4.1
Narrator: MC
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my forearm when we finally finished moving the two tents of the girls, thanks to Kiyone's help. (I was still getting used to the fact that she was a woman in this universe.) We managed to move the girls' tents much faster than I could have on my own without any help.
It also took us both much less time.
I glanced at Kiyone from the corner of my eye; she was much less sweaty than me. Even the masterpiece (in this world being a woman) couldn't avoid sweating in the intense sun. Fortunately, the trees shielded us from the direct sun hitting our faces.
Kiyone had a good figure, and I could see how her white shirt clung a bit to her form. My eyes paused at her backside before moving down her legs. Before I shook my head, trying to prevent lewd thoughts from entering my mind.
Damn it. I won't deny that she looks more beautiful up close. I hope I haven't been too obvious or forward. I don't want my reputation to fall any lower than it already is.
On the other hand, to my unfortunate luck, despite the shadows from the trees, the sun was giving off a terrible heat. It made me reconsider how Horikita could be cold in this excessively hot weather. So, I let go of speculating and looked at Horikita sitting on a log with her arms crossed; I noticed she was rubbing her arms as if it were cold, and I couldn't see a drop of sweat on her exposed skin.
I've never experienced that kind of fever. Of course, I've had a fever, but never to that extent. It makes me wonder what bacteria Horikita had to be in such a state.
I didn't realize that as I thought about Horikita's health, my vision shifted to the ground, so I had been staring at the forest grass for a good couple of minutes. I only snapped out of my thoughts when someone put a hand on my shoulder for a few seconds, making my muscles tense before looking over my shoulder.
Kiyone tilted her head, looking at me for a moment before commenting, "You don't have to worry about Horikita. She'll be fine. She's so stubborn; she won't withdraw from the exam."
I stared at her for a few minutes before sighing in exasperation.
That's exactly what worries me; if she doesn't withdraw, then we're going to lose.
That's what I meant, but I didn't want Kiyone to get more interested in me than she already has, so instead, I said, "I guess you're right about Horikita. Although I'm more concerned about the underwear thief," giving the best reasonable excuse I could think of.
Kiyone raised an eyebrow with curiosity, "Do you have any idea who might be the person who stole the underwear?"
I bit my lip, debating whether to tell her if I already knew who put the underwear in Yamauchi's suitcase or to say that I had a suspicion about who the person was.
After briefly debating it, I decided to go with a half-truth. "I think I know who stole the underwear, but I'm not sure, so I was going to find out before the end of the day." I checked my watch; it was 33 minutes until 10 a.m.
The girls woke us up super early, so I've been working with Kiyone in the scorching sun for quite some time. Besides, my body wasn't used to working for so long, so I was breathing much faster than usual. Ike's body wasn't in shape, but it wasn't neglected either.
I looked in the direction where Ibuki was. It seems she's been watching me or more specifically, looking in Kiyone's direction as if wanting to talk to her, but she didn't because I was with her. Now that I think about it, wasn't this the moment when she approached to talk to Kiyotaka?
I quickly realized that I had been looking at Ibuki for too long, and now she was looking at me with a furrowed brow. Not to mention that Kiyone was looking in the direction I had been looking, and now she was looking at me with curiosity and intrigue.
"Do you think it's Ibuki?" Kiyone asked me with a curious look, staring intently at my face.
I ran a hand over my eyes, rubbing them to try to get rid of the slight headache that had started before taking my hand away at the same time as I sighed and said, "Why don't we find out?" before starting to walk towards Ibuki and putting on a sly smile.
"Eh?" Kiyone was surprised by my behavior before shaking her head, following him with her hands behind her back.
Ibuki raised an eyebrow as her furrowed brow deepened, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she waited until we approached her.
[Imagen]
"That was quite a show, huh?" I could feel the muscles in my face stretching to give her a sly smile that could cause some irritation, but not too much. "Who would have thought that Class D would show up in such a lamentable state?" I said sarcastically. "And, believe it or not, this is more normal than you imagine," I half-lied.
Ibuki looked confused by my casual attitude towards her. "The underwear theft?"
I shook my head. "The discussions, the theft is the first time it's happened. And I hope it's the last," I said, frowning at her from the corner of my eye before smiling again. "As you may have noticed, Class D is not very united."
"I guess... the discussions you had in the morning seemed pretty serious, though it seems like you handled them." Ibuki gave me a suspicious look. "Although, as a woman, stealing girls' underwear is unforgivable."
I gave her a teasing look. "So, you suspect it was me. Or my partner, Yamauchi, since we are the most suspicious in the class." Now that I thought about it, suspecting perverts as the first option wasn't illogical, but you couldn't jump to hasty conclusions. "Not to mention, our reputations aren't good, I imagine."
Ibuki just frowned in confusion as she looked me up and down as if reconsidering life. "I've heard some rumors, but I never pay attention to them because I'm not interested in that kind of thing. Although knowing you makes me wonder why you have them."
I just nervously laughed before she abruptly stopped me, but still kept the smile. I had learned in life that to avoid people reading your face with cold reading, it was much easier to maintain a smile than an expressionless face like Kiyone's.
"Well, the rumors aren't entirely wrong, but as most rumors tend to exaggerate things until they turn them into fallacies. So basing your opinions of people on rumors isn't the smartest idea, although you can get an idea with them." Then I looked her in the eyes, keeping a smile on my face. "I see that despite that, you still doubt me," I said with amusement.
It seemed that Ibuki observed how Shinohara and the others treated me as guilty this morning, so she decided that this alibi was the best to maintain her anonymity as the culprit of stealing Karuizawa's underwear.
"Are you the culprit?" Ibuki asked.
"No, that's not the case," I replied, refraining from rolling my eyes. I was actually impressed by how well this girl could lie. She even maintained eye contact with me throughout our entire conversation.
"Alright then. Well, it's not like I have specific evidence. Despite the strong suspicions the girls have against you, it seems that guy Hirata trusts your innocence. I think the possibility of you being the culprit is low."
