Hirata's Leadership, Ichinose's Lap Pillow

Blue sky and white clouds.

On the scorching beach.

Over a hundred people had formed four groups, each separated by a certain distance.

They were wearing uniforms of the same color, instinctively gathered into circles, with an adult in a suit standing in the middle of each, seemingly explaining something to them.

Passersby unaware of the truth might think a festival was being held, or perhaps speculate that a variety show was being filmed, but they would never guess that an exam was taking place here.

Though, it was unlikely such onlookers would appear anyway.

Ayanokoji glanced around; it was clearly an uninhabited island, but not a purely natural one, as it had already been touched by the school's influence.

If one were to ask why, the slightly out-of-place "forest entry paths" were the answer.

A natural uninhabited island wouldn't have green paths that looked like they were specifically opened to let you in; usually, when such paths exist, the island either has indigenous inhabitants or has been pre-arranged by someone.

And given the school's sheer lack of restraint when it came to spending, the latter was clearly more likely.

Ayanokoji pondered this in his mind, and before he knew it, Chabashira Sae had finished explaining the rules of the entire exam.

He suddenly felt as if he had picked up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon.

Helpless, he had no choice but to ask Hirata to borrow his notes.

"Hirata, did the teacher mention any important information just now?" he asked, tapping Hirata on the shoulder.

"Eh, Ayanokoji-kun, you weren't listening just now?"

Hirata said, looking somewhat surprised:

"I saw you staring intently, looking like you were listening very carefully."

"Sorry, I zoned out for a moment."

Ayanokoji said the words "sorry" in his classic way, his face completely devoid of expression.

"..."

"In that case, I noticed many students didn't quite understand either. How about we find a shady spot to explain it again, and while we're at it, discuss how we should proceed?"

Hirata said, glancing at the blazing sun overhead.

Ayanokoji nodded in agreement.

Then, Hirata walked over to communicate with the students in the class one by one, and everyone agreed that Hirata's idea was excellent.

While Hirata was busy notifying the class, Ayanokoji felt a bit bored and, on a whim, squatted down to build a sand sculpture.

Just as he began gathering the sand, a voice that didn't know how to read the room came from behind him.

"You certainly have refined tastes."

Horikita teased with a cold expression, her beautiful eyes appearing much dimmer than usual.

"Since we're already here, we might as well leave something behind."

Ayanokoji said indifferently.

Although he said that, he felt a bit awkward inside.

He felt an inexplicable sense of shame, like an adult being caught playing with Ultraman toys.

Fortunately, Horikita didn't mock him.

"Hirata really has a way of rallying people, doesn't he?"

She looked up at Hirata's figure as he coordinated with the others, sighing with emotion.

"Yeah, he's been leading the class since the start of the school year."

Ayanokoji took the opportunity to flatten the sand sculpture on the ground.

Just then, Hirata finished his task and walked toward them.

"Ayanokoji-kun, Horikita-san, I've agreed with everyone that we should head into the forest first to find a place to settle down. After all, staying here any longer isn't a solution."

Hirata squinted at the giant fireball in the sky, then snuck a glance at Horikita standing beside Ayanokoji, his expression slightly surprised.

This was the first time he had seen Horikita standing so close to someone else.

"Okay."

Ayanokoji nodded at him, and then the two followed behind Hirata to catch up with the main group of the class.

Deep in the jungle.

Ryuen and Yamada were standing in the shade of the trees.

They seemed to be waiting for someone.

Not long after, a beam of light reflected from the dense forest in front of them.

The light swept across Ryuen's face, and he understood, the corners of his mouth curling up.

A moment later, a bald man emerged from the woods in front of them.

He brushed the fallen leaves and weeds off his clothes, then handed something resembling an agreement to Ryuen, saying, "Basically everyone in the class has signed it. This cooperation is a win-win for us, so I hope you won't pull any tricks."

"Heh~"

Ryuen let out a scoff, his expression playful: "Don't worry, we'll do what we're supposed to do."

"As for the price you have to pay, make sure it's not overdue each month."

Katsuragi nodded silently and extended a hand to show goodwill, yet Ryuen didn't appreciate the gesture at all.

He stared at Katsuragi in silence for two seconds, then put on a look of pity and said, "Stop putting on an act, Katsuragi. Everyone knows what kind of situation you're in right now."

"You didn't get into the Student Council, and the talent you've displayed isn't as good as Sakayanagi's. I imagine you're only one step away from being abandoned by everyone."

"..."

"Think about it carefully. Before, it was me seeking you out for cooperation, but now it's you begging me to cooperate with you. Do you still think you're standing on equal footing with me?"

Hearing this, Katsuragi's face darkened. He withdrew his awkward hand and silently gritted his teeth. After a moment, he said, "Ryuen, one day you will regret this attitude of yours."

"Hey, hey~ I actually really hope you can lead Class A and stand on equal footing with me, but..." The smile at the corner of Ryuen's mouth became even more mocking, "You don't have the ability, you know that, right?"

With those words spoken, Katsuragi had no desire to negotiate further and turned to leave the meeting spot.

He knew that Ryuen was leveraging the fact that he had no choice but to cooperate to elevate his own status within Class A, so he was puffing himself up to avoid being at a disadvantage in the contract.

This was a common tactic between two parties establishing a paper-thin contractual relationship. After all, they would remain enemies once the cooperation ended, so there was no need to be overly complimentary; on the contrary, taking this opportunity to dampen the other's spirit was actually wiser.

Katsuragi pondered to himself as he walked.

Ryuen... he would likely be a troublesome existence in the future.

At the edge of the forest, by the shimmering coastline.

The members of Class B were busy with their assigned tasks.

Some were responsible for pitching tents, some for gathering firewood, and others for exploring the forest for base points and picking fruit...

Everything looked orderly, highly coordinated, and well-organized.

Under the shade of a nearby tree, Ichinose was sitting with her legs tucked together, serving as a lap pillow for Hoshinomiya.

It wasn't that she enjoyed being used as a pillow, nor was she trying to slack off.

The reason she was doing this was to ask the teacher in front of her for advice regarding occupying base points and spending exam points.

That was why she had approached Hoshinomiya, who was lying flat in the shade.

To her surprise, the moment she opened her mouth, Hoshinomiya had set her sights on her full, fair legs, just because she happened to need a pillow.

So, after much pestering, she had agreed to let her rest for a while, with the promise of providing information related to occupying base points in return.

However, the sun had already moved a full position, yet the information spilling from Hoshinomiya's mouth remained sparse.

Ichinose felt her legs starting to go numb.

She looked at the shadow of the tree on the ground, which had clearly shifted direction, then looked down at the blissfully intoxicated Hoshinomiya on her lap, her delicate brows knitting together.

If only their homeroom teacher could be a bit more reliable...