35 Volume 15 - Chapter 3: A Fight Against Solitude

Intro

After brushing away the cobwebs that had tangled around my clothes, I slowly took off my backpack and set it down on the ground.

The Uninhabited Island Exam had entered into its ninth day, and it was as hot and humid out as ever.

By the time I had safely arrived at the fourth designated area, I was already breathing heavily.

One way or another, I had managed to reach my intended destination, just as scheduled.

The sweat on my brow slowly began to trickle down the bridge of my nose, so I wiped it away with the sleeve of my jersey.

Area D5, the designated area revealed at 3:00 PM, had been a considerable distance away from the previous area H9. It had taken quite a lot of effort to make it within the allotted time period.

In fact, I had even run into a decent Task along the way, but chose to give up on it so as to minimize the risk of accruing a penalty.

Although the journey had taken me almost two full hours, it didn't seem that very many other groups had arrived yet, as I had successfully earned the third-place Early Bird Bonus.

I wasn't dissatisfied with my progress for the most part, but I still hadn't been able to make it back to the starting area and meet up with Sakayanagi.

It'd just be a waste of stamina if I forced myself to go there now, and I didn't want to overwork myself. I had crossed paths with several Class 2-A students throughout the day today, but unfortunately, none of them had walkie-talkies. I thought about whether or not I should just bite the bullet and go there tomorrow morning, but… well, that would make things fairly complicated.

After deciding to put aside the whole situation with Sakayanagi for the time being, I went ahead and took a look at everything that had happened today.

"So with all the points I earned today, I've upped my total score to 112, huh?"

The Kuronaga group, who had maintained their 10th place spot, had a comprehensive score of 123 points, a mere 11 points ahead of me, who had risen up to 13th. Given that it would soon be 5:00 PM, this 11 point gap was most likely where things would end for the day.

My goal was actually to reach 11th place, but an 11 point difference seemed well within my tolerance range. Although it happened slightly behind schedule due to what happened with Nanase and the rough patch of weather, I had finally secured the strategic position that I'd been aiming for since the very beginning.

That's right, I had been aiming for 11th place since before the uninhabited island special exam even started. I was currently in 13th place, which was a bit lower, but that wasn't the important thing here. Rather, I just needed to make certain of one thing: that I didn't rise up to tenth.

In order to stand on the winner's podium, you'd have to put in the work to pile up points. However, regardless of whether you were all on your own or in a seven-man group through the use of the 'More People' card, by being part of the publicly-visible top ten, you'd inevitably end up garnering attention, even if you didn't want to.

And by garnering attention, your rivals would become wary of you, and you'd have to face the risk of being sabotaged before the end of the exam.

In order to avoid that and yet still have your sights set on a top spot, 11th place was the most ideal position to be in. That being said, there were still a few drawbacks to this strategy. Given the exam's nature, staying in control of your score can be fairly difficult. Therefore, if you didn't keep a close eye on your score, it's possible that you might find your group's name inadvertently showing up on the leaderboards, even if only for a moment. And if that were to happen, the entire strategy would be for naught.

Furthermore, an even greater drawback was the fact that it was heavily dependent on the score of the 10th place group. The smaller the gap between 10th place and 1st place, the easier it'd be to mount a comeback. However, if the gap was on the larger side, it'd be increasingly difficult to turn things around since you'd need to earn a larger number of points to catch up.

For that exact reason, it was important that the top groups strove to actively impede each other's progress.

But… that had been happening less than anticipated. So much so, in fact, that certain groups had been allowed to run away with the lead.

Fortunately, the absence of pressure from the first and third-years meant that the second-years were at a relative advantage, although that didn't exactly mean very much given all the other drawbacks. In order for groups to interfere with each other, they'd need to sacrifice their own ability to earn points, so it'd be difficult to put anything into motion unless you already had a substantial number of points on hand.

I was curious about what Nagumo was going to do moving forward. It seemed like it'd be a good idea for him to take on countermeasures of some sort to deal with Kōenji, his foremost competitor for the top spot. However, from what I saw during my previous GPS Searches, there was no indication that he had any plan to run interference at the moment. It was conceivable that he was simply pouring his energy into scoring points right now instead, but…

"With the way things are going, even if I don't win, I won't have any complaints as long as Kōenji takes first or second."

By staying at or around 11th place, I wouldn't attract very much attention. And even if I were to have my progress stunted via sabotage by Amasawa or one of the other first-years, I wouldn't have to worry about dropping all the way down to the bottom of the leaderboards.

All I needed to do at this point was maintain a high rank until the end of the twelfth day of the exam.

I took a well-earned rest in the shade of a nearby tree, and once the sweat had faded from my brow, I put my backpack back on and set off, headed toward the neighboring area.

Rather than set up camp right on the border, I wanted to find a nice, open spot located a bit further out.

Just around the time when the sun began to set and I needed to make a decision as to where I'd be camping for the night, I caught sight of an isolated, one-man tent pitched in a clearing not too far ahead of me. The entrance was zipped shut despite the sweltering heat, so it didn't seem like its owner was resting inside. Perhaps they were out scouting the surrounding area, or possibly even going to the restroom.

"What a nice spot."

It was hard to find such a flat, open spot in this neck of the woods.

It'd make things a lot easier for me personally if I could just set up my tent somewhere around here.

However, compared to when I had Nanase accompanying me, I was currently a boy traveling on his own.

As such, if this tent's owner was a girl, my presence could lead to inadvertent trouble if they didn't trust me to be here.

What's more, whoever it was, I wasn't sure what to make of the fact that it was a one-man tent.

Were they acting separately from the rest of their group, or had they been on their own since the beginning?

If it were the latter, then it was almost certainly someone I was acquainted with.

At this point, I at least wanted to find out their identity, regardless of whether I ended up pitching my own tent here or not.

