30 Chapter 27 - Expedition

Day 2, 10:27 PM.

Only minutes after the morning roll call had ended, we began preparing for our expedition. While Hirata was briefing and sorting the food gathering party, I was filling out my water bottle to prepare for my own expedition. Everything was going peacefully, until...

"Hey, what the hell?! Guys!"

Ike suddenly called out to us. Immediately we looked in his direction, only to see two male students inanimately standing in front of him, wearing wide, smug grins. They were stuffing their faces with potato chips and drinking bottles of soda. I also noticed Ibuki swiftly going inside the tent, as soon as she became aware of their presence.

"Well, well, well. Looks like these idiots are living like the cockroaches they are."

I couldn't recognize who they were. The original characters who were supposed to be here, Kondou and Komiya's studentship at this school were permanently terminated alongside Ishizaki's. They were completely out of the picture.

Judging from Ibuki's 'reaction', it was a no-brainer that the students were from Class D. Probably sent by Ryuen to send his message to us. These minor characters were probably forced into the spotlight after I eliminated the trio, which was sort of interesting in its own way.

"Hey, Ibuki-san. You recognize those two?" I asked in a hushed voice, to which Ibuki slowly nodded in reply.

"Nomura Yuuji and Tokitou Hiroya. They're from my class."

Yeah, no. I've never heard of them.

"What did you even eat for breakfast? Grass? Or maybe bugs? Here, you can have some snacks." said the one who appeared to be Nomura.

They took a bag of potato chips and tossed it near Ike as they drew nearer. It was obvious that they were trying to get a reaction out of us. They were practically asking for a fight, which seemed to be working quite well. After have enough of their shenanigans, Horikita approached the duo.

"Do you two have any significant reason to come here?"

"Hey, it's an island for all. We can go anywhere and do whatever we want. Do you have a problem with that?" Tokitou retorted.

I couldn't really tell whether they were just pretending to be ignorant, or they were legitimately clueless.

"Yes, we do have a problem. You're currently trespassing on our campsite without our permission. If you don't have anything important to state to us then I suggest you leave the premise immediately. Or perhaps you'd prefer it more if we called a teacher?"

"Tch!" they clicked their tongue in unison.

"There's no need. It's not like we want to stay in this dump." Tokitou uttered.

"We have a message from Ryuuen. If you want to enjoy your summer vacation to the fullest, come to the beach right now. Don't hang back. If you're sick of living like idiots, then we're happy to share our luxuries."

After Nomura was done with his announcement, they left the camp without delay.

"What the hell was their deal?" Yukimura muttered.

"They said something about enjoying the summer vacation, right?" Satou mused.

"And to be as bold as to offer us some of their luxury. Could it be that they're burning all their points?" Karuizawa speculated.

"Yeah, I guess class D has completely lost it after their demotion haha." Shinohara chuckled.

While everyone was busy processing this entire event, I turned my attention back to Ibuki. Although I didn't have any significant reason to engage in this conversation, I did anyway.

"Ryuen, huh? I don't think I've heard of that name before. What kind of person is he?" I asked, which seemingly surprised her.

"You haven't heard of him yet? Do you live under a rock?" why do I have this sudden urge to cry?

"Hey now. I'm not the most sociable guy here. I just barely know who my classmates are. How should I know some other class's business? Cut me some slack will you?"

"Fine." she sighed. "The guy's name is Ryuen Kakeru. Everyone calls him the leader of the class. Everything that guy does is crazy." Ibuki sounded irritated as if she were discussing a family enemy.

"Define crazy."

"What he's doing now could be a good example for you."

"Ah... Gotcha."

"Those two were Ryuuen's friends. No, I guess it'd be more accurate to say they're more like his underlings."

"Any chance that they came here to look for you?"

"I don't think they were looking for me."

"Hm... Guess they just wanted to harass us. But they also said something about sharing their luxuries and summer vacation and all. Any idea what they were talking about?" I asked.

"I wonder if things are heading toward that worst-case scenario I imagined..." Ibuki vaguely replied.

"Worst-case scenario, huh?" she was talking about their reckless high-risk strategy. If the plan worked, then the results would've been game-changing for them. However, if it didn't, they would sink the deepest.

The only absolute plus I could see from their plan was 'The point transfer contract' with class A. According to this, in exchange for all daily necessities and the pieces of equipment purchased by class D, each and every student of class A would be forced to transfer twenty thousand private points to Ryuen's class every month until graduation. I'm perplexed about why someone cautious like Katsuragi would agree to something as absurd as that.

But he probably ended up doing that, because Ryuen's plan was already set in motion.

"Levent-kun."

And on that note, the pleasant conversation between Ibuki and I came to a halt when Horikita suddenly called out to me. I guess it was finally time to visit class B's camp.

