Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 138: Ryuen: Damn, my underwear got exposed!

“The evidence has indeed been received.”

After Kaneda and Ibuki arrived, Katsuragi came over.

He then took the camera from Kaneda’s hand.

This was was provided by Class D.

After all Class D’s 300 initial points were difficult to fully spend, so it was acceptable to use some of them here.

Then,

He looked at the camera.

His lackey, Totsuka Yahiko, was also with him, and the two of them were looking at the camera Kaneda had provided.

“Since the students of Class C went to Class B the next day, I could only take this kind of photo,” Kaneda said. “But it can be confirmed, the leader of Class B is her.”

The photo Kaneda provided was of Class B’s Shiranami Chihiro swiping her card.

Ibuki also provided a camera.

It also captured the act of swiping the card.

But,

“Katsuragi!”

It was Totsuka Yahiko who checked Ibuki’s camera, then enlarged the photo and handed it to Katsuragi.

Katsuragi nodded.

“You’ve done a good job. The deal with your Class D has worked out,” Katsuragi said. “So, what are your plans next?”

“Right now, the supplies are abundant, and Class A can also provide some to you.”

“So, you can choose to stay for now,” Katsuragi said. “But I’ll make this clear: if you stay, you’ll have to wait until the exam is over before leaving. If you leave early, I’ll consider it a breach of our deal.”

In other words, Katsuragi was willing to take in Ibuki and the others, but as a cautious person, he was also concerned about his class’s leader information being leaked, so he directly intercepted Ibuki and the others.

“I don’t need that,” Ibuki directly shook her head. “I’m going back to the ship.”

“I’m the same,” Kaneda said. “Since the deal is done, there’s no need to stay.”

“Fine,” Katsuragi nodded. He then looked at the two Class A students.

The two Class A students hurried to follow, making sure that Ibuki and Kaneda were heading back to the beach to forfeit.

This was Katsuragi’s careful approach.

However,

After some slight consideration, Katsuragi did not pass the evidence captured on the camera to his classmates.

Although he did think his class’s academic abilities were great,

But now it was only the fourth day, and there were still two and a half days until the exam ended.

So it’s better to be cautious when possible.

However,

“Katsuragi, it seems like Ryuen’s class is quite strong,” Yahiko said.

He was checking the camera submitted by Ibuki, which had captured a picture of Hachiman Hachiman and Koenji going to swipe a strongholds together.

The photo showed Koenji swiping the card.

It also clearly showed the card’s face.

The name “Koenji Rokusuke” was prominently displayed on the card.

And since Yahiko was the leader, he was very familiar with the authenticity of leader cards.

He could confirm that the card Koenji swiped was indeed the real leader card.

At the same time, since this was a camera, it couldn’t be photoshopped.

So the keycard Ibuki took a picture of was indeed from Class C.

“This time their class occupied over 300 points from strongholds, and it can finally be cleared!” Yahiko exclaimed, as if venting his frustration.

“Hachiman Hachiman is someone valued by Sakayanagi,” Katsuragi said, “And the student council president has also offered him a position in the student council.”

“So I didn’t underestimate him.”

“Indeed, he’s a smart person, even more sharp than I am in gaining an advantage in this exam.”

“But in the end, victory won’t be on their side,” Katsuragi said.

Katsuragi was a cautious person.

In fact, on the first day when Class A couldn’t find any free strongholds, he and Yahiko had waited patiently to confirm that Koenji was the leader.

Just to be cautious, he hadn’t confirmed it immediately, but now Ibuki had provided the photo.

So now he could be completely at ease.

For this exam,

Class A’s 220 initial points + 18 points from strongholds + 50X2 (correctly guessing BC class leaders) = 338 points.

Although they had signed a deal with Ryuen, exchanging 300 points of class evaluation for resources,

Looking at the final points they would gain, it was still quite good.

…

Meanwhile,

Only 15 minutes away from Class A’s camp,

In a forest,

This area wasn’t a strongholds.

But two figures were meeting here.

To be exact, it was a transaction.

“Yo, you came quite fast,” Ryuen, who had been leaning against a tree, suddenly spoke.

“After all, it’s a transaction worth 1.5 million personal points,” the other person said.

Wearing a red tracksuit, tall and slim with good looks, it was the class representative of Class A, Masayoshi Hashimoto.

He had once joined Katsuragi’s faction, then switched to Sakayanagi’s faction.

Before the deserted island exam, he had already become one of Sakayanagi Arisu’s right-hand men.

“I didn’t say 1.5 million, I said 1 million,” Ryuen replied.

“Well, considering I’m taking a huge risk, I had to increase it by 500,000 to give you the leader’s information,” Hashimoto said.

