"Ryuuen told me to act alone."
Albert was quite frank, immediately revealing Ryuuen's arrangements.
In fact, since Amane-san had already spotted him, there was no longer any need to hide.
"How did he think of sending you out? You're such a large person, wouldn't it be harder to hide, both in terms of food consumption and physical size?"
Amane-san glanced at the incomplete wild boar at Albert's feet.
During Class C's last night of celebration, Amane-san had eaten her fill.
Due to Class C's insufficient preparations, there would definitely be very little food left for Albert. In such a situation, someone else might have been able to survive on the island until the last day with that food.
But Albert's physique... it was obvious he was a big consumer of food. So how did Class C think of having Albert hide?
Albert quickly finished the meat in his hand, then collected some rainwater to wipe his mouth.
"Surviving in the wild sounds simple, but in reality, it's not as imagined. You can't just survive with food and water. In the wild, food can spoil, water sources can be contaminated, and there are various edible and inedible things mixed together. Furthermore, there are diseases and wild beasts... only a small fraction of people possess this knowledge."
Albert said, tearing off a leg from the wild boar and offering it to Amane-san.
Seeing Amane-san's somewhat surprised expression, he realized how strange his action was.
"My apologies, I forgot you girls can't handle this. Fortunately, I still have some jerky."
Albert carefully pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket. Inside the plastic bag was a cloth bag, and after opening the cloth bag, only six small pieces of jerky remained.
It seemed this was Albert's last bit of food.
Albert handed the jerky to Amane-san without a trace of reluctance.
Amane-san didn't take it.
Instead, she bent down and picked up the raw meat, which was full of blood, earthy taste, and mixed with rainwater.
"You underestimate me too much. You should keep that jerky for yourself."
Amane-san took a large bite of the raw meat, blood and all.
Albert watched silently from the side, seemingly expecting to see Amane-san struggle, but to his surprise, Amane-san actually managed to eat it.
"Don't force yourself. Eating like this isn't good for your health. It's a shame the rain is too heavy now, otherwise, we could make a fire."
Albert looked up at Amane-san.
The rain grew heavier. Both of them, with no shelter, were completely drenched, but no one complained. They simply ate some raw meat to fill their stomachs. In such an environment, not having some food in your stomach could easily lead to a cold.
However, raw food itself carried a risk of diarrhea or even illness, so it was hard to judge whether this action was right or wrong.
"Have you been solving your meals like this these past few days?"
Amane-san leaned against the tree trunk and asked Albert beside her.
It looked like Albert had only stayed for one day, but Amane remembered very clearly that ever since the first barbecue, Albert had been out early and back late.
He was clearly adapting in advance to living alone in the forest.
It was probably not the first time he had experienced such a thing.
"It was fine before, I could still eat fruits and such. Later, after everyone started picking fruits, I could only come to the depths of the forest. Only then could I avoid the students from various classes who came to collect firewood every day."
As the exam neared its end, all classes were trying to save on class expenses. Everyone was picking fruits or crops to use as food; enduring one meal could save ten class points. Even Class A was storing edible items, planning to save as many points as possible at the last moment, let alone other classes.
Albert was probably forced into the most dangerous depths of the forest by those responsible for gathering food.
"Albert, since you are the last person from Class C on the island, the key card must be with you, right?"
Amane was still most concerned about the whereabouts of the key card.
But what Amane never expected was...
Albert actually shook his head.
"The key card is not with me. Don't look at me like that, I have no reason to lie to you. I'm just following Ryuuen's instructions to lie low on the island. I know nothing else."
Albert's words made Amane frown.
Only then did she realize that she had been outsmarted by Ryuuen.
Assuming what Albert said was true, and Ryuuen took the key card when he boarded the ship, then the identity of the infiltrator and key card holder should pass to the next Class C member.
Since Albert was the only Class C student who hadn't withdrawn, it was only natural for Albert to inherit it.
But the next part was the key.
Ryuuen's instruction to Albert was to lie low on the island until the end of the exam. Albert naturally couldn't go to the school to get a new key card.
Even if it could be confirmed that Albert was Class C's key card holder and infiltrator...
There was a lack of crucial evidence!
Could such a thing be guessed at randomly? What if Ryuuen had sent someone else? Losing a large number of points for no reason would be quite uneconomical.
No wonder Ryuuen dared to let Albert stay and wander around.
Because even if he was discovered, Albert himself didn't know if his identity had changed, and the key card couldn't be found on him. This made Albert a hot potato; no one dared to make a rash judgment, which also indirectly protected Albert's safety.
If he encountered danger in the wild, he could just find any class to join, as he knew nothing anyway, and Class C had withdrawn from the exam. There was nothing you could do about Albert. Once accepted, they would have to feed him, thereby consuming other classes' food. It was a win-win situation.
"Ryuuen is truly cunning."
Amane couldn't help but exclaim.
Hearing Amane's exclamation, Albert couldn't help but glance at Amane.
Amane managed to find him even in such a hidden place; her cunning was no less than Ryuuen's.
Since there was nothing she could do about Albert for now, Amane could only suspend her actions and wait until the rain stopped.
Covered by her school uniform, Amane lay directly on the plastic bag Albert carried with him.
Even if it was all water, it was much better than sleeping directly in the mud.
"Miyako-san, are you really that trusting...?"
Before Albert could finish his sentence, he stared dumbfounded at Amane, who had already fallen asleep.
Albert, who had just been about to test Amane's level of trust in him, could only let out a bitter laugh.
What kind of girl was so carefree?
Albert took off his school uniform, originally intending to cover Amane with it, but on second thought, the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon. If he just draped it over her, she might be woken up in the middle of the night by the water-soaked clothes pressing down on her.
Albert looked at the branches and bones beside him and suddenly had an idea.
"Amane, are you there? Amane, answer me if you hear my voice..."
Horikita's hair stood on end at the sight before her.
Albert, covered in blood and with torn clothes, was dozing off in front of a strange shelter.
He seemed to be so tired that his snores were as loud as thunder.
Horikita's face could not hide her joy.
Because Albert being here meant that the last person from Class C was indeed Albert. She never expected that looking for Amane would lead to such good fortune.
But just as Horikita was about to look for any other accomplices Albert might have, Horikita saw Amane sleeping soundly behind Albert.
Albert had used tree branches and a skeleton to make a simple rain shelter, then hung his school uniform on it to block the rain. Every now and then, Albert would get up to wring the water out of the uniform.
To prevent the shelter made of branches and bones from collapsing, Albert even tore his sleeves to use as ropes, tying the branches and wild boar skeleton together to act as a rain cover.
As for himself, he had been busy changing the water for Amane, and finally, too tired to stay awake, he used his last bit of consciousness to sit at the very front of the shelter, doing his best to shield Amane from some of the cold wind.
Horikita was stunned by how bizarre the whole situation was.
Could a big guy like Albert really be the kind of boy who would protect Amane?
Horikita shook her head. She didn't believe that the last person from an opposing class would actually protect Amane.
They must have reached some kind of agreement?
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