••••••

Day 2, 11:43 AM.

It was another hot and humid day. The sun radiated directly above our heads. If it wasn't for the shadows and the tropical wind, I'm sure some of us would've been victims of heatstroke by now.

My group, if you'd even call it one, consisted of me and Horikita. At that time, I was accompanying Horikita toward the campsite of class B. While wiping off the sweat from my forehead, I continued clearing up the path in front of us.

"We should be getting close to that camp by now, I think?"

"So, you're not sure?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not omniscient," I replied.

We found the large group of broken trees that Kanzaki mentioned earlier. As we walked inside the forest, I noticed a slight change.

Quite a few students' tracks stood out on this path, which made it easier to walk. Some of the branches and vines were already broken, indicating obvious human interactions. If we simply followed the path, we'd probably arrive at Class B's campsite. Sure enough, we could hear some students chattering from afar.

"Fortunately, we didn't get lost." Horikita mused.

"Do you really doubt me that much?" I deadpanned.

"No. Compared to the others, I think you're many times more reliable."

"I'm flattered."

Was that a compliment or was that her excuse to deprecate our classmates?

Whatever may be the case, we quietly approached the unalarmed students in the opening.

"Who's there?!" one of them shouted as they immediately came to know of our existence.

"There's no need to be wary of us." I came forward while putting my hands up in front of me. It was a form of reassurance. "We're from class C. We didn't come here to cause trouble"

"Oh, it's you. Levent-kun, isn't it? Yeah, we talked to you earlier today."

Well, that's convenient.

"Then that makes it a lot easier," I responded. The students turned their guards down, so we walked outside the forest.

"Did you come here to talk to Ichinose-san?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, we came here to discuss something with her. Can you please let her know of our arrival?"

"Of course. Why don't you come to our camp?"

Therefore we were greeted with welcoming hands... unlike us who's been shoo-ing everyone away ever since the exam started.

"You're surprisingly popular for a resident loner." Horikita pestered me.

"My charms are THAT good after all." I silently replied.

As we walked inside their camp I began noticing the difference between their way of living and ours.

The main attraction of their base was a well. It would solve all their need for water. However, they didn't have enough space to spread out three or four tents, so they made good use of the space by putting up hammocks.

"Huh? Horikita-san? And Levent-kun?"

Ichinose called out to us from somewhere. Apparently, she was trying to tie a string around a tree to put up another hammock. Kanzaki sat a little further away from her.

"Good morning, Ichinose-san." though I guess it may have been too late to say that, huh?

"Your class seems to be functioning well, despite all the obstacles." Horikita mused.

"Haha, yeah. It was really difficult at first! But we tried a bunch of different things, and it worked out. Though the list of chores just keeps on increasing. There's still a ton of work left." said Ichinose with a big smile.

"Ah, maybe it was a bad time to visit after all." I scratched my head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That probably sounded like I was trying to drive you guys away. I think it's all right if you hang around for a while. You probably came here to ask me something, right?"

Ichinose welcomed us without any hint of protest. She invited us to sit on the hammock. Horikita blatantly denied it, so I decided to sit on one. It was slightly unstable at first, but after I got the hang of it, it was surprisingly comfortable.

"You guys did a really good job with this." I complimented.

"Of course. We're going to rely on this for an entire week after all..."

And then, completely out of the blue, Ichinose proceeds to sit on the hammock, right beside me.

"It's really comfortable, isn't it?" she said while sighing in relief.

"You're right."  At least was, until the moment you sat beside me.

Thankfully, the hammock was durable enough to handle both of our weights. It would've been awkward if we fell right after all the trouble she went through to set that up. Nevertheless, it was a dangerous situation.

....

Now that I'm seeing her from this close, I can't help but acknowledge how breathtakingly attractive she is!!!

"..."

Horikita's piercing glare was drilling holes in me. I couldn't really ask Ichinose to get out of their own hammock, I'd rather die. Also, abruptly getting up myself would deal the same damage, so...

There's only one way to go, huh?

I gave Horikita the thumbs up. Horikita sighed in reply. "We'll get into it bluntly. I take it that you're aware of what class D's Ryuen-kun is doing?"

That's right, I'll be sitting this one through until the whole conversation is over.

"Yes. Some students from class D came here earlier. It's really strange to think that they are not taking this special exam seriously." Ichinose replied.

"That's how it seems from the outside. But as far as I can tell from our interaction, Ryuen-kun is a cunning person. I wouldn't put it past him if he tries some underhanded tricks."

"Now that you mention it. By any chance have you guys met a class D student who was beaten up by their classmates?" Horikita asked.

Ichinose then pointed out to a long haired blond boy with a slender figure who wearing glasses.