I nodded, feigning gratitude as we engaged in a completely fake conversation. As if I didn't know that she stole Karuizawa's underwear. And I wasn't foolish enough to blame her, even though I had logical arguments to corner her; that would only attract more attention. Not to mention that Kiyone was silently watching us.
"Do you have any idea who the culprit is?" Ibuki asked me.
I shook my head while pretending exasperation. "At the moment, not entirely. I don't want to doubt the guys as much as possible."
"Then who do you think the culprit is?" She said, looking away from me. She started looking at the other students in our base camp. Some of them began giving us suspicious looks.
Her question felt like a test. I was glancing at Ibuki, who was sitting beside me, but expecting the answer without looking at me. Still, she continued without me responding.
"If the guys aren't the culprits, as you say, then the next suspect is me, a stranger. Someone undoubtedly doesn't trust me. I could be pretending that the guys stole the underwear. Am I right?"
She said it mockingly, knowing she was suspicious. I quickly responded, filled with emotions.
"That's possible," I honestly told her before giving her a more genuine smile. "Although I believe you're being honest with me, so I'm sure you're not the culprit."
She looked a bit surprised, wanting to make sure this was true. When our eyes met, she looked away.
"... Thank you. I didn't think you'd be so kind."
"It's just an honest answer. Besides, I don't think you should worry about what others think. As long as you know you haven't done anything. Let those idiots talk all they want. We're innocent." Then I gave her a smug smile. "Just because you're from another class doesn't mean you're guilty. Honestly, it's the same silly argument when they accuse me of being guilty just because I've had some indecent thoughts."
Ibuki looked surprised by what I said before shaking her head with a smile. "Right... although I didn't think you'd admit you've had those thoughts. No wonder the girls think that of you."
I shrugged. "Well, I'm a man. So, I can't help some of those thoughts entering my head. Especially when surrounded by beautiful women." I shook my head. "I'm still surprised by that, honestly."
"... Now I see why the other girls call you a pervert," Ibuki commented, her cheeks blushing as she frowned.
I acted as if I were offended and looked at her with fake surprise. "Not you too. Come on, I don't understand why women get offended when we compliment them. You shouldn't be shy, Ibuki; I think you're beautiful too. Of course, you don't have the same body as other girls, but that doesn't diminish your worth."
Ibuki gave me a glaring look with a completely red face, and before she could speak, Kiyone commented:
"I think sometimes you do more than give compliments, Ike."
Ayanokōji-san, traitor. Don't ruin the image I have.
"I think you ruined the image by yourself; I'm just stating some facts."
"ACK. My heart was damaged by the doll princess," I said in jest while clutching my chest and holding my heart with fake pain.
"Doll princess?"
I could hear Ibuki sigh.
ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬
4.2
Narrator: Kiyone.
So, on the fifth night of the special exam, Class D felt depressed. It was as if we were on a night vigil over a corpse. After all, no one knew who the culprit was, and no one wanted to talk about it. One whole day passed without a moment of doubt and suspicion.
In this situation, it was my responsibility to keep the fire burning. I was just watching the fire, throwing some branches from time to time—a very monotonous and easy task. The problem, however, lay elsewhere.
"Hey, Ike! I told you to move the tent properly, right?"
"Move it more to the left. It's too close to the guys."
Ike, who was leaning against one of the trees with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and gave the girls an expressionless look.
"I moved it exactly where you said. I'm not your worker or a servant to move it even more, considering how exhausting it was to do it." Then he frowned. "Besides, how is it too close? I left it at a distance of 8 ken."
"Well, you're the one who wanted to help move the tent. And I told you they're too close to the guys. We need more distance. We can't be sure if the guys are too close," said Shinohara.
Ike groaned, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. "Now you're just being petty. Where's a lawyer when you need one? I need to assert my rights as a man."
Yamauchi walked towards Ike with a confident posture before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. I've studied several laws while recovering from my injury. They even called me a genius."
Everyone fell silent at that. Most were incredulous.
Ike looked at Yamauchi with an expressionless look before removing Yamauchi's hand from his shoulder and approaching the girls with a dead and empty look, resigning himself to the horrible fate the girls had prepared for him. "Where do you want me to move it?" he said in an emotionless tone.
Shinohara now felt uncomfortable. "Just a little more to the left... uh, please?"
Life returned to Ike, looking at Shinohara with an incredulous and amazed look as if a miracle had happened.
Shinohara frowned with flushed cheeks. "What!" She retorted.
Ike shook his head before smiling cunningly. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing." Saying that, Ike moved away to start moving the girls' tent; he sincerely almost felt pity for him again. Almost.
"It's hard when you're forced to do various routine tasks," Horikita said mockingly, looking at Ike.
"Yeah, I feel sorry for Ike. I can't imagine how it would be if it were me if I were forced to do that. Karuizawa's group can be quite cruel," I commented, narrowing my eyes at the blonde-haired girl.
The behavior of Karuizawa's boyfriend seemed suspicious to me. One would have thought that he would have reacted differently upon learning that her underwear had been stolen, but his reaction was unexpected, and Kiyone has a hunch about what might have happened, although nothing is clear.
Then I looked at the person who intrigued me the most at the moment; his behavior change had been unexpected, and I genuinely wanted to know what could have caused such an event. I looked back in my memories to see if I could catch any signs of suspicious behavior in Ike, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"You should help him. If you feel so sorry for him, I would feel much calmer knowing that you're there. Ike can't be trusted, and neither can Hirata-kun."
"I understand why you don't trust Ike, but he didn't do anything suspicious while moving the tent," Kiyone sighed. "And you're the only one in the class who doesn't trust Hirata. It's better not to think that everyone lives with a hidden face."
"It's true. In fact, I don't have a hidden face."
Indeed, Horikita lives being honest with herself.
"However, most people use their real intentions very differently from their principles. Like you. Besides, I don't trust any of them because charity and hypocrisy are two sides of the same coin."
