Hikigaya looked around.
People from Class B were busy with their respective tasks.
Within a short moment.
He saw Kaneda carrying two bundles of firewood, returning to the camp laughing and chatting with several Class B classmates.
When Kaneda put down the wood and was about to help others.
"Kaneda."
Hikigaya appeared in front of him and jerked his chin towards the wooden house: "Deliver the water to the girls."
Growing up.
As the bottom tier of the class, the humblest corporate slave.
Hikigaya could guarantee.
When everyone is the same age, this self-righteous and condescending attitude of assigning work is absolutely the most irritating way to speak.
Especially coming from someone who was the lowest of the low in Class B.
However.
To play nice and act pathetic to scout for the leader.
No matter how rude the request, Kaneda was forced to endure it; it was just that the people in Class B were all kind, and no one had treated him this way before.
As long as he could be hated by Kaneda.
No matter how reluctant, he would leave a strong impression in Kaneda's heart.
"Eh... okay."
Kaneda's face stiffened, and he forced out a smile.
The two returned to the boiler.
"I'll leave that side to you."
Hikigaya picked up two PET bottles and threw all the remaining ones to Kaneda.
When nearing the edge of the cliff.
"Tiring, right?"
Hikigaya turned back and asked.
Such a short distance shouldn't be very tiring.
After all, he had been doing it this way before.
"No, this is nothing."
Kaneda smiled and shook his head, cursing inwardly: This guy being alone in Class B is exactly what he deserves.
If it were any other class, Hikigaya would have been isolated long ago.
"Is that so."
Hikigaya nodded, handed the two PET bottles to him, and said: "Then let's swap."
"Eh?"
Kaneda was stunned and said: "No need, I can carry this much without any problem."
Step two: Stealing credit.
Definitely the most hated kind of leader.
"What are you thinking."
Hikigaya said mockingly: "If Ichinose and the others see me pushing all the work onto you, I don't know what they'll think of me. Hurry up and give me the backpack."
"Uh..."
Only then did Kaneda take off the backpack.
His perfect smile was slightly distorted: "I see."
A total jerk.
Why does a guy like this get assigned to Class B? He is clearly much stronger than this guy.
Kaneda was full of resentment.
The two tied their safety ropes, went down the ladder, and delivered the drinking water to the girls.
Many people saw that Kaneda was only carrying two bottles, but since he was from Class C, they felt embarrassed to say much.
Feeling the strange looks, Kaneda was nearly exploding with rage.
This Hikigaya is truly a scheming boy. With this kind of character, he still wants to gain the girls' favor? Puh.
Scumbag.
If it wasn't for Class C, he wouldn't put up with this crap.
The two returned to the cliff.
Hikigaya tied his safety rope and stepped onto the ladder; the motion of lifting his leg caused his gym uniform to cling tightly to his thigh.
A rectangular imprint in his pocket instantly caught Kaneda's attention.
Just then.
"Right."
Hikigaya acted as if he remembered something and returned to the ground, turning back: "I forgot to ask just now, go ask the girls if they need anything else. I'm doing you a favor."
"Uh..."
Favor my ass. Kaneda quickly nodded and returned to the wooden house. When he returned again, Hikigaya was nowhere to be seen.
"Suspicious."
Kaneda narrowed his eyes.
That rectangular thing was a key card, right?
Would he carelessly let him see something so important?
Page 5
Too suspicious!
The next day.
Morning of the fifth day of the exam.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Kaneda came to the boiler with a washbasin, his face full of smiles: "The handkerchief has been washed."
"So slow."
Hikigaya casually picked up a handkerchief from the washbasin and complained.
In such hot weather.
Naturally, one needed a handkerchief to wipe away sweat.
He remembered a girl was responsible for this.
But this guy Kaneda was helping out everywhere, it wouldn't be strange no matter what he did; instead, he seemed like a member of the mobile group like Shibata.
"Sorry, sorry."
Kaneda said apologetically: "I have to deliver handkerchiefs to the others, so I'll be going now. Hikigaya-kun, if there's anything you need help with, you can tell me anytime. Don't be polite, it'll make me feel better too."
