The Second Day of Camping

Seeing Kushida so flustered, Nagami couldn't help laughing after successfully scaring her.

But his laughter didn't last long, because the atmosphere around them grew stranger and stranger after that ghost story.

"Hmph. Ghost stories like that are just made up to scare elementary schoolers."

Karuizawa folded her arms, looking disdainful. But her eyes kept drifting toward the dark corners around them despite herself.

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept past, making the campfire flicker violently. Everyone's hearts leaped.

The relaxed atmosphere was gone. Several girls huddled close together, and the boys were no exception.

"Hey, why are you getting so close to me? That's gross."

The Red-Haired Ape wasn't very afraid of ghost stories, probably because he hadn't understood them.

"Hey, Kiyotaka. It's really cold outside at night. Would it be okay if I came a little closer?"

As Karuizawa spoke, she moved even closer to Ayanokoji.

"Why don't we change the subject?" Sato suggested quietly. Just as everyone began nodding in agreement, the sound of rustling grass seemed to come from somewhere in the distance.

"What was that?" Everyone looked around in alarm.

Just then, a wild rabbit darted out of the grass, making several girls scream.

"Haha, it was just a rabbit."

After realizing what it was, Ike laughed awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.

Still, the uneasiness in everyone's hearts was hard to shake, so they decided to end the gathering early and return to their tents to rest.

"Little Kikyo, how long are you planning to hold on?"

When she heard the rabbit in the grass, Kushida had instinctively grabbed Nagami's clothes.

When the shadow suddenly sprang out, her body moved on its own, and she dove into Nagami's arms. Her manicured nails dug painfully into his back as fear took hold of her.

"Haha... ha..."

Kushida was breathing quickly, her rhythm unsteady.

"That scared the hell out of me. I really thought there was a ghost."

"You bastard! Now I'm too scared to go into the tent and sleep. If you ever tell another ghost story to scare me, you'll be dead, got it?"

"But you just said..."

Before Nagami could finish, Kushida headbutted him.

"Ow!"

Seeing the murderous look in Kushida's eyes, Nagami swallowed his retort.

After all, girls never made sense when they were angry.

Once she had vented her anger, Kushida followed the other girls back to the tent.

As she turned and walked toward it, no one noticed a vague shadow standing at the edge of the woods, quietly watching her.

The next morning, a thin mist hung over the forest, and sunlight streamed through the gaps between the trees.

The air was cool and damp, carrying the scent of soil and dew. It was as though all of nature was still asleep.

Cuckoo, cuckoo.

The birds' repeated calls woke everyone from their sleep.

The campsite, however, was a mess. Miscellaneous items that hadn't been put away the night before were scattered around the tents, and the students crawled out one by one, looking exhausted.

"Ah... my back is so stiff..."

Because his blanket was too short, Nagami had been forced to curl up to keep warm while he slept.

As he spoke, he patted his lower back, which cracked like a malfunctioning joint being adjusted.

Having learned from his previous camping trip, Nagami had brought an inflatable mattress this time. Compared to the hard ground on the Uninhabited Island, it had made for a much better night's sleep.

Nearby, the girls trudged out of the other group tent. Their hair stuck up in all directions, and many had bloodshot eyes.

"Morning."

Kushida emerged from the tent and greeted her friends. Her hair was a mess, and it stuck to her face. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, and she muttered a quiet complaint.

Last night, she probably hadn't slept well. She curled up, little puffs of white breath escaping her mouth.

Apart from when they were with their boyfriends, this was the only time people got to see the girls' unkempt morning appearances.

As a popular beauty, Kushida drew plenty of furtive glances.

"Damn, I'm so jealous of Nagami!"

Now and then, murmurs could be heard.

"Oh my god, nobody could sleep on this ground. Let's ask Hirata to buy a few inflatable mattresses today."

Sudo rubbed his neck as he grumbled.

Hirata did the usual roll call.

"One, two, three... twenty-nine."

"One person is missing."

The crowd began to stir, and people whispered to each other.

Remembering the ghost story Nagami had told the day before, quite a few students felt a chill creep down their backs.

Someone was missing from the class, but no one had noticed. It had to be someone with little presence and few social connections.

As everyone began letting their imaginations run wild, Nagami spoke up.

"My mistake. I forgot to mention it."

Nagami continued, "On the first day, Koenji felt unwell and asked me to keep his Trust Card for myself. He's probably staying at some hotel now."

Only then did everyone remember. Koenji wasn't very involved with the class, so it made sense that no one had noticed he was gone.

Hirata nodded. He was helpless to do anything about Koenji's behavior. Fortunately, withdrawing from this Special Exam was worth points rather than costing them, though it would probably mean losing ten Class Points.

"Phew, you scared me."

Karuizawa let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought the ghost story had come true."

"Hey, Sato. I'd forgotten about that. Why did you have to bring it up again?"

Shinohara and her friends complained to Sato, who apologized.

"Yosh! Warm-up's over. Time to head out exploring. After a full night's rest, a lot of the bases should have refreshed, right?"

Relying on his memory of the map, Nagami prepared to set off exploring on his own.

"Wait, Nagami."

"Oh, Mori Nene. What is it?"

"Um, I want to contribute to the class too. Could you take me along to scout the area?"

Mori Nene sounded hesitant, as though she was afraid Nagami would turn her down.

"Oh, I see. I remember you're pretty athletic. You even snatched a headband from Class C in the cavalry battle at the Sports Festival."

Mori Nene was delighted. Nagami had remembered her performance at the Sports Festival.

"Sure. Your card is with Ayanokoji, right? Or are you not interested in Private Points?"

Nagami asked.

"Yeah. I trust Karuizawa to make sure Ayanokoji checks in fairly so I can earn points."

"Besides, I think the 100,000 points after the exam will be enough."

Was she the type of student who preferred to take it easy? He hadn't paid much attention to her before because she was usually inconspicuous, but after taking a closer look, he found her appearance suited his tastes.

"Nene, is it okay if I call you that?"

After she agreed, the two of them plunged into the forest and set off.

Class A followed Sakayanagi's remote instructions and set up a base at the four o'clock position on the map.

Class B set up a base at the midpoint of the straight line running from the center of the map to the upper-left corner.

To earn more points, Class C decided to split into two teams because the Special Exam's site was so large. They set up bases in the lower-right and central areas.

Class D set up a base in the upper-left corner.