COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

Day two of the VIP special exam had officially begun.

Inside the second-floor cafe of the luxury cruise ship.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive portholes, casting dappled patches of light and shadow across the polished teak floor.

The air was thick with the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and the faint, creamy scent of pastries. Slow, soothing jazz drifted through the space, barely audible, creating an illusion of comfort utterly at odds with the tense atmosphere of the exam.

Beyond the window, the azure sea stretched boundless, fine whitecaps chasing the ship's trailing wake.

"How rare. Masumi-san, you actually agreed to come out for coffee with me." Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her cup to her lips and spoke in a slow, unhurried voice.

Kamuro Masumi, who looked visibly restless in her seat, shifted her gaze toward the distant, shimmering sea.

"I was just a little bored, that's all. And," Kamuro shot a quick glance at the dark brown liquid in Sakayanagi's hand, her brow furrowing on instinct, "is coffee really okay for your heart?"

"Ara~ Is Masumi-san worried about me?" Sakayanagi deftly sidestepped the question with a beaming smile, her pinky slightly raised as the rim of the cup touched her lower lip for a small sip.

"Haah?!"

Kamuro slapped the table, her volume spiking by a notch.

"How could that possibly be? It's just that if you collapse here, I'd have to drag you to the ship's infirmary. I don't have time to waste on you."

Says she doesn't care, says it's none of her business if she drops dead—and yet here she is, out with her, even helping carry her things.

A textbook case of tsundere. All denial on the outside, all soft on the inside. Brother~

Not far from the two of them, a head quietly peeked out from behind a tall potted plant, silently observing their every move.

On the other side, Fuyuji held the menu with one hand, his ears pricked, and absently lifted his cup, gulping down a mouthful of extra-strong black coffee.

The very next second, an intense bitterness—like scorched wheat grains—seized his taste buds. Right on its heels, a sharp, acidic tang of unripe fruit slid down his throat, leaving behind only a mouthful of clinging, inescapable astringency.

This bitter, awful taste... how was that loli drinking it with such apparent enjoyment?

His eyes narrowed on instinct, his entire face instantly contorting into a mask of pure agony.

He hadn't come here because he had nothing better to do, tailing his pal yet again.

The cruise ship was only so big. The entertainment venues were only so many. Coincidental encounters were bound to happen.

Fuyuji slowly raised his head and glanced at the person sitting ramrod straight across from him—Horikita Suzune, wearing an expression that practically screamed "you owe me a million."

"So, what did you ask me out here for?"

"I want to know your class's current progress in the special exam." Her hands rested properly, folded over her lap, atop her black knee-high socks. Her back was straight. Her voice was cool, clear, and utterly candid.

Fuyuji clutched his chest and leaned back slightly, feigning a wounded look. "I thought your conscience had finally caught up with you—that you'd realized how good I've been to you and specially invited me out for a meal to repay me."

"No such thing. Please refrain from such delusional daydreams." Horikita's tone was so bluntly honest it could stab a man to death. "I still haven't settled the score with you for deceiving me before. Don't expect me to go out of my way to thank you."

"..."

The corner of Fuyuji's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

It seemed her fever had more or less run its course. She was back to full Ice Queen mode. No wonder Cha-Cha called you Dead-Face. I still prefer the you from back then, blushing and a little soft-spoken.

Just then, Horikita suddenly paused. Her long lashes lowered. She swiftly raised her eyes to glance at Fuyuji, her fair ear rims seeming to dye the faintest shade of pink. Her voice unconsciously dropped a few decibels.

"Of course, if you promise never to deceive me again, I will consider... thanking you."

A little bit of conscience. But not much...

Forget it. With that cold, adorably dense demeanor of yours, it's very hard for me to resist tricking you.

"Let's get back to the main topic." Fuyuji once again lifted the coffee cup that still haunted him, symbolically touched it to his lips, and then set it down as quickly as if avoiding poison. He blinked and deployed his standard line. "I'm just Class A's weirdo. I have no say in Class A. How could someone like me possibly know about the progress of the special exam?"

Those cool, clear eyes calmly scraped across Fuyuji. "Ryuen-kun of Class C posted a bounty on the school forums two months ago regarding a first-year mastermind. I hear that simply providing relevant information earns ten thousand private points. Directly revealing their identity earns a full two hundred thousand."

"Bang—!" Palm HP -1.

"You dare threaten me?!"

"Sakayanagi-san has been searching for a mysterious classmate hidden within Class A. She says that once she identifies him, she will use all her strength to unify Class D and challenge him directly."

"Let's negotiate! This kind of thing can be discussed~"

The fury on Fuyuji's face evaporated in an instant, replaced by an awkward, sheepish grin—even carrying a touch of fawning flattery.

Horikita folded her arms. A faint smile blossomed across that icy face. A strange, unprecedented sense of victory slowly welled up in her heart.

