Planning the Operation / An Artificial Forest

"Does anyone have any objections?"

"...I think it's fine." Shibata voiced his support, and most of the others expressed the same opinion.

"Since that's settled... Shiranami, would you be willing to take on this task?" After thinking it over, Kanzaki proposed a candidate.

"Huh, me?" Caught off guard by being singled out, Shiranami Chihiro looked flustered.

"Would you be okay with it, Chihiro? If it feels like too much, you can say no. We'd understand, and there are plenty of other people we could ask."

"No, it's fine. I just want to help everyone."

"Then shall we settle on that?"

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

It took a little while, but thankfully the whole class unanimously agreed on this choice. Just then, Teacher Hoshinomiya returned.

"Sorry, everyone. I've cleared up the problem. So, is there anything you're still unsure about or want to ask?"

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, we've chosen our leader. Should we report their identity to you now?"

"Um, I only stepped away for a little while, didn't I? Are you sure you don't need more time to discuss it?"

"Yes, we've decided."

"Let me remind you: once you've chosen your leader, they won't be replaced without a valid reason."

"Of course we've taken that into consideration, Teacher Hoshinomiya."

"I see. Then tell me now." Teacher Hoshinomiya nodded.

At Ichinose's direction, Shiranami stepped forward and whispered the chosen leader's name in the teacher's ear. Throughout this, Teacher Hoshinomiya kept looking at me with an inscrutable expression. I pretended not to notice and looked over the other classes instead.

Class A seemed ready to head into the forest, while Classes C and D were still scattered about. Class D in particular seemed to be having an argument.

"All right. I'll get the special unlocking card to you as soon as possible. You can head into the forest now. Oh, right. Would you like me to explain how to use the portable toilet now, or should I wait until you've found a campsite?"

"Will it take long?"

"It's a portable toilet, so of course it won't take much time."

"Then please explain it now, Teacher Hoshinomiya. That way we can get on with things."

Teacher Hoshinomiya nodded with a satisfied, mischievous grin. But a chill ran through us all. Whenever she made that face, something unpleasant was sure to happen.

She might look mature, but inside she was as playful as a child.

As we'd expected, the instructions for using the portable toilet left us feeling uneasy.

The main part was a foldable cardboard box, supposedly a high-quality product. A moisture-absorbing cloth covered the opening, and once it was secured in place, the plastic bag could be reused four or five times.

"B-but who could use this? Everyone would see!"

We might have put up with it if we were facing a real disaster, but no one could stand this kind of indignity right now—least of all a group of city kids like us.

"How could they? The school took that into consideration, of course. That's why they prepared a lightweight tent that you can also use to get changed in."

"N-no, even so, I can't accept it."

"Me neither."

"This is just too disgusting."

The boys were more or less fine with it, but the girls immediately started protesting.

"Everyone, don't panic. If you really can't use it, there's a temporary toilet in the guidebook. We can buy one if you need it."

"We really have to buy one? That thing costs twenty points."

"I think it's worth buying one. At least we'd feel more comfortable."

"Clap, clap." Ichinose suddenly clapped her hands, interrupting everyone's conversation.

"Let's put that discussion aside for now. Teacher Hoshinomiya, is there anything else you need to tell us?"

"No, that's all for now."

After hearing her answer, Ichinose nodded. "Everyone, let's head into the forest first. We can't just stand on the beach. The other classes are still here, too, so it'd be better to put some distance between us. And no one's going to feel comfortable standing under this blazing sun. Let's find somewhere shady first."

As she spoke, Ichinose got moving and started carrying a tent. The boys followed suit.

Class A began moving at the same time. I took a quick look at them, then turned around, picked up a heavy cardboard box, and joined the group carrying things.

Chapter 53: Planning the Operation

To discuss how we'd handle the exam, we moved away from the other classes and looked for somewhere shady. The weather was already so hot that even standing under the shade of a giant tree without doing anything would make you sweat.

"If everyone's fine with it, let's use this as a temporary base." Ichinose set down the heavy item she was carrying and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

We'd walked along the edge of the forest for more than ten minutes, and I was finally able to catch my breath.

That really was high-quality cardboard. It was heavy.

"Are we going to make our camp here?" Perhaps the heat was getting to him, because Hamaguchi Tetsuya frowned at Ichinose's suggestion. "There's no food or water here... It doesn't seem like a suitable campsite."

"That's why it's only a temporary base. Think of it as a place to take a break."

We were generously given three minutes to rest. I found a reasonably smooth fallen tree and sat down.

When the countdown ended, Ichinose stood up and returned to the center of everyone's attention.

"You've all had a chance to rest, right? Then let me explain what I have in mind. If you have any concerns, please speak up after I'm done."

"I plan to split our class into three groups: one to look for a campsite, one to search the surrounding area for food, and one to discuss how to use and allocate our points. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

"No."

Ichinose nodded. "Then, before we divide up the groups, I'd like to know if anyone here has wilderness survival skills, or experience with camping or the Boy Scouts. Having someone with that kind of experience would make things easier. Anyone?"

As Ichinose asked hopefully, I looked around and was surprised to see six people indicate that they had relevant experience.

Nakahara Junichi, Kameyama Yuta, and Yasuda Shichinosuke had each been camping or joined the Boy Scouts. They all said their skills were limited, but they'd do their best. Imada Masakazu, Soma Shuhei, and Iwase Chiharu had considerable wilderness survival skills. Soma in particular was said to have the basics down. Incidentally, Iwase was a girl. I rarely met girls who were interested in that sort of thing.

"I had no idea Chiharu was so good at this."

