In short.
Thanks to Kaneda's perfect explanation.
Hikigaya gained a day's worth of free time.
After getting the camera from Ichinose and refusing her suggestion to have someone accompany him, Hikigaya left the camp.
After all.
This island wasn't big enough to get lost on.
"Amazing."
"The school actually owns an island like this. That's too impressive. How much taxpayer money did they spend?"
"Spending this much money just to cultivate a handful of students, is it really okay?"
"Ah, I can show this off to Komachi. It'll definitely make her die of jealousy."
Hikigaya clicked the shutter frantically.
Although he would only follow behind during group activities, he was inevitably a bit excited when acting alone.
Just then.
A stream appeared in his sight.
A few boys were rolling up their trousers and catching fish in the river. On the bank, there were four tents and many students laughing and playing. It seemed to be the camp of another class.
According to Ichinose.
Class C had already dropped out of the exam, and Class A was curled up inside a cave, so that should be Class D's camp.
He didn't look much.
Hikigaya was about to turn and leave, not wanting to interact with these people. He'd rather enjoy his summer vacation time alone.
"Stop right there!"
Just then.
A shout rang out from behind.
In a short moment, three people surrounded him. A man with a fierce face and short red hair blocked his path.
"A face I haven't seen before?"
A small blonde guy nearby asked curiously: "Who are you?"
"Ike, are you stupid? Do you even need to ask?"
A plain-looking guy beside him stroked his chin with a face full of confidence:
"Based on my deduction, he must be a spy from another class. Afraid that our Class D will win, so he wants to come and scout for information."
Wait, wait.
What class would start acting on the second to last day?
Is he an idiot?
Before Hikigaya could speak, the small blonde named Ike said speechlessly: "Yamauchi, are you an idiot? Isn't it too late to come scouting for information at this point?"
Well.
Even in Class D.
There are still some people with brains.
"Huh?"
"Ike, you actually don't believe me."
"I assisted the police in solving an international case back in middle school. Don't underestimate my deduction skills."
Saying that, the guy named Yamauchi pointed at Hikigaya and said: "Look, he even has a camera. He must be a spy. What normal class would buy a camera?"
Well.
A normal class probably wouldn't.
Ichinose and the others specifically spent those points because they wanted everyone to have beautiful memories.
If I don't explain, I feel like something bad is going to happen.
"Wait, wait."
Hikigaya quickly explained: "I am from Class B."
"Huh?"
"So what if you're from Class B?"
The red-head in front said with an unhappy face: "Are you looking down on our Class D? Give me that camera, let me see."
Before Hikigaya could react, the red-head reached out and snatched the camera.
Such great strength.
Hikigaya was startled and a bit dazed.
Although his strength was at an average level, he felt he was absolutely no match for the boy in front of him.
What is this, a gorilla?
By the way.
I've already explained I'm from Class B.
Don't these guys know Class D and Class B are in a cooperative relationship?
What are Ichinose and Horikita Suzune doing?
And.
How do the three of you dare to snatch my camera?
Hikigaya was simply stunned.
Wait.
"Sudo, let me see too."
"Hey, you guys wait a second."
Just as Hikigaya was about to stop them, the three had already gathered around the red-head Sudo, checking the photos in the camera.
"Holy crap, this guy is taking pictures of our base. He really is a spy."
"Ike, hurry back and tell everyone we caught a spy from Class B."
the guy named Yamauchi started shouting, and Ike also quickly ran toward the camp, yelling:
"Everyone, we caught a spy."
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a moment."
Hikigaya was even more bewildered.
How did he suddenly get identified as a spy? These guys don't even give him a chance to explain.
By the way, how do you guys dare to touch my camera.
Are you really that bold?
Do these three have no brains?
If it weren't for the cooperation with Class D, you would have been eliminated by now.
"Shut up."
Sudo gave a fierce glare and said: "You really have some guts, coming to scout Class D's information all by yourself."
"Fine..."
Hikigaya's mouth twitched, and he didn't respond.
So "kind."
Finally seeing the kind of idiots who only know how to make a ruckus and have no brains.
There's no point in talking to such people.
Otherwise.
He would have started to wonder if everyone in this school was an elite student like Ichinose and Horikita Suzune.
A short moment later.
Under Ike's lead, a group of people gathered around, and Chabashira Sae could be seen following behind.
"What on earth is going on."
The leader was another blonde, but he looked like the bright and sunny type, forming a sharp contrast with the Ike next to him.
Many girls gathered around him. Hikigaya also saw Horikita Suzune and that green tea girl, Kushida.
This is bad.
Hikigaya felt a bit helpless.
Horikita Suzune seemed to have never intended to contact him, so she didn't know the fact that she had been deleted from his contacts yet.
That green tea girl must already know.
