[5th August]
[Kurushima Pov]
It's been five days so far in this exam. Currently, I am once again surrounded by a group of girls who stood up too soon. They didn't let me move freely, but after convincing them in a charismatic way, I was able to finally walk alone.
My pupils moved for a small moment on Ayanokoji, who was also sleeping.
I approached Hirata, who was awake and told him I would search for food where it might be the likeliest to grow so that we don't need to spend one class unit ration of food. Yesterday, we were able to spare food twice. So we should have more than 20 S-Points spared.
But that's also wrong. The girls bought for 12 S-Points pillows for the ground because the ground was so hard for their backs.
I just heard that indirectly from the group of girls, who I reiterate said: "The ground was so soft", "I slept so well" and "The ground is softer than my bed". Based on that, I deduced that they bought pillows since pillows are one of the fewer offers in the manual for causing this effect.
And seemingly since the whole girl's tents were provided with pillows, I calculated and deduced that they must have bought pillows for twelve S-Points since these amounts of S-Points were necessary for covering the outline of their tents.
Ah, it's not particularly like I care again.
This will cause drama again when the boys figure the girls' spending out. And then I'll be the one who needs to hear the drama and tell who's right and who's wrong.
Almost every day during the exam, there have been instances of drama. I was the one who needed to intervene and experience most of their drama problems.
She said this, and he said that we want this. We don't want this. All of them came to me because Hirata could never make an objective judgment about who was right or not.
He was simply "Switzerland," and I was the court who posed the judgment after considering their arguments if they even had one.
Honestly, I wanted to give these problems to Hirata. I still wanted to at least investigate into whether there are more poisonous plants with stronger effects than the two I have found.
But right now, I had the free time to discover the area alone and didn't need to hear their drama.
I went to Biotope's, where it's perfect for poisonous berries to grow. But despite going there, I never saw any. I was hopeful. But not anymore.
The school really disposed of dangerous plants, huh?
I just didn't want to accept this since I never had the chance to conduct an investigation thoroughly.
But I have remebered something else that might be worthwhile while walking in the forrest; the location of some venomous snakes, which are in a rather shut-off location on the island, mentioned in the manual, wherein their location is marked.
Once I remembered that, I walked off back to our camp spot.
While walking away, I thought about Ryūen's Zero-Point Strategy.
And also the unusual fact that everything on that day when I visited alongside Ayanokoji and Horikita Class D's camp had only spent 100 S-Points according to my calculations.
The 200 other S-Points were used for a certain other class from the looks of it. And it isn't Class B nor C, since there wouldn't be any spies in the first place here otherwise.
It's naturally Katsuragi who wants to take control of his class, which is why Ryūen made a deal with him. He could use this opportunity to gain something of equivalent worth by providing Katsuragi with 200 S-Points and the identity of Class B and C's leader.
That's the reason why he let Ibuki and Kaneda infiltrate our camps so they could get our keycards. But what exactly does Ryūen get for doing all those things?
Considering Class A's geographical advantage, where more than seven spots are nearby, including their base camp making it eight, they can earn twenty-four Bonus Points per day.
If they were able to claim them seven days straight on, when the exam ends at 8 p.m., they should have a basis of 150 to 155 Bonus Points. Depending on whether they are ready to claim more spots than those in their area, they might as well reach a basis of 175 to 185 Bonus Points.
Then there is also to consider the "100" Bonus Points by guessing the leaders correctly, which would give Class A, assuming the Basis of their Bonus Points is now 175, at the end of the exam precisely 545 Class Points.
Ryūen should get a lot out of this deal. Perhaps one or two-thirds of the amount of Class Points Class A would earn. Again, it's not like I care, though.
It's still nothing more than children playing in the foreground. I am merely observing whether one of these children in the school might be a hidden "Tiger" or whether he's truly just a bigger child playing in the foreground.
Ah, it's getting time to return to the camp again.
Preoccupied with my thoughts, I walked back to the camp.
"Kurushima-kun, you're back," Hirata exclaimed.
"Yeah, I was going for a small walk. Anyways, did something happen while I was gone?" I asked.
Hirata nodded his head with a sad look. "Karuizawa's underwear has been stolen."
"Underwear? Stolen? Oh dear god..."
"Is she alright?"
