"Well... I guess we should've expected this."
Ichinose pursed her lips, looking bored. All we could see in the former campsite was a big empty space. Only a couple of things were left, like the tents provided by the school and the barbecue stand. A few Class D students were still playing in the water, but it was just a matter of when they'd leave.
"Ryuuen-kun really did it, huh? I have to admit, it's quite an impressive strategy. They didn't even experience a single moment of hardship."
"They really optimized their vacation. I thought they'd be desperate for class points for, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all," I shrugged.
"There's no way we can find Class D's leader now, can we?"
"Probably. If all of them are gone, we'd have no chance to find even a single clue."
"Well, I think I'm okay with their decision, though." Ichinose smiled warmly. "Kaneda-kun has been helping us for the past few days now. If he and Ibuki-san can finally retire, the two of them would be able to relax back on the ship."
"That's true. It'd best to inform them about this later," I nodded.
Ibuki and Kaneda were driven out of their class. If I was in their position, I would want to retire as soon as possible. Class D has 0 points, anyway, so it's not like they'd worry about the penalty. The two of them have no reason to stay on the island anymore.
"Do you think they managed to enjoy their vacation here? The gap between Class D and the other classes would only widen after this. They should've been aware of that," she mused.
"It probably depends on the person. If they don't mind being in Class D, then I guess so. But of course, there might've been some who sympathized with Ibuki and Kaneda, but was too afraid to defy Ryuuen," I replied.
Ichinose and I chatted while walking around the beach.
"Well, regardless of the results, the beaches on this island do seem like good vacation spots." Ichinose playfully wrote something on the sand using the tip of her shoe.
"My class got to play around yesterday on the eastern beach. Some of us had to make do with the river, though."
"Ohh, how enviable!" she said. "The northern beach is near our base camp, so our class might be able to go swimming, too. Everyone's been working really hard... They also deserve some fun time."
"Yeah... Maintaining everyone's morale is key to surviving this exam. Dissatisfaction resulting in discord within the class is the last thing we want to happen." I sighed in agreement.
The view of the ocean felt really nice. I vividly remember the first time I personally laid my eyes on the ocean earlier this year. Walking along the coastline was also an amazing experience. I wonder if that girl was okay, though?
Ichinose and I walked back to their base camp while picking out fruits along the way. As expected, Class C invited me to have lunch with them. I still felt awkward and guilty about eating their foraged food, but it's better than putting in some extra effort to eat outside the area.
I exchanged farewells with a lot of my friends in Ichinose's class before finally setting out.
It was surprisingly easy to scale the forest within the mountains. I slipped past the heavily guarded cave entrance and explored the other regions. It was currently 12:08 PM, so I have about four hours before coming back to our base camp and reinvoke our rights on the river spot. That's plenty of time.
Reaching the end of the western mountain was a cliff high enough to kill anyone. I spotted a lot of facilities located near the cave, so it makes sense for Class A to want to monopolize this area.
"There it is..." I muttered after spotting a ladder located in a blindspot.
I tested the ladder's strength using my own. It seems sturdy enough, so I used it to climb down to the bottom. There, I found a small hut and of course, a device. This was a very useful location, not only for its spot but also for the things inside the hut. There were a lot of fishing tackles and rods. They'd be able to catch fish without spending points to buy the necessary equipment. As expected, Class A was occupying this spot. Their class name was instated on the device with also around four hours remaining.
After entering, I noticed something extremely strange. The fishing equipment was unused and the accumulated dust remained. Why wouldn't Katsuragi take advantage of this?
I put that detail at the back of my mind and took three fishing rods. I'm sure Katsuragi would notice the difference even if I meticulously rearrange the placements of the remaining rods, but it's worth the try.
I made my way to the opposite path to hide the fishing rods behind some nearby bushes. After doing so, I turned back to look for the other facilities that I noticed from the boat.
"This tower..."
After walking straight to the backwoods, I stumbled upon an old tower that stood out from the trees.
It was a pretty obvious landmark, so I doubt Katsuragi would carelessly take the spot without any insurance. When I reached the wall of the facility, I saw that the device wasn't occupied. I hypothesized that they would only take this spot every midnight or early morning, which was perfectly reasonable. Katsuragi's prudence was worthy of mention.
"What are you doing here? This place is being used by Class A."
Two guys sprang up from the bushes. It was Class A's Shimazaki Ikkei and Sugio Hiroshi. One of them instantly ran up to the device and checked its status.
Oh, so they were waiting for someone to fall into this trap.
Another guy was hiding in the bushes. I didn't look too keenly at who it was, but he looked like Morishige Takurou.
"It's being used by Class A, huh? Alright, I'll be going then. It's not like I was planning to do anything strange." I turned around and began to walk away.
"Huh? You're Ayanokouji, from Class B. I've seen your name on the exam bulletin and you talked to Katsuragi back on the ship."
"You're Class B's ringleader, aren't you? What are you doing in a place like this?"
One of them brandished a tree branch, thrusting it near my throat. They were trying to threaten me.
"I'm sorry, but we'll have to search you."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It'd be a pity if Class A gets disqualified from the exam," I replied.
"Disqualified? It's not even an act of violence!"
"Do you want to try me?" I asked.
Forging false evidence on this island was pretty easy and they should be aware of that. If I can make it seem like they hurt me, then Class A is done for. However, it'd be bad if framing them doesn't work. After all, I'm the leader, and the key card is in my pocket. Even with Chabashira-sensei's help, it'd be hard to bypass an actual investigation. If they were proven innocent in the end, my identity as the leader will be known to Class A. I could only hope that they take my bluff.
"Tch..."
"Just sit tight, you two. Katsuragi's strategy was to avoid class conflict, right?"
"We don't take orders from the likes of Katsuragi. Sakayanagi is Class A's representative."
The two of them squinted in irritation.
"Look, it's normal to scout around the enemy territory. Class A has done the same with our river and we didn't even bother you, right? So why don't you just turn around and wait for your next victim? I don't have the time to entertain you two." I walked away with a shrug.
Shimazaki and Sugio could only glare silently as I disappeared from their sight.
"It seems like that's it for the western region. It's a shame that I didn't find any more spots-- occupied or not. I'm sure Katsuragi had a lot more at his disposal."
It's a shame, really. This environment is a big handicap for my senses. It was extremely hard to detect other people's presence unless they were near. I need more time to get used to it. With that, I went around and arrived back at the place where I hid the fishing rods.