I have a life simulator.

In fact, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Karuizawa Megumi was struggling at this moment. After all, there was a gap in physical fitness between her and Horikita Suzune, and she was in a predicament where Horikita Suzune was carrying her along.

This was a rather uncomfortable position. Several times, before her right foot could even step out, Horikita Suzune's left foot had already stepped out for the next round.

Karuizawa Kei's right foot almost slipped as she moved forward.

During previous training, the girls in Class 1-D couldn't stand this and that's why they gave up on partnering with Horikita Suzune.

However, Karuizawa Kei kept telling Horikita Suzune, "It's okay," "You can go faster," and "I can keep up."

For her now, even if she has to fall, she has to fall across the finish line.

Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori caught up with the previous gap, but the sudden acceleration of Class 1-D made it impossible for them to overtake, and the two sides seemed to have returned to the starting line and were neck and neck.

"Now it depends on whether Karuizawa's speed can't keep up first, or Kitagawa's stamina can't keep up first."

Sakagami Kazuma, who had thought Kitagawa Ryo was about to achieve great success, now looked serious. This change of pace by Class 1-D was a very risky choice. If Kitagawa Ryo didn't have enough stamina, he could put Shiina Hiyori down and the two of them could return to their normal three-legged stance and continue moving forward. However, if Karuizawa Megumi had a problem and fell, according to the rules, they would have to start over from the starting point and would have no chance to overtake her again.

The students in the room barely dared to breathe, their eyes glued to Karuizawa Kei's feet.

After all, compared to Kitagawa Ryo, who still seemed to have plenty of energy, Karuizawa Megumi's situation was undoubtedly fraught with danger.

Everyone was speculating about when she would fall—at seventy meters, eighty meters, or at ninety meters, where she would fall short at the last hurdle.

She took a wrong step and stumbled forward, almost falling, but she quickly tapped the ground three times with her right foot, managing to regain her balance.

However, this still affected the overall speed, and Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori quickly caught up and soon created a gap between them.

"Tsk."

With the finish line in sight, less than fifteen meters away, being overtaken by her opponent at this moment caused even the usually composed Horikita Suzune to become somewhat anxious.

She can admit failure, but she won't accept it.

Admitting defeat means there's still a chance to win again; numbly accepting defeat will only prevent you from ever surpassing your opponent.

Throughout her life, she both acknowledged that she was inferior to her brother and accepted that she was inferior to his personality.

Therefore, she could never surpass the other person.

However, while Horikita Suzune would acknowledge her defeat to Kitagawa Ryo, she would not accept the fact that she had lost to Kitagawa Ryo forever.

Like in those hundred nets, even if you only catch one fish in the end.

That would also... result in one being caught.

Horikita Suzune reached out and put her arm around Karuizawa Megumi's shoulder. She was determined to try and learn Kitagawa Ryo's running style. Karuizawa Megumi immediately understood Horikita Suzune's intention and lifted her right foot to cooperate, maintaining the minimum level of not falling. The two practically hopped towards the finish line.

Because of the large range of motion, Karuizawa Megumi, who was on the right side, inevitably brushed past Shiina Hiyori, who was on the left side of the track next to her.

This subtle, almost negligible physical contact did not constitute a foul, so the referee did not stop the game.

Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters.

All eyes were focused on the finish line.

The battle between Class B and Class D is about to be decided.

As the audience in the front row stood up, Horikita Manabu also stood up and looked at Horikita Suzune in the audience.

At this crucial moment when victory was just around the corner, Shiina Hiyori seemed to suddenly lose focus. Her right foot buckled, causing her center of gravity to shift, and she and Kitagawa Ryo fell to the right. Kitagawa Ryo had not expected Shiina Hiyori's sudden mistake. He was sprinting towards the finish line and instinctively protected Shiina Hiyori's head. The two of them lost their balance instantly and fell heavily onto the asphalt track of the playground.

"what?"

The entire audience gasped in unison as Karuizawa Megumi and Horikita Suzune from Class 1-D crossed the finish line, much to the disbelief of many.

