45 Chapter 45

Punished, huh? It looked like the school was really going to great lengths to make sure all the pieces were in place for this exam.

"Emergency? Does the school expect such a case to arise?" Light asked.

"We~ll, you can never be too safe, right?" Ishihara-sensei winked unsettlingly as she said that. Scary.

Indeed, the school had gifted us these watches to keep us safe. If we were roaming freely about the island, the teachers wouldn't be able to monitor our condition with their eyes alone. Plus, it would be difficult to install cameras here, like inside of the school. They most likely intended to monitor our physical condition so they could respond to any unforeseen circumstances. The helicopter back on the ship was probably there in case of just such an emergency. As people received their watches, they placed them on either their right or left arm, according to their preferences.

"Are these waterproof, sensei?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Of course! But if they do break, you should come to get a new one straight away, you know?"

This special test was somewhat eccentric in its design, so it likely wasn't the first time that the school had run it. Clearly, they had planned for various situations. However, there might have been some oversights.

"Ishihara-sensei, do you think it's possible to get by without spending a single point?" Sora asked, probably just probing for information.

Ishihara-sensei cutely put her finger to her cheek, as if deep in thought. "Hmm... Well, once you're out there, you'll be on your own. Finding solutions to your problems like food and water are part of the exam, see? Do you think you can live purely off of the resources on an island?"

"For food, we can catch fish and harvest any fruits we come across, and we can construct shelters just fine using trees, branches and leaves. Are you guys fine with drinking from a river?" Sora said analytically, before asking us an important question.

"I have no issues. I've had to do it plenty of times before." Kururugi responded. I suppose it was common practice for training in the military.

"There won't be any waterborne diseases here, so it's perfectly safe." Ryuzaki affirmed.

"My resolve isn't weak enough to be shaken by something as stupid as having to drink from a river." Lelouch said haughtily.

"It's fine by me," Light replied politely.

"Same here," I said.

"There's our water problem solved, then." Sora nodded in approval.

Depending on the pricing of the items, saving points by using a natural water source could be quite big.

"Ishihara-sensei, is there anything else that we should know?" Lelouch asked, trying to make sure we knew everything we needed to know.

"Eto... There is important information on the last page of the manual." She replied.

I turned to the last page, where the header read "These penalties will be applied to anyone who falls under the following conditions."

"Anyone deemed unable to continue the test due to significant deterioration in health or serious injury will be penalized by thirty points. That student will then retire."

"In the event a student has polluted the environment, he or she will be penalized twenty points."

"In the event students are absent during the 8 AM or 8 PM roll call, five points will be taken for each student absent."

However, the most serious punishment was detailed in the fourth entry on the list. "In the event a student is found guilty of an act of violence toward another class, robbing another class, or causing damage to another class' property, etc., the offending student's class will immediately be disqualified, and the individual will forfeit all of his or her private points."

It looked like Class A was subject to these same penalties. The fourth rule was totally reasonable, written to prevent students from engaging in harmful behaviour, while the other three rules were clearly there so individual students wouldn't behave carelessly. Because we had roll call in the morning and at night, it was impossible to sleep your time away at camp. It was also meant to suppress rather barbaric behaviour, like a student littering everywhere.

Essentially, it was a contest of restraint.

"You're free to take whatever approach you wish. Such is the nature of this exam."

"It'll probably be impossible to not spend a single point. Especially for us." Light frowned, seemingly dissatisfied.

"That's true. I suppose a large part of this exam will be testing how efficiently we can spend our budget." I said.

"There's got to be more to it than that." Sora interjected, causing some confusion to arise.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Leouch asked.

"Don't you remember? The theme of this test - 'freedom.' In other words, the freedom of choice. Paradoxically, right now, there's only one possible way to approach this trial."

Sora had caught a tiny detail, as he usually does. Right now, the obvious approach to coming out of this exam with as many class points as possible was to ration your budget efficiently. Sora was implying that there should be other ways to gain points during this exam.

"No point thinking about that right now though. For now, let's decide our general plan for maximising our spending efficiency." Sora concluded, moving back to the main topic matter.

