Kamuro Masumi POV

How do I put it? Every day is just not very interesting. Class A is constantly at each other’s throats with Sakayanagi and Katsuragi’s faction fighting, and there’s no way some oddball would try to deepen friendships with someone like me, who is basically neutral and doesn’t stand out.

Even when I talk to classmates, it always turns into who’s more amazing, Sakayanagi or Katsuragi. Honestly, I find it more interesting talking with Ayanokōji’s friends-with-benefits.

To be frank, I’m getting sick of this class. Even if I couldn’t graduate from Class A, I’d want to use 20 million PP to move to the class Kiyotaka and the others are in.

At first it was just a vague thought, but once the uninhabited island exam started, that intention grew stronger and stronger.

Just because Sakayanagi can’t participate, the Katsuragi faction does whatever they want, flaunting it, and if you argue back, no matter who you are, you’re treated as an enemy. The leader Katsuragi might be reasonable, but if he can’t discipline his underlings, I don’t want him thinking he can be a leader.

On that point, Sakayanagi’s side is better because her people are properly disciplined. That doesn’t mean I’ll join the Sakayanagi faction, but at least the Katsuragi faction leaves a bad impression.

On the third day, Kiyotaka came to see me, and even then the Katsuragi faction picked a fight, claiming I was going to sell information to another class. Even when I denied it, they wouldn’t even listen properly. Even I was about to reach the end of my patience.

“Look, I’m not planning to defy your way of doing things. I’ve followed instructions so far. But I don’t see why I have to take complaints about my private relationships, okay? Who I get along with is my business. If you keep making these weird assumptions and false accusations, I might just seriously betray you, alright?”

Once I said that much, Katsuragi, who’d been watching the situation, stepped in to mediate. Then do it from the start.

“Katsuragi. I don’t care whether you become the leader or not. But, if you’re going to let people like this, who think it’s natural to suspect comrades, run rampant, I can’t feel like cooperating at all. I don’t think a guy who can’t control those kinds of people has what it takes to be a leader.”

When I clearly voiced my complaints, Katsuragi apologized, saying “I’m sorry.” Because he apologized, the Katsuragi faction started complaining again—but Katsuragi silenced them with a roar.

“If you have complaints, direct them at me. There’s nothing wrong with what Kamuro said. In the first place, just because there’s factional infighting doesn’t make it right to suspect classmates as if it’s normal. If Kamuro were engaging in clear acts of betrayal, that’d be a different story, but she hasn’t done anything yet. Innocent until proven guilty—let her go without a word.”

“At the very least, in this exam, you’re the ones running things. I don’t even know who the leader is, and I don’t know what strategy you’re planning. You’re saying stupid things like I’m selling information, but I don’t even have any information I could sell.”

Saying that, I left the Class A base camp together with Kiyotaka. If I stayed any longer, I felt like I’d complain even more.

“Masumi, you seem to be having a hard time too.”

“…The faction war is getting more and more extreme. Honestly, I don’t want to stay in that class anymore. I even have more friends in your class.”

Yuki, Kushida, Airi, Ichinose, and the other women Kiyotaka has embraced like me—they all accept me like it’s only natural.

“If you feel that strongly, Masumi, how about I save up 20 million?”

“If it were that easy to gather, I wouldn’t have any trouble…”

“Not necessarily. Right now, I have 9 million on hand. That means I only need to gather another 11 million. It’s not like we have no leads.”

9 million!? I heard he rented a private room on the ship, but this guy has that much PP.

“You should save a little too, Masumi. If you can save up even 1 million, we might be able to move the schedule forward. In Class A, you get 100,000 PP a month. It’s not that difficult.”

“Well, that’s true. They say every little bit adds up, so I’ll try saving a little… Thanks, Kiyotaka.”

Thinking that this guy is serious about moving me to his class made my heart feel a little warmer. It seems I’ve utterly fallen for him.

“It’s nothing to thank me for. You rarely make selfish requests. Doing this much for you is only natural.”

“Then maybe I’ll gather as much information on Class A as I can for when that time comes. Or would it be better if I leaked false information?”

“Well, that sounds interesting too, but for now just go about things normally. Someday, if it becomes necessary I might ask you, but right now we haven’t established a clear plan for your class transfer.”

Even I can tell I got a little carried away. But it just made me so happy that Kiyotaka is so kind and considerate for my sake.

“…Come to think of it, where are we going now?”

“A little further ahead from here, I found a nice cave. Surrounded by greenery, and at a glance you can’t see anything.”

“Don’t tell me you intend to do it outside?”

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“I-I don’t dislike it… But, we might be seen…”

“If you hold your voice in, it’ll be fine.”

This guy—lately, I’ve been watching those kinds of videos for study, so I know, but his thing is far bigger and thicker than normal. That means, to the woman he’s with, it brings intense pleasure, and you can’t just hold it in as easily as he says.

But even so, I couldn’t bring myself to leave him anymore.

At first I was threatened and just curious, but now I can’t imagine school life without Kiyotaka. If this guy came to hate me, I probably wouldn’t be able to go on living.

I hated men who couldn’t truly love a single woman—so the fact that I’ve fallen for a man who only seeks physical relationships and doesn’t feel romantic love for others, I can only say I’m a real idiot.

