Everyone Needs to Face Their Past Trauma

"You must know a girl named Ibuki, right?"

Faced with Horikita's interrogation, Ryuen replied nonchalantly, "She's from my class. So what?"

Recalling the injuries on Ibuki's face when they first met, Horikita couldn't help but ask with a hint of anger, "What exactly happened to the wounds on her face?"

"Oh, I see. So you lot picked her up. How laughable. That goes for Kaneda, too. Since they dared to question my orders, I taught them a little lesson."

"After all, I have no need for subordinates who defy their ruler's commands."

"How pathetic. To think a leader can only 'lead' their class through such methods," Horikita retorted without hesitation.

So, besides the one named Ibuki, a guy named Kaneda had suffered the same fate.

And judging by Ryuen's words, Ibuki had been taken in by Class D, which meant the other one... must be with Class B.

Karuizawa hadn't made a sound from start to finish, simply hiding quietly behind Chiba Yu, which was completely unlike her usual self.

Class conflicts, students defecting, and... Chiba Yu's gaze drifted downward, lingering on the wireless walkie-talkie sitting on the table next to Ryuen's beach chair.

After a brief glance, he immediately looked away.

"You spent all your points on the very first day, didn't you?"

"That's right. I spent every last point, so no matter what happens to Ibuki, I don't have to worry about any point deductions."

After a heated exchange of verbal fire, Ryuen wore a faint smile and teased Horikita, "Let's put that aside. Do you want to stay and play with me? I'll prepare a private tent for you."

Faced with remarks that didn't even qualify as aggressive, Horikita naturally didn't care. She turned around and said while walking away, "Let's go. Staying here will only ruin our mood."

Seeing that Horikita was leaving, Chiba Yu naturally didn't stay behind, turning to follow in their footsteps.

Suddenly, Ryuen's voice came from behind, "Hey, you over there. First that Hirata, and now this tag-along by Suzune's side—your taste in people really is trash. If you're interested, I wouldn't mind taking you in."

Hearing this, Chiba Yu clearly felt Karuizawa's already tense body stiffen even further. She secretly clenched her fists for a moment, keeping her head down as she followed quietly behind Chiba Yu, her expression unreadable.

The four of them walked through the forest in silence, no one speaking a word.

"He said that to you just now, and you have nothing to say? That doesn't sound like you."

Horikita broke the eerie atmosphere. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was addressing Karuizawa.

After a long silence, Karuizawa replied in a low voice, "What he says is his own business. If I were to fall for his provocation over such a trivial matter, wouldn't that be ridiculous?"

Yet, Karuizawa's current state was far from convincing.

Horikita listened to her answer and remained silent for a moment. "Is that so? If that's what you think, then never mind."

With that topic closed, Horikita and Ayanokoji prepared to head back.

Their purpose for this trip had been achieved, and there was no point in continuing further.

"Are you coming back with us?" Ayanokoji asked Chiba.

Looking at Karuizawa's state beside him, and perhaps thinking of something else, Chiba Yu declined.

"You two go ahead. We plan to walk around a bit more. Even if it's just a little, getting a better grasp of the island's routes and layout would be beneficial."

"...Fine. Suit yourselves." With that, Horikita led Ayanokoji away.

As they left, Chiba Yu clearly felt Ayanokoji Kiyotaka steal a glance back at him for a split second.

Though it was only for an instant, Chiba Yu had caught it.

Watching their backs disappear into the distance, Chiba Yu collected his thoughts and continued toward his next destination.

During this time, Karuizawa simply followed quietly behind Chiba Yu, neither speaking nor making a sound.

Crunch, crunch.

In the quiet forest, only the sound of their footsteps echoed.

After walking for about ten minutes, Karuizawa finally broke the silence.

"Don't you have anything to ask me?"

Chiba Yu stopped and turned around slowly, looking at the girl named 'Karuizawa Kei'. She was still keeping her head down, her low tone revealing that she wasn't as calm as she appeared.

"What do you want me to ask?"

"..." Karuizawa didn't answer, waiting quietly for Chiba Yu to continue.

"Are you trying to ask why I didn't question you just now, like Horikita did?"

"...Yeah."

"Don't you think it's strange? The way I acted... unlike my usual self..." The quieter Karuizawa spoke, the more her voice trailed off, until finally, Chiba Yu could barely hear her.

"Was there anything wrong with what you said or did just now?"

!!!

Karuizawa slowly raised her head, looking in disbelief at the boy who seemed to be spouting nonsense.

"What's with that look?" Chiba Yu found it strange, continuing as if it were a matter of course, "That guy Ryuen was clearly trying to provoke you to disrupt our class's unity."

"Just listen to Ryuen's words and let them go; don't take them to heart. Like you just heard, besides you, he also launched an indiscriminate 'bombardment' at me. By your logic, shouldn't I be jumping off a building by now?"

"...A-actually, that's exactly what I was thinking, I was just afraid you'd misunderstand..." Karuizawa blushed slightly, turning her face away while muttering to herself.

It seems she's bounced back. Is this the legendary "emotions come and go quickly"?

Before long, Karuizawa finally adjusted her mood, and the two set off again. However, the journey wasn't exactly peaceful; Karuizawa kept finding excuses to chat with Chiba Yu, leaving him—who had wanted some peace and quiet—in agony.

If the Karuizawa from earlier was a poor kitten drenched in a rainstorm, the current version was definitely sprinting toward becoming a tigress!

Suddenly, he felt that the pitiful Karuizawa from a moment ago hadn't been so bad after all...