I decided to stick around for a little while to see if the owner would turn up.

If they were out for a walk, then they should be back before sundown. And, if there were noises coming from inside the tent, then I could just call out to them.

I was fully aware that it'd be more efficient to try calling out to them now, but… well… you get the idea.

I waited for about ten minutes after that, but there was no sign nor sound of anyone.

The longer I waited, the more possible it began to seem that they had simply gone to bed early.

And since I had no reason to believe that anyone else would show up looking to use the campsite, I finally made up my mind and called out from beside the tent.

"Is anyone there?"

I held my breath for a few seconds and listened carefully for a reaction of some sort, but it was perfectly silent.

"Sorry, but I'd like to set up my tent nearby. Please let me know if you have a problem with that."

I went through the formality of asking for permission, and, having reached the conclusion that there was truly nobody inside, lowered my backpack down to the ground.

That is, after having appropriately distanced myself from their tent, of course.

Although I was still somewhat curious about who it was I was sharing a campsite with, I quickly finished pitching my own tent.

Time and time again, I'd been thoroughly impressed with how much easier this tent was to set up than the one used during last year's uninhabited island exam.

And that wasn't the only thing. It was also nice to have a tent all to myself without having to fuss over sharing the space with somebody else.

Though, this introverted way of thinking may just be the reason why my friends were so few and far between.

A sunny, cheerful person would probably say that sleeping in a tent without other people would be boring.

I couldn't help but wonder if there would ever come a day where I'd think so as well.

"…I really can't imagine it."

It was a future that would probably never come.

"I thought I heard some weirdo show up, but to think it was you of all people."

Just as I was sorting out my change of clothes for tomorrow, a voice called out to me from behind.

Apparently, the owner of the lone tent just across the way was none other than Ibuki.

"Did I make too much noise?"

"Not really."

Her response was brief, and she immediately followed it up with a piercing glare.

I thought that she'd say something else, but she instantly went back inside her tent instead.

Feeling like something was out of sorts, I decided to go and see what she was up to.

"You got a minute?"

I called out to her from outside her tent, but she ignored me. The only thing I could hear was a faint, indistinct noise coming from inside.

"I'd like to ask you something."

I tried calling out to her again, but she still refused to respond.

At first I thought that she was merely ignoring me, but upon further inspection, it seemed like she was actually up to something in there.

"I'm gonna unzip the flap, okay?"

Just to be safe, I waited for thirty seconds or so before unzipping the entrance to her tent.

"…What do you want?"

Upon looking inside, I was met with the sight of a seated Ibuki who seemed to be chewing on something.

04-06

"You're really─ Wait, no, what are you eating?"

"Jerky."

"Jerky…? That wasn't included in the Uninhabited Island Manuel they handed out to us before the exam, though?"

In other words, she had secured fresh meat somehow, perhaps by purchasing it, and dried it into jerky all by herself.

However, it'd take quite a lot of time and effort for her to go through the jerky-making process on her own.

Back when the exam first began, she had started out by provoking Horikita before immediately setting off for the first designated area. If she had been carrying raw meat back then, it went without saying that it would've spoiled within a few hours of this scorching heat.

With that in mind, it made more sense to think that this was a part of a strategy that the entirety of Class 2-B was in on.

I could imagine that some Class 2-B group out there had taken on the job of making a large quantity of jerky for the rest of the class.

It would only be possible because it was cost-effective and cheap on the wallet. No matter how portable it might be, straight-up buying premade food that has a long shelf-life, such as dried meats, wouldn't be very practical from a cost-performance standpoint due to the high prices the school would charge for it. So, rather than buy the processed result, you could get more bang for your buck by going through the effort to make your own jerky out of raw beef instead.

I hadn't seen what Ryūen's food situation was like back when I crossed paths with him, but it was probably safe to assume that he was carrying emergency rations as well, jerky in particular. Even though it couldn't hurt, the students of Class 2-B could look past the highly competitive Tasks that supplied participants with food.

"What's it matter to you? It's none of your business."

I could stand here thinking about this all I wanted, but it didn't sound like I'd be hearing the truth from her any time soon.

At any rate─ as far as I knew, Ibuki's name hadn't shown up in the bottom ten groups so far, even though she was taking part in the exam all on her own. It seemed that she had managed to maintain a somewhat decent score.

For Ibuki, taking a top spot in a Task centered around academic ability would be a lost cause.

With that being the case, her main source of income had to be the Arrival Bonuses and Early Bird Bonuses that came from traveling to designated areas, and outside of that, she'd be limited to the Tasks that tested our athletic skills.

As a result, she'd inevitably wear herself out at a faster rate than other students.

Anyone with eyes could see just how much physical and mental stress she had been put under.

In fact, it was entirely possible that she had already gone well past her limit.

"How many people have you spoken with since the exam started?"

"Wha…?"

It didn't seem like she had been sleeping very well, as I could see faint, dark circles taking shape under her eyes.

"…Just Horikita. You heard me say I wouldn't lose to her, right? You were there."

"In other words, you're saying you haven't had a proper conversation with someone since day one?"

At best, she had probably only opened her mouth to answer yes-no questions during the Task registration process.

"You should try and find someone to talk to, even if only a little bit."

"Ain't no way I'm gonna talk with my enemies."

"Then talk with a classmate. If you wander around long enough, you're sure to come across someone."

"I don't think of my classmates as 'friends'."

Her current state was the result of her closing herself off from the outside world, hiding away in her shell. And to think she had been like this for nine days now, and yet still had five more to go before the end of the exam.

If the fraying thread that was holding Ibuki together were to snap, everything would most likely come crumbling down around her.

And, as a lone student, if she were made to retire from the exam, her expulsion would be all but set in stone.