"Hiyori? Are you alright?"

The moment Kitagawa Ryo fell, he quickly untied the straps binding their legs. He quickly checked Shiina Hiyori's condition. Since the two of them were already quite fast, and the asphalt track was covered with small pebbles, their knees, covered by tight pants, were inevitably worn and chafed. Together with their elbows, there were about three or four noticeable abrasions.

"Sorry, Liang... lost."

However, Hiyori Shiina seemed completely oblivious to her still-bleeding wounds; she only felt annoyed and guilty, and even unusually flustered.

"how come?"

"That's alright, I'll take you to the infirmary next door first."

Kitagawa Ryo simply shook his head upon hearing this. He bent down, put one arm around Shiina Hiyori's waist, and reached the other hand under the girl's legs. With a forceful lift, he carried Shiina Hiyori to the makeshift infirmary next to the playground.

The students from Class 1-B quickly gathered around, following Kitagawa Ryo with tension and worry. Because Shiina Hiyori was injured, no one even cared about the result of the competition for a moment. The faster ones had already gone to call the medical staff to come over.

After crossing the finish line, Karuizawa Megumi turned around and saw Kitagawa Ryosuke picking up Shiina Hiyori.

Class D of Grade 1 defeated Class B of Grade 1 in the three-legged race (boys and girls not restricted), winning 4 to 3.

The broadcast came at just the right time.

Horikita Suzune waved proudly at Horikita Manabu in the audience.

The students from Class 1-D rushed over and surrounded Karuizawa Megumi and Horikita Suzune.

It was as if time had slowed down; everything around me, including the smiles on my classmates' faces, felt unreal, and I couldn't hear anything.

"Yes! We won!"

The brief pause was like a program that had been paused being restarted.

Karuizawa Kei shouted loudly as she rushed over and gave Horikita Suzune a big hug.

Leaving Horikita Suzune aside, she turned around and looked at Hirata Yosuke, who had just come out of the restroom, his face pale but also smiling:

"You've had a great day!"

Karuizawa Megumi gave Miyake Akito a thumbs up:

"Excellent performance!"

She hugged her best friends:

"I told you we could win!"

Just like any other day, with enthusiastic movements and a bright voice, the students of Class 1-D generously applauded and cheered for their leader who had led them to victory over Class 1-B.

"Karuizawa!"

"Karuizawa!"

Not only the students in Class D of the first year, but also students from other classes and grades in the audience, all remembered this girl and were exchanging and discussing her.

After all, she had defeated Kitagawa Ryo, who had just crushed Nanono Masaru that morning.

The first person stood up and clapped, and then more people joined in.

In this atmosphere of overwhelming excitement, I was so moved that tears welled up in my eyes.

It should be a... reasonable thing.

Right.

Chapter 81: Hello, Reality (End of this volume)

[The Twenty Rules of Detective Fiction, Rule Eighteen:]

In a mystery novel, the ending absolutely cannot be an accident or suicide. Such an anticlimactic conclusion is tantamount to playing an unforgivable joke on the reader. If someone pays for the book and discovers that its contents are such deceptive nonsense and requests a refund, any fair court will side with them and severely punish the author who deceived their loyal readers.

"ended."

Kitagawa Ryo sat on the bed in the infirmary, bent down, and used iodine and cotton swabs to apply medicine to the wound on Shiina Hiyori's knee.

Since it was just a minor abrasion, and the medical staff learned that the two were a couple, at Kitagawa Ryo's insistence, they simply handed over the task of applying the medicine to him. Before leaving, they thoughtfully drew the curtains and closed the door, giving the two of them plenty of space.

"Actually, it would have been better if I had just fallen at the end."

Kitagawa Ryo said with some heartache as he carefully cleaned the grit from the wound and the small pebbles clinging to the skin.

"That's too fake."

