Third Day on the Deserted Island: "Bewilderment"

The next day, Ayanokoji woke up earlier than everyone else, just as he had the previous two days.

However, what made today different was that Horikita had finally returned to her healthy biological clock.

Early in the morning, Ayanokoji saw her stretching her limbs on the grass.

Good, she was in much better spirits.

Yet, Ayanokoji did not want to go over and greet her, because he knew he still owed Horikita a piece of information.

Information only exerts its maximum effect when told to the right person at the right time; otherwise, it is highly likely to lose its intended impact due to premature disclosure.

Of course, he did not think Horikita would leak it easily.

It was just.

There was an even more important reason.

He found it troublesome.

Thus, wanting to see the morning seascape today, he walked directly in the direction opposite to where Horikita was facing.

The campsite was some distance from the beach, requiring a short trek through a patch of woods.

Ayanokoji walked leisurely, planning his next moves in his head as he went.

After walking for a while, he noticed a few people wandering around not far ahead, as if they were looking for something.

Since there was a familiar face among them, and he was indeed a bit curious, he decided to go over and see what was happening.

"Good morning, Ichinose."

"Ayanokoji-kun? What are you doing here?"

Ichinose looked a bit puzzled; she knew the Class D campsite was quite a distance away, and it was still very early.

"I came out for a walk and happened to see you, so I came over to take a look."

"What's wrong? Did you run into some trouble?"

Ayanokoji said, his tone as calm as water.

"Uh... actually, one of the girls in our class has gone missing."

"We're looking for her right now."

As she spoke, Ichinose furrowed her pretty brows, her expression filled with worry.

"Then let me help you; I don't have anything to do anyway."

Ayanokoji blurted out, seemingly testing the waters.

"Then thank you, Ayanokoji-kun."

Having had several interactions before, Ichinose did not refuse Ayanokoji's offer of help.

However, the other members of Class B appeared somewhat wary.

As soon as Ichinose finished speaking, Kanzaki intentionally moved to her side and cast a sidelong glance at her that she could perceive, as if to remind her of something.

But a moment later, Ichinose said to him:

"It's fine, Ayanokoji-kun isn't the type of person to be deeply calculating."

Ayanokoji: "..."

Is she saying I have no brain?

Ichinose, how did you manage to make so many friends?

Hearing this, Kanzaki stopped objecting, though the glances he occasionally shot at Ayanokoji remained guarded.

Afterward, Ayanokoji began searching the forest with the members of Class B.

Ayanokoji suggested they split up to increase efficiency, which was agreed upon, so he chose a direction to search on his own.

He also wanted to trust his intuition for once.

The missing person was Shiranami Chihiro from their class, the girl who had been rejected by Ichinose when she confessed her feelings last time. What a strange twist of fate; he hadn't walked far before he noticed a figure under a tree ahead, circling it as if looking for something.

Ayanokoji walked over quietly and asked:

"Are you Shiranami from Class B?"

"Waaah..."

The girl was startled by the sudden voice. She patted her chest to calm herself down before speaking slowly and with a hint of wariness:

"Yes... who are you?"

"Class D, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

"People from your class are looking for you; they're very worried."

Ayanokoji said flatly, the implication being that the girl should hurry back and not run around aimlessly like a child.

As for why he labeled her a child, it was because the girl was truly small.

If you still don't understand, let me put it another way.

It was truly flat.

Ayanokoji did not judge anyone, nor did he judge any mountain peak; even Horikita had a moderate amount of substance, but this girl, she really had none.

Upon learning that people from her class had started looking for her, Shiranami Chihiro was stunned for a moment, and after a few seconds, she began to grow somewhat flustered.

Watching her hurried and anxious appearance, Ayanokoji couldn't help but ask:

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I... I accidentally lost something very important."

"..."

"Can you tell me what it looks like? I can help you look for it."

For the first time in a long while, Ayanokoji felt a surge of helpfulness.

"No... it's fine, I can look for it myself."

The girl refused, acting somewhat bashful.

At this point, Ayanokoji had already guessed the truth of the matter.

All his probing had received a response.

Kanzaki's vigilance, the girl's refusal of help, and her bearing the burden alone.

It must be that thing!

That neat, square, rectangular object that looked like a bank card but could only withdraw ten cents at a time.

The answer was clear in his mind.

Ayanokoji opened his mouth slightly:

"Do you remember where you went yesterday?"

This time, it was out of genuine concern.

"I remember I was basically in the camp all day yesterday. I only came out halfway through to pick up some firewood, right around here. I didn't go anywhere else at all..."

The girl said with a confused look, her face wearing an expression that suggested "this shouldn't be," and tears were ready to well up in her eyes.

After listening, Ayanokoji frowned slightly, suddenly associating this with a scene he had witnessed in their class last night, and tentatively spoke up: "Are there any students from other classes staying in your class's camp?"

"Eh? How did you know?"

Hearing this, Shiranami Chihiro was somewhat surprised.

"Kaneda from Class C is currently staying in our camp because he was treated violently by Ryuen..."

Sure enough, Ayanokoji's brow smoothed out instantly.

It wasn't that the girl couldn't find her item, but that she had been looking in the wrong direction from the start.

After pondering for a moment, he spoke again:

"You can go back to the camp and look again. If you spent most of your time there, it's more likely that you left it behind in the camp."

"In the tent, on the beach, or perhaps tucked away with other items inside your bag—you probably haven't searched those places thoroughly yet, have you?"

Ayanokoji said calmly.

He had a firm grasp on the psychology of someone who had lost something.

They would doubt every location, even places they had already searched. Since the loss was a reality, they would remain immersed in a state of insecure self-doubt until the item was found.

At this moment, just giving them a reminder would create the illusion that "maybe I really didn't look carefully enough."

This would guide them to search again.

Sure enough, after Ayanokoji's reminder, the girl was dazed for a good while before looking up and saying to him:

"...You're right, I'll go back and look carefully!"

Afterward, she turned and walked toward the Class B camp, occasionally looking back to see if Ayanokoji was following her.

Too bad, little sister.

I already know what I'm interested in.

Besides, your size doesn't attract me anyway.

Ayanokoji's heart remained calm and unruffled.

It wasn't really because of the two mounds of flesh on her chest.

It was because once the girl reunited with Ichinose and the others, they would surely discuss some "important" topics, and it would be somewhat awkward for him to be present.

And the reason he had the girl go back to search wasn't just to get rid of her.

He guessed that Kaneda from Class C probably just wanted to verify the card against their class leader's card, or perhaps he had just happened to encounter someone nearby while peeking and had taken the card along with him; he didn't actually want to steal it.

Because doing so would be meaningless; knowing who the cardholder was, was enough.

Stealing the card would only alert the victimized class and force them to take countermeasures.

Now, it was just a matter of whether Class B could discover that their "leader" had been exposed.

After a moment of meditation, Ayanokoji stretched his slightly stiff neck and looked up at the sky.

So, who could the leader of Class C be?

Kaneda? Ibuki?

Or someone else.