“Then you’re really trash,” Ryuen commented.

Because Hashimoto had come to reveal the leader’s information of his class.

Class A had Katsuragi, making it difficult to place spies inside.

So, the only option was to bribe Class A’s students.

Ryuen had arranged for Ibuki to play a role on the ship, but that was meant to deceive Hachiman and the others in Class C, while he had also put effort into dealing with Class A.

So, Hashimoto was his informant.

“Don’t you worry about your class falling behind?” Ryuen asked.

“This time, Class B is consuming their initial points, and their leader’s information was leaked, so they won’t be able to recover. And since Class C’s leader’s information was also leaked, their stronghold points will be erased as well.”

“So, even if Class A’s leader’s information gets leaked, Class A will still be the winner of this exam,” Hashimoto said. “Losing by 50 points is not really losing.”

Losing by 50 points isn’t considered a loss?

Then Hashimoto continued,

“This school is all about strength, so having enough personal points is really important, and Ryuen, you’ve realized this too, so you gave up gaining points this time and chose to prioritize points instead, right?”

“Seems like you have quite the ambition,” Ryuen said upon hearing that.

Hashimoto was willing to sell out his own class for 1 million points.

This action showed that Hashimoto was gathering points, aiming to collect 20 million, and once he had 20 million, no matter if his current class dropped, he could still graduate as part of Class A.

He was an ambitious person.

“And,” Hashimoto said. “In our current class, instead of focusing on gaining class points, what’s more important is securing personal points.”

“I believe that even though we lose a little bit of class points now, as long as Sakayanagi leads us, we can quickly recover them,” Hashimoto said.

“Sakayanagi, huh,” Ryuen thought back to when, in a previous exam, Sakayanagi had wanted to sell him the new test and have his class vote for her in the student council president election.

At that time, Ryuen had refused.

But he didn’t deny that Sakayanagi indeed had some skills.

However, it was also unfortunate.

Sakayanagi’s health wasn’t great, so she didn’t even come to the deserted island exam.

Ryuen had also received news that, apart from the deserted island exam, there would be another exam once they returned to the ship.

This was why he immediately chose to cooperate with Class A during the deserted island exam, letting Class A take over. He still had a backup plan and some possibilities for attack.

“The transaction was successful,” Ryuen said. “The 1 million will be given to you once we return to school.”

Ryuen had allied with Class A, but he hadn’t given up on the guessing of the leader identities.

He already knew the leaders of Classes B and C. If he could get the leader’s information from Class A, he would be able to earn a total of 150 points!

Hmph.

With an initial 300 points, he would be able to keep 200 points for himself as equivalent living expenses.

So,

Class D would be the ultimate winner this time.

…

Ryuen would be the final winner.

“Ibuki and Kaneda from Class D have forfeited.”

“Our classmates saw them together heading to the beach, and after they greeted the teacher, they boarded a small boat back to the ship.”

The two representatives from Class B directly ran to Class C’s camp and spoke to Hachiman, who was sitting by the campfire, watching corn roasting.

It seemed they rushed to get here, but Ichinose’s physical condition was poor, and she was out of breath.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki was in good shape, but his face looked unpleasant.

Clearly, the current situation was unexpected for them.

Horikita was silent for a while, but because her body had recovered, and she was in good spirits, stood up and spoke.

“Did Kaneda, whom your class took in, also leave?”

And there was something to consider in her phrasing.

The key word was “also.”

Previously, Hachiman, Horikita, and Kushida had gone to their class to seek cooperation.

They had pointed out that Ibuki and Kaneda were spies arranged by Ryuen.

So, they had been asked to be cautious.

Even if the leader’s identity was leaked, it could be remedied. But from their expressions, it seemed they were still hesitating.

“Can we speak privately?” Hachiman stood up and asked.

There was only a campfire here, and besides him and Horikita, several other classmates were present.

Many of them were watching the corn roasting.

And Kushida, because of the incident with her underwear being stolen earlier in the morning, was still in a bad mood, staying in the tent. Her close friend, Wang Mei-yu, was talking with her.

“Of course.” Ichinose nodded quickly.

So, Hachiman, Horikita, and Kanzaki, along with Ichinose, walked toward the forest.

“This morning, Koenji and I went to the strongholds.”

“Koenji noticed someone taking pictures.”

“Then Ibuki suggested leaving,” Hachiman said. “She left at 8:20 AM.”

“And when did you find out that Ibuki and Kaneda had forfeited?” Hachiman asked. “The current time is already 12:20.”

“…??”

Kanzaki and Ichinose looked at him in surprise.