"Kaneda-kun is from class D too. It looked like he had some kind of dispute with his class. He said he'd get by on his own, but we couldn't just leave him. I haven't asked him about his situation yet." Ichinose replied.

"I see. So, Ryuen effectively exiled those who were at least trying to take this exam seriously. Was it all to assert his tyranny over the class?" I spoke out.

"That guy is so reckless!" Kanzaki commented.

"In any case, we're now sure that class D is up to something. Maybe they're planning on attacking all the classes. That's why I'd like to form a cooperative relationship for the time being." Horikita suggested.

Ichinose seemingly contemplated for a moment before looking at Kanzaki who apathetically nodded.

"Alright. Then let's agree on a ceasefire. Even if we manage to figure out the name of each other's class leader, we will not write down the names." she announced.

"But of course, we are not obligated to share other class leaders' names if we figure out. For the sake of competition." Horikita added.

"Haha, I guess that's true," Ichinose replied.

Overall, it was Horikita and Ichinose who did all the talking. Me and Kanzaki played the observer's role. We then talked about various camp and exam-related stuff.

Of course, I was satisfied with the outcome. We could've gotten more points by 'guessing' the leader. However, the relationship between Class B and C was something worth keeping as a priority. Therefore, Class B was safe from receiving an attack from me...

For now.

•••••

Day 2, 1:28 PM.

As we neared the edge of the forest, we saw the beach and the large group of Class D students on that beach.

They had installed temporary toilets and shower rooms. But they also had a tarp to protect against sunlight, a barbecue, chairs, and a parasol. They had snacks and drinks. Everything required for a good, relaxing time was here. We smelled the smoke of cooking meat and heard laughter. Jet skis whizzed past the shoreline.

Students were enjoying themselves in the ocean, screaming with joy.

"I was kind of hoping it to be one of their usual nonsense however, it's kinda refreshing to see it with our own eyes. Do they not plan to save points?"

Far from it.

"Let's try to get as much information as we can."

We came out from the bushes and walked to the beach. One of the boys noticed us and called out to Ryuen who was leaning over in his chair nearby. The same boy rushed over to us.

"Um... R-ryuen-kun wants to talk to you,"  he said. Judging from his body language and the shakiness of his voice, I'm sure he was a bit frightened.

"He rules his classmates like a king. It's like a royal welcome. What should we do?" Horikita turned to me.

"What's the most reasonable thing to do now, Horikita?" I responded.

"Fine. Let's go. I'm interested in learning his intentions. Let's go."

We accompanied the boy. As we came approached Ryuen, his grin widened. However, at the same time, his glare intensified. Holding grudges, perhaps?

"I thought someone was sniffing around. It's you, huh? What business do you have with me?" Ryuen, tanned and clad in his swimwear, laid back in his chair.

"You seem to be doing well for yourself. This looks like quite the extravagant party." Horikita commented.

"Just as you see. We're enjoying our summer vacation."

He spread his arms wide, proudly showing off his extravaganza.

"This is a test. Do you understand what that means? You don't seem to understand the rules…"

Ryuen didn't seem to be particularly happy about his criticism. Scratch that, he seemed more pissed off than before.

"I'm shocked. Does that mean you're offering help even to an enemy like me? Even after all that's happened last time?"

He was rightfully holding a grudge against us for expelling three of his classmates. From my perspective, he was blaming us for the blunder he made. He confidently pushed his pawns and left all of them 'hanging', which I simply captured at ease. Obviously, he wasn't happy about this development.

"How many points did you use? To be able to enjoy this level of entertainment, I mean."

"Hmm. Well, I didn't make a precise calculation," Ryuen responded before he chugged on a bottle of soda. "Tch. Already getting warm. Oda! Bring me some cold water, right away."

Ryuen threw the bottle, pointing towards a sole slender young student, barely missing him by a few inches.

"What the–! Oh, I'm... I'm on it!"

Startled by Ryuen's reckless action, Oda Takumi, who was sitting on a log nearby, panicked and rushed to get Ryuen another bottle.

Not only Oda, Horikita was taken aback by his recklessness too. The individual before us was being more aggressive than he was in the original scene. Perhaps, pestering him this early wasn't the best way to approach...

"For just 100 or 200 class points, you people will endure starvation, heat, and exhaustion ... Just the thought of it makes me want to laugh." Ryuen snickered.

"I was a fool to come here on my guard." Horikita sighed.

"Who's the real fool here? Is it me? Or you?" he glared at Horikita.

Then out of nowhere, his eyes landed on me. With sharp eyes, he began to observe me. As if he was peeling my skin off to see what I'm hiding.

As a reaction, I intentionally let out a yawn and 'coincidentally' averted my gaze toward the spot where all the class D girls were gathered. They were all clad in swimsuits, a feast for the eyes as some would say. I'm sure Yamauchi would kill to see this.

