There Are Still Plenty of Good Boars in This World

Seeing Kamuro Masumi interfere, Amasawa Ichika shook her head helplessly. Based on her understanding of the students in Class C, this girl and Morishita Ai were definitely Ayanokoji's opponents in Class C. In fact, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had threatened her once at the beginning of the school year.

"There's no other way; it's all for the sake of the class."

Kamuro Masumi was quite perceptive, but perhaps because she had just betrayed the class, she could only try her best to clear her name. After giving such a simple answer, she delivered a whip kick, showing no intention of being polite to Amasawa Ichika.

As one of the few students who had humiliated the entire Class C on Uninhabited Island, Amasawa Ichika was always highly vigilant in their class. Moreover, she had once shown extraordinary performance in the Sports Festival. Therefore, from the very first round of their match, Kamuro Masumi displayed an extremely serious attitude.

"Then there's nothing we can do."

"Well, I'm really, really eager to find Ryo and stay by her side. I clearly said yesterday that I would be her protector, but she just wouldn't believe Ichika. There's nothing I can do but go there myself."

Watching Amasawa Ichika deftly dodge her kicks while muttering something under her breath, Kamuro Masumi frowned. Her next straight punch was also blocked. Before she could react, Amasawa Ichika's hand nimbly slid up her arm, striking her shoulder and then applying force again. By the time Kamuro Masumi came to her senses, she had been executed with a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw, slamming her to the ground.

Although Amasawa Ichika had been controlling his strength, seeing that even Kamuro Masumi, who had the best physical abilities in the class, was easily pinned to the ground, the other students in Class C fell silent and dared not step forward.

It can only be said that fighting is not something that can be determined by physical ability alone. Just like Ryuen Kakeru's physical ability is definitely not the best in Class D, but none of the boys in the class can beat him. As the original Class A, Class 1-C, although it recruits students whose physical ability is above average among their peers, if they were to actually fight, they would probably not be able to beat the experienced Class D, let alone Amasawa Ichika who grew up in the environment of the White Room.

Especially in her current state, Amasawa Ichika.

If the concept of a "concept god" exists in reality, then Amasawa Ichika, who wanted to Salvation Kitagawa Ryo, should be on the list. After all, Suzukake of the White Room initially chose her as the best candidate for the Fifth Generation of the Rhesus Monkey Plan. Unfortunately, she died before she could complete the final step of 'Cutting the Mother's Umbilical Cord' to witness the final birth of this concept god.

Kushida Kikyo was spying on the situation from a short distance away, couldn't help but shudder. She could only say that she was glad she hadn't foolishly accepted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's proposal. After all, as someone who had personally experienced such a beating on Uninhabited Island, she clearly recognized that Amasawa Ichika's current state was close to that of that time, giving people a sense of madness that it wouldn't be surprising if he hurt someone or even went further.

"Alright, I'm fine now, Ichika, don't hurt him any further."

Just as the scene reached a stalemate, a familiar voice suddenly came from the forest beside the road Kitagawa Ryo, who had just dealt with the second and third-year pursuers, emerged from the forest and saw the scene before him. He took the initiative to step forward, put his hand on Amasawa Ichika's shoulder, and then patted her head.

"Your hairband is a little loose, let me take it off and tie it again for you."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo took Amasawa Ichika's hand and, ignoring the other girls surrounding them, led her away. He casually removed one of Amasawa Ichika's hairbands and then expertly gathered up the left side of her hair, quickly retying it into a ponytail that was exactly opposite the right side.

Throughout all of this, not a single girl from Class 1-C stepped forward to stop them or speak. It was unclear whether it was because Amasawa Ichika had been making threatening faces at them like a child the whole time, or simply because she didn't want to escalate the situation further. Only after watching the two figures disappear over a small hill did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and begin discussing the matter again.

"As expected, this kind of thing is not suitable for the students in our class to do."

"There's no other way. Ayanokoji said he could forgive the class's millions of dollars in debt, so I guess I'll just have to play the villain."

"I remember quite a few second and third graders went after Kitagawa, but he still managed to escape."

"After all, he's a student who's outrunned a wild boar."

"To be honest, we weren't exactly behaving right either; that person was acting as a hero yesterday."

"There's no other way. It's for the sake of the class. We were originally in Class A. Are you really willing to be a Class C student forever?"

"That's true. Should we chase after them?"

"Let's forget about this one."

Meanwhile, the teachers at the turnaround point were also complaining and trying to contact the staff at the Forest School.

