"Chance created the situation; Genius made use of it." - Leo Tolstoy.

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing. And the worst thing you can do is nothing." - Roosevelt.

"I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think." - Socrates.

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Since I was disqualified from the exam until now, the day the exam officially ended, I haven't left this room once. Except for fresh air.

The only person to communicate with me was the nurse, doctor, and Alisa. That's it. Well, the range of options isn't that huge. And I would rather live like this than what was about to come next.

Ryueen and the others were probably already sharpening their fangs, but there was me barely at the start of recovering. My body wasn't used to this random break of training, suddenly taking up all the stamina I had.

So people will naturally learn from their mistakes. And so do I, but in all seriousness, if I had actual preparation time against those eight, I doubt that they would have even had a chance in the first place.

I would love a rematch in better conditions, and possibly if I don't have 11 days in a row with no rest to cover up.

But the real question is, how has the exam ended? I accidentally overslept the annunciation of the end, and well, I am curious.

However, I am curious more about one thing... Why are there 4 other people in this room, watching me fake my sleep?

"Finally it's over."
"I waited forever for this."

After I had had enough of faking my sleep, I woke up, pretending I was asleep.

And seems like everyone except Alya fell for it.

"...Morning?"

"Morning Suou-san!" (Kushida)

What's with that honorific?

"Sigh...Morning Kiyotaka." (Alya)

What's with the motivation?

"Slept well?" Horikita gave me a sadistic and mad-looking smile, reminding me of the sad fact that I was still alive.

Everyone except Horikita was quite different from me. Well, Horikita never changes, does she?

But I think all those minor changes she will go through during these 3 years of high school, will add up to a major change.

Let's give her some time.

"So? How's everyone doing?"

"Great! We are all doing fine and it's impressive as hell how this exam turned out, even though there are quite some weird things that happened..." (Sudou)

Who invited him? I want to give that person a medal for inviting him. And where is Akito? That sucker lost the gamble to me.

I got a girlfriend before him. What a loser.

Anyways.

"How did the exam end up, was my question."

"Ah well, we got... First Place! You got it as well..."

Huh? Did Kushida just say that? Does this mean...

"Horikita, you ended up lower than me that is surprising."

"S-Shut up! That was luck!"

"Even though I was gone three days, was alone and still better than you two combined? I don't think I should say it, but there are levels to this game."

"If you are going to continue to brag about this lucky win, I am going to smash my ruler into your skull!"

Even though it was just a joke, Alya had a serious look on her face, her eyebrows flinching and she gave me a death stare. I never knew that she was this scary whilst smiling, but she sure is.

"Yeah yeah... Anyways. Who was second?"

"Class A ended up in second place, quite the miracle to be honest. With that, Class B ended up dead last, shortly followed by third-place Class C, whose points were almost tied with Class A's. A rather great outcome regarding the future." (Kushida)

My plan worked as I predicted it to.

With that, Class D moves up two rankings at once. Pushing Class B down to Class D and C remained at their position just like Class A.

With that, the only changes were that Class D and B swapped their position. And that Class C is now earning fewer private points.

So, regarding the premia, our class gained a huge pool of private points now. I assume Koenji still passed Horikita in the last two days, making the Top 3 a Class D-only party.

I've won, in the most dominant way possible. And with this, good luck Ichinose and Sakayanagi in regaining control.

Because now, I opened up a path for Yuki and Katsuragi, two close allies to me.

And with that, the only class that has not a glimpse of influence by me is Class C.

If it weren't for the fight where I took them down with me.

"I've won..."

"Huh? Isn't that a triumph for us all?" (Kushida)

"Ah yes, that's what I meant. I am not that good with words, I apologize."

No. It was right what I meant earlier. I won. Not the class.

This is overall, a bad outcome for Class D. I have manipulated the outcome to the degree, that it seemed unpredictable for the by-standing person to guess.

