No, She's No Saint! (Continued)

They were going to fetch water.

A fire had already been lit, and a simple stove had been made using some large stones.

A large pot for steaming and boiling was placed on top.

Kushida was the first to step forward, volunteering to cook dinner for everyone else.

The students in Class C gathered together, busy and having a great time.

In fact, it was quite enjoyable.

The supplies provided by the school for exchanging items consisted mainly of bread and some barbecue ingredients, so they wouldn't go hungry. But wouldn't picking fresh food have a more authentic camping experience for them?

So, the atmosphere here in Class C is reminiscent of camping.

However, Mio Ibuki sat on a large rock on the outer edge, hugging her knees and quietly watching everything.

Although they were not allowed to stay, it was only natural that they would be isolated by others.

After all, she was a student in Class D.

"Your name is Ibuki, right?"

A dark shadow blocked the evening glow, causing Mio Ibuki to look up.

That one glance was enough to put her on guard.

Just as Horikita recognized her at first glance, she also recognized Horikita.

Ryuen specifically instructed us to keep an eye on Hachiman Hikigaya and Suzune Horikita from Class C. Suzune Horikita is quite famous in their class because, according to information from the court, she recorded Sudō Suzune Horikita Daichi Ishizaki hitting Sudō during the incident, and then deliberately waited until the court hearing to reveal all the evidence.

This caused Ryuen Class to suffer a great loss. They even dropped directly from Class C to Class D on that occasion.

Therefore, Suzune Horikita is someone who needs attention.

Horikita is also a girl, so the probability of her coming into contact with this spy is relatively high.

According to Ryuen, Horikita and Hachiman Hikigaya are the threats in this plan.

"What's up?"

Mio Ibuki glanced at Horikita, then quickly lowered her head, her voice indifferent.

"Were the injuries on your body inflicted by Ryuen?"

Horikita took a step back and, with the help of the rosy light, could see the red and swollen marks on Ibuki's face.

It's clear that the person who hit her hit her very hard.

They probably wanted to leave a mark that couldn't be erased in a short time, only in this way could they gain trust.

"It's Albert."

Upon hearing Horikita's question, Mio Ibuki's eyes flashed with excitement, and her body trembled involuntarily.

"Albert, that mixed-race guy?"

While on the deck, Horikita witnessed Ryuen's henchmen grabbing Ibuki.

Horikita frowned slightly and asked, "You two knew each other before?"

"He was a classmate from junior high school. But he's become a lackey of Ryuen."

Ibuki brought her knees together and hugged her calves tightly, as if she were a little cold.

"I see."

Horikita nodded knowingly.

No wonder.

Because we've known each other since junior high, I find it unbelievable that Albert would be the dog of someone like Ryuen.

And then, because she attacked her without any regard for the friendship between her and her junior high school classmates, did you feel bad about it?

But Suzune Horikita didn't believe a single word of those words.

She has confirmed that Ibuki came here as a spy.

The claim that Albert hit her is also unreliable.

Because Albert was Ryuen's henchman and carried out Ryuen's orders.

Therefore, it is more likely that Ryuen is the one who attacked.

Therefore, Ibuki talking nonsense.

However, Hachiman Hikigaya had just told her that she should learn to control her emotions and not show her thoughts directly on her face.

"Wash your hands."

With a sigh, Horikita took out a water bottle and handed it to Mio Ibuki.

"Um?"

Mio Ibuki seemed somewhat surprised, looking up at Horikita, her slightly dry lips parted slightly.

"My hands were covered in mud, they were very dirty."

Horikita, however, said calmly, "Dinner is coming up soon. You don't want to be forced to leave because you have a stomachache from eating something unclean, do you?"

"..."

Mio Ibuki incredulously, her tone complicated, "Why are you being so good to me?"

"You ask why,"

Horikita paused slightly, then said softly, "Just consider it an act of kindness on my part."

"But I am your enemy!"

Mio Ibuki's voice rose slightly, sounding unusually excited.

"Even if he's an enemy, he's a respectable one. The reason you're so reluctant to quit the exam and return to the ship is because you don't want Class D to lose points because of your actions, right?"

Horikita turned her head away, her fair face flushed with a faint pink.

I don't know if it's because I feel ashamed of praising others, or because of the thrill of lying.

It was as if Mio Ibuki was acting with her to gain her trust.

She was the same way.

Are you all idiots?

Mio Ibuki lowered her head again, her tone somewhat disappointed, "They're all such pushovers, that's simply impossible in Class D."

"So we're in Class C, aren't we?"

Horikita said something and unscrewed the bottle cap.

