COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The day after the deserted island special exam ended.

Inside the luxury cruise ship.

The corridor was laid with a thick, deep-blue carpet, which absorbed most of the sound of footsteps. Only the low hum of the central air conditioning echoed within, carrying the distinct, sealed atmosphere unique to a ship's interior.

An index finger extended straight out and pressed the cabin doorbell without the slightest hesitation.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

The somewhat grating chime of the doorbell reverberated inside the cabin.

A moment later, the thick, white oak door cracked open a sliver. The door hinges emitted a faint creak. Through the cabin's light, a pair of captivating fox-like eyes quietly appeared within the gap.

"What are you doing here?"

A cool, clear voice drifted out, but it lacked the usual unyielding, icy force. Instead, it seemed to carry a strange, inexplicable... timidity?

Fuyuji raised an eyebrow and gazed out at the deserted corridor before speaking.

"There's a patient here. I came to see if she's feeling any better. I'd meant to check on her condition yesterday, but I wandered around the cruise ship all day and never ran into her. I was starting to wonder if she was still bedridden."

"After all, I took several million from her brother. She also mentioned before that she'd pay me back. For the sake of my wallet, I figured it was safer to come take a look."

"I..." The person behind the door opened her mouth. Her voice, muffled through the gap, came out small. "I already sent you a message telling you I'm fine."

Fuyuji half-narrowed his eyes. The corner of his mouth tugged into a curve. Expressionless, he let out a dry "heh heh." "If only the message she sent hadn't consisted solely of the single line 'No problems,' I might have believed her. It made me think she was paralyzed in bed and that typing those two words had already drained every last ounce of her strength."

"..."

Inside the room, Horikita's gaze flickered. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on the edge of the door handle. For some inexplicable reason, she lowered her head with a hint of guilt.

If it were anyone else, she could have kept a cold face and righteously told them to mind their own business—that she was already fine and to please leave and attend to their own affairs.

But this person...

Horikita recalled that day—fainting in his arms, shrinking against his back and crying, then being dropped by him onto the grass...

Forget it.

Letting out a small sigh, Horikita reluctantly turned the door handle and let him in.

The door swung open with a creak.

As the door gradually opened wider, a girl dressed in loungewear entered Fuyuji's field of vision. Her hair wasn't properly tied up, nor was she wearing her signature white ribbon. Her black hair simply hung straight down behind her and alongside her cheeks, slightly disheveled.

Her complexion was still somewhat pale, but her cheeks now clearly showed a pink flush, the sign of receding illness. She carried a touch less of her usual cold aloofness and a touch more of a soft, delicate frailty.

"I told you I'm fine—"

Before she could finish, a hand carrying a faint, outdoor coolness reached out and, with a touch that was not particularly gentle, brushed aside the stray bangs and pressed against her smooth forehead.

"My apologies. Last time, there was a girl who was practically cooked stupid with fever, yet she put on a straight face and told me she was fine. Ever since then, every time she tells me she's fine, I can't help but suspect she's already been cooked stupid."

After a brief, momentary silence—

The warm touch on her forehead made Horikita's body stiffen slightly. She drew a deep breath and strained to make her voice as icy as possible, squeezing out a single line. "Then can it now be proven that I am fine?"

"Looks good." Fuyuji withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened. His gaze swept past her shoulder and surveyed the room's layout. "Though by the looks of it, you're not planning on going out today either?"

The room was no different from any other cabin. The late-morning sunlight slanted in through the observation porthole, drawing long patches of light on the polished floor. The only conspicuous feature was the stack of thick literary classics near the balcony—Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov...

"I'll go out when it's time to eat." Horikita retorted.

"And then?"

"Continue reading in my room."

"..."

What kind of ultimate lifeform was Horikita's little sister? As a member of Class D—with no points coming in for months—she could still resist the temptation of all the completely free services on this luxury cruise ship.

One had to know, those Class D students had been going absolutely wild these past few days. Even finishing in last place in the special exam hadn't dampened their spirits in the slightest. They were tirelessly, joyfully enjoying every service the cruise ship had to offer.