It seems that her trust issues are not limited only to Hirata; they also apply to Kushida.
"Still, I think Ike can be trusted. If he's not doing anything suspicious. And if you're so bothered by him doing 'charity,' why don't you help him?" I looked at her for a moment before my gaze landed on Ike again.
Horikita scoffed at that. "Why should I help a fool in what he got himself into? And even if he did well the first time, it was because you helped him. And then he claims he doesn't like problems, but he's the first to dive into them." She gave me a hostile smile.
"Well, Ike didn't seem foolish when he countered your arguments." If I could smile, I would have.
"That... Ike-kun took me by surprise. I won't deny that his analytical skills took me by surprise. I didn't think he, of all people, would be so... observant," Horikita murmured with narrowed eyes toward Ike, who was currently moving the tent. She shook her head. "But it won't happen again."
"Yeah, if you say so." I didn't want to upset her, so I dropped the subject, but I really wondered if Horikita could beat Ike in an argumentative conversation. Ike already had many advantages over Horikita, being quite communicative and good at oral language, not to mention his charisma when required. The opposite of Horikita.
Adding to the new discovery of the skills Ike had been hiding all this time, Ike became a big question and mystery that I was going to discover and analyze thoroughly. So, Horikita's statement is taken as part of her arrogance and underestimation of Ike.
"Ouch!" Ike exclaimed loudly when he stumbled over the uneven ground he was standing on while moving the tent, banging his sword sharply against the ground, and his head followed shortly after.
Horikita made a slight grimace before smirking mockingly. What a grudgeful girl, I thought.
Other people also saw the commotion Ike caused with surprise.
"Ah, damn, my head." Ike immediately knelt on the ground and grabbed the back of his head, grimacing in pain.
Kushida, always friendly, quickly approached Ike, feigning concern. Although I'm sure she's laughing internally at Ike's misfortune. "Kanji-kun, are you okay?"
Ike looked at Kushida's hand with hesitation for a few minutes before sighing and accepting it. Standing up, he let go of Kushida's hand before attempting to clean his back, with some success. "I'm fine. Although I appreciate the concern." Then Ike looked at the ground where he fell and began hitting it with his foot. "Stupid, damn ground."
Several people gave him a strange look. Even I raised an eyebrow curiously as to why Ike was doing that. The only thing he accomplished by hitting the ground was that there was a possibility that Ike would hurt himself more, and the ground didn't feel any of Ike's blows.
Maybe he does it to vent his frustration? Or is it something else?
"Um... are you sure you're okay, Ike-kun? Didn't you hurt yourself?" Hirata, who had seen Ike hurt himself, immediately moved away from the girls to go directly to where Ike was with concern.
"As I said, I'm..." Ike began before stopping and grimacing, touching the back of his head. "... a little hurt behind, but I don't think it's anything serious."
"Are you sure? If you want, you can rest; I'll take care of moving the girls' tent."
Ike shook his head. "It's okay, don't worry."
Hirata then sighed. "Well, at least let me help you finish moving it. If you feel unwell, don't hesitate to let me know. That fall was quite hard."
Ike smiled. "The help would be appreciated." Then he looked directly at Horikita and me before winking at us and smiling mockingly for a few seconds.
That boy... I had my suspicions, but that confirmed it. Ike intentionally hurt himself to avoid doing the job alone. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Horikita, who glared at Ike.
Then I saw Horikita looking at me from the corner of her eye.
"What a serious face. Don't you like treating someone like a criminal?"
Previously, I was discussing the possibility of Ibuki being the criminal, and after the conversation I had with Ibuki along with Ike, I concluded that she was the one who had stolen Karuizawa's underwear.
She maintained direct eye contact with Ike throughout the conversation. She didn't take her eyes off him, except for some moments that didn't involve her as the culprit.
"If it weren't for Ike, this incident would have taken a toll on the class. I dare say the damage to the class's trust would have been irreparable," I shared my opinions with Horikita.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, if one of the girls had found the underwear in one of the boys' bags, the trust of the girls in the boys would have been destroyed. And even if we had found the real culprit, cooperation between boys and girls wouldn't be the same," Horikita reluctantly agreed.
But the culprit wasn't stupid. First of all, faced with suspicion from all the class members, they didn't confess or reveal their true intentions. Horikita might still think everything will be fine even in the worst situations, but that wouldn't have been the case if the culprit had succeeded.
Although the culprit almost managed to deal a severe blow in the comparison between the classes, an unexpected wild card realized the situation and was forced to come out of the shadows where they had been hiding, saving the class from its imminent fate.
Ike must have noticed the culprit in the act, but he let the culprit act. I suspected that Ike knew there was something behind the scenes and didn't expose the culprit at the time for the same reason. Instead, he decided to prevent irreparable damage to the class and minimize the damage done.
However, about the culprit... Ibuki probably has to act once more. No, it has to happen for sure. Because she hasn't achieved her goal yet.
"Also, as you said, we still don't know the true motive of the culprit. I can try to guess what their motives are, but I feel that ruining our cooperation wasn't the main purpose of the culprit. I feel there's something more," I expressed my thoughts.
Horikita crossed her arms, but after considering it for a moment, she shook her head. "It doesn't make sense to dwell on it until we have an idea." Horikita sighed, feeling a shiver down her spine.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going back to the tent." Horikita, breathing slowly, brushed her hair and turned her face away from me.
"Hey, Horikita, how about confessing calmly?"
"Confess? What the hell are you talking about?" Although she pretended to be calm, Horikita had a bit of sweat on her forehead. I decided to be reasonable with her.
"Since the exam started, you've been getting sick slowly."
There might have been signs of her poor physical condition even before the trip, but they were still visible. Due to Horikita's personality, the possibility of her being absent on a trip with excessive fun was very high.
"I'm fine," she said, giving me a look.
"You're lying."
I caught Horikita in the lie she kept saying and then reached out to her forehead. As expected, when I touched her forehead, it felt warm. She tried to escape, but her movements were very slow.