"A little. Matsushita-san, Sato-san, and the other girls are at her side right now, trying to cheer her up," Hirata said, painfully smiling.
"Hirata, shouldn't you also be there? Your girlfriend's underwear has just been stolen."
"Ah, don't worry, she's fine. Anyways, let's t—"
"Hirata, is Karuizawa-san even your real girlfriend?"
"My real girlfriend? Kurushima-kun, what do you mean?"
"The exact thing I said. Hirata. You just told me Karuizawa-san's underwear has been stolen, and yet there isn't even one hint of anger written over your face. And then there is also the fact that you're still calling her after her surname instead of her first name, despite being for more than two months together."
"Ah, I see..." Hirata muttered. "It seems like I can't hide that fact from you."
"You're right, Karuizawa is not my real girlfriend. We're a fake couple."
"A fake couple, huh?"
"Kurushima-kun, can you keep a secret?" Hirata asked, wherein I nodded in return.
He began to explain to me about her past, which included excessive bullying and why she wanted Hirata as a fake boyfriend for her status so she could prevent being bullied.
"I see, then that also clears the remaining riddle of why she has been looking at me in the first two weeks. She was wagering whom she could ask between us two, huh?"
"Yeah, that must be the case. Kurushima-kun, let's head back to the others."
"Yes, let's solve this case."
"Kurushima-kun, if you find the culprit, can you please be quiet? It would cause segregation between that person and the class."
"I'll try it, Hirata, but I can't promise anything."
"I see..." he muttered depressingly.
Once upon our arrival at the camp, each person approached us. Both boys and girls had an expectant look at us.
I was just gone for one hour, wanting to get a rest from all that drama, and now I'm confronted with an even bigger one that affects the whole class.
Well played Ibuki...
Fine, I guess I need to solve and intervene in this drama again.
How bothersome...
--
[2 Hours Later]
Oh, dear...
It's still not solved, despite my attempts to calm them down.
But maybe this could be the perfect opportunity to hinder Ayanokoji.
I think I'll retire today, and it won't be a simple retirement. I'll leave Hirata some clues about my suspicions of Ibuki.
Once I've told him, I'll arrange it so it looks like Class D planned my retirement due to my excessive risk-taking that endangered their plan.
I was able to calm the class down and prevent segregation because I promised to watch out, and everyone trusted me. But without me, Hirata won't be able to do the same, and the class will split apart due to the lack of a leader.
Ibuki right now wasn't in the camp anymore. And no one specifically cared since the situation was more than dire here. Both boys and girls were almost shouting at each other in anger if it wasn't for me.
I approached Hirata for a moment with a disdainful look. "Hirata, Ibuki isn't here right now. I'll search for her. Could you please look over the class until I come back?"
"Kurushima-kun, what do you mean?"
"I suspect that Ibuki-san is the one responsible for the stealing of Karuizawa-san's underwear. I want to confront her to confirm whether my suspicions are right or if I'm just falsely accusing her."
"I see..." he muttered depressingly. "That's a necessary step to figure out the thief, right?"
"Yes, without having the statement of every person, I can't figure out the thief. It's just asking her, Hirata. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize to her for falsely accusing her."
"That's good to know. Also....good luck."
Hirata said, unsure whether to support me or not. His face simply showed once again his contradicting nature and his social-psychological condition of Cognitive Dissonance.
"I'll be soon back."
Although I said that, I wasn't sure where Ibuki was. She isn't here around the camp, which makes everything essentially harder.
I just went to the location where I have last seen her and analyzed the clues available. Luckily, I got a trail.
I followed the trail for more than forty minutes, slow paced until I saw Ibuki standing there around thirty meters to my left side. It was quite the awkward trail. Practically, I walked left, then right, again left, and so on.
Perhaps a measure of Ryūen to make people who tried to follow her back away. There was also another trail where it should fool a follower entirely, as there were multiple locations of her footprints.
I quickly deduced his trap and followed the original one, though.
I slowly approached Ibuki until there were only ten meters between us. But she notices my presence and backed up with her back away, protecting her bag, I presume.
"What are you doing here, Kurushima-kun?!" she asked, keeping her act intact.
"Ibuki-san, I just have a few questions for you, and I hope you can answer them truthfully. Today, Karuizawa-san's underwear has been stolen, and you, as one of the people who are currently residing in our camp, weren't there."