However, this special exam was such that, if at all possible, you didn't want to let groups from your own school year get expelled. To that end, it would be ideal if Ibuki could dedicate a day to rest and recovery. If she could spend a full day taking it easy, that would probably be enough for her to regain most of her energy. Given the type of person she was, it wouldn't be impossible for her to make it through the remaining four days of the exam at that point.

But, reality was not so merciful. As easy as it may seem, taking a day off from the exam would be incredibly difficult.

And, even if she were to force herself to take a break, there was no saying whether or not her mental state would improve.

While you rested, your rivals would be racking up points, placing you at risk of not only being overtaken, but possibly even causing you to sink down to the very bottom.

It'd be impossible for an ordinary person to sit back and empty their mind while the rest of the world moved on with the exam without them.

Besides, missing out on all four of a day's designated areas would lead to a penalty, of which the ramping effects would only make the following days that much more strenuous.

"Get out already."

"…Alright."

Even though it was Ibuki, she was still a girl.

With the sun sinking further and further under the horizon, it wouldn't exactly be appropriate for a boy to be looking inside a lone girl's tent like this.

Even if Ryūen was here right now, I had my doubts that even he would be able to solve her problem.

After leaving Ibuki's tent, I went back to sorting out my clothes.

It had been a fairly windy day today, so I hoped that it'd be a relatively cool night tonight.

"Hey."

Just when I had reached a decent stopping point with what I was doing, Ibuki emerged from her tent.

She staggered a bit as she got to her feet, wobbling around somewhat haphazardly, but she regained her bearings soon enough.

And then, with her hands in her pockets, she proceeded to walk straight over to me.

"How many points you got right now?"

She had finally come out of her tent, only to follow it up by asking me something surprisingly bold.

"We're mutual enemies, you do know that right?"

"So you won't tell me."

In a low voice, she mumbled something that sounded like the word 'cheapskate', but I still had no intention of divulging that information.

I could tell her that I was currently in 13th place, but there wasn't a single person on this deserted island who'd stand to benefit from it.

"That's just how it is."

"Then, at least tell me if you're higher or lower than me. I've currently got─"

Just as Ibuki was about to willingly disclose her own score, I held out my hand to stop her.

"Sorry, but I won't be answering your question, no matter what form you put it in."

Merely telling her if my score was higher or lower would be no different from giving her a hint, and the same thing went for lying to her about it.

It may seem risk-free for me to say that my score was lower than hers, but if people were to learn that I was struggling to secure points, then there's a chance that someone may try to force me into a desperate situation in order to expel me. No matter what, I had to prevent any intel about me from taking on a life of its own.

Ibuki clicked her tongue, her hands still in her pockets.

"…Whatever. It was a waste of time to bother with askin' you anyway."

"Fair enough. Besides, your true target here is Horikita, right?"

As soon as Horikita's name crossed my lips, Ibuki's tired, listless demeanor changed drastically.

She pulled her hand out of her pocket and presented me with her middle finger and a scowl on her face.

"When you next see that bitch, do me a solid and tell her that I'll absolutely never lose to her."

"That's fine and all, but I'm probably not the one you should be giving the middle finger to."

"You, her, same difference. After all, you two are on real good terms with each other."

No, we weren't.

She was completely off the mark, but from her perspective, it probably looked like Horikita and I treated each other that way.

Apparently, she didn't have anything else she wanted to say to me, as she began to walk back to her own tent without another word.

"Hold on a moment."

I called out as I went after her, only for her to look back just as I was reaching out to grab hold of her arm.

She was already more than wary of me, but upon seeing what I was doing, that wariness was cranked up to the maximum as she instantly moved to avoid my hand.

"Haaa? You tryna pull somethin'?"

She clenched her fists as she spoke. It seemed she had interpreted my actions as me trying to pick a fight with her.

"That wasn't my intention here at all, but─"

Leaving my sentence unfinished, I extended my arm for a second time and, without giving her an opportunity to escape, swiftly grabbed hold of her wrist.

"The hell are you doing!?"

She sent a kick flying at me in a panic, prompting me to block her foot with my free hand. I expected her to try it again, but she instead let out a sigh of resignation and averted her gaze.

"I'll admit I can't beat you, sure, but one of these days, I swear I'm gonna get the satisfaction of kickin' your teeth in."

Personally, I'd rather she didn't set such an unsettling goal for herself.

"So? Did Horikita put you up to this? Tryna get in my way?"

Not only did she fail to understand my true intentions behind grabbing her wrist, but her strange suspicions had led her to an even stranger conclusion all of her own.

As one of Horikita's classmates, it didn't seem like there was any way my words would make it through to her.

Thinking about it logically, the odds of getting Ibuki to willingly take a break had been minuscule from the very beginning.

"Your pulse is racing."

"Hah!?"

"The inside of your mouth looks dry too, not to mention how cracked your lips are. You're obviously dehydrated."

With the way things were going, it wouldn't be very surprising if her first Warning Alert was to go off soon.

Actually, it was entirely possible that it had already gone off by now.

The reason why she had been passively sitting within her tent was probably not just that she was tired, but that she had been trying to prevent an alert from going off due to her abnormal heart rate.

"I'm not all that thirsty… anymore."

"Anymore? So then, you're saying you were thirsty at one point?"

I let go of Ibuki's wrist and she immediately distanced herself from me with an openly hostile look on her face.

"Mind your own business. There ain't anything wrong with me."

With that, she turned her back on me once again, but I immediately gave chase and made it to her tent a step ahead of her.

"Wait, wha─? What are you doing!?"

She wasn't going to listen to me no matter how clearly I spelled it out to her, so I went inside her tent and dragged out her backpack.

"Show me what's inside."

"Haaa!? No way in hell I'mma show a guy. No, I wouldn't even do it for a girl either."