"Um, my dad used to do it with me for fun when I was little, and I guess I got hooked." Iwase awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

"It's great that everyone's willing to help." Ichinose clapped her hands happily, then brought the discussion back to the whole class.

"Let's start with the most important task: finding a campsite. Since there are six of you, I'd like Nakahara, Kameyama, Imada, and Yasuda to each lead a group of two. That'll make three people per team, and you can search for a suitable place to camp."

"Soma and Iwase can each lead a group of boys and girls to look for food near our temporary base. We don't know what the area is like yet, so you absolutely mustn't go too far. Soma, I assume you'll be able to tell whether the food is safe to eat?"

"That's no problem."

"Finally, everyone else can stay here and discuss how to allocate our points. Since any points left over at the end will become Class Points, we need to use them as sparingly as possible."

"Does anyone have any objections to this plan? If you do, make sure to speak up. My plan isn't necessarily the right one."

"Let's do it that way. It doesn't sound like there are many risks."

Ichinose waited a moment. Once the team leaders and the students had all agreed, she continued, "Next, we need to assign the rest of the group members. You can choose your own teams."

As soon as she finished speaking, the boys quickly formed their teams. As for the girls, with Iwase and Ichinose there, most chose to look for food, while a few joined the discussion. Not one of them wanted to go out searching for a campsite.

That left Nakahara's team one member short.

"Nakahara's team still needs one more person. Is anyone else willing to join?"

After hearing back from Nakahara, Ichinose quickly asked everyone at the temporary base, but no one responded.

Pretty bleak. It looked like plenty of people didn't enjoy uncertain "long-distance trips."

"If no one volunteers, that's fine. Two people should be enough."

"If you don't mind, can I join you?" Just as Nakahara was about to give up, I spoke up.

"Raku? Are you sure you want to join?" Takashima, who was on the same team as Nakahara, looked at me in surprise. "It'll be exhausting."

"I should be fine."

"Of course we don't mind. We're already grateful you're willing to help." Ichinose smiled at me and answered for Nakahara.

And just like that, we were all ready to go.

"Be honest—did someone threaten you or bribe you into joining? This is such an unpredictable physical activity. Can you even handle it?" Once we'd split up, Takashima immediately voiced his thoughts. Nakahara looked at me curiously, as if he wanted an explanation, too.

"That's rude. Just because I don't usually do it doesn't mean I can't. Besides, I think picking fruit and thinking things through will take more energy than looking for a campsite. The distance we'll have to travel is uncertain, but maybe we'll get lucky and find one without going far."

"...You really went to a lot of trouble just to slack off."

"I don't think this counts as slacking off."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. So, which direction should we go, Nakahara? There must be some way to tell where we are and where a campsite might be."

"Is there?"

"Huh? There isn't?"

"Even if there were, I wouldn't know. I've only been camping, and the sites were provided in advance by the local authorities. But if we're looking for clues about where to set up camp, we might have an easier time from higher ground. It'd probably be dark by the time we got there, though... Can either of you climb trees?"

"I think that makes sense, but the last part is obviously even less realistic."

"Haha, seems that way."

We didn't know the surrounding terrain. That was why Ichinose had decided to send us out in groups. The guidebook the school gave us included a simple map of the island, but it only showed the island's size and shape. Nothing else was listed. Not even basic details like the slopes or the size of the forest.

It might as well have been a blank sheet of paper.

"So we've already lost our sense of direction before we've even started, is that it?"

"I don't want to admit it, but the fact is, we can only pick a direction at random and keep going."

"Then... southwest?" While the two of them were hesitating, I cautiously offered my suggestion.

"Isn't that a little too arbitrary?"

"We're already picking a direction at random and heading that way. Can you think of anything more arbitrary?"

"...I guess we have no choice."

The two of them sighed, then followed my suggestion, and the three of us headed southwest.

Chapter 54: An Artificial Forest

Moonlight dimly blanketed the dark forest, seeping through the gaps between the crisscrossing branches and filling the woods with gloom.

The silence came from the fear of death. This wasn't some poetic metaphor or joke; it was simply the truth. Every shallow breath and every indistinct glimpse of a falling leaf in the night made it feel as though we'd wandered into the underworld.

Everything seemed twisted. Even the towering trees might suddenly break into mad laughter, let alone the insects, weak and frail, making their feeble cries.

Anything that made a sound meant death.

The two weren't necessarily synonymous, but I believed it so completely that I stood still, like a stone carving weathered by the wind in the desert. Half-lidded eyes fixed on the darkness of the forest.

Then I heard a faint crunch as someone stepped on a dead leaf.

The smell of gunpowder was slowly spreading.

That was how I could clearly tell that the forest was natural.

1

The mystery of a forest had always lain in how impossible it was to take in all of it at once.

The deeper we went, the harder it became to comprehend how vast it was, and the lush green surrounding us grew all the more difficult to see through.

The hot, humid air kept stimulating our nerves, making our skin itch all over. I unzipped my tracksuit a little to cool off, while doing my best to keep from panting.

"Spring and late autumn are fine, but trying to survive in the wilderness in weather this extreme is just awful."

"I guess the school took that into account. Maybe they want to test our willpower, too."

"That's cruel. It's unbelievably cruel. I feel like I'm about to evaporate."

"If that's the case, talk less, like Raku. You'll lose a little less water."

"Speaking of which, aren't you feeling anything, Raku? I haven't heard you complain."

"Can't you see how much I'm sweating? I'm doing my best to endure it, too."

"Sorry. I've already been defeated. I can't spare the attention to watch your battle."