in—this time, Masayoshi Hashimoto, who had been observing silently. A smirk played on his lips as he spoke.
"Let's calm down. Arguing won't change what's already happened. Instead, let's talk solutions." His tone remained light, but his next words carried weight.
"First issue: We don't have a key card. That means we can't claim a stronghold. So, where are we sleeping this week?"
Katsuragi answered without hesitation. "As long as no other class discovers this cave, we can continue using it."
Hashimoto nodded. "Alright. Second issue: We only have 120 test points left. That's barely enough to cover food for six days. What happens on the seventh?"
"I'll handle it." Katsuragi's voice was steady. "I grew up in an environment where I learned survival skills. I'll hunt, gather firewood, and find edible plants. Within six days, I'll secure enough food to last us through the final day."
Hashimoto raised an eyebrow, impressed but not convinced. "Alright, then here's the big one." His smirk faded.
"How do we make up for the points we lost? Even if other classes don't gain much, most will still have at least 200 points by the end. We, on the other hand, will barely scrape by. What's the plan?"
Katsuragi took a deep breath. "At the end of the exam, there's a chance to guess the leaders of other classes. If we guess correctly, we'll earn 150 points per correct answer. If we get all three, that's 450 points."
"But that only works if our leader remains a secret," Hashimoto countered.
"And right now, our leader's identity is already compromised. Even if we guess correctly, we'll still lose all our gains the moment another class identifies our leader."
Katsuragi hesitated, then turned to Mashima.
"Sensei, if I remember correctly, a leader can only be replaced under special circumstances. Does this situation qualify?"
Mashima nodded. "Yes, but only if there's proof that you were attacked and the key card was stolen."
"Proof…" Katsuragi muttered, deep in thought. Then his expression hardened. "Sensei, can we check location and movement records?"
Mashima hesitated. "As a teacher, I can't intervene in the exam." Then, after a pause, he pulled out his phone.
"However, I can check cloud data for any irregularities."
The cave fell silent as the teacher scrolled through the data. Slowly, his expression darkened.
"...This is strange," he muttered.
"According to the records, no one else approached you in the hours after you arrived on the island."
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