The fact that, of the four in her cabin, she was the only one left was clear and obvious proof.

"Staying cooped up in your room all the time won't do." Pulling out his phone to glance at the time, Fuyuji went on as if speaking to himself. "Come on, let's go out for a walk."

Horikita pressed her lips together. Her gaze lingered on Fuyuji's face for a single instant, then swiftly darted away, looking past the balcony at the glittering, sparkling surface of the sea.

After hesitating for a moment, she still didn't refute his suggestion. Murmuring a quiet "Mm," she turned and sat down before the vanity mirror, beginning to tidy her loose, scattered hair.

Her left hand gathered the black locks cascading over her shoulders. The strands, like hair saturated in ink, slipped through the gaps between her fingers, a few strands at a time, only to be deftly caught back by her right wrist.

The entire motion carried a sense of aesthetic pleasure.

...

The cruise ship deck.

It was nine in the morning. Golden sunlight spilled generously across the broad teak deck. The salty, briny breeze gently brushed against the cheeks. Seagulls circled overhead, letting out clear, sharp cries. The two walked side by side along the deck.

"So, do you still insist on your original goal of leading your class to rise to Class A?"

After walking a short stretch, Fuyuji struck up a conversation with Horikita, who had kept her head lowered the entire time.

In this special exam, excluding the ten thousand personal points Class C paid them each month, Class D had earned only forty-two points.

This was already the result of the few in Class D giving it their absolute all. Could anyone say that Hirata Yosuke and the others hadn't tried hard enough?

At the very least, Fuyuji believed those few had done everything within the limits of their ability. But the fact remained—the gap between Class D and the other classes hadn't shrunk. Instead, it was widening.

More importantly, a considerable portion of the Class D students were already completely satisfied with those ten thousand personal points.

As for their class finishing in last place... it was just that.

Horikita's footsteps faltered slightly. She lowered her eyes and stared at the harsh sunlight reflecting off the deck.

"Even you think it's impossible?"

By now, if Horikita still believed Fuyuji's claim of "I'm just a Class A oddball with no say in my class," then she truly had been cooked stupid.

Fuyuji raised a hand and rubbed his temples, an expression of agony surfacing on his face. "Your class's situation—I, for one, think it's hopeless. The potential is there, honestly, but there are far too many humanoid creatures."

"I don't believe there's any hero who can drag thirty-nine others all the way up to Class A." After a pause, he added one more line. "Your brother probably couldn't either."

The sea breeze suddenly picked up, stirring the few stray strands of hair by Horikita's temples.

"Is it really impossible?" Horikita abruptly raised her head. Her eyes carried a stubborn, defiant light. Unwilling to accept it, she asked once more.

Fuyuji spread his hands helplessly. "If I were in Class D, I'd definitely be trying to scrape together twenty million points and go solo. Unless some cheater went and expelled a few of those humanoids and unified the rest, then—"

A dark shadow fell from above, sweeping swiftly past the two of them and vanishing in a flash.

Moments later, the roar of helicopter rotors came from overhead, drawing near from the distance. In an instant, it drowned out the sounds of the sea breeze and the seagulls.

"That's..."

The two raised their heads in unison and followed the sound.

A massive silver-white steel bird was circling overhead. After hovering above the cruise ship for a while, it slowly descended under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

The storm whipped up by the rotors sent the decorative flags on the deck thrashing wildly. The spinning blades churned the air with a tremendous roar. Slowly, the engine power decreased, and the roar gradually faded to near silence.

In the yet-unsettled air currents, the helicopter cabin door opened.

Dressed in the Advanced Nurturing High uniform, a black beret perched atop her head, a girl with snow-white hair slowly stepped off the helicopter, leaning on her cane. The tip of the cane struck the deck with a crisp "tap."

Sensing the gazes converging from all around, the corner of the girl's lips curved into a perfectly measured smile. Her left hand elegantly lifted the hem of her skirt as she gave a graceful bow.

"Greetings, everyone. Have you been enjoying your vacation?"

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