Intro
It was just before 5:00 AM, around the time when the morning sun began to rise into the sky.
While most students would probably still be asleep, I woke up to a strange sound coming from outside my tent.
It was a sound so subtle, so indistinct that, for a moment, I thought I might just be hearing things.
I poked my head out of my tent to investigate further. And, although it was faint, I could definitely still hear it.
A few seconds later, Nanase peeked her head out of her tent as well, having apparently been woken up by the sound, just as I had.
"Can you hear something?"
"Yes… it's faint, but I can hear an electronic noise of some sort."
Perhaps due to its low proximity, the sound was so soft to the point that it almost blended in with the surroundings.
It was possible for it to be an alarm coming from a tablet, but this particular sound had been going on for far too long for that to be the case.
"Do you think it might be an Emergency Alert?"
"It's definitely possible."
I emerged from my tent before once again straining my ears to analyze the sound.
It sounded similar to what Mashima-sensei had played for us during his explanation back on the cruise ship.
But from what I could hear, there was a slight echo to it, perhaps because it was coming from so deep within the forest.
"It doesn't sound like it's going to stop any time soon, does it?"
It had already been over a minute since I first noticed the sound. Warning Alerts were set up to go off twice, but both times they would be cut off after only five seconds. The only alert set to go off continuously like this was the Emergency Alert.
"If I'm not mistaken, after five minutes─"
"The school will locate you through the GPS in your watch and send help to your position?"
If they were in a situation where they couldn't afford to turn off the alert, then they could be in quite a precarious position.
"Couldn't we go find them before the school arrives?"
"Why would we do that? Although it's not pitch black outside anymore, the visibility is still poor. And if we're careless, we might run into danger ourselves."
"Do you need a reason to go help someone?"
She pierced me with eyes that were far too sincere to be described as angry.
I could tell that, no matter what I chose to do, she wouldn't back down, even if it meant going off to help on her own.
"If we're going to take action, it'd be better to have more people on board. Let's wake up Sudō and the others."
"Right."
We decided to wake up Sudō, Ike, and Hondō, who were still asleep in their tents.
After coercing the three of them, all still half-asleep, out of their tents, we explained the situation and began to form a plan.
Our field of vision would be fairly limited inside the dim forest ahead of us, and without a light of some sort, it would be tricky to find a proper foothold on the rough terrain. As such, we would have to carefully light the path ahead of us as we pushed forward.
Between the five of us, we had a total of three flashlights. Nanase and I both had one, and so did Sudō's group.
It wasn't enough, but we'd have to make do with what we had.
Other than that, we also decided to take a tablet with us to ensure that we didn't get lost.
"Well, I guess I'll lead the way."
Spurred on by the circumstances at play, Ike volunteered to take the lead. Although, he didn't exactly seem very enthusiastic about it.
"I'm sorry, but could you please refrain?"
"Eh? W-why?"
"Given that it's still fairly dark out, I cannot allow a technically unreliable person to take the lead. The job should be left to someone with good crisis management skills and the discernment to select an optimal route."
"Well, but ya know… Outta all of us, I think I'm prolly the best one to─"
"Ayanokōji-senpai, could I ask you to lead us? I'd be willing to follow your judgment without hesitation."
Nanase cut Ike off, asking me to pave the way without even bothering to hear out his justification. After all, given the circumstances, every second counted.
Coming up with some sort of excuse to try and convince him would be nothing but a waste of time.
"Nanase, Ike, and I will each take a flashlight. Nanase will be behind me, followed by Sudō and Hondō. Ike, I'll have you take up the rear."
With our formation decided upon, I immediately began walking toward the source of the alert.
"No…? Ah, I mean, that's not a problem, but… Are you sure you'll be alright, Ayanokōji?"
Just like that, Ike had been left in the dust, unable to fully come to grips with what was happening.
"Don't worry 'bout that. Just hurry up and follow along Kanji. Ayanokōji'll prolly be fine."
Sudō responded in my stead, forcefully grabbing Ike by the arm to get him to start walking.
Like that, the five of us set off together.
"There's a real possibility of getting injured moving around like this, isn't there?"
Nanase provided casual commentary as we advanced through the forest.
"Gosh, why the heck are we movin' around so early in the mornin'?"
Hondō voiced his complaints as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"It ain't all that strange. If the next designated area were super far away or somethin', we'd have to start moving early like this in order to try'n get closer."
For the most part, the school had chosen designated areas with some level of consideration in place for how long it would take most groups to get there. With the existence of randomly designated areas, however, there were plenty of scenarios that could force groups to take action early in the morning or late at night.
Little by little, we approached the source of the alert. Even now, it was still blaring throughout the forest.
The Emergency Alert was gradually growing louder and louder.
No, there was something more to it than that…
"If someone's there, respond to us-!"
Sudō shouted out in the direction the sound was coming from, but nobody responded. There didn't seem to be any movement in the area either.
"Why aren't they sayin' anything…? D-do you think this might be the work of a g-ghost?"
The sound had a certain ominous vibe to it due to the location we were in, and perhaps because of that, Hondō began to tremble.
"I think it just means that they're in a situation where they can't even call out for help."
"If that's the case, then they might be in a real bad spot."
Either way, the only way to find out for sure was to keep pushing toward the source of the sound.
We held back the urge to speed up our pace, choosing instead to err on the side of caution and carefully light the path forward as we continued to advance further into the depths of the forest.
"Everyone, don't you think the sound is a little… peculiar?"
Nanase, who was trailing behind me, pointed out the unusual, out-of-place nature of the sound.
"Peculiar? Well, it certainly sounds eerie. That's prolly just cuz we've been sloggin' through this dark-ass forest though…"
"No, that's not what I─"
"You're talking about the frequency, right Nanase?"
I looked over my shoulder and replied to her, to which she responded with a decisive nod of the head.
"At first, I thought that the noise was simply echoing because it was coming from deep within the forest. But now that we're closer, I realized that that's not the case. Rather, I'm fairly certain that it's actually two different sounds."
An Emergency Alert would only go off when someone was in an exceptionally severe condition.
So, the notion that two were going off at the same time wasn't something any of us had been expecting.
However, now that we were so close, it was clear.
The definite rhythmic sound of two Emergency Alerts was blaring out from what seemed to be the same location at about the same time.
It had only seemed like there was an echo due to the fact that they were ever so slightly out of sync with each other.
"Scary… Are you guys… Are you guys sure it's safe to keep going…?"
As the terrain ahead gradually began to incline upward, Hondō began to voice even more concerns.
Though, given that we were approaching a location where two people had been incapacitated in quick succession, his fear wasn't unreasonable.
Soon, the sound became so incredibly loud that it seemed like we had finally arrived at our destination.
We temporarily came to a stop and began to comb the area with our flashlights in search of the source.
Not long thereafter, we found the figure of a certain boy collapsed on the ground.
"Is that… Komiya!?"
The first one to recognize the boy's identity was Sudō.