Although they had compassionate hearts, they weren’t idiots.

Ichinose reacted first. “Hachiman, you mean that after Ibuki left your class, she went to meet someone else, right?”

“She might have gone to see Katsuragi from Class A, or she might have gone to see Ryuen,” Hachiman said.

“Ryuen… is he still on the island?” Kanzaki furrowed her brows.

“The leader of Class D should be Ryuen. Our main base is only a 50-minute walk from Class A’s base, so if Ibuki has exited now, the timing doesn’t add up. It can only mean she went to see Ryuen,” Hachiman said. “So, if your class’s leader information is leaked, our class won’t guess your class, but Class A and Class D will definitely guess yours.”

“That means the loss will be 100 points.”

“…” X2

The two representatives from Class B immediately fell silent.

At first, Kaneda had left, and they had been reminded that Kaneda was a spy, making it difficult to handle.

Kaneda’s departure also made them consider that Class A might guess the leader’s identity.

That would result in a 50-point deduction.

But now, they suddenly felt the situation had gotten serious.

It was already the fourth day on the island, and they still had two and a half more days to go. Their class’s remaining initial points were 212 points.

After the consumption of the next two and a half days, they would be left with 170 points.

If Class A and Class D then guessed the leader identities, those 170 points would be reduced by 100 points.

That would mean they’d have to guess the leaders of both Class A and Class D.

Otherwise, after a week of effort, saving points, and mutual assistance, they would end up with only 70 points by the end of the exam, which would be a terrible result.

“So, has your class’s leader information been leaked?” Hachiman asked.

But Ichinose gently shook her head, then nodded.

Kanzaki showed a bitter smile.

“Can’t be sure.”

“Because Kaneda has always been very enthusiastic in class, there was no obvious sign of any abnormalities.”

“But, it’s also possible that he had already discovered the leader’s identity, and then… deliberately went undercover.”

Kanzaki actually used the word “undercover.”

This also indicated that Class B, the so-called “angel class,” had been taught a lesson this time. They were starting to develop some caution.

“Then according to the original plan,” Hachiman said, “On the evening of the sixth day, I will tell you the leader information for Classes A and D. Even if your leader is guessed by Classes A and D, you can offset the points deduction for this part.”

“And just to be safe…”

“I suggest you change the leader.”

“As for Koenji, I don’t think he’s given up on himself or injured his body these past two days.”

“So, he should catch some snakes and then prepare to swipe the strongholds points for the last time on the sixth day, and then choose to be bitten by a snake and forfeit,” Hachiman said. “And…”

“Although this is an artificial island, there are still snakes or beans.”

In other words, Hachiman recommended a change of leader based on the rule that “a change of leader is impossible without a valid reason.”

But each of these options comes at the cost of the leader’s physical discomfort.

So, in order to avoid having the leader’s identity guessed Shiranami would have to pay the price.

“But,” Ichinose said, “It doesn’t necessarily mean the leader’s identity has been leaked.”

There was no evidence proving that their leader’s identity had been leaked, nor was there any evidence proving that it hadn’t been leaked.

For them, it was a Schrödinger’s situation.

If the leader’s identity hadn’t been leaked, and Shiranami forfeit, then it would have been a loss for her.

Ichinose couldn’t bear to see her classmate get hurt like this.

“Indeed, we still need to go back and discuss this matter properly,” Kanzaki said, his brows furrowing as he thought.

What he was thinking was that this time, the leader’s choice was Shiranami Chihiro, who was somewhat introverted and tended to cry a lot.

A timid girl like her was better suited for protection, not bullying.

If it were any male student, or if Kanzaki himself were the leader, he would be willing to accept the injury as proposed by Hachiman.

Kanzaki Ryuji was not someone who liked to talk much, but if you got to know him, you’d realize he was a very kind and gentle person.

Ichinose had excellent entrance exam results, but she thought Kanzaki’s results were also not bad. Since the class had elected her as class president, Kanzaki had become the vice-president.

This time, Kanzaki had also been involved in accepting Kaneda, so he felt responsible.

“Thank you for your advice,” Kanzaki said. “At the latest, we will make a decision the day after tomorrow.”

“Then may I ask how you will make your decision?” Horikita Suzune suddenly asked at this moment.

Horikita had also walked into the small forest, with Hachiman speaking throughout the process.

Horikita’s cold had already recovered, and she was in a good mental state.

So now, she was paying attention.

However, her question immediately lowered the mood.

Because who’s so direct like this?

If Kushida was here, she would probably complain inside that Hachiman was a straight-up guy, and Horikita was a straight-up girl.

“Well, I guess…” Ichinose hadn’t expected Horikita to be so direct.