They got fooled into thinking that Class D won on its own, yet it was 99% my doing, fueling Horikita-Hirata and Koenji to push further.

I indirectly started a rivalry between, Koenji, Horikta, and Ryueen. But, I think you cannot call this a rivalry. It's just a rivalry like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. It only exists because it was pushed by the media.

Objectively, Bayern is better in every aspect. Yet it still is a choice of preference. But let's put such a heated topic aside. Right now, I guess the questioning will begin.

And well, just looking at Horikita, she wanted to ask a lot.

"Suou-kun. How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"I mean, you ended up first, despite you being all alone after day seven.  And during class or sports, we haven't seen anything tremendous of you." (Horikita)

"Yeah, man! I only found out you are ripped, but that doesn't mean you can handle the exam this easily. Regarding the outcome, it sounded like you faked it and just wanted to skip the process of wasting energy on the island." (Sudou)

I assume that he knew me much better than I thought. And honestly, all these four in front of me, are trusted with knowing who I am.

Should I break it to them? Why shouldn't I? They will find out either way. However, I don't think I should do this with my girlfriend as well.

Alya should get her own more detailed and longer explanation of what it means to be in the white room.

Our fate was settled a long time ago, and she probably doesn't know it yet. I can't blame her for it. A forced engagement is always hard to pass it to a girl. I took it lightly. I was fourteen back then.

But getting told that at 16 or even after graduation when she is 18 or older, she won't take it as lightly as I did.

"Uhm...Well, why are you all ignoring the fact that our class duos were balanced perfectly thanks to Alisa? Why aren't you all mentioning the part where I had a partner, you only mention the four days in which I didn't have one. And you can see that the speed of gaining points slowed down for me and I couldn't last the other seven days alone. If you want to thank somebody for the win, it's Horikita, Hirata, and most importantly your leader, Alisa."

As they quietened down to that, I continued:

"I think what you three are doing right now, is called glazing and cherry-picking at its finest. Please, go on and thank those three rather before thanking me, who hasn't even made it to the end and just followed orders. "

"Kiyotaka..." I didn't know you could get a fever this fast, but judging by the tone of her skin, Alya and Horikita got one insanely fast.

Hm...

"Dang...Smooth with girls, aren't ya?" (Sudou)

Standing up from my bed, I instantly noticed that I had regained all of my strength after three days of good resting.

And well, it was never this easy to stand up from bed in the forenoon. Usually, my dumbass would fall asleep six times throughout that process.

"Where are you going Kiyotaka?" (Alisa)

"To Yuki."

She quickly hurried to my side to assist me in standing, which wasn't needed at all. But I appreciate it, she pulled an adorable move on me.

As we walked out of my room, the other three left as well, we made our way to the lobby, and damn, it was a lot more crowded than usual.

And guess who I saw there. The one and only.

"Rematch fucker?"

Who else but he? Why did he also need to word that out in front of Alya, as if she wasn't worried enough?

Ryueen has a small brain when it comes to reading the situation.

"Not in front of my girlfriend. But you are welcome to try any other time. Maybe you will get out with a scar less than last time. I think I need to remind you how big the difference is between you and me."

"Kukuku! Monster got a girlfriend?"

Why did he look so surprised?

"Please in god's name, shut up and continue whatever the hell you were doing before this. If you need a rematch this desperately, come at me at any time."

As I walked past him, we continued to use the elevator, reaching my sister's floor. And looking at my girlfriend on my left, I immediately noticed that she was confused as hell.

But let's leave it at that.

"...Kiyotaka? What was that about?"

"...Nothing. We just have a complicated friendship. That's all, I guess I will introduce you to him another day. Don't mind that idiot for now."

"Really? He made it sound like you kicked his ass?"

"I did, but that is a topic for another day. Also, don't mention to Yuki what happened to me in the exam, she doesn't need to know this."

"Ah, Kiyotaka, can we then have our first d-date later?"

