"You mean... Ibuki-san?"
Sakura Airi's hesitant voice drew everyone's attention to a lone figure sitting beneath a tree—a girl from Class D, looking as if she had nothing to do with the situation.
"Yes..."
The red-haired girl took a deep breath, as if summoning all her courage. She avoided eye contact with everyone, her gaze fixed solely on Kure Ragna.
"The ground here is really hard, so I haven't been sleeping well. Last night, I clearly heard Ibuki, who was sleeping next to me, get up."
"But Ibuki-san is a girl too," another student questioned.
"Why would she do something like this?"
"Wait, does that mean she's into—"
"Shut up, Ike," Kure Ragna cut him off, resisting the urge to smack him.
"It's because she's from Class D."
"But didn't all the Class D students drop out of the exam?" Shinohara asked, still confused.
Kure Ragna sighed, shaking his head.
"Your IQ needs a reset."
He didn't bother explaining further. Instead, he turned and strode toward Ibuki Mio.
The girl with short blue hair, who had been casually leaning against the tree, finally looked up. Her lips curled into a smirk.
"Let me guess," she said.
"Since you couldn't find the underwear thief, you decided to blame me, the outsider?"
"Blame?" Kure Ragna tilted his head.
"No, I'm not blaming you. I'm sure of it."
Ibuki's smirk didn't fade.
"Oh? Then go ahead—let's hear your nonsense."
"Gladly."
Kure Ragna clapped his hands together.
"First, you should know that all members of Class D officially withdrew from the exam yesterday."
Ibuki scoffed. "So what? That was Ryuen's plan from the start—to burn through all the points and have everyone drop out. I got kicked out because I didn't agree with him."
Kure Ragna wasn't fooled. That excuse was way too polished.
"Okay, then tell me this." He raised a finger.
"Are you the leader of Class D?"
Ibuki blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me."
She let out a dry laugh.
"Of course not. Ryuen would never let anyone else take that spot."
"Exactly." Kure Ragna lifted a second finger.
"Then answer this—are you still part of the exam?"
Ibuki hesitated this time.
"...Technically, yeah. I haven't officially dropped out."
"Good. Now for the third question." He raised a third finger.
"If the rest of Class D quit the exam, why hasn't your homeroom teacher, Sakagami, come looking for you? After all, you'd be the last remaining Class D student."
At that, even Chabashira-sensei, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
"He's right. If a class is left with just one student on the island, the school would transfer leadership to that person."
Ibuki's expression darkened.
Kure Ragna smiled.
"And here's the kicker—I've known from the start that Ryuen never left the island. In fact, Class D didn't all return to the cruise ship."
"Two of his men stayed behind—Kaneda, who's currently with Class C, and Ryuen himself, who's in hiding."
"You get it now? Ryuen didn't just quit. He planned all of this—burning points, sending spies into other camps, and gathering intel on who the leaders of each class are."
Ibuki forced out another smirk.
"You sure love to hear yourself talk, huh?"
"You're deflecting," Kure Ragna said.
"But let's simplify it—your mission was to stir chaos in Class B by framing someone. And since you were the only one awake last night, I'd bet Kei's underwear is in Ike's bag."
"Huh?! Why me?!" Ike yelped.
"Because you were the only boy who got up last night," Kure Ragna said without even glancing at him.
"Makes you an easy target for framing."
Ibuki's smirk finally cracked.
She clenched her teeth, her body tense.
Meanwhile, standing among the group of boys, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka observed silently.
Fingerprints on clothing?
He exhaled softly, recognizing the trap immediately. It's just a bluff. Clothing didn't retain fingerprints well, and Ibuki had to know that.
But Kure Ragna wasn't trying to use evidence—he was playing mind games.
Ibuki, for all her toughness, was actually quite clumsy when it came to deception. Kiyotaka had seen it before.
Sure enough, as soon as Kure Ragna finished speaking, Ibuki's shoulders stiffened. She hesitated, her mind clearly racing.
Then, as if making a split-second decision—
She leaped to her feet, twisting her hips and launching a high kick straight at Kure Ragna's face.
"Eat my leg!"
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