"Fair enough."

Since she wasn't going to grant me permission, I simply opened it up without permission instead.

"Hey! I said no!"

Inside her backpack, there were clothes, amenities, and a bit of food like jerky.

Aside from that, there was a plastic 500ml water bottle, but it was already empty.

Since the school had set up trash receptacles at certain locations such as Task sites, she should've already thrown away anything she didn't need by this point. However, there wasn't so much as a single drop of water inside the plastic bottle, indicating that it had been empty of its contents for quite some time now.

In addition, she didn't seem to have a walkie-talkie or any other form of communication device.

"How long have you been out of water?"

"I don't have to tell you anythi─"

"I said, how long have you been out of water?"

I asked my question again, this time with a stronger tone and a rigid, unsparing gaze.

"…A full day… and then some."

"So you've just been walking around without water like this?"

"Nope. I've been resting here all day today."

"What an obvious lie. There were no GPS signals anywhere near here this morning."

"You did a GPS Search?"

Of course I hadn't. I was bluffing. However, I didn't think Ibuki would call me on it.

After all, with how desperate she was to beat Horikita, I couldn't imagine that she'd willingly choose to take a break.

"Has your first Warning Alert gone off yet?"

"…It did about an hour ago. That's why I reluctantly decided to turn in early for the night."

Warning Alerts worked on a system where they would only stop going off once the detected abnormality stopped happening.

And then, if the same abnormality were to resurface later on, you'd be met with a new Warning Alert rather than having it escalate to an Emergency Alert.

"If you don't rehydrate at some point, it'll keep ringing even if you rest."

If she couldn't get her rapid heart rate under control, an Emergency Alert would be soon to follow.

By the time it came to that, she would likely be even more dehydrated, to the extent that if she were to receive a medical checkup, she wouldn't be able to prevent herself from being sentenced to retirement.

"I'll handle it tomorrow, and if push comes to shove I'll even go back to the starting area, so drop it and leave me alone."

"It's more than two kilometers from here to the starting area. If you were to collapse along the way, it'd be all over."

"Then I'll just do a nearby Task or some shit."

"You can't do that though, can you? Otherwise you wouldn't be in the state you're in now."

The only way to appease Ibuki's irrationality was to present sound logic of my own.

I went and fetched my backpack from my own tent and took out two plastic 500ml water bottles that I had gotten from Tasks earlier today.

"Trade me."

"What?"

"It just so happens that I'm running short on food. On the other hand, I have a bit of an oversupply of water. I'm asking you to negotiate with me since I think we can make a fair trade."

Ibuki swallowed audibly as she looked at the pristine water held within the plastic bottle, however warm it may be.

"How about it? I'll say it again just to be sure, but I'm looking to make a fair trade here. You'll have to give me a suitable amount of food in exchange."

"Who the hell do you think you are to─"

"Feel free to say no, but I won't be giving you a chance to change your mind."

I maintained a firm, unyielding attitude, and Ibuki drew silent.

"If you retire due to dehydration like this, you'll definitely lose to Horikita. In fact, I met with Horikita a little while ago. Her complexion was perfectly fine, and she didn't seem to be having any problems with water or food either."

Rather than emphasize the impending threat of expulsion, I dropped Horikita's name, the most effective buzzword to spurn Ibuki into taking action.

"I get it… I'll trade with you. But, how much do you want from me?"

With what she had on hand now, Ibuki would run out of food in a little less than two days.

However, if I were to ask for just a few meager scraps, it wouldn't exactly be a fair trade, now would it?

"Half of your remaining food. That should be enough."

"Only that much?"

"It's at least better than sustaining myself by eating random weeds."

Just like that, we finalized the trade and exchanged the food for water.

As soon as Ibuki had one of the bottles in hand, she popped off the cap and downed about half of it all in one go. Normally, I would've told her to try and conserve it, but considering that she was already suffering from dehydration, I felt it better for her to be hydrating herself as soon as possible.

Apparently, she didn't like me seeing this side of her, as her usual sharp, pointed look quickly returned.

Even if her physical condition were to improve somewhat, her state of mind clearly wasn't normal right now. She had been subjected to a great deal of stress with no time to relax, left with no choice but to try and come to terms with her situation.

I couldn't help but wonder how much longer she'd be able to hold out.

Would it be a few hours, or a few days? Hopefully, she'd be able to persevere until the very end.

Ibuki and I had different Tables, so once we parted ways, we probably wouldn't meet again until after the exam was over.

As such, I felt like I should at least say something more here, for what it was worth.

"I'm not gonna thank you if that's what you're after. It's supposed to be a fair trade, remember?"

"I don't want you to thank me."

"Then whatta you want?"

She was probably sensitive to human contact due to constantly having her guard raised for the past day or so. That mindset would be useful in the short term for sure, but in her current situation, it would only bring about her own destruction.

"If you're not doing too badly with points, how about you spend most of the day tomorrow resting? That, or switch to a strategy where you only focus on acquiring food and water?"

"So you're sayin' for me to give up on scoring points? You've gotta be kidding me."

Upon hearing my suggestion, Ibuki flared up and lost her temper.

"I'm not puttin' in all this work 'cause I don't wanna get expelled. My only goal here is beating Horikita."

I was well aware of that.

And it was precisely because I understood what was motivating her that I was giving her the advice she needed to increase her odds of succeeding.

But… well… Ibuki has hated me ever since she found out that I was the 'X' Ryūen had been looking for.

Due to her warped, biased perspective of the type of person I was, my true intentions had no chance of getting through to her.

"I've got nothin' more to say to you."

Saying that, Ibuki went back inside her tent and zipped up the entrance.

My attempt at persuading her felt like it had been unsuccessful, but my words should've at least served as an effective warning.

At any rate, with this, Ibuki should be fine for the next day or two.

