Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Ruri Ichihashi - Expectations

"Mori." I called out towards the girl after we finished eating our meals.

"Hmm? Did you need something?" She asked as she approached.

"No, I just wanted to ask you something. You definitely considered the option of asking Ibuki to retire, yet you still invited her to our camp. I was wondering if there was a reason why you did that."

"You noticed?... Well, I simply think keeping her here would be more beneficial than making her retire immediately." She answered while glancing in Ibuki's direction. So she did have a plan.

"Why so?"

"How many points would Class C lose if Ibuki were to retire immediately?" She asks me.

"Well, that would be a 30 point loss for retiring."

"Correct. However, by keeping her here we are increasing the amount of points they will lose." Ah, so that's her plan.

"You're talking about the morning and night roll calls, right?" Mori nods.

"Not showing up for a roll call is a 5 point deduction and there are two roll calls per day, meaning each day Ibuki doesn't show up for roll call is a 10 point loss for Class C. If we keep her here for the entire week, that's already 70 points lost. If we make her retire on the last day in addition to that, that's a 100 point loss. Another factor is that if she was sent as a spy she wouldn't just retire if we didn't accept her, meaning Class C wouldn't lose any points even if she failed to infiltrate. So as long as she's here, we are guaranteeing that Class C will lose points." Mori finished her explanation. I was quite impressed.

"But allowing her here gives her a chance to find our leader."

"That's right... but I don't think she can do it easily. With all of our classmate's eyes on her, she wouldn't get an opportunity to find out who it is. All things considered, I think the reward is worth the risk."

"You've thought this through. I'm impressed." I praise.

"Hehe, I can be cunning if I want to. Now praise me more." Mori playfully sticks out her tongue at me.

"Huh? By the way, where is Koenji?" I heard a classmate ask. Mori and I looked around, however Koenji wasn't anywhere in the camp site.

"Koenji has complained about being in a poor physical condition and has returned to the ship. Of course, 30 points have already been deducted because of his retirement." Chabashira-sensei explained.

"Eeeeeeeeehhhhhhh?!" Screams of shock rose all at once.

-----

I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing voices from outside the tent. Making sure not to wake up anyone, I sneak out in order to see what's happening.

"Uh...hey..." Onodera sits a few meters away from the tents, staring at...the forest? Her body language is showing a great deal of unease.

"...Hey. What are you doing awake so early? And why do you look so nervous?" I ask.

"Well, uh...it's kinda hard to explain. Ruri, I'm calling Ayanokouji over, is that okay?" She calls out towards the forest. Ichihashi is out there?

"Huh, what? Yeah? Yeah. That's fine. Okay." I hear her voice coming from the trees. After hearing that, Onodera waves me over.

"Hey..." Now that I get closer, Onodera is nearly in tears. She's fidgeting a lot, and her nails are digging into her palms. That's not a good sign. From this angle, I can see Ichihashi as well. She's crouched down...and seems to be writing something on the ground with a stick?