Chapter 031 Why are all the beauties on Shimizu Akira's side? / Childhood Friend ≠ Dating
Nagumo Miyabi was planning to rush to the beach flag-grabbing competition that Kiriyama Ikuto had informed him about via walkie-talkie. The female students participating would all be in swimsuits—just thinking about it was quite easy on the eyes.
However, halfway there, he ran into Ichinose Amasawa from Year 1 Class A. Upon seeing him, she immediately put on a surprised and admiring expression, jogging up to meet him.
"President Nagumo! Good morning!"
Although Nagumo was in a hurry, he quite enjoyed this "fangirl" act, so he stopped and smiled. "Amasawa-kouhai, good morning."
In the first year, there were only three acknowledged top-tier beauties: Ichinose Amasawa of Class A, Tsubaki Sakurako of Class C, and Nanase Tsubasa of Class D. Amasawa was petite, cute, and had a bit of a "little devil" persona, making her quite popular.
"President, how many points does your group have now?" she asked, blinking.
"75 points," Nagumo reported with confidence. It was only the noon of the third day; averaging thirty points a day was definitely a high score.
He expected a wave of admiration, but instead, she said, "Oh my, then you're in danger, President! Yesterday, I saw a really amazing senpai take first place in several tasks in a row. You'd better be careful not to get overtaken!"
"Hmm? You mean Shimizu Akira?"
"No, it's Koenji-senpai!"
Nagumo frowned. Koenji Rokusuke? Of course he knew him. That guy was in the same tier as Shimizu Akira and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka—arrogant and whimsical, only showing his true strength when the mood struck. But in Nagumo's impression, Koenji was like Kiryuin Fuuka from Year 3 Class B; what whim had possessed him to take things seriously this time?
Amasawa grinned and asked, "President, can I ask you something personal?"
Nagumo was still mulling over Koenji, but since this kouhai was pleasant to talk to, he waved his hand. "Go ahead, I'm an open book."
"Do you have a girlfriend right now?" Amasawa asked bluntly.
"Well... naturally, I don't." Nagumo was startled, then flashed a meaningful smile. "Why, does Amasawa-kouhai want to ask me out? Once this exam is over and we're back on the luxury liner, we could..."
While this kouhai's figure was average, her cute face and "little devil" charm were enticing. It wouldn't hurt to switch to a "loli" flavor occasionally. Besides, types like her were usually quite open.
To his surprise, Amasawa shook her head without a second thought. "Sorry, President, you misunderstood... I'm not interested in you at all."
Nagumo's smile froze on his face.
"It's just that a few days ago, I saw Asahina-senpai having a meal with Shimizu-senpai," Amasawa said with an innocent face. "I thought you and Asahina-senpai were a couple! Since you aren't, then never mind!"
She waved her hand. "Then I won't disturb the President! Bye-bye, I'm off to find Shimizu-senpai to play!"
With that, she skipped away.
Nagumo stood there, his face turning various shades of pale and blue. This kouhai really knew how to poke where it hurt. He indeed hadn't managed to officially date Nazuna yet. These past few days, he had tried to invite her to play beach volleyball on the deserted island to see her in a swimsuit, but he'd been flatly rejected.
And now he hears his childhood friend went off to eat with Shimizu Akira a few days ago?
Moreover, this Amasawa girl's first sentence told him his first-place spot was in jeopardy because Koenji was chasing him, and her second sentence poked the wound of him being unable to woo his childhood friend. Was it intentional or an accident?
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Because of the delay on the road, as Nagumo prepared to set off again, Kiriyama's voice came through the radio: "Nagumo, no need to rush. Registration here has closed. I and all the non-competing third-year boys have moved to the next task in preparation. The boys who finished are also heading there. Just come directly to the next site."
"Understood. Just notify me when you're ready," Nagumo replied impatiently.
However, he still decided to visit the beach flag competition site. Since those men were gone, there would be no one to disturb his private viewing of the girls in swimsuits.
But when he arrived ten minutes later and asked the teacher in charge, the competition had long since ended.
"Damn it!" Nagumo couldn't help but curse out loud. "That Amasawa woman ruined everything!"
If she hadn't wasted his time, he would have arrived long ago. Perhaps he would have taken first place in the men's group and earned a wave of admiration from the girls.
Nearby, a conversation drifted over. He scanned the area and saw Shimizu Akira, whom he hadn't seen in days, standing by the sea with a blonde girl.
