But I Wasn't Trying to Hide

"Takahashi..." Hirata called to him, sounding a little worried.

"What is it?"

"Um... let's talk outside."

"Okay."

"Ayanokoji, you're up too."

"Yeah... I am."

"Perfect timing. Could you give me some advice too?"

"Um..."

"Takahashi, Ayanokoji, I did some calculations last night. Including the thirty points deducted because Kōenji withdrew from the exam, we used about a hundred points in total yesterday. I told everyone we'd have at least a hundred and twenty left, but how many we'll actually end up with is still... I couldn't sleep well thinking about how few points we might have left after the exam." Hirata pointed to the Guide Manual and showed Takahashi, item by item, how many points each purchase required. It was clear that Kōenji's withdrawal had thrown Hirata's plans into disarray.

"Keeping track of the class finances must be tough," Ayanokouji said.

"I do it because I want to. As long as everyone in the class can stay united, I'll be satisfied. But it's turned out to be harder than I expected. How many Special Exam points we have left will have a huge impact on our school life from now on. But I don't think I can force everyone to do things and make them uncomfortable."

But, Hirata, bringing everyone together at this school is difficult. And the thing that unites people isn't some brilliant leader. It's a common enemy.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for listening to me vent. If you're up for it, want to come wash your faces with me?"

Takahashi and Ayanokouji agreed. The sun slowly rose, and the temperature began to climb. The three of them decided to head for the nearby river.

As they made their way toward it, they spotted an unexpected classmate nearby.

"What are you doing here?" Hirata asked.

Kanzaki, a Class B student, was looking their way as if he were spying on Class D's camp. A little farther away, an unfamiliar boy was also watching them. He might have been from Class B too.

Kanzaki hadn't expected the three of them to leave their tents so early, and looked a little surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

"A day's already passed, so I came to see how you were doing. You've claimed a good spot." Kanzaki looked admiringly at the tents by the river. Camping near the water could save them quite a few Special Exam points.

"By the way, I'm Kanzaki Ryuji. You can just call me Kanzaki. Sorry, I was just wandering around and didn't mean to end up at your camp. Our two classes' camps are pretty close, though!" As if to make it up to Hirata and the others, Kanzaki pointed down a path. "Follow this path, and on the way back to the beach, you'll see a large tree that's been broken in half. Head southwest into the forest from there, and you'll find Class B's campsite. As long as you enter the forest by the broken tree, you shouldn't get lost. If you need anything, you can come by. We'd be happy to help. Believe me, we don't have any bad intentions toward you."

With that, Kanzaki left without looking back.

"Kanzaki..." Hirata turned to Takahashi and Ayanokouji.

"He was probably scouting out our camp," Ayanokouji replied.

Just by looking at the number of toilets, showers, and tents, they could get a rough idea of how many points a class had spent. But Kanzaki probably wanted to find out more than that. He was likely also trying to learn who the class representative was, just as Class D wanted to know who Class B's representative was.

"Our strategy of saving points seems to be going pretty well... At least, I think even if we can't beat the other classes in this Special Exam, the final result shouldn't be too bad. That's why I don't want the other classes to guess who our representative is." Hirata scooped up some river water and washed his face.

"You don't need to worry so much. You've already done a great job. You can afford to relax a little."

"Thanks, Takahashi."

"I think we need to do something about where we sleep. The ground is so hard. Without something soft to cushion us, this whole week will be rough, and we might even end up with neck problems. Once everyone's up, I want to gather their opinions and get things moving. We'll have to help each other and work together."

"What are you guys doing? Looking for a fight?"

Sudo's shout came from the camp. The three of them ran back as soon as they heard him.

When they got back, Komiya and Kondo from Class C were wandering around the camp, looking at everything. Ryuuen and Albert—the big, dark-skinned guy—stood off to the side, seemingly waiting for someone. Ibuki was hiding behind a tent, while Kushida was saying something to her.

"Those two are the ones who got into a fight with Sudo before. I don't know the other two."

A classmate came over to report to Hirata as soon as they returned.

"Well, well... Class D really is living a miserable life. No wonder, with so many defective products in your class."

The two boys stuffed their mouths with potato chips and guzzled their drinks as if trying to cool off.

"What are you having for breakfast today? Weeds? Or earthworms you dug out of the ground? Hahaha! Want your big brother to give you something tasty?" Komiya tossed a chip onto the ground and taunted Sudo. "There you go. Eat up."

"Damn you, you bastard." Sudo was about to lose his temper, but Ike tried to calm him down.

"Calm down, Sudo. The exam rules say we can't get physical."

When Ryuuen saw Takahashi and the others return, he glanced at Albert. Albert understood and headed toward the girls.

"What are you doing? Don't come any closer!" Karuizawa shouted.

But Albert ignored her and went straight toward Sakura, reaching out his hand.

"Smack!"

Takahashi grabbed Albert by the wrist and looked over at Ryuuen. Ryuuen was watching him too.

Takahashi thought, Heh, Ryuuen. I know you're trying to test me, but there's no need. I've never been trying to hide anything.

"Ryuuen, the path through Class D's camp is slippery. Keep your dog under control, or it might FALL!"

As he spoke, Takahashi kicked Albert in the head. Albert struggled to get back up, but Takahashi kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying two meters before he landed facedown and vomited.

"N-no way..." Karuizawa stood off to the side with her eyes wide, both hands over her mouth as she stared at Takahashi in disbelief.

Everyone stared at Takahashi in shock. They'd never imagined that the seemingly harmless Takahashi could be so strong.

"Hahahaha! Takahashi, you're really something!" Ryuuen said with a laugh. "Let's go."

With that, he turned and left. Komiya and Kondo helped Albert up and took him with them.

"Wait. You there, the one who threw the chips just now. You left trash in our camp. Aren't you going to clean it up?"

Komiya looked nervously at Takahashi, clearly shaken by what he'd just seen.

"And don't forget to clean up the stuff that dark-skinned guy threw up too."