"Do you perchance have anything to do with this case?"
"Me?! Why should I steal her underwear?"
"To disrupt the unity of our class, perhaps? And also, why are you so far outside?"
"I couldn't care less about your class's unity. I just need a location where I can sleep safely. Also, what I am doing outside doesn't concern you. But just so you know, I was searching for food. Am I not even allowed to search for food when I am hungry?"
"No, of course, you are allowed to search for food when you are hungry. But don't you find it strange to go this far outside? Also, why didn't you take the apples on the trees or the fruits on the plants? I have seen many on my way there while following your trail."
"And..."
"Why is under the tree right here..."
I walked towards the tree, looking at the ground of dirt, which isn't proportionally covered and most likely hiding an object on the ground.
"... a wireless transceiver buried, Ibuki-san?" I emphasized, wiping the dirt off.
"The dirt isn't proportional under the tree, so if someone does pay more than enough attention, it would be visible that there is something hidden here. But since it's my first time visiting this location, I found it out just now."
"Ibuki-san, why aren't you talking?"
"That's not enough evidence for you to accuse me of anything, Kurushima-kun."
Ibuki said, moving to my location and taking the transceiver right into her hand. I looked slightly at her bag, which she left alone standing there, as she moved to my position, not covering the bag with her body stature anymore.
Coincidentally, it showed another certain object. A digital camera to be more precise.
"Ah, I see, so that's how it is, huh?"
"What?!" she exclaimed, realizing in which direction I stared, quickly approaching the bag, putting the wireless receiver in the bag, and closing the opened bag.
"The reason why you left our camp and walked in this direction is that you already have figured out our leader. And with your digital camera of yours, you have taken a picture of the keycard already, right? But..."
"Why would you need a digital camera? I understand everything about the wireless receiver so that you can message the leader and retire afterward, as this must be Class D's strategy, right? A Zero-Point-Strategy plan, based on guessing the leaders and claiming spots after the retirement of you and Kaneda-kun. But..."
"Ah, I got it..." I exclaimed, in a shocked way.
"The reason Class D decided to use up their 300 S-Points is that Ryūen-kun made a deal with Katsuragi-kun, isn't that right, Ibuki-san?" I asked, looking at her shocked face in horror, as I concluded their strategy.
"Katsuragi-kun wants to use this exam as a way to eliminate Sakayanagi-san from becoming the leader, hence the reason why he wants to be left with as many Class Points as possible. And the reason Class D, despite their spending only being at least eighty S-Points when I visited the beach was because Class D decided to use their S-Points for Class A's necessities during the exam, right, Ibuki-san?"
I saw her gulping her throat at an irregular speed, inclining that I must have been right. It's not like I didn't know it already, but it's always nice to get a small confirmation.
"But...I can't let you walk and show Katsuragi-kun a picture of our leader's keycard, Ibuki-san."
I exclaimed, seeing her take the back, ready to run away, if necessary.
All of a sudden, I heard a quiet noise behind the tree. It is as if someone was there.
I took three stones from the ground right in front of me. Two stones in my left hand, and one stone in my right hand.
I stood up and threw the two stones at my left hand instantly, I threw them at the left side of the tree.
I adjusted them at the right angle so that the stone on the right from my left hand would collide with the one on the left, in the distance when the tree is in sight.
The tree was about sixteen meters away and forty-two centimeters away from my current position. I considered that when I threw the two stones and the estimated weight of the stones.
I threw the other stone within tens of milliseconds later with a higher velocity of speed, putting more power into that stone.
*Bump*
The two stones collided with one another on the left side of the tree, causing the right stone to bounce behind the tree with a high velocity of power.
If someone was there and hid behind the tree, that person would undoubtedly be hit by the two stones.
Even if not, there is the surprise effect of the other stone that comes from the right side.
Ibuki began to run away the moment she saw I was preoccupied with throwing the three stones.
*Bump*
The stone from the right side of the tree bounced off with the incoming stone from the left side. The two stones bounced again, flying with a high velocity of power behind a tree.
At the sound of the first stone bumping, I began to run after her.
But at the second bumping, I slightly looked back. All three stones were perfectly in their precise location after calculating their trajectory.
"It seems like Ryūen wasn't here. I heard something...Nevermind..."
Muttering this sentence in a surprised tone a bit loudly, I ran after Ibuki with an increase in speed.