Beyond that, it'd be up to her. She'd just have to get back on her feet and secure food and water for herself.

Since she was alone, I was somewhat worried about her score, but having seen how adamant she was about her match with Horikita, she probably wasn't doing that bad.

Although the night was still young, I had used up a lot of my energy today, so I decided to turn in early.

Despite the muggy summer heat, I spent the rest of the evening relaxing before drifting off to sleep.

1

First thing in the morning, I left the campsite to use the bathroom in the nearby forest. When I returned with my sanitary disposal bag in hand, I caught sight of Ibuki crouching suspiciously beside my tent.

"What are you doing?"

"!"

Her head shot up with a look of surprise on her face. It seems that she had been so focused on rummaging through my backpack that she didn't notice me return to the campsite.

"Were you trying to sneak a peek at my tablet, or was there something else you wanted?"

Unfortunately for her, it was impossible for a third party to gain unauthorized access to my tablet since I had enabled the lock screen.

"I wouldn't do somethin' like that! I just… I just wanted to make sure our trade was actually fair, that's all."

After saying that, she quickly distanced herself from my backpack.

"You've only got one bottle of water left in there, and you've already drunk some of it! I thought you said you had too much water?"

Although I had only been away for just under a minute, I guess I had been a little careless.

Apparently, that had been more than enough time for her to confirm the contents of my backpack.

That being said, I couldn't exactly blame her given that I had gone through Ibuki's backpack without permission just the day before. Even if I were to lie and say that I drank the rest of my water last night, she'd just have to ask where the empty bottle was. After all, it was against the rules to litter on the island.

"So what, were you trying to help me out to get me to owe you a favor?"

"If you hadn't gone through my backpack, you never would've felt like you owed me anything though…"

"Grr…"

My words hit right on the mark, causing Ibuki's cheek to twitch ever so slightly.

"In other words, I'm telling you that the truth doesn't matter. It was a fair trade either way."

"I ain't convinced, but… I get it. If that's the way it is, I'm not gonna give any water back to you."

"If I did this to have you owe me a favor, would you pay it back?"

"No way."

"…Is that so?"

Apparently, she had been compelled to rummage through my backpack simply because she couldn't bring herself to trust me.

Since the conversation dried up after that, I went back inside my tent.

It was only half-past six when I heard sounds coming from over by Ibuki's tent.

I unzipped my tent's entrance to take a look at what was happening, only to find that she had already started to pack up her things.

If this had been the second or third day of the exam, I might've thought that she was just brimming with motivation, but…

The vibe she was giving off told me she didn't want to be disturbed, so I simply looked the other way.

Before long, 7:00 AM arrived, and with it the first designated area of the day, which was announced to be area E4. I immediately decided to spend one point to run a GPS Search and pinpoint the locations of everybody else on the island.

This search was well worth the single point it cost to run it. My score was so close to the 10th place Kuronaga group that I might accidentally overtake them. By spending one point here, the gap between our scores would widen to 12 points. That way, even if I earned 11 points from taking the first-place Early Bird Bonus, I'd still be just barely outside of the top ten.

Looking at the map, there were about three other groups who had the potential to contest me for the Early Bird Bonus.

Among them, there was a certain, particularly formidable opponent sitting in an ideal position for sweeping up the bonus. With that being the case, I decided to give up on fighting for it, which worked out perfectly since my top priority right now was to replenish my resources. Incidentally, this GPS Search also let me see how many students were nearby the Tasks I was interested in. In other words, it opened up the door for me to predict what the competition would be like before I dedicated any time to pursuing it.

By the time I had finished getting ready and stepped foot out of my tent, Ibuki was already nowhere to be seen.

There was little to gain from taking action before the exam started for the day, but I suppose she just wanted to get away from me as soon as possible.

2

Although the designated area had been fairly close to the campsite, it still took me around an hour and a half to get there. Needless to say, when I finally stepped foot in the area, my watch didn't indicate that I had earned the Early Bird Bonus, leaving me with just a one-point Arrival Bonus instead. Of course, I wasn't dissatisfied with this since I had participated in a Task along the way.

Area E4 was located at a fairly high altitude atop a cliff, so the view was decent enough that I could survey a good part of the island.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here, Ayanokōji."

In my peripheral vision, I spotted Kiryūin. She spoke to me without so much as looking in my direction, her eyes trained down at the base of the cliff.

04-07

"So it seems."

Back when I ran a GPS Search this morning, she was the formidable opponent who shared a table with me that I felt would be the most troublesome to compete against.

"So, Ayanokōji, are you the one who's been making me work for all the Early Bird Bonuses?"

"I wonder. People can end up in the same area sometimes despite being a part of different tables. More importantly, I thought you weren't interested in making it to the top ten, Kiryūin-senpai."

Earlier this morning, Kiryūin had shot up from below 10th place all the way to 9th.

"Well, this exam's been more interesting than I expected. It's kinda unbecoming of my age, but I've been really hyped up recently."

She said it was 'unbecoming of her age', and yet she was only one year older than me.

"I figure I'll keep going at my current pace, at least for the time being."

"So you don't want to get first place, Senpai?"

"Everyone's foaming at the mouth over the top spot. If I got mixed up in that, I wouldn't get to chill out and enjoy myself. Though, if Nagumo and Kōenji collapse, then that might change things a bit."

"Collapse? Honestly, that doesn't seem very likely at the moment."

"Do you really think that Nagumo'll leave Kōenji free to his own devices?"

Apparently, Kiryūin had also foreseen how things would play out moving forward, at least to a certain extent.

"With the current stalemate, it's hard to say that Nagumo's guaranteed to come out on top. It seems he's been patiently watching things so far, but he'll make his move sooner or later. Or more specifically, make his move on Kōenji. Depending on the situation, it's possible that both of 'em will start slowing down on earning points."