This request came quite suddenly, how did she get that idea? But I don't think I should mind, getting experience early is better than later.

Even though it doesn't matter because we have shared the past already, without her even knowing.

And honestly, I am still unsure. What should I do grandfather? Why always me though?

"Sure. But for now, I have some things to talk about with my sister. By the way, since when have you docked back on the cruiser?"

"Uhm...since three hours or so?"

"That's fine. Alright, give me a minute. You could go and buy yourself a drink, this is a rather private talk between me and her."

"S-See you then."

As Alisa headed off, I knocked on the door to my sister's room, and it didn't take long for her to open. She looked a little tired, but still pleased and chill.

She opened the door wide enough for me to enter and gave me a weaker smile than usual. Her room was tidy, but her bed told me she was sleeping earlier and I likely was the reason she woke up.

Should I apologize for that? No. Merely because it's my sister.

"Yuki, have I cut in your sleep?"

"No...Not at all, I was awake for several hours but was too sluggish to do something productive. How about you?"

To be sincere, the time she took between the bell ring and the door being unlocked was insanely short. So it does sound pretty plausible.

"Same but I was a little more shaping. Pretty weird outcome right?"

"Honestly, what do you want my class to do... It's like bringing a knife to a gunfight..."

"Nice phrasing. But I think you could've done considerably better if everyone in your class tried. Moving down two ranks at once is quite bad. But you are still not far from either, Class C or B."

They aren't. Class A is a long way, if you finish from Class D or B, it doesn't matter if you didn't finish from Class A, you are a failure.

Class A is at around 750 CP.
New Class B is at around 600 CP.
Class C is at around 500, and finally, the new Class D is at around 480 Points.

I didn't know that expulsions result in 150 lost class points. But apparently, they do. Thus Class A demoted strongly. This means, that one special exam could turn it around, or it could result in Class A being uncatchable.

To prevent such from happening, I decided to step into the events, securing a good future for any class.

"It's weird to know that I am now in Class D and now you are a Class B student... Kiyotaka, since you showed off at the exam, a lot of students in my class began to pay more attention to you, and in little to no time, they will start investigating you."

It's no wonder. But, it was all Chabashira's deal that began this, I simply could've let Yamauchi get expelled, but I chose the vastly complicated route.

It will be hard to remove that mistake from my score, but it's going to happen anyway.

"That's no problem. If they want to ruin their hope and mentality by finding out that I am specially trained since birth for things like those, they will have their fun."

"Sigh...The frog in the well doesn't know the depth of the ocean it seems. Kiyotaka, you still do not understand how cruel the future can be to you and the ones around you, it would have been better for them to find out in our third year or not even find out in the first place. Think about Alya. She cares for you, I hope you know that. I doubt she could live with the reality that you are quite some...machinery."

I know that, Yuki. I may not know the depth of the ocean, but I know the vastness of the sky. When it comes to the white room, it's different.

She doesn't understand the true capability of being part of the white room. Politicians, world companies, cults, Militaries. All these will probably come knocking at my door with inhuman sums, having me work for them with a salary of high nine figures.

Millions of dollars flooded into the bank account of one eighteen-year-old.

Because having someone with my capabilities as an army general, for example, is a cheat code in terms of tactical moves.

The same goes for engineering, propaganda, stocks...

However, I just want a peaceful life.

"I know, Yuki. And that's why I am here. I believe that there is much to tell you about the white room era. Let me start. How much hope do you have of graduating as a Class A?"

"...In the beginning, I was optimistic and thought that you couldn't move the entire year by yourself. But as of now, after you proved me wrong, and turned the entire class rankings upside down, I am confident in saying that you will end up winning."

Not only that, but she shouldn't forget the fact that I did all this with such a weakened class. In one year or two, I doubt that I would even need to help out, they will evolve into a never-stopping machine.

