Karuizawa Feels Wronged / Hasebe's Doubts

"Guess how curious I am?" Aoyama chuckled mockingly. "If you don't leave, I'll just leave you here all alone."

"Walk."

Despite her confusion, Sakayanagi placed her hand in Aoyama's and they left together at a somewhat slow pace.

At the same time, Hashimoto and Kito, covered in sweat and running, also arrived in front of the Wooden Cabin.

"Ryuen sent men to keep Aoyama's leader occupied so he couldn't get away, while he himself brought Albert here."

"I'm his underling. He told me to tell you to move and hide quickly. I'll keep watch for you. Hurry! There's not much time left!"

Using a practiced, urgent tone, Kito spoke rapidly and pounded heavily on the wooden door.

"If Ryuen finds out, you're finished! Boss Aoyama's plan will have failed!"

With a dark expression, Kito had no choice but to pretend to be a junior member of Aoyama Class A, firing off one sentence after another without giving the people in the room time to think.

As for Hashimoto, who taught him to do this, he was hiding next to the Wooden Cabin, making sure that the person opening the window wouldn't see him.

Inside the house.

Karuizawa, who was lying on the bed reading a book, became anxious when she heard the sudden knock on the door and what she heard. The thought of moving away immediately crossed her mind.

Ryuen, who behaved like a dog that would be kicked if it passed by, and Albert, a tall, strong black man who didn't look like a student at all.

The thought of being cornered in the Wooden Cabin by these two men filled her with dread, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Compared to those who had bullied her before, Ryuen and Albert were far more terrifying in appearance.

The Wooden Cabin that once gave her a sense of security now seemed to have transformed into a cage.

The cage has an exit as long as the locked, unbarred window inside is opened.

Chapter 103 The Wronged Karuizawa

We must leave immediately; we absolutely cannot let Aoyama's plan fail.

Hearing the urging voices outside, Karuizawa quickly got out of bed and hurriedly started putting on his shoes.

Preconceived notions led her to believe without careful consideration that what the person outside the door said was true, and that everything was doomed the moment Ryuen and his companion arrived.

Leaving immediately is the right thing to do.

I cannot let Ryuen confirm my identity. I cannot let Ryuen confirm my identity.

Silently reciting to himself, Karuizawa, having put on his shoes, began to pace around the room, wondering if he had forgotten anything that could prove his identity.

It's not here, it's not here, it's not here.

Karuizawa's gaze darted around quickly, finally settling on the area under the bed.

The day he brought her books and paper to keep her entertained, Aoyama mysteriously placed something under the bed with his back to her.

Aoyama hasn't mentioned it these past few days, and she hasn't touched it either.

Have a look?

Karuizawa crouched down and pulled out a black bag tied under the bed, hesitating whether to untie it.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Why aren't you out yet? If you mess this up, Boss Aoyama will beat you up."

At Hashimoto's instruction, Kito started urging them loudly again while banging on the door.

Kito used the fact that he had witnessed Aoyama injuring someone at the Class A camp as a threat to prevent Karuizawa from thinking things through calmly.

How could someone as gentle as Aoyama possibly hit me over something like this!

Recalling Aoyama's gentle greeting when she woke up that morning, Karuizawa immediately dismissed the statement made by the person outside the door.

Suspicion about the person outside the door immediately surged into my heart like a tidal wave.

If he's one of Aoyama's Class A subordinates, since they managed to get him here, they naturally have the opportunity to tell him who's in the Wooden Cabin.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the person outside never called out their own name.

[Who I am?]

After scratching the back of his head and thinking for a while, Karuizawa tore off a small piece of white paper, wrote down his question, and slipped it under the door.

After waiting a while and receiving no response from outside, she realized that if she had gone out or spoken, she would have been doomed.

Fortunately, I always kept in mind not to reveal my identity.

That almost ruined Aoyama's plan.

With a long sigh, Karuizawa slumped weakly onto the bed, patting his chest.

"We didn't manage to fool them. What do we do next?" Kito frowned as he showed the note to Hashimoto.

Although the previous plan had a fairly high success rate, the price of its failure was that the people inside would be significantly more wary.

Hashimoto smiled helplessly, "We have no choice but to try anything, even if it's a dead end."

"Hey, what are you trying to do!"

Kito looked furious because he saw Hashimoto take out a match.

Arson? This isn't something that can be resolved with a joke.

Hashimoto picked up a few leaves. "I didn't mean to do anything, I just lit a few leaves and blew the smoke in through the crack in the door."

The girl inside was much calmer than he had imagined, remaining completely silent from beginning to end.

If it weren't for the faint noises coming from inside, he would have thought that Sakayanagi had guessed wrong and that there was no one inside at all.

"Will this work?"

"They say you have to try anything, even if it's a dead horse; if all else fails, you'll have to retreat."

Answering Kito in a low voice, Hashimoto lit a leaf at the crack in the door, using both his hands and mouth to let the white smoke drift into the room through the crack.

Kito chimed in with an angry tone, "I refuse to believe I can't handle you!"

Inside the house.

No way, arson! They're going that far?!

Upon smelling the burning leaves, Karuizawa was startled and looked towards the crack in the door from which white smoke was billowing.

That must be scary, impossible.

She was only slightly shocked for a moment, but she quickly realized that no one outside would dare to do such a thing. It would be better to kick the door open and smash the window.

Just to be on the safe side, she poured a bottle of water under the door.

"Let's retreat, we're out of options."

Seeing that the people inside remained unmoved, Hashimoto tidied up the scene and then deliberately led Kito away by a longer route.