Seeing the pathetic human being named Levent, Ryuen immediately lost all interest in me and ignored me like I was an NPC. It was clear as day that he thought of me to be the biggest fool there, which I WAS.

"Here. I've brought another bottle." Oda returned once again and handed over another bottle. Ryuen opened the cap and chugged.

"As you can see, we're enjoying our summer vacation. We're not your enemies. This is the way I do things. There can be nothing more or less. Do you understand?"

"Of course. The theme of the exam is 'freedom' after all. Feel free to do whatever you want." Horikita responded with a sigh.

Ryuen only smirked in reply.

"Before I go, there is one more piece of business. Do you know Ibuki-san?"

"Yeah. She's a member of our class. What about her?"

"Her face was swollen. What happened to her?"

"A ruler does not need disobedient servants. I just issued an appropriate punishment." he moved his hands in a way that looked as if slapping an imaginary person. He responded casually as if it was a normal thing to do.

"You used all of your points on the first day. When Ibuki-san protested, you exiled her, didn't you?"

"That's right. I used all of our points. Alongside Ibuki, another boy defied me as well, so I had them both driven out. So no matter what happens to them, I don't have to worry about losing any points"

"I see... This entire trip has been a waste of time and effort."

"Forget all that and come play with me. I'll prepare a special tent for us." Ryuen teased.

"Let's go, Levent-kun. Being here is only making me sick."

"Sure."

In a matter of seconds, we dissolved inside the forest, leaving a smug yet perturbed Ryuen behind.

••••••

Day 2, 2:05 PM.

As we were returning from the beach, Horikita suddenly turned to me and asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Oh, er... Good job. Your compliments will be on their way." I gave her a thumbs-up, which seemingly irritated her.

"About this trip specifically." she said.

"Class D girls are surprisingly cute, don't you think?" I responded.

"I'd much rather you take this seriously Levent-kun!" Horikita glared at me, understandably annoyed by my lack of interest. I sighed.

"Very well. Here's my take." I paused for a few seconds, contemplating how much I should reveal to her. "You should be wary of that person, Ryuen. He's much more troublesome than you think."

"Troublesome. He's barely posing a treat. How foolish of him to burn their points on the first day..."

"I don't think that's the case though." I uttered with no emotion.

Horikita looked at me with a questioning gaze. "So, you're saying that I missed something crucial?"

"Try to trace back to conversations you've had with the other class leaders." I asked.

Horikita went silent for a second, processing what I just said. I could imagine the cogs turning inside her head. And then it clicked!

"Let me ask you a question, Levent-kun. When you and Ayanokouji-kun found Ibuki-san abandoned in the woods, did you find her alone by herself?"

"Yes. She was the only one there. May I ask why you're asking that all of a sudden?" I replied.

"Now, that I think about it. Ibuki-san and Kaneda-kun, they both retaliated against Ryuen, and ended up getting kicked from their camp."

"What about them?"

"It's strange... They were both kicked out at the same time. But Ibuki-san ended up in class C and Kaneda-kun ended up in class B. Two of them are currently in different classes. Wouldn't it have been better if they stuck together?" she asked.

"Who knows? Maybe they weren't kicked at the same time? Maybe someone got kicked hours before the other?" I commented.

"I'm not denying the possibility. But I find it very suspicious that two people from class D ended up in two different class camps."

I faintly smirked...

"So, what are you going to do now?" I asked.

"As things are going, it won't be too long before class D forfeits the exam. And when that happens, Ibuki-san will lose all her excuses to stay on the island. We'll have the right to force her out of the camp. As for now, I have no choice but to try and protect you to the best of my ability."

She was right, and surprisingly more sharp this time. I didn't get the logic as to why Ibuki was allowed to stay on the island even after her class allegedly forfeited the exam. They should've asked questions like:

'Why would anyone want to stay on the island when there's no actual benefit for them?' or, 'Why did she persist even after her entire class vanished?' And the biggest mystery yet... 'Why didn't my classmates question any of this in the light novel?'

I found it very much odd and unreasonable. Horikita was thinking like a human for once. I couldn't help but feel proud of her. However, from that point on, I had a lot of things to put inside my calculations.

Class D will 'pretend' drop the exam on the third day. Today's the second day. This only leaves me one day to set everything up. I also have to do it inconspicuously in order to avoid chaos. Only I knew about the plan, no one else. It'd be a pain if I failed to pull everything together. Not to mention, I'd be losing a lot of points for nothing.

"Let's head back quickly."

[A/N: In the middle of my semester finale. Pray for me. I'll try to right faster in the future.]

Initial allotted special exam points: 300S¶

Remaining Points: 200S¶

Current balance: 1,294,970¶¶