"That's the situation. Right now, almost all the students from all three grades are in complete chaos on the way to the turnaround point. There are countless fights breaking out among them in the forest. This is beyond our ability to handle. If the school doesn't take action soon, things might get even more serious."

"Hmm... I understand. The most important thing now is to get those students who are fighting in the forest back to the main road. Then I'll apply to the school to send a group of staff to drive away the wild boars and supervise the area, making sure there's one staff member every 500 meters. That should help."

"Okay, but how do we get these students back to the road? Even if we use a megaphone to say that fighting will result in expulsion, they'll probably ignore it. After all, there are no security cameras or cell phones here. If neither side speaks up, even if there really was a fight, we won't be able to find any evidence."

"I have a good idea."

The teacher on the other end of the phone was full of confidence.

"You use the megaphone to say that a few wild boars, driven away by the school, have wandered into the forest here in a panic. All students are asked to leave the forest as soon as possible for their safety and return to the main road. Stay together and head to the turnaround point to report and return to complete this project. How does that sound?"

"Great idea! I'll send someone to notify the students immediately using a loudspeaker."

After the other party excitedly hung up the phone, the teacher who stayed at the Forest School lazily crossed her legs in her chair. She was none other than Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.

Just like Onodera, the homeroom teacher of Class 3-B who guided the Third Group, and Onodera, the Sakagami Kazuma teacher of Class 1-D who registered students' grades at the turnaround point yesterday, the teachers of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School also need to take on some of the work in this Special Exam for the Mixed Training Camp, and today it is Hoshinomiya Chie's turn.

Even if she hadn't come to this job today, Hoshinomiya Chie could have easily taken it. After all, as a well-known figure whose ex-boyfriend was a prominent figure throughout the entire faculty and staff circle of ANHS, she had a wide network of connections here.

It was precisely because of this that Kitagawa Ryo chose to leave her a note.

The contents of the note were exactly what Hoshinomiya Chie had just said.

Thus, after obtaining a solution to the current situation from his colleagues who remained at the Forest School, the school staff responsible for registration near the turnaround point immediately took action. Coincidentally, there were quite a few students waiting for Kitagawa Ryo near the turnaround point at that time, so after he loudly announced the news through a megaphone, the information that wild boars might have sneaked over immediately spread among the students.

In an instant, the students who had just been hiding from the school staff hurriedly began to huddle together and move closer. Many students who were still searching for Kitagawa Ryo's whereabouts in the forest were also called back one after another. Those students who were about to go in were frightened back by the news that wild boars might appear. No matter how much Miyabi Nagumo and Ishikura urged them, they resolutely refused to take another step in, for fear that a frightened wild boar might rush out from somewhere.

It must be said that the school's quick thinking was indeed effective. With Kitagawa Ryo still nowhere to be seen but wild boars potentially appearing at any moment, many students who were unwilling to participate in the operation to capture Kitagawa Ryo expressed their intention to retreat to their respective class Leader. Unwilling to stay in this dangerous area for even a second longer, they only wanted to follow the school's instructions, quickly go to the turnaround point to complete the registration, and return to the Forest School as soon as possible.

Under these circumstances, neither Miyabi Nagumo nor Ishikura had any reason to refuse.

It was at this moment that Horikita Suzune, who was lying in ambush with the students of Class 1-A, inadvertently revealed that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka of Class 1-C had already completed the turnaround point registration and was now on his way back to compete for first place in this field training exercise.

People's hearts are once again unsettled.

Chapter 418: There are still more good wild boars in this world (6k7)

"... This should also be a backup plan that Kitagawa had laid out beforehand."

As some students were scared away by the news of possible wild boar sightings or used this as an excuse to extricate themselves from the mess, the pressure on Class 3-A, which had been dragged into the mess by the other three classes in the third grade, was relieved. After quickly leading the students to the turnaround point to complete the registration of their scores, the class Leader, Horikita Manabu, was somewhat moved.

As a veteran student who is about to complete three years at this school and has less than two months left until graduation, Horikita Manabu has never seen a student like Kitagawa Ryo who, in less than a year since enrolling, has accurately grasped and skillfully applied the underlying logic and winning formula of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, a unique school.

In Horikita Manabu's view, any student who wants to thrive in ANHS School's competitive and educational system, which is completely different from other high schools, must try to master three things: the class, clubs, and teachers.

Controlling the class representative position gives you the qualifications and ability to participate in competitions between classes within the grade and even across grades. Taking control of a club means you can easily extend your personal influence to other classes and even grades, and gain various extra benefits that help you ace Special Exam. The most typical example is the Student Council.

