Time is a variable devoid of mercy. It does not wait for hesitation, it does not care about fear, and it cannot be bribed with points. Inside the twelve meeting rooms scattered throughout the belly of the cruise ship Speranza, the final seconds of the Zodiac Exam trickled away like sand in a cracked hourglass.
Panic spread like a virus. The provocative email from the school successfully eroded the rationality of many students. In several rooms, the sound of shouting and mutual accusations began to bleed through the soundproof walls.
But not for those holding the reins.
Meeting Room C — Gemini Group (Time Remaining: 3 Minutes)
Ichinose Honami felt as if her entire world had shrunk down to the phone screen in her hand. The name [Koroizumi Seiji] was already neatly typed into the answer field of her email draft. The cursor on the screen blinked rhythmically, seemingly counting down the last shreds of her sanity.
Across from her, Seiji Koroizumi still sat with inhuman composure. He didn't look at the wall clock. He looked at Ichinose. His gaze wasn't a pleading look, nor was it a challenging glare. It was the gaze of a clinical observer.
You were the one who taught me about the value of information, Ichinose thought, her knuckles turning white from gripping the phone too tightly. You were the one who taught me realism. And the reality is: If I press this button right now, Class A will secure absolute dominance.
The leader's logic in her brain kept screaming: PRESS IT! All the conditions had been met. She had bought the mathematical proof of the Student ID Numbers from Hoshinomiya-sensei for half a million points. The pattern was absolute. Three simultaneous executions—Seiji here, Yukimura in the Aries Group, and Hirata in the Taurus Group—would create a massive 365-point margin between Class A and Class B. A chasm in class points.
But on the other side, her conscience delivered a far louder warning.
"Time keeps ticking, Ichinose-san," Kouenji Rokusuke murmured. The blonde man had stopped grooming himself a while ago. He was now staring at Ichinose with a sharp smirk he rarely displayed. "The time to choose between being a naive hero or a pragmatic Leader is running thin. Humans reveal their true colors in their final seconds."
Kouenji's voice snapped Ichinose back to reality. She glanced at Shiina Hiyori, who had returned to reading her book calmly, as if she couldn't care less that she was about to lose her 500,000 Private Points in a matter of minutes if Ichinose sent her guess. In the other corners, her classmates—Watanabe and Ninomiya—were staring at Ichinose with hopeful eyes. They were ready to press the send button in their respective groups the moment Ichinose gave the signal.
Ichinose squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Her breathing felt heavy.
If she pressed this button, she won class points.
However, simultaneously, she would prove that everything she said about trust, friendship, and cooperation was nothing more than manipulative nonsense. She would become a leader who won today's battle but lost the long-term war. Starting tomorrow, not a single class would ever dare to cooperate with Class A again. They would view Ichinose as being just as cunning as Ryuen Kakeru, only wrapped in a sweet smile.
Click.
Ichinose pressed the power button on the side of her phone. The screen died. Plunged into sudden darkness. She placed the rectangular device on the table with a soft, yet utterly final, clack.
"I can't do it," Ichinose whispered. Her voice was hoarse, but her resolve had returned. "I will not build Class A's future on the ruins of this group's trust."
"That is a highly irrational choice from the perspective of a zero-sum game, Ichinose-san," Seiji said gently. "You threw away a guaranteed absolute victory."
"Do not mistake this for weakness, Koroizumi-kun," Ichinose looked down, trying to steady her racing heart. "I simply refuse to allow this school's system to dictate my morality. If Class A must win, we will win in a way that doesn't make us lower our heads when looking in the mirror."
"Outstanding," Seiji corrected softly, a proud smile etched onto his face. "On the contrary, you just proved that my prediction regarding your potential as a true leader was correct. Holding back when possessing the strongest weapon is the highest form of self-control."
Meeting Room D — Cancer Group (Time Remaining: 2 Minutes)
Ryuen Kakeru stared at Horikita Suzune with an intensity that seemed capable of scorching the very air between them. In that tension-filled room, only the two of them appeared to realize the true war that was unfolding.
Do it, Suzune!Manabe is the key! I served this victory right in front of your eyes! Take the points for Class B!
