The Uninhabited Island Trial Begins, a Scene from Memory

Beneath the blue sky, a luxurious, enormous cruise ship sailed slowly onward.

The deck was packed with people.

Their eyes were drawn to a lush little island ahead, and they couldn't help letting out one exclamation of wonder after another.

"Wow! What's that? It's beautiful."

"It's an island! Could that be our destination?"

"This is like a dream! Does that mean we get to enjoy a luxury cruise and go on a wilderness adventure, too?!"

"..."

Standing to one side and listening to the various discussions, Ayanokoji could only marvel.

What kind of pampered, sugar-coated life had someone lived to talk about a wilderness adventure so casually?

He couldn't even imagine how happy they must have been.

Seriously.

He was jealous to death!

Just then, an announcement sounded in their ears:

"Attention, students. If you have time, please gather on the first-floor deck. I'm sure you'll soon see a memorable sight."

At the announcement, the students aboard the ship looked delighted and hurried out. Some were even bare-chested, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around their vital parts.

Yes, you, Koenji.

But after lingering for only a second, they turned back in slight panic.

"Also, all students should change into their gym clothes and bring their phones and the permitted items before gathering on deck."

"All other personal belongings are prohibited. We will be landing on the island in thirty minutes. I repeat: bring only your phones and permitted items. We will be landing on the island in thirty minutes!"

The announcement sounded again, and Ayanokoji pursed his lips slightly.

Well, now he knew what they were up to.

He was already by the railing on deck, and he had changed into his gym clothes beforehand, so he didn't need to go anywhere.

Still, he decided to use the bathroom first.

The cruise ship had now made a complete circuit around the island, but he hadn't spotted anything that looked like a restroom. There weren't even any buildings on the island.

The island wasn't large, so he'd been able to see it in detail.

To avoid the embarrassment of having to unzip in front of everyone, he decided to relieve himself first.

The Tyrannosaurus had a large capacity, and its relief speed was naturally no ordinary thing.

In the blink of an eye, he was back on deck.

By now, almost all the students had gathered there. They were assembled in front of a platform resembling an awards podium, divided into four lines by class.

Ayanokoji walked over quietly and, as usual, took his place at the very back of his class.

It was much like how he used to instinctively go to the back during broadcast exercises, where he could slack off.

Before long, the homeroom teachers from all four classes came to the front of their lines.

The homeroom teacher for Class A stood on the platform with a stern expression and spoke in a deep, resonant voice:

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher for Class A."

"First, congratulations on arriving here safely. At the same time, I regret that one of our students is absent due to illness."

"..."

"I'll skip the small talk. The school will now hold its first Special Exam of the academic year: a seven-day survival challenge on an uninhabited island."

"Once you're on the island, you'll make all the decisions yourselves. Your homeroom teachers will explain the detailed exam rules shortly."

"Now, let's all enjoy the final destination of this trip!"

"A Special Exam?!"

As soon as Mashima Tomoya's deep voice fell silent, the students on deck erupted into an uproar.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a relaxing island vacation? How did it turn into wilderness survival on an uninhabited island?"

"You've got to be kidding... I've never camped outdoors before."

"I was wondering why I couldn't see any tourist resorts or residential buildings on the island when we sailed around it. So this was a trap!"

"My surfboard... My beach vacation..."

With anguished cries ringing in his ears, Ayanokoji closed his eyes and pondered briefly. Then he opened them and turned to look at Horikita Suzune beside him.

She was wearing gym clothes, but had one hand wrapped around the arm of the other, looking as if she were freezing.

Seeing this, Ayanokoji sighed discreetly, then hurried back to the dormitory before it was time to disembark.

They probably wouldn't allow the students back onto the ship once they landed, unless something unusual happened.

Since this was an exam, Horikita's personality meant she wouldn't voluntarily drop out halfway through. If he left her alone, she might really get hurt.

Thinking as he walked, Ayanokoji tucked the emergency cold medicine in his hand into his pocket. He'd already read the notice: some emergency medicine, including sanitary products for girls' periods, was permitted on the island.

He didn't know whether Horikita would bring any, or whether she'd brought some aboard earlier.

But she didn't look like she'd taken any medicine...

In any case, better to be prepared.

Horikita Manabu, you owe me big time!

Ayanokoji joked to himself.

At last, it was time to land on the island.

The enormous ship made several adjustments before finally coming to a stop at the island's port.

A retractable staircase, like the kind used for boarding a plane, extended down toward the beach, and everyone disembarked in an orderly line.

Ayanokoji was among the last to get off. From aboard the ship, he looked down below.

The students who had reached shore had already split into four groups without needing to coordinate. They chatted as they waited for their homeroom teachers to come over and explain the rules.

Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had a feeling that what came next would be troublesome.

When he glanced up, he saw a white-haired girl standing on the deck of the cruise ship's top floor.

She leaned on a cane with one hand and rested the other on the railing in front of her. The railing made her already petite frame look even smaller and cuter.

Her gaze was fixed on the people disembarking one after another.

Ayanokoji couldn't help imagining things from her point of view. It must have felt like watching a line of ants march along.

The next second, the girl's gaze fell on him, and he met her eyes for a brief moment.

Though brief, the look in her eyes seemed to hold a deeper meaning. The message she conveyed was something like:

I hope you'll like my present?...

Ayanokoji made a rough guess in his mind and was about to look away. Then the next scene seemed to stir something buried deep in his memories, moving him.

A sea breeze swept past, lifting the girl's hair and skirt slightly. A moment later, the beret on her head was carried away by the wind like a balloon.

As he watched her reach for it, seemingly unable to do much, he felt for some reason that he had seen this scene before.