Komiya: Excuse me... Ryuen-san would like to see you.
His entire demeanor was different than when he was away from his class. We followed him over to the edge of the water.
Suzune: This is outrageous...
Suzune clearly didn't approve of the way Class C was treating this test. She probably took it as a personal insult to everybody else that was actually trying. We made it over to a boy sitting in a chair tanning. I could tell from his hair color that it was Ryuen, but he also had his large bodyguard, Albert, standing nearby.
Ryuen: Were you the one snooping around? What do you want?
Y/N: Some of your classmates invited us, so we came.
Ryuen: We're enjoying summer vacation, as you can see.
Y/N: It sure is... extravagant.
He snickered and stuck his arms behind his head. I looked at Suzune waiting for her to express her disdain for this party. I needed her to do the talking. With Ichinose, it was different because I felt I could trust her. Ryuen, however, couldn't have been further from that. And for that reason, I had to do one simple thing while interacting with him. Stay silent.
Suzune: This is a trial... Do you not know what that means? I'm shocked that you don't understand the rules themselves...
Ryuen: Are you showing humanity to an enemy like me? If the ones on top are ignorant, then those beneath us will deal with the hardships.
Suzune: How much did all of this cost you..?
Ryuen: As if I calculated? Heh, now I wonder myself.
Suzune: Incompetent...
Ryuen: You will do so much and endure so many hardships just for a few meager points. The thought of it makes me laugh.
Suzune: I was a fool to come here on guard.
He sat up.
Ryuen: A fool? Is it me? Or is it you? There's an order to how I do things around here. There can be nothing more or nothing less.
Suzune: I see. Do as you wish, then. This is best for us, anyway.
She turned to walk away.
Suzune: One more thing. You know Ibuki-san, don't you?
Ryuen: She's in our class. What about her?
Suzune: Her face was swollen. What happened to her?
Ryuen: A ruler has no need for disobedient servants. I just issued an appropriate punishment.
**No hesitation... This guy's insane!**
Ryuen: It doesn't matter what happens to Ibuki. I'm not worried about losing any points.
**Even if you were to spend all of your S-points, you can't go into the negatives. From the looks of it, they're already out of points. Ibuki can drop out whenever she wants with no damage done to her class. Maybe I should tell her.**
Suzune: A simplistic way of thinking. You're wasting all the class points we've been offered.
Ryuen: Forget all that and come play with me. I'll prepare a special tent just for us.
I winced. I bit my tongue and refrained from saying anything. Suzune wasn't a pushover, either. She could handle this herself.
Suzune: Let's go, Y/N. Being here is only making me sick.
I stared at Ryuen for a moment as she started to walk off. His eyes followed her and there was a perverse look in them.
Ryuen: We'll talk again, Suzune.
She stopped and looked back at him.
Suzune: I have not given you permission to call me by that name.
Ryuen: It's not like confident women are unpleasant to me. I'll let you submit in front of me, and that'll be the ultimate moment that I savor.
He grabbed his thigh and slowly moved his hand to his groin in a provocative manner. I'd seen enough at this point and didn't want to subject Suzune to this any longer.
Y/N: Okay, let's go.
Ryuen: Come back whenever you want. I'll give you a real taste of heaven.
I walked behind her to keep his eyes off of her, but there was nothing I could do to prevent his verbal attacks. I covered her ears as we walked off. We made it off the beach and she brushed my hands away.
Suzune: Disgusting... Both Ryuen as an individual, and how Class C is treating this test. It's...
She sighed.
Suzune: Class C self-destructing actually benefits us, so whatever.
Y/N: True.
Suzune: You need to conserve where you can or you won't last the whole week.
Y/N: You know, they might actually be on to something...
Suzune: What do you mean?
Y/N: They're going to use up all of their points and then drop out of the test and go back to the boat. Seeing how points can't go into negatives, they technically have nothing to lose.
Suzune: But they won't be gaining, either.
Y/N: They're not as desperate for points as our class is. Maybe their way of handling this test is one of the different ways to go about passing. Ever think about that?
Suzune: It's beyond my comprehension.
**Blowing all of your points and then dropping out, huh? For some reason, that doesn't sound right. With Ibuki around in Class D and Kaneda around in Class B, even if the rest of the C Class drops out, there's still the threat of those two being around. Coincidentally falling into different classes is also a little suspect... I wonder if Class A magically had a C Class student appear.**
Y/N: Should we go find Class A's camp before we head back to our own?
