Ike Kanji

The Class D group arrived at the previously agreed location, and fortunately, it hadn't been occupied by another class yet.

After confirming no one from other classes was around, everyone gathered around Horikita, who used her key card to check in at this base point—the next check-in wouldn't be for another eight hours.

Hirata assigned tasks, and everyone set up tents and cleared the underbrush in an orderly fashion.

Ike, meanwhile, went to the riverbank and shouted for everyone to come over.

Then he scooped up water with his hands, eyes gleaming, and said, "Look, the water quality is great! This way we won't have to spend points on buying water."

"It does look drinkable, but..."

"Is it really okay to drink river water? Won't something go wrong?"

"Can we actually drink it? Won't we get stomachaches?"

"Seriously?"

"What's wrong with you guys? We finally found a river, how can we not make good use of it?"

"You say it so easily, then you drink it."

Ike immediately scooped up some water with his hand and drank it.

"Mmm~ Delicious! Shinohara, come try it too."

Shinohara took half a step back.

"...You... actually drank it? I was just saying that. I'm not drinking that, gross."

Qiuyue: (Go ahead and drink, just hope no one upstream took a piss in it. At least use some points to get a filter.)

"Shinohara! You!"

"Gross, I hate guys like you the most."

"What!"

Qiuyue: (...Don't hate him too much, you two bickering lovebirds. In the later story, you two actually end up as a couple...)

(...Keep arguing, keep arguing. 'Fighting is affection, scolding is love'—that saying fits you two perfectly.)

"Well, well, we still have plenty of time, no need to rush a decision."

"Yeah, that's true."

Hirata stepped in to mediate again, and Karuizawa chimed in to back him up.

After the argument died down, everyone went their separate ways.

Ayanokoji asked from the side:

"Ike, are you good at camping in the wild?"

"...Because I used to go camping with my family a lot when I was a kid. I can tell if water is clean just by looking at it."

Rather than sounding proud, it was more like he was stating something obvious.

Qiuyue: (I see, so that's Ike's strong point. Anyone who gets into this school must have something they excel at.)

(...Honestly, Ike, I don't dislike you as much as I thought.)

Qiuyue walked up, picked up a stone from the ground, bent over, and skipped it sideways into the river.

The stone bounced three times before sinking. Qiuyue crouched down next to Ike.

Qiuyue: (Even in the original story, he chases after Shinohara later on and keeps working hard. He just tends to get carried away easily—but for a teenage boy, that's not a huge problem. As long as he puts in effort and doesn't hold the class back, that's a good thing.)

(He has ability but doesn't flaunt it as a bragging point—that's way better than Yamauchi. Back when Yamauchi introduced himself, he was already showing off how good he was at baseball.)

(Yeah, you're always messing up and being careless, hmm... and that pervert who took photos in the girls' changing room. But you don't have any hidden motives; you say what you mean. Being friends with you would probably be pretty fun.)

(Plus, having someone with a lot of camping experience to lead us could save a lot of points. That's a good thing for Class D.)

"Ike, are you interested in leading our class through this camping trip?"

"Me? Can I really do it? The people in our class won't accept me... I'll just go take a swim in the river."

Ike turned back, pointed at himself in confusion, shook his head, and then walked away.

Qiuyue stood up and headed back toward the main camp.

"What are you planning to do?"

As Qiuyue passed by Ayanokoji, Ayanokoji spoke up.

Qiuyue: (...Why does that feel like a double entendre... I feel like you've already got your eye on me.)

"I'll do whatever I want to do. Most of the time, I just act on impulse."

Qiuyue replied with a smile, not stopping his stride, hands in his pockets.

Qiuyue: (Who knows... I just wanted to do this. I guess I've changed a bit compared to before too.)

Qiuyue arrived at the central area, saw Hirata assigning work, and leaned against a tree to wait for a while until Hirata paused what he was doing.

"Hirata, can we talk for a bit?"

Hirata looked a bit startled, then after a moment of hesitation, welcomed him warmly. "Qiuyue, of course."

"Actually, Ike has a lot of camping experience. I think he's very suited to lead us through this uninhabited island life."

"Is that so? That's great. I'll go find Ike-kun right now and ask him to lead the class."

With that, Hirata stood up, ready to go find Ike.

Qiuyue: (...You really are a man of action. But what Ike needs right now isn't that. What he needs is a chance to show his abilities in front of the class.)

"Wait, Hirata-kun. Even if you go find Ike now, he just got shot down. He's not ready yet."

"Ah... I see. Then Qiuyue-kun, do you have a good idea?"

"Hirata-kun, gather everyone in the class later. Say you want to discuss the food problem from now on. Leave the rest to me."

"...Eh... Alright. Thank you, Qiuyue-kun."

Hirata was taken aback by Qiuyue's words for a moment, then broke into a relieved smile.

Qiuyue: (...For crying out loud, what's with that doting smile of yours (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣...)

As Ayanokoji's group returned to the camp carrying branches, they also brought along a blue-haired short girl. Soon after, people trickled back one after another.

Qiuyue: (So that's Ibuki. The girls at this school are all this high-quality...)

The last group, Kushida's team, returned to camp just as their watch hit five o'clock. In their hands were nothing but some fruits.

Qiuyue walked over to Kushida and spoke.

"Kushida-kun, can I take a look at the food you collected?"

"Uh, sure. Do you recognize them, Qiuyue-kun?"

Without hesitation, Kushida handed the fruits to Qiuyue and asked him.

Though his voice wasn't loud, it drew the attention of everyone in the class. After all, everyone wanted to know if those oddly shaped fruits were edible.

Qiuyue held them in his hands, turning them over for a look.

Qiuyue: (Hmm... I have no idea what these are.)

"I don't recognize them, but I know someone who definitely does. He's been camping with his family since he was a kid."

"Eh, impressive. Who is that? Can you tell me, Qiuyue-kun?"

Qiuyue didn't answer. Instead, he scanned the class for a figure that hadn't yet returned.

"Qiuyue-kun?"

Until Qiuyue spotted Ike Kanji slowly emerging from the shadows of the forest.

Qiuyue raised his hand high and waved toward Ike, shouting loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"Oi—, Ike—! Come over here and tell me if this thing is edible."

Qiuyue hit the nail on the head, asking the question the class cared about most.

"Oh, oh! That's Purple Plum. It's really good, sweet and sour."

Seeing this, Kushida picked up a fruit and tried to ask Ike, "Ike-kun, do you know what this fruit is?"

"This? It's called Akebia. It's really sweet. Over in the Zhonghua Family, I think it's used as a kind of medicine."

"Huh... Then what about this one, Ike-kun?"

"..."

Qiuyue silently slipped away from the crowd surrounding Ike. Hirata naturally came up beside him to express his thanks.

"It's nothing. Not a big deal. Just a small favor. It's for the class, anyway. And soon, you should be the one to deliver the final push."

Qiuyue smiled casually.

"Saying it's a favor is too much, Qiuyue-kun. I just asked Ike-kun to lead the class. That's all I can do for the class."

Hirata said with a wry smile. Qiuyue didn't reply, and Hirata didn't mind. He walked toward Ike, who was still surrounded by the crowd.

Qiuyue took a deep breath, shook his head with a smile, and uttered the classic line of an invincible man.

"Yare yare."