He wasn't wrong. It was indeed Class 2-B's Komiya.
"O-oi! The hell is this? P-pull yourself together man! Komiya!"
Sudō, seemingly spurred on by the bonds he had forged as a fellow member of the basketball club, rushed over to the fallen Komiya in a panic.
"Senpai…"
"Yeah."
Just as we had predicted, it wasn't just one alert, but two.
A second alert was sounding off from someone lying several meters away from where Komiya had collapsed. The person in question was Kinoshita Minori, a fellow classmate from Class 2-B. Although Nanase seemed momentarily baffled by the peculiar situation we had stumbled upon, she quickly rushed over to Kinoshita's side.
In order to try and piece together what had happened, I left Komiya and Kinoshita to the others as I went to survey the rest of the surrounding area. It weighed on my mind that I couldn't find any trace of their third group member, Shinohara, nor any of their backpacks or other equipment.
"Oi Komiya! What happened to Shinohara!?"
"There's no use, he's not waking up at all…"
I listened in as Sudō and Ike spoke to each other about Komiya's condition.
They then manually turned off the Emergency Alerts, returning the forest to a state of tranquil silence.
"Kinoshita-senpai won't regain consciousness either. But, judging from all the dirt and scratches on her jersey, I'm afraid that…"
As Nanase's words trailed off, she turned and looked at the steep slope of the nearby cliff several meters in height.
After assessing Komiya's condition, Sudō nodded along in agreement. They seemed to think that one of them had lost their footing and fell down the slope somehow, while the other had probably been dragged down as well after trying to save them.
I drew closer to the slope to investigate, only to find that there were clear signs that somebody had recently come tumbling down it.
In other words, it was safe to assume that the somebody in question (or somebodies) were Komiya and Kinoshita.
The visibility in this area was so poor that it was entirely possible that they could've lost their sense of direction. Moreover, the humidity was high and the ground was somewhat damp, making slipping a very likely possibility.
I pointed my light down toward my feet. The ground was a bit muddy in some places, so depending on where I stepped, my footprints would be left behind.
By shining my light on the pathway, I could make out two distinct sets of footprints from when Sudō and Nanase had rushed over to where Komiya and Kinoshita had ended up after their fall. Alongside those, however, were faint traces of what appeared to be a third, faded set of footprints.
The footprints drew close to where Komiya and Kinoshita were laying, but abruptly turned back.
While it wasn't exactly clear if they were related, this meant there was a possibility that someone else had been here recently.
The thought that the footprints could've belonged to Shinohara crossed my mind, but it was hard to imagine that she would leave without trying to help them.
Plus, even if she had gone to find help, she still would've rushed over to them to try and confirm their wellbeing first.
Given that, I compared the size of the footprints to my own shoes and found that they were on the smaller side. My shoe size was 26cm, but the mystery footprints, on the other hand, appeared to be 1.5 to 2cm smaller than that. Although I couldn't completely rule out the possibility that they had been left by a boy, it seemed much more likely that they had been made by a girl.
Suddenly sensing an unknown presence off to the northwest, I kept my light trained on the ground and discreetly looked in its direction.
However, the world around me was covered in a layer of darkness and lain thick with trees, so I wasn't able to see anyone there.
I wondered if there was some reason for them, whoever it was, to feel guilty about not approaching us.
Ultimately, I chose to disregard the presence for the time being and went to check the area around Kinoshita's feet instead.
I figured that there was a small chance that Kinoshita might've walked around the area before she lost consciousness.
However, I found no evidence to suggest that she had been walking in the nearby vicinity.
In any case, it was probably safe to assume that the footprints I had found belonged to an unidentified third party.
Kinoshita's face and clothes were dirty and covered in various scrapes and scratches just like Komiya, but there didn't seem to be any major external injuries that I could see.
"Everything else aside, the problem here is what's going to happen after the teachers show up…?"
The full extent of their injuries was unknown, but there was clearly no way for them to avoid being checked out by a medical team. If they had really lost consciousness after falling off the slope, a thorough medical examination would be necessary, and retirement would be all but guaranteed. They probably wouldn't have enough time to wake up and try to gloss over what had happened with a lie of some sort.
If Shinohara was in a similar situation someplace else, then Komiya's group would have all three people retire from the exam at the same time.
And then, given that none of them had an 'Insurance Card', expulsion would naturally be right around the corner.
"Shinohara-!!"
Ike shouted Shinohara's name into the depths of the dimly-lit forest.
If she was in the area, then she should've been able to respond to him, or at least send some kind of signal.
The fact that she hadn't meant that it was possible that she had gotten caught up in some kind of accident, much like Komiya and Kinoshita.
Ike was about to run off to try and find her, but I hurriedly grabbed him before he could.
"If you go charging into the forest without a tablet then you'll just get yourself lost."
"T-that's, I know that but still!"
"I understand that you're anxious. After all, it is strange that she's not responding despite your shouting."
"Y-yeah. That's why we gotta hurry up and find her!"
"However, if she were seriously injured, her Emergency Alert would most likely be going off like Komiya and Kinoshita. Right?"
Apart from the two Emergency Alerts from earlier, the forest was dead silent.
"That's… that's… Well, you're not wrong…"
"And since Shinohara doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby, we can assume that there's a low chance that she's sustained a major injury."
"So, you're sayin' she might be lost…?"
Of course, that was definitely a possibility here as well.
"Ugh… guh…!"
While everyone was baffled, unable to fully grasp the situation at hand, Komiya suddenly let out a weak, stifled groan.
"Komiya! Can you hear me Komiya!?"
Sudō immediately called out to him, and he seemed to respond to this, meekly grabbing hold of the arm of Sudō's jacket.
Apparently, Komiya had managed to regain consciousness.
A feeling of relief began to wash over us, but when Komiya finally opened his mouth to speak, that relief was just as quickly washed away.
"M-my leg… it hurts…!"
From the look of it, Komiya's right leg was just fine, but his left was another matter. Anguish and agony showed on his face whenever he tried to move it.
"Your fuckin' leg man…!"
Judging from the way Sudō was shaking, I could deduce Komiya's condition without needing to take a look for myself.
In order to properly assess the situation, Nanase took a closer look at Kinoshita's condition as well.
"It isn't just Komiya-senpai, Kinoshita-senpai's left leg seems to be in terrible shape as well. Worst case scenario, it may even be broken."
Not only had the two of them fallen off the same slope, but they had both seriously injured their left leg as well.
I could've personally confirmed the extent of their injuries by feeling around the affected area myself, but very little good would come out of doing so at this point.
"If they have any bone contusions or fractures they'll be disqualified, no questions asked."
The fourth day of the exam hadn't even officially started yet, so it was only natural to assume that nobody had retired so far. By that same logic, it stood to reason that their disqualification, and ensuing expulsion, was practically set in stone. Even if Shinohara was safe and sound, it would be difficult for her to accumulate a meaningful number of points on her own. Moreover, she herself was currently nowhere to be found.