In the corner of the room, Manabe Shiho could only stare at the floor, her body trembling violently. The betrayal by her own class leader, who had blatantly sold her name to the enemy class.
Suzune held her phone. Her finger hovered directly over Manabe's name.
Logically and deductively speaking, all signs pointed there. Manabe was the VIP. Ryuen had practically confessed it by showing her the text on his phone earlier. This was a "victory on a silver platter." If Suzune submitted Manabe's name, Class B would instantly gain 50 Class Points.
However, Suzune's analytical brain was running at full capacity. She stared into Ryuen's eyes. In the young man's eyes, she saw not the intent of an ally, but the intent of an architect of chaos.
If I guess Manabe and am correct, Class B gets 50 points. But what does Ryuen gain? Suzune thought rapidly. Ryuen never did anything without expecting a return on investment. If this was a 'double bluff' trap—if the real VIP was someone else and Ryuen only wanted her to incur the incorrect-guess penalty—then Class B would foolishly lose 50 points at the last minute.
Trusting Ryuen was a gamble that lacked any sensible risk calculation. Moreover, Suzune recalled Seiji Koroizumi's absolute instructions: "Absolute Defense. Do not be tempted by petty bait. Our primary goal is Scenario 1, to secure 500,000 Private Points for every member of the class. We can hunt for Class Points in other exams, but financial capital will be our shield going forward."
If Suzune guessed now, she would shatter the Scenario 1 outcome. She would throw away half a million of her own private points, and the points of her friends.
"I refuse," Suzune said coldly, shattering the silence. She slipped her phone back into her skirt pocket without a shred of hesitation.
"What?!" Ryuen's eyes widened. He slammed his fist onto the table so hard it made several students in the room jump in shock. "Are you an idiot?! I handed you a free victory, and you throw it away?!"
"I do not accept gifts from a tyrant devoid of creativity," Suzune answered calmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I will not gamble the foundation of my class just to be a pawn in your game. Your plan to pit the classes against each other today is a total failure."
Ryuen let out a furious growl. The image of Seiji Koroizumi's pitch-black eyes on the north beach flashed through his mind once again. That trauma restrained him from taking things any further. He knew that if he personally triggered the chaos right now, that Class B monster would crush Class D in the next exam.
On the other side of the table, Manabe Shiho raised her head. She looked at Horikita with an expression that was difficult to read. An enemy from another class had just protected her from an execution planned by her own leader.
Meeting Room G — Libra Group (Time Remaining: 1 Minute)
Sakayanagi Arisu sat back comfortably, both hands resting elegantly atop the head of her cane. She shot a brief, bored glance at the wall clock, then turned her gaze to Yamauchi and Kaneda.
Tap. Tap.
The tip of Sakayanagi's cane tapped against the carpeted floor rhythmically, counting down the final seconds like a metronome of death.
Inside her skirt pocket, Sakayanagi's phone was already loaded with a dozen VIP names from various groups. Realizing the pattern of the last two digits of the Student ID Numbers was far too easy. She could submit that list right now, harvest hundreds of Class Points, and instantly end this utopian peace.
However, she decided to keep her chin resting on her hands atop her cane, and let the intention go.
Winning an exam through a cheap bureaucratic loophole like ID numbers is completely uninteresting, Sakayanagi thought to herself with an amused smile. Koroizumi went through the immense trouble of weaving a massive psychological web to silence the entire first-year cohort. Breaking that toy right now would be far too great a pity. I want to see how high Class B can climb before I shatter them from the peak.
"Time is almost up," Sakayanagi murmured softly with an entertained tone, savoring the pure terror on the faces of her group members. "Be grateful you are still permitted to breathe easily today."
Meeting Room F — Virgo Group (Time Remaining: 10 Seconds)
"Ugh, I'm so hungry," complained Karuizawa Kei, shattering the tension of the final seconds while twirling the ends of her hair. "When are they going to let us out of this stuffy room?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka checked the clock on his phone. 5... 4... 3...
He observed the other Class B members. Matsushita Chiaki had already tucked her phone into her makeup bag. Satou Maya was busy checking her compact mirror, fixing her lipstick. And he looked at Kei, the VIP of this group, who was pretending to be bored to death even though Ayanokouji could clearly see the tips of her shoes vibrating constantly under the table.
