"So you brought her back like this?"
Karuizawa Kei looked in surprise at Ibuki, who sat alone off to one side, seemingly brooding. She was also shocked by Chiba Yu and the others' story about how they'd been kicked out.
"I knew Ryuen from Class C was famous for ruling through violence, but beating a girl that badly is just awful."
The two chatted back and forth while watching Ike start a fire.
The moment they saw Ike actually get the bonfire going, the whole class erupted in excitement.
"He's really capable," Chiba Yu couldn't help praising him.
Well, you couldn't judge a book by its cover. It seemed his understanding of his classmates had only scratched the surface.
Meanwhile, Kushida and the others had gathered a lot of fruit. After picking them up and inspecting them, Ike sorted them into edible and inedible piles, earning praise from most of the class.
"I didn't know he was so good at this."
Looking at the Five-Fire Fruit someone had handed her, Karuizawa Kei stared at it blankly and couldn't help praising Ike a little.
"Compared to someone like me, who can't do anything, Ike really is impressive."
Hearing this remarkably self-aware remark from the person beside him, even Karuizawa, with her exceptional ability to manage her emotions, couldn't help twitching her mouth. "So you really do know yourself pretty well."
Chiba Yu shrugged and said nothing.
Just then, Ike, surrounded by everyone, suddenly stood up and said apologetically, "Karuizawa, I'm sorry."
Taken aback by the sudden mention, Karuizawa stammered, "Y-you're apologizing all of a sudden? What for?" Some of the others' attention shifted to her, and Chiba Yu, who had been standing at the edge of the group chatting with her, found himself the focus of everyone's attention too.
At that moment, Chiba Yu tried hard to make himself less noticeable, as though he wanted to disappear on the spot.
Ike then began telling them about a camping trip he'd taken with his family as a child, explaining why he was apologizing.
After hearing Ike's account and apology, Chiba Yu saw the boy named Kanji Ike in a new light.
Someone who could quickly assess a situation and calm down had already left him far behind, if only in that regard.
Compared with them, he seemed more like a genuine "defective product."
He shook his head, chasing those stray thoughts from his mind, and returned to his usual state of disinterest in everything. What he didn't know was that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, standing behind him to the right, had seen it all.
Karuizawa graciously accepted Ike's apology and admitted that she had been too impulsive as well.
It was nice. If the rest of their days went on with the same kind of atmosphere as tonight, this exam might not be too difficult to endure.
The problem was—Chiba Yu looked at Ibuki, sitting alone, and recalled the strange sensation beneath his foot when he'd stepped on that patch of dirt. He already knew the answer.
Next, Hirata said he hoped they would all work together so that they could have more than 120 points left when the exam ended.
Hearing that Hirata still planned to spend 180 points, the usually calm Yukimura couldn't help asking, "Are you still planning to use up 180 points?"
It wasn't hard to understand. The school had given each class 300 points to start with.
Assuming they used points to cover all their food, even the cheapest meal would cost 10 points. That meant they needed at least 120 points for food, plus 30 points for a temporary toilet and a tent just for the boys.
120 + 30 = 150
The remaining 30 points were probably set aside by Hirata to handle unexpected situations.
150 + 30 = 180
The total matched his own calculations. No—if Hirata hadn't even realized this much, he wouldn't have earned the class's trust.
If they could get through even one extra day by finding water and food, they could save another 10 points.
If the plan worked, this exam would bring them a turning point, and they wouldn't have to keep living the same miserable way as before.
But if the exam really was just this, wouldn't all the school's elaborate arrangements have been turned into a farce?
He recalled the machines for claiming territory that he'd seen before they came to the island, as well as how Chabashira Sae had repeatedly emphasized the question of who the leader was before leaving. The focus of this exam was obvious.
But the students of Class D, still immersed in their own hopes, clearly hadn't realized it yet.
Night gradually fell, and the only light came from the fire they'd just lit.
Hirata and a few others gathered to discuss whether Ibuki should stay or go.
Chiba Yu hadn't wanted to get involved in any of this, but Hirata wouldn't let him off the hook.
"I think Chiba would definitely have some useful suggestions."
Recalling what Hirata had said when inviting him over, Chiba Yu sighed inwardly. I really am useless. I let myself get dragged over by a few words.
"What about you, Chiba? Do you have any good suggestions?"
While Chiba Yu was lost in thought, Hirata once again tossed the question to him.
"...Anything's fine with me. I'm just a nobody, so you can decide these important class matters."
"Chiba really hasn't changed at all."
"Exactly. If you were just a little more outgoing, you might even become one of the most popular guys in the year."
Ike and Shinohara chimed in one after the other. The two of them hadn't even been on speaking terms before, yet now they could coordinate so well just to tease him. It was incredible. Also, if you're going to tease me, could you at least not do it right in front of me?
"Instead of expecting him to come up with a plan, we should think about how to handle this ourselves." As if she couldn't stand it anymore, Karuizawa said this while giving Chiba Yu a light glare.
But to everyone else, it seemed as if Karuizawa had another reason for doing so.
Amid the other girls' teasing smiles, the group settled on their final "judgment" of Ibuki: they decided to let her stay.
Chiba Yu walked over to Ibuki, who was talking with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and told her their decision.
At the same time, Kushida brought over some of the fruit the girls had gathered and handed it to Ibuki.
Seeing this, Ibuki, who had looked indifferent until then, suddenly wore an indescribable expression. She turned around and muttered, "Are you all... idiots?"
Just then, a roar that shook the sky suddenly erupted from the once-bustling camp.
"Koenji!!!"
Chiba Yu knew that from this moment on, the exam had bared its true fangs...