Be that as it may, there had to be more going on here than what meets the eye…
What's more, there was still a strange presence watching over us from the northwest.
And yet, they didn't make any moves, simply choosing to keep their distance instead. At first they kept their presence exceedingly faint, but as I continued to play dumb it gradually became more pronounced. It was as if they were daring me to pay attention to them already.
At this point, Nanase suddenly left Kinoshita's side and came over to me before whispering into my ear:
"Something seems a bit off, don't you think?"
Sudō and the others probably hadn't caught onto it, but there was definitely something weird about this entire situation.
"You're right. They might've gotten caught up in trouble of some sort."
It wouldn't be that strange if this had only happened to one person, but the fact that they were both in the exact same condition was definitely cause for concern.
"Komiya. Can you remember exactly what happened at the time of the accident?"
While I could continue to theorize on my own, doing that would only get me so far. Therefore, I figured it would be better to ask Komiya outright instead.
After all, I probably wouldn't have the time to ask him once the school faculty members arrived.
"I-I don't know… it just happened out of nowhere. I suddenly felt something strike my calf and the next thing I knew I was rolling down the slope… Agh…!"
His face twisted in pain as he once again tried to move his leg.
"Your calf was hit by something?"
"M-maybe? I don't really remember very well… Sorry."
His memory of the moment when the accident took place was vague and fuzzy, but you couldn't really hold that against him.
"Kinoshita fell as well and ended up beside you. Do you know anything about what happened to her?"
"Eh…? N-no, I have no idea. Why is Kinoshita here…? If I remember correctly, when it happened we…"
Judging from Komiya's reaction, it didn't seem like Kinoshita had been the first one to fall down the slope.
So, at the very least, I could assume that Komiya had fallen first.
"That's right…! Satsuki, where's Satsuki!? Did she fall too!?"
Enduring the pain as his memories came flooding back to him, Komiya cried out Shinohara's name through gritted teeth. Ike's expression darkened when he heard Komiya call Shinohara by her given name, but he knew that this was no time to be upset over something so trivial.
"Shinohara is missing. Were you guys not moving together?"
"Satsuki was─ Agh…!!"
His left leg seemed to hurt so badly that it was difficult for him to keep talking properly.
"You don't have to force yourself."
"N-no, I'm worried about Satsuki… Sorry Sudō, but can you help me sit up…?"
"Y-yeah. But don't overdo it."
With Sudō's support, Komiya slowly managed to prop himself up.
"Komiya, where's Shinohara!?"
Ike shouted out a question of his own. Naturally, he was far more concerned about Komiya's group than the rest of us.
In fact, his inability to contain himself was so obvious that Komiya probably took note of it as well.
"…I don't know… We… We were trying to move quickly…"
Komiya continued with his explanation, glimpses of pain and anguish occasionally flashing across his face.
"Then, we were waiting… for Satsuki to come back…"
"You were waiting? What? I don't understand what you're sayin' here!"
Komiya was struggling to provide proper context for what he was saying, so he shook his head a few times to try and focus his mind.
He then slowly sifted through his memories as he tried to set up a proper timeline for us.
"Let me start from the beginning. We were in a hurry because we missed the last two designated areas yesterday. After talking it out last night, we ultimately decided to try and close the distance early this morning… It was still fairly dark when we set out, so we were keeping tabs on each other as we traveled, but… at some point, Satsuki said she needed to go to the restroom, so she split off for a bit while Kinoshita and I waited for her to finish. Of course, we were using our flashlights to keep track of each other…"
He had calmed down quite a bit compared to back when he first woke up. Even though he was fraught with pain, it was obvious just how worried he was about Shinohara.
"While we waited for Satsuki to come back, the two of us were looking down the slope over there and talking about whether we could use it as a shortcut. Just as I was thinking that it'd be pretty difficult to make our way down─"
"That's when something hit your calf, yes?"
Having anticipated where he was going with this, Nanase cut in, prompting Komiya to nod in response.
"I remember it hurt like hell… But the pain didn't last long 'cause the next thing I knew I was rolling down the slope… And then, when I came to, Sudō and the rest of you guys were here."
Human limbs are by no means invincible. It's not uncommon for them to unexpectedly sustain injuries at a moment's notice.
If Komiya had been the only one involved in this incident, then it would be simple enough to conclude that the pain of the impact had knocked him off his feet and sent him falling down the slope he was looking at.
However, the fact that the same thing had happened to Kinoshita as well made it seem like I wasn't quite seeing the full picture yet.
Did she suddenly freak out upon seeing Komiya start to collapse and end up falling with him when she tried to help…?
Whatever the reason may be, the mysterious set of eyes watching over us and the unidentified set of footprints were definitely cause for concern.
As I pondered about it, I suddenly heard movement come from the top of the slope.
We all simultaneously turned our flashlights in the direction it had come from, but there didn't appear to be anyone there.
It could've just been a small animal or something given how faint of a sound it had been, but…
"Shinohara!?"
Ike had only just begun to regain his composure, but when he heard the sound, he immediately started running toward the slope.
"Oi Kanji! Hold on! It's dangerous!"
The cries of his best friend fell on deaf ears, left only to echo throughout the dark forest.
"Senpai, it's too dangerous to let Ike-senpai go off on his own!"
"I know. I'll leave the tablet with you. Wait here until we get back."
I was tempted to quickly go running after him, but Ike had his sights set on climbing what basically amounted to the face of a cliff.
A slight delay wouldn't be that much of a problem.
"But won't you be in trouble if you get lost without the tablet, Senpai?"
"It'll just get in the way of climbing the slope."
Besides, climbing the slope with the tablet wasn't the only risk at play here. In the unlikely event that something happened, it would be riskier for me to drop the tablet and lose it altogether. By simply leaving it with Nanase, it wouldn't be impossible for her to come find us if we got lost or something went wrong either.
Once Nanase took the tablet, I immediately went after Ike.
Ike was eagerly clawing his way up toward the source of the sound, but his movements were dangerous. By the time I finally caught up to him, I decided to show him a suitable path to navigate up the slope. It was clear as day that he would put up a fight if I tried to get him to come back with me.
"A-Ayanokōji!?"
At first he probably thought that I had come to stop him as he was surprised when I quickly climbed past him. As a result, this surprise caused him to panic and try what he could to catch up with me.
And in turn, panic gave rise to negligence. He stopped paying close attention to his footing and began to slip off of the slope.
"Oh, ah…!?"
I quickly reached down and grabbed Ike by the arm and helped to pull him back up.
"Are you going to calm down and follow me or not? If you can't then I'll take you back by force."
"…G-got it. I'll chill out and follow you so… please don't take me back…"
Content with his response, I nodded and proceeded to lead the way up the slope.
Although visibility was still poor, little by little the sun was beginning to light the path ahead.
We took our time to climb safely, and once we reached the top, we came upon a narrow point that Komiya and Kinoshita had apparently fallen from.
