The time was nine in the morning.
Inside the girls' tent of Class C—
"Closed Kan!" Minori declared, laying down four East Wind tiles.
"Um... I think I..." Hiyori tentatively raised her hand.
"Hiyori, you can't claim a closed kan, you know," Minori said with a smug look.
"But..." Hiyori, looking a bit confused, pushed over the tiles in front of her and tentatively asked, "I think this hand, called Thirteen Orphans, allows it?"
She didn't really understand these things.
The smile on Minori's face vanished. QAQ
"Waaah~! I'm not playing with you anymore! I'm never playing with you again, Hiyori!" the girl sobbed, throwing herself into the arms of Mariko beside her.
Ibuki facepalmed. "As expected..."
Shotō chuckled awkwardly. "Made another one cry..."
Saki said in a monotone voice, "Made another one cry~"
"I'm telling you, do you guys still not believe it?" Manabe looked speechlessly at the girls sitting in a circle inside the tent.
The girls shook their heads like rattle drums.
Saki said in a monotone voice, "That's true..."
"Made another one cry," the girls chattered, their mood somewhat excited.
"But..." Hiyori, looking a bit confused, pushed over the tiles in front of her and tentatively asked, "I think this hand, called Thirteen Orphans, allows it?"
She didn't really understand these things.
Manabe facepalmed. "That's true..."
Saki said in a monotone voice, "That's true..."
"Well, I think now that things have quieted down, I can make my escape." Hiyori, a little embarrassed, scratched the hair by her ear, stood up to give up her spot, and said in a gentle tone, "In that case, please, everyone, go ahead and play."
Since it was the last day, and the weather was a bit gloomy, everyone in Class C had completely idled down, gathering in circles to play cards or mahjong.
As a central figure among the girls, Hiyori naturally couldn't stay aloof in this atmosphere and had been pulled into the tent by some of the more cheerful girls.
But now, she could finally find some peace.
With this thought, Hiyori smiled at the girls who had already started playing again, and after a moment of consideration, she silently walked out of the tent.
Noticing her movement, Ibuki thought for a moment and quickly followed her out.
"Not playing with everyone?" Hiyori asked curiously, breathing in the fresh air outside the tent.
"Same goes for you," Ibuki replied casually, raising her hands to stretch her back.
Neither of them had personalities that enjoyed lively scenes, so staying in such a noisy environment was indeed a bit trying for them.
"I see," Hiyori mused, then asked with a smile, "I was planning on taking a walk over to Class B. Want to come with me?"
"Why the sudden idea?" Ibuki was a bit surprised.
Aside from the time she was monitoring the cruise ship, she had been watching over Hiyori for six whole days, and during that time, she had never seen the girl think about leaving the camp. She didn't expect it to happen now.
On a side note—due to a major change in plans, the cruise ship surveillance mission assigned by Ryūen was canceled after just one day. After all, he wasn't some kind of demon; he had no intention of making his classmates do unprofitable work.
Symon's assessment of this was—surprisingly, he's a good boss, much better than those inhuman types who make you do busywork for no reason.
But back to the topic at hand.
Seeing Ibuki's question, Hiyori didn't beat around the bush and answered with a smile, "I promised Ichinose-san on the cruise ship that if I had time, I'd visit Class B."
"I see," Ibuki nodded, glanced at the overly damp path in the forest, and took the girl's hand, saying calmly, "Let's go, I'll take you."
Given Hiyori's physical condition, she really couldn't let her wander around, especially in the current situation.
"Hold on," Kakeru Ryūen interjected in a calm tone.
As his voice fell, Hiyori and Ibuki both froze, looking up to see—
On the cliff edge by the camp, Ryūen sat with a foxtail grass stem dangling from his mouth, looking down at the two of them with a nonchalant air.
"Is there something you need, Ryūen-kun?" Hiyori asked, a little puzzled.
"Yeah," Ryūen nodded, casually instructing her, "If you're going to Class B, do me a favor and tell that Ichinose woman about the surveillance camera and the fact that we've changed leaders. The camera is in the tree above the key card machine, so be careful what you say."
He had just been wondering how to gain Ichinose's trust without a key card, and unexpectedly, this Shiina girl planned on going out. It was like someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
As for backstabbing Class B? His contract with Class A didn't specify anything about that. As long as Class C's final leader was indeed changed, and that leader was him, he would have fulfilled the contract. The rest had nothing to do with him.
Hiyori nodded, and after a moment's thought, she quipped softly in her mind, "I think I understand Ryūen-kun's plan now..."
Dragging Class B along to dig a pit for Ayanokōji... he really wasn't leaving him any room to escape.
"I get it too," Symon teased with a laugh. "But after all these maneuvers, in Class B's eyes, Ryūen has probably become the perfect ally. Giving them points, giving them intel... he's practically a model of honesty and trustworthiness."
Hiyori: "Pfft~!"
Meanwhile, at the Class B campsite—
Class B's base was by a stream. The campsite clearly showed signs of having been cleared by the school, and the surrounding area was quite spacious.
When Hiyori and Ibuki arrived, the people from Class B were having a barbecue, and they could hear the lively noise from a distance.
"How should I even comment on this? These Class B folks really know how to live it up," Symon remarked in her mind, finding it a bit hard to stomach.
With 200 temporary points worth of resources, their food and shelter were basically guaranteed. For Class B, this special exam was indeed no different from a vacation, a whole level above Class C's miserable struggle for survival in the wild.
Seeing Hiyori and Ibuki arrive, someone from Class B quickly went to inform Ichinose.
At the same time, Hiyori and Ibuki looked at Nishino, who had a greasy mouth from eating and an embarrassed expression. After a moment of silence, Hiyori leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered, "By the way, Nishino-san, have you managed to find out who Class B's leader is?"
"D-Do you want me to say it here?"
Nishino lowered her voice, glanced at the suddenly quiet Class B, and the others who were secretly casting strange looks their way. Her eyelid twitched—this was public plotting! It had to be!
"It's fine~" Hiyori blinked, looking a bit mischievous.
Nishino's identity as a spy was already common knowledge; only this silly girl thought she had hidden it well.
Unfortunately, what this girl didn't know was that with all the twists and turns this exam had taken, the identity of Class B's leader was now meaningless. It was only because Ryūen couldn't be bothered to make an extra trip that she wasn't already back on the ship enjoying herself days ago.
"It's..." Nishino swallowed slowly. "It's Himeno... Yuki Himeno."
Meanwhile, people in the Class B camp also started whispering among themselves:
"So Nishino really is a spy..."
"Didn't Kanzaki already say that?"
"I wonder if the leader's identity has been found out."
While everyone was whispering, Kobashi Yume and Shiranami in the crowd watched the two girls' "public plotting." After exchanging another puzzled look, their eyes suddenly lit up at the same time, and they tentatively approached to ask:
"Hiyori-chan, do you... do you know something?"
Hiyori's violet eyes blinked slightly as she tilted her head, feigning confusion. "Yuki Himeno? Who's that? I don't think I've ever met her..."
The two girls' faces lit up upon hearing this. They immediately put their hands together and begged pitifully, "Hiyori-chan, please, we'll do anything!"
They were all too familiar with this kind of scenario, being "threatened" to their faces. If things went as expected, there should be a chance to turn this around.
And just as expected—
A smile appeared on Hiyori's face as she remarked, seemingly casually, "Mmm~ I suddenly have a craving for some barbecue..."
Chihiro Shiranami's eyes lit up. "Barbecue? We have some!"
Kobashi Yume snatched a skewer of barbecue from the hands of the stunned Yuki Himeno and offered it eagerly, "Here! Right here!"
_____
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