"..."
Hikigaya waved his hand casually.
Should I just use a massive amount of work to exhaust this guy to death, so Kaneda has no energy to scout for the leader?
That would also lighten my own workload.
Seems like a plan!
People who are a bit clever will always use their own ways to test things, resolving their internal doubts and confirming their thoughts.
He just didn't know what Kaneda's method of testing was.
However.
He had been sitting here the whole time.
He had no idea what Kaneda had actually done.
What if.
Kaneda found a breakthrough somewhere else?
As expected, piling work on this guy to death is more reliable, right?
Hikigaya was secretly proud of himself.
He had the feeling of a scholar who knows the world's affairs without stepping out of his door—an aura of strategic planning. I get it, so I am Zhuge Wolong!
In the afternoon.
"Wolong" Hikigaya sat upright before the boiler.
Feeling like a grand strategist.
If nothing goes wrong, that thief should be coming.
Huh.
Why hasn't he come yet?
Kaneda-kun, you are a bit incompetent as a thief.
Hikigaya sat by a rock, his dead-fish eyes staring at the ants on the ground, as if he could see the art of war within them.
Ultimately.
He was just doing his best.
He had no certainty whether he could change Kaneda's judgment.
He was just fulfilling his duty as a member of the cover group.
Anyway.
Why hasn't Little Goldie come yet?
It shouldn't be.
For a shallow guy who thinks he's a bit clever, he thought he could see through the other's thoughts at a glance.
Sure enough, I am not Zhuge Wolong.
Just then.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Kaneda walked to the boiler and said with some confusion: "Are you dazed? Are you too tired?"
"No, is something the matter?"
Hikigaya glanced at him indifferently.
Bold thief, you've finally come.
"Nothing."
Kaneda threw firewood into the fire on his own accord and smiled: "Kanzaki and the others are resting, so I came over to see if there's anything I can help with here."
"At least you're sensible."
Hikigaya nodded.
No matter his attitude, the other party had to endure it.
If he were facing a leader like himself, Hikigaya guaranteed he would want to smash the other's head with a vase.
In other words.
Since Kaneda could endure this much, he was undoubtedly a spy.
"Haha, Hikigaya-kun is really interesting."
Kaneda's mouth twitched as he joked and started helping with the work on his own.
On the side.
Hikigaya also wanted to see what kind of scheme this thief was brewing.
The two remained silent for a long time, even making Hikigaya wonder if this guy really just came to help.
"It's so hot. It's really impressive that Hikigaya-kun can handle this job alone."
Kaneda looked up at the sky, pulled a slightly dirty handkerchief from his pocket, and tried to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
After hesitating for a while.
"That..."
Kaneda said sheepishly: "Hikigaya-kun, could you lend me your handkerchief for a bit? Look, mine is really a bit..."
"Oh, I see."
Hikigaya looked over, reached into his pocket, and found a soft wad of cotton cloth, then suddenly became alert.
"Not lending it."
Hikigaya pulled his hand back and added an uncharacteristic line of disdain: "Don't you feel ashamed, a big guy asking to borrow a handkerchief?"
"I suppose so..."
Kaneda scratched his head sheepishly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
Although Class B's defense was good, they were still too naive.
"Also."
Hikigaya stood up and glanced at him: "I'll leave this to you. I'm going to take a break."
"No problem."
Kaneda smiled and nodded.
Unfortunately, his unusual actions must have aroused the other's suspicion, but there was no helping it.
He's probably going to warn Ichinose and the others.
But it didn't matter anymore; the rest would be left for Ryuen to judge.
"By the way."
Halfway out, Hikigaya turned back: "If anyone asks, just say I went to fetch water, understand?"
"Eh?"
Kaneda's mouth twitched, and he forced a smile: "It's fine, Hikigaya-kun, you go ahead and rest. Leave this place to me."
"And another thing."
Hikigaya said without hesitation: "If anything goes wrong, I will push the responsibility onto you without hesitation. Don't you dare slack off."