"Don't overestimate me, Yuki. Besides, who said that only I will win? And who defined that graduating from Class A is a win for me? My goals aren't comprehensible for someone like you. Don't worry, I don't think you will regret joining this school."

Besides, if there is one thing I am good at, then it's faking my identity. I believe, that with little to no effort, I could fool the media into believing it has never happened, possibly setting my family free from the pressure.

I am an Ayanokouji after all, so why shouldn't I be able to pull that off off? After all, I can do the same things my father did, but with a much more safe and secure approach.

If it took the world fourteen years to figure out what my father was doing in the shadows, how would they find out what I would be doing? And abusing the fact that humans are stupid enough to believe that I wouldn't create anything similar to the white room, just because I "might be traumatized" is funny, and makes it just even easier.

"Kiyotaka. Have you recovered? I was quite troubled the day I got the message that you lost consciousness and got brought back to the ship. Was that intentional or..."

Sigh...Having a sibling who knows how you work is painful. Why does she believe that I am a machine that never quits running? Or one that has the actual motivation to score above the mark.

I could easily do that, but honestly, I don't have the motivation for that. But what I am more curious about, is what Chabashira wants from me now.

"Yes, it was intentional. I forced myself into retirement because I thought I wouldn't need any more time. If I kept on fighting until the end, the difference would have even grown bigger and bigger, to the point that the second place would have been closer to last than to me."

"Are you mocking us now, or are you being brutally honest?"

"Is both an option?"

I mean, I like mocking them and I am brutally honest at the same time. I just wanted to show that I am superior.

"Sigh...I haven't talked to Alya since she retired, and I am still not convinced by your relationship with her either. Are you sure she wasn't forced into that? I mean, it's quite weird to imagine my brother with a girlfriend-"

It was of no use to waste any time anymore. Alya has been waiting for ages, and I am here wasting time, which means I should rather just jump to the topic that I wanted to talk with her about.

"Yuki. I came here for a rather serious conversation. Not for some weird chit-chat. Sigh... Lately, since I am back on the ship, I have been notified by the chairman that something weird is happening around the school."

"Huh? What do you mean, Kiyotaka."

"Just before the island exam, I felt a little more watched lately. To make sure of it, I decided to set up some traps for anybody keeping an eye on me."

And I believe that it was the right decision to make.

"So? Any results as of now? I am not the one stalking you for sure."

"I know."

"Believe me- Wait...What?"

As she looked at me in confusion, her brain started to melt down slowly, it was just too much information at once.

"On the eighth day of the exam, right after Alisa retired, I went on to notice that whenever I was approaching the northern part of the island, somebody was watching me. To make sure it was a student, I bought the GPS radar and saw there it was the staff."

"Wait a second. Does that mean that the teachers were keeping an eye on you? Why would they, except they know about the white room... But they already do, so why even bother? Means...."

"Right, it wasn't just the regular teacher we are talking about. And after confirming things with the Chairman, it happened to be someone who was an old acquaintance of mine. One from that time."

As she was pretty confused by it, the gears began shifting inside her head, clearing herself up.

"So somebody is after you again?"

"Seems like it. If you ever find out about anything regarding the white room, then tell me. If you see something, say something. And I guess I know damn well who he is."

That person is here, to get me back. To resume operations even after my father's imprisonment. And this is no good news they left me for last.

After two years, they finally started to hunt me down, just to specify that I was visiting this school.

This school is a hazardous zone since it's insanely well-surveilled by the government. Pulling something weird on here is quite risky, so they tried to kick me out with internet techniques.

"You think you will win?"

"I cannot imagine myself ever having trouble with winning in something. Besides, you can lean back and watch, I will pull out of the class competitions temporarily. Do something impressive in the meantime. I want some entertainment."

"Will do so. Also, you have places to be, right?"

"Right. See you another time, Yuki. If you need something, call me. I have a lot less time open for you lately, but trust the process."

"Sure! Keep care Kiyotaka."

"Also,