Suzune: We've already gone this far. I don't see why not. From the sound of it, do you have a feeling of where they're set up at?
Y/N: Maybe. There's only really one place I can immediately think of.
I took Suzune through the island to the same cave where Sakura and I found Katsuragi and Yahiko before. It was a spacious cave, and they did already claim it before, so I had a feeling they may have claimed it again. We hid in the bushes and watched from a distance. There was a student keeping watch outside the cave, and the entrance had been blocked by a tarp.
Suzune: We can't see what's going on from here.
Y/N: Let's go look, then.
I got up.
Suzune: W-Wait-
Y/N: You afraid? Why, because it's Class A?
Suzune: What are you trying to do? There's nothing to be gained from revealing ourselves.
Y/N: There's nothing to be gained from watching them at a distance, either. We can't see what's going on in there...
I left our coverage and started walking up to the cave. Suzune decided to follow me anyway despite her being opposed.
Y/N: You didn't have to follow me, you know.
Suzune: I can't have you doing anything reckless.
Y/N: Aw, are you worried about me?
Suzune: I'm worried that you'll do something stupid...
Y/N: I thought you knew me better than that-
Naturally, we were spotted approaching their cave. I couldn't tell from afar, but the student guarding the cave was Yahiko.
Yahiko: Hey! Who are you two? What class are you coming from? What do you want?
Suzune: We came to snoop around. Is there a problem with that?
I squinted and looked over at her. Suzune looked at the cave being covered by a tarp.
Suzune: How underhanded. I'm going in.
She tried to walk past Yahiko and enter the cave. He stuck out his arm and blocked the path.
**The hell? And I was the one about to do something reckless..?**
Yahiko: This place is occupied by Class A. You're not allowed in.
Suzune: Oh? You've taken occupancy of this spot?
Yahiko: That's right. Now leave.
Suzune: But there's no rule saying I can't enter this cave. I can't use a spot that's occupied, but I have the right to see what's inside.
**Seriously, she's hopeless when it comes to talking to people...**
Suzune: What you're doing is monopolization. I think maybe you're the ones breaking the rules.
I grabbed her shoulder.
Y/N: Sorry. What she meant was-
???: What are you doing?
Somebody parted the tarp and exited the cave. It was Katsuragi.
Yahiko: Katsuragi-san!
Katsuragi: I don't recall giving you permission to invite visitors.
Suzune: I just want to see what's inside. I can't imagine how that's against the rules.
Katsuragi: Go ahead and look, then. But be prepared for consequences.
Suzune: Consequences?
Suzune didn't seem intimidated in the slightest, but her way of speaking was too blunt and aggressive. If you weren't used to it, then it would come across as instigating. They probably thought we were provoking them.
Katsuragi: There's no rule against looking around, but touch things even once, and I will report your actions to the school as an obstructive act and have your class... I can't tell what would happen then.
**So extreme! Technically he would be within the rules to do something like that, though.**
Other Class A students that were put gathering supplies began to return to the cave. Before we knew it, we were surrounded.
**There are too many of them, and there's no evidence suggesting that it wasn't intended in a malicious way. It would be our voice against an entire class... It'd be best for us to not even go in that case after all.**
Y/N: We should go, Suzune.
She turned around and started to walk off.
Suzune: Well then, I'm looking forward to seeing the results of Class A's ability.
Katsuragi: It's very powerful. We as well anticipate D class' useless resistance.
I turned and followed her off.
Y/N: They've got a good defense set up to protect that cave, but...
**No matter how hard they tried to hide it, it was clear that whatever they set up inside was enough to live off of. We don't need to know much more.**
Suzune looked over at me as we walked off.
Y/N: What?
Suzune: Have you been taking note of the different locations each class is set up at?
I took out the manual and showed it to her. I had been silently marking the location of each class and other hotspots that we passed.
Suzune: Good. That was the entire point of this scouting out of the island.
Y/N: I wouldn't forget. Thanks for coming with me, by the way.
She looked ahead and didn't say anything. I smiled and just kept walking. Moments of silence between Suzune and me weren't even awkward for me anymore. In fact, they were something I'd come to cherish.
Y/N: Let's head back. I think we're done for today.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
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