"Since when... did you notice?" She frowned, no longer continuing with the lie.
"Since that time we met on the deck. I wanted to know what you were doing at that moment," I commented, looking at her closely.
"Yes. I told you I was reading a book in my room." She said.
"It was really hard for you, so you stayed in your room sleeping, right?" I commented.
"What's the basis for that?" Horikita looked at me in question.
"When you joined the others, your strands were disheveled. In other words, that was evidence that you were lying down just before. Also, on the anchoring platform, it was so hot, but it seemed like you were cold.
Even now, you're wearing long sleeves with the zipper up. If you look at your situation up to today from an external point of view, you can realize... I mean, Ike also noticed that you were sick." I said, recalling the conversation I had with Ike and how surprised he was because he reached the same conclusion as me.
Horikita, who would usually respond, was left speechless this time and fell into silence for a while. "If you offered all that insight to get to Class A, you'd get a bit more recognition." Horikita shook her head. "And Ike-kun also noticed; I had hoped that his questions earlier were baseless, but I see he's more perceptive than I thought."
Horikita shook her head before continuing. "No. There's no turning back now. Does that mean you won't keep silent about my condition?" she asked me.
By touching her with my hand, it was clear that it was a flu close to 38 degrees. However, she was hiding it. That's for a simple reason. If she reports her poor physical condition, the class would receive a bad evaluation, and she would have a greater penalty. Her luck ran out from the start of the exam.
"Do you still plan to keep silent after this?" I said.
with a flat look. "I know you think you can overcome the final exam, but your health is deteriorating over time, so I recommend that you-"
"Shut up!" Horikita snapped.
I closed my mouth and didn't continue what I was about to say; silence lingered between us for a long time.
"I'm sorry... but I've been waiting for five days. Everything will be in vain if I give up here. That's why..." Horikita walked past me. "...Well then, good night, Ayanokōji-san."
She is determined to survive until the end. Her will seems strong.
ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬
4.3
Narrator: MC.
I felt a strange warmth and stiffness on my cheek.
This warmth gave me a bad feeling, so I tried to move away by stretching my neck a bit. However, I couldn't move. I felt an arm firmly wrapped around my neck.
"W-What?"
I woke up with a sense of discomfort. Immediately, I realized that I was in a terrifying situation. Sudō was sleeping on my face, with both legs around my thighs.
"Suzune... I... can't take it anymore."
"Arghhh," I screamed in complete terror, recognizing this situation, and quickly escaping from Sudō's grip.
"Shut up... What's wrong, Kanji?... Don't wake me up... Hmph." Sudō mumbled sleepily before going back to sleep.
Damn, this guy was doing something terrifying to me, so I really preferred not to think about what else had happened while I was sleeping. Just to make sure, I touched my cheek, hoping not to find saliva.
I sighed in relief when I found nothing.
I started stretching my body to alleviate the discomfort of sleeping in such a cramped space in the tent and then moved to my back, causing it to crack and eliciting a sigh of satisfaction.
I glanced at Sudō again, who had confused me with Horikita a few moments ago. Honestly, for someone heterosexual, it was quite disturbing, and even though I wanted to complain more loudly, this wasn't something I could reveal to a crowd of guys in the middle of the night.
The time on the clock was before 6 in the morning, but as soon as I felt the hot and humid air, my drowsiness disappeared in an instant. I exited the tent to avoid that humid atmosphere. At that moment, I realized that the landscape was completely different from yesterday.
"...Just my luck, isn't it?" I couldn't help but complain, making me wonder if something had cursed me with bad luck before coming to this world. I shook my head; I just had to endure the sixth day. Tomorrow, the results of the island exam will be announced, and then I will be enjoying a glorious vacation on a luxury ship.
Of course, there was the Chinese zodiac exam, but since I already knew how to solve it, I didn't have to worry. Although it made me wonder whether I should keep a low profile or make allies. If I remember correctly, Matsushita is in the same group as Ike, so if I think of a plan, I can make her interested in me without raising suspicions about my future knowledge. She would only see me as someone who had hidden their intelligence by pretending to be foolish.
Not to sound arrogant, but I was probably smarter than most first-year students. I wasn't sure about his IQ, but he had always been someone who didn't have much difficulty in his studies.
I looked at the sky; there were signs that it would start raining. Probably around noon.
The weather seemed to be the final difficulty of the exam. No need to worry if it rains a little, but it might rain heavily and be windy. Then, the class would have to act, thinking about the worst-case scenario.
We'll have a lot to do. Like checking the tent stakes and figuring out what to do with the luggage.
In other words, that means we're going to be busy, and that will cause unnecessary attention.
Eventually, everyone started to get up, and we all began to mix the food we collected with the emergency supplies we had in the tent, using our points, and prepared them in a pot for us to eat.
In our daily life here, there are natural complaints everywhere that are increasing, but in the last few days, everyone showed their will to survive this trial.
With that in mind, I looked at the last people who had been left on guard to prevent another incident like the theft. They were passed out, sleeping in a completely uncomfortable position that would cause them quite a bit of pain. I made a sympathetic grimace.
So, I woke them up as the other students were waking up. Since I couldn't go back to sleep, I told them that I would take care of the watch in the meantime. They were skeptical, but as they were drowsy, they decided to take it and sleep a little more in the tent.
When everyone was awake again, which happened in a few hours, Hirata was already encouraging us to finish the last day of the exam. He also began to form groups to search for food and survive today because what we had wasn't enough to feed everyone.
And with the food obtained, we won't have to use more points, so it can be said that this is a critical moment for the class, not to mention the fact that we have to collect before the rain starts.
When he formed the groups, I couldn't help but frown and ask, "Shouldn't we go with you too?" Honestly, what I had been assigned wasn't something I fancied.
"No. Ike and Sudō, I want you to go fishing. From now on, try to teach the other students how to fish. We don't have time." Hirata said with a kind voice, but I just sighed irritably at this comment.
