Welcome to Paradise of Freedom

"Alright, since there's nothing going on, we'll head off first."

"Huh, leaving already?"

Ichinose asked in surprise.

"No point hanging around with nothing to do. We're going back."

With that, Kiyotaka led Airi back the way they came.

That evening, Class D gathered around the campfire chatting.

"Hey, did you know? Everyone from Class C went back to the ship," Ike said as he added wood to the fire.

"No way, an entire class just left?" Sudo asked, puzzled.

"Maybe they partied hard and couldn't take it anymore, so they bailed," Karuizawa said.

"That can't be right, can it?"

"Don't ask me, how would I know?"

The group bickered back and forth, when Kikyo approached Ibuki, who was sitting alone off to the side.

"What are you planning, Ibuki?"

Ibuki saw it was Kikyo, and though her expression softened slightly, she still replied coldly, "I don't want to see them. I'm choosing to stay."

"Stay? I think you've got ulterior motives," Sudo said irritably.

"Alright, alright, now's not the time for infighting among allies," Hirata interjected, playing peacemaker.

"Allies? You're naive enough to think that?" Ibuki sneered.

"You really don't know when to take a hint. You're not worthy of being our ally!"

Sudo, hot-tempered as ever, strode over and grabbed Ibuki by the collar, lifting her up.

Just then, Kiyotaka appeared and pressed Sudo down, no matter how hard Sudo struggled, he couldn't break free.

"That's enough. Don't stir up more trouble."

Seeing it was Kiyotaka, Sudo snorted coldly and headed back to his tent.

After that incident, no one felt like chatting anymore, and they drifted off in twos and threes to their tents to rest.

As the night deepened, everyone fell asleep. Aside from a few odd noises, the night passed without incident.

The morning of the fourth day arrived quietly, but Class D's campsite was far from peaceful.

"Boys! Get up now!"

"Hurry up, boys, come out!"

"What's the deal, making such a racket this early?"

The woken boys grumbled discontentedly.

In front of the boys' tent stood a crowd of girls, all wearing indignant expressions.

Hirata, also woken by the noise, sat up and unzipped the tent flap. Seeing the girls gathered outside, he asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

When the girls saw Hirata, the one at the front, Shinohara Satsuki, said seriously, "Hirata, something huge has happened!"

Before long, all the boys were called out, looking dazed as they faced the girls' hostile stares.

"Can you tell us what happened now?" Hirata asked calmly.

Shinohara stepped forward and said, "Hirata, we know this has nothing to do with you, but we demand to search the boys' luggage! Last night, Kei's underwear was stolen. We have to find out which boy took it. We can't tolerate someone so disgusting staying in the same camp as us! Kei's been crying in her tent this whole time; Kikyo and the others are in there comforting her."

"What makes you so sure it was one of us boys? That's discrimination," one boy retorted.

"Yeah, maybe Ibuki stole it," Sudo, who already had a grudge against Ibuki, chimed in.

"How could a girl do something like that!"

"So we're the only ones who could? What if she's trying to frame us?"

"Save your excuses! You're all so defensive because the thief is among you!"

"You!"

Hirata watched as both sides grew more heated, then stepped forward and said, "Enough."

"Everyone, stop arguing! I believe none of us guys would do something like this, but to prove our innocence, we can agree to a luggage search. However, for privacy reasons, let us boys search ourselves—what do you girls think?"

It wasn't until Hirata spoke up that Shinohara reluctantly agreed.

"Since it's you, Hirata, saying this, fine, let's do it that way."

"Thanks for understanding. Everyone, I'll handle the inspection. Let's take out all our luggage and line it up—it'll be over quickly. I trust us guys."

At Hirata's instruction, the boys grumbled as they pulled out their bags and stood aside for his check.

At the very back of the line, each boy was inspecting his own luggage. When Ike flipped through his, his expression turned panicked.

"Hey!"

Yamauchi, standing in front of Ike, turned around with a smug look that practically begged for a punch.

"Ike, what's with all the fuss? Don't tell me you're the real thief?"