Mio Ibuki did not resist, probably because she disliked being dirty, so she cooperated by extending her mud-covered hands.

Clear water flowed from the bottle opening, Ibuki reached down to catch it, rubbing her hands together to wash away the dirt.

"Um, Ibuki."

A cute girl with golden, tousled hair, who had been waiting to the side, came up with an angelic smile on her face. "Dinner isn't ready yet, have some fruit first."

As she spoke, the girl handed over a variety of fruits held in leaves, saying somewhat shyly, "Since I didn't know what you liked to eat, I picked one of each."

This is Kikyo Kushida. She went fruit picking with the others in the group that Ibuki brought back.

"I..."

Mio Ibuki opened her mouth, seemingly looking at Horikita and Kushida in astonishment.

She never expected these two guys to be so nice to her, someone from another class.

She didn't say anything, but silently accepted the fruit Kushida offered.

"I'm back."

At the cave entrance, Hachiman, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke.

Suzune Horikita has already come over from Ibuki's side.

"Um."

Horikita nodded slightly, sat down next to Hachiman, and said softly, "Her hands were covered in mud, probably from when Ryuen knocked her to the ground. But when I looked closely just now, I saw that there was also a small amount of mud under the fingernails of all ten of her fingers."

Therefore, we can rule out the possibility that he fell to the ground and grabbed some dirt during the fight; it's more likely that he dug in the dirt with his hands for quite a while.

Suzune Horikita explained that she contacted Ibuki to check on Ibuki's condition.

From this perspective, Horikita's little sister has made progress.

Hachiman continued, "If they are really digging, then they are probably hiding something. If I'm not mistaken, it might be a way to contact Ryuen."

"Don't you carry a communication device with you?" Horikita asked.

"Our class acquired so many strongholds this time, Ryuen probably knows that our class will take precautions against espionage."

"After all, losing over 300 points would be painful for any class, so Karuizawa and Sato would voluntarily refuse to let Ibuki join."

"So Ryuen won't let Ibuki carry it directly," Hachiman said. "If she gets searched, the plan will fail."

"Um."

Suzune Horikita nodded.

Then, after thinking for a moment, she said, "This island has a very large forest, and I don't think she could easily find the hiding place. So, to be on the safe side, she would definitely mark the hiding place. And the hiding place is probably not far from where she was found in the Yamauchi."

Horikita quietly explained her analysis, but she still seemed somewhat uncertain and uneasy.

She wanted Hachiman's approval.

"Now that you've thought of it, let's do it."

Hachiman clapped his hands and stood up. "Just like I said, you'll have to stand on your own sooner or later."

"However," Suzune Horikita suddenly said, "When I was with Ibuki just now, I saw Kushida give Ibuki a portion of every variety of fruit."

"Kōenji occupies a lot of strongholds, but there aren't that many fruit orchards. Everyone can only have a taste of the fruit that Kushida and the others brought back. But Ibuki got a lot."

Is that so?

She saw Kushida and the others pick the fruit and start distributing it.

It seems to be intended as dessert fruit. However, it hasn't been distributed yet.

The fruit was divided into 40 portions, but because of the limited quantity, each person could only get one portion of each type of fruit, and some types were even not available to everyone.

However Kushida just gave Ibuki a share of all the varieties.

Ibuki received preferential treatment.

"Kushida always seems so amiable," Suzune Horikita said, "But her actions are even Karuizawa's."

"Karuizawa and the others are also worried that Ibuki is a spy sent by Ryuen's class to obtain information about their class leader."

"But it's really bad that Kushida is still giving Ibuki preferential treatment," Suzune Horikita said.

"Oh."

"Oh, that," Hachiman said. "Kushida is truly a saint. Remember what she said when she enrolled? She said she hoped to become friends with everyone."

"She has strong interpersonal skills, which allows her to interact with third-year students," Hachiman said.

"However," Suzune Horikita thought Kushida was being too saintly. "Some students in our class haven't considered the risks of Ibuki sneaking into the classroom, and some even believe Ibuki's story that she was assaulted because of a conflict with Ryuen."

"I completely don't understand how determined other classes are to get points, and how they'll stop at nothing to do so."

In other words, in order to gain the trust of the class they were infiltrating, the Ryuen's class even resorted to fighting among themselves, leaving themselves injured.

This is in order to win the Special Exam.

This reflects the strategy of Ryuen's class and their determination to take the exam seriously.

While the act of causing harm is despicable, one can sense that the other party is resorting to any means to conduct the exam.

However, looking at the performance of some classmates in my own class...

Even dogs would shake their heads at that.

Many people haven't fully gotten into the mindset of taking the Special Exam seriously yet.