The Second Day on the Deserted Island: An "Accident"

Evening, Class D campsite.

By the stream.

Kushida Kikyo stood a few meters away, watching the man and woman under the shade of the trees ahead, a sense of melancholy like betrayal inexplicably rising in her heart.

As expected.

All that talk about not getting along...

It was all a lie.

Under a certain tree's shade.

Horikita: "What is this?"

Ayanokoji: "Emergency cold medicine."

Horikita: "..." She stared at Ayanokoji for quite a while.

Ayanokoji: "..."

What do you take me for?

Does a dignified Tyrannosaurus Rex need to resort to such low-handed tactics?

Ayanokoji coughed slightly in embarrassment and said calmly:

"You wouldn't want to be the second person to cause the class to lose points, would you?"

"At this rate, you won't last more than three days if you try to tough it out."

Hearing this, Horikita's gaze faltered slightly.

"Why... the second?"

"Uh... it's hard to say, but if you don't take it, you might just become the first."

Ayanokoji said, noting the dazed expression on Horikita's face at that moment.

Perhaps due to the cold, all her movements seemed much slower, and even her breathing was very faint.

Her eyes were dull and listless, making her look a bit adorably dazed.

Of course, it would be even better if she weren't knitting those brows of hers as if she wanted to get to the bottom of everything.

"Take this and rest first. If you can get up tomorrow, I'll explain it to you."

With that, Horikita finally took the emergency medicine from his hand, then held onto the hand Ayanokoji extended to slowly stand up.

"Sakura, could you come over here for a moment?"

Sakura Airi, who heard this from the side, was stunned for a moment, then walked toward them with some uncertainty.

"Horikita is sick. Could you take her to the tent to rest?"

Ayanokoji said calmly.

Upon learning the reason, Sakura also seemed a bit nervous; she trotted over to Horikita's other side and took her arm to support her.

"Horikita-san, are you okay..."

"I'm fine, it's nothing."

Horikita managed to force a smile, her cheeks even redder than before, making even Sakura feel a bit shy.

"I'll take you back to the tent to rest right away!"

Sakura's tone was much more decisive than usual.

After saying that, she supported Horikita and walked slowly toward the newly pitched tent.

It would be great if she made expressions like that more often.

Watching their retreating figures, Ayanokoji muttered to himself.

The next morning.

Ayanokoji crawled out of his tent and took a breath of the forest air.

Uh...

It wasn't particularly fresh; it was mixed with a faint, salty scent.

If not for this smell, Ayanokoji wouldn't have realized he was on an island at first.

Although this island wasn't large, the trees were exceptionally lush, and walking through them was almost no different from being in a primeval jungle.

One could very easily get lost if not careful.

This was likely one of the reasons why the school forced them to wear the Smartwatch.

Ayanokoji thought to himself as he looked at the watch on his wrist.

He deliberately glanced at another tent not far away, but there was no movement.

Sure enough, the special medicine induced heavy drowsiness, and combined with a weakened body, it was difficult for a normal person to maintain their usual routine.

Even for Horikita, who had been waking up early for ten years, this was no exception.

After staring for a moment, he shifted his gaze away from the girls' tent and toward the forest ahead.

He intended to take a walk and gather some information he wanted to know, so he fell into deep thought as he walked.

The method for occupying a base was for the student acting as the leader to personally bring their card to the designated spot to clock in, and then clock in again every eight hours; otherwise, the right of possession would be lost, and each clock-in would grant 1 private point.

There were 16 bases in total on the island, scattered in various locations, requiring one to explore them on their own...

The reward of 1 point per clock-in was far too meager; if a class only occupied one base and clocked in three times a day, they could only earn a maximum of 18 points over seven days.

And judging by the situation over the past two days, it was not easy for a class to occupy more than two bases for a long period.

Not to mention that the locations of the bases were unknown, it was also asking too much to have the "leader" travel back and forth between multiple bases every eight hours to clock in.

Unless one learned some kind of ninjutsu, they would be exhausted sooner or later.

Moreover, this would make it very easy to expose oneself.

Once exposed, not only would 50 points be deducted if others guessed the leader correctly, but all the point rewards earned from the time and effort spent occupying the bases would also be forfeited.

The risk and the reward were completely disproportionate.

In other words.

Was the key to this exam hidden in concealing and guessing the leaders, and whether or not one occupied the bases was actually irrelevant...

What a truly boring guessing game.

Ayanokoji thought this to himself, yet a faint, different train of thought flickered in his mind.

While lost in thought, his peripheral vision was caught by a wild figure in the trees not far ahead.

Koenji...

Perhaps, he could be put to use.

Time reached the afternoon, and Horikita in the tent finally opened her heavy eyelids.

Because she had slept for so long, when she opened her eyes, she felt as if her upper and lower lids were stuck together, sticky, with something clinging to her eyelashes.

After glancing in the mirror, she decisively chose to go out and wash her face.

"Ugh..."

Stretching slightly, she felt her body was much lighter than yesterday; was it really the effect of the medicine...

A face with a cold expression momentarily surfaced in her mind.

She never thought she would end up owing him a favor like this.

A gust of forest wind blew, and she felt much more clear-headed.

"Have you heard? It seems Class C has given up on the exam."

"Eh!? Is the news reliable?"

"Someone saw it with their own eyes; after using up their points to enjoy themselves for a whole day, they withdrew and went back to the ship..."

"I really don't understand them..."

A burst of discussion came from nearby, and she raised her eyes to look, lost in thought.

"You're awake, Horikita-san."

Sakura, who was nearby, saw Horikita come out and walked over to ask with concern: "How are you? Is your body feeling better?"

"...Thank you, much better."

Horikita looked at her for a moment, then turned her gaze to the surroundings of the camp.

"Where is Ayanokoji?"

Sakura was slightly surprised and stunned for a moment, then slowly said:

"I don't know either; I haven't seen him since this morning..."

Hearing this, Horikita's brows furrowed slightly.

Afterward, she thanked Sakura and walked back to the tent, her posture of hugging her arms making her look like she was still afraid of the cold.

"Horikita-san... doesn't use any honorifics at all when calling Ayanokoji-kun."

Watching Horikita's back as she walked back to the tent, Sakura Airi's expression was slightly dazed.

In the evening, Ayanokoji walked back to the camp with a calm and indifferent pace.

Just as he emerged from the shade of the trees, he heard a flurry of whispers inside the tent, along with a few girls who were very concerned, sticking to the outside and peering in.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

Could it be...

Did I take the wrong medicine?

However, his thoughts were overturned the very next second.

He saw Horikita walk out from another tent, arms crossed, slowly approaching him.

Her expression was somewhat grave; she glanced at the boys' tent on the other side, blinked slowly, and spoke:

"Ayanokoji..."

"Hirata is injured."