Ike was on his hands and knees as he tried to catch his breath, but his eyes were frantically scanning the surrounding area in search of Shinohara.
I took a cursory look around the area myself, but there was nobody to be found.
"Shinohara-!!"
He called out Shinohara's name with all the strength he could muster, desperately hoping that his voice would somehow reach her this time.
There didn't seem to be very many solid pathways, so it wasn't impossible to imagine that Shinohara had fallen at some other point along the slope when she tried to get down.
At this point, on the ground, I discovered three different backpacks that appeared to belong to Komiya, Kinoshita, and Shinohara.
As far as I could tell, there wasn't any evidence to suggest that someone had gone through them without permission.
The three of them had probably decided to leave their bags here until Shinohara had gotten back from the bathroom.
I could picture the scene of Komiya and Kinoshita standing here talking with each other about whether or not they should try to head down the slope.
"Dammit, she's not here either!"
Ike struck the ground in frustration, dismayed about the lack of a response. But then, at that very moment…
"…Ike? Is that you?"
Shinohara slowly stood up from within a thicket of bushes off in the distance.
"Shinohara? Shinohara!!!"
When she finally caught sight of the two of us, she immediately came running over, stumbling over her own feet as she did.
She then threw herself into Ike's chest, her body shaking and tears streaming down her face.
"Y-you've been here this whole time?"
"Y-yeah."
"Then why didn't you call out sooner!? Do you have any idea how worried I've been!?"
"B-because…"
Having seemingly recalled something hard to swallow, Shinohara began to tremble even more than before.
With this, Ike must've understood that she wasn't hiding due to ill-intentions.
"K-Komiya-kun and Kinoshita-san, where are they!?"
"They're both seriously injured at the bottom of the slope, what the hell happened to them?"
If her fellow group members had simply tripped and fallen down the slope, then Shinohara would've been frantic about trying to get down and help them.
However, given that she didn't do that and chose to single-mindedly hide in the bushes instead, something was definitely amiss here.
She turned pale upon hearing that they were seriously injured, and after a moment, she opened her trembling lips.
"I-I couldn't move… I was scared, so scared… a-and… I saw…"
"You saw? Saw what?"
"…Komiya-kun and Kinoshita-san… Somebody… I saw somebody push them off…"
According to Shinohara, this wasn't just an accident.
"Somebody? Who the hell was it!?"
"I-I don't know! I really don't! …But why, why would they do such a thing!?"
Ike clenched his teeth in frustration, watching as Shinohara collapsed to the ground and broke down in tears.
Essentially, she had been afraid that this 'somebody' would find her too, so she hid, putting forth her full effort to erase all traces of her presence and shut out the sound of her surroundings.
That being the case, it was no wonder that she didn't immediately try to rush to her friends or respond to Ike's calls. Although there was no conclusive evidence that what she was saying here was correct, I didn't think Shinohara was the type of person who would conjure up a fabricated story like this.
However, it would be a huge undertaking for 'someone' to have snuck up behind them without being noticed.
Furthermore, since they'd give away their position if they used a flashlight, the perpetrator must've acted with a poor field of vision as well.
"Do you remember seeing anyone since last night? If there's someone behind this, it would make any groups camping nearby into prime suspects."
I decided to redirect the conversation a bit and asked Shinohara a question instead.
"I think after 8:30 last night… there were, um, first-years… Yeah… we came across a group of first-years camping out together… We passed them back that way."
She pointed off to the north as she said this.
"Do you know the names of those first-years? Anything you might know would be helpful."
"Sorry, I don't really know most of the first-years yet. All I remember is that there were three girls and one boy."
If this was all she knew, I couldn't exactly say it was very useful information.
But if those first-years had attacked Komiya and Kinoshita as part of some sort of prank, it should be easy enough to catch the perpetrator.
"For now, let's head back down and meet up with Sudō and the others. It won't be long before the teachers arrive."
"R-right."
Going back down the way we came would be a bit risky for both Shinohara and Ike, so we opted to take a short detour instead.
1
About five minutes had passed since Ayanokōji-senpai went running up the slope in pursuit of Ike-senpai.
I gently laid Kinoshita-senpai, who I had been holding in my arms, onto the ground beside Komiya-senpai.
After which, I stood back up and quietly stared into the deep forest behind me.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Sudō-senpai spoke up, suspicious of my actions. I felt sorry about not responding to him, but I didn't have the time to explain anything right now.
Someone was clearly trying to provoke us.
They had been watching over us this entire time, and although they were making their presence known, they had chosen not to approach us.
Though, while their presence was obvious to me, it was no more than a subtle difference in the atmosphere that ordinary people wouldn't be able to notice.
But how long had they been there? Right, it had been since Ayanokōji-senpai left to run up the slope.
They were continuously emitting a viscous, demanding aura that only became more pronounced with time.
I didn't know what their motives or reasons for this were exactly, but that was irrelevant.
After all, whoever they were, any information they had would still be valuable, given the current circumstances.
I quietly set the tablet onto the ground and took a moment to steady my breathing.
The presence was well aware that I had noticed them, yet they hadn't moved an inch.
They may have confidence in their speed, but so did I.
"Sudou-senpai! Please take care of them until I'm back!"
"Eh? Wha, hey!"
The only thing I could be certain of, right here, right now, was that somebody was watching us.
I kicked off the ground and broke into a sprint in one fluid motion, headed toward the direction of the presence.
03-08
Even if they tried to escape in a panic, I should be able to close the distance when they turned around to run.
And then, if they trip up on something, even if it's only just for a second, I would catch them and force them to answer my questions.
The distance between us was ten to twenty meters at most. As the morning sun continued to rise, the forest slowly began to light up. And even though the terrain was difficult to traverse, it didn't take long before I caught up to them.
However…!
"So fast!"
I managed to grab hold of the cuff of their jersey for a split second, but their movements were far too nimble.
Making clever use of the surrounding trees, they skillfully managed to break free without showing hide nor hair of their identity.
I chased after them at top speed, but despite my best efforts, the distance between us steadily proceeded to widen.
"Damn!"
In terms of speed and stamina, the two of us seemed evenly matched.
That said, from the way they were effortlessly navigating the forest as they ran, their understanding of the terrain was clearly far superior to my own.
Just how were they able to do that?
Although my knowledge of the area was no doubt inferior, I still tried my best to overcome it.
"Please wait! I simply want to talk to you!"
I shouted as we continued to dash into the depths of the forest, but the person I was chasing showed no sign of stopping.
It wasn't that they hadn't heard my cries either. No, they had chosen to ignore them.
In which case, I was left with only one conclusion: That the person I was chasing definitely had something to hide.
"The reason those two are hurt so badly is because of something you did, isn't it!?"
At this point, I decided to change strategies. I shouted out a harsh accusation, looking to make them falter. To make some sort of mistake.
After all, if I could get them to make a mistake before I did, I'd be able to close the distance in an instant.