But since Horikita often acted alone or with Hachiman, and Ichinose had interacted with Horikita before, she knew that Horikita didn’t have much of a hidden agenda.

She was a straightforward girl.

So, she said, “We’ll inform the class about the possible leak of the leader’s identity, then hold a vote on whether we should replace the leader.”

“Of course, the most important thing is Shiranami’s opinion.”

In other words, it was complete democracy.

Horikita nodded and remembered Ichinose’s response.

She was assigned to Class D, but because she was sick this time, she hadn’t contributed much.

However, she felt… if she could earn points, she would be willing to get hurt or sick.

After all, her belief in reaching Class A was strong.

Although this class had disappointed her.

As long as they could get the class into Class A, even if it might not be stable, it would still be a miracle for this school.

Then perhaps she could gain her brother’s approval.

However,

Suzune was also thinking about her future.

This time, Hachiman made a deal with Class B, earning points.

So, perhaps in future exams, if there’s an opportunity, she could also collect some points. If she gathers 20 million points, she could choose to transfer classes.

If she could transfer classes, she could choose to move to the current Class A or the B class, which only slightly lags behind Class A in terms of composition of talents.

Then, she would still have to engage in intense class competition.

So, it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about these popular classes.

Of course, these were just speculations at the moment.

Horikita’s personal account was still very clean, with no more than 200,000 points.

After consulting Ichinose, she remained silent.

“If it’s just democracy, then your class might not be able to make a decision on replacing the leader,” Hachiman said. “Kushida and your classmates have interacted with Kaneda and think everyone is like little angels. They probably won’t do anything to hurt their companions.”

“This point…”

Kanzaki and Ichinose couldn’t refute it.

Because if Hachiman’s suggestion of injury was accepted, they would worry about how quickly the injury would heal, whether there would be any lasting effects, and whether a snake bite could really be avoided. What if someone got dehydrated from eating the beans?

So,

Although they planned to discuss it further when they returned, both Ichinose and Kanzaki felt that the answer they would get might be one of inaction.

“After all, we are allies,” Hachiman observed their expressions and said in a lighter tone. “So let me give you a little extra benefit.”

“This morning, I found a hidden strongholds. I’d like to sell you the information on it. Don’t underestimate this strongholds. It’s the workers’ strongholds on this artificial island. I suspect that taking control of this strongholds might give you some extra points.”

“If the worst happens, your class will end this exam with only around 170 points.”

“But if you go to that strongholds and farm some points, you might be able to get more than 200 points,” Hachiman said.

“I see…” Kanzaki then looked at Ichinose.

He was just the vice-class president; the actual class president was Ichinose.

It was also due to the fact that their class had spies planted in it.

But Class C was willing to let Koenji get hurt, while their class couldn’t do that.

So they were not able to be as relaxed as the other class.

Naturally, if they could gain points, they would.

But,

Kanzaki and Ichinose exchanged glances before saying, “So, how many points are you planning to sell this time?”

That was a bit too much.

Talking about money really hurt the feelings.

“It’s the same as before,” Hachiman said. “You get the points, and what I need are the corresponding living expenses.”

Hachiman continued, “Then, the price is fixed—100,000 private points plus the equivalent value of the points gained after occupying the strongholds.”

Then, considering the kind-hearted actions of Ichinose and Kanzaki just now, Hachiman added, “Of course, you can also choose not to occupy it. If you don’t occupy it, I just need 100,000 private points.”

100,000.

A strongholds that might reward points.

A worker’s hut.

Neither Ichinose nor Kanzaki were fools; they knew the value of the worker’s hut.

The strongholds they were stationed at were all areas suitable for camping, but the possibility of them being artificially managed was quite high.

So, if they could find the worker’s hut, it might be a special way to earn extra points.

“So, no matter whether you occupy it or not, you need to use 100,000 points to buy the information?”

100,000 was no small amount.

And after occupying the strongholds, they would only have the surface-level class evaluation score.

But,

Class B was also facing the crisis of Shiranami’s leadership identity being leaked, so every extra point they could get was beneficial.

The class was full of kind-hearted students, and they had all agreed to accept Kaneda.

But the outcome had turned out like this.

Both class representatives felt guilty.

So,

“Alright.”

In the end, they couldn’t resist the temptation and agreed.

The two decided that even if they didn’t let the class pay, they would split the 100,000 points between themselves.

Thus, they immediately chose to accept Hachiman’s deal. On one hand, it was a chance to earn points, and on the other hand, Class C had a huge advantage in this exam, so building a good relationship with Class C was also important. They didn’t think the price was too high.