Shiina Hiyori, however, seemed unconcerned about the pain during the application of the medicine, and chuckled softly while covering her mouth:

"Given Liang's physical condition, if he suddenly loses his strength and falls near the finish line, it's like a detective who is first established as an all-powerful detective and then killed by the murderer in the most foolish way. It's a third-rate detective novel."

"But it doesn't look very good right now."

Kitagawa Ryo pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow as he said:

"The invincible Kitagawa Ryo has failed."

"Isn't this the result Liang wanted to see?"

Shiina Hiyori stretched out her arm so Kitagawa Ryo could apply iodine to it, and she looked at his profile:

"Otherwise, why would Ryo conceal the fact that he already knew Karuizawa would attack Class B?"

"Has it been seen?"

"It's quite obvious, isn't it?"

Hiyori Shiina sighed deeply, much like she would normally offer her opinion on a terrible detective novel that had overly high expectations but ultimately fell short of expectations:

"Because in the first six rounds against Class 1-D, Ryo, as the commander, spoke much less frequently than when facing Nagumo in the morning."

"Could it be interpreted as me being stunned by the sudden betrayal from Class D?"

Kitagawa Ryo tilted his head.

"Oh, I believe you."

Shiina Hiyori smiled and took the bottle of iodine from Kitagawa Ryo's hand, shaking the liquid inside:

“If Liang doesn’t tell the truth when it’s just the two of us, I’ll force-feed this to you without hesitation.”

"……All right."

Kitagawa Ryo nonchalantly took the iodine back and nodded, saying:

"I did know about this in advance."

"Longyuan had actually considered this operation by Class D before, but he trusted his spy in Class D too much, so he didn't get the news until noon. However, he reacted quickly and managed to outmaneuver his opponent."

"Hui carried out this operation alone from the beginning, without telling the students of Class D. Because she was the commander of Class D, she had the right to choose the opponent. Once the deed was done, the students of Class D would have no choice but to be tied to the same boat and fight against our Class B."

"But while her plan might fool many people in Class D, it certainly won't fool the person who plays the most important role in it."

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

Kitagawa Ryo recalls the scene on the deserted island, where he used the videotape as a threat to expel Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to help Karuizawa Megumi. In fact, the videotape that Karuizawa Megumi regarded as a kind of tight rein on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has a huge logical flaw.

The rules of the special exam for the uninhabited island state that anyone who commits violence against members of other classes will be expelled.

It was because of this that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was hesitant to act, because for him, who had escaped from the white room, dropping out of school meant losing his freedom and returning to that empty white space.

However, Karuizawa Kei overlooked the fact that the two parties involved in the violent act in the videotape were Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo.

When Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Megumi were on the same side, this video could easily have hit Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's weak point.

“But if my position and Hui’s position were reversed, the videotape would actually lose its threatening function.”

"Because as the victim and the person involved, all I have to do is deny Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's violent behavior and deny that it was me and Ayanokouji exercising. In this kind of violent incident, catching him in the act is the most effective thing to do. Two months have passed, and the school is unable to make a judgment. If this gets out of hand, how will Class 1-D view the class leader who exposed the [crimes] of the students in their class?"

"So, Ayanokouji's rise in status within Class D over the past two months is also due to that?"

"Yes."

Kitagawa Ryo readily admitted it locally:

"On the surface, Ayanokouji's every move was to help Megumi, but in reality, it also helped him build connections and reputation in the class."

"It accumulated to the point that even Megumi, as the leader, could not easily use public opinion and evidence to expel Ayanokoji from school."

In fact, during those few days on the cruise ship, Kitagawa Ryo secretly contacted Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and after returning to school, he also arranged for Ryuen Sho to communicate and exchange information with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"It was the time of the divination."

Shiina Hiyori spoke as if she had just remembered something.

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded:

"Because they want to target our Class 1-B, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is Class D's most powerful weapon. Megumi probably uses him as the core of her strategy, since from her perspective, Ayanokouji is controlled by her."

"I understand now."

Shiina Hiyori nodded thoughtfully, her light, silvery-white hair swaying slightly with her movement, shimmering with a captivating luster in the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Why did Liang lose to Class D?"