Divergence (2)

At Takahashi's words, the crowd quieted down a little.

"Takahashi, you think we shouldn't buy the toilet and save these points, right?" Ike asked him.

"Hold on, Ike, let me finish." Takahashi took the guidebook from Hirata. "Before we decide whether to buy the toilet or not, I want to confirm a few things with everyone."

Seeing that no one spoke and just waited for him to continue, Takahashi spoke again:

"First thing: can everyone guarantee they won't get an upset stomach in the next week? I don't think any of you are sure about that either, since we're in an unfamiliar environment and preparing our own food. Second thing: with so many people in our class, I think one simple toilet won't be enough. Alright, that's all I have to say. Hirata, if a conflict breaks out later because the toilet isn't sufficient, it'll be far more troublesome than dealing with it now."

The last sentence was deliberately aimed at Hirata. From the very start of school, Takahashi knew Hirata cared deeply about his classmates, so this statement was an invisible push to force Hirata into making a decision quickly.

"Hmm... Takahashi's right. We have to survive here for a week, with too many uncertain factors. So we should buy this toilet."

"But..." Ike wanted to argue, but remembering Takahashi's words, he fell silent.

"Ike, I understand you want to save more points for the class, but we also need..." Hirata tried to comfort Ike, but was cut off before he could finish.

"Alright, alright, I get it. I just didn't think it through from the start."

"Thank you, Ike."

How gentle you are, Hirata.

While Hirata and Ike were talking, Takahashi casually flipped through the guidebook. The number of pages in that thick book equaled our freedom. At the same time, it showed how hard it was for the class to stay united.

After confirming what he had in mind, Takahashi handed the guidebook back to Hirata.

Then Takahashi noticed Teacher Chabashira's gaze. She had been watching the standoff between boys and girls from a distance with a cold expression. She didn't need to evaluate the students; Class D was full of defective products, a group destined to sink. But right now, she was probably in a tight spot herself. All she could do was watch coldly and keep provoking Class D's students—otherwise, how could they ever cross class boundaries and defeat Class C, or even Class B and Class A?

The dice had already been cast and couldn't be taken back, because the gamble had already begun.

"Hey, look, do you think Class A and Class B have already made a deal?"

A girl in the class noticed the movements of Class A and Class B students and said anxiously. As soon as she spoke, everyone turned to look.

Several students from Class A and Class B had already formed teams and were heading into the forest.

Probably scouting for camping spots or suitable bases.

Takahashi watched silently, thinking: It's like we've been sorted into grades. Class D and Class C both don't look united enough. No, to be precise, only Class D isn't united. With Ryuuen's personality, he'll definitely win this on his own. Class C is united because their tyrant has already decided to take a different path from the other three classes to win this competition. In the end, we just need to verify one last point in a few days...

Seeing that Classes A and B had started moving, but Class D had no clue how to even begin, Ike grew impatient and spoke up:

"Damn it, we can't be taking our time discussing toilets now! To save points, I'm going all out. I'll head into the forest to find a camp and base. Yukimura, keep an eye on Shinohara and the others—don't let them spend points recklessly."

"Got it. I was about to say the same thing."

Ike and Yukimura usually didn't get along well, but with a common goal now, they started cooperating.

"Wait, Ike-kun, going into the forest without a plan is too dangerous."

"But just sitting here arguing about the toilet won't work. We're out of time."

Seeing Ike say this, Hirata found himself torn between going and staying.

Just then, Sudo, who had gone to the toilet, returned. "I'll go with Ike. If we find a suitable campsite, we'll come back."

In the end, Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi set off to check for livable camp locations.

"Come to think of it, did Sudo-kun actually clean that toilet properly?"

A girl frowned and pointed toward the toilet with a worried look.

Everyone suddenly remembered that Sudo had come out of the toilet empty-handed, without any cleaning tools. In other words, it was probably...

The blazing sun beat down, and the toilet door was left wide open, unattended. By now, the tent was probably stifling hot, and the stench was likely spilling out.

After briefly deciding on the necessary purchases, everyone started carrying supplies into the forest.

"Karuizawa-san, Hirata-kun is really amazing! He handles even the toughest problems all by himself," one of Karuizawa's friends said.

"I think Takahashi is impressive too. Without his analysis, we might not have gotten the premium toilet," another friend added.

"But in the end, Hirata-kun made the final call. I believe even without Takahashi-kun, Hirata-kun would have managed just fine—Takahashi-kun just said the analysis out loud first."

Walking at the front of the group, Karuizawa and her friends gazed with admiration, their eyes fixed on Hirata as he struggled to carry the tent.

On the other side, Takahashi had Sakura Airi on his left and Hasebe Haruka on his right. Having two beautiful girls beside him should have been a pleasant thing, but...

"Hey, I said, Little Kan, don't you think you should help me carry some of this stuff since I'm holding so much?"

"Oh my, Little Kan, your analysis earlier was pretty cool! Why are you so weak now?" Hasebe said with a sly grin at Takahashi.

Arriving at an open space, they rested for a bit, then Hirata asked everyone: "Excuse me... does anyone here have knowledge of wilderness survival? We need someone to go ahead and explore the dense forest."

Seeing no one respond, Hirata awkwardly scratched his temple with a finger.

"Um... I can go." Kushida broke the awkward silence. She really was a little angel!

Hearing Kushida volunteer, the boys who had been reluctant to explore all raised their hands to join—after all, who wouldn't want a perfect encounter with a beautiful girl in the forest?

"One, two... eight people. Anyone else willing to join? If we get nine, we can split into three groups of three."

"You two rest here. I'll go check it out," Takahashi said to Hasebe and Sakura, then walked toward Hirata.

"Hirata, count me in."