How should I explain it? "Accidentally deleted it"—that probably won't work. "Phone fell in the toilet so I changed phones"? This one seems a bit more possible.
"Hirata, Kushida, come look at this."
Yamauchi bragged excitedly: "I caught a spy."
"We caught him together, the three of us."
The small blonde Ike immediately corrected him.
"Uh?"
The big blonde named Hirata was stunned, feeling confused: "What exactly is going on."
"Look."
Sudo raised the camera to explain: "This guy came to sneak photos of our camp with a camera. If he's not a spy, what is he?"
"Sudo-kun."
The big blonde Hirata shook his head and said somewhat helplessly: "Just taking pictures of the camp won't reveal who the leader is."
Mm.
Finally someone with a brain.
Only.
Don't these people know that Class B already knows who their leader is?
Did Horikita Suzune not tell them?
Even if their relationship isn't great, intelligence that should be shared ought to be shared; at least he had honestly confessed everything to Ichinose.
What exactly is going on with this Class D?
And besides.
Even if I were a spy, you can't just snatch my camera.
That's mine, mine!
"This is a misunderstanding."
At that moment, Horikita Suzune also spotted him and walked up to Hikigaya, saying coldly:
"I know this person. Hikigaya Hachiman from Class B couldn't possibly be a spy. Sudo, give the camera back to him."
"Uh, I see."
Sudo scratched his head and awkwardly handed the camera back to him, saying: "Sorry about that."
"Hmm..."
Hikigaya stared at the camera in front of him, lost in thought.
Horikita Suzune has intelligence but doesn't share it with Class D, not wanting to interact with the "low-ability" students of her class, yet this Sudo person listens to her very obediently.
Does he listen to her because he likes her?
It's not surprising. Even by his standards, Horikita Suzune is definitely a top-tier beauty; it's only natural that Sudo would like a girl like her.
But these three idiots don't seem to know about the cooperation between Class B and Class D.
What's going on?
Is this situation really that complicated?
"Is there anything else?"
Horikita Suzune asked in a flat tone.
"Hmm..."
Fixing his gaze on the girl, Hikigaya said deeply: "You guys snatched my camera."
"I'm sorry."
The nearby Hirata quickly smiled and said: "If you're concerned about that, I can apologize on his behalf. Besides, the camera shouldn't be damaged. How about we just leave it at that?"
"Ha? We just borrowed it to take a look, why should we apologize?"
Sudo was practically exploding with rage. He glared fiercely at Hikigaya: "You brat, don't push your luck. If you know what's good for you, take the camera and get lost."
"Yeah."
Ike also seemed indignant: "And it was this guy's fault for entering our camp without permission in the first place."
Hey.
Don't try to distort the facts.
I was just outside and accidentally took two photos, and I was about to avoid everyone and leave.
Great.
This "Great Golden-Haired" Hirata doesn't seem very bright either.
"Come on, everyone calm down. This isn't a big deal; there's no need to make things so tense."
Hirata quickly tried to soothe the crowd with a smile.
"By the way."
Just then, a somewhat cute girl with a yellow high ponytail among the girls said dissatisfiedly:
"There's no need to care about this guy, right? His eyes are disgusting, and who knows what bad things he's doing. Why don't we just throw the camera here and leave him alone?"
Ha?
Hikigaya looked up. A group of girls was giving him mocking looks, led by that girl.
How kind.
Since entering this school, this is the first time he's been called "disgusting."
So those kinds of people are all in Class D.
He was wondering why Class B could be so kind and excellent.
However, speaking of which.
Have these people still not understood where the problem lies?
It's just that.
Considering the cooperation between Class D and Class B, as well as the attitude of these people in Class D, does Ichinose even know about this?
Hikigaya felt this was going to be quite difficult to handle.
"I don't care."
Hikigaya said in a heavy voice: "I'm going to tell the teacher that you snatched my camera."
"Hahaha."
Yamauchi burst out laughing: "He's going to tell the teacher? Is this guy an elementary schooler?"
"That's hilarious."
Ike followed with a laugh: "Go ahead then, see if we're scared."
Sudo, standing nearby, also looked full of disdain. He thought the guy was something special, but it turns out he just wants to tell the teacher. He looked down the most on trash who go running to the teacher for everything.
"Idiot, how did a guy like this get into Class B? The school is really unfair."
The girls also covered their mouths and giggled. A man of only this caliber.
"Sigh."
Ayanokoji, standing behind, couldn't watch any longer and was about to remind Horikita Suzune.
"Shut up."
Horikita Suzune scolded coldly. She took the camera from Sudo and then said: "Let's talk outside."
"..."
Hikigaya followed behind her obediently.
Finally, there's one person who's reliable.