Even if I was wrong about their involvement in what had happened, as long as I could get them to trip or fall, nothing else would matter.
However, instead of faltering, they began moving even faster than before.
I held full confidence in my prior training and physical ability, at least to the point where I didn't think I would lose to anyone else at this school.
And yet, the distance between us only continued to widen.
Occasionally, I would manage to recover lost ground, but that would never last for long. It was clear that they were just toying with me, showing me just how superior they really were.
They were taunting me; all but whispering the words 'catch me if you can' into my ear.
But, even so, I had no intention of giving up until the bitter end.
If I couldn't win in a contest of speed… then I'd win in a battle of stamina instead.
For less than a second, a ray of light came streaming through the canopy above and I managed to catch sight of my opponent's hair swaying in the wind as they ran.
"What, you!?"
The distinct, almost characteristic color and style of their hair was seared into the back of my eyes.
I knew exactly where I had seen it before too.
"Dammit…!"
Before long, my foot got caught on the root of a tree, bringing an abrupt, unsatisfying end to our chase.
"Haa, Haaaa…!"
I had gotten distracted, caught off guard by a revelation that I never saw coming.
The fatigue and exhaustion I had built up came rushing at me all at once, and my breathing soon became erratic.
"Haaaa, Haaa…! Haaa, Haaa…!"
In order to calm the incessant beating of my heart, I closed my eyes and focused on getting my disordered breathing under control.
Although I hadn't been able to get a good look at them, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.
"Don't tell me… They… pushed Komiya-senpai and Kinoshita-senpai…? But, why…?"
My gaze continued to wander for a while, as if searching for the back of the person who had disappeared into the depths of the forest.
2
I led Shinohara and Ike on a detour that took about fifteen minutes in total.
When we finally found a safe way to get down the slope, we happened to meet up with Nanase who was walking alone.
"Why are you here Nanase?"
Sudō and the others should've still been quite a fair distance away from here.
"That─ Uhm, I wasn't able to see you and Ike-senpai anymore so I decided to go looking for you…"
Nanase responded, and although her breathing was steady, her brow was covered in sweat.
It seemed like she had been in quite a hurry to come find us, however, her eyes were looking somewhere else.
"Are you searching for something?"
"No, please don't worry about it."
She refused to elaborate further, keeping her gaze fixed in a specific direction as she stared on with a rigid expression.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she turned and looked over toward Shinohara and Ike, who were trailing a fair distance behind me.
"I'm glad that you managed to find Shinohara-senpai safe and sound."
Upon seeing Shinohara walking together with Ike, she let out a genuine sigh of relief.
I had been walking ahead so far, so we waited until Ike and Shinohara caught up to us.
"Sudō-senpai and the others are this way."
As the one most familiar with the route back, Nanase took the reins and led the way.
In the meantime, I decided to tell Nanase about what Shinohara had told us earlier.
In particular, I told her that Shinohara had seen someone push Komiya and Kinoshita down the slope, but she didn't know if the perpetrator was a boy or a girl.
I also spoke of how she had held her breath and hid in fear of being discovered.
And then, I shared one more piece of potentially vital information.
"It seems that Shinohara and her friends passed a group of first-years last night."
"First-years, you say?"
"They probably set up camp somewhere nearby. But, she only said that they passed each other, so we can't really say they're the culprits here."
"That's true. Though, I wonder who the first-year students in question are? If we knew, then we might be able to poke around for information or at least find some clues."
Even if they were somewhere in the surrounding area, it would be difficult to find them in this thick, overgrown forest. It might be a different story if they stayed in the same location for an extended length of time, but in all probability, they would be constantly on the move, heading toward their next destination. In fact, it was even possible that they were headed off in the opposite direction right now.
In any case, it bugged me that first-year students were involved in this.
After all, if one of them were the White Room student, they would've been able to do the deed without so much as batting an eye.
Nanase remained silent for a while before eventually opening her mouth to speak.
"Senpai. If… there really was someone out there willing to cause such a grievous injury, isn't it strange that Komiya-senpai didn't notice anybody?"
"Yeah. Normally, you'd know if someone was there or not."
Komiya definitely would've said something if he remembered seeing someone, even if they had been a student that he didn't know the name of.
However, his memory of the incident was vague, and from what it sounded like, they might not have been attacked at all.
Was it really just a simple accident?
Or, had someone truly managed to pull off this attack without being noticed?
Assuming that it was even darker out when it happened, it would only make sense that the perpetrator had a light of some sort.
"If it were you, Ayanokōji-senpai, would you be able to do it without the two of them noticing?"
"Me? Don't be unreasonable."
Although I evaded the question, it wouldn't be impossible if I set my mind to it.
In his earlier testimony, Komiya said that it all started when something suddenly struck his calf.
In the same way, I would soundlessly approach from behind and kick his calf as a leading strike. In turn, he'd be sent tumbling down the slope, his face warped with pain. He probably wouldn't even have the time to look back at me.
"As for me… If I were to attack Komiya-senpai and Kinoshita-senpai… I don't think it would be impossible. Well, depending on the timing. Though, of course, it would still be fairly difficult."
She voiced her own conclusion. Rather than assert that Shinohara had imagined it, Nanase seemed to agree with the idea that someone had assaulted them.
But, even if there was a culprit, their motive was unknown.
Were they indirectly sending me a warning? No, the risks would be far too great if that were the case.
Or perhaps… they were trying to emphasize that they weren't afraid of taking on risks, no matter how large they may be?
It was also possible that some unforeseen turn of events had taken place and they had no choice but to take action.
But, as it stood, none of these theories felt very convincing. After all, it was more than possible that the culprit wasn't the White Room student. Furthermore, there might not even be a culprit at all.
"That said, it's not clear why they were attacked in the first place."
Inevitably, Nanase arrived at the same conclusion that I had.
The motive behind the attack. The most perplexing part of the entire situation.
Before long, we made our way back to Sudō and the others, but nothing had changed since we left.
"Now it's just a question of when the teachers will get here."
It had already been half an hour since the Emergency Alert first went off, but there was still no sign of them anywhere.
We were in the northeast corner of the island, so it would take them an adequate amount of time to get here, even if they made use of a boat or helicopter.
"Uhm~… Has something happened here?"
Just as the situation began to stagnate, a group of several students appeared from within the forest and called out to us.
Nanase and I briefly exchanged glances with each other. The students in question were a group of first-years: Mitsui Ayumi from Class 1-A, Dōgami Mitsuko from Class 1-B, Tsubaki Sakurako from Class 1-C, and Makita Takashige from Class 1-D. Altogether, there were three girls and one boy, a combination that fell in line with Shinohara's testimony from earlier.
As someone who had also heard Shinohara's testimony, Ike looked at the four of them with a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"There's been a bit of trouble. These two fell down the slope and got injured pretty badly."
Upon hearing this, the first-years exchanged glances for a moment.