Unfortunately, I couldn't complain, or my classmates would probably look at me with disdain and disgust, even if I were the one who contributed the most to the class, with Kiyone being the exception. Not to mention that the girls would hate me more than they already do just for going against Hirata, so I had no choice but to accept.
Honestly, I was a bit worried because I had been tasked with teaching people to fish when I had never fished in my life. I could only hope not to make a fool of myself with this.
In the end, the fishing group was Sudō, Inogashira, Onodera, Nishimura, and Okitani.
A quite strange group, if I have something to say, and one that probably won't come together again.
"So, first, you anchor the bait to attract the fish this way," I said with sweat on my forehead as I attached the lure to the fishing rod. "And you have to cast the net like this." I demonstrated, trying to use my muscle memory. Fortunately, it worked. "Not too far, not too close, or it'll be harder to catch the fish when it bites the hook," I said confidently, even if I had no idea about the crap coming out of my mouth. But I wouldn't hesitate, and they might suspect.
"And then?" Okitani nervously asked.
"Nothing. You have to wait; this is about patience and virtue. Although when you catch something, you pull with force while turning the reel."
"Doesn't seem that difficult," Onodera exclaimed before grabbing a fishing rod and imitating what I did.
[Imagen]
"You've been really helpful in this exam, Ike-kun," Nishimura sighed as she glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
"When I was young, we used to camp a lot. Camping is something I'm used to," I shrugged before grimacing slightly from back pain. I should take a painkiller when I board the boat. "Although I would have preferred it not to be an exam. Sleeping has been quite uncomfortable."
"I can understand what you mean, Ike-kun," Inogashira commented, making me raise an eyebrow. She blushed and started to stammer. "I-I mean, I've also had trouble sleeping. If it weren't for Kikyō..." she stopped with a small grimace, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.
[Imagen]
I frowned at that. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for her or concerned. On the one hand, I knew that Kushida was rotten and the blame lies only with her; she corrupted herself to seek more attention and craved it almost like an addictive drug. On the other hand, I thought Inogashira was one of the people, along with Mii-chan, whom Kushida didn't hate.
I didn't say anything for a few moments, prolonging the silence. I probably should say a comment praising Kushida or something that makes her look great, but honestly, I didn't know what to say, and if I said something, it was probably something stupid that would embarrass me, so with something simple.
"Kushida. She's quite kind, isn't she?" I said with some sarcasm, avoiding rolling my eyes. "She has helped me a lot, so I understand what you mean. Sometimes it makes me wonder how there can be someone so kind like her," I said with a sigh before sitting down and looking at the river in front of me.
Sudō clapped, competitively clenching his fist. "Alright! Let's get started with this crap. The faster we start, the faster we get food and get out of here. Maybe today we'll be luckier than yesterday."
Okitani and I groaned simultaneously because we were going to spend our day in a boring activity. The girls agreed, but I could see Inogashira and Nishimura shrinking at the assigned task.
"I agree with you, Sudō-kun," Onodera exclaimed excitedly. "I bet I can get more fish than you." She said competitively.
"We'll see if you've got what it takes." Sudō then threw the fishing line after putting the hook, putting a little more force than expected, and it fell farther away from the rest.
I just sighed; this was going to be a long day.
ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬
4.3
After the fishing activity, I returned to the camp a bit grumpy. Of all those who were fishing, only Nishimura and I couldn't get any fish. Not that it was our fault; we just didn't catch any. The others only got one fish each, with Inogashira getting the biggest fish of all.
Sudō and Onodera complained about how unfair life was, but at that moment, I ignored it in favor of crossing my arms and pouting. At first, I thought it was going to be a boring activity, but in the end, it turned out not to be, since the conversation we had was good. But despite appearing indifferent, I was still a competitive person, and not catching any fish was a hard blow to my sad new life.
"If there's a next time, I won't lose," I murmured to myself. And Inogashira, who was on my left, shrank shyly upon hearing my declaration. Nishimura, who was also pouting, sighed before smiling slightly, amused.
"And you were supposed to be the expert in this," she joked.
I snorted at her comment. "It wasn't my fault; I had a lot of bad luck," I complained.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Nishimura rolled her eyes.
"Not to mention, I had three beautiful women distracting me every time," I said with a sly smile. "I felt like my poor heart couldn't bear being the sensei for such women," I said with sadness while putting a hand on my heart.
Inogashira blushed; she started to stammer, but the words didn't come out. Nishimura, on the other hand, looked at me disgustedly, but her cheeks were flushed. "Idiot, you ruined the moment."
I shrugged, amused, making Nishimura lightly hit my shoulder. "Hey," I complained.
"You deserve it," she muttered before shaking her head. "Come on, Inogashira-san, before Ike-kun tries to keep flirting with us." Nishimura started heading towards the girls' tent.
"G-Goodbye, Ike-kun," Inogashira took the opportunity to escape, making me chuckle.
Seeing that I had nothing else to do, and was currently alone again. I leaned my back against a tree that gave shade. The fish they had caught was taken by Onodera, Okitani, and Sudō to take them to the storehouse, so I was free at the moment.
I closed my eyes while leaning against the bark of a tree and started thinking about the next moves I could make. I have to be discreet, but I would need allies because I couldn't do it all alone. Hirata was someone I could use, and if I got Matsushita's help, there would be two allies I could rely on.
Kiyone was an unknown factor in my life. She was interested in me, and I could see it. But I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing for me. I shook my head; it was something I would find out with time.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I caught a burnt smell in the camp. I opened my eyes and could see the smoke from my position; even the camp's air changed to something much more uncomfortable.
It was too early to start a fire. I also noticed that the place where it came from was very strange. I blinked at that when a memory came to my mind; I think Kiyone was the one who burned the exam rulebook to give Ibuki a distraction so that she could escape with our leader's card, which was currently Horikita.