It was Nanase Tsubasa—the first-year kouhai who had been voted the most beautiful and well-proportioned in the forum polls.
"Senpai, congratulations again on taking first place!" Nanase's eyes were sparkling as she looked at Shimizu. "By the way, there aren't any tasks right now. Should we play by the sea for a bit?"
"Uh... you rented a swimsuit, but I didn't rent trunks."
"Then Senpai should rent a pair here! The teachers haven't left yet."
"Regrettably, I'm out of points. I spent them all on other necessities."
"But I still have over 800 points myself!" Nanase said hurriedly. "Senpai's trunks shouldn't be expensive. I'll rent them for you!"
"Nanase, don't bother. Keep your points."
"I must!" she said seriously. "I still owe you 200,000 personal points. Consider this compensation for you not pressing me to pay it back all these months!"
Nagumo watched with his own eyes as the most beautiful first-year kouhai actively threw herself at Shimizu Akira, offering to rent him trunks just to have a date with him at the beach in her swimsuit.
And what about him? He couldn't even get his childhood friend to wear a normal swimsuit for him.
"No way..." he hissed through gritted teeth. "A new batch of beauties finally arrives, and they all run toward this guy?"
Amasawa said the same thing—that she was going to "play" with Shimizu. Now Nanase wasn't even acting anymore; she was just throwing herself at him. Who was the Student Council President here, exactly?
He thought about it and decided to walk straight over.
Nanase was the first to notice the Student Council President approaching. Her brow furrowed, and she instinctively stepped in front of Shimizu.
"President Nagumo, do you have business with us?"
Seeing her protective stance, Nagumo's lip twitched again. Was this one of those rare "loyal dog" type beauties? If they actually dated, wouldn't she do whatever he asked?
'Damn it, Shimizu gets all the good things.'
He suppressed his anger and forced a smile. "Nanase-kouhai is quite interesting. A few months ago, you were in the Student Council office with the other first-years discussing how to deal with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Shimizu Akira. Now, you're clinging to him closer than anyone. You've completely fallen, haven't you?"
Nanase's face turned pale. She had kept that a secret from Shimizu. If he found out, what if he started distancing himself from her?
She immediately turned back, looking at Shimizu anxiously. "Senpai... I..."
"It's fine." Shimizu reached out and patted her shoulder. "I've known for a long time."
"..."
Seeing she wanted to explain further, Shimizu decided to gently ruffle her hair. "Don't listen to his nonsense. Since school started, you haven't sabotaged me once, right? Those plans were aimed at Ayanokouji. Besides, when you're with me, you're obedient and honest. How could I possibly hate you? On the contrary, I have a quite good impression of you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lent you money or shared my snacks."
Senpai's hand was warm—warmer than the sunlight. Nanase's expression visibly softened, and she nodded obediently.
"Mhm... I understand."
Senpai was right. He was good to her and didn't blame her. The snacks... Senpai hadn't even shared them with his girlfriends, but gave them to her.
Nagumo almost lost his composure. He came here to drive a wedge between them, so why were they getting closer? One head-pat and she's like this? If Shimizu kissed you, would you just faint on the spot?
Nagumo took a deep breath and continued to sneer. "I recall Nanase-kouhai has a deceased childhood friend, don't you? I wonder what he would think if he saw you fawning over a man like this?"
He held more "dark history" than just that.
Sure enough, Nanase's expression changed completely—but not with shame or panic. She glared at Nagumo and said word for word, "It's true that Eiichiro was my childhood friend, but I always saw him as family, as an older brother. I never had any romantic feelings for him. Therefore, I don't feel I have anything to be ashamed of.
I have never forgotten his death. I have my own plans, and I will personally take revenge for him. You don't need to concern yourself with that, President."
She took a deep breath and turned to Shimizu with a heavy expression. "Senpai, I'm sorry you had to hear that. I did have a childhood friend in the past. He... actually because of Ayanokouji..."
Halfway through, she went silent. She remembered that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was Shimizu's good friend. Last time she spoke ill of Ayanokouji, Shimizu had flatly refuted her, saying Ayanokouji wasn't a bad person. If she brought up the childhood friend now, it would cause Senpai a lot of trouble. And if she spoke, her plan to deal with Ayanokouji on the island would surely be detected by the clever Shimizu.
She glanced into the distance; the teachers were packing up their equipment. Nanase bit her lip and made an excuse. "Um, the teachers are leaving. I'll go to the starting point to exchange for your trunks anyway. I'll give them to you next time we meet! Goodbye, Shimizu-senpai!"
