COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

In the early morning, upon the ink-blue sea, the luxury cruise ship cleaved through the waves, carving a white trail of water in its wake.

The sky in the distant east gradually brightened. The edges of the clouds seeped with hues of orange. The sun slowly leaped above the sea's surface, and golden light instantly spilled across the ocean and sky. Waves danced and sparkled beside the ship's hull.

In the waters ahead, scattered points of light appeared. Slowly, as the cruise ship advanced, the lights swiftly merged into a dense cluster of glimmering specks. The vast silhouette of the Tokyo metropolis loomed faintly, half-visible, within the early morning mist.

After two weeks of sailing across the sea, this luxury cruise ship had once again returned to the skies above Tokyo Bay.

Inside the Class A conference room, aboard the luxury cruise ship.

Fuyuji propped his chin on one hand, his upper body leaning back slightly as he scrutinized the plump pigeon before him with keen interest. The bird's gaze was growing increasingly sharp.

"Clearly, only a few days have passed. Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in ages? And... how did you get fat again?"

Eyes brimming with fury, Wild Pigeon abruptly spread its wings. With a sharp smack, it smacked the outstretched hand away. Then, with a fluttering whoosh, it launched itself straight at Fuyuji's face.

"Coo!" (You tell me!!)

Thinking back to a few days ago—a certain someone had returned from the deserted island. He'd looked at the plump pigeon in its cage, then looked at the various lavish, free services aboard the ship. With a casual toss, he'd handed it over to the girls in class to look after. Only when it was nearly time to disembark did he remember he still had a pigeon.

"Coo!" (Is our friendship over?! Is MEGA evolution over?!)

Wild Pigeon, without any formal instruction, unleashed a Divine Bird Assault.

"I was wrong! I was wrong! I won't do it again!" Fuyuji fled, clutching his head, with the pigeon in hot pursuit.

Inside the conference room, the Class A students watched Fuyuji dashing about in every direction without the slightest surprise.

After all, this was that person. A few eccentric quirks were perfectly normal.

And he was, more importantly, their side's big shot—no pressure could be applied.

However...

With a synchronized whoosh, the crowd collectively turned their gazes upon Katsuragi and launched a verbal assault one after another.

"Katsuragi! Why did you give those 50 class points to Class B?! Wouldn't it have been better to keep them for ourselves?!"

"Cooperating with Class B is one thing, but why didn't we take the chance to seize Class C's 150 points while we were at it?! That way, we could've widened the gap with the lower classes even further!"

"What kind of leader are you?! Why didn't you dissuade Fuyuji-san?! If you'd just gotten on your knees and begged him, he definitely would've agreed to strike harder!"

...

Katsuragi: "..."

The truth was, he himself had only learned the full scope of the plan yesterday morning. All he could say was—until the very last moment, you could never guess what exactly Fuyuji was thinking.

As for Class B—they had contributed a considerable amount of effort in this special exam. Since they chose to honor their commitment, Class A was naturally willing to share a portion of the benefits.

As for Class C...

Katsuragi let out a long sigh and covered his forehead in helplessness.

This one was indeed his fault.

Still, he made no attempt to defend himself. In this exam, aside from taking one black pot on Fuyuji's behalf, he had coasted through the entire thing from start to finish.

On the deserted island, he'd at least helped coordinate the class's daily operations. In the VIP exam, he'd spent the whole time in the Dragon Group alongside Ryuen and a few others, locked in a fierce struggle against thin air.

Beside him, Hashimoto rubbed his chin and spoke to Kito with a tinge of jealousy.

"In this special exam, Fuyuji-san told you the full scope of the plan but not me. And back then, the two of us pledged allegiance together. Now that bastard Ryuen is still hunting me down everywhere."

Kito, leaning in the corner, cast him a silent glance.

What do you think?

"Ma, ma. Just joking." Hashimoto, having swiftly conceded defeat in their staring contest, raised a hand and laughed. "After all, our roles are different. Still..." He rubbed his chin, a bit puzzled. "With Ryuen's personality, he actually did nothing this time?"

...

On the other side. Inside the Class C exclusive meeting center—a KTV booth.

"Ryuen. What exactly happened in this exam? Did you do something?" Ibuki Mio stood beside him and came straight to the point.

Knowing Ryuen Kakeru as she did, there was no way he would have done absolutely nothing in this exam.

Ryuen leaned both hands on the back of the sofa. He unlocked his phone and tossed it onto the table, grinding his teeth.

"See for yourself..."

"Hm?" Ibuki leaned her head over with curiosity.

[Katsuragi Kohei: Don't move, Ryuen!]

Immediately after, three names were sent in succession below.

"This... could it be..." Ibuki's pupils experienced an earthquake. She stared at the screen's contents in utter shock.