Despite hearing panic screams and seeing some students running around like headless chickens, and some started blaming each other, I, on the other hand, felt relieved because that meant my existence hadn't altered the canon timeline, or at least the butterflies hadn't started fluttering yet.
I approached the chaos, reluctantly leaving my comfortable spot.
I stood beside Horikita, frowning at the fire.
Horikita quickly noticed me. "Did you start the fire, Ike-kun?"
I looked offended, but before I could defend myself, Kiyone responded in my defense.
"That's not possible. Ike, who was in the fishing group, just returned from fishing. It wouldn't have given him enough time to start such an intense fire with the manual in such a short time without anyone noticing." Kiyone argued.
Horikita coughed slightly and looked down with regret. "You're right. I'm responsible for this. The manual was in my bag. We kept them all piled up in front of the tent, and I didn't expect someone to steal them during the day. But first, I need to digest properly what happened."
While Horikita was talking, I involuntarily coughed from inhaling smoke. I instinctively moved an arm to brush away the smoke that was reaching my face before covering my nose with my sports shirt.
Instead of looking for the culprit, Hirata headed to the river since he preferred to put out the fire first.
While taking water from an empty plastic bottle, Hirata coughed with a somber expression on his face.
"Why?... Why would someone do something like this?... why can't we get along..." he murmured while staring into space.
Spontaneously and with all his might, he crushed the plastic bottle with his hands. I grimaced at that. Hirata's usual refreshing expression was completely abandoned.
Hirata's body and mind, while constantly working as a leader to consolidate our class, continued to bear a heavy burden.
"I don't think you have to bear the whole burden yourself." I saw Kiyone approach Hirata and say words that couldn't be considered comforting to him, yet he stood up and choked out a thank you.
"This incident... We have to discuss it properly." Hirata commented with a forced smile, but his gloomy look ruined the expression.
"Okay. Most of Class D witnessed the fire. I'm sure they would like to know the truth." Kiyone tried to reassure him.
I did nothing as this happened; I remained silent. I should probably be helping, as Hirata was going to be uncooperative, getting depressed about his past.
With a dejected expression, Hirata returned to the scene of the fire, holding water in his hands.
"Hey, who did this? Does that mean there's a traitor in our class?" When we returned, we found Karuizawa leading a confrontation between boys and girls.
"Why suspect us? Isn't this a completely different issue from the underwear one?"
"Do you think we don't understand? Did you burn it to trick us?"
"Don't talk nonsense, as if we could do something like this."
"Wait a moment, guys! Let's calm down and discuss it together." Immediately, Hirata went to the center of the circle and intervened to mediate and convince them not to fight.
Seeing that we were close and before intervening, Hirata recommended Kiyone the task of extinguishing the fire produced by the manual, and as I was nearby, I decided to help her put out the fire.
Perhaps it was because of the underwear theft yesterday, but both sides are now agitated and show no signs of calming down. It seems that Class D members can't help but start a witch hunt for the culprit here.
"For now, there's no fear of the flames spreading," Kiyone murmured by my side.
I shook the empty plastic bottle a few times. There shouldn't be anything left inside; one by one, water droplets sprinkled on the fire.
I looked up at the sky.
"Rain..." Kiyone murmured, making me raise an eyebrow.
Then I felt the raindrops fall on my cheeks. The clouds became darker than before. This was proof that it would rain soon.
Originally, we all agreed to come together and overcome the final hurdle. But now, boys and girls are ruthlessly opposed to each other, and they remain indifferent as if they are having a real war among themselves.
"I can't do this anymore, never again. Seriously, this is the worst. Having arsonists and underwear thieves in this class is the worst of the worst."
"That's why we've been telling you that it wasn't us! How long are you going to keep suspecting us? A fight that can go on forever."
Hirata is supposed to stop this soon as usual, but he stands motionless, looking shocked. Knowing what was happening to him, I could only give him a pitying look.
I looked at Kiyone, who was giving me a piercing look as if expecting something from me. I grimaced and pursed my lips in irritation at knowing what she wanted from me. And if I didn't do it, I didn't want to know what could happen, so I sighed resignedly.
"Shut up!" I shouted as loudly as possible, causing the argument to cease immediately, and everyone looked at me. "Listen, let's stop blaming each other. It doesn't matter who the culprit is right now. If we keep arguing and blaming each other, then all the hard work we've done in the exam could be ruined because of the rain."
"You'd better stay quiet; you could very well be the culprit of—" Karuizawa frowned at me, but I didn't let her finish.
"I said shut up." I gave her a dark and ominous look with a bitter smile. She immediately closed her mouth and involuntarily stepped back in fear, shivering at my gaze.
I sighed as I felt the rain getting stronger. "Look, I know you're angry and want to find the culprit, but the exam is about to end, and the rain is getting heavier. If we don't do something, we'll lose all the food, and our things will be ruined, and the hard work we've done will be in vain, and we'll have to spend more points to recover from that loss." I said with a tired sigh.
"So, let's have a ceasefire, and once we finish the exam, we can continue this discussion seriously," I said and then added, seeing the girls hesitate. "I know you're conflicted and have every right, but we have to work together to finish this exam. Otherwise, we won't earn points. We'll never advance to the next class, and we'll have to keep eating free food because of our lack of points." My body shivered at that.
"Kanji-kun is right." Kushida supported with a kind smile. "We must cooperate, and we should probably move our things before they get wet and ruined."
Shinohara sighed, nodding. "Fine. Let's do it, but once we finish this stupid exam, we'll discuss what happened here."
Yamauchi, who had come to my side, commented, "Hey. I can't find Ibuki anywhere."
That made everyone look around the camp for Ibuki, but no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find her.
"Perhaps, the culprit of this fire..."
"You also have doubts, I see. If she started the fire, well, as expected..."
The men's suspicions began to focus on Ibuki, and the girls also began to doubt slowly. However, before concluding, the rain began to fall harder and harder.