With that, she lowered her head and hurried away.
In truth, Shimizu already knew about the childhood friend. The intel had popped up during the start of the second year. From her tone, it seemed they were purely just childhood friends.
"Hmph, ran away? She definitely has a guilty conscience."
Shimizu retracted his gaze and looked at the inexplicably smug Nagumo Miyabi. This man used other people's privacy as conversation fodder—not ashamed, but proud.
Shimizu retorted immediately, "Nagumo Miyabi, are you an idiot? Nanase said it was nothing, yet you're still here spreading rumors? Even if there was something with her childhood friend, what business is it of yours?"
Nagumo frowned. "I said that for your sake! Don't be ungrateful! I was helping you; you should say thank you."
"Screw off!" Shimizu snapped back. "You're doing it for me? You just saw she was cute, got jealous of me, and wanted to mess up our conversation. What else could it be?"
"You dare insult me? I am your senior!"
"A senior? A senior has to act like one. Someone as shameless as you doesn't deserve to be called 'senpai' or to be respected like one."
"I was telling the truth!"
"The truth? You don't even know the relationship between her and her childhood friend, yet you dare talk nonsense?"
"Heh, what else could a childhood friend relationship be? They definitely did everything."
"Who told you childhood friends are always couples?" Shimizu shot back without thinking. "Aren't you childhood friends with Asahina-senpai? Tell me, are you two dating?"
Nagumo was rendered completely speechless. That had always been his sore spot.
"Nagumo, you can't even get Asahina-senpai yourself, yet you dare fantasize about other people's childhood relationships? Sort out your own affairs first."
"..."
Shimizu said irritably, "What? Did I say anything wrong? Every time Asahina-senpai meets me, she complains about how annoying you are. How many calls, texts, and confessions? How many rejections? Don't you have any self-awareness?"
Nagumo's face turned pitch black. He wanted to argue, but found he had nothing to say. Shimizu didn't bother looking at him again and turned to leave.
After two steps, he stopped. "Nagumo Miyabi, it's only because there are people here and check-ins are coming up soon. Plus, you tripped up Honami before. If we were somewhere else, I'd rip this watch off today just to give you a damn good beating."
He strode away without looking back. Nagumo stood there, face ashen. A few students nearby were peeking and whispering; he glared fiercely, and they quickly looked away.
"Dammit..." He cursed under his breath and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Kiriyama, what's the situation on your end?"
"Still waiting for the task refresh," Kiriyama's voice came through, sounding confused. "Why haven't you come over yet?"
"Don't nag me!" Nagumo vented the frustration he'd just taken from Shimizu all at once. "Speaking of which, Kiriyama, you and the others arrived at the beach task long ago. Why was Shimizu Akira able to participate and take first place?"
Kiriyama answered calmly, "The main reason is that you were delayed for over ten minutes on the road and didn't arrive on time."
Nagumo's temper flared even more. "Then couldn't you have taken the spot yourself?! Didn't we agree that if I couldn't make it, you guys would step in? The important thing is not letting other groups get points!"
Kiriyama didn't argue further.
Nagumo continued coldly, "By the way, I haven't even held you accountable for betraying me during the forest training exam last year. You aren't colluding with Shimizu Akira to screw me over again, are you?"
Kiriyama had long expected Nagumo to dig up this old debt. He spoke plainly, "Nagumo, I've explained last year's events many times. Our positions were different then; that's a fact. But you also said you'd let bygones be bygones. What do you mean by bringing it up now?
I've been on your side for months. Which special exam haven't I followed your orders for? You can't get Asahina, you can't see girls in swimsuits, so you take it out on me?
I am not your punching bag. It's true I want to reach Class A, but if you don't treat me like a normal human and vent your frustrations on me every time something goes wrong, then let's just break it off. At worst, I'll go all out for my own exams and rely on my own ability to get into the prestigious university where Horikita-senpai is."
Nagumo's head finally cooled down. If he lost Kiriyama now, he'd lose the entire Year 3 Class B. The impact on the deserted island exam would be too great. Moreover, Kiriyama had indeed been following his orders lately.
"Forget I said it. I won't bring it up again. How much longer until your competition starts?"
"About ten minutes."
"I'll be there soon."
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Shimizu felt inexplicably refreshed. Arguing and insulting people might not be great behavior, but as the one doing it, venting all the negative energy felt pretty good. As for what Nagumo felt, what did he care? The guy didn't act like a human anyway. If he's insulted, he can just take it.
