COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The fourth afternoon of the deserted island exam. The sun was slanting westward, its rays no longer harsh and scorching.

Mashima Tomonari, dressed in his athletic wear, stepped out of his tent. Standing outside, he stretched and loosened his muscles while gazing out at the bright, golden-yellow seascape.

For the deserted island special exam, students of each class were required to spend seven full days on this uninhabited island. To prevent accidents and to be available to provide students with assistance at any time, the homeroom teachers of each class were also required to be stationed on the island alongside them.

After warming up briefly, Mashima began jogging slowly along the sandy beach.

For a fitness enthusiast, there was nothing more enjoyable than running against the sea breeze on a small, uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

The deserted island exam was already nearing its conclusion. Truthfully, at this point, he wasn't overly worried about Class A's exam results.

In terms of supplies, Class A had already pulled ahead of the other classes by a gap of nearly one hundred points. Going forward, so long as they didn't blindly flail about or recklessly guess the leaders of other classes, they would, at the very minimum, earn over one hundred class points.

And currently, the class leader was the steady, prudent Katsuragi Kohei. Without absolute certainty, he would not choose to guess the leaders of other classes. Defensively, Class A, residing in the cave base point, also had no major issues.

Therefore, Mashima estimated that, barring unforeseen circumstances, Class A should be able to achieve an excellent result of over three hundred points in this exam.

The only remaining issue was...

That certain someone in Class A, who was both utterly unreliable and yet, paradoxically, very reliable.

Mashima found himself developing a headache, against all precedent.

Hopefully, that guy wouldn't pull some massive stunt at a time like thi—

"To actually let it climb up such a high cliff face—my apologies. This was my mistake. A complete miscalculation!"

A voice, full of vigor and energy, yet utterly familiar, rang out from the direction of the sandy beach. Yet, just from listening to that voice, it was completely devoid of its usual steadiness and composure. It even betrayed a note of frustration and exasperated fury.

"Save the useless chatter! Hurry up, Katsuragi! It's going to get away!"

"Chase it down! We absolutely cannot let it escape!"

"Leave it to me! Even if my legs break from running today, I'm going to eat it!"

"Don't let it run!"

...

Immediately after, a clamor of noisy, chaotic voices erupted, followed by a dense, tumultuous surge of footsteps. Just from the sound alone, one could tell there were no fewer than twenty people.

"..."

So they'd found prey. But still, the game on this island was, at most, wild chickens and hares. Was there really any need for such a huge fuss?

The entire class was forty people. Even if they caught something, it'd be nothing more than a single bite per student. The energy it would replenish wouldn't even cover the expenditure of this operation.

Mashima shook his head.

Although the students of Class A were outstanding, they still lacked the experience and foresight to see the bigger picture. When faced with gains, they were prone to getting carried away, unable to analyze the long-term pros and cons.

Logically, at a time like this, the homeroom teachers of each class shouldn't have excessive contact with their own students. But, driven by curiosity about exactly what kind of massive stunt this student of his had cooked up this time, Mashima lifted his feet and jogged toward the direction from which the sounds had come.

A short while later.

Mashima halted his steps. He rubbed his eyes and stared blankly, dumbfounded, at the utterly unbelievable scene unfolding before him. His mouth dropped wide open.

"What the hell..."

A robust, dusty-brown male goat, like a bolt of lightning, burst forth from the thicket. Its four limbs exploded with power, sending fine sand scattering into the air and leaving four dark pockmarks in the sandy beach as it charged directly, head-on, toward Mashima.

Another two seconds later, Kito Hayato, who possessed the best physical fitness in Class A, came charging out of the forest right behind it. Then came Katsuragi. Then Hashimoto Masayoshi. Behind them, Fuyuji Mikage, leading a massive throng of Class A students—both male and female—came surging forward in a vast, dark wave.

Fuyuji, at the rear, spotted Mashima suddenly appearing in the goat's path of advance. His eyes lit up and he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sadistic teacher! Cut it off! If we succeed, I'll split a goat leg with you!"

"..."

Have you forgotten? During the special exam, teachers are not permitted to personally step in and assist their students.

But, even so... a token gesture was still a token gesture. Mashima still shifted two steps and planted himself squarely in the goat's direct path.

Seeing an obstruction ahead, the goat elegantly kicked off with its hind legs and executed a flawless right-angle Flash, pulling an abrupt, sharp turn and charging straight toward the depths of the forest.

Kito, at the very forefront, silently continued his pursuit in the direction the goat had fled.

After a burst of footsteps, Fuyuji led his people past him, one by one.

Fuyuji: "Are you kidding me?! One kick and we would've won!"

Shimazaki Ikkei: "Being too rigid and proper isn't a good thing."

Morishita Ai: "Mashima Tomonari, I've misjudged you."

Sanada Kosei: "Every once in a while, you've got to give our class a little special treatment."

Kamuro Masumi: "Hmph!"

...

If I helped you, would I still have my bonus or not?