This was also my first time trying this out.
--
[Ibuki Pov]
Fuck...
Why did Ryūen say two days ago that I should locate the digital camera and the wireless transceiver somewhere else...
But it's broken. I noticed it, today, when it didn't work...
Ryūen also wanted me to observe the location where the wireless transceiver was...
I should report to him if someone approaches that location...
Fuck...
Today was the only possibility...
The other past few days I'm constantly watched...
Damn...
How did Kurushima even figure out the whole strategy only by seeing the wireless transceiver and the camera?
I don't know....
But I can't let him catch me...
We'll lose everything if he catches me...
The deal with Katsuragi, the exam, and our advancement up to Class C...
What should I do right now?
To Ryūen?
No, it's too risky. He's also too far gone from me...
Think Mio...
Think...
Ah, wait, in the manual, one location was depicted as extremely dangerous...
Hirata opened it yesterday evening, warning everyone in the class, also me from this location... Yukimura, mentioned this location, again, too.
I guess, they wanted to know, whether Ryūen might be there, since I doubt, they believed he might have retired.
It was the location where venomous snakes are residing...
It's also only a kilometer or two from here away...
Also, there was a warning written there on the manual...
[We're checking the medical condition of everyone on the island. If anyone due to a venomous bite in this area is affected, immediate help will come, which results in immediate retirement of the exam of that person.]
That's it.
I just need to endure it until there and return to Class C's camp spot.
Everything else will go as that Bastard Ryūen planned...
Sorry, but Class D is going to win this exam...
The poison is not serious if the school lets snakes habituate on the island, so everything should be fine...
But...
I'm sorry for hurting a friend of Hiyori...
--
[Kurushima Pov]
[10 Minutes Later]
It's good that I indirectly manipulated Yukimura into asking Hirata about this specific location. I knew Ibuki would attempt something, just not what.
In the end, she stole the underwear, framed it to someone else, and well, the result is what you see right now.
Besides... Since I'm going to this location, I can also obtain the poison, under a justified reason...
I mean, it'll be on my body, but it doesn't matter. I can hide a couple of locations from the medic, extract it, and with the poisonous berries on my way, I can make a Poison.
Alongside components around the school, and the one's I'll obtain, it's quite easy, now.
My first objective will be achieved...
As for the latter ones, they'll be too, soon.
Also...
Ibuki thought about using the dispute of our class as a chance to report to Ryūen via the wireless transceiver what happened. But, in comparison to the location where we found her, she was somewhere different.
In regards of the camera, she must have noticed it wasn't working. Apparently, Ayanokoji tried on aiding me with that, since I couldn't know she had one, nor have suspicions regarding it.
After all, unlike him, I couldn't quite investigate it.
Well...
It's nice to see Ryūen playing after my game...
It's inclined from my two messages, after all.
Once he saw that, he ordered both Kaneda and Ibuki to bring their wireless receiver to a different location, alongside the camera, to avoid his deal with Katsuragi failing. She chose another hidden spot, but got retired.
It's going as expected...
Ayanokoji...
You didn't expect me to search for her bag, so you did it while being hidden, so there'd be no problems regarding that issue at all.
Well, Ayanokoji doesn't follow me, and also, the three poisonous berries are on this route, so I was able to take a handful of them from the bushes, putting them in the inside pockets of my jersey...
I just needed to make sure to take them carefully...
Would have been a problem otherwise.
Okay, we're slowly approaching the position where the venomous snakes are residing...
Not too long anymore...
Chairman Sakayanagi...
You're the first one on my list...
I'll make sure to exact my revenge...
So that you can too feel even one ounce of my pain...
--
A/N: And this concludes the Island Exam.
I really didn't like copying a large margin of the Light Novel contents, so I made them like this. I ignored some essential dialogues and skipped quite a few days, but yeah, as mentioned here, Kurushima mostly stayed in the camp.
Though he was also visiting Class D and B with Ayanokoji and Horikita, I just skipped that.
I let these things after your imagination, but they weren't anything quite important. Just like the contents of the novel mostly.
And besides, I really want to write Kurushima's Confrontation with Chairman Sakayanagi. It is one of the most anticipated things I want to write. But that still takes a while....
Never mind, I want to ask, how did you find this chapter? Please leave a comment and vote there. It would be highly appreciated.