"We were camping nearby when we heard an alert go off and what sounded like somebody shouting… We chose to wait a little for it to get brighter out before coming here to check on what had happened, just in case."
The sound of the alert had been incredibly piercing, so it only made sense that they would hear it if they were in the area.
"Anyway, could I ask if the injured are alright?"
Dōgami, the girl who was acting as the sole spokesperson for the group, looked fairly alarmed, as did Makita and Mitsui.
Tsubaki, in contrast, was perfectly calm.
Despite being surrounded by upperclassmen, two of which who were seriously injured, she didn't appear to be phased at all.
"They don't seem alright, but it's hard for any of us to say for sure. At this point, we're just waiting for the teachers to get here."
Like that, another thirty minutes passed.
And then, around an hour after the Emergency Alert first went off, officials from the school finally arrived.
The first to show up were Sakagami-sensei, the homeroom teacher of Class 2-B, and our own homeroom teacher, Chabashira. In addition, there were three adults who appeared to be medical personnel, for a total of five people.
"Let's get down to business and hear what happened here, shall we?"
Sakagami-sensei spoke as he approached Komiya, who was sitting up, and Kinoshita, who was still lying unconscious beside him.
Everyone began to gather around him, as if drawn in by the prospect of checking out a crime scene.
Seeing this, I distanced myself from the group and approached Chabashira, who was looking in my direction.
"From a cursory observation, it seems like it'll be difficult for Komiya and Kinoshita to continue the exam."
"Yes. Their retirement seems virtually unavoidable."
Her expression was heavy, which was to be expected given that Komiya's group included a student from her own class.
"Was it just a simple accident?"
"Well… I imagine we'll find out soon enough."
After seeing to it that treatment was underway, Sakagami-sensei turned to the unscathed member of the group, Shinohara, and motioned for her to explain.
Shinohara, however, took one look at the state of her friends and burst into tears all over again.
"Crying isn't going to get us anywhere, I hope you know that."
Sakagami-sensei admonished her in a strict tone, prompting Ike to step forward to protect her.
"Uhm, is it alright if I explain? Shinohara told me what happened."
He apparently wanted to explain the situation to Sakagami-sensei on Shinohara's behalf.
"…Well, I suppose that's fine. Go ahead and speak."
"Shinohara said that they were pushed off the slope."
I took a look at the slope in question as Ike repeated what Shinohara had told him earlier, but all of a sudden, his explanation somehow seemed hard to believe.
"Pushed off? …How awfully unsettling."
"So they won't have to retire because of that, right? That's right, right?"
"If that's the truth, then yes, of course they won't."
"What do you mean 'if that's the truth'? Shinohara said so herself!"
"Then, I assume she must have evidence of some sort to back that up, yes?"
Faced with Sakagami's response, both Shinohara and Ike were left momentarily speechless, at an utter loss for words.
"Y-you say that, but we're not at the school! There aren't any surveillance cameras or anything like that!"
"Though, if they were pushed, one of them must've at least seen the culprit's face."
"That's─!"
"So how about it, Shinohara-san? You can't just keep crying, so how about you give us an answer?"
The only evidence available at the moment was Shinohara's personal testimony as a member of the same group.
Although I could try to mention the mysterious set of footprints I had identified earlier, the ground all throughout the nearby area had long since been trampled by a sizable number of people.
Even if I were to bring them up, it wouldn't accomplish anything.
"I-it was dark…"
"Dark? So dark that you couldn't see the culprit's face?"
In response, Shinohara nodded several times over, however Sakagami-sensei simply let out a deep sigh.
"So, it was dark to the extent that you couldn't see their face, and yet you were able to see them get pushed without any problems…? It pains me to say this, but that's an awfully convenient tale you've spun, now isn't it?"
With that, Sakagami-sensei began to pressure Shinohara to confess as she broke into tears once more.
She was crying to the point of incoherence, so she just kept nodding her head, trying what she could to affirm that she was telling the truth.
"Shinohara would never lie!"
"You're her classmate. It's only natural that you would say that."
"Are you saying that you don't believe her!?"
"If she's telling the truth, then this is quite a serious matter. However, this testimony alone is not enough."
"How could you! Then what's gonna happen to Komiya and Kinoshita!?"
"No matter how things play out, I'd say that their only real option is retirement. As their homeroom teacher, I certainly can't say I'm happy to see them withdraw from the exam either, but from the look of their legs, it would be impossible for them to continue."
It's not like Sakagami-sensei was actively trying to be cruel here or anything like that.
He was just being objective. The damage that had been done to their legs was by no means light enough that they'd be back on their feet in a day or two.
"Given the current situation, we have no choice but to conclude that Shinohara-san is lying in order to gloss over the injuries caused by this accident."
"You're fuckin' kidding me! Who in their right mind would buy that bullshit!?"
Ike fought back in a blaze of passion, holding onto Shinohara's shoulders as she wept, but the response he got back was exceedingly cold.
03-09
"I'll overlook that careless outburst of yours just this once. Are we clear?"
"Tsk…!"
Realizing that he had said far too much to a teacher, Ike bit down on his lip.
Together, Shinohara and Ike had been desperately pleading their case for a while now, and yet, there seemed to be something peculiar about the way Sakagami-sensei had been responding to them.
"It seems that you already had a lot of this figured out before you got here, Chabashira-sensei."
I expressed my thoughts to Chabashira as we stood beside each other, to which she nodded quietly.
"We relied on Komiya and Kinoshita's GPS signals to get here. Komiya's Emergency Alert went off at 4:56:24 AM, whereas Kinoshita's went off seven seconds later. The only other signal that was in the nearby area in that timeframe was Shinohara's and Shinohara's alone."
Chabashira responded, her eyes focused on a tablet in hand.
It was just as I had expected.
This meant that Sakagami-sensei had this very same information as well.
If there had been even a single questionable GPS signal in the area, then there would've been room for suspicion. However, the information gathered from the GPS went against the notion that there was a culprit in the first place. In which case, the only logical conclusion for the school officials to make was that Shinohara was fabricating the existence of an unknown third party, all for the sake of procuring a lighter sentence and protecting her fellow group members from retirement.
"The first to arrive at the scene after the alerts went off was a group of five students, yourself included. The next to arrive was a group of four first-year students. We were the last to arrive."
According to the records, nobody else had come into contact with Komiya's group before us.
It should probably be safe to trust this information to a certain extent.
Then… was it possible that the culprit wasn't a student?
The teachers and exam staff didn't have to wear watches so they wouldn't have a GPS signal.
No─ that shouldn't be the case here, right?
I had a hypothesis in the works, but there were still a lot of points that didn't quite add up yet, such as the fact that the teachers seemed to be missing something.
"Chabashira-sensei. You'll be heading back to the starting area with Komiya and Kinoshita after this, right?"
"Yeah. We'll do a more detailed examination of their injuries back on the ship."
"There's something I'd like you to investigate while you're at it. Discreetly."