Damn it!

Fuyuji ground his teeth as he stared at this cool, aloof girl he had tricked time and time again.

Just a few days apart, and she'd actually made some progress—learning how to threaten people. Where had that dumb, dazed, easy-to-fool Horikita from before gone? Who on earth had led her astray? He was going to file a complaint with Horikita Manabu!

"Please tell me." Horikita's lips curved upward. She repeated herself, a trace of smug satisfaction flashing through her words.

"And your class's special exam progress?" Fuyuji replied, exasperated.

"For our class, I currently only know the names of two VIPs. Sakayanagi-san seems to already know three. After she arrived on the cruise ship, she met with Hirata-kun once. I'm not sure what they discussed, but in any case, Hirata-kun has agreed to support her in managing this special exam."

No need to guess—it was surely that same old routine of KFC-ing the nice guy. Fuyuji had long suspected this school had a tradition of passing that particular technique down through the generations.

True enough. That loss in the last special exam must have hit that gentle, kind-hearted man pretty hard...

With Hirata Yosuke's support, plus the handful of people Sakayanagi Arisu had already gathered under her, she now had the backing of the majority of Class D. Though it was only surface-level support, and some students' support was worse than useless—not even enough to order them around.

"And you?" Fuyuji raised a hand and ordered a drink for this girl, who was sitting ramrod straight and staring straight ahead. "If this were before, you'd be actively taking action, searching for your opponent's weak points, wouldn't you?"

The fists resting on her knees quietly clenched. Horikita lowered her head, her eyes dimming by a few shades. She spoke in a low voice. "I need... some quiet time..."

"..." It seemed what he'd said to her back on the deserted island had hit her pretty hard.

"Actually..." After musing for a moment, Fuyuji decided to console Horikita Girl a little. After all, he'd angered her to the point of fainting back on the deserted island. "As long as the task doesn't involve social interaction, your handling of other problems is still fairly decent."

If it involved social interaction, there was no helping it. Horikita was six parts genius, one part brick wall!She still hadn't learned how to hold a proper conversation with others, and yet she was already thinking about leading the class. Unrealistic.

That scummy loli Sakayanagi was even worse than you—she purely treated others as entertainment. But at least she could put on a cute act in front of outsiders. Not like you, who couldn't even be bothered to fake it, inside and out. How could you possibly trick others into doing things for you?

"So, what's the progress? Has your class submitted any VIP names?" Fuyuji asked casually, pressing on.

"Currently, only Koenji-kun has submitted one. Given his character, it's truly impossible to judge whether he just submitted it at random. But later, based on what Hirata-kun said, I felt it might not be—"

Horikita's words came to an abrupt halt. Her captivating fox-like eyes narrowed slightly. "Fuyuji-kun, it seems I was the one who initially came to ask about your class's progress, wasn't I? Why is it that I'm the one leaking intelligence to you now?"

"Now you understand, don't you? This is the art of conversation." Fuyuji grinned smugly.

Looking at the smug, self-satisfied Fuyuji, Horikita coolly turned her head toward Sakayanagi's direction and raised her hand, calling out.

"Sakay—"

Fuyuji's palm shot out at lightning speed, streaked across the table, and landed precisely over Horikita's small mouth. He pleaded.

"Alright, alright! Consider me scared of you, okay? It's just a bit of intel. I'll tell you, alright?"

Those cool, clear eyes gradually turned icy cold. A murderous aura erupted from Horikita's body and stabbed viciously toward Fuyuji.

[Let go!]

Fuyuji withdrew his palm without changing expression. A ring of warm mist remained on it, slowly dissipating.

"Ahem. This was merely a friendly interaction between friends."

Ignoring Fuyuji's nonsense entirely, the murderous aura around Horikita dispersed. She spoke flatly. "The progress."

"As for progress," Fuyuji settled back into his seat and once again lifted his coffee cup. He blew on it lightly and spoke with a beaming smile, "We're just one step away from winning."

"What do you mean?" Horikita leaned forward, her brow furrowing. Her voice was cold.

Fuyuji extended two fingers. "At most, two more VIPs from other classes need to be identified. Maybe even just one. Then victory in this exam is ours."

Horikita sank into deep thought. The snow-white tablecloth gradually blurred in her vision.

A long moment passed.

She raised her head again and probed tentatively. "Are you saying... the VIPs follow a pattern?"

"Mm, mm." Fuyuji nodded vigorously. "No harm in telling you. That Sakayanagi Arisu of your class already knows this anyway."

"Want to give it a shot? Find your group's VIP. The Dragon Group—I heard from Katsuragi that it's full of troublesome characters. Based on what you said, your class has three, plus Koenji Rokusuke. If you find one more, you can try to deduce the pattern. To be safe, best to find two."