Watching the massive throng of Class A students gradually vanish into the forest, Mashima thought somberly to himself.

He then took out the walkie-talkie he carried on his person.

"Emergency situation. A full-grown male goat has suddenly appeared on the island. Students may be injured. Notify the medical team to be on standby. Over!"

After putting the walkie-talkie away, Mashima lifted his feet and chased in the direction the students had departed.

Hunting large animals—is quite a dangerous undertaking. As a teacher, it was best to keep a close watch on them.

...

Class B, the wellspring campsite.

The Class B girls, led by Ichinose Honami, were by the small lakeside not far from the camp, distributing the day's lunch provisions.

In truth, there wasn't much to distribute. It was merely the berries that the Class B girls had specially gathered that morning, mixed together with the school's set meals to make them slightly less unpalatable and difficult to swallow.

"This should be enough."

By the lakeside, Ichinose stood up and wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead. Looking at the fish the class's students had caught, she turned and sought the opinions of the surrounding girls.

"How about these? We'll boil them into fish soup. The meat can be given to the boys who've been going out to do the heavy labor. As for us, how about we eat the berries and the set meals?"

The words had barely settled before they were met with enthusiastic responses from the Class B girls.

"No problem. The fish were caught by the boys too. Giving it to them is only natural."

"Perfect timing—I can use this chance to lose some weight."

"My appetite is relatively small. Just eating these will be enou—"

A dark shadow abruptly burst forth from the forest, sweeping past several of the girls like a gust of wind. The splashing water lightly dampened the hems of a few of the girls' trousers.

Before any of the girls could even react, Fuyuji, leading a massive throng of Class A students, came surging out of the forest in a vast wave.

"Hello, Ichinose. I've still got business to attend to. Goodbye, Ichinose."

After a chaotic surge of footsteps, the Class B camp returned to its former peace and tranquility, as though the figure that had just appeared had been nothing more than a fleeting hallucination.

"Was that..."

Ando Sayo stared blankly at the dark shadow that had already fled far into the distance. She covered her mouth in disbelief.

"A goat? How can there be a goat here? We've searched this island for several days and haven't spotted a single one. How did the Class A students discover it?"

Amikura Mako gazed at the robust, sturdy brown goat retreating into the distance and murmured. "A goat... Just looking at its size, that alone should be enough to eat for quite a long time, right?"

"..."

The gazes of the girls gathered, by unspoken agreement, upon their Class B leader, awaiting her command.

"Call Kanzaki-kun, Shibata-kun, and the others."

Ichinose, with gallant, heroic grace, pointed a finger in the direction of the Class A crowd. A radiant, brilliant smile spread across her face.

"We're going to help too!"

...

Upstream of the river, at the Class C campsite.

Ryuen Kakeru lay sprawled across his hammock like an emperor, leisurely and carefree. Both legs were arrogantly propped up on a tree. From time to time, he flipped through a page of his guidebook.

Over these past four days, he had practically worn this guidebook ragged from flipping through it so many times. It couldn't be helped. This special exam was simply far too boring.

Camp setup—he was naturally not going to lift a finger. Occupying base points—going out three times a day was sufficient.

As for rooting out the leaders of other classes... the risk was far too great!

Unless he could get his hands on the key card, there was no way to verify that the person he had identified was truly the leader. It was far too easy to fall into another class's trap.

Furthermore, there was still that hidden rule—the leader could be changed. After going to all the trouble and effort to identify another class's leader, if the opposing side suddenly also figured out this rule, everything he had done would be rendered utterly futile.

In that case, he might as well, from the very start, pour all his energy into check-ins. At present, even if Class C's leader were leaked, it wouldn't matter. In the end, they would definitely swap the leader anyway.

Having thought this far, the corner of Ryuen's mouth couldn't help but curl into a grin. His gaze swept across the Class C camp.

It was precisely because of this rule that he had been able to unify and consolidate this bunch of rabble.

Hmph haha!

Next up—striking a blow against each class, and then, covertly, rooting out the clues to that damned mastermind!

That trashy, shameless villain! Mastermind! Advanced Nurturing slimeball! Circus monkey! Gutter-dwelling stinking rat!

I will definitely kill you!

Just as Ryuen was thoroughly indulging in his beautiful fantasies of successful revenge, a faint, indistinct, yet urgent shouting voice suddenly sounded from the distance.

"Ryuen-aniki! Class A..."

Class A...

Ryuen furrowed his brow. He did not rise. He continued to lie on his hammock, craning his neck and peering around.

Weren't those model, exemplary students supposed to be holed up in their turtle-shell cave camp?

Through the gaps in the shrubs and forest cover, he could vaguely make out a massive throng of Class A students charging in this direction.

Ho~

Ryuen did not hurry to get up. Instead, he gazed down at them with haughty disdain, watching these goody-two-shoes students with amused interest to see what this bunch intended to do.

They hadn't forgotten, had they? Maliciously damaging another class's camp meant immediate disqualification from the exam, right?