Generally speaking, most students only go through these two steps. Miyabi Nagumo is one such example. By gaining absolute control over Class 2-A and the Student Council, she easily became the first student in the history of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School to take charge of the entire grade and dare to take advantage of the school.

But in reality, the power of teachers, or rather, class advisors, is often overlooked by students.

Perhaps because of the education they received in elementary and junior high schools, even after entering Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, a school with a completely different logic from other lower-level high schools, most students did not realize, or rather, still adhered to the traditional teacher-student relationship. They failed to realize that the teachers who taught them various subjects, especially the homeroom teachers who were responsible for class affairs, could actually cooperate with them and even get what they needed.

However, the school has intentionally retained these rules and regulations. Just as Kitagawa Ryo was able to spend Private Points to hire Chabashira Sae to dress up as a maid and act as a signboard girl at the Cultural Festival, the relationship between teachers and students at ANHS has never been the traditional one. If they insist on still crowning them with that respected and awe-inspiring professional halo, it will cause the class to miss opportunities and lose the possibility of turning the situation around at times.

It was precisely for this reason that Horikita Manabu particularly admired Kitagawa Ryo, who had discovered the feasibility of teachers within the ANHS system early on. If the changes in Class 1-A were largely due to the professional ethics and dedication of their homeroom teacher Mashima Tomoya, then Hoshinomiya Chie's ability to make such a shrewd use of Hoshinomiya Chie, who was originally far from being a competent homeroom teacher, after transferring to Class 1-B, demonstrated that he had indeed mastered the rules of the game. Kitagawa Ryo Horikita Manabu had even heard rumors of an ambiguous relationship between Chabashira Sae and the homeroom teacher of Class 1-C, Chabashira Saeya, after all, this matter had even reached the Student Council.

"What should we do next? Should we continue waiting here?"

Having grown accustomed to Horikita Manabu's constant boasting about Kitagawa Ryo, Tachibana Akane, standing beside him, had become somewhat too lazy to echo him and instead directly asked about the class's next steps.

"Let's wait a little longer. If there's anything we can do to help, we'll try our best."

Horikita Manabu simply shook his head, then turned to another student in the class and asked:

"Fujimaki, you've been in the same group as Kitagawa these past few days. What are your impressions of him?"

Faced with Horikita Manabu's question, Fujimaki, who also belonged to the Third Large Group of boys, lowered his head and thought for a while before giving his concise evaluation:

"He has great personal charisma, strong leadership skills, and is very intelligent."

Actually, from the very first night after the Special Exam started, when the groups were divided, he was worried for Kitagawa Ryo. After all, Mizowaki from Class 3-B and Ishikura and Tonokawa from Class 2-A had already gathered all the second and third-year students in the Third Large Group except for their own Class 3-A. That visit was actually aimed at sowing discord in the Third Group of First Year.

In Ishikura's plan, the First Year students would never refuse his suggestion to use playing cards to decide the distribution of breakfast. Even if Kitagawa Ryo realized something was wrong, he would have no way to suppress the thoughts of the others. As long as one of them agreed, the older students could take advantage of the situation and make a big deal out of it.

But the truth is that Kitagawa Ryo not only saw through the secret of that deck of cards, but also truly restrained the other eleven students in his group. Whether it was Class 1-A, which he had just transferred from, or Class 1-D, which had the most troublemakers, not a single one of them dared to object, directly leading to Ishikura and his group's first attempt ending in failure.

In the mornings that followed, Kitagawa Ryo still volunteered to get up early to help prepare breakfast for the other First Year students. It was during this time that many of the older students in the Third Large Group began to hesitate. After all, they were just ordinary high school students, and they still possessed basic conscience and simple morality. This led to Mizowaki and Tonokawa eventually running out of help and even considering rolling up their sleeves to take matters into their own hands. Then the wild boar incident occurred, and in the end, it was Kitagawa Ryo who stepped in to help.

"Um."

After hearing Kitagawa Ryo's assessment of Fujimaki, Horikita Manabu nodded in agreement and pointed to the situation below the turnaround point:

"That's why so many people chose to leave voluntarily. Although some students were genuinely afraid of wild boar attacks, quite a few didn't want to lay a hand on him anymore."

So, Fujimaki and Tachibana Akane also looked down the hillside in the direction Horikita Manabu was pointing.

A student from Class 3-C left with his friend. Last year, he had asked the Drama Club, where Kitagawa Ryo was, to send a letter and a gift to his family when they went to compete outside the school.