Alternatively, it was possible that one of them would get crushed and plummet down through the ranks.

"That's true. Kicking one's opponent down is important, after all."

Although there was no way to tell exactly when it would happen, they would definitely clash with each other here at some point.

Or, at very least, it felt safe to say that Nagumo would stop Kōenji.

"How about you? Are you aiming for the top spots, Ayanokōji?"

"Unfortunately, I really can't see myself getting into the top ten."

"That so? I thought you'd have just about the same number of points as me."

She seemed awfully interested in me and how well I was doing.

Well, to be exact, it probably wasn't just me that she was interested in.

She was surely looking to analyze the strategies of each and every student in the school.

"As a word of advice: most groups are probably gonna start slowing down soon, so don't give up and keep on doing your best."

Even though I hadn't known Kiryūin for very long, it was clear to me that she was quite an influential character.

She was by all means an exceptional student when it came to both the depth of her insight and the breadth of her intuition, qualities that even the OAA system failed to account for.

"To change the subject, from what I've seen on my tablet, it doesn't look like any groups have retired yet. What do you think of that?"

"It just means that I can't afford to get careless, not even for a moment. That's all."

"Hmm… I found out something interesting when I stopped by the starting area yesterday. Apparently, some of the groups that have been running out of food and water have been taking up a new last-ditch strategy of sorts. They've started cutting loose some of their members in order to conserve resources."

"That's a wise decision."

No matter how many points your group racks up, if the whole group retires, you'd be disqualified and your expulsion would be all but set in stone. That being the case, it would be safer to send one or two people back to the starting area instead, even if it meant taking an overall drop in terms of efficiency. There, not only could they drink an unlimited amount of fresh water, but they'd also be able to maintain their personal hygiene, therefore making it easier to avoid getting sick.

"The bottom ten groups probably have their fingers crossed right about now, praying that some other group will retire first."

"There's no telling what someone who's been pushed into a corner might do. Don't be negligent, okay?"

"Is that really something a lone girl like you ought to be worried about, Kiryūin-senpai?"

"Oh? Hmm… Well, it's true that, as a young, dainty maiden, it may be best for me to be more cautious."

Even though I said what I had in jest, surprisingly, she had taken it seriously.

"If it comes down to it, then yeah… I'll just have to get through it by force."

Saying that, Kiryūin clenched her fist.

Honestly, her response wasn't very maiden-like, not by any stretch of the imagination.

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"Fufu, sorry for taking up so much of your time. After all, for the likes of us, every single second is precious."

With that, she lightly lifted up her hand and began to walk away.

Based on the direction she went in, she was probably headed toward a nearby Task.

"You're not gonna come along? There might be space for you as well if you hurry."

"I'll pass. I don't think I'd be able to beat you, Senpai."

By now, there were probably at most two spots left for the Task in question. Additionally, there were already more than three other groups in the nearby area, so with Kiryūin also heading over to it, my odds of being able to participate were already shaky at best.

As I watched her leave, she suddenly stopped and, despite the fact that she was pressed for time, looked back to say one last thing.

"Ah, I get it now─ It seems I'll have to go check up on this Task on myself, just in case."

Speaking as though she had connected the dots and seen through my strategy, Kiryūin left it at that and set off toward the Task once more.

3

The sun had set on the tenth day of the exam and it was now just past 9:00 PM.

I was in the middle of going over the final rankings for the day and the GPS screenshots I had taken when a bright light flickered against the side of my tent from somewhere outside.

"Is someone really traveling this late at night…?"

Albeit somewhat dangerous, there were groups out there who'd look to make up for lost ground by traveling to their final designated area in the dead of night.

Reflexively, I began to track the light from within my tent. Whoever it was, it didn't seem like they were deliberately pointing their flashlight in my direction. Instead, given the light's erratic movements, it seemed like they were scouring the general area, as if they were frantically searching for something.

With my curiosity piqued, I decided to leave my tent and find out what was going on.

In the distance, I could see the light of a flashlight sparsely illuminating the dark forest as it gradually moved further and further away from my campsite.

Sure enough, it looked like someone was desperately searching for something… or someone.

Was it Amasawa, searching for me in order to lure me into a trap of some sort?

No, if it were her, I didn't think she'd use her flashlight so brazenly like this.

It'd make more sense for her to confirm my location with a GPS Search and close in secretly, hidden under the veil of darkness.

"…Yume-chaaan…?"

I could just barely hear a feeble, timid voice coming from the flashlight's direction. I didn't recognize whose voice it was, but I did know that, nicknames aside, there was only one person at this school with the name Yume.

It was most likely Kobashi Yume from Class 2-C. So, with that being the case, it was probably safe to assume that the voice belonged to someone involved with that class. And, if I recalled correctly, there was a girl named Shiranami Chihiro in Kobashi's group.

In any case, she sounded like she might burst into tears any second now. It was possible to just turn the other cheek and act like I hadn't seen anything, but that would be hard given that she was a student of Class 2-C. After all, Class 2-C had recently begun to collaborate with Sakayanagi and the rest of Class 2-A.

I fetched my tablet from inside my tent and turned on the external light that came with it.

It was a bit dim when compared to the more traditional flashlight, but it should be enough to get her to notice my presence.

Not long thereafter, the beam of her flashlight pointed in my direction.

"Yume-chan!?"

She shouted out, her voice filled with a mixture of panic and excitement as she quickly made her way over to me.

After being momentarily blinded by the light of her flashlight, the girl slowly began to come into view.

"Yume-chan!"

"Sorry, but I'm not Yume."

"Oh…"

The person who emerged from the thicket of trees was none other than Shiranami, just as I had suspected.

"Uhm, Ayanokōji-kun… Good evening."

