COTE: Popularity System

As the girls were talking, a man with mushroom-cut hair and glasses walked over, "Himeno-san, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Hearing this, Himeno Yuki quickly adjusted her expression to appear more amiable. "Kaneda-san, is something the matter?"

Kaneda Satoru.

A Class 1-C student.

Yesterday, when the Class A students went out to scout for information, they found Kaneda Satoru alone.

According to him, he refused to obey Class C's leader, Ryūen Kakeru, and was then beaten up by him and driven out.

Seeing Kaneda Satoru's face covered in blood, his eye sockets swollen purple from the beating, the Class A students couldn't bear to leave him stranded on the island, so they brought him back to Class C's spot.

Perhaps someone might ask.

Why didn't he withdraw from the exam?

Kaneda Satoru's reply was that withdrawing from the exam would cause Class C to lose 30 points, and although he didn't obey Ryūen Kakeru's management, he wasn't willing to cause the class's points to decrease because of himself.

After hearing what he said, many people in the class actually believed him and were deeply moved, thinking that he was a good person who considered the feelings of his classmates.

Himeno Yuki didn't believe that Kaneda Satoru was truly driven out, he was definitely a spy sent by Ryūen Kakeru. She had tried to suggest refusing to accept him. But the good-natured people in the class couldn't bear it and ultimately chose to accept him.

Sigh.

Chihiro was already easy to spot. Now with Kaneda Satoru watching nearby, let alone Takada Hikaru, even Himeno Yuki felt that the class leader would definitely be discovered.

Kaneda Satoru said, trying to maintain a kind smile, "Actually, Takada-san asked me to relay a message to you. He said he's going out for a walk by himself, and you don't need to look for him anymore, Himeno-san."

"Ah?" Himeno Yuki froze in place.

A walk?

Is he in a bad mood?

Himeno Yuki thought about it and felt that it was normal for him to be in a bad mood.

Given the current situation, his proposed plan was indeed more suitable for the class.

If they gave up occupying spots and randomly selected a leader, although they wouldn't gain temporary points, they also wouldn't have to fear the leader being guessed correctly at all.

So even if people from other classes came as spies, the Class A students wouldn't have to worry at all.

Even Class A itself didn't know who the leader was, so how could people from other classes know?

However, Kanzaki Ryūji did not agree with his opinion at the time and, together with the classmates, chose a leader. But the chosen leader was not very suitable.

Firstly, they were not good at hiding, and secondly, they didn't have the ability to check in at many spots.

Most importantly, the class actually let a student from another class in.

Takada Hikaru was indeed right. Class A was indeed working hard in this exam but they were simply too half-hearted.

"Himeno-san, Takada-san seemed to be in a bad mood at the time. Did something happen?"

After speaking, Kaneda Satoru reacted. "Sorry, I'm a student from another class, so it's okay if you don't tell me."

"Hmm..." Himeno Yuki hesitated for a moment.

She remembered what Takada Hikaru had told her yesterday when they were scouting for information. That was, if anyone asked about his conflict with the class, she could speak freely.

Himeno Yuki originally thought he just didn't care about others knowing this. Now, seeing that it was Kaneda Satoru from Class C relaying the message, it indicated that Takada Hikaru probably wanted to use this matter for something.

"Actually, Takada-san and Kanzaki-san at the beginning of the exam..."

Having figured this out, Himeno Yuki began to tell the story.

—

On the other side.

Class 1-D's stronghold.

"Hikaru-kun, are you here to play?"

Seeing the boy who appeared outside the spot, Kushida Kikyo walked over with light steps, a smile on her face.

Takada Hikaru chuckled and shook his head. "Kikyo, could I trouble you to bring Yōsuke-san over as well? I want to make some deals with your Class D."

— — —

The Real World.

Anibro sat in front of his computer, starting to watch the thirteenth episode of Classroom of the Elite.

As soon as he clicked in, he saw the comments posted by viewers.

[Finished, hooray!]

[Finished, hooray!]

[Finished, hooray!]

...

It was no surprise. In most anime series, twelve or thirteen episodes marked the end.

Furthermore, based on the plot of the recent episodes, the thirteenth episode should be the finale of the Deserted Island arc, making it most suitable as the end of the first season of the anime.

While watching the anime, Anibro's curiosity was also piqued.

A Class did nothing in this exam, B Class frantically occupied spots while also setting up defenses, C Class seemingly gave up but sent out two spies, and D Class, as usual, actively created difficulties when there were none, ultimately pushing themselves into a desperate situation.

Kōenji Rokusuke and Horikita Suzune withdrew from the exam, and the special card with the leader's name written on it was even taken by C Class's spies.

It was conceivable that if nothing was done, D Class would be deducted 110 exam-specific points, taking last place in the Deserted Island Exam.

Of course, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, as the protagonist, would certainly not stand by and watch his class come in last. After all, he was also blackmailed by the homeroom teacher and needed to help the class in subsequent exams to avoid the threat of expulsion.

Before the thirteenth episode aired, Anibro had also seen viewers' analyses of the plot development on the internet.

Many speculated that Ayanokoji would likely guess the leaders of A Class, B Class, and C Class, thereby increasing Class D's exam-specific points by 150 and reversing the current situation.

Others believed that after Horikita Suzune withdrew from the exam, D Class would have a legitimate reason to change leaders. Then, B Class and C Class would receive false leader information, not only failing to increase points but also having 50 points deducted for guessing incorrectly.

These outcomes were all analyzed based on the content of the previous few episodes. But some things, even viewers couldn't predict.