I turned my manual to the shopping section. There were a wide variety of items for purchase in it: essential equipment for surviving, like tents and cookware; machines and tools, like digital cameras and wireless transceivers/walkie-talkies; items for amusement, like umbrellas, floaties, stuff for a barbecue, and fireworks; and food and water, the bare essentials.

We could prepare for anything with our points. Apparently anyone could request something, and just report to their homeroom teacher in order to use points to purchase it.

A laugh resounded out from beside me. "Why the hell can you buy fireworks?"

Sora apparently found some items listed in the manual's shop greatly amusing. I had to agree - I couldn't think of any reason why anyone would ever buy fireworks.

"Maybe to throw them at the other classes?" Lelouch suggested.

"Lelouch!" Kururugi apparently took him seriously, and exclaimed in shock.

"Relax. I was mostly joking."

That statement gave off an ominous vibe, but nobody dared to inquire further. Instead, Ryuzaki asked a question.

"Ishihara-sensei, can our points go into the negatives?"

"Ah, a good question! The answer is no."

Mashima-sensei had said that we would not be affected negatively by this test. It looked like that held true.

"As for other important information..." Ishihara-sensei began, looking deep in thought. "Each supplied tent can hold eight people and weighs fifteen kg. If one of your supplied items is lost or damaged, the school won't replace them for free, because they're mean. You'll need to report where you want your base camp to be, and roll call will be held there every day and night. Make sure you're happy with your decision, because you can't change it without justifiable reason."

"'Without justifiable reason?'" Sora echoed suspiciously.

"What counts as a justifiable reason?" Shiro asked quietly, her voice barely audible on the noisy beach.

"Who knows?" Ishihara-sensei grinned mischievously. What a troublesome sensei. "Oh, and also,"

Ishihara-sensei grabbed one of the cardboard boxes from the stacked pile. She peeled off the packing tape and took out some collapsed cardboard.

"Here's your wonderfully luxurious toilet!" She smiled sadistically as she dropped it in front of us.

"It comes with a five-star single button tent for privacy purposes! This sheet is made of water-absorbing polymer. It covers and solidifies waste. It'll make the waste invisible, and also suppress the smell. After you finish using it, stack another sheet on top. By repeating this process, it's possible to get around five uses with one vinyl bag. These vinyl bags and sheets will be supplied to you in unlimited amounts. You can even change them after every use, if you want. Have fun~!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hey, uh, Shiro, are you okay with pissing in a box?" Sora inquired tentatively.

"If Nii asks, I will do anything!" Shiro tightened her fist resolutely.

"R-right..." Sora scratched his cheek sheepishly. The rest of us just looked away in embarrassment.

This was a situation that nobody would willingly want to be in. Except for a masochist. They'd probably derive pleasure from this experience.

"Okayy, let me explain some extra rules!"

Apparently, there were even more rules. Ishihara-sensei opened her clipboard and flipped over a few pages.

"Uh, sensei, why are you just now opening your clipboard?" Light asked, probably trying to take his mind off of the toilet debacle.

"Well, I understood everything else, but I keep forgetting these rules. They're too complicated!" Ishihara-sensei complained with a pout, which garnered a few chuckles.

"Ahem. Soon you will be permitted to roam about freely, but there are several designated 'spots' on the island. In these spots, there is what's referred to as right of exclusive possession, and only the class that occupies that spot may exercise those rights. The class that obtains those rights is entirely free to determine how they wish to exercise them. However, rights of exclusive possession are only valid for a period of eight hours after being invoked, after which they are automatically revoked. That means that another class can acquire those rights at that time. Also, you gain one bonus point if you occupy a spot once. However, that point is provisional, and cannot be used during the testing period. Therefore, bonus points are calculated and added to your total after the test has ended. Because the school is constantly monitoring you, there is no room for fraud. Please be aware of that fact."

"Sensei... Did you just read that directly off the paper?" Lelouch asked.

"Yep!" Ishihara-sensei puffed out her chest as she showed us her notes.

"That isn't something to brag about, sensei."

"R-really?!" Ishihara-sensei exclaimed, distraught.