"Damn," I said, then looked at Hirata and made a face seeing that he was still in that state of uselessness, so I tapped Kiyone on the shoulder and gave her a forced smile. "You better help Hirata; it's the least you can do for what I did." Then I shook my head. "What I do for beautiful women."
Kiyone nodded. I could see a playful glint dancing in her eyes. My eye twitched as I watched Kiyone walk away to help Hirata. Then I sighed and looked at my classmates who were still staring at me; I grimaced because it seemed that some of them looked at me with different eyes.
"Alright, everyone, this is what we'll do..." That's how I became the substitute leader of Class D, though it only worked because of how collaboratively Kushida was working with me for some strange reason. Not that I was going to complain about having a beautiful woman by my side, even if that girl were an apple, I could. At least that girl has useful skills, which I can use.
ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬ ᕕ (⌐ ■ _ ■) ᕗ ♪ ♬
4.4
Narrator: Kiyone.
August 7th. Finally, our endless life on the uninhabited island is coming to an end. Is our salvation in the fact that we spent our time modestly enjoying this cruel survival test?
There were still no signs of Mashima-sensei and the others when noon arrived. It's time to finish.
"I will announce a recount of the test results. Please wait a moment. Since the test is already over, we kindly ask those who want to use the toilets or drink to use the rest area."
With this announcement, the students gathered at the rest area simultaneously. Among other things, there were tables and chairs set up under the temporary tent, and it seemed like you could rest as much as you wanted. There were no signs of Kōenji, Horikita, or the withdrawn students waiting on the cruise. Sudō, who is always with Yamauchi and the others, remained motionless, looking towards the cruise.
I looked for Ike and could see him with a relieved smile while leaning against one of the shade-giving trees. He looked at me and smirked mischievously, then winked at me. I sighed at this.
From the expression on his face, he didn't seem worried about the results. A clear difference from the early days of the island exam, not to mention that he seemed much more confident. I was increasingly interested in him for this.
"Ayanokōji. You're close to Horikita, right? How close are you, really?" Instead of getting angry or making a scene, Sudō genuinely wants to know.
"There's nothing between us. We're just friends. Nothing more and nothing less," I said with a blank look.
"...Don't you know anything about her? Both of you are girls, right? You must know something more about her as a girl, like what her hobbies are or what kind of person she likes. Well, something like that, maybe," Sudō commented, looking at her hopefully.
"Hmm... Horikita loves reading books, and she also idolizes the current Student Council President," I said, watching his reaction closely.
"What!? She likes someone like him. How close is their relationship? Why didn't you tell me?"
I gave him a blank look. "Wait, you didn't know? The current Student Council President is actually her older brother."
"What!?"
He probably didn't know. Sudō looked a bit disappointed, perhaps because he was thinking of his bad history before.
"But still, I think Horikita noticed you for a moment this time." Without causing trouble, I took the initiative and acted on behalf of the class with Horikita in mind. A big step forward.
"I hope so. After all, she can't call me by my name."
Then someone approached us.
"Good job, you two. Thanks for everything during this week. You really saved us." After saying these words of gratitude, Hirata appeared. He handed me one of the two paper cups he had. A cold sensation crossed my palm when I grabbed it with my hand. He handed the other to Sudō.
"I should be the one thankful. You went along with me, a stranger to the class. Plus, you covered up the fact that Horikita withdrew, and when I was late for roll call."
"I couldn't condemn you when I heard the reason. Besides, Horikita-san gave us great information." Hirata gave me a grateful and reassuring smile.
"Do you believe what she said?" I asked.
"She's not someone who says irresponsible things. That's why you approached, right?" Hirata argued with a smile.
This guy will protect a colleague, even if he has to risk his pure reputation.
"I would be lying if I said there's no risk, but I have to act for Horikita." I nodded satisfactorily at him. "Although also. You should thank Ike. If it weren't for him, we would have wasted many points."
Sudō shook his head, slightly impressed. "I'm still surprised by the show of courage Kanji showed yesterday. It really made us all cooperate, even if it was reluctantly."
Ike exceeded my expectations I had about him, in terms of leadership. He perfectly ended a discussion that could have made us lose more points, and quickly took control as the temporary leader of the class to instruct our classmates and make them collaborate with each other despite the distrust between boys and girls.
Not to mention that he ordered the classmates to do tasks that would be perfect according to their physical abilities and quickly used Kushida's skills to maintain calmness among boys and girls while collaborating. While they were busy with that, I helped Hirata before going after Ibuki and Horikita.
"Yes, that was planned." Hirata nodded and then looked to where Ike was. Hirata looked at me one last time before saying, "Anyway, thanks for the help, Ayanokōji-san."
Once he left, Sudō then gave me a questioning eyebrow. "What information was Hirata talking about?"
"I think you'll find out very soon. Still, Class C is strange... On another level," I said.
Because most of the students from Class C withdrew during the roll call on the second day, there is no one left in this place. I couldn't find Ibuki on the beach, as if she had also withdrawn. Only Ryūen's strange gaze was in front of us.
"Why him... Why has only Ryūen not withdrawn?" Sudō exclaimed in surprise.
When Sudō and I looked from a distance, he turned his head in our direction, as if he were aware of our gazes. Then he approached slowly as if thinking about something. Tension arose in the air.
"Hey, stalkers. What happened to Suzune?" Ryūen exclaimed with an arrogant smile.
Ignoring Hirata's presence, Ryūen approached with a paper cup in hand. Upon hearing "Suzune" come from Ryūen's mouth, I realized that Sudō's head vein was pulsating due to his gaze.
"Sorry, but it would be a problem if we told you," I said.
"Come on, Kiyone, don't be like that. I know you were chasing your teacher's ass. We were together before that." Ryūen gave her a dangerous smile.
After finishing emptying the contents of his cup, Ryūen stopped for a moment, looking at the new members who had joined us; I looked to see who they were, and it was Ike and Hirata.
Ryūen maintained his smile and crushed the paper cup slightly before tossing it in Ike's face.