Come to think of it, Yuki once said, isn’t love not something you do, but something you fall into—before you know it, you’ve come to like the person. I feel like I finally understand what she meant.

* * *

Ichinose Honami POV

At last, the exam that will determine our class evaluation has begun. I never imagined the vacation would be a lie and we’d end up living on an uninhabited island, but I want to achieve the best results possible and close the gap with Class A.

However, I thought that if I just earnestly carried out this exam, the results would naturally follow.

I realized how naive that thinking was on the second day. It was when the members of Class D, with Ayanokōji-kun, came to see how our class was doing.

At first, I thought our respective innovations were pretty similar and I just hoped both sides would get good results. But the moment they confirmed the presence of Kaneda-kun from Class C, who we had taken in, their previously gentle gazes completely changed.

The story I heard then far exceeded my imagination, and I nearly shouted out loud.

When they went to see Class C’s situation, Ryūen-kun had hinted at withdrawal. However, because of the transceivers, and because their class also had a Class C student, there was a possibility that only Ryūen-kun remained to guess the leaders.

I honestly had no idea how Ryūen-kun intended to move, but they had read his thoughts. On top of that, they even told us that Class A’s leader was Totsuka Yahiko-kun. No matter how you look at it, we’re receiving far too much, but Ayanokōji-kun said, “I want a long-term advantage rather than immediate points,” and was giving us a chance to earn points as well.

It was from this day on that I began to think—maybe my boyfriend is actually someone amazing.

On the third day, when Ayanokōji-kun showed his face again, the two of us went on a little date, and as we walked aimlessly, he hinted at the possibility that Class A and Class C were connected.

It seems he heard something from Kamuro-san; from the fact that Class A was the only class without a Class C student, that Katsuragi-kun, who has conservative thinking, was spending points without hesitation, and that Class C had prepared a week’s worth of food and water beforehand—he said he saw through the connection.

“Normally, even if you prepare food and water, wouldn’t you think you could just buy it when needed? Even if you stockpile a large amount, if you find food on the island you might not use it. There’s no point in preparing food in advance. But, on the other hand, what if they had no choice but to prepare it in advance? Doesn’t it make sense if you think Class C consumed points to assist Class A?”

The same goes for the toilet and shower. Both our class and Ayanokōji-kun’s class had a fair amount of conflict. But in Class A’s case, despite starting with only 270 points due to Sakayanagi-san’s absence, their supplies are better stocked than ours.

That too makes sense if you consider that there was assistance from Class C. It also explains why Class A is the only class without a spy. If they’re working together, there’s no need to send a spy.

“…But, how did you figure that out from such tiny hints?”

“When Ryūen hinted he’d withdraw, I thought it would be a waste just to spend points and withdraw. When I considered what I would do, the idea of diverting supplies came up. Well, Masumi apparently didn’t know it came from Class C though.”

As I thought, Ayanokōji-kun has incredible ability. No, thinking back now, since he has relationships with Yuki-chan and Kikyo-chan, there’s no way he could be ordinary.

Now that I recall, it was the same with Sudō-kun’s false accusation incident in July. The one moving visibly was Ayanokōji-kun. He’s probably the true leader of Class D. He has some reason for not wanting to stand out and is hiding himself. That must be it.

“By the way, how has Shiranami been lately?”

“Eh, Chihiro-chan?”

“Ostensibly, we’ve become boyfriend and girlfriend, but I can’t imagine her just giving up straightforwardly. Even just earlier, she was staring daggers at me…”

“A-ahaha…”

In the end, since the day I first became intimate with Ayanokōji-kun, Chihiro-chan and I have become distant.

That said, it’s less like being disliked, and more like she’s watching me from a roundabout distance, as if she’d pounce on any decisive mistake I might make.

“Probably… she might not have given up yet.”

“I see. After all, we’ve both been busy since the Sudō incident ended, and we haven’t really been able to flaunt our relationship publicly. It might be better to go on a date somewhere after this exam is over. What do you think, Ichinose?”

A d-date… I think I want to.

“I-I think it’s a good idea! Yeah! We should definitely go on a date!”

“Since we’re ostensibly boyfriend and girlfriend, to avoid suspicion, I suppose we should do the things we ought to do…”

“That’s right! We definitely should!”

“Then, the date can wait. For now, let’s do what a young man and woman would do—intertwine our bodies.”

“You’re right! Intertwine our bodi—eh, intertwine our bodies?”

When I noticed, something like a cave had appeared before my eyes. And from behind, Ayanokōji-kun was pressing something hard and hot against my bottom.

Could this be…

“Eh, w-we’re doing it outside!?”

“Don’t want to?”

“But, if someone sees us…”

“There’s no oddball who’d go out of their way to come to such a remote place. And even if we are seen, it’s fine. It would prove that our relationship isn’t a lie.”

So saying, Ayanokōji-kun brought his face closer. But still, it’s embarrassing to be seen by someone, or rather, if possible, I’d like to do that sort of thing in a place with a better atmosphere—

“Nn, nmm…”

—But, in the face of the pleasure felt from these lips, everything becomes irrelevant.

I know this is wrong. But I just couldn’t resist this sensation.

Before I knew it, I was again seeking Ayanokōji-kun of my own accord. And after it was all over, I thought the same thing again—I’ve gone and done it again.