Although she and I weren't at all close with each other, she seemed somewhat relieved to see me.

Was that a testament to just how hopeless of a situation she was in?

"It's pretty dangerous to be wandering around at night all on your own. Where are Kobashi and Takemoto?"

"I, uhm… I don't know… I was in a hurry to meet with them, but before I knew it, I couldn't really tell where I was anymore…"

I shouldn't have asked a question with such an obvious answer.

The forest's landscape often looked the same no matter which direction you were facing. It would only take a single wrong turn to lose your sense of direction.

With that in mind, it was probably safe to assume that Shiranami had drifted far away from the rest of her group.

"How long has it been since you last saw them?"

"I'm not sure… maybe around fifteen, twenty minutes…?"

In which case, she probably wasn't so lost that she'd never be able to find her way back, but she was definitely far enough away that her group wouldn't be able to hear her calling out to them.

"In any case, wandering around aimlessly will only get you even more lost."

"Y-yeah."

For now, I decided to take charge and lead her back to my tent, using my tablet to light the way. It would be troublesome if I were to get lost as well, after all.

I couldn't just leave my things unattended and head off to help her find her group.

So far, for the most part, a good number of students had probably found themselves lost just like Shiranami.

Eventually, they'd all make their way back. It'd just be a matter of whether or not they'd get lucky and do it quickly, or if it would take them a while.

However, if it took too long, they'd have to spend the night lost in the forest all on their own, which would be challenging, to say the least.

Even though it might not be very taxing physically, mentally, it would be exhausting.

We arrived at my campsite before long, whereupon I turned around and spoke to the restless Shiranami.

"There are a lot of bugs, so you can hole up in my tent for now to avoid them if you'd like."

"Ehh!?"

Rather than sound surprised, it was more like her voice contained a subtle tinge of fear.

"I won't go in, so you don't need to worry."

While she and I clearly weren't on the same page and there were a few small issues with my reasoning, I shooed Shiranami into my tent and zipped up the entrance between us.

"I-I'm sorry for intruding… on your resting place…"

"It's fine. More importantly, are Kobashi and Takemoto doing well?"

"Yeah."

In which case, they were probably getting worried that Shiranami hadn't returned yet.

They were most likely discussing whether or not they should go out and search for her or stay and wait at their campsite.

"Did your group make a contingency plan for when one of you gets lost?"

I asked, but Shiranami simply shook her head from side to side, so I just continued to speak.

"It's possible that Takemoto might go out to look for you on his own, but there's a chance that he'll get lost. Having said that, if Takemoto and Kobashi were to search for you together and leave their tents and bags unattended, that would be pretty risky too."

It wouldn't be very practical for them to pack up their tents and take their things with them either, given that it was possible that Shiranami might make her way back to their own campsite all on her own, only to find it completely deserted.

If they wanted to play it as safe as possible, then they shouldn't wander out of sight of their tents, but instead patrol the surrounding area, keeping their lights on as they call out to Shiranami in hopes that she would notice them. However, since they hadn't even discussed beforehand what they would do in a situation like this, there was no telling whether or not they'd be able to keep calm and make a level-headed decision.

There was a good chance that they had gone out to try and search for her without so much as a second thought.

"What now…?"

She posed a question, but rather than ask me, it felt more so like it had been meant for herself. It could be said that she had just made a silly mistake, but in another light, it could also be said that she had made a grave one. It was understandable that she felt anxious.

The problem now was trying to figure out what Kobashi and Takemoto would do. No, depending on the circumstances, it could very well be even more complex than that.

"Is your group still just the three of you? Or have you taken on more members?"

"That…"

Shiranami, who had previously been perfectly fine with telling everything she knew, was now suddenly at a loss for words.

Since she'd definitely be aware of what went on within her own group, there had to be some other reason for her hesitation.

Currently, Ichinose's class was in a tight-knit alliance with Sakayanagi's class.

Of course, there were a handful of groups in Class 2-C that had been made between close friends, but the vast majority had been made in consideration of the Class 2-A alliance. Therefore, telling me if her group had merged or other such internal details would be no different from leaking private information. In that sense, Shiranami's decision to say nothing had certainly been the right thing to do.

"I get it. You don't have to tell me anything in detail. Just hear me out first."

With that as a preface, I continued.

"If I were a member of your group, I would've almost certainly noticed what happened by now. I'd probably come to the conclusion that you had gotten lost, left to putter about the dark forest all on your own."

Shiranami nodded meekly.

"Of course, I wouldn't just give up on you. I'd start out by trying to call out to you. But as I said not too long ago, if that didn't work, I'd have to try something else. Suppose Kobashi was the one who had gotten lost, what would you and Takemoto do next if calling out to her wasn't working?"

"…I'm not sure… maybe we'd go looking for Yume-chan together…?"

"Even if it puts you both at risk of getting hurt and retiring from the exam should things go south?"

"She's my friend. There's no way I could just leave her to fend for herself."

Her response was truly befitting the unity of her class; it didn't matter whether or not it was the right strategic choice. As a student of Class 2-A, Takemoto may be a bit reluctant to leave the campsite at first, but in the end, he would probably fold and decide to help all the same.

That being said, the most reliable plan moving forward would be to sit back and wait for them to come looking for her.

And if push came to shove, they might even spend a point on the GPS Search to try and find us.

However, with how dark it was, there was no telling if they'd be successful even with one or two searches of the nearby area.

"Does your group have points to spare? Would spending two or three on GPS Searches put your rank at risk?"

"That─ I wonder. I don't think it'd be very good."

It seemed as though they weren't ranked very high, at least not to the point where she felt comfortable spending a couple of points. Would doing so cost them everything, or would it not matter in the end? There was no way to tell what impact it would truly have until the exam was over.

