Women's Anger Comes and Goes for No Apparent Reason / On How Rose Geranium Can Repel Mosquitoes

"...How many points did you spend, exactly?"

"I don't mind telling you. Every last point. With your abilities, you could never understand the freedom I enjoy now."

"Every last point..."

Just then, Ishizaki followed orders and brought over a bowl of fruit and vegetables, setting it on the table beside Ryuen. He then arranged the drinks on the table. Ryuen grabbed a bottle, twisted off the cap, and downed it in one go. Then he picked up a bottle of chilled water and held it out to me.

"Here. This bottle of cold water is on us."

I instinctively reached out to take it, but the moment my fingertips touched the chilled bottle, I came to my senses and pulled my hand back.

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like you really aren't a couple. Your little sidekick doesn't seem to share your unwavering convictions, Ichinose. And I suggest you find a smarter student to follow you around, unless you want their stupidity to rub off on you and make you even more boring."

"My classmates aren't yours to discipline!" Ichinose immediately stood up for me, took my hand, and led me away. "You'll pay for all this wastefulness."

"Heh heh heh. Who knows?" Ryuen's unconcerned voice called after us. "Since you don't want to join our party, I'll see you around."

Ichinose didn't respond. Fuming, she pulled me along at a brisk pace and back into the forest. I had no idea how far she dragged me by the hand, and I had no idea what to say.

All I knew was that Ichinose's hand was really soft.

A Woman's Anger Comes and Goes for No Apparent Reason

"Um, Ichinose, where are we going?"

After I'd almost taken the cold water Ryuen offered me, Ichinose had kept holding my hand and wandering through the forest like a headless fly. We hadn't lost our way yet, but it was only a matter of time before something went wrong. Still, Ichinose ignored me.

"Ichinose?"

"..."

"Ichinose?"

Was she angry about what I'd done earlier? After gauging her grip and her current state of mind, I pulled her back with a firm tug, forcing her to look me in the eye.

"Are you angry?"

"...I'm not angry." As she spoke, Ichinose turned her face away and crossed her arms.

That pose definitely meant she was angry.

"...Then which way should we go? If we keep walking like this, we'll get lost, won't we?"

"That's not the problem." Ichinose looked at me, displeased.

"Then what is the problem...?"

"Weren't you angry about what Ryuen said just now?"

"That doesn't really count as anything."

"He was insulting you!"

"But no matter what Ryuen says, he can't change the facts just by saying something."

"That may be true, but we can't just let it go on like this."

"...Then should we go back and say something to him?"

"Ugh—" Ichinose puffed out her cheeks, her anger impossible to contain. "Good grief... Were you bullied a lot in the past, Raku?"

"I suppose you could say that." I thought back on my past experiences and nodded.

"And that candy incident, too. You get tricked by people all the time, don't you?"

"Oh, you could tell that, too?"

Even though I hadn't said anything.

"Anyone could tell at a glance! So of course people are likely to bully you!"

"I'm not sure what about me makes me an easy target..."

"Ugh—how can someone like you even exist?" Ichinose stamped her foot in exasperation, as if trying to release her pent-up anger.

"If I did something to upset you, I apologize."

"Don't apologize. Though, that's exactly why you..." Ichinose bit her lip and left the rest unsaid.

"Anyway, if you run into any trouble in the future, you have to tell me, okay?"

"There's no need for that..."

"Yes, there is! You have to tell me, got it? If you don't talk things over with someone, you'll definitely end up at a disadvantage every time."

"It's not that bad. I haven't lost out on that much so far."

"That's only because you haven't realized it! Anyway, if you run into trouble, you have to tell me, okay?"

"...I understand."

"Good grief. You're pretty smart, but you still make people worry. Ugh—"

"..."

See? I told you she was angry.

0

Thanks to how comfortably I'd slept that night, my watch had been crushed against a rock beneath the hammock. This morning, I quickly submitted a replacement request to Teacher Hoshinomiya and received a brand-new watch. It wasn't free, though. Because the watch had malfunctioned, our class had been forced to forfeit one of our special exam points.

It might not sound like much, but when the deductions piled up, the total would definitely be painful.

After finishing our inspection of Class C, perhaps thanks to Ichinose's aimless wandering, we found the next class's campsite in just twenty-six minutes.

The cave base looked as though it had been carved into the mountain, with an entrance gaping open like a monster's mouth. We still didn't know which class had claimed it. At first glance, it gave off the impression of a primitive tribe's dwelling.

Two temporary toilets and a shower stall, worth a total of sixty points, stood at the entrance.

A huge screen made of plastic bags stitched together covered the cave's exterior, making it impossible for people outside to see what was going on inside.

"Class C has laid everything about their class bare, while this one is the complete opposite. They're keeping everything mysterious."

"Ichinose? What are you doing here?"

A tall, bald man appeared from the nearby undergrowth, accompanied by a shorter student.

"Classmate Katsuragi? If you're here, does that mean this is Class A's base?"

