Chapter 101 Ibuki's Shocking Wisdom
"Hikigaya! Horikita-san, what's happened?"
Hirata Yousuke asked with a face full of concern.
"She has a fever. Actually, she's been sick since the first day of the exam."
Hikigaya's words left everyone in Class D astonished.
"Really?"
"In other words, Horikita-san has been enduring it this whole time for the sake of the class?"
Thinking back carefully, Horikita Suzune had been wearing a long-sleeved jacket these past few days, and her complexion indeed hadn't looked great.
"Being caught in the rain today worsened her condition."
Hikigaya swept his sharp gaze toward the bruised and swollen Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Earlier, when Horikita Suzune was tripped by a "pig teammate" and splashed with mud, it was ten-to-one that this bastard was behind it! Then, he took the opportunity to cover Horikita's keycard with a pre-prepared sticker.
As for how to bait Manabe, that was even easier. All it took was some nonsense like "I'm willing to betray the class for you" to trick her into submission...
Whether it's screwing over his own classmates or deceiving and utilizing girls from other classes, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka will stop at nothing to achieve his goals!
Hikigaya was furious!
So, he had thrashed the other guy without mercy!
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, out of a desire not to expose his true strength, chose to take the beating passively. There might have even been an intent to let Hikigaya vent his anger; otherwise, if Hikigaya got upset and moved to sabotage his plan, the losses would outweigh the gains.
Realizing this, Hikigaya didn't calm down; instead, he became even more irritated!
'Do you think you're so cool and clever, orchestrating everything from behind the scenes and treating everyone like pawns?'
"Ah, that's right. This guy Ayanokouji actually tried to peep on Horikita while she was bathing. I caught him and gave him a beating."
As soon as Hikigaya said this, the room was stunned once again!
"Eh? No, I..."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was startled. He seemingly hadn't expected Hikigaya to suddenly launch an attack on him in public!
"Of course it was peeping...
I'm not joking. Horikita-san is one of the top beauties in class; any guy would have thoughts about her...
I want to go over there..."
Hikigaya imitated the other's deadpan, unhurried tone of voice, before finally glaring at him fiercely: "Do you dare say you didn't say those words?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka opened his mouth, instantly speechless.
Those were words he had originally fabricated on the fly to provoke and draw Hikigaya's attention. Who would have thought they would become "courtroom evidence" used by Hikigaya to convict him!
With Hikigaya's plausible testimony combined with the fact that Ayanokouji was indeed beaten black and blue, it was solid proof!!
"Ayanokouji, you are truly a terrible person!"
"Pervert! Peeping Tom!! Closet lecher!!!"
"Damn you, Ayanokouji! Peeping without inviting me... you're real scum!"
Once Class D reacted, the boys and girls were united in an unprecedented fashion, fiercely condemning Ayanokouji!
In particular, Ayanokouji's previous "love-struck" speech about protecting Manabe regardless of the class had already lowered everyone's opinion of him to a new bottom. He even surpassed Yamauchi, who was at the very bottom, to become the lowest of the low in Class D!!!
"..."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka took a deep breath, feeling a faint pain in his chest. Compared to Hikigaya's physical elbow strikes, the mental attack caused far more damage. His deadpan face gradually distorted into a mask of pain.
Leaving the once-again rowdy Class D, Hikigaya carried Horikita on his back to the faculty area.
A moment later.
"Don't worry, 38.4°C is just a mild fever.
She likely fell asleep due to exhaustion."
Chabashira Sae expressed a sigh of relief.
"I am applying for Horikita Suzune to withdraw from the exam."
"Why?"
"Withdrawing due to poor health—isn't that a matter of course?
But, she has endured until now. Tomorrow, we could..."
"Can you guarantee that Horikita's condition won't worsen tomorrow?"
The weather was still rainy and bleak, and the inside of the tents was stiflingly hot and humid. This was no place for a patient to rest properly.
Chabashira Sae was momentarily speechless, then advised tactfully: "From a current perspective, Horikita's physical condition isn't enough to meet Rule Eight..."
Special Exam Rule Eight: Aside from force majeure, the leader cannot be changed!
In other words, even if Horikita Suzune withdrew, the identity of the leader could not be altered. It made sense; if withdrawing allowed a free leader change, then on the final day, every class leader would choose to withdraw, sacrificing 30 points to ensure they wouldn't be guessed by other classes. That would be a very profitable bargain.
"If it doesn't meet the rule, it doesn't meet the rule."
"What, are we supposed to intentionally injure Horikita instead?"
Hikigaya's expression suddenly turned dark. Given that "fake person's" style of doing things by any means necessary, he might actually do it!
"No, that method is too extreme!"
Chabashira Sae also expressed her opposition.
Once upon a time, she was also a student at this school. Back then, her Class B had also participated in this special exam.