After their verbal agreement, Hachiman immediately pointed them in the right direction but didn’t lead them personally. He had other matters to attend to.

That evening, Ichinose and Kanzaki Ryuji arrived at Strongholds 25.

They saw a small wooden hut at the bottom of the valley.

“100,000, huh.” Kanzaki didn’t go down, and Ichinose didn’t either, even though there was a rope that could secure their bodies for safety.

But,

Next to the rope was a kind of ladder made of steel material, but it was soft and extended like the ones on airplanes. How could they let a classmate walk down and occupy the strongholds safely?

If something happened, it would be disastrous.

Because Class C’s starting points were reset to zero, so even if they didn’t register their names, no points would be deducted.

But Class B was different; they still had remaining starting points that they needed to save. So, if something unexpected happened, points would be deducted.

That would make it not worth the risk.

“Though I’m a little tempted,” Kanzaki said. “But it’s a bit difficult to let Shiranami come here.”

He felt regretful.

Because if it were him, or if a different male student came, they could easily choose to go down and occupy the strongholds.

But unfortunately, their leader this time was the weakest, Shiranami.

“Indeed,” Ichinose nodded.

Although she sighed slightly.

But Kanzaki crouched down.

“Anyway, since this strongholds exists, it’s dangerous. To prevent others from going down recklessly, let’s get rid of the ladder,” Kanzaki said, taking out a small knife to saw through the rope holding the ladder.

He was a gentle guy.

On the beach.

Hmm?

“Hey, Hoshinomiya,” on the beach, D-Class teacher Sakagami observed the students’ movements and noticed a fluctuation on the B-Class teacher’s computer. Two B-Class students were heading toward Strongholds 25.

And Hoshinomiya was in a daze, looking distracted.

So he reminded them.

Actually, he was quite jealous.

Because the 25th strongholds was previously discovered by students from the class of Chabashira, but those two students didn’t treat it as a strongholds and kept having secret meetings instead.

And this morning, to everyone’s surprise, those two students actually went to occupy the strongholds.

So Class C’s strongholds points would increase by 51 points.

How annoying.

Now, after 8 hours of occupying the strongholds, B-Class students had also discovered the place, so doesn’t that mean they could also farm points?

As long as they found this small hut, it was like receiving a reward.

So now, B-Class students would also get 51 extra points.

“Ah? Really? Really?” Hoshinomiya, who had just been distracted, now seemed proud. “After all, they’re my students. I think they’re great.”

“But it seems like they left. And then didn’t come back,” said D-Class’s Sakagami Digital, with confusion in his voice.

He was confused.

If they had discovered this was a strongholds, why hadn’t anyone occupied it? After all, it was a free 50-point reward! It was equivalent to needing to occupy a strongholds 50 times!

Most of the strongholds on the island had already been occupied by Class C, and Class B only had one stronghold.

So,

Why ignore the 50 points?

?????

The two teachers were both bewildered. But in the end, the next morning, they decided to organize a group to go and check if something was wrong there.

However, when they reached the center tower and saw the stairs leading down, they couldn’t help but express their disbelief.

Because going down from there was only possible with a ladder that wasn’t easy to climb, but now the ladder had been cut off with a knife. It was impossible to go down.

The four teachers stared at the condition of the ladder.

“This definitely wasn’t my students,” said Hoshinomiya from B-Class, quickly passing the blame.

Because without occupying the strongholds, you couldn’t use its resources, and if you destroyed something, points would be deducted.

“Of course, it wasn’t my students,” said Chabashira, the teacher from Class C, after confirming the situation. “They came here and then left.”

“So it must have been someone who came last night during the night and did the damage. Maybe it was a student from Class A.”

“My D-Class students all abstained, so it definitely wasn’t them,” Sakagami, the teacher from D-Class, said. “It has to have been a student from Class A who caused the damage.”

“……”

Sure, I believe you.

Mashima from Class A sighed. These guys were all protecting their own classes, and now they were trying to shift the blame onto his Class A. So he had to fix the equipment here.

“Hm?”

In the afternoon, D-Class’s Sakagami suddenly noticed that the GPS on his computer screen had moved.

Someone had gone to the 25th strongholds that Mashima had just fixed.

And now, the only person left on the island was Ryuen.

Truly, Ryuen was amazing.

Now, they could just pick up the 51 points for the strongholds.

“Ding!”

Sakagami clicked on the map’s display for the 25th strongholds.

“D-Class, remaining occupation time: 07:58:34”

In this exam, D-Class could finally boast and get over 200 points.

Because of the Sudo incident and their class dropping, they were now quickly climbing back up.

Sakagami was in a good mood.

But what he didn’t know was that the score for D-Class this time would surprise him.