There was also a girl from Class 2-B who ignored Miyabi Nagumo's stern gaze, registered her grades, and embarked on her return journey alone. She was a student belonging to the ANHS Tea Ceremony Club. From the beginning, she did not want to make things difficult for this junior Shiina Hiyori, whom she had met since the beginning of the school year and who always accompanied them when they visited the Tea Ceremony Club. Each time, she would politely present a large number of exquisite handmade tea snacks to her junior.

Then the students of Class 1-D started to stir. The conditions proposed by Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei, who finally arrived at the scene, were equally irresistible to them. Ryuen Kakeru once again quickly fell into a state of isolation. However, unlike last time, even his confidants Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo chose to remain silent, which in fact showed their attitude.

Let's stop here.

Miyabi Nagumo and Ishikura, who were also in the midst of the situation, felt the situation rapidly deteriorate. However, when they rushed to the camp of Class 1-C, they couldn't find Ayanokoji Kiyotaka at all. After all, he had already completed the first half of the race and left the vicinity of the turnaround point to start his return journey a long time ago. It would be strange if they could find him.

With Ayanokoji Kiyotaka absent, they could only approach Katsuragi Kohei, the nominal Leader of Class C, to discuss a feasible solution.

"Actually, if Kitagawa just keeps hiding and drags things out until the end of this field training, giving up on this course's results, there's absolutely nothing we can do. We can't possibly keep so many students waiting to see who he is. Right now, most of the students in Class 1-B and Class 3-A haven't left yet. If they realize this and choose to leave directly, then we'll really be in tears."

"Going into the forest to find him and force him out is unrealistic. After all, even without news of the wild boar, our students wouldn't be able to do anything to him even if they went in."

"After all, Kitagawa himself couldn't possibly stay in the forest forever, could he? Isn't he afraid of wild boars?"

"Well, judging from the announcement the school issued yesterday, he's really not afraid."

In response to Ishikura's question, Katsuragi Kohei simply shook his head.

"Besides, we First Year all know that Kitagawa climbs trees when we're on the Uninhabited Island, so if he wants to hide, he can indeed hide until the end of this field training exercise."

"That makes things difficult."

After listening to Katsuragi Kohei's explanation, Ishikura rubbed his temples in distress, and then heard another piece of bad news from Katsuragi Kohei.

"I don't know who leaked the Ayanokoji had already registered at the turnaround point and was on his way back. The situation in Class 1-A isn't looking good either. Several students are starting to think that Ayanokoji is just trying to fool everyone so he can get first place in this course and then go for a high ranking in this Special Exam. After all, his individual scores over the past few days have been very high."

"Can't Sakayanagi control Class A?"

"Her influence is currently concentrated among the girls. Sudo on the boys' side didn't really want to make a move against Kitagawa in the first place. He only refrained from opposing it at first because he couldn't refute the righteous argument of protecting Class A's position. Now, their stance has shifted to saying that it's better to give the points to Class B than to let Class C reap the benefits. They're saying that at least Kitagawa came from their Class A, so she's practically one of their own."

At this point, Katsuragi Kohei also wore a wry smile:

"The main problem is that Class D has switched sides again, and the situation within the First Year has changed from three against one to two against two. Now, many of you second and third-year students are choosing to retreat. Our class is doing alright, since we're here to fulfill your request, President Nagumo, to pay off our debts. It's actually quite normal that Class A can't withstand the pressure first."

Hearing Katsuragi Kohei shift the blame back to the second and third-year students, Miyabi Nagumo raised an eyebrow. While he was indeed fawning over Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, that didn't mean others could speak to him like that. Therefore, she spoke with some impatience:

"There's no need to explain anything for them. If you ask me, we should have just used my plan from the beginning, forcing him to show up by blocking Beichuan's rumored girlfriends. Now, everyone's gathered here, so there's no way to block them now."

"Remember, our mission this time is not to interfere with or ruin Kitagawa Ryo's grades in this course, but to make him give up or be forced to give up taking the Final Exam the day after tomorrow, understand?"

Upon hearing Miyabi Nagumo's undisguisedly Malice remarks, Katsuragi Kohei and Ishikura both frowned. However, Nagumo himself didn't seem to notice these details at all, or rather, even if he had, he wouldn't have cared in the slightest.

After all, for Miyabi Nagumo now, other people's opinions of him are irrelevant and can be discarded. If he hadn't officially broken off his relationship with Asahina Nazuna during the winter break, he would have dared to kneel on the ground and beg his childhood friend to frame Kitagawa Ryo in the most unsolvable way.

"... There's no chance anymore."

