Masumi came in after Suzune had already received her share of points and left.
"It's for you." Masumi said.
Houtarou noticed Arisu's name on the display. She was calling at this hour, which meant she must be at the school gates.
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Meanwhile, Suzune returned to the dormitory.
Her cabin on the ship was a triple room, shared with Airi and Kikyō.
Though Airi was surprisingly beautiful, neither Kikyō nor Suzune treated her differently because of it.
This put Airi at ease, as she was naturally shy and timid. If her relationship with her roommates became strained or if they questioned her too much, she likely wouldn't cope well.
Plus, Suzune sat next to her in class. Though they rarely talked, the arrangement felt reassuring.
However...
"Horikita?" Airi asked curiously.
Lately, Suzune had been asking strange questions — what it feels like when your body suddenly feels lighter, as if a weight has been lifted, or what it's like to hold hands with a boy.
And now, her cheeks were slightly flushed.
In other words...
"C-could it be... about... love?" Airi's interest was piqued.
Though Kikyō, who knew the most about romance, was also back, she was in the shower. So it was just her and Suzune in the room.
"Love..." Suzune shook her head slightly, "I can't be certain, or rather, I don't understand these things. I also don't think such matters are necessary during high school studies."
Oh. So that wasn't it. And here Airi thought this girl might be in love.
"But..." Suzune continued.
Airi listened attentively.
"May I hold your hand?" Suzune asked.
"Eh?" Airi blinked but obediently extended her left hand.
Suzune tried holding her hand the same way she had held Houtarou's hand earlier.
"Sakura, your body temperature isn't as high." She said.
"Um, I suppose that's normal... I don't have a fever or anything." Airi found her description a bit strange, but she answered honestly.
"Thank you." Suzune said, releasing her hand, "Though it does feel reassuring."
"Um... is that so?" Airi was confused.
But Suzune seemed relieved, as if confirming something for herself.
She then resumed her usual activities as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom...
Kikyō had been showering, but due to the poor soundproofing, she'd turned off the water when she heard Suzune return. She listened to their conversation.
Through the bathroom gap, she watched as Suzune held Airi's hand.
From what Kikyō could tell, the solitary girl had likely been holding hands with Houtarou moments ago. Noticing her heart wavering, she'd come to test her feelings with Airi.
Given Suzune's personality and lack of friends, she had never experienced love or admiration — she didn't even understand what love was.
Yet her heart seemed ready for first love, those feelings hidden beneath her composed exterior.
Now Kikyō was almost certain: Suzune had fallen for Houtarou. This was her first love.
Unfortunately, the solitary girl couldn't recognize these feelings.
Since Kikyō disliked Suzune, she had no intention of explaining it to her.
This thought put her in a good mood.
Before her shower, she'd received a message from Houtarou saying the school had given students a three-day vacation after the Special Exam to enjoy the cruise.
He had invited her too — essentially a date.
Though she wasn't thrilled about it, she didn't mind playing along since Houtarou was the one Suzune liked.
"Ah, Suzune's back." Kikyō said as she emerged from her shower.
She took baths both morning and night, not because she particularly enjoyed bathing, but because it provided a moment of clarity — one of her rare breaks from pressure.
"I've transferred the 200,000 points to you." Suzune said with a calm expression, "I'm going to take a bath and then go to bed."
Saying this, she turned her back to Kikyō — her typical unsociable manner.
During the Special Exam, they could have become friends. Is this how you treat friends, Suzune?
Kikyō: "..."
Though maintaining her cute appearance, she decided that tomorrow she would hold Houtarou's hand, just as Suzune had.
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Meanwhile.
Houtarou took Masumi's phone and went to the deck.
[First, congratulations on your overwhelming victory in this exam.]
Arisu's cute and rhythmic voice came through.
The Special Exam had ended at 10 PM, and it was now approaching 11 PM. The ship's information was likely being transmitted to the school in real-time, so she might have heard from her father, the Chairman.
"This was thanks to Arisu's deduction of the Special Student patterns." Houtarou said, "That's why we could take the best approach in this exam."
[I've already heard the report from Masumi. But in the end, you were the big winner, weren't you? Taking almost half of all the points earned by the students. Oreki-kun, are you that short on money?]
She knew that Houtarou had been collecting Points since enrollment, and had already exchanged his first 20 million Points for cash.
And now, he had targeted the entire first-year student body again, still collecting Points.
Since Points could be exchanged for money, Arisu's question made sense.
But was this really what concerned her?
In this island exam, Houtarou had earned Points equivalent to Class D's 270 Class Points, plus he directly received over 30 million Points.
Opening his student ID revealed:
『Houtarou Oreki』
『Student ID: 1008610010』
『Class: First Year, Class A』
『Personal Account: ¤ 38,683,500 Pts』
The Points balance on his student ID had reached a staggering amount.
Combined with the Points he had already exchanged for cash, his total earnings surpassed even the most successful Student Council President in history.
Unlike the Student Council President, who collected Points from classmates to benefit the class, Houtarou's Points came from the entire year and were solely for his own use.
These were fundamentally different approaches.
So was he really short on money?
"I'm not short anymore." Houtarou said, "But you can never have too many points, right? After all, this is a school where strength is everything. Points are power, so having enough points represents strength."
[Oh.]
Arisu seemed to nod in agreement.
Even though Houtarou had claimed half of everyone's Points, each student still received over 250,000 Points. Since 20 million Points could buy a class transfer, it might be possible to purchase his allegiance.
After all, this was someone who had successfully claimed half the Points from the entire year.
Between 20 million Points and this man, she would choose to buy him.
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