"Ryuen..."

In the distance, Katsuragi, gasping for breath, stared in horror at Ryuen, still sprawled on his hammock. Even as he ran in this direction, he continuously waved his arms frantically.

"Get out of the way! Quickly!"

Ryuen did not budge. He sneered coldly. "Katsuragi—has your brain been starved stupid over these past few days? You should be the one to get the hell out of the w—"

A massive, unidentified object burst directly out of the thicket and rammed headfirst into Ryuen's hammock.

His field of vision spun wildly. From the originally varied, utterly spectacular expressions on the Class A crowd, it slowly rose upward. He saw the Class B students catching up from behind. Then it shifted to the vast, azure sky. Finally, the brownish-yellow earth, dotted with tiny grains of sand, rapidly magnified within his view.

"Uuuu— Agh!"

A cry of utter, absolute, catastrophic agony resounded throughout the entire Class C camp.

The entirety of Class C stared blankly, dumbstruck, at Ryuen, who had been launched into midair and then come crashing back down. Belatedly, they turned their gazes toward that dark shadow that had burst forth.

The very next instant—

Shrill, piercing screams, shrieks of terror, and furious curses erupted one after another, rising and falling ceaselessly, without end, throughout the spring campsite. The entire Class C was thrown into utter, complete pandemonium.

Katsuragi, following right behind, glanced down at Ryuen, who was clutching his lower back and had collapsed onto the ground. He immediately directed his own class's students.

"Everyone! Attention! Do not touch anything belonging to Class C! Go around the perimeter of their camp directly!"

"Understood!" x N

The entire crowd of Class A students, like a colony of ants encountering a puddle during their migration, seamlessly and smoothly detoured right before Ryuen's eyes.

It was just that...

"Yo, yo! Isn't this the Crap-Eating King? So washed up after just a few days, huh?"

"Congratulations—you've just earned yourself a new title: The Flying Man."

"Ryuen, just leave the group chat already. Our Advanced Nurturing High School can't afford losing so much rep."

...

The Class A students passing by Ryuen's hammock generously lavished him with their most effusive, florid words of praise. Then, swerving sharply, they continued their pursuit of the goat.

The Class B students, arriving late behind them, glanced at Ryuen on the ground, suppressing their laughter, and continued following behind Class A.

After a chaotic, chickens-squawking-and-dogs-leaping frenzy, the goat, with the speed of lightning that left no time to cover one's ears, pierced straight through the entire Class C camp and swaggered off into the distance.

Leaving behind a chaotic, utterly devastated, thoroughly wrecked Class C camp.

"Ryuen-kun, are you alright? Do you need me to call a teacher for you?"

Ichinose, the slowest runner, arrived late. Seeing his pitiful, wretched state, she asked with a hint of pained sympathy.

Having just been elbow-struck in the lower back by a goat, Ryuen finally managed to collect himself. Bracing against the nearest tree, he gritted his teeth and pulled himself up.

"Shut your mouth, you revolting, disgusting creature."

He could only say—fortunately, the goat's horns curved backward. Otherwise, Ryuen would now be enjoying the Advanced Nurturing High School's deluxe helicopter rescue service.

"Ryuen-san, what do we do?" Yamawaki jogged over and stared at the goat in the distance. His throat bobbed once.

"Gather the men! Chase it down!"

Gazing into the distance at that goat's horns, fluttering and flaunting in the wind, Ryuen's expression had now twisted into one of utter, savage ferocity.

"Tonight, I'm going to gnaw on a goat's head!"

...

Once inside the forest, the goat seemed to be in its natural element, like a fish returned to water. It nimbly weaved and threaded through the thickets, ducking left and darting right, instantly pulling its lead wide open.

By this point, the great goat-pursuing army had already assembled the overwhelming majority of the first-year boys, excluding Class D. With some tacit understanding, they dispersed, preparing to surround and entrap the goat together.

"Katsuragi! Let's cooperate!"

Enduring the searing pain of having been sent flying, Ryuen accelerated and ran up beside Katsuragi, decisively issuing an invitation to collaborate.

"Katsuragi-kun, please include our Class B as well!"

Ichinose also caught up closely behind. A thin, fine sheen of sweat glistened upon her flushed, reddened face.

At this stage, forcibly snatching that goat away from Class A's grasp was simply unrealistic. The rules stipulated that students could not be attacked. And that goat didn't look like something that could be felled in a single, decisive blow. In the end, all classes would inevitably have contributed to dealing damage to the goat.

When the dust settled, it would surely be a matter of requesting the school's arbitration. The lion's share would most certainly go to Class A, who had discovered the goat first and contributed the most effort.

Rather than waste time bickering over there, it was better to negotiate the terms with the other party from the very beginning.

"Haah..." Katsuragi slowed his pace and caught his breath slightly. After a brief moment of consideration, he replied. "Fine. After we take it down, I'll split a quarter to each of your classes."

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