"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

The watermarks became blurred here and eventually disappeared in the dryness brought about by the air circulation.

He was neither surprised nor frustrated.

That kind of movement is something that ordinary people can't keep up with.

He stood there, his eyes scanning the surrounding passageway signs, his mind racing.

Sakamoto's actions just now, though seemingly absurd, had a clear purpose.

So, based on the approximate functional area layout of the cruise ship that I vaguely remembered when boarding...

Ayanokouji turned around and started walking in one direction.

The doorway of a room on the cruise ship marked "Cleaning Supplies".

The door was ajar.

Ayanokouji did not go in immediately, but stood quietly in the shadows outside the door.

A slight noise came from inside, along with a grateful voice:

"Oh, thank you so much, classmate! I've been looking for this mop for ages, I thought I'd lost it... and you even mopped the whole hallway for me?"

"It's a little effort, no need to be polite."

Sakamoto's calm voice rang out.

"I simply wanted to test the exact time required to clean the corridor on this deck using a constant-speed gliding motion. The data has been recorded."

"Huh? Test...test time?"

The staff member's voice was filled with confusion.

"Okay. Goodbye."

As the voice spoke, footsteps approached the doorway.

The door was pushed open gently.

Sakamoto came out.

The long mop he was carrying was gone.

The transparent waterproof shoe covers on their feet had also been removed and were being held in their hands.

He acted as if he hadn't seen Ayanokouji in the shadows by the door, and was about to leave.

"Sakamoto-san."

Ayanokouji emerged from the shadows and called out to him in a calm voice.

Sakamoto stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.

He pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses landing on Ayanokouji.

"Ayanokouji-san."

An odd silence fell between the two.

The sea breeze blew in through the porthole at the end of the corridor.

Ayanokouji did not speak immediately.

He is waiting.

Sakamoto spoke first, asking him why he had come.

The person who speaks first often unconsciously relinquishes some initiative in the conversation.

Sakamoto looked at him quietly, without any intention of urging him, and his face was devoid of any emotion.

Time passed second by second.

Finally, it was Sakamoto who broke the silence:

"Ayanokouji-san, is there something you need while we're waiting here?"

The initiative seems to have been handed over to Ayanokoji.

Ayanokouji met his gaze and cut straight to the heart of the matter:

"During the discussion, the question Sakamoto raised about the nature of the school's class division system—was the real meaning you wanted to express not the strategy I later derived?"

Ayanokouji's sharp gaze was locked on Sakamoto's face, trying to catch any subtle change that might appear beneath that calm mask.

However, he was disappointed.

Sakamoto's expression remained unchanged, not even a flicker of light in his eyes.

He simply adjusted his glasses and responded calmly:

"In my opinion, Ayanokouji's interpretation at the time was reasonable and played a positive role in promoting the smooth progress of the group discussion."

Ayanokouji understood that the first method of probing had failed.

He immediately changed his angle and asked a more pointed question.

"Since Sakamoto-san seems to never refuse to answer questions, I would like to ask a more practical question."

"Your actions at school, whether it was your amazing performance at the beginning of the semester or leading Class A to an absolute advantage in the deserted island exam, seem to have a purpose that goes beyond simply consolidating Class A's first place position, don't they?"

"You seem to have already figured out the underlying rules of this school's operation."

"And your real goal might be... to overturn these rules themselves?"

This is Ayanokoji's boldest prediction based on long-term observation.

From the first day of school on the bus, all of Sakamoto's actions...

They all exude a sense of detachment from worldly affairs, yet also demonstrate precise intervention.

He is everywhere and all-powerful.

Yet it seems they don't really care about worldly competition like class rankings.

He led Class A to victory.

It's more like demonstrating a "correct" path than simply pursuing victory.

Sakamoto listened quietly, his gaze behind his glasses seeming to shift slightly.

He did not deny it immediately.

Sakamoto opened his mouth slightly, as if preparing to say something.

however--

"Hey, isn't this our big celebrity?"

An arrogant voice

The voice came abruptly from the other end of the corridor, interrupting the crucial conversation.

Ayanokoji and Sakamoto turned their heads to look at the same time.

Long Yuanxiang was standing there with his hands in his pockets.

A cold, ambiguous smile played on his face.

His gaze went straight past Ayanokouji and was fixed firmly on Sakamoto.

What's even more striking is that the screen of the phone he's holding is lit up.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ryuen strode up to Sakamoto and held his phone screen directly in front of him.

The action carried an undeniable forcefulness.

Ayanokouji's gaze also fell on the screen.

The screen displayed a preview of a recently received email; its brief content was enough to send chills down one's spine:

[Notice]: The Dragon Group's special examination has ended ahead of schedule. All members of the Dragon Group are no longer required to participate in subsequent group discussions or the final question-and-answer session, effective immediately upon this notice.

The Dragon Group's exam... is over?

Ending early? No need to participate further?

And isn't the Dragon Group the group that Ryu Yuan-hsiang belongs to?

,