"Chabashira, I'm so sleepy. Let me lean on you, okay?"
The drowsy Hoshinomiya could barely keep her eyes open, clinging to Chabashira like a koala.
"Hey! Get off me! The guest will be here soon. Are you planning to disgrace us in front of important people?"
Chabashira shook her arm in disgust, but no matter how much she shook it, Hoshinomiya didn't budge. In the end, Chabashira could only turn her pleading gaze to Mashima, who was standing at the very front.
"Mashima, aren't you going to manage Hoshinomiya?"
Hearing that Chabashira was actually asking Mashima-sensei to lecture her, Hoshinomiya quickly let go of Chabashira's arm and returned to her spot, standing obediently like a good child.
Mashima looked back at Chabashira and Hoshinomiya, sighing helplessly.
Hopefully, she won't find any fault today.
"Mashima-sensei, do you know why that investigator chose to come to the island at night? Logically speaking, no matter how urgent it was, we should have been notified today to prepare for a welcoming ceremony, and then tomorrow during the day, we would arrange a grand reception for the special investigator to arrive on this island. Their haste suggests ill intentions."
Sakaue was dissatisfied with the sudden arrival of this special envoy.
Although the other party claimed to be investigating the island fire, sent by the higher-ups, their various actions, completely outside the norm, made Sakaue feel that things might not be so simple.
What kind of special envoy wouldn't put on a show and instead chose to launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night?
"Alas, it's true that this island is rented by the school from the state, but that's only nominally rented. In reality, the ownership of this island is private. Kou-Iku is responsible for overseeing and protecting all matters on the island. It's perfectly normal for the owner to come and check the damage after this fire."
Mashima-sensei replied to Sakaue while gazing into the distance.
There were no airports or other facilities on the island, so the initial guess was that the other party would come by ferry.
But what he never expected was that she was bold enough to personally pilot a small helicopter directly from her estate, intending to land on the island.
Such a crazy action made Mashima's heart race.
Flying a helicopter at night, and making an emergency landing on a densely forested island, if anything happened to her, let alone them, the Kou-Iku teachers, even Chairman Sakayanagi himself would probably be held accountable a thousand times over.
As time passed, just as it was about to exceed the agreed time, the roar of a helicopter came from the distant sky.
Professional personnel immediately operated the lighthouse to provide lighting and guidance for the helicopter's landing, but the other party's rough and wild landing method still scared Mashima, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. The shirt under his suit was already drenched and clung tightly to his body.
His heart finally settled when he saw that familiar yet unfamiliar figure leap from the already steady helicopter.
"Huh? That couldn't be..."
"Everyone, follow me."
Hoshinomiya's words were cut short by Mashima.
Pouting, Hoshinomiya could only follow Mashima with a wronged expression, walking towards the newcomer.
"Welcome..."
"Long time no see."
Mashima's forced smile gradually froze. This time, it was his turn to be interrupted before he could finish speaking.
"Long time no see..."
Mashima tried to calm his emotions, preparing to greet the other party, but who knew that the newcomer directly bypassed Mashima and embraced the still sleepy Hoshinomiya.
"Ah! Ah? Eh? Wh-what happened?"
Hoshinomiya, who was embraced, had no idea what was happening and looked frantically at Chabashira beside her.
Chabashira, however, had a serious expression on her face.
"I didn't expect the so-called special envoy to be you, Miyako-san... No, it seems I should call you Fujiwara-san now? Indeed, calling us up in the middle of the night to welcome your arrival... is your kind of nasty habit."
Chabashira's sharp words made the other party's smile recede slightly.
"Chabashira, you're still as rigid as ever. What? Still brooding over what happened back then?"
"You..."
"Investigator Fujiwara, rushing here overnight, must be a bit tired. Why don't you rest early tonight? We can also use this evening to prepare relevant information and evidence regarding the island fire. It won't be too late for you to review them after you've had enough rest tomorrow."
To avoid a conflict between Chabashira and Fujiwara, Mashima, who was once a jock, had to resort to verbal sparring.
"The fire is irrelevant. As long as no lives were lost, it's just a minor matter. I just took on this assignment to see an old classmate."
Fujiwara directly revealed her true intention, and for a moment, the several former classmates fell into an awkward silence.
Finally, it was Hoshinomiya who broke the atmosphere.
"You're Rin? I almost didn't recognize you! I didn't expect you to still look so young, I'm so jealous! Your skin is so smooth, you must take good care of it, right? And your figure is still so sexy, your body is so soft and elastic, boo hoo hoo, you must still find time to exercise to maintain your figure..."
Looking at Hoshinomiya, who was hugging her and chattering, Fujiwara Rin's face was full of doting affection.
"Alright~ It seems your time is quite tight this time. How about I take you on a vacation during next year's spring break? You can go anywhere you want."
"Wow? Really? Then I want to go to..."
Mashima looked at Fujiwara, who was getting along well with Hoshinomiya, and then at Chabashira, who was unwilling but forcefully suppressing her anger.
Sigh.
Being this person in charge is really difficult.
After a simple meal as a welcome, everyone except Sakaue-sensei, who excused himself to rest in his tent, remained.
Mashima and the other two accompanied Fujiwara to the temporarily set up monitoring room.
After the last lesson, Mashima had specifically adjusted the camera angles to ensure that most of the camp could be observed, while also leaving room for those acting in the shadows to operate.
Otherwise, if monitors were destroyed every time there was an activity, the cost to the school would be too high.
"What's the situation with the exam now? Why do I see so many students returning to the cruise ship?"
Because teachers couldn't leave the island before the exam ended, Fujiwara's welcome meal was also held on the shore.
Looking at the brightly lit cruise ship in the distance, Fujiwara looked puzzled.
According to her past experience, it was impossible for so many classes to be eliminated from a special island resort exam before the last day.
"Class C voluntarily withdrew for a certain strategy, and Class A was affected by the fire, with multiple injuries forcing them to withdraw from the exam. Now, only Class B and Class D are left on the island."
As Mashima spoke, he clicked on the monitoring camera for Class B's camp.
"Class B and Class D? It sounds like Class B should have the upper hand, right?"
Although Fujiwara had also represented a weak class in overcoming a strong one, she knew very well that she was an exception; it was impossible for Class D to gather some good talents to be used every year.
"Hehe, I actually think Class B is at a disadvantage right now."
Hoshinomiya, slightly tipsy, said playfully from her chair.
"Is that so? Then I'll have to see for myself..."
Fujiwara's voice suddenly trailed off.
There was no other reason.
The large screen displaying the surveillance footage showed Amane pecking the already sleeping Ichinose on the cheek.
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