The morning of the second day of the deserted island exam that the school forced us to participate in began.
Without any shouting this time, aside from reclaiming our designated area and registering our attendance, we immediately started eating breakfast.
As usual, I got my meal with the last group, but it was terrible. Just rice and fish.
I've already started hating fish now.
The best part of this entire exam is waking up under the shade of the trees and breathing some fresh air. A good opportunity to clean the lungs.
"Hey, why didn't that bastard Kouenji come for attendance registration...?" Sudou shouted loudly in frustration.
After we reclaimed the area, Kouenji left the camp while completely ignoring the attendance check at eight o'clock, which would lead to a deduction of five points.
After a week, with a five-point deduction twice a day... that's a huge number. Bigger than the thirty points we saved.
We need to find a solution for this.
Seriously, can't he just act normally for once?
"Calm down, I'll talk to him when he gets back..." Hirata moved to calm him down.
Conflicts inside the camp would only increase the tension and make teamwork harder.
I put a spoonful of rice into my mouth while tasting its awful flavor on my tongue. I felt nauseous.
Who cooked this?
They seriously need cooking lessons.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun..." Yukinoshita said as she lowered herself to sit beside me.
"Morning..."
Horikita sat beside her as well.
Neither of them carried a plate since they were managing the group, meaning they got their meals first.
This is unfair... workers should be treated equally.
I glanced toward Ayanokouji from the corner of my eye. He was also quietly eating his breakfast after receiving it with the last group.
"We're going to inspect Class B's camp, Horikita-san and I..." Yukinoshita said.
I gave the two of them a quick glance while chewing my food... They probably wanted to identify the strategies each class was using and observe the movements of the competitors.
Well, that's the most appropriate course of action in this situation.
"That's good..."
"You'll go inspect Class C's camp..."
I nearly choked while swallowing the rice after hearing that.
For a moment, I genuinely thought I was going to die.
I know she'll be busy inspecting the other class, but why me specifically?
"Hah? Why me..." I said while wiping the remains of food from my mouth.
"If we send someone else, they might get dragged into a fight with them... and that's something we don't want."
She was right. If someone impulsive like Sudou went, the slightest provocation from Class C could turn into a violent fight, and then we'd probably be forced to withdraw from the special exam.
"Ah... Yukinoshita, as you know, I'm also an irritable person... I can't guarantee I won't fight with them," I said while playing with my fingers.
"Tch... why do you always act like this..." Horikita kicked the ground in irritation at my behavior.
Well, I didn't want to deal with Ryuen.
Besides, voluntarily entering his den was basically suicide. Nobody knew what happened there.
Yukinoshita didn't reply and merely stared at me coldly while Horikita fumed beside her.
Hmm... this is scary.
Oh my God, what a gigantic tree. I never noticed it before.
"Sorry, I forgot that you're an irritable person and things could get worse if you went..." Yukinoshita said while lowering her head slightly in resignation.
"Hmmmm..."
It's unlike her to back down this easily, but if it means I'm excused, then fine.
"Ayanokouji-kun, can you accompany him and keep things under control if they go badly..." Yukinoshita directed her words toward Ayanokouji, who was still calmly eating breakfast.
I immediately stood up from my place as if I had been electrocuted.
"Fine, I'll go alone..." I said in surrender, but my words held absolutely no meaning to them.
"...If that's the leader's decision... then fine," Ayanokouji said.
What's with him? Why did he suddenly start obeying the leader's orders like this?
"As I said, there's no need..."
"Thank you very much. Class C's camp is still on the beach. They haven't moved far from our landing point," Yukinoshita said as she prepared to leave.
"...Alright." Ayanokouji nodded while returning the eating utensils to their place.
What is this? I feel like I've become transparent now...
Yukinoshita turned around and left toward the opposite direction with Horikita.
"Yukinoshita-san, you actually managed to send him..." Horikita said while following after her.
Meanwhile, Yukinoshita merely brushed her hair back.
I looked at Ayanokouji, who had gone to wash his hands in the river like an idiot.
Why did I get dragged into all of this first thing in the morning?
..
Ayanokouji and I walked through the dense forest toward the beach where Class C's camp was located.
I walked one step ahead while he followed behind me at a steady pace.
Neither of us spoke during the entire walk.
That suited me just fine, but Ayanokouji apparently had some matters he wanted to settle before we arrived.
"I don't plan on talking. I'm only accompanying you..." I heard Ayanokouji's voice from behind me.
"Hmm... that's fine."
Even if he didn't accompany me, I would've done this alone anyway.
But for some reason, he agreed to Yukinoshita's request.
No... he didn't agree.
He wanted to go himself.
That's what I think. Maybe he wanted to scout Class C's situation and found this a good opportunity.
He can do whatever he wants. It doesn't matter to me.
As soon as we approached the beach, the loud voices of the students began rising, as if they were completely detached from the atmosphere of the exam and simply enjoying a vacation on the beach.
The moment my feet touched the sand, I saw a massive party in every sense of the word. Most of the students were wearing swimsuits and playing around while enjoying drinks and barbecue. They even had water scooters and a jet ski I had never seen in person before.
Did they really spend all their points on this?
"Oh? Look who we have here..." Ryuen noticed our arrival while leaning beneath the shade of a large parasol, wearing nothing but swimming trunks, Albert beside him.