After waiting a few more minutes, Kitagawa Ryo still hadn't appeared, but the school staff came over together.

With a significant number of students leaving, and some personnel being transferred from the group that drove away the wild boars, and on the personal 'friendly suggestion' of an unknown Class 1-B teacher, ANHS's emergency response was also swift. In no time, the area around the turnaround point was filled with staff maintaining order, with guards every three or ten steps. The previous actions of randomly stepping forward to use numerical superiority to block people or forming human walls to obstruct others' view and bully them, as in the previous hours, were no longer feasible.

"No... we can't end it like this."

Unlike Ishikura, Miyabi Nagumo still clenched her fists, looking somewhat unwilling.

Just as Class 1-C and the second and third years were beginning to consider giving up after realizing that their operation had failed, Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A had already begun to review the situation. It seemed that she had expected this result, and there was no regret or pity on her delicate little face. On the contrary, she seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

To be honest, Kitagawa Ryo was indeed tricked into the game by her bet. Although he dealt with it very well afterward, without Horikita Suzune and the other girls' strong initiative, the offensive from the three grades would not have been so easily neutralized.

However, this was unavoidable. After all, this duel was never a one-on-one between her and Kitagawa Ryo from the start. Even disregarding Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami, who were on the same side as her Amasawa Ichika and Kamuro Masumi, who should have stood with her, all chose to aid the enemy. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was most capable of stopping her, chose to leave without lifting a finger. Coupled with Hoshinomiya Chie's unexpected intervention, all these factors combined meant that although Kitagawa Ryo fell into the trap, she wasn't completely fooled. In the end, her performance in this field training exercise was slightly affected, but she should still be able to get some points and wouldn't have to give up all of her morning's classes as Ishikura Nagumo had planned.

What Sakayanagi Arisu felt a little regretful about was probably not being able to stand by Kitagawa Ryo's side and see his expression when he realized she was also a liar; just thinking about it makes her feel especially cute.

As Sakayanagi Arisu imagined Kitagawa Ryo possibly breaking out in a cold sweat at that moment, and led the other students of Class A to register at the turnaround point and embark on their return journey, the girls of Class A, having finally escaped the tense atmosphere by Matsushita their pursuit of Kitagawa Ryo, began chatting casually about their daily lives during this Special Exam, as if shifting their focus.

During the girls' casual conversation, a name came up that caught Sakayanagi Arisu.

That's Amasawa Ichika, who left the class at the very beginning and hasn't returned yet. If Horikita Suzune still has to play along a bit for the sake of running for class Leader, then this student really has no feelings for the class at all and is firmly sitting on Kitagawa Ryo's side.

Perhaps because the person in question wasn't here right now, the girls in Class 1-A quickly started talking about Amasawa Ichika. Among them, Mori Nene, who was in the same group as her, suddenly told an interesting story.

When she got up to go to the bathroom last night, she heard some strange noises in one of the stalls. When she came back, she found that her roommate Amasawa Ichika's bed was empty. At first, she wondered if Tianze Yixia had an upset stomach or caught a cold. However, when she woke up this morning, Tianze Yixia seemed to be perfectly fine, which made her a little envious of Tianze Yixia's strong and healthy physique.

For the girls in Class 1-A, this was probably just a topic of casual conversation to pass the time, something they'd forget in thirty minutes. But after hearing Mori Nene's description, Sakayanagi Arisu felt her previously pleasant mood instantly darken again. Especially when she thought about how she had secretly pressed her fingerprints on Horikita Suzune's hand, only to have it all witnessed by Amasawa Ichika, and how, after igniting her own desire, she could only suffer alone in her dorm while the other girl...

This is no longer a question of which side Amasawa Ichika is on.

They're already sitting up there.

Perhaps it was because she had won a game of Chess against him in the White Room that Sakayanagi Arisu deeply felt that she and Amasawa Ichika were indeed somewhat incompatible. Rather, it seemed that he had been deliberately trying to annoy her all along. It was the same thing these past few days when they were taking a bath at the public bathhouse. He would smile and insist on coming over to her to scrub her back, his wolfish ambitions were obvious.

After Xue entered the university as First Year student two months later, he recruited her as an ally.

After this battle, Sakayanagi Arisu finally solidified her resolve.

This is no ordinary leak; we must take decisive action!

"Speaking of which, Xue is supposed to officially enroll here in about two months."

Having essentially given up on the results of this field training exercise, Kitagawa Ryo relaxed his mindset. Holding Amasawa Ichika's hand, he walked around the main road and began chatting with her in a lighthearted tone.