Anyway, he'd already put on a show of effort for Kito, so it wasn't his fault if he failed; it was just that the girl Aoyama had chosen was too calm.

"What a pity, but it's also just right."

Meanwhile, Aoyama walked briskly along the empty road, glanced at the sky, and murmured to himself.

Even if he were to be completely ignorant of celestial phenomena (i. e., not even one), he could still tell that it was going to rain for a long time today, and that the roads on the Uninhabited Island would become very difficult to traverse.

I believe that as long as the leaders of each class are not problematic, they will not allow students to leave the camp at night, which makes it easier for him to replace the leaders of the two classes.

It's just a pity that the pack of fireworks under the bed was a waste of money.

Originally, after the leadership change tonight, he planned to take Karuizawa to a beach a little further away to play with some fireworks, as a way to make up for Karuizawa work in this Special Exam.

We traveled at a brisk pace.

Not long after, Aoyama returned to the Wooden Cabin, but when he opened the door, he found that familiar figure was not sitting at the table waiting for him this time.

Did you go to the toilet?

Without giving it much thought, Aoyama glanced at the closed bathroom door, then sat down at the wooden table, leisurely reading a book while enjoying some snacks.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes.

"If you're there, make some noise." Almost thirty minutes had passed without any sound from the bathroom, so Aoyama couldn't sit still any longer and went to the bathroom door to knock.

Less than three seconds later, the bathroom door was suddenly pulled open, and Karuizawa appeared in front of him.

Why didn't you reveal your identity first this time!

[While you were out, a guy pretended to be your henchman, trying to trick me into going out!!!]

Karuizawa stormed to the table and quickly wrote down her grievances.

Unsure if it was actually Aoyama who had come in, she could only hide fearfully in the bathroom, terrified that it was someone like Ryuen sitting outside.

Aoyama reached out and ruffled Karuizawa's hair. "It's my fault, I'm sorry."

To save himself trouble, he didn't observe his surroundings or reveal his identity this time, but unexpectedly, someone came to the Wooden Cabin to test him today.

Now that people know there are people in the Wooden Cabin, he no longer needs to use pen and paper to communicate with Karuizawa.

"I only know that the person who came was a boy, but I don't recognize his voice, so I don't know who he is."

"His first words upon arriving here were..."

Reaching out, Karuizawa pulled Aoyama's arm and made him squat down a little. She brought her delicate pink lips close to Aoyama's ear and began to tell him about her recent experience of being tested.

Soon, Aoyama learned the whole story from Karuizawa's detailed account.

I was wondering why you suddenly pulled me into a private chat. You little brat, Sakayanagi, you're always causing trouble.

Aoyama thought with some annoyance, "Contacting Class A's camp Sakayanagi's inexplicable reminder, how could I not have imagined that the person sent must be one of Sakayanagi's subordinates, with an unclear purpose?"

Was she trying to prove to herself that even a genius like her could see the hints in the Guidebook?

"Well done, fantastic!"

Knowing that Karuizawa had never been exposed, Aoyama stroked her long hair affectionately.

He really made the right choice in selecting Karuizawa; she's obedient and has a strong mental fortitude, preventing her from completely losing her composure in the face of panic.

The Special Exam are over, so I need to treat myself properly.

Chapter 104 Hasebe's Doubts

Noon.

Aoyama and Karuizawa had just finished lunch when a heavy rain began to fall outside, the sound of rain pattering against the wood incessant.

The once quiet room was now filled with noise.

"It's so noisy now, even if there are people outside, they can't hear us." Karuizawa said Aoyama a smile, pointing to Karuizawa's mouth.

"Horikita seemed a little unwell just now, is she alright?"

Before dinner, Horikita Suzune visited the Wooden Cabin once, her expression revealing her exhaustion, which made Karuizawa a little worried.

Horikita is working hard for their Class D, no matter what.

Aoyama wasn't worried at all. "She probably only slept for less than two hours yesterday; that's why she seems to have mental problems."

If you're going to put on a show, go all the way. On the first day of the exam, all the students were given watches that would monitor and record their health status in real time. If everything appeared normal, there might be trouble.

Realizing this was likely related to Project Aoyama, Karuizawa with some emotion, "It must have been tough for Horikita."

"Yes, Suzune really had a tough time with this Special Exam, so in the future, when you're in your group, be careful not to say anything bad about Suzune, and try to help her improve her reputation a little."

Even though he had never heard of it, Aoyama knew that Karuizawa and her group of gyaru were quite famous. He had nothing good to say about Horikita Suzune, and Karuizawa, as the leader, probably agreed with her.

Although Horikita will no longer be easily swayed by him after this Special Exam, it's still better than Hirata Yosuke being the leader.

Hirata, burdened by a heavy past, has no desire to advance to the next class. He only wants to stay in Class D and graduate safely with his classmates. He doesn't care if he stays in Class D forever.

Karuizawa a little embarrassed. "I didn't say much. I'll be more careful next time."

"That's good. If anyone tries to persuade you to rebel against Suzune's rule, remember to let me know."

Thinking that Ayanokoji might cause trouble, Aoyama gave Karuizawa some advance notice to prevent her from unwittingly becoming someone else's pawn.

In Class D's attempt to overthrow Horikita's leadership, Karuizawa female member of the girl group, is an unavoidable figure.

"Ayanokoji, how come you don't even know this song? That's so lame."

"This anime was really popular back then."

While Aoyama was wondering if Ayanokoji would cause trouble, Ayanokoji was in a karaoke room on the cruise ship, expressionlessly declining Sudo's invitation to sing a duet.

About half an hour ago, Sato and Shinohara, along with several girls, invited Hirata to a karaoke party.