Shiranami probably didn't like the thought of her fellow group members using up their points to come searching for her either.

As expected, the best option she had right now was to wait on standby here at my campsite after all, but… I couldn't discount the possibility that Takemoto and Kobashi might not come looking for her, or that they give up after they aren't able to find her. If that were to happen, I'd be forced to spend the night outside given that Shiranami would be using my tent, which, in turn, would probably end up slowing me down tomorrow.

Therefore, if there was ever a time to take action, it would be now.

"How are you?"

"Eh?"

"I'm asking if you have enough energy to walk?"

"Y-yeah. That should be fine, it's just…"

I unzipped the entrance to my tent and motioned for Shiranami to come back out.

"Come, I'll take you to your group."

"But… how?"

"Well, it's not like aimlessly wandering around the forest is going to solve anything, so we'll use this."

I showed her the tablet I had in my hand.

"If I do a GPS Search, we'll know which direction to go and approximately how far we'll need to move."

However, even with this, it probably wouldn't be easy to meet up with them.

It would be exceptionally difficult to properly navigate the forest with how dark it was.

For an ordinary student like Shiranami, it would be basically impossible without the repeated use of the GPS Search.

"Why… Why are you helping me…?"

"Why? This special exam pretty much comes down to a battle between the different school years. That's why."

"But, for you to go so far as to use a GPS Search…"

For me, spending one or two points wasn't all that much of a burden.

I could always earn more points as long as I didn't get enough to go above 11th place on the leaderboards.

However, it wouldn't do me any good to tell her about that, so I figured I'd just make up a reason that she'd believe.

"If I had to say… I guess it's because you're one of Ichinose's classmates."

Just as the words crossed my lips, the look on Shiranami's face stiffened ever so slightly.

"…Are you…"

Seeing her reaction made me wonder if I had said something distasteful.

"Hm?"

"Are you and Honami-chan…"

Shiranami trailed off again before shutting her mouth as though she had nothing left to add.

Somehow, I managed to understand what she was getting at, albeit after a delay of sorts.

I had been reminded of everything that Ichinose's other classmates told me back when I crossed paths with them a few days ago.

"There's nothing going on between us."

I quickly attempted to correct her misunderstanding, but it only served to make her already stiff expression that much more pronounced.

I decided to drop the topic for the time being and proceeded with the GPS Search. After a moment, I looked at the results. Since Kobashi and Takemoto's GPS signals were right on top of each other, it was clear that they at least hadn't separated. We immediately began to walk, headed off in search of Shiranami's group.

04-08

And then, after about ten minutes of walking in the direction of their GPS signals…

"Chihiro-chan!!!"

Kobashi called out, having spotted us as we emerged from a gap in the trees.

Her backpack was strapped to her back, and beside her stood their third group member, Takemoto, who also had his backpack on. And from the fact that Takemoto was carrying another backpack in his hands, it seemed like they had set off for Shiranami with all their belongings in tow.

Considering that they had been heading straight toward us, it seemed highly likely that they had also used the GPS Search.

In the end, we all decided to go to where I had set up camp.

"Thanks a bunch for helping out Chihiro-chan, Ayanokōji-kun."

"No, I'm sure you guys would've found her eventually. There's no need to thank me."

"No need to thank you? She could've gotten injured if she had gone much further, not to mention how much harder it would've been for us to track her down."

Despite being from another class, even Takemoto was relieved that Shiranami had been found so quickly.

If they had to chase after her as she wandered around in the forest, this might have cost them more than just a point or two.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but, do you guys have a walkie-talkie?"

Having found a good opportunity to change the topic, I looked to Takemoto and asked about something I had been curious about.

"Huh? Walkie-talkie? I have one but─"

Since I had done them a favor, they'd most likely be willing to lend it to me for a bit.

"If it's alright with you, could I have a word with Sakayanagi? I'm worried about some of my classmates, so I'd like to ask her if any of them have returned to the starting area."

"If that's all it is then sure. Hold on a sec."

Takemoto didn't seem to mind my request. In fact, he seemed happy to pay back the favor, seeing as he quickly took out his walkie-talkie and started fiddling with it.

As a product provided by the school, the walkie-talkies were naturally digital rather than analog. Additionally, they came with full support for privacy codes. Put briefly, privacy codes allow you to have private conversations with anyone who has the same code in a particular channel, thus eliminating the risk of having your communications intercepted by a third party. The groups that chose to purchase walkie-talkies for this exam should've each been given a privacy code to use in order to prevent any information leaks.

Soon enough, Takemoto spoke into the walkie-talkie to see if Sakayanagi was there to pick up.

She responded not too long afterward, at which point he passed the walkie-talkie over to me.

"I'd like to speak with her privately, if that's alright."

Seeing the three of them nod in response, I politely distanced myself from the campsite. Of course, I made sure to stay where they could see me so that they didn't think that I was up to something nefarious. Then, after speaking with Sakayanagi for a short while, I went back to the group and handed the walkie-talkie back to Takemoto at Sakayanagi's request.

"That's everything Sakayanagi. Sorry to bother you so late."

Takemoto spoke, Sakayanagi said a few short words in response, and with that, the call was over.

Based on their brief exchange, it seemed that everything had gone by without a hitch.

"That really helped, I was able to get all the information I needed from Sakayanagi."

"I'm glad to hear that. Also, Sakayanagi asked me to give this to you permanently."

"Ah, thank you."

Takemoto handed the walkie-talkie back to me.

"We're the ones who should be thanking you~ Right Chihiro-chan~?"

"Yeah, thank you for helping me tonight Ayanokōji-kun."

The three of them, Shiranami included, expressed their thanks once again, and just like that, they began to set up their tents.

That night, I drifted off to sleep listening to them tell stories about Class A and Class C, stories that I'd usually never be able to hear.