"Our class's damned VIP list!"

With a thunderous bang, Ryuen slammed his fist heavily into the wall beside him. His voice was thick with utter, seething grievance.

Never before had an exam made him feel so utterly powerless.

No threats allowed. No underhanded tricks. And in the end, he himself had been threatened by the other side! There was nothing—nothing—he could do!

From beginning to end, the entire exam had been manipulated like a marionette on strings. He could only follow the other side's rhythm.

Even those 150 class points had been given to him out of charity—as if merely to make the point totals from Class A to Class C look neat and tidy. What a monumental disgrace!

And even now, he still couldn't figure out exactly how the other side had pulled it off.

And one more thing...

Ryuen's teeth ground together audibly. He forced a sentence through clenched teeth.

"Damn you, Hashimoto Masayoshi!"

To think—back then, he'd been so sure he had Hashimoto in the palm of his hand. Turns out, he was the one who'd been had. He'd even given him an extra 200,000 private points on top of it. And he'd been so gleeful at the time.

Now, looking back... his lungs were practically exploding with rage!

In the corner of the KTV, Shiina Hiyori sat quietly in her chair. Contrary to her usual self, she wasn't flipping through any books. Instead, she held her phone in her hands, quietly stroking it...

Her violet eyes reflected the square, upright shape of the phone like the surface of a lake.

Her intuition told her that her deduction should be correct. Every action taken by Class A also indirectly corroborated that deduction.

But Mister Watson... how exactly did he pull it off?

And how was she supposed to face him from now on?

At this thought, Shiina couldn't help but tighten her grip on her phone. Her eyes lowered. A wave of unease stirred within her heart.

Just then, the phone in her palm gave a sudden buzz.

[Fuyuji Mikage: Shiina-san, how about we go to the library and read together in a bit? I still haven't finished that book from last time—'The Last Coyote.' If I don't finish it today, I won't be able to read it anymore once we're back at school.]

"..."

Shiina stared blankly at the text message on the phone screen. Then, she turned off the screen and slowly brought the phone close to her chest. She murmured.

"Far too cunning... Mister Watson..."

"Buzz—!" Another message came through.

[Fuyuji Mikage: If you still want to find that Mister Moriarty, I can help. I think that Koenji Rokusuke from Class D is very suspicious. Next time, you could have Ryuen test him out.]

A warm, radiant smile blossomed across Shiina's face. She moved her phone and nimbly tapped out a reply.

[Shiina Hiyori: Mister Moriarty—I will find him and catch him. Mister Watson, there are still over two more years ahead. Will you accompany me?]

...

At the same time. The Class B conference room.

Facing the burning gazes of the entire Class B student body, Ichinose Honami sat upright in her chair as if sitting on pins and needles. Her fingers lightly scratched her cheek as she laughed sheepishly. "The results of this exam were pretty good, weren't they? Our class also achieved a great result. Everyone should be happy."

"That's not what we're talking about!"

Ichinose's close friend, Amikura Mako, stepped forward and grasped Ichinose's hand. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Why did Honami-chan have to go put on that act with the Class A weirdo?! Even if you didn't, it wouldn't have affected the outcome, right?"

"Because... because..." Ichinose maintained her signature warm smile, but her gaze drifted evasively toward the ceiling. "Because that way, Sakayanagi-san would believe it even more."

Liar...

The entire Class B student body echoed in unison within their hearts. At the same time, they felt a twinge of heartache. Their own Class President Ichinose—had actually learned to deceive her classmates!

Beside her, Shiranami Chihiro's face twitched. She clutched the phone in her hand with a sense of humiliation.

In this exam, she herself had actually delivered an assist to that guy.

That Koenji-san from Class D—it was precisely because he had correctly guessed her that he chose to end the group's exam.

And because of that incident, Sakayanagi-san had taken her first step into Fuyuji's trap—and from there, had only sunk deeper and deeper, never once doubting her own judgment.

She was so frustrated~

"After all... the plan Class A proposed in this exam was indeed perfect."

Seeing Ichinose completely surrounded, the other person privy to the plan, Kanzaki Ryuji, stepped forward at the right moment to smooth things over.

"To demonstrate their sincerity, they also told us the SIM card swapping method ahead of time. Naturally, we couldn't very well break our word and stab them in the back."

In a situation where the school had forbidden contracts, Class B—which had always maintained a good reputation—held a tremendous advantage. That was precisely why Class A had taken the initiative to seek them out for cooperation. It was also a good start.

As an added bonus, he had also achieved another objective.

At this thought, Kanzaki's gaze grew solemn.

Class A... had actually come up with that kind of stratagem in less than half a day.

Could Katsuragi really have thought of that?

Kanzaki, who had been in the same group as Katsuragi for the past several days, swiftly arrived at his conclusion.