"I definitely won't. Hikigaya-kun, please rest assured."
Kaneda's forced smile twitched a little.
Simply a despicable animal. How could Class B have such a jerk?
Just wait.
Once the exam is over, you bastard will definitely get what's coming to you.
"Good to know."
Hikigaya nodded and turned to leave the camp, planning to find a place to have a good sleep.
Come to think of it.
Might as well push all the work onto Kaneda. What needed to be done was done, then he'd work this guy to death so he wouldn't have the energy to scout.
If Ichinose and the others found out.
They might instead criticize him for being a bit heartless.
Fortunately.
This guy Kaneda was voluntarily accepting the exploitation.
It's none of my business!
Why not exploit him to the fullest?
This was the first time he had experienced the feeling of being a superior, with such a hardworking and uncomplaining subordinate.
The feeling was freaking great!
This is the taste of power; it's practically addictive. If only I had played this way earlier!
Before he knew it.
The exam had reached the sixth day.
Speaking of which.
Hikigaya had just been guarding the boiler for six days, only going out for a short nap yesterday afternoon.
Early in the morning.
Hikigaya was drinking his last can of MAX coffee. If he had known, he would have asked Horikita Suzune to buy another pack.
"Kaneda, come here for a second."
After Shibata finished helping, Hikigaya raised his hand and called Kaneda to the boiler.
"I'm leaving it to you today too, understand?"
Hikigaya's eyes were dark. This labor force was simply too useful. No wonder those capitalists love exploiting corporate slaves so much.
"O... kay..."
Kaneda forced out a smile.
To be honest, guarding a fire in the middle of summer—this job really wasn't fit for a human. He didn't know how this guy had managed to do it for four days.
"Hikigaya!"
Just then, Ichinose walked over with a serious tone: "Even though Kaneda is willing to help actively, we can't bully him like this."
"Yeah."
Shiro also said with some hesitation: "Kaneda being kicked out of his class is already pitiful enough, and he has actively helped us a lot. Hikigaya, we shouldn't take advantage of someone's kindness like this."
After all, he made no attempt to hide it.
A group of Class B people gathered around, looking at him with complicated expressions, though they didn't say much.
"I-I-I... I'm not bullying him."
Hikigaya stammered, then turned to look at Kaneda with dark eyes: "Right, Kaneda-kun?"
"Eh, yes."
With a smile on his face, Kaneda couldn't help but clench his fists.
Dog.
Just wait.
When the exam ends, he must go to Class B to show off properly and make this animal truly isolated from Class B.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to swallow this anger.
"Hikigaya-kun has been guarding the fire alone for five days; he must be tired."
Although he thought that, Kaneda still smiled innocently: "And he has been in the camp all these days, not even once going out to properly experience this deserted island."
"After all, although this is an exam, it's also summer vacation. Let him go out and take a look today. I'll handle the rest."
Uh.
Hikigaya glanced at him.
Although he knew this guy would agree, he didn't expect this shameless person to be so eloquent.
As expected, this is high-level social skill.
Not only did he highlight his own gentle side, but he also specifically made up a reason for him to gain sympathy.
"Kaneda-kun is really kind."
A girl said: "It's such a pity he was assigned to Class C."
"It is indeed a bit of a pity, but I've already come to terms with that."
Kaneda didn't give his usual bitter smile, but instead acted generously: "As long as I do my best and leave no regrets for myself, it's fine."
On the other side.
"True."
Ichinose looked at Hikigaya and said apologetically: "Speaking of which, Hikigaya hasn't seen the island yet, he's just been guarding the boiler. Sorry, that was my oversight for not considering this."
"Indeed."
Shibata also nodded and said: "Let Hikigaya rest for a day today. Besides, I'll boil the water with Kaneda, so it should be fine."
"Okay, then it's decided."
Ichinose and the others all expressed their agreement.
Well.
It's over.
Having such a considerate and sensible corporate slave.
Feels absolutely great.
Thanks to Kaneda's perfect explanation.
I'm free!