But I Wasn't Trying to Hide

"Takahashi-kun..." Hirata called out to Takahashi with a hint of concern in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Well... let's talk outside."

"Sure."

"Ayanokouji-kun, you're up too."

"Yeah... that's right."

"Perfect timing. Could you also offer some advice?"

"Sure..."

"Takahashi-kun, Ayanokouji-kun, I did some calculations last night. Including the thirty points deducted for Takagahara-kun's withdrawal, the points we used yesterday total around a hundred. I told everyone we'd have at least a hundred and twenty left, but honestly, how much we'll actually have in the end is still... I couldn't sleep well thinking about how few points we'll have left after the exam." Hirata pointed at the guide manual, showing Takahashi the points needed for purchases one by one. It was clear Takagahara's withdrawal had thrown off Hirata's plans.

"Managing the class finances must be tough," Ayanokouji said.

"I do it because I enjoy it. As long as I can bring everyone in the class together, that's enough for me. But it seems unexpectedly difficult. How many special exam points we can save will heavily influence our future campus life. Still, I feel like I can't force everyone and make them uncomfortable."

But you know, Hirata, uniting everyone in this school is hard, and what really brings people together isn't a brilliant leader—it's a common enemy.

"Anyway, enough talk. Thanks for listening to my complaints. If you'd like, want to come wash our faces together?"

Takahashi and Ayanokouji nodded in agreement. The sun was slowly rising, and the temperature was climbing. The three of them decided to head to a nearby river.

As they approached the river, they spotted an unexpected classmate nearby.

"What are you doing here?" Hirata asked.

A student from Class B—Kanzaki—was peeking toward the Class D camp as if spying. A little farther off, an unfamiliar male student was also looking their way; he was probably from Class B too.

Kanzaki looked a bit surprised that the three had come out of their tents so early, but he quickly regained his composure.

"A day's passed, and I was wondering how you all were doing, so I came to check things out. You've claimed a good spot." Kanzaki admired the tents by the river, noting that being close to the water would save quite a few exam points.

"By the way, I'm Kanzaki Ryuji. Just call me Kanzaki. Sorry, I was just wandering around and ended up at your camp. Seems our two camps are pretty close!" As if to make up for it, Kanzaki pointed down a path. "Follow this road from here, and on the way back to the beach, there's a broken tree. Head southwest into the forest from there, and you'll see Class B's campsite. If you go into the forest from that broken tree, you shouldn't get lost. If you need anything, feel free to come by. We're happy to help—trust me, we have no ill intentions toward you."

With that, Kanzaki walked off without looking back.

"Kanzaki-kun..." Hirata looked at Takahashi and Ayanokouji.

"Probably came to scout our camp," Ayanokouji replied.

By checking the number of toilets, showers, tents, and so on, you could roughly estimate a class's point expenditure. But Kanzaki and his group likely wanted to know more than that—they probably wanted to figure out who the class representative was, just as Class D wanted to know theirs.

"Our strategy of saving points should be decent enough... At least I think even if we can't beat the other classes in this special exam, the final result won't be too bad. So I don't want other classes to guess our representative." Hirata cupped some river water to wash his face as he spoke.

"Don't worry about it too much. You've done well already. You can afford to relax a bit."

"Thanks, Takahashi-kun."

"I think we need to sort out our sleeping situation. The ground's too hard. Without something like a cushion to soften it, this week's going to be rough—might even mess up our necks. After everyone wakes up, I want to gather opinions and get moving. We all need to help each other and work together."

"What do you think you're doing? Looking for a fight?"

Sudo's shouts came from the camp. Hearing him, the three immediately ran back.

When they returned, Komiya and Kondo from Class C were wandering around the camp, looking everywhere, while Ryuuen and Albert stood off to the side as if waiting for someone. Ibuki was hiding behind a tent, and Kushida was talking to her about something.

"Those two are the ones who clashed with Sudo before. The other two I don't recognize."

As soon as they got back, a classmate came to report to Hirata.

"My, my... Class D is living such a miserable life. Truly fitting for a class full of defective products."

The two were munching loudly on potato chips and gulping down drinks as if cooling off.

"What'd you have for breakfast today? Weeds? Or earthworms dug out of the dirt? Hahaha, want me to toss you something good?" Komiya threw a chip onto the ground and taunted Sudo, "Here, eat up."

"Damn it, you bastard." Sudo was about to explode, but Ike stopped him:

"Calm down, Sudo. The exam rules say no fighting."

Seeing Takahashi and the others return, Ryuuen glanced at Albert, who nodded and headed toward the girls.

"What are you doing? Don't come near me," Karuizawa shouted.

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

"Slap!"

Takahashi grabbed Albert's wrist, his gaze fixed on Ryuuen, who was watching him back.

Takahashi's inner monologue: Heh, Ryuuen, I know you're trying to test me, but there's no need. Because I've never planned on hiding anything.

"Ryuuen, the path at Class D's camp is slippery. Keep your dog on a leash, and don't let it fall! "

With that, he kicked Albert in the head (like Mikey's nuclear kick to Hanma Shuji). Albert tried to struggle up, but Takahashi kicked him in the stomach again, sending him flying two meters back, where he lay on the ground vomiting.

"No... way," Karuizawa muttered, eyes wide, hands covering her mouth in disbelief.

For a moment, everyone stared at Takahashi in shock. They never expected the harmless-looking Takahashi to be this fierce.

"Hahaha, Takahashi, you're really something!" Ryuuen laughed loudly. "Let's go."

After saying that, he turned and left. Komiya and Kondo came over to help Albert away.

"Hold on. You, the one who threw the chips just now. You created trash in our class's camp—aren't you going to clean it up?"

Komiya looked nervously at Takahashi, clearly shaken by the two moves he'd just witnessed.

"And don't forget to clean up what that black guy spat out too."