Hirata's Request, Horikita Is Full of Spirit

"..."

"So, I think the key to this exam is to guess the leaders of the other classes and..."

Horikita glanced toward the direction of the boys' tent.

"...conceal the leader of our own class."

Ayanokoji nodded silently.

At this moment, he was analyzing the "testing points" of this exam with Horikita.

He did acknowledge her insight.

The girl was just too rigid and lacked strategic planning, but she was certainly intelligent.

Through these two days of observation, she had successfully grasped the core of the exam.

Truth be told, after taking his medicine, Horikita's health had improved, and her IQ had begun to reclaim the high ground.

Thinking of this, Ayanokoji felt a small sense of pride in his heart.

"Ayanokoji, do you have any ideas?"

Seeing his contemplative expression, Horikita asked him, her gaze still fixed on that boys' tent.

Ayanokoji knew she was asking about the fact that Hirata, their leader, was injured.

He watched the crowd around the tent for a moment in silence, then spoke up:

"Horikita, you remember what Chabashira said earlier, right?"

"That the leader cannot be changed unless there are special circumstances implies that there is still room for a change."

"Yes, I had considered that point as well."

Horikita agreed, their thoughts aligning.

"But if Hirata retires due to injury, who would take over?"

Ayanokoji turned around, looked her up and down for a moment, and then spoke slowly:

"I have an idea..."

Inside the boys' tent, Hirata was sitting in the center with both legs stretched straight out; one foot was visibly a size larger than the other.

Several boys were nearby offering their concerns, while Karuizawa, his girlfriend, stood on the periphery, her face showing both worry and fear.

If it were just a boyfriend getting injured, she shouldn't have that latter emotion.

Ayanokoji muttered to himself, walked into the tent, and squatted down beside Hirata.

"I'm sorry, Ayanokoji-kun."

"Because of my carelessness, I've delayed everyone's progress in the exam."

Ayanokoji shook his head, glanced at his abnormally swollen foot, and said:

"Getting injured during outdoor life is normal. If anything, it would be more unusual to have no wear and tear on your body at all. You don't need to blame yourself."

After hearing this, Hirata shifted his gaze slightly to examine Ayanokoji, then said half-jokingly:

"It seems I have an unusual example right in front of me."

"Well, it's only the second day; the physical toll isn't that obvious yet."

Ayanokoji said nonchalantly.

Then, his hollow eyes met Hirata's, gathering a hint of seriousness.

"Hirata, withdraw and go back to the ship to rest."

Hearing this, Hirata's eyes showed surprise. Just as he was about to ask for the reason, Ayanokoji continued:

"If you don't go back to get this injury treated promptly, there is a high probability it will leave lasting damage."

Ayanokoji's tone was as cold as ice water.

"I think I can still hold on..."

Hirata gritted his teeth slightly, his expression showing reluctance.

It looked like he knew how serious his sprain was; he could even feel pain in his injured foot just from the wind blowing on it.

"..."

"Listen to me, go back."

Ayanokoji continued to stare at him, his expression unchanging.

"Staying here now, you can't do anything, and instead, you'll force others to look after you."

"Plus, with your injury, if any other accident happens..." Ayanokoji cast a sidelong glance at his injured foot, "this foot might just be retired for good."

Hirata was stunned by his words; Ayanokoji's dark humor felt like a bit of a hellish joke to him.

"But..." He lowered his head slightly, his face heavy, and gritted his teeth: "Doing that will cause the class to lose 30 points for nothing..."

Ayanokoji stared at him for the duration of a breath, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said:

"Hirata, do you think you're only worth 30 points?"

His face was indifferent, his gaze as cold as frost.

Hirata looked at his expression, feeling somewhat dazed.

That expression, that tone—it didn't seem like he was worried about his injuries. It felt more like he had placed him on a scale, weighed him against certain chips, and made a decision based entirely on cold, rational calculation.

Ayanokoji had seen his future value to the class and made the choice he deemed most advantageous...

"I understand..."

Hirata said with a helpless expression.

If the person persuading him had been acting out of personal sentiment, he might have tried to be stubborn, but if the advice was based entirely on the interests of the class, he had no reason not to listen.

"Ayanokoji, I'll leave the class matters to you from now on."

Hirata put on a serious face, his words heavy with weight.

"Yeah."

Ayanokoji nodded slowly.

However, it was getting late and the path was difficult to navigate; they would have to wait until tomorrow to help him back to the ship...

Emerging from the tent, Ike and the others not far away had already lit a bonfire, illuminating the entire campsite.

As the sun set, the firelight gradually replaced the lingering glow of dusk.

Everyone in Class D, with the exception of Hirata, was gathered around the bonfire.

The light of the fire hit everyone's faces, as if casting a natural, soft filter over each of them.

The group was still discussing Hirata's injury, but Ayanokoji turned his attention to a short-haired girl sitting alone not far away.

Ibuki Mio from Class C.

When Ayanokoji returned in the evening, he had already seen her in their class's campsite.

It was said that because she opposed Ryuen, he had driven her away with violence, and the "geniuses" of Class D, in a fit of saintly compassion, had brought her back to stay with them...

Typical Class D.

Ayanokoji sighed to himself, a rare occurrence.

"You also think that woman has ulterior motives, right?"

Noticing Ayanokoji's gaze, Horikita, who was beside him, spoke up.

"Yeah... no matter how you look at it, she has no reason to be here."

"Ryuen and the others have already returned to the ship. The excuse that she just didn't want to stay with them is a bit far-fetched, but..."

Ayanokoji shot a sudden glance at Horikita:

"Why does it feel like there's so much hostility in your words toward her?"

"It's nothing. My intuition just tells me that she and I don't get along."

"..."

Ayanokoji remained silent.

Terrifying.

Women, as a species, must truly possess some kind of special ability.

Just as he was lamenting this in his heart, Horikita broke the silence again.

"But the people in our class aren't just naive fools. We're keeping her at a certain distance and lent her a simple sleeping bag."

"And we're providing her with one person's worth of food every day..."

"Forget it, they are naive fools. Wasting one person's worth of points every day for no reason is one thing, but keeping a ticking time bomb by their side? If you ask me, we should have just ignored her. She would have gone back obediently after a couple of days of suffering, especially since the school's watch tracking would handle any emergencies..."

"What, is there a problem with what I said?"

After her long-winded opinion, Horikita paused and turned to look at Ayanokoji, who was staring at her with a blank, expressionless face.

Although she still had more to say, the boy's complete lack of reaction made her feel somewhat disrespected.

She thought to herself that she was completely in the right, and she wanted to see what kind of brilliant insight he had while he sat there with that deadpan face.

That was why she challenged the boy with a rhetorical question.

However, she didn't know that Ayanokoji hadn't cared at all whether she was right or wrong.

He hadn't even taken in much of what she had said.

He just looked at her indifferently, with only one thought in his mind:

Uh... very good, Horikita.

You've got plenty of energy.