I completely ignored Ryuen and focused on the huge guy standing behind him wearing sunglasses. I stared intensely, trying to figure out whether his eyes were actually fine or not since he always wore shades.
I couldn't determine their condition exactly, but I guessed they weren't, since he always followed Ryuen around.
"Did the student council's errand dog come to visit us just to see how we're enjoying our beach vacation...?" Ryuen said before reclining properly on his chair again.
"You look miserable."
I glanced at my dirty clothes from gathering firewood. I had tried cleaning them, but the stains wouldn't disappear.
"That girl from your class entered Class D's camp..." I said while staring at the sea and its waves.
I already knew he was the one who sent Ibuki, but hearing his version of the story wouldn't hurt.
"You mean Ibuki... that's the punishment for opposing my decisions."
"So you intend to withdraw from this exam..."
If he really spent all his points, there was no point staying on the island.
"Of course. We'll enjoy our vacation before returning to rest aboard the ship..." Ryuen said while reaching toward the soda can beside him.
Look at this bastard showing off his drink.
Meanwhile, we're drinking river water. And guess what? It tastes about as good as tap water.
No, this is pathetic.
"Unfortunately, I won't get to see your little tricks this time, so enjoy defeating the other classes if you can..." Ryuen said with an arrogant grin.
"Didn't you withdraw from this exam because you were afraid of falling for those tricks...?" I said while loosening my tracksuit slightly from the heat.
"Fufufufu... say whatever you want. This is just a small game to me, not worth my time. I'll postpone crushing you until another time..." Ryuen clenched his fist hard enough for his fingernails to change color.
"You still don't plan on giving up the idea of targeting me..." I said while sighing heavily.
"Of course I'll give up... when I'm certain it's your end."
Hah, isn't that basically a direct threat again? If something happened to me, he'd be the prime suspect.
I helplessly kicked the sand beneath my feet while looking around, ignoring Ryuen, until my eyes landed on Ayanokouji quietly standing behind me.
I had genuinely forgotten he was there...
Just look at him standing there observing with that annoying expression.
"Hey, Ryuen, look at Ayanokouji over here... Aren't his annoying expressions irritating? If I were you, I'd target him instead..." I said while pointing my thumb toward the guy behind me.
"Tch..." Ryuen merely responded with a smug smile before relaxing into his chair again.
"Hikigaya, don't drag me into this..." Ayanokouji intervened after I started involving him.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't talk...?"
Seriously, why can't he just keep his word and stay quiet?
"Hikigaya-kun... so it's you."
Amid the noisy voices of the boys, a calm female voice called out to me, quickly drawing my attention toward its source.
A girl with long silver hair approached us while wearing her full sports uniform.
"Hello..." Shiina raised her small hand in greeting.
"Ah... hello..."
Her presence completely clashed with the atmosphere of the students from Class C whenever they were seen together.
"Hiyori, you know this scammer...?" Ryuen said as he sat upright again.
Yukinoshita had introduced me to her in the library while we were investigating Sudou's case.
Mentioning that now could bring her trouble because of us, even though all she did was try to help.
"Yes... we met before in the library, didn't we?"
"...Y-Yes."
She seemed smart enough to know exactly what to say. That was convenient.
But the strange thing was that nobody present said a single word afterward.
Did I accidentally say something wrong?
I looked at Ayanokouji standing behind me and found him staring at me as if shocked.
"What is it...?"
"Nothing. I just didn't know you liked books."
Hmm... well, these things don't exactly go around announcing themselves. It's just a hobby in the end.
"I didn't know scammers liked books either. Are they the source of your tricks?" Ryuen said before bursting into loud laughter.
What an asshole. This is exactly why I didn't want to come here.
I just want to go back.
"Hikigaya-kun, is this your friend...?" Shiina said while staring at Ayanokouji, whose presence was almost unnoticeable.
"No, he's just a classmate..."
There's no relationship between us beyond ending up in the same class, so "classmate" fits perfectly.
But for some reason, Ryuen kept staring at me with a strange expression, as if he had tasted something sour.
"What...?"
"Why are you trying so hard to sound clever? Just call him a friend and leave..." he said while shrugging.
How shallow.
"Not every person you talk to becomes your friend. If that were true, then even the person who asked you for the time on the train would count as your friend..." I said while crossing my arms.
"Fine, fine... just stop. You're annoying. Just leave already..." Ryuen said before reclining in his chair again as if he had grown tired of talking to us.
"Shiina-san..."
"I'm coming..."
Shiina turned toward her classmates after they started calling her over.
"Hikigaya-kun, I'm happy to meet you again here. Goodbye..." Shiina said before turning toward the others.
"Ah... goodbye..."
Looks like our job here is finished too.
Class C had already spent all their points.
Maybe they bought everything they ever dreamed of. Even Ryuen apparently brought out the little kid inside him and bought the walkie-talkie he always wanted.
At least try to hide it instead of leaving it on the table.
I turned around to leave, and Ayanokouji followed me again as if he were trying to test exactly what I had seen and what I hadn't. He started asking his stupid questions again.
"It seems Class C has really abandoned the exam already..."
"Hmmmm... maybe."
Seriously, won't he ever change his way of talking?
The zero-point strategy, huh...
What a huge gamble. Either complete victory or total defeat.
A style that suits Ryuen.