Utsunomiya Riku put away his fishing rod and walked ahead with an empty bucket. Shiraishi Makoto followed behind him.
Both groups had come from the south of the island to the 3D area, so they had set up camp toward its southern edge. Shiraishi Makoto's group, however, had come up along the border between 5C and 5D, putting them farther east.
"President." Tsubaki Sakurako, who was at the camp, seemed to have expected Shiraishi Makoto. She showed no surprise at all.
There was also a girl from Class 1-C at the camp whom Shiraishi Makoto didn't know. She grew visibly nervous the moment she saw him. Tsubaki Sakurako leaned over and whispered a few instructions to her. The girl immediately gave Shiraishi Makoto a slight bow, then withdrew several dozen meters from the camp.
"After that day, we went over the clues again." Utsunomiya Riku leaned his fishing rod against a tree and spoke slowly. "Hosen doesn't seem to have been the one behind it."
Hosen Kazuomi was widely considered the most dangerous first-year, but getting Hatano expelled really didn't seem like his work.
Hosen's violence and thuggery served his interests. He was brazen about it, too, and wouldn't hide what he had done once a plan succeeded. What happened to Hatano was entirely different.
Hatano had been expelled for breaking the rules, without any extortion involved. The culprit's goal seemed to be getting an outstanding student expelled, not profiting from it.
Utsunomiya Riku had initially suspected Hosen Kazuomi for two reasons. First, their classes were right next to each other in the rankings, making them direct competitors. Second, Hosen Kazuomi had not denied getting Hatano expelled.
Utsunomiya Riku had confronted Hosen Kazuomi about it. Hosen's answer had been, "If you like, you can think that."
Blinded by anger, Utsunomiya