Taking in Ibuki

"If we choose to boil the river water to solve our drinking problem, could those in favor please raise your hands?"

This time, Ike wasn't acting on his own to demand drinking river water—he was asking for everyone's opinion. Of course, he raised his hand first, followed by nearly half the boys. Did Takahashi raise his hand? Takahashi was in the woods holding Sakura's hand, pressing her against a tree to kiss her—how could that not count as raising a hand? Shinohara looked torn, but Ike gently told her, "Don't force yourself."

"I... I really want to try hard... but I feel like I just can't accept it. If we boiled the river water a few more times, I could give it a shot."

"If that's the case..." Though the numbers were small, more classmates expressed approval. At a different timing, the proposal that had once been rejected passed without a hitch. Shinohara looked reluctant, but she raised her hand anyway.

Kushida, to get the remaining students on board, followed Shinohara's lead and raised her hand. The rest of the students, seeing Hirata, Karuizawa, and Kushida all with hands up, slowly raised theirs too.

"I don't know if I can drink it... but I'll give it a try."

"I'm in favor too. I think if I can get the first sip down, the rest will be fine."

"To save more points and live a cushier life next month—cheers, bros."

"Everyone," Hirata said, looking at the raised hands, "I understand that suddenly drinking river water might be hard for some of you to accept. So I think we should use points to buy some bottled water first—not too much, just enough for today and tomorrow. After we finish the water, we can use the plastic bottles to carry more."

After getting everyone's agreement, Hirata turned to Ike and said, "Ike, it looks like you're the only one in class with camping experience... Can you help us out?"

"Uh, since you're begging me so sincerely, I'll graciously lend you a hand."

"Thank you, Ike!"

Then everyone immediately asked him about food.

"It's going to get dark soon, so we'll have to use points to buy food for today. But for tomorrow and beyond, let me think it over. Out in the wild, there's all kinds of food around us. Anyway, I'll head into the forest tomorrow to scout things out."

"Ike, isn't there a river by our camp? Can we catch fish?"

"Yeah, we can fish. Fish grilled over a campfire tastes amazing."

"But how do we catch them? None of us have any fishing experience."

"Hmm... that's a problem, but I remember the guidebook says we can rent fishing rods."

"Fishing? Really? I love watching Jeremy Wade."

"Besides fishing, Kikyo, can you take me to where you picked fruit today tomorrow?"

"No problem, Kanji."

Seeing that the classmates had stopped crowding around Hirata, Ayanokouji finally found a chance to talk to him.

"Hirata..." Ayanokouji started, but was cut off.

"Come to think of it... isn't that girl over there Ibuki from Class C? I've seen her before." Sato looked at Ibuki sitting quietly in the distance, a bit puzzled. It seemed that before Ayanokouji and Hirata could talk, some classmates had already noticed her.

Yamauchi explained nervously, "Ibuki got into a fight with someone in her class and got kicked out."

"I see. Then we can't just ignore her. A girl alone in the forest at night is too dangerous," Hirata said.

"But Hirata... what if she's a spy? Remember, the exam includes guessing the other classes' representatives..."

"Ah, right... I forgot about that. Crap, why did I only think of that now? Ayanokouji, you should've reminded me. No wait, it was Takahashi who told me to bring her back." Yamauchi clutched his head.

"I'll go confirm things with Ibuki now. Yamauchi and Ayanokouji, can you come with me?"

Then Hirata, Yamauchi, and Ayanokouji headed over to Ibuki.

"May I interrupt, Ibuki? I'd like to ask you a few questions, like the details of what happened."

"I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry for causing you trouble. I'll leave now." Ibuki jumped to a conclusion and started to leave the Class D camp, standing up as she spoke.

"Wait, I hope you can tell me what happened that made your classmates... um... please don't misunderstand. We really want to help you."

Hirata emphasized the last part to stop Ibuki. Seeing her cheek, he realized something serious was going on.

"Even if I tell you, nothing will change. I don't want to waste any more of your time."

"This is an exam, so it's understandable that students might suspect you. But you're injured and can't go back to your own class. We don't want to drive you away, and we really want to help you. Yamauchi brought you here with that in mind, so I hope you can tell me the whole story."

"But this isn't a problem that can be solved just by talking. I heard your discussion earlier. You don't want to leak any more information about how to pass the exam, do you?"

Ibuki turned and took a step to the side. Yamauchi circled around and stopped her somewhat forcefully.

"If you were really a spy, you wouldn't volunteer to leave like that, would you?"

Takahashi: (expression reference: smirking) Spies don't say they're spies.

"Enough, don't stop me. I'm just looking for a place to sleep."

"A girl camping alone in this forest is too dangerous. It's already dark—what if you run into some wild animal?"

"Even if it's dangerous, I have no choice. Even if you help me, what do you get out of it? Nothing but worry, right? Afraid I'm a spy stealing info on who your class's representative is."

"This has nothing to do with worry. Leaving a girl behind in the forest is what would make us uneasy. I just want to help someone in trouble, to abandon no one. Everyone here feels the same."

Hirata flashed a refreshing smile that could easily make a girl fall for him.

In the end, Ibuki gave in to Hirata's persuasion and began to explain the details of why she was kicked out.

"I got into an argument with some guy in my class. He hit me and threw me out. That's all."

"How awful... laying hands on such a cute girl." Yamauchi said angrily.

"I'm not going into more detail. I don't want to talk about how I got hit, and I don't expect you to take me in. That's it."

"Wait. I know you're really in a bind, and I understand your predicament. Could you spare us a moment? I'll explain the full situation to the other students—everyone's very understanding. If we talk it over, I'm sure they'll take you in. Ayanokouji, can you look after Ibuki? Yamauchi and I will go explain things to everyone now."

As for the result of the discussion, thanks to Hirata's explanation and guarantee, everyone ultimately decided that Class D would take care of Ibuki. There were some students who voiced strong opposition, but when Hirata mentioned that every time a member was absent from roll call, Class C would lose points, even those objecting eventually accepted it.

Although Hirata himself seemed to have no such intention, the other students were different. Because there was a tangible benefit, they agreed to accept Ibuki—this utilitarian, results-driven attitude has "profit-seeking" as its core motive for action. Having Ibuki in Class D made them feel that Class C would lose points, which was more advantageous to them, so they let Ibuki stay in Class D.

However, the issue of territorial rights here is extremely sensitive. Class D's agreement with Ibuki was that she wouldn't recklessly approach the check-in device. If she saw through the fact that Horikita was the representative, Class D would suffer enormous damage—no less than the points Class C would lose from missing roll call.