I moved through the forest searching for my destination—Class A's camp—while pulling at the collar of my shirt.
The temperature was ridiculously high. Even without doing anything strenuous, sweat had already started pouring down my body.
According to Yukinoshita's directions, Class A's camp should be somewhere this way.
I pushed aside plants in front of me to clear a path, waiting for any signs of a campsite, but nothing appeared.
When you approached Class D's camp, you could recognize it from far away because of all the students' noise.
But here, the silence almost felt unnatural.
I doubted there was even a human around.
That thought didn't last long before I had to take it back after finding clear signs of human modifications to nature.
There was an opening in the mountain resembling a cave, with a plastic sheet hanging over its entrance.
There was no way that was natural.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead while looking around for any students from Class A.
No one was nearby.
Maybe they were all inside.
I wouldn't be able to see anything because of that curtain.
I'd have to get closer.
It was time for Sneaky Hiki's skill.
I took a deep breath and quietly moved between the plants and trees toward the entrance.
I stretched my fingers toward the plastic sheet to peek inside—
Suddenly, a student with short green hair appeared in front of me.
"Ah…"
"Haaah?! Who are you?!" He immediately panicked upon seeing me and stepped backward.
"Are you trying to spy on us?!" he shouted while clenching his fists.
"Ah, n-no…" I said while taking a step back myself.
"Stay where you are! Don't move! Hey guys, come here! We've got a visitor!"
He stuck his head into the entrance and called his classmates.
Was this Katsuragi...?
No, probably not.
He looked way too nervous after seeing me.
Someone who openly stood against Sakayanagi wouldn't act like this.
Without warning, several boys came out of the cave.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded from every direction.
Seriously...
Why did I get dragged into this?
"Hey! Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" one of the boys shouted while holding up a small stick.
"I-it's just a misunderstanding! I only came to take a look around. I'm not planning to sabotage anything, so I'll leave now..." I said without taking my eyes off the stick in his hand.
If he got any closer, I'd break it over his head—
No.
It was too small.
I should've brought one of the sticks I collected.
"Take a look around? Are you making fun of us? Don't you know we're students from Class A?!" another boy shouted arrogantly from behind me.
Does being in Class A make them better than everyone else?
"What class are you from? Does anyone know him?" the green-haired student asked.
In this situation, introducing myself wouldn't help.
It was better to run.
Time for tactical retreat.
"He's from Class D," said a blond-haired guy as he walked out of the cave.
I remembered seeing him with Sakayanagi before.
That blond bastard...
That's slander, you know?
"Class D?"
"Didn't they come before and get chased away?"
"We should teach them a lesson!"
The atmosphere immediately filled with hostility toward Class D.
I couldn't really blame them.
Even I hated Class D.
"Don't get reckless. Katsuragi-kun isn't here, so let's just leave him alone for now," said the green-haired student while trying to calm everyone down.
So their leader wasn't here...
Wise decision.
Please move aside and let me leave.
I looked around for an escape route but found none.
They were standing close together in a large circle.
"Why don't we teach him a lesson? They're looking down on us," the blond guy said with a sly smile.
"Huh?"
I turned toward him.
Any kind of violence would have consequences.
Didn't they tell us that before the exam started?
"Uh... right."
"What should we do?"
The students looked at each other, unable to decide.
"Hashimoto, you bastard, stop this!" the green-haired student yelled.
"Hmmm? So you're saying we should lower our heads and let them freely walk around our camp? Why? He started it. If we get rid of him, no one will complain," the guy called Hashimoto continued his passionate speech like he was leading them into war.
"Oh..."
I understood now.
Even though Sakayanagi wasn't participating, she had sent her followers to sabotage the exam for Katsuragi.
This was all to clear her path to the throne of Class A without any competition.
She really knew how to choose her followers carefully.
"Hashimoto's right. If we let him leave now, they'll just come back," another student said while raising his fist.
"Yeah! Wasn't he spying on us? Grab him!"
And just like that, the hunt began.
"Wait! I swear I'll leave! There's no need for all this!" I raised my hands in surrender.
No reason to start a war when I already knew the outcome.
"No matter what you say, this is your end! Come here!" one of them shouted while cracking his fingers and approaching me.
What kind of stupid plot development was this?
I had to escape no matter what.
What distracts high school students...
A bear?
Or...
"Whoa! What a beautiful girl!" I shouted while staring behind them.
"Huh?! Where?!"
Everyone immediately turned around.