"What was that for!" Ike exclaimed, frowning, catching the paper cup before it hit the ground. Ike looked Ryūen in the eyes and grimaced.
"Throw that thing away for me." Ryūen gave a wicked smile to Ike.
Sudō, angered, kicked the sand at his feet with irritation, looking at Ryūen with a furrowed and angry brow. "Why don't you throw your own trash?"
"Picking up trash suits the defective ones."
Unlike Sudō, who was radiating intimidation, Ryūen showed no signs of caring about anything.
"Fine. Ken, I don't mind throwing away the trash," Ike said with a flat look, but I could see he was irritated. "You won't have that arrogant smile in a few minutes," Ike said with grim satisfaction, looking at Ryūen.
"Oh?" Ryūen looked at Ike, clearly amused, unfazed by his comment. Instead, Ryūen averted his gaze tediously. He had dirt on the upper part of his body, and his pants and sweater were also covered in dirt. I didn't think he had given up his efforts.
"You didn't withdraw, Ryūen-kun," Hirata commented.
"Who are you? And where's Suzune? I was planning to grab her sweet ass," Ryūen looked around, searching for her.
The second time he mentioned "Suzune," associating it with an insult again, Sudō approached Ryūen while kicking the beach sand and grabbed his collar.
"What are you doing?" Without agitation, Ryūen accepted Sudō's intense gaze directly.
"The next time you say something stupid, I'll kill you."
"Huh? What's up, shrimp? Getting excited on your own."
Even with Hirata stepping away from a fight that was about to start at any moment, Ryūen was taking Sudō down.
"Horikita-san withdrew yesterday. She's not here," Hirata answered the question.
"...Withdrew? Suzune? She doesn't seem like a girl who would withdraw," Ryūen blinked at that.
"That's..."
The grating sound of the speaker switch enveloped the beach, and Mashima-sensei appeared. The first-years hurried to form a line, but Mashima-sensei stopped them with a hand signal.
"You can relax now. The exam is over. Now, this part is our summer vacation. It's okay to act more freely."
However, the students were still tense, and their chatter ceased instantly.
"Last week, we, the teachers, were able to control your efforts in the special exam. Some students faced this exam head-on, and those who used their skills in strategy. Various things happened, but I think the test results were splendid overall. We appreciate your hard work."
The students felt relieved hearing Mashima-sensei's praise. Finally, we began to feel that we had finished this week-long exam.
"Well then, without further ado, I would like to announce the final result of the special exam."
Perhaps no one, including our head teacher, had seen the results of this test.
"We won't accept any questions or inquiries about the test results. You must accept the exam results, and then we would like you to analyze them and use them as assistance in the next exam."
"It is what it is. Don't lose your composure. Accept the reality without complaining, okay?" Ryūen mocked us from Class D.
"It's you from Class C who should be worried. You used up all your points, right? Ridiculous!" Sudō mocked the well-known recklessness of Class C.
"We have 125 points left, including the bonus points we've accumulated. I think we'll be fine." Hirata might have felt a bit irritated by Ryūen's irrational provocation. Then he responded with a sense of pride.
Ryūen, on the other hand, acted disgusted with Hirata's immature words and made a gesture as if to vomit. "Oh! I envy the nerve of the nobodies when they're satisfied with such a small amount of points."
"No matter what you say, Class C will get 0 points," Sudō exclaimed, irritated.
"Oh, haha. You shouldn't decide on your own. Certainly, we've used up our 300 points. However, have you forgotten the additional rules of this exam?" Ryūen said, maintaining his haughty smile.
"...Are you saying you're going to expose our class leader, that's what it is," Hirata concluded.
"Exactly. I wrote it on the paper, didn't I? The name of the leader of your Class D!"
Hirata, Ike, and also I tried not to show any emotion on our faces, but Sudō felt the impact of these words on his face.
"And I did the same with our colleagues from Class A and Class B. Do you understand what that means?" Ryūen asked us rhetorically.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean? Hey!? If that's true..." Sudō commented, getting nervous, just like Hirata, but Ike was strangely calm.
"Your false assumption against Class D, along with your other misguided assumptions, will result in a penalty, and you'll lose 100 points in total," Ryūen said with cruel satisfaction.
At that moment, I heard Mashima-sensei's voice through the speaker.
"All right, now we'll announce the ranking of the special exam. The lowest is Class C with 0 points."
"Bwahahaha... Look! I told you! No points at all! How amusing!" As soon as he heard the results, Sudō laughed heartily, holding his stomach, ridiculing Ryūen.
"0 points?" Ryūen didn't seem to understand the situation; he was more in a state of shock.
Ike started laughing shortly after and pointed at Ryūen's face. "HAHAHA. Where's your arrogant smile now?" Ike's laughter was melodious, and the strange accent made him seem more attractive, unlike Sudō's rough one. Shortly after, Sudō leaned on Ike, and both of them laughed at Ryūen.
"Subsequently, in 3rd place is Class A with 120 points. The second place is Class B with 140 points."
A commotion erupted. These were rankings and points that no one had expected. I wondered if it was because they couldn't hide their embarrassment over their mistake in the numbers they calculated.
"And Class D..."
Instantly, Mashima-sensei's movements stiffened. However, his speech soon resumed.
"... Got first place with 225 points. This concludes the announcement of the test results."
The students from Class D, except for Hirata and Ike, were the most confused by this situation. Even Hirata only smiled excitedly, unable to believe it either, although he was the only person who was aware of the situation beforehand.
Ike, who was not aware, stopped laughing and smiled arrogantly as if this result were entirely normal. If I hadn't manipulated the results this way, then he might have suspected that he was behind this exam result.
Interesting. I wondered what else Ike knew about what he was revealing on the surface. I was becoming increasingly intrigued by Ike's new attitude and confidence. I wondered what he would do next.
I'll be watching you, Ike. And I'll solve the mystery you've wrapped yourself up in. In the meantime...
I look around me with empty eyes for a few seconds. This is my victory... Again.
[Imagen]