I returned to our base a bit later than Kouenji, at around 3:00 PM.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you're back." Hirata greeted me along with the rest of the remaining Class B students in the camp.
"Yeah, I hurried back after scuttling all over the place. Before I go over the next phase of our plans, why don't we decide on who's going to be the leader? That way, we can officially occupy the spot in this river and start earning points," I suggested.
"Well, we were actually talking about that earlier. Everyone agreed that you're the best choice for it."
Our classmates nodded their heads almost in unison.
"Me, huh?"
"Like, Hirata-kun and I just stand out too much. The same can also be said with Kushida-san. The best choices were you and Horikita-san, but Class D is targeting her, right?" said Karuizawa.
Hmm... They certainly have a point. I don't think Class A and D are that aware of me. And I don't think Ichinose would carelessly try to choose me when we guess the leaders' identities on the last day. On the other hand, even if the other two classes are wary of Horikita, it's not like they'll just put her name on the paper without any basis.
Regardless, I can understand why they wanted me as the leader.
"Sorry if we kind of decided this while you were gone. Of course, you can decline," said Hirata.
"No, it's fine. You guys have surveyed the perimeter, right? If no one else is around, then it's probably safe to occupy the spot as soon as now. Let's report to Chabashira-sensei and tell her that I will be the leader," I replied.
"Alright! Ayanokouji is our leader!"
"Shh! Don't be too noisy!"
"It's fine, isn't it? We've been on guard this whole time. There shouldn't be any spies around us this early in the exam."
"But still!"
I let my classmates continue whatever they were doing. Right now, the morale of Class B is extremely high. If things continue like this, I would be able to freely move around and look for more spots.
"Alright, here's your key card, Ayanokouji. Handle it with care," Chabashira-sensei said as she handed me a small card with my name on it.
"I will. Thank you, Sensei." I formally received the card and shoved it inside my jersey pant's left pocket.
At 3:10 PM, Class B gained the right of exclusive possession to the spot near the river. We have officially received 1 provisional point.
"Where's Kouenji, by the way?" I asked.
"Kouenji-kun returned a while ago, but he said he'd go swimming for a bit," replied Hirata.
"Sigh... I knew it."
"What do you mean, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"He's probably going to retire soon."
"What-? What do you mean? Did something happen between you guys?"
"Not really. Kouenji probably planned to retire since the start of the test after deciding that he didn't like how it was going to be."
"If he didn't like... What...?"
Even Hirata couldn't comprehend Kouenji's actions.
"Kouenji just acted on his whim. He does what he wants without a care for anything else. Or at least, that's what he told me. I tried to convince him, but it didn't work."
Hirata turned to our busy classmates with a grave expression.
"If our class finds out about this, they would surely be upset."
Being the class's hero, I'm sure Hirata will try to talk it out. But given how Kouenji was, it'll be futile to even try.
"You don't have to find and convince Kouenji, Hirata. It can't be helped this time. We'll just have to work around the penalty."
"I still want to try..." Hirata looked at me with resolute eyes.
"I know you mean well, but our classmates need you here, right now. Trust me, whatever you tell him won't work." I shook my head in response.
"I see... So that's 30 points down the drain, huh?" Hirata smiled bitterly.
"It's fine. We'll find a way to earn it back up."
Right now, our base camp looks really nice. We bought three fishing rods, four small tents, a temporary toilet, candles, and cookware with gas. 62 points spent, all in all. Using the nearest trees from our location as cover, finding this place shouldn't be too easy. Six tents were set up on the flatlands for both boys and girls. A few meters from our base camp were the simple toilet and temporary toilet. The tents were set in a way that we could have effective meetings and meals together as a group. Surprisingly the best fishing spot was also the area where the mechanism is.
"I've been thinking about what to do with our meals. They cost 6 points per individual, but if we buy an entire set for the class, we would only spend 10 points. It also comes with a free bottle of water for each person."
It was a very worthwhile deal, indeed.
"Remember, we can have fish and fruits from Ike and Kikyou's groups. We'll probably be able to hold on by consuming them, especially with our cookware. We can also buy more fishing rods if needed," I explained. "But I have no problems with buying the food sets if our own provisions turn out to be lacking."
"I see. They'd certainly help. Everyone has already agreed to eat two meals a day. That would very much lessen the demand for food."
"Yeah, we have the river for bathing and we can also use the temporary toilet and simple toilet as dressing rooms. There's no need to buy the temporary shower for our hygiene."
There's also an item called a "Water Shower" but we don't really know what it does.
We'll probably have to assign schedules if we want to bathe in the river. And of course, we'll have to be mindful of the proximity. After all, we're also planning to use the river for drinking, too.
"Alright, Hirata. I want you to gather everyone again."
Hirata simply nodded in response. Once again, with Karuizawa and his help, the students of Class B were in front of me and ready to listen.
"Kouenji, Kikyou's group, and Horikita's group aren't back yet so we'll just have to inform them later."
I started explaining what else I could share with them. Firstly, I let Karuizawa and the other girls handle the bathing rotations. I specified the locations of the bathing areas based on the water's running direction and depth. That way, our bathing sessions won't affect the cleanliness of our drinking water should the source turn out to be a clean spring.
Next up were the future search and scouting parties, along with the other main roles. I had Ike take the lead in preparing the campfires and teaching more students how to fish. He and his helpers will be staying at the base camp for the rest of the week. For the search party, they would be led by me and our focus will be on looking for spots. On the other hand, the scouting party is tasked to secure the perimeter on a regular basis. They would patrol around the base camp to check if any intruders pass by.
For the rest of the class, separate roles will be distributed for the upcoming scheduled chores. I've assigned Karuizawa and Shinohara to take the lead, along with Kikyou. Finding the food, storing it, and cooking it— Washing some clothes if needed, waste disposal, etc. There were a lot of tasks to be done.
As a precaution, I asked everyone to approach me or Hirata should any conflict arise.
Our main goal was to stay consistent. If we can hold out until the end, then our results will be stellar.
"Alright, Ayanokouji-kun. We hear you. We'll do everything we can. Right, everyone?" Hirata turned to our classmates, trying to rally them up.
"Yeah!"
"You got it!"
"Let's do this!"
"We won't fail you, Ayanokouji-kun!"
"Class B will win this!"
Everyone cheered with overflowing enthusiasm. With how smoothly our base has developed, no one really had any complaints.
"I'll try my best to find more spots. If we're lucky, we might even get the chance to find out the other classes' leaders," I said.
"Oh!"
"It'd be great if that could happen!"
"As expected of Ayanokouji-kun!"
"We'll be Class A in no time!"
They might be getting overly excited now.
And there's still the fact that Kouenji will drop out.
It would be extremely dangerous if other classes discovered my identity as the leader. Even if we occupy many spots and rack up the most points, all of them will be negated in the end if my cover is blown. I need to be careful about that.
As of now, I have no knowledge of what the other classes are up to. I might need to check in on them as soon as tomorrow.