They had a huge advantage early in the camping trip and even had hopes of surpassing Class A in one go! But an accident occurred on the final day, and the leader's identity was exposed. Her classmate, Hoshinomiya Chie, had suggested preparing food that causes diarrhea so the leader would be "poisoned," thereby reaching the "force majeure" of Rule Eight. She emphasized that her family ran a clinic and she could precisely control the dosage, ensuring no serious harm to the body.
But Chabashira Sae had firmly opposed it, ultimately leading to the class's failure in the special exam, dropping them from Class B back to Class D instantly.
"Have you discussed this decision with the rest of the class?"
"There's no need to discuss it. This is a decision I am making on my own."
"Hikigaya, are you planning to take the responsibility for Horikita's point deduction upon yourself?"
"Shut up! The theme of this exam is freedom; I'll do whatever I want!"
Hikigaya's attitude was firm, even somewhat unreasonable.
"Heh..."
For some reason, instead of getting angry, Chabashira Sae rarely showed a tender smile. This made Hikigaya feel very uncomfortable.
After watching the transport boat called by Chabashira Sae take Horikita Suzune back to the cruise ship, Hikigaya finally felt at ease to leave.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at a hidden cave somewhere on the island, a "wild man" emerged. He was covered in stubble, his face sunken from malnutrition, and his clothes were torn and filthy, looking incredibly pathetic.
"Did you get the photo?"
Ryuen Kakeru's eyes were bloodshot. For six whole days, he hadn't used a single bit of supplies. He relied entirely on himself for food and water, performing a true "Desert Island Survival."
"Class B is just a bunch of naive, bleeding-heart 'good people'."
Ibuki Mio handed over the digital camera. Although she had completed the mission, her mood at this moment was somewhat complicated. Over the past six days, Class B had treated her warmly and had never suspected her of being a spy until the very end.
"Hmph! Most of Class D are just trash!
However, there is one 'real man' among them~"
A suspicious blush appeared on Manabe Shiho's face.
"Hey! I told you to go bait the guys, don't go falling for them yourself." Ryuen Kakeru's expression was odd.
"H-How could that be possible!
It's always been me, Manabe, playing with men!!"
Manabe Shiho's eyes flickered, her face full of mysterious confidence. In middle school, she had extensive experience with a "double-digit" number of guys.
Handling a mere Ayanokouji—wasn't that a piece of cake?
"Enough nonsense, hand over the camera!"
Ryuen Kakeru's face turned cold; he didn't want to hear about these irrelevant matters.
"Here~ that man helped me lead away the annoying guard, so I could successfully photograph the keycard."
Thinking of how Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had led Hikigaya away for her sake and even suffered a violent beating, Manabe Shiho still felt a bit of heartache!
"What's wrong with you? Why is the photo so blurry?"
Ryuen Kakeru glanced at the camera, his brow furrowing.
"Maybe it wasn't focused properly..."
It couldn't be helped; the situation was urgent then.
"Besides, isn't it enough just to confirm the name!"
Manabe Shiho had personally confirmed the name on the keycard.
"..."
"It's this name, right?"
Although the photo was a bit blurry, the name was still distinguishable.
"I know this person. A good-looking girl from Class D."
Ibuki Mio's eyes moved slightly. Once, on the way to school after morning practice, she had happened to see Matsushita Chiaki. The girl had smiled and greeted Hikigaya, so Ibuki remembered the name.
"The leader isn't actually Horikita Suzune..."
Ryuen Kakeru was still thinking about the last time Class C tried to frame Class D, only for Horikita Suzune to ruin it. His intuition told him that she was very likely the leader of Class D.
"I also thought it was that Horikita at first. Every time a conflict happens in Class D, she steps in to stop it.
And she was very active in leading the reconnaissance for information on other classes," Manabe Shiho added.
"A smokescreen," Ibuki Mio said.
"Just like Class B—on the surface, Ichinose Honami seems to be leading everything. But in reality, the name written on the leader's keycard is Shiranami Chihiro."
After many days of observation, Ibuki Mio had narrowed down the leader's identity to a few girls surrounding Ichinose. In the middle of the night, she had secretly slipped into their futons to search them one by one.
Finally, her hard work paid off; Ibuki Mio found the leader's keycard on Shiranami Chihiro. That kid slept quite soundly; she didn't react no matter how she was touched.
To prevent the other girl from becoming suspicious upon waking up the next day and finding her clothes disheveled, Ibuki Mio had a sudden burst of inspiration. She carefully lifted the hand of Ichinose Honami, who was sleeping nearby, and placed it on Shiranami Chihiro's chest, while also resting Ichinose's leg over the latter...
She faked a minor "accident" where "Ichinose has bad sleeping posture" and messed up the other's clothes. Anyway, they were all girls, so there was no such thing as "taking advantage," right?
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