"That's right. I spotted this cave on the ship, so I came here right away."

"Huh? You noticed all this while you were still on the ship?"

"It was obvious. First there was that strange announcement, and then they said we'd be sightseeing at three times the usual speed. The school must have been giving us a hint. You could see the road through the forest from the ship's deck. All we had to do was take the shortest route from the landing pier to the road."

"...Really?"

"Ichinose was still in her cabin then."

"Ha ha, that's right. I didn't hear the announcement at all," Ichinose said with an awkward laugh.

"Are you here to scout the other classes?"

"Yeah. The main reason is that some Class C students came to our territory this morning, so we thought we'd take a look at the other classes. That said, Class A's cave is sealed up awfully tight."

"The light was too strong, so we made a few adjustments."

"Could you let us take a quick look inside?" Ichinose asked Katsuragi.

Usually, that kind of request would earn a rebuke from a rival class. But whether it was Ichinose's unique charm or because Katsuragi himself didn't want any pointless conflict, they didn't scold us.

"There's nothing much inside, but we've stored a lot of our classmates' personal belongings there. Even if I wanted to show you, I'd need their permission."

"That's a shame. Then can you at least tell me if the device is inside?"

"I can answer that. The device is indeed inside the cave, but I can't show it to you."

"That's fine. I was only asking. I wasn't planning to force my way in. After all, the rules say we can't enter someone else's territory without permission, right?"

"Thank you for understanding... Where is Class B's territory?"

"Our territory is roughly in that direction. If you can't find it, go back to the landing site. There's a huge broken tree there. Head southwest into the forest, and you'll find our base. We've claimed a well." Ichinose told Katsuragi where our Class B territory was without hesitation.

Katsuragi didn't seem particularly surprised by this.

"Understood. If I have time later, I'll go take a look. Good luck with the exam."

"Same to you, Class A."

With just a few simple words, Katsuragi had demonstrated the secrecy that Class A upheld to perfection. That only made me want to break in even more.

"Class A's defenses are really thorough. With Katsuragi leading them, it's no surprise they're so secretive."

"But doing this makes it easy for people to guess that there's something they don't want us to see inside the cave."

"Yeah. We can't see the machine with our own eyes, but if we barge in, we'll probably be punished. Also... Raku, did you see it?" Ichinose turned toward me with an expectant look.

"What are you talking about? If you mean inside the cave, even the Maasai, with the sharpest eyesight in the world, wouldn't be able to see through those thick plastic bags."

"Not that. I mean their class leader's special key card."

"That's even less likely. Why would they leave something like that lying around?"

"But I saw it. Only a tiny corner was showing, but it really was the leader's card. It was in Classmate Katsuragi's pocket."

"...You really are impressive, Ichinose."

"Oh, it was nothing... But I think it was just a trap to lure us in. Someone like Classmate Katsuragi wouldn't make such a low-level mistake."

"Are you very familiar with Katsuragi?"

"No, no, we don't know each other well. I've just seen him a few times during Student Council interviews, along with Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A."

"They're both from Class A."

"They're very interested in this kind of thing, and each of them has their own stance. How should I put it... Classmate Katsuragi seems like a conservative, while Classmate Sakayanagi seems more like a reformist."

"Then, inside their class—"

"Right. The two factions are fighting fiercely. But I don't know the details."

I nodded to show I understood.

"Let's head straight back to camp. We won't check out Class D."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah. We're working together, after all. With Classmate Horikita there, I'm sure they can handle their own internal affairs. Besides, I'm a little tired."

"Then let's head back."

About the Fact That Rose Geraniums Repel Mosquitoes

"Ah, Class President Ichinose, you're back. We have visitors. What should we do?"

As soon as Ichinose and I returned to camp, the students told her what had happened while we were away. I turned to look over and saw Kanzaki receiving Ayanokoji and Horikita from Class D.

It was still that same pair...

Wait, did that mean I'd run into Ayanokoji again after waking up?!

"I understand. I'll go see them." Ichinose greeted me, then hurried over to Kanzaki, while I went back to working on the hammock I hadn't finished before leaving. At the same time, I listened to their conversation.

"Hey, Horikita, Ayanokoji. We meet again."

"You're back already?"

"Sorry. I went out with Raku to check on the other classes, but we haven't made it to yours yet. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, we just came from Class C's base."

"So you know about Class C, too."

"Yeah. He's like a madman. I really can't figure out what he's trying to do... Your situation seems pretty good, though."

"Ahaha, we had a lot of difficulties at first, but fortunately, many people in our class are good at this sort of thing. If you want to talk, why don't you sit down first?"

As she spoke, Ichinose invited them to sit on the hammocks, but they declined.

"I'd like to continue our cooperation from last time. What do you think, Ichinose?"

"That's fine. It's what I'm hoping for, too. At least we'll have one fewer enemy."

Ichinose and Horikita then exchanged information about how to allocate and use their Class Points and discussed solutions to a number of problems. Horikita did most of the asking, but Ichinose didn't grow impatient with her.