I then lowered my voice and whispered something into her ear. Although she was slightly surprised by my request, she nodded in agreement nonetheless.
Nevertheless, there was a more pressing matter at hand right now.
With Komiya and Kinoshita's retirement all but guaranteed at this point, Shinohara would be left to fend for herself.
For her, surviving on her own for the next day or two must seem impossible, let alone the next week and a half.
"I can't… I-I can't go on like this…! There's no way I can do this alone…!"
Ike watched as Shinohara fell to her knees, unable to find the right words to comfort her.
He simply stood there, stuck in a perpetual state of uncertainty about what to do next.
I wasn't the only one who took notice of this either.
Komiya, moments away from being carried off on a stretcher by the medical personnel, had as well.
"Ike… come here real quick."
"W-what is it?"
Komiya suddenly called out to Ike, motioning for him to come within arm's reach.
And then, caring not for strain on his injured body, he lurched out, wrapped his arm around Ike's neck, and pulled him in close.
"Show me how much of a man you are."
After those few short words, Komiya laid back down, practically collapsing onto the stretcher.
Komiya had planned on confessing to Shinohara during this very exam.
But it didn't seem like he had done so yet.
Perhaps, on the contrary, Shinohara had consulted him about Ike before he ever had the chance to make his feelings known.
If so, then Komiya would be aware of just how much Shinohara cared for Ike.
With those few short words, he had entrusted Shinohara, the girl he had sworn to protect with his own two hands, to Ike, his rival in love.
"That's gotta be tough…"
Sudō commented as we all watched the medics carry Komiya away.
It seemed that, after bearing witness to what had just taken place, Sudō had realized how hard this must've been for Komiya as well.
My classmates weren't the only ones moving forward on the journey to adulthood. Day by day, Komiya was growing as well, just like Sudō.
After a brief period of silence, Nanase addressed Shinohara, proposing an idea to help overcome the harsh situation she had been put into.
"It's possible to lighten the burden by bunkering down near the starting area. While you won't be able to earn points from reaching designated areas, it should definitely be more than enough to help you avoid retirement."
Indeed, this was most likely the best strategy that Shinohara had available.
In what remained of the two weeks we had on the island, she would have to pin her hopes on other groups getting eliminated.
Of course, if no other groups retired, then Shinohara would have no way to escape expulsion.
Chabashira, having overheard Nanase's suggestion, chimed in as well.
"Shinohara. I don't want it to sound like I'm expecting you to get expelled, but… what's your plan? It'll be difficult to continue with the exam on your own."
"I-I know…"
"Then, like Nanase said, you can at least head back to the harbor and hold out until the end of the exam. It's not like it would be impossible for you to pick up the Tasks that show up in the nearby area either."
Their proposal was undoubtedly cruel, but it was the best option Shinohara could make now that she was on her own. If she tried to continue with the exam alone, then in all likelihood, she would end up burning out at some point. And once she ran out of stamina and provisions, she would eventually be forced to retire.
However, if she changed her approach to the exam as a whole, she could hold out at the harbor and potentially even get help from groups that passed by. That way, she might be able to survive until the end.
Ultimately, it was a far better alternative than the one currently in front of her: expulsion.
Wiping away her tears, Shinohara slowly nodded her head.
Seeing that, Chabashira said one last thing to her.
"I hope that, somehow, you're able to make it to the starting area on your own."
"Yes… Understood."
Since the school wasn't allowed to provide any aid, Shinohara would have to get to the harbor all by herself.
After the first-years and Sakagami-sensei left, Shinohara went to pick up her bag, only for Ike to hurriedly grab her wrist.
"…What?"
"D-don't give me that…! Are you really just gonna go back to the starting area and wait there!?"
"What other choice do I have? Komiya-kun and Kinoshita-san aren't here anymore… There's absolutely no way I can make it through this special exam on my own."
"But, but like─"
"I'm just gonna be expelled anyway, so leave me alone!"
She jerked her arm away, breaking free of Ike's grasp, and immediately turned to leave.
"…"
Ike stood frozen, his teeth clenched in silence.
The Ike of the past probably wouldn't have had the strength to keep moving forward, to keep trying.
But Komiya's words had given him the push he needed to take the next step.
"I… I'll do something about it!"
He shouted after Shinohara, watching helplessly as she began to close herself off to the world around her.
"Just stop. It's impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Shinohara just continued to walk without even considering entertaining Ike's protests.
"It's not impossible!"
Unable to stand and watch as she left, Ike sprinted after her and grabbed hold of her wrist for a second time.
"Let me go…!"
"I won't! You think I'm gonna let you get expelled cuz of somethin' like this?"
"Why not!? This has nothing to do with you Ike! With me outta the way, there'll be less of a chance for your group to get expelled… You should be happy!"
"Happy? What kind of shit are you spouting!? There's no way I'd be happy!"
"Huh…?"
"I mean, we'll lose a whole lotta class points if you get expelled! I've, uhm, you know, I've gotta stop that from happening! That's why I'll lend you a hand to make sure!"
"Well, that's true, but… What'll you do if your group sinks down to the bottom because you're helping me? Not to mention, it'll just end up making trouble for Sudō-kun and Hondō-kun."
"That─"
"Ike, you never think things through, do you? If you keep going on like that, then sooner or later you're gonna get yourself expelled."
Shinohara smiled a somewhat exasperated smile and lightly shook off Ike's hand.
"Anyway, I'm not going to give up until the very end, so you should do your best too Ike."
She tactfully rejected his offer before turning away for what seemed like the final time.
"W-wait…!"
Ike's previously confident attitude had disappeared without a trace.
There was nothing more he could do to stop Shinohara from leaving.
"Kanji."
Seeing this, Sudō called out to Ike with a fearless smile on his face. He beat his chest twice, wordlessly encouraging his friend to persevere.
At that, Ike tried to step forward once again, fueled by the support of his best friend.
"Wait…! Wait Shinohara…! I, I just… so… that…"
He desperately tried to squeeze out the right words, but he simply couldn't find the strength.
They were sitting right there, on the tip of his tongue, yet they just wouldn't come out.
He needed one last push. This was the final stretch.
But neither I nor Sudō nor Nanase would be able to say the words for him.
The only person who could do that was Ike himself.
He had no choice but to suppress the fear within his heart and take the last step forward on his own.
"Wait, I said wait!"
"M-my god, you scared me. I heard you already, jeez… Is there still something you want from me?"
"There is! There's all sorts of stuff! I really don't want you to get expelled! That's why I'm gonna save you whether you like it or not!"
The words he had chosen… weren't elegant or beautiful like a confession of love.
But even so, they embodied Ike's way of doing things, as they were packed full of every ounce of emotion he could muster.
"Right-oh! If this is how Kanji wants to do it, let's discuss battle plans, Ryōtarō!"
"G-gotcha!"
Sudō and Hondō circled around and took a stand behind Ike, fully supporting his resolve to help Shinohara. They waved her over, beckoning for her to come and join them.