Most likely not.

Katsuragi was very capable, but he probably couldn't have devised such a scheme. Therefore, Class A absolutely possessed a combat asset above and beyond Katsuragi.

As for who that person was...

The corner of Kanzaki's mouth twitched. For reasons unknown, a certain overly familiar dark shadow surfaced in his mind.

If it truly was that guy... he would be a hundred times harder to deal with than Katsuragi.

After all, he was far too shameless...

...

The medical center of the luxury cruise ship was located on the upper deck. Rather than a sickroom, it more closely resembled a tranquil ocean-view suite.

Beyond the massive panoramic porthole stretched the boundless azure sea and sky. Sunlight streamed through the clear glass, casting shimmering, rippling patches of light upon the soft carpet.

The air carried almost none of the pungent scent of disinfectant common to hospitals. There was only the clean, fresh air delivered by the air conditioning system and a faint, barely perceptible trace of sea salt.

Within this quiet, serene atmosphere, the doll-like, exquisitely delicate girl's long lashes fluttered faintly several times, like the wings of a butterfly. She slowly opened her eyes. A pristine, unfamiliar white ceiling reflected in her gaze.

"Haah~"

Sakayanagi Arisu let out a long breath. Laboriously, she propped up her slender upper body with her elbows and leaned against the bedside.

I lost... Completely and utterly.

No matter how many times she opened her eyes, what she saw was this sickroom scene—not some dreamscape.

She reached out and silently pressed a hand over her chest. A dull, heavy sensation transmitted back.

So this... is what losing feels like?

A single exam had cost her everything she had accumulated in this school.

Right now, Class D was probably already in complete chaos. The majority of the subordinates she had gathered under her would no longer heed her orders.

The phone beside her bed suddenly rang out, its chime echoing through the entire sickroom.

Sakayanagi picked up the phone. Despite the increasingly piercing ringtone, she quietly stared at the contact name displayed on the screen.

A long moment passed.

Slender fingers pressed down. The phone was held to her ear. She spoke in a low voice.

"Father..."

"How is your body feeling?" A refined, cultured voice came through from the other end of the line.

"There's nothing serious anymore. The doctor said it was merely a bit of emotional fluctuation."

"I was asking about how you feel. Naturally, I already know what the doctor said. If it's painful... come home."

A gust of sea breeze swept in. The curtains lifted. The faint rustling sound of fabric being pulled followed in its wake.

A moment later, Sakayanagi's gaze subconsciously chased the swaying light and shadow. Then she lowered her head and looked at the pristine white thin blanket draped over her legs. She shook her head gently.

"No."

"Arisu." The voice on the other end suddenly turned grave. "Didn't you promise me before that the moment you felt unwell, you would immediately come home?"

"But I feel very comfortable right now, Father."

Having said this, Sakayanagi turned her head and gazed out the window. "I've now discovered... that life at Advanced Nurturing High School is still very interesting."

A long, heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone.

"Is it because of this exam?"

"Mm." Sakayanagi's hand subconsciously pressed against the spot over her heart. She murmured. "I lost quite miserably, Father."

"Originally, that student should have been assigned to Class D. Because you insisted on going to Class D to find that child of Ayanokouji-sensei's—in order to balance the talent numbers across the classes, there was no choice but to transfer one student from Class D to Class A. As a result, it created the current situation where Class A dominates completely."

"So it was actually because of me." A bitter smile surfaced at the corner of Sakayanagi's lips. Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she hurriedly raised her head and spoke into the phone. "Oh, right, Father. In the upcoming exams—you must not make things difficult for him!"

"Rest assured. No matter what, your father still prides himself as an educator. That child didn't use any despicable methods. He defeated you fair and square. I won't trouble him." The refined voice paused. "Furthermore, even before the exam had ended, he anonymously called the ship's doctor for you. That's why you woke up so quickly."

To think... he had even calculated this step...

Sakayanagi silently recited in her heart. The fluttering rhythm within her palm quickened once more.

"Arisu, right now, you must want to know his identity. This student is also someone you—"

"No need."

Sakayanagi suddenly interrupted the answer she was about to receive. She slowly turned her head and gazed out the window.

At the same time, a group of students appeared on the deck. They leaned together against the railing, gazing with intense fervor toward the other side of the sea.

The man-made island of Advanced Nurturing High School stood silently upon the sea. The early morning sunlight spread evenly across the sky above the entire campus. The tall teaching buildings were the first to be illuminated. Pale golden light blanketed the grey rooftops and smooth walls. Then came the sports field, the grassy lawns, the man-made lake...

The entire Advanced Nurturing High campus reflected in Sakayanagi's eyes.

"There are still three years ahead. I will encounter him again sooner or later. I only wonder... does he enjoy playing chess?"

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