Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate

Chapter 22 - Advantage

"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Ichinose's mellow voice echoed through Class B's base camp as I stepped out of the undergrowth. She flapped her hands around with a dazzling smile and jumped off the dead tree she sat on.

It still felt surreal that they accepted everyone while an exam like this took place, but that was part of Ichinose's charm. Unfortunately, it was also a unique character trait that certain people wouldn't hesitate to exploit.

"Hey guys."

My gaze swayed over the surrounding students, who had also turned around upon hearing her sudden exclamation. They received me with heartwarming expressions, as per usual, while I surveyed the camp and stopped on a certain cerulean-haired girl that should have had no reason to be here.

Ibuki Mio, one of Ryuuen's henchgirls, or rather, Ryuuen's sole henchgirl, leaned against a lush towering tree and glowered at me with a rather negative complexion.

Kikyou had described her behavior as tomboyish, and I could see where her impressions stemmed from.

She wasn't much taller than my queen and even their hair was similar in length. The biggest differences between them were two medium-sized mounds on her chest and the violet eyes which adorned her attractive face. I couldn't see much due to the thick jersey, but her proportions seemed to be a little poorer than Karuizawa's.

Damn you, Ike...

I began to ventilate my clothes by pulling the collar back and forth.

This feeble action didn't reduce my body temperature, which kept climbing due to the certain thoughts that crept into my mind. Despite my best intentions, I was decaying from inside, slowly rotting away like a bad apple.

There was no saving me anymore.

"Yo! What brings you here? You missed us, right? Be honest."

Shibata flung me out of the disrespectful, obscene thoughts I had about the poor girl and offered me some of their water reserves. His teeth sparkled in the setting sun as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with an exhausted expression.

The extreme climate on the island seemed to sap on his strength, even though he was used to physical strain during warm days from his repeated training sessions in the soccer club.

Thank you. I won't ever forget this...

"Oh, yeah. That too, of course." I grabbed the half-emptied water bottle and took a small sip. "I might overstay my welcome by asking, but would you guys mind if I stuck around with you every night? Your spot is the closest one to the first on my route, so I could save some stamina if I start from here."

Instead of receiving an answer, I found myself in the crossfire of forty-one pairs of widened eyes. Shibata's look reflected nothing but bewilderment while the rest watched me with aghast expressions. Ichinose's and Kanzaki's minds were obscured by a thick layer of confusion because they had deemed it improbable that I would continue to occupy the spots after their stern warning.

The seconds passed by, but the situation hadn't improved at all.

"Did I say something weird?"

"Eh... no... of course not." A dry laugh escaped Ichinose's pursed lips. "It's just that we hadn't thought of renewing our spot until tomorrow morning. You know...? Because everyone would be asleep?"

She played it off as if nothing had happened while Kanzaki narrowed his eyes, speculating and contemplating on where he had made a mistake. They had been assured that Chiaki would stop going for the reoccupations, since they hadn't seen the loophole in the rules and were puzzled that their expectations hadn't been met.