COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

As the sun gradually climbed higher, its rays turned scorching.

"You cheated! You cheated! This isn't an exam! I'm reporting you!"

On the sandy beach, the most notorious figure in the Advanced Nurturing High School, Class C's temporary leader Ryuen Kakeru, after the entire class had each spent five thousand personal points—only to receive from Katsuragi Kohei the single line, "We picked up drifting supplies at sea"—had thoroughly shattered.

For him, losing was not something shameful. No matter how many times he lost, the one who won the last round was the ultimate victor.

But all of this was predicated on the opponent competing against him under the same conditions.

What the hell was with this Class A?!

Picking up drifting supplies at sea? Some gift of nature? Blessed by the heavens? A shipping container that just happened to fall off a massive freighter, and that container just so happened to contain exactly the items needed for this special exam?

He could figure it out with the second toe of his left foot—Class A had tossed it off the cruise ship in advance. And yet, there was no evidence whatsoever. No wonder the school had said it was exploiting a loophole and not cheating. It was an irrefutable answer that even the school administration couldn't find a flaw in—because the possibility of such an event truly could not be ruled out.

What was even more infuriating was that such a simple method had never even occurred to him.

This was pissing him off so damn much!!

"So there was actually a method like that... It is indeed an exceedingly bold approach. No one can refute that possibility." Ichinose Honami lightly scratched her cheek with a slender finger, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. The sea breeze toyed with her golden-pink hair as she smiled wryly.

She was not someone inflexible or rigid. During the banquet earlier, she had even asked where those canned goods had come from. The Class A students had answered her in a joking tone, saying they'd picked them up.

She had thought they were rewards obtained from occupying some base point. She never imagined they had literally just been picked up.

"That's roughly the situation. We did indeed pick up these supplies from the sea."

Katsuragi looked at the contracts signed by the two classes. Expressionlessly, he checked the contract once more, carefully folded it, and tucked it into his pocket.

In any case, this loophole would be patched by the school in the next exam. Since that was so, he might as well squeeze one last bit of profit out of it.

Mm... the above were Fuyuji Mikage's original words.

While Katsuragi was diligently contributing his share to his own wallet, the true mastermind, Fuyuji, had already smiled and seen Mashima Tomonari off as he walked back to his tent.

Judging by those heavy footsteps, the man was probably agonizing over whether or not to report this matter to the school.

Fuyuji stood up from the ground and stretched, loosening his limbs. He stepped out of the shade, the glaring sunlight making him squint involuntarily. He swept his gaze across the beach.

Most of the students were already carrying their luggage and boarding the transport boats one after another.

After all, they had lived a primitive life on this island for seven days with no entertainment equipment whatsoever, and the food and lodging had been simple to a maddening degree. Now that the exam was over, most students were probably itching to end this "dreamlike island vacation" that the school had advertised.

Fuyuji crunched across the warm, soft sand, carrying the drink Mashima had given him. He made his way to the side of a dazedly cute girl who was also sitting in the shade, her arms wrapped around her knees, her large eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ocean. He sat down.

"Is Shiina-san not heading back to the cruise ship?"

As a bookworm who had gone seven full days without touching a single book, this should have been an excruciating ordeal for her.

"Mm... I'm in no rush right now." Without turning her head, her large violet eyes gazed dreamily at the ocean. Under the sunlight, they refracted an inexplicable glow. Her long lashes fluttered faintly.

In the distance, wave after wave crashed in, producing a rhythmic rushing sound. The chaotic footprints left by the students were gradually vanishing under the ocean's caress, the sand becoming smooth and pristine once more.

"What's on your mind?"

Fuyuji shifted his body and edged a little closer to the girl, his shoulder nearly touching hers. A faint, delicate fragrance mingled with the salty dampness of the sea breeze drifted around them, bringing a sense of comfort.

Shiina Hiyori let out a soft sigh and propped her chin on her hand. Her marshmallowy voice was saturated with thick bewilderment.

"Mister Watson, why is it that when your Class A filled in the leader-guessing form, you only wrote down our Class C? I asked Ryuen-kun about it just now. It was indeed a near-perfect method. What a pity it was still found out. But... if even our class's leader could be found, then the remaining two classes should have been possible as well, shouldn't they..."

Although this special exam had only announced the final class scores, one could actually tell just from the point fluctuations alone—only Class C had had its leader guessed. The final scores for Classes B and D were simply their remaining supply points plus the bonus from occupying base points.

"..."

For some inexplicable reason, a small twinge of guilt arose in Fuyuji's heart.

Because of his own biased maneuvering, the adorable Miss Shiina would probably only have just over ten thousand personal points to spend next month. The majority of that she would keep for buying books. Only a tiny fraction would be left for daily living expenses.

The moment he pictured the soft, gentle Miss Holmes eating the mountain vegetable set meal, the sense of guilt in his heart grew heavier by another degree.

Damn it!

Fuyuji once again posed the question inwardly.

Who exactly had placed such an adorable Miss Shiina into Class C? It was making it so hard for him to bear striking so heavily against them in the future!

"Well..."

Pretending to ponder for a moment, Fuyuji let his gaze drift. After brewing his emotions for a bit, he spoke with a tentative tone. "Perhaps, in Katsuragi's view, the other two classes aren't worth worrying about. Only Class C, led by Ryuen, could possibly pose a threat to Class A?"

Yes! That was it! It was all Ryuen's fault! Blame it all on Ryuen!

If not for that pervert originally sneaking up with a stick to ambush Albert while he was using the restroom—thereby leaving an indelible scar on the tender heart of me, who also happened to be using the restroom at the time—I wouldn't have kept targeting him.

"Is that so..."

Shiina seemed to pay this answer little mind. Absentmindedly, she drew her gaze back from the vast expanse of the sea and let it linger on the seashells, worn smooth by the waves, nearer to shore. A gust of sea breeze swept past, lifting her silvery-white hair.

"Actually, Mister Watson, I still can't figure out how our class's leader was discovered either. Another question has been added to those buried deep in my heart."

"Shall I go ask Katsuragi for you? Now that the exam is over, he probably wouldn't mind revealing the method." Fuyuji, who had used Katsuragi as a shield who-knew-how-many times by now, offered.

"No need." Shiina shook her head. Her pale, slender pinky gently tucked a stray lock of hair, blown loose by the wind, behind her ear—an elegant gesture tinged with bookish grace. "Just like a detective in a mystery novel, if you don't figure this sort of thing out yourself, it's meaningless."

"True."

...

After sitting together for a while longer, the whistle of the transport boat sounded from the distance. The two of them, nearly out of time, had no choice but to rise, brush the fine sand from their pants, and head toward the boat.

On the beach, two new sets of footprints were left behind—one deep, one shallow.

Shiina watched Fuyuji's retreating figure, several paces ahead of her. Her footsteps slowed slightly. Her eyes lowered, her long lashes veiling the complex emotions within.

I'm sorry, Mister Watson. Truthfully... there is still one question in my heart that I haven't told you about.

This manner of persistently targeting Ryuen-kun... it reminds me of a certain person.

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