Karuizawa Kei's words caught Kure Ragna off guard. He instinctively scratched his head, letting out a dry chuckle.
"Damn it, is this one of those trick questions?"
It was a simple concept. If two girls were involved in the question, it was always a trap—no matter how you answered, you'd be wrong.
But if only one was present, then as long as your emotional intelligence wasn't completely nonexistent, you'd know the right answer.
Unfortunately for him, Karuizawa Kei wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily.
"Forget it," she sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Let me ask something else instead."
She no longer forced herself to sound composed—there was a slight edge in her voice now.
"Are you and Kushida Kikyo dating?"
Dating…?
In theory, no.
Kure Ragna knew exactly what his relationship with Kushida Kikyo was—it had started with physical attraction, nothing more. But there was an old saying:
"If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, smells like a duck, and tastes like a duck… it's a duck."
They had done everything a couple would do.
Everything that should and shouldn't have been done. Pretending otherwise was just self-deception.
"Yeah," he admitted without hesitation.
"Kikyo and I are together."
"…I see."
For a moment, it looked like all the strength had drained from Karuizawa Kei's body. She let out a long sigh, her head dipping slightly.
After a pause, she barely managed to lift her gaze.
"When did it start?" she asked softly.
"Probably after the first weekend of the second month of school," Kure Ragna estimated, recalling the timeline.
"But why are you asking?"
"No reason." She let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it.
"Just wanted to check how things were going between you two. Is that so strange?"
"…Do whatever you want."
Something felt off.
Karuizawa Kei's reaction wasn't what he had expected.
They had always agreed their relationship was fake. There had never been a specific time limit, but the deal was clear—if either of them found someone they actually wanted to date, their arrangement would end.
He had protected her, and in return, she had played the role of his girlfriend. That was it.
So technically, he didn't owe her an explanation. In fact, the only person who benefited from him keeping the secret this long was her.
Yet, instead of anger, all he saw was… resignation.
It didn't make sense.
"Alright," she said, taking a deep breath.
"After this exam, I'll announce that we broke up peacefully over summer vacation. That way, no one will suspect anything happened during the trip. As long as we both stay quiet, it won't be an issue. That should work, right?"
"Yeah, no problem." Kure Ragna shrugged.
At his indifferent response, Karuizawa Kei's body trembled slightly. Underneath her loose sportswear, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
'No. I don't want this.'
She screamed the words inside her head, but on the surface, she remained calm.
"Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I have things to do. I'll head back first."
"…Alright."
Kure Ragna didn't try to stop her. As she turned to leave, he also continued walking forward.
But just then—
A sudden white wave rose in the distance, accompanied by the shouts of Class D boys.
"Ryuen-san! The speedboat's here! We're ready to board!"
Before the words had even finished, four more speedboats approached in succession.
Kure Ragna's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't even realized they had wandered close to Class D's camp—the one they had discovered earlier that morning.
Reacting instantly, he turned and grabbed Karuizawa Kei's wrist, pulling her back just as she was about to walk away.
"Eh—?!"
Before she could let out a sound, his hand covered her mouth, and in one swift motion, he pulled her into the dense foliage of the nearby woods.
"Shh," he whispered. "It's Class D."
His plan had been to calm her down quickly, but to his surprise, she didn't struggle. Instead, she stayed completely still in his arms, as if caught off guard.
"Well, that saves me some trouble."
Turning his focus back to the beach, he observed the situation.
From this distance, it was hard to see everything clearly through the trees, but he could make out five speedboats lined up along the shore. Class D students boarded them one after another.
"So they really are leaving."
Ryuen Kakeru had made it clear that he had no interest in the school's special exam. To him, this island trip was just a vacation.
He had already gathered all the supplies he wanted, even enough to make the bald teacher consider interfering.
"So they're just heading back to the cruise ship now?"
At first, it seemed that way. But then—something didn't add up.
They were using five eight-seater speedboats. With a class of forty, that should mean the boats were full.
Yet, on the last boat, three seats were empty.
Even stranger—Ryuen Kakeru was nowhere to be seen.
"Is he already on board?"
Unlikely. There were still two others missing—Ibuki, for one, who was at the camp. That would explain two empty seats.
But that still left one.
"One more person from Class D stayed behind? Or did someone return to the cruise ship early?"
Just as he was piecing things together, the five speedboats sped off, slicing through the water as they made their way toward the distant cruise ship.
"Phew." Kure Ragna finally released his hold on Karuizawa Kei.
"They're gone."
He expected a quick response.
Instead, silence.
"Crap. Did I use too much force? Did she faint?"
Frowning, he turned to check—
Only for Karuizawa Kei to abruptly stand up, turning her back to him as she wiped her eyes. Her voice trembled slightly.
"I… I'm going back."
She didn't wait for a reply. She just walked away.
Kure Ragna remained still, watching her retreating figure, hand resting on his chin.
"Did she… just cry?"
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