Chapter 27 - Dictator

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(Day 7; 11:35am; Takeyama, Keisuke POV):

I slowly made my way down the stairs, with Ayanokoji trailing right behind me. The conversation that we recently had lulled out into nothingness, until we were basically just staring out into the ocean, saying nothing to each other. Eventually, we wordlessly decided that the awkwardness had reached a point of no return, and we made out way down the deck.

I parted with Ayanokoji at the lobby, and he seemingly made his way back to the guest cabins. I asked him whether he had plans to go to the swimming pool along with Class D at 1:00pm today afternoon, but he gave me a vague reply, saying that he wasn't sure, since he wasn't 'acquainted' with many of his classmates. Honestly, I feel he's been using that excuse for quite some time now, and it's getting painfully clear that he just despises crowds. Not that it is bad, in any way.

I don't like crowds all that much either. Staying with too many people who you don't exactly give a shit about takes a toll on your mind. I made my way over to another part of the deck, and stood by the railings again. If I had to make calculations, I would say that 40% of my waking hours were spent on the deck, just staring out into the ocean and feeling the breeze on my face. I wondered whether I came across as a loner to people who notice me spending way too much time on the deck.

"Kuku, enjoying the view, eh?" a mocking voice sounded behind me, and I turned to find the source. In front of me stood a man with a medium stature, and long magenta-colored hair, a.k.a the ruling dictator of Class C, Ryuuen Kakeru.

"It's a nice view," I replied nonchalantly. "The ocean, the sun and the wind from the deck of a luxury cruise liner is not something that you get to see everyday."

"But you are seeing it everyday, aren't you?" Ryuuen said. "You lounge around this place way too often for it to go unnoticed, you know."

"I have no intentions of going unnoticed; I'm not hiding, after all."

"Kuku. You say you want to be noticed, but your Class results say otherwise," he sassed.

"I don't know what you mean," I said.

"Don't go acting all innocent. You're the one who's pulling Suzune's strings, aren't ya? You're the one who pulled off some sort of shit on the Island, and now you're trying to blend in with the Class by taking the Zodiac Exam lightly. Nothing misses my eye, yeah?"

"I don't see what's wrong with trying to get a cooperative outcome with the Group," I said scathingly. "It is what is best suited for the Group."

"Best suited for the Group? Don't give me that. You were the VIP of the Snake Group, right? You could have turned the outcome around if you'd just been a little more proactive. You purposely sabotaged this Exam because you wanted to lay low. It worked on the Baldie and Goody-Two Shoes, but such pranks don't work on me," Ryuuen replied. "Besides, you didn't deny your involvement in the Island Exam, right?"

"Even if I did deny my involvement, you wouldn't have believed me. Why waste my breath when the opposing party isn't willing to change their opinion whatsoever?"

Ryuuen's smile slightly faltered, but it was almost unnoticeable. "Tell me, what did you do on the Island? I want a clear answer if you wanna get out of here in one piece."

"You're not going to turn this into a violent brawl, are you?"

"Kuku, who knows?"

"I have no intention of telling you my Class's strategy in this Exam. What's in the past is in the past. It would be in best interest if you started preparing for the upcoming Special Exams instead," I replied.

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