"Ugh... my back..."
I stretched as I got out of the tent... I didn't sleep well because of the uneven ground and the boys' stupid jokes.
Seriously, Yamauchi, no one cares about how many girls had a crush on you at your previous school. Just stop already.
Today was a special day for all the first-year students. Today, they wouldn't wake up to do the same routine tasks. Rather, it was the last day on which we would leave, and at the same time, the end of our first special exam.
We may face things similar to our journey on this island—exams that go beyond paper and pencils to something much further than that... Skills that you may think are useless become valuable among these trees.
Perhaps even if I told Komachi about the events of this week, she wouldn't believe me and would doubt my sanity.
Who would expect that going to an elite high school would end with you on the surface of an island...
"Make sure to gather all your belongings. Be careful not to forget anything. After that, we'll clean the place completely..." Yukinoshita gave her final orders for this exam.
There are penalties for polluting the environment as well. They have to be careful about that too.
Chabashira-sensei arrived at Class D's camping area carrying her usual file. Yukinoshita walked over, and the teacher handed her a pen and a sheet of paper.
Yukinoshita took a moment to check the paper before raising her head and signaling for me to come over.
I quickly walked toward her and glanced at Chabashira-sensei. Poor woman, she's working even during the summer vacation.
I looked at the paper in Yukinoshita's hands. It contained three spaces where you could write the names of the leaders of the other classes, while the space for Class D had a large line drawn through it.
Why don't we guess our own leader too? If we wrote my name, wouldn't we win fifty points?
"Who should we write for Class C? Ibuki or Ryūen?" Yukinoshita said while placing the pen beneath her chin as if contemplating the paper.
"Kaneda is the leader..." I said while looking around at the students gathering their belongings.
"Alright..." Yukinoshita nodded before writing Ryūen's name in neat handwriting.
I doubt Ryūen himself can write his own name like this.
"Then that's everything..." Yukinoshita said while looking at Class A's space.
Even if she was holding herself back, she wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a complete victory.
I thought about it carefully last night...
What I heard in the forest could simply have been a trap, but after thinking about Class A's situation and what I saw there, I went to their campsite.
I think this is Katsuragi's choice... He seems like a straightforward person who isn't very good at deception, so most likely his choice wouldn't be naive, but obvious.
He wouldn't choose a random student because that student might betray him. Therefore, the most suitable choice would be his assistant...
The boy with the short green hair...
It might just be a gamble... a dangerous gamble...
But if you want a complete victory, you have to gamble with everything.
"Yukinoshita, I know Class A's leader..." I said while looking at her from the corner of my eye.
"Huh...?" Yukinoshita turned to me in surprise.
"There's one small problem..." I said as I put my hands into my pockets.
"What is it?" Yukinoshita asked while gripping the pen in her right hand.
"I don't know his name..." I said while looking at the ground.
Well, this is useless. The most important thing in this game is knowing the names of the leaders... I know very well that I'm a terrible player.
"That won't add anything... You know what he looks like, don't you?" Yukinoshita said while rubbing her temples.
"Yeah... A boy with short green hair as well. He's Katsuragi's assistant."
That's all the information I have. Perhaps for the first time, I feel helpless because of my complete ignorance about the people around me...
Even so, I don't think I'll improve much in that area.
"Hmm... That's not enough," Yukinoshita said while placing the tip of the pen against her chin.
That's true... Perhaps we'll settle with this much this time.
"Totsuka Yahiko."
Suddenly, a voice that was somewhere between cold and calm came from behind us.
It was closer to being nothing more than the sound of the forest itself. You wouldn't even notice his presence.
"Totsuka Yahiko, then..." I muttered while thinking of a solution before the end.
"Huh...?" I turned toward Yukinoshita and found her looking behind us.
Ayanokōji was standing there, looking at us with his empty eyes.
"Who's that?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Katsuragi's assistant's name... I overheard you while I was packing my things," Ayanokōji said as he lifted his bag.
That bastard... He was spying on us like last time to make sure everything was going according to plan... Maybe he had known their leader from the beginning.
"Alright then..."
Yukinoshita turned and wrote the name in Class A's space.
The name "Totsuka" on the paper caught my attention. Isn't that my friend Totsuka's name...
Wait... That bastard has the same name... I can't stand this.
"Hikigaya-kun, your killing intent is pretty high. What are you thinking about?" Yukinoshita said as she handed the paper to Chabashira-sensei.
"Hahaha... Nothing." I clenched my fists tightly while trying to walk away.
That green-haired idiot...
On my way back to prepare my bag, I ran into Ayanokōji... He was standing with his group, staring at them with a blank expression as if he hadn't done anything a few moments ago.
Perhaps this trip to the island didn't reveal a large part of him...
But he's dangerous enough...
---
Class D gathered all their belongings, and after making sure the area was completely clean, they moved together toward the beach, where the whole story began...
Everything was over. The results would be announced now, and we'd return to the ship.
Perhaps I'll finally get some rest tonight.
I walked at the back of the group until we reached the beach, where all the other classes were standing...
A and B.
I glanced at the green-haired guy. He was standing beside Katsuragi, jumping around like an idiot.
What nonsense.
The students of Class D put their luggage down on the sand and spread out around the area to pass the time until the results were announced.
I looked at the sky. The sun was shining brightly, as if it too was happy that it wouldn't have to see our faces on this island again.
I searched for some shade around the area, then sat beneath a tree until the time came...
"Look over there..."
"Didn't he withdraw?"
"What's going on here?"
The annoying murmurs of the students began rising again.
Don't they lose their enthusiasm even in this heat?
I turned my head in annoyance toward the other side and found Ryūen coming out of the forest with his jacket over his shoulder, carrying only his backpack.
In a pitiful state...
"Hello, you fraud... You look shocked."