“Sorry to come so suddenly. I’m Kanzaki Ryūji from Class B. Is Ayanokōji here?”

On the morning of the third day, he appeared.

“I’m Ayanokōji, but… what do you want?”

“I wanted to talk a bit. I heard that you and our Ichinose agreed on non-interference between Class B and Class D. Does that still remain valid during this special exam?”

“Yeah. As Class D, we don’t plan on clashing with Class B during this exam either. We’ve got plenty of other things piled up.”

I say that while briefly glancing toward Ibuki.

“I see. That helps. Even if it’s just a confirmation, us visiting Class D could be taken as a hostile act, so if you don’t mind, would you be willing to come take a look at Class B later?”

For us as well, that’s like a boat arriving just when we needed one.

“Then later, I’ll come with one other person. There’s something I want to check.”

“It’s surprising that you’re choosing non-interference. If you got serious, it seems like you could do quite a lot.”

“That might be true, but it’d just become a hassle later. Even if there’s no obligation to cooperate, there’s no need to deliberately make enemies in every direction.”

* * *

Just like yesterday, I bring Horikita along.

“You don’t deny that you’re capable. As expected of you. I really am glad, from the bottom of my heart, that you’re in Class D.”

“For me as well, I think the reason the outside environment I stepped into for the first time is this interesting is precisely because it’s this class. There aren’t many places that gather people this dense.”

Since this is the only high school I could choose to enter anyway, if you asked which class from A to D would be the most enjoyable, it’d probably be Class D.

Maybe the chairman telling me to hold back during the entrance exam was also for my sake.

'Well, even if that was part of it, it’s probably about a 99 to 1 ratio in favor of his daughter’s enjoyment. And maybe something like putting me and Sakayanagi in the same class would be too strong and not fun.'

“For now, we’ll check the cave that Class A is probably occupying and see whether Class C is still around. We can go to Class B after that.”

It’s not like we can do anything in particular, but there should still be something to gain.

* * *

“Oh, Ayanokōji-kun, long time no see. Sorry for coming so suddenly. It seems like it’s the same on your side, but a problem cropped up in our class too, so I wanted to talk with Class D as soon as possible.”

In the direction of Ichinose’s gaze, there’s a man wearing glasses and it feels like Kanzaki is subtly keeping an eye on him.

So that’s how it is after all.

“That man with the glasses—who is he? It looks like you’re monitoring him.”

“He’s Kaneda-kun from Class C. It seems he was chased out by Ryūen-kun and he had some pretty nasty bruises, so we took him in… but he’s still from another class, so we’re staying cautious.”

That confirms where the two expelled students ended up.

And, as expected, it’s almost certain they’re spies.

Just like how most people in our class sympathize with Ibuki, injuries carry a lot of weight with kind-hearted people like Ichinose.

“I see. Our class also has a girl named Ibuki who was apparently chased out from Class C. She’s from another class too, so handling her is tricky, but we can’t just leave her alone either.”

If I were to forcibly chase Ibuki out myself, I am a little curious about how she’d act afterward.

* * *

After chatting with Ichinose and the others for a fairly long time while observing Class B, we leave.

“—Don’t screw with me! What the hell are you thinking!?”

“But it’s fine, isn’t it? It’s hot and exhausting and they’re necessary things! And even Kōenji-kun—”

When we return, Shinohara and Ike are arguing again.

“Ah, Kiyotaka’s back! Sorry, I was supposed to be looking after the class, but I didn’t notice at all…”

Kei talks to me.

I can more or less guess what happened, but since it’s not confirmed yet, I ask anyway.

“No, I left things to you guys too. I just got back, so I don’t really know the situation yet.”

“Well… I think it’ll be faster if you see the actual stuff. I want you to come to the girls’ tent.”

When I follow Kei, there are things like a generator, an electric fan and a hair dryer lying around.

“I finally get back from scouting the other classes and you’re fighting again? Ike, Shinohara.”

While she was arguing with Ike, I came over to mediate.

“It’s been like this all along, but this is obviously going to cause a fight! She went and bought this stuff with points without permission!!”

“I thought I burned the manual so that wouldn’t happen. What exactly were you thinking, Shinohara?”

Splash…

A dull sound echoes.

Well, I didn’t throw it very high.

I probably tossed it at just the right angle so it wouldn’t hit the riverbed.

She can stand up normally anyway.

“Cough, hack! W-What are you doing all of a sudden!?”

“Ah, they say idiots don’t catch colds. If you want to cool off, there’s a river right in front of you. I just thought you could go in.”

Of course, the meaning as punishment is stronger.

“What are you doing, Ayanokōji-kun!?”

Hirata calls out.

“If anything, that’s my line. You were here and yet this happened. No—rather, it’s you, Hirata. You were the one who told Shinohara about those tools, weren’t you?”

I’m almost certain of it.

Because Hirata was the only one who had the manual at the start.

“That’s… she consulted me, asking if there was anything useful. I’d looked through the manual first, so I told her some of what I remembered. I never imagined—”

“I don’t intend to hear excuses. Lie down and sleep for a bit, Hirata.”

I punch Hirata in the jaw and knock him out.