"Huh…? What the? Are you guys stupid? Even though you shouldn't waste your time on someone like me, you guys…"
Unwilling to wait for a Shinohara who might not even come, Ike ran to her and took hold of her wrist for the third and final time.
He was burning with a level of determination that seemed to shout to the world that he would never let go of her again.
Upon seeing this, even the usually indifferent Chabashira cracked a slight smile.
It must've been enough to make her feel like Shinohara would be in good hands, as she then disappeared into the forest, headed off in the same direction as Sakagami-sensei and the medical team.
That being said, this was no time for blind optimism. After all, saving Shinohara certainly wouldn't be easy.
"In order to guarantee that you save Shinohara, she'll have to join up with a group with at least three slots for extra group members."
Once the four of them gathered together, I spoke up.
It was hard to say whether or not Sudō and his group would be able to win the rights to those three slots on their own.
"It'd be most realistic to try'n ask for help from people in the same class, right?"
"I don't believe there's anything exactly wrong with that, but from what I recall of the rules for the exam, it's impossible to find out which groups have earned the right to increase their maximum size. I also imagine that you'd be hard-pressed to find a group willing to take Shinohara-senpai in when two members of her group have already retired. Moreover, since losing points comes as a direct side-effect of the merging process, the entire notion is just riddled with numerous risks. All of that being the case, rather than going through the effort of forming another group, it may very well be more realistic for her to prioritize accumulating points. I think she should steadily score points from designated areas and use whatever time she has to spare to challenge Tasks."
Nanase was recommending that Shinohara give up on merging with another group and focus on gathering points independently instead.
"But wouldn't it be better to assume that there won't be any Tasks that she can win by herself? She'd prolly end up having to pin her hopes on getting lucky or some kinda freak coincidence where there aren't enough participants or something."
"Is there really no way for her to get into a group smoothly, Ayanokōji?"
In the midst of their conversation, Sudō suddenly turned to me, looking to see if I had any ideas.
"It's not like it's impossible. There is one idea that comes to mind that has a high probability of working out."
"R-really? What is it!?"
I considered for a moment whether or not I should share it with them, but ultimately decided against it.
If I told them my plan now, a sliver of hope would be born amidst their despair.
But at the same time, it would weaken their resolve to save Shinohara, so it was hard to say that it'd be worth it.
It was important for Ike and the others to maintain a strong competitive mindset until the very end of the exam.
Not to mention that there were several things that had to be done in order to realize the plan.
I began walking toward where the luggage was located and instructed for Nanase to get ready to head out as well.
"O-oi, Ayanokōji? What's this plan of yours?"
"The only thing you can do right now is have Ike take the lead in protecting Shinohara and focus on earning as many points as possible. Beyond that, you should try to take part in Tasks that increase the maximum number of people allowed in your group if you get the chance."
"What are you gonna be doing?"
"I'll be setting up a contingency plan of sorts just in case something goes wrong."
For that very reason, I simply didn't have the time to stay here and dawdle with Ike and the others.
"But, like I said earlier, there's no way to guarantee anything here. Furthermore, if any of our other classmates were to fall into the bottom five as well, then… we might be forced to make a tough choice about who to save."
I wanted to make sure they knew beforehand that we might have to give up on Shinohara at some point.
This special exam was such that, as long as it held true that five groups would be subjected to the ultimate penalty, there would inevitably be students that couldn't be saved.
"Don't forget that, Ike."
"…I won't."
About two and a half hours after the whole ordeal began, we finally arrived back at our campsite with Shinohara in tow. It seemed that Kei's group, who had been camping nearby, had already left for their next designated area.
The backpacks that Komiya and Kinoshita had left behind were brought back by Sudō and Ike respectively.
"Sudō, take care of Ike and the others. Out of everyone, you're the one capable of making the most sensible decisions."
"R-right, leave it to me."
Since the next designated area had already been announced, I retrieved my tablet from Nanase as I finished up with the final arrangements.
"It seems like you've used up quite a lot of energy this morning…"
"Please don't worry. I still have enough to keep up with you."
From today, the fourth day of the exam, onwards, the ten highest and lowest ranked groups would be revealed. Alongside that, it was also the day where Tasks that allow for large group creation would be added to the pool. If one of these Tasks appear, it would probably reach max capacity in an instant and the ensuing competition would most certainly be fierce.
However, before any of that, we first needed to confirm our next designated area.
The area we were given was area G3, which meant that we needed to go northwest from our current location.
We were already half an hour behind schedule, so it was highly unlikely that we'd be able to get the Early Bird Bonus this time.
Despite the fact that it would take at least an hour to get there, I decided to sate my curiosity and look at the current group standings first.
Though I was interested in the groups that were in the lead, it was far more important to check the bottom five, as those were the ones who were at risk of expulsion.
Interested as well, Nanase took a look at my tablet from over my shoulder.
The bottom ten groups were sorted in a table from highest to lowest. The information displayed in the table was more detailed than expected, as it not only told us the members and scores of each group, but it even had a general breakdown of how they had earned their points.
"This─"
Of the bottom ten groups, seven were composed of students from Class 3-B and Class 3-D. The group in last place was a three-person group from Class 3-D with an overall total of 21 points. 5 of which were from Tasks and 16 were from designated areas. However, this particular group was the one who had someone retire due to illness on the very first day of the exam, so there was some room for sympathy.
Of the remaining three, there was one second-year group and two first-year groups.
The lone second-year group was composed of three of my classmates: Akito, Haruka, and Airi.
"It seems that some of your classmates are in a dangerous position, Senpai."
Currently, they were ranked ninth from the bottom with a total of 28 points, which was worse than I expected. It required a certain amount of strength and fortitude to continuously travel between designated areas. Since they had Airi in their group, who tended to struggle when it came to stamina, it would probably be difficult to earn Arrival Bonuses.
Meanwhile, there were two first-year groups in the bottom ten, but they were both composed of two people each. Given that the first-years were allowed to form four-man groups from the beginning, it made sense that there wouldn't be very many of them occupying the bottom spots.
"All things considered, it's surprising. To think so many third-year students would be at the bottom…"
Although it was certainly unexpected, I doubted that their poor performance was just due to incompetence.
I decided to check the top rankings later and instead focused on telling Nanase what our plan would be moving forward.
"To start out I'm going to aim for the Arrival Bonus at G3. But, I'll probably skip the designated areas that come after that for a while."
"So there's somewhere you want to go, even if it means missing out on the designated areas?"
"Yeah. If you want to continue going for them, then we'll have to split up at G3."
"No no, I'll stay with you. As long as Amasawa-san or Hōsen-kun arrive in time, my group won't miss out on the area… Besides, this has to do with the plan you've thought of to save Shinohara-senpai, right?"
After responding with a light nod, we set out. Once we reached G3, we'd head to the starting area.
If possible, I wanted to make it there by sometime tomorrow.