Perfect acting. Seiji had successfully instilled the doctrine of "do not look important." Ayanokouji concluded in silence: Seiji Koroizumi's Wu Wei (action through inaction) strategy was a massive success. Using laziness as a defensive weapon turned out to be far more effective than building a paranoid fortress.
BEEP!
The clock struck exactly 1:00 PM. A long, shrill electronic siren echoed through every corner of the ship via the loudspeakers, officially marking the end of the Zodiac Special Exam.
[EXAM CONCLUDED][SERVER CLOSED]
In the Gemini Room, Ichinose Honami slumped in her chair. Her upright posture crumbled instantly, as if all the strength in her body had been forcefully ripped out. The tension of the last four hours finally slid off her shoulders.
In the Cancer Room, Ryuen violently kicked the empty chair beside him, venting his frustration because the most incredibly boring peaceful scenario crafted by Seiji Koroizumi had emerged as the absolute victor today.
And in the Gemini Room, Seiji Koroizumi smiled genuinely. The relieved smile of a teacher seeing his students—both from his own class and the opposing classes—successfully overcome their baser instincts and refuse to swallow the school's provocation.
He pulled out his phone. A message from the school admin popped up automatically.
[GEMINI GROUP RESULTS][STATUS: SCENARIO 1 (NO BETRAYALS)][CORRECT GUESSES: 0][PRIVATE POINT BONUS: +500,000 (ALL GROUP MEMBERS)][VIP BONUS: +500,000 (KOROIZUMI SEIJI)]
One million private points entered his account in the blink of an eye.
"Thank you for your hard work and cooperation, everyone," Seiji said. "Especially you, Ichinose-san. Thank you for choosing the most difficult path a leader can take."
Ichinose looked at Seiji. The remnants of cold calculation in her eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a glint of exhaustion, yet immense relief.
"I did this because I wanted to prove to myself that this school system is wrong. We can survive without having to become students who prey upon one another."
"That is the most valuable conclusion you could possibly take home from this voyage," Seiji replied, his tone softening.
The automatic doors to the room slid open. A uniformed school staff member stepped in to conduct the final verification and ushered them out.
Seiji stepped out into the ship's main corridor. The hallway that had been quiet a moment ago was now flooded with hundreds of students pouring out of the twelve rooms. The atmosphere in that corridor was incredibly bizarre. Normally, after a high-stakes competitive exam, there would be angry shouts, curses of betrayal, or tears of defeat. But this time, all that could be heard were long sighs of relief, discussions about how boring it was being locked up for hours, and the muffled cheers of students who had just realized they had secured 500,000 points.
The cruise ship Speranza had survived the storm of mass paranoia. Class B remained intact without losing a single point, and Class A had failed to widen the gap in the standings.
Seiji walked down the hallway toward the open observation deck. His first step in transforming Advanced Nurturing High School from a psychological slaughterhouse into a genuine place of education had succeeded. He had proven his premise: by providing financial security (private points) and shattering the prisoner's dilemma, inter-class aggression could be completely neutralized.
As Seiji arrived at the open observation deck, the sea breeze immediately struck his face, making his school uniform shirt flutter slightly. In the distance, he saw Suzune, Hirata, Yukimura, and Ayanokouji gathered together, leaning casually against the guardrail.
There was no excessive celebration or tears of joy. However, seeing their now-relaxed shoulders and faces no longer taut with tension, Seiji knew Class B had successfully navigated this psychological pressure intact. A subtle nod from Hirata and a calm gaze from Suzune were enough to confirm their respect for the young man who had orchestrated the instructions from behind the scenes.
Seiji stared out at the open ocean, letting the wind play with his black hair. A much larger, more structured storm was undoubtedly being prepared by the school administration on the horizon of the next semester.
This is only the beginning of the warm-up, isn't it? Seiji murmured to himself.
[ZODIAC EXAM FINAL RESULTS]
Aries Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Taurus Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity
)Gemini Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Cancer Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Leo Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Virgo Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Libra Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Scorpio Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Sagittarius Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Capricorn Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Aquarius Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Pisces Group: Scenario 1 (Solidarity)
Total Private Points Issued by the School: 500,000 private points X All 1st Year Students + VIPs : 86,000,000 Private Points.
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