I didn’t knock him out deeply, so he’ll wake up before long.

“Wha!?”

“What’s wrong, Shinohara? Is it really that surprising that I punched Hirata?”

Did you think it was going too far?

“Didn’t you notice? Acts of interference or violence against other classes are severely punished. But Ibuki was beaten by Ryūen—someone from her own class. In other words, laying hands on your own class isn’t a problem.”

I step closer to Shinohara, who had just climbed out of the river.

“You complained about Kōenji buying things without permission, didn’t you? Then why do you think you wouldn’t get complained at for doing the same thing? To be blunt, Kōenji and you are on completely different levels. By the end of the first day, Kōenji had already scoped out food sources, made a map of the island, found spots all over and even built houses for us guys to live in. It’s true he’s still acting freely now and sometimes disappears somewhere at night with his hammock. But he always shows up for roll call, so he hasn’t caused any point deductions.”

I deliberately let killing intent seep out.

“Compared to that, what about you? Have you contributed anything since coming to this island? All you’ve done is make selfish demands. Come to think of it, you’re supposedly in the cooking club, aren’t you? And yet for these two days, you’ve done nothing, leaving it to the other girls. You’re a textbook extrovert, but just because you know fashion and trends, how does that help on this island?

Even if your communication skills are decent, your arrogance ruins it. Haven’t you noticed that even fellow girls were already giving you cold looks from the very first day? And you said it was about fifteen points, right? What are you misunderstanding? That’s effectively CP. In other words, it’s effectively fifteen hundred PP. This is paid out to forty people. That means it’s actually sixty thousand PP. And not just next month. The month after that and the one after that too.

The fifteen CP that should have come in is gone permanently. In other words, understand that the class is effectively taking sixty thousand PP worth of damage every month. These tools are things you bought without permission. Of course you’re satisfied with them, but can you personally make up the remaining PP every month?

How exactly can you contribute? I’d really like you to tell me. Your brains are below average. Your athletic ability is average. You have no endurance. How are you going to earn? The only thing left is probably selling your body using the weapon of being a woman, right? In this school, you can buy anything with PP. Even with that scrawny body, maybe some upperclassmen from Class A would buy you—”

“Stop it, Ayanokōji!! That’s going too far, no matter what!!”

Ike, who was closest, cuts in.

He can still move even while I’m exuding killing intent.

Looks like he’s grown a bit.

“We were just arguing a moment ago, so it might be out of line for me to defend her, but!! Yeah, buying stuff without permission isn’t good, but it’s not like she bought something completely useless!! Like Shinohara herself said, for health management, it’s not bad. If the whole class shares and uses it, then it’s not just one person acting on their own. Right, Ayanokōji!!”

That’s correct.

But affirming it here wouldn’t be wise.

“If that’s what you think, then do that. Either way, the points that were spent aren’t coming back. That’s why I’m telling you to think things through and tell me if there’s something you want. Not just Shinohara—everyone else too.”

After saying that, I leave the spot and quietly call Ken over.

I decide to say exactly what I think.

“But Kōenji-kun bought a hammock without permission too. And if people get heatstroke or catch a cold, we might lose thirty points anyway, so fifteen points isn’t that big a deal, right?”

“To me, it’s no different from buying the toilet. They just bought what they thought was necessary. Since you allowed the toilet purchase on the first day and allowed the tents too, I figured you’d forgive it.”

* *

“Man, Kiyotaka-kun was insane this evening.”

“In the end, isn’t he basically a dictator like our Ryūen? I mean, people really fly that far. Is Ayanokōji even human?”

On the night of the third day, I, Ibuki Mio, was talking with Kushida, who had once again slipped in unnoticed.

“He’s human. And when he was talking to Shinohara, those cold eyes! They were the best!”

“……”

Is this girl an M or what?

She’s so popular, yet this is her true nature?

Well, contract-wise, I won’t tell anyone.

Besides, there’s no one I’d even talk about this with.

“By the way, are you really okay with this? Betraying the Class D that guy controls. If you get found out, won’t it be bad?”

“It’s fine. I act like a perfect little cat in front of Kiyotaka-kun. You want the person you like to only see your cute side, right? And he’s a boy too, so in the end I’ll just wrap him around my finger with my body.”

Kushida emphasizes her chest.

“Useless boobs. Can I rip them off?”

“No!? They’re my selling point!!”

Tch… guess I said that out loud.

Whatever.

“So you came because you had some business, right? Hurry up and get to the point.”

“Even if we’re just collaborators, I thought we could get along a bit. Fine, fine. Tomorrow early morning, I’ll make my move. Ike-kun helping Shinohara brought things back a little, but today’s incident didn’t change the fact that the atmosphere turned bad. At the very least, the girls’ side should fall apart. I’m not sure if it’ll spread to the boys though.”

So she’s planning to do something.

“Should I ask what that something is?”

“No need. If you know too much and it shows on your face, it’d ruin things. Just knowing that I’m moving is enough.”

Whatever.

If Class D falls apart, that’s a win for me.

In the end, I know I’m firmly marked by Ayanokōji and if anything happens, I’ll be the first to be suspected anyway.

“I see. Then I’m counting on you.”