I took the opportunity and ran.
"He's escaping!"
"That lying bastard!"
"Damn it! How did we fall for such a cheap trick?!"
I ran through the forest at full speed between trees and bushes, hoping to lose them.
But reality was cruel.
Around ten students from Class A were chasing after me.
Was there a bounty on my head or something?
"Don't let him get away! Hurry up!" Hashimoto shouted while leisurely walking behind them and enjoying the show.
"Got you!"
One student reached for my shirt after catching up.
I suddenly changed directions and started weaving through the trees.
After putting some distance between us, I stopped and looked back, hoping they'd give up.
But they were standing there breathing heavily while trying to surround me again.
"He's way too fast! Who is this guy?" one of them asked while clutching his chest.
"I'm just good at tag."
Even though I'd never played it before.
Hard to play tag alone.
"Huh?"
The students stared at me in confusion.
I made sure to keep enough distance between us before placing my hand on my chest.
My heartbeat was steady.
Even my breathing was fine.
Maybe my fitness had improved.
As for why they couldn't catch me—
Their athletic ability was just terrible.
If that huge guy standing beside Hashimoto had been chasing me, I wouldn't have escaped.
Class A apparently wasn't perfect.
They might be good academically, but sports were a different matter.
That was probably why competition between classes even existed.
Since I'd already drained their energy, negotiation was now possible.
"As I said before, I'm not trying to do anything. All I'm asking is for you to return to your camp and leave me alone," I said while keeping an eye on everyone.
I wasn't going to let Sakayanagi climb to the throne over my dead body.
This was my gift to that scheming princess.
"Huh? Fine, then we'll leave you alone if you kneel and apologize," Hashimoto said while stepping forward.
He was trying to stir them up again.
But he picked the wrong person.
Looks like I'd have to get serious... my old way.
I slowly bent my knees and knelt on the ground while raising both hands.
"I'm truly sorry for recklessly approaching your camp... now please leave me alone."
Under the shocked gazes of the students, Hashimoto stared at me with his mouth half-open.
What?
Wasn't he the one who told me to kneel and apologize?
"Well then, I guess we're done here. I'll be leaving now," I said as I turned around.
"Ah—"
Hashimoto moved to stop me, looking utterly stunned by how things had developed.
I wouldn't deny that I had considered surrendering in the beginning.
Who knew? Maybe if I entered their camp I'd discover something useful.
I could even let them slap me once or twice.
But what if they started torturing me with tickling?
That was unbearable.
I slowly backed away while they stared helplessly.
"Move! I'm getting him!"
Suddenly, a girl charged out of the crowd and threw a direct strike at me.
I quickly moved my body aside to dodge and jumped backward to create distance.
What was Kamuro doing?!
Did she just aim for my neck?!
Was she trying to kill me?!
Maybe she was angry because I knew her secret.
Maybe she saw me as a threat that needed to be eliminated.
"Ah... Kamuro, there's no need to escalate things. I'm leaving anyway—"
"Shut up!"
Kamuro cut me off and immediately launched a barrage of kicks and punches.
I moved my body as quickly as possible to dodge.
She didn't seem especially strong.
She probably just knew martial arts.
"…Even Kamuro couldn't get him..." the crowd murmured while watching what had basically become entertainment.
Not good...
I needed to end this quickly.
I stopped moving and calmly stared at Kamuro as she reached for my collar.
I slapped away her hand with the back of my own.
The sound echoed around the area.
Kamuro took a step back while holding her hand, staring at me helplessly.
"That's enough. I'm not asking anymore this time... I'm warning you not to chase me," I said while staring at everyone.
"Ah…"
Everyone fell silent.
No one dared step forward again.
They simply stared at me and waited for my next move.
Good.
Time to retreat.
"He's scary…"
"Dude, look at his eyes... he's a monster."
Ignoring their stupid muttering, I turned toward the forest and sprinted away at full speed.
I'd make sure nobody ever came back to that place again.
That bastard Hashimoto...
I'd remember him well.
Katsuragi's plan was probably to defend and hide inside that cave for a week without risking exposure of their leader.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad strategy if executed correctly.
But Class A was still in chaos without their true leader.
Just a little encouragement from Hashimoto had been enough to send them all chasing me.
I finally stopped after feeling I'd put enough distance between us.
I'd run around like an idiot all over the place...
I looked around in every direction.
But trees were still trees.
They all looked the same.
So...
Which direction was Class D's camp again?