Even so, the remaining VIPs weren't so easy to identify. At present, there was simply no reliable method to confirm who the true VIP was.

"Why are you telling me this?! If I figure it out, won't that be very disadvantageous for your class?"

Horikita's gaze turned skeptical. She suspected Fuyuji was trying to trick her again.

"Because Class A has already identified one extra VIP. Even if we lose from here on out, that's only about a hundred points deducted. Hardly a crippling blow."

Fuyuji spread his hands and shrugged, the picture of utter indifference.

"And haven't I always told you? I'm not really interested in graduating from Class A."

Horikita pressed her lips tightly together and said nothing. The suspicion in her eyes not only didn't diminish—it deepened.

There was definitely a scheme hidden in this!

On the other coffee table.

"Well then... Masumi-san, thank you for accompanying me for coffee. Next time the opportunity arises, I'll invite you out again."

After giving Kamuro an elegant bow, Sakayanagi picked up the cane beside her and turned to leave.

Watching that small, frail figure, Kamuro hesitated again and again. Finally, her lips parted.

"Are you... really going to find him?"

"I am." Sakayanagi nodded without the slightest hesitation. She looked back with a smile full of certainty. "At present, he is my sole amusement in this school."

"You're that confident?" Kamuro asked, her expression complicated.

"Ara~" The smile in Sakayanagi's eyes deepened. "Could it be that Masumi-san thinks I'll lose? I don't mind telling you—I'm already on the verge of winning this match."

No. You've already lost...

Sensing Kamuro's current mood, the smile on Sakayanagi's face grew even more exhilarated. "I had thought that certain someone had simply conceded defeat, given his complete lack of movement. It seems he's been planning something right under my nose. Masumi-san, my anticipation for him only grows—anticipation of exactly what kind of resistance he can mount."

"..."

Kamuro sighed quietly.

Forget it. Even if it's a bit hard on her heart, letting her lose once would be better for her future. Hopefully, that guy will go a little easy on her.

"Think what you want." Kamuro replied listlessly.

"I bid you farewell once more, Masumi-san."

"Bye."

"Not going to say something like 'Don't waste my time by asking me out again' this time?"

"I'm not in the mood right now."

"Rest assured. I'll go easy on him. I won't harm your master. After all, I still wish to negotiate with him and ask for Masumi-san to be handed over to me."

"Heh heh..."

Watching Sakayanagi's figure gradually recede into the distance, Kamuro stood up helplessly and walked over to the other table, sitting down directly.

"So? I told you it wouldn't work, didn't I? Someone like her—until she actually loses, she can't hear anyone's advice."

"I can't refute that."

Fuyuji raised a hand and stroked his pal's head in consolation. "Doesn't matter. For my bro's sake, I'll go a little easy on her."

"Who asked you to do it for my sake?" Kamuro muttered under her breath and reflexively shook off Fuyuji's hand.

Horikita's slender silhouette reflected in Fuyuji's eyes. The two departing girls had run into each other at the exit.

"How rare. Horikita-san, appearing in a place like this? I thought you'd be holed up in your room the entire day again."

"Same to you. I merely arranged to meet someone."

"Even rarer. Horikita-san taking the initiative to ask someone out. Which classmate has such an honor?"

"Just... an ordinary friend. Um... Sakayanagi-san... you promised to lead Class D to victory in this exam. Can you really win?"

"We will win."

The sunlight cast their shadows upon the floor, growing more and more distant...

Win, my ass!

Fuyuji propped his chin on his hand and watched the two departing figures with deep, meaningful eyes.

Had she not seen through it? Or was she deliberately fishing?

Without contracts, achieving Result One for everyone was already impossible.

And because class points in this exam were gained and lost by snatching them from other classes, the competition was even fiercer.

But... who said cooperation between classes was impossible?

Getting all four classes to cooperate at once was indeed difficult. However, there was one class whose class points totaled a mere forty-two.

Even if every last point were deducted, they'd only be docked down to zero.

Furthermore, who said Result One for everyone was the maximum benefit for each class?

Five hundred thousand private points per person. One million for the VIP. Added up, that came to 21.5 million private points per class.

But if six hundred class points were split among three classes—assuming private points weren't in short supply—forty people per class, averaging twenty thousand private points per month, with August now and thirty-two months remaining until graduation from the third year...

That was eight hundred thousand times thirty-two, plus the two million for the VIPs. The total came to 27.6 million private points.

A very simple arithmetic problem, wasn't it?

And this plan didn't even require signing contracts to establish mutual trust. All they needed was to join forces and fabricate a set of seemingly logical patterns, then expose them to Class D.

Even considering it purely from the angle of maximizing the entire grade's benefit—in a situation where Result One was unachievable—sacrificing forty-two class points in exchange for six hundred class points was an absolutely guaranteed, no-loss deal!

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