He originally thought Class B and Class D were simply cooperating, but now it seems that's not the case. He didn't want to affect Ichinose's plan either.
"Ha? What does Horikita have to be so arrogant about?"
"Exactly. Helping an outsider like this, I have no idea what she's thinking."
The people below immediately became somewhat dissatisfied.
On the other side.
"Alright."
Horikita Suzune handed the camera to him: "The camera is back with you."
"Again?"
Hikigaya was a bit speechless: "Could you please not treat me like an idiot? Otherwise, I really will tell the teacher."
Using violence without authorization and plundering resources from other classes.
That can lead to the entire class being disqualified from the exam.
He was still a bit dazed—how did these people dare to directly snatch his camera?
"Tsk."
Horikita Suzune said in a cold tone: "You should know, doing that will only affect the cooperation between Class B and Class D."
"I should be the one asking."
Hikigaya was even more speechless: "I told them I'm a Class B student, but they didn't react at all. What's going on? Didn't you tell them about the cooperation between the two classes?"
"As you can see."
Horikita Suzune started to look disgusted: "I haven't been able to lead the class yet. Even if I told them, they wouldn't listen, so I just didn't say anything."
Hey.
Seriously?
So that means Class B is only cooperating with Horikita Suzune alone?
Isn't this a huge loss?
What exactly was Ichinose thinking, or was she simply fooled by Horikita Suzune? It's better to ask Ichinose this question directly.
"This..."
Hikigaya lowered his head and thought, his head starting to ache. He couldn't figure out what Ichinose and her group were doing.
Isn't this the same as providing poverty relief to Class D?
Well.
It indeed sounds like something Ichinose would do.
Although he was a bit reluctant, he couldn't interfere with the collective will of Class B. After all, it seemed like Himeno Yuki and the others had agreed.
He just didn't know if Ichinose had explained it in detail in the group chat.
Anyway, he hadn't checked the group.
However, during the last disturbance between Class C and Class D, Himeno Yuki and the others seemed to have helped, so they probably knew.
What the heck.
The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt, and the more he felt it was a loss.
"Do you understand?"
Horikita Suzune said flatly: "Clinging to this will only bring trouble to Class B and affect the relationship between the two classes. Besides, the camera isn't broken. Let's just put this behind us."
"Fine... then..."
Hikigaya said helplessly: "One pack of MAX Coffee."
He didn't want to affect Class B, but no matter what Ichinose was doing, he personally wasn't going to take a loss.
"..."
Horikita Suzune's face darkened: "You really like sweets. But it's already the second to last day; can you finish drinking it?"
"That's none of your business."
Hikigaya said proudly. Don't underestimate a follower of the God of MAX Coffee.
"Fine."
Horikita Suzune sighed and said: "Also, I have a question to ask you. Kaneda is definitely a spy, right?"
"Anyway, I feel like he is."
Hikigaya nodded: "Ichinose probably thinks he is too, she just can't bear to kick him out."
Hearing this, Horikita Suzune lowered her head in thought. Ibuki Mio hadn't made a move all this time; was she really waiting for the final day?
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Horikita Suzune, whose face was a bit flushed—she was clearly running a fever and pushing herself—Hikigaya felt concerned:
"Aren't you planning to use the method I provided?"
"Of course, it's better not to use it if I can help it."
Horikita Suzune nodded stubbornly.
After all, she would have to lose personal points for the next six months.
If she could power through, that would be best, and she wouldn't have to give money to this guy.
Precisely because of this.
After learning about that method, she had carefully studied the rules again, trying to find other ways to pass the exam.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find any.
But she also realized how serious the consequences of plundering a camera were, which was why she could react so quickly just now.
"Are you coming back to the camp with me to get it, or are you waiting here?"
Horikita Suzune sighed helplessly.
These incompetent low-ability people, always causing trouble for others.
"Well."
Hikigaya looked at her for a moment and then nodded: "I'll go back to the camp with you."
After all, he felt a bit bad letting a sick person run back and forth.
"Is that so?"
Horikita Suzune was actually a bit curious: "If I want the MAX Coffee now, I'll definitely have to explain the reason to them. Aren't you afraid they'll be unkind to you?"
"It's no big deal."
Hikigaya said indifferently: "I've long been used to these things."
That red-haired guy is fierce, and his strength is terrifying.
Although he doesn't know how to fight and his academic performance here can only be considered average, he's not someone to be slaughtered at will.
It's just violence.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
It's not like he hadn't faced violence in middle school. If he were afraid of bullying, he would have been too scared to go to school long ago.
No matter how strong someone is, they can't beat the school's iron fist.
The age where violence can be used is only in middle school.
A "social animal" (shachiku) must know how to use the law as a weapon.
As long as one knows how to protect themselves.
These punks are nothing to fear.