At 1:00 PM, the third check-in location was announced: H5. It was quite far from J6, so Shimizu only got the basic points this time. Afterward, History and Chemistry tasks refreshed nearby. Shimizu hurried to participate in the former. Arriving early, he sat down to rest and wait.
Before long, Hirata Yousuke, Sudo Ken, and Yukimura Teruhiko walked toward him. Their eyes lit up when they saw him.
"Isn't that Shimizu?!"
"Long time no see!"
"Shimizu, good afternoon!"
Shimizu waved with a smile. "Oh! Long time no see! Don't rush to say hello, sign up first!"
The three looked at each other; since only one person per group could join the History task, they quickly decided on Yukimura. With two slots still open, the four moved to the side to chat.
"Shimizu-kun, where was your last check-in point?" Hirata asked curiously.
"J6. How about you?"
"Ours was I5," Yukimura replied.
"Well, there are twelve different routes," Shimizu laughed. "How have you guys been these last few days?"
"Um... barely getting by," Sudo scratched his head. "Three men in one group—Hirata planned the supplies well and we have enough food, but water is tight. I never noticed before, but three men can drink a lot of water!"
"That's probably one of the reasons the school has us take this exam," Hirata said thoughtfully. "To make us realize the habits of saving we should have."
"So we have to participate in a water replenishment task once or twice a day," Yukimura sighed. "We only have about three liters left; I'm afraid we won't even last through tomorrow. How about you? Do you have enough supplies?"
Shimizu thought and answered, "We're okay, not really lacking water. Katsuragi is at a nearby relief station; if we need some, I just go ask him."
"I see." Hirata nodded. He didn't have a "Saint" moment and demand Shimizu share water; since the class voting exam, he had stopped trying to impose his moral standards on others.
Shimizu gave a helpful tip. "By the way, have you noticed? The teachers need to prepare the tasks in advance. So if you're really short on water, you can split one person off to skip a check-in. Just follow the teacher carrying water in the morning. You're guaranteed at least one liter."
"Oh! That's a way!" Sudo's eyes lit up. Most of the island was undeveloped, and cars couldn't drive there. Teachers had to walk to prepare tasks just like students. Water tasks required carrying a lot of water, making the bags very conspicuous. The rules didn't forbid following a teacher before a task started. Camping out early was indeed a good strategy.
"But..." Yukimura pushed up his glasses hesitantly. "Does that count as exploiting a loophole? What if it's judged as a violation?"
"It's not written in the rules that you can't walk behind a teacher," Shimizu said dismissively. "And think about it: if the school really wanted to ban it, they could push the teachers' arrival time back or have them take detours. Since they haven't, it means they tacitly allow it."
"Makes sense," Hirata nodded. "In a way, this is also a form of information gathering. Whoever can observe the teachers' behavior patterns gains an advantage."
Sudo scratched his head. "In that case, haven't we been working for nothing these past few days? Worried about water every day, not knowing there was such an easy way."
"It wasn't for nothing," Shimizu smiled. "At least you learned how to save water."
Just then, several more students approached—people from other classes coming to participate.
"People are almost here," Yukimura checked the time. "Shimizu, time to get ready."
"Right!" Shimizu stood up and joined the line with Yukimura.
Ten minutes later, the competition began. The questions were all multiple-choice, twenty in total, five points each. Shimizu was quite comfortable with History; most of it was content that could be mastered through rote memorization. He finished without much effort.
When the scoring ended, the school announced the results of the eight groups. "1st Place: Shimizu Akira, 100 points. 2nd Place: Yukimura Teruhiko, 95 points..."
Shimizu smoothly took first place. Yukimura frowned slightly, but after checking answers with Shimizu, he soon had a look of realization. The two returned to the original spot where Hirata and Sudo had been charging their tablets; seeing them return, they unplugged the chargers.
"The next task is Chemistry, right? Shimizu, want to join?" Sudo patted his shoulder.
Shimizu scanned his tablet. "A fishing task refreshed nearby. I have to go try that."
Thinking of yesterday's pathetic results, his competitive spirit was suddenly ignited.
"By the way," Hirata remembered something before leaving, "we ran into Ayanokouji's group and Matsushita's group in the last two days. Both of them asked if I'd seen you. If you run into them next time, you might want to go over and chat."
"Understood." Shimizu nodded.
Ayanokouji looking for him was likely to discuss the White Room. Why was Matsushita looking for him?
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