"Plus one thousand cuteness points!" Sora yelled enthusiastically, surprising everyone but Shiro.

"Sensei must be protected at all costs." Shiro nodded affirmatively.

Ishihara-sensei's cute and childish behaviour right now was a very stark contrast to the almost eerie nature she'd shown me earlier on the ship. It seemed like more than one woman I'd encountered had multiple sides.

I looked down at the manual in my hands. It went into the bonus point in great detail. Apparently, there was some kind of apparatus installed near each spot, one which showed rights of exclusive possession. It was unclear how many spots were on the island, but they were clearly important. However...

A specialized key card is required to occupy a spot.

You can earn one point by occupying a spot each time. Occupied spots can be used freely.

You will receive a fifty-point penalty if you use a spot occupied by another class without permission.

Only a designated leader can use the key card.

It is impossible to change the leader without suitable justification.

The manual outlined those rules. While Ishihara-sensei explained, I noticed details such as how the rights of exclusive possession were reset every eight hours; how if a space wasn't occupied, you could take it immediately; how it was okay for the same class to occupy the same space repeatedly, etc. So if one class successfully managed to repeatedly hold onto three spots for eight hours at a time, that class could obtain fifty points or more by the end of the test. However, there were big risks associated.

With the rules established thus far, it looked like a simple matter of the early bird getting the worm. It seemed like a good system, if you were able to forcibly occupy spots over and over again.

But that was impossible. The final rule detailed why.

On the seventh day, the last day of the test, you had the right to guess at the identity of the other class' leader during roll call. If you managed to get it right, then you could obtain fifty points for each correct guess. Conversely, the other class would have to pay fifty points as compensation. If you moved to acquire a spot without caution, and your leader was discovered, then you could lose a great number of points. So, high risk, high reward.

However, the guesses couldn't be hazarded without risk. If you happened to be mistaken, you would suffer a fifty-point penalty for being incorrect. In addition, a class whose leader had been found out would lose all of the bonus points they'd saved up until then. This rule made it so if you didn't have much confidence, you would be hesitant to join the battle to occupy spots.

One person must be chosen as the leader, no exceptions. However, you are free not to participate. Please tell me once you've selected someone.

At that time, I will provide you with a key card stamped with the leader's name. You have until roll call today. In the event that you do not decide by then, we will decide for you. That is all."

In other words, the leader's identity would be discovered if you only managed to glance at the card. With that, Ishihara-sensei seemingly finished with her explanation. The die was cast. Our class immediately burst into discussion.

"Oi, doesn't this whole 'leader' business put us at a massive disadvantage?" Lelouch complained as he skimmed the manual.

"Yeah. Even with a completely random guess, the other classes still have a one in seven chance of guessing our leader correctly. After we capture a few spots, they'll be able to narrow it down even more." I agreed.

"There's an interesting catch to all that, though." Sora said, drawing in our attention. "The leader can be changed, as long as certain conditions are met."

"Just like with our base camp location, you need a 'justified reason,' huh?" Light murmered, contemplating the meaning of those words.

"Well, I have an easy way to test what counts as a suitable reason." Lelouch declared confidently.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Sora asked, seemingly amused.

"I'll tell you after we settle on a base camp location."

Lelouch, being the class leader that he is, swiftly moved us on to more urgent matters. I didn't miss how he still took the time to brag about having figured out a tactic, though.

"Should we camp near here, or go further into the wilderness? Hmm..." Ryuzaki pondered aloud.

The manual included a simple map of the island, with only its size and the shape drawn. Things like the total area of the forest and the topography were completely unknown. It was more like a blank sheet of paper.

"It looks like we need to fill in the necessary parts ourselves." A ballpoint pen had been given to us as well, for that exact purpose.

We took note of how Ishihara-sensei took her distance from us, as if to say 'I'm not getting involved anymore.'

"Well, no point sitting here thinking about it. Let's get going and be the first to enter the forest. We might get first pick of the best spot."

With that, we made our way towards the heart of nature, leaving all the other classes behind under the scorching sun.

This was the beginning of our first proper trial at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.