Ike hastily shut his bag and said, "How could it be me! Don't go accusing people unfairly!"

Watching Ike's movements, Yamauchi narrowed his eyes.

"I don't buy it. Let me see!"

With that, he snatched Ike's bag.

"Hey! Don't mess with my stuff!"

As Yamauchi's hand rummaged through Ike's luggage, Ike shouted in alarm.

"Huh? What's this?"

Yamauchi suddenly grabbed something and pulled it out—pink, triangular.

"Ike... didn't think you were that kind of guy. Good luck."

With that, Yamauchi shoved the underwear back into Ike's hands and turned around to resume his own check.

"Hey! No, it wasn't me!"

Ike panicked, then looked over at Kiyotaka.

"Kiyotaka, what's with that look? Do you think I did it too?"

Kiyotaka stared at Ike calmly and said, "Well... there's no proof it wasn't you right now, but if you really did this, you'd be pretty stupid."

Ike acted like he'd found a lifeline. "Right! It really wasn't me! What should I do, Kiyotaka?"

"Uh, shouldn't you hide it first?"

Just then, Sudo turned around and said, "What are you two dawdling for? Hurry up and follow."

The pressure made Ike even more frantic. "Hide... where do I hide it? What do I do, Kiyotaka? Since you agree hiding is best, you must have a plan—I'm counting on you!"

After saying that, Ike shoved the underwear into Kiyotaka's hands and turned to catch up with the group.

Kiyotaka stared blankly at the underwear in his hands. "Ah... this, no way. How did things end up like this?"

With the urging, Kiyotaka had no choice but to stuff the underwear into his pocket and go along for the inspection.

"Shinohara, I've checked all the boys' luggage. Nothing was found."

After inspecting everyone's bags, Hirata stood up to report to the girls.

Shinohara crossed her arms, her face full of suspicion. "Strip search! Anyone who'd steal underwear is a pervert—who knows where he might have hidden it?"

"Aren't you going too far? Why do you keep assuming it's one of the guys?" Ike snapped angrily.

"Don't you think Ike's been acting weird since earlier?"

"Yeah, maybe Ike's the one who stole it?"

The girls, watching Ike's strange behavior, couldn't help but suspect him.

"What are you talking about! Search me if you want—who's afraid of who!"

With that, Ike turned his pockets inside out to prove his innocence.

Kiyotaka watched the whole scene unfold, feeling a strong urge to strangle him. "You're clean now, but you've brought the heat onto me. What am I supposed to do?"

Under pressure and public opinion, the boys were forced to submit to a strip search, and Kiyotaka's turn was coming up fast.

"Ah... what do I do? If I come clean and confess now, would dying quickly be the merciful option?"

While Kiyotaka was thinking, his turn had already come.

"I'm sorry, I'll finish quickly, just bear with it a little longer."

Hirata knew the boys were frustrated, so he said this before every check.

When it was Kiyotaka's turn, Hirata inspected him as usual, only pausing slightly when he touched the pocket.

"Shinohara, everyone, there's nothing on them. This really wasn't done by any of us boys."

Hirata stood up and stated calmly.

Hearing that nothing was found, the girls, though indignant, didn't press further and chose to leave.

After the incident, everyone returned to their posts, but a clear rift had formed between the boys and girls.

"Hirata, can you come here for a moment?"

Kiyotaka found Hirata while he was working and called out.

Away from the camp, Kiyotaka looked at Hirata and asked.

"Why didn't you expose me? You felt it, didn't you?"

"So that really was the panties? Can you tell me if you did it?"

"No."

"I didn't think you did it either, so there was no need for me to say anything. But to be safe, could you give me those panties? If I were caught, the damage would be minimal, since she's my girlfriend."

Hearing this, Kiyotaka handed the panties to Hirata.

After taking the panties, Hirata looked at Kiyotaka and said.

"This is an unreasonable request, but Kiyotaka, can you help me find the culprit behind this incident?"

"Find the culprit? I can..."

Kiyotaka pondered for a moment before choosing to agree.