Midnight Fright

That night, Classes A, B, and D all received news that Class C had completely withdrawn.

Although they couldn't quite understand why Class C would do such a thing, the thought of having one less competitor made everyone in the class excited once again.

After consulting with Ibuki and learning that she had chosen to stay, Kushida expressed her enthusiastic welcome.

Watching the harmonious scene in the class, Chiba Yu said nothing. He simply sat quietly to the side, watching the bonfire roar in the forest at night. Within the firelight, his shadow was cast—profound and inscrutable.

"Rustle, rustle~"

In the dead of night, a strange figure silently slipped into the boys' tent, seemingly searching for something.

Suddenly, the person seemed to lock onto a target and walked straight in one direction.

"Click~"

Unzipping the backpack and placing something inside—the series of actions was smooth and fluid.

After finishing all this, the dark shadow quietly observed the condition of the few people sleeping. Satisfied that no one had woken up, the figure tiptoed away.

The moment the person zipped the tent back up, Chiba Yu's eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

Looking at the ceiling that he had slept under for days yet still felt no familiarity with, Chiba Yu slowly sat up. He looked calmly at his luggage, which appeared unchanged, and the tent that seemed as if no one had ever entered, then quietly stood up.

He walked over to his backpack, which the dark shadow had just opened, and rummaged through it in a low voice.

Finally, upon seeing a certain piece of intimate apparel that shouldn't have been there, yet had appeared like a "miracle," a ripple finally appeared in his otherwise calm eyes.

Quietly staring at the "pink legend" in his hand, Chiba Yu finally sighed. He stuffed it into his pants pocket, glanced back at Hirata and the others who were fast asleep, and silently unzipped the tent to leave this "place of trouble."

The night was deep and quiet, as if endless thick ink had been smeared across the horizon, lacking even the faint glimmer of stars.

The river flowed with a rustling sound, and an occasional fish jumping broke the silence of the night, only for it to fall back into boundless stillness.

Chiba Yu sat on a stone pier by the river, watching the flowing stream, no longer feeling a shred of sleepiness.

He looked at the dark clouds gathering in the distance, thinking that tomorrow would likely not be peaceful for the class.

With the evidence he had found in his backpack, the clues that had been somewhat unclear now finally made sense.

The night wind blew through the tree branches, emitting bursts of whistling sounds.

Chiba Yu looked up at the bright stream, unable to help but recall everything he had experienced since coming to this school.

His father "forcing" him to enroll, the challenges one after another, and the constant deviation from his own philosophy.

Whether it was the previous Sudo fighting incident or this special exam on the uninhabited island, he had never wanted to get involved, yet every time, there were various reasons that dragged him into the fray.

So, what was it? That "reason" that had always influenced him, the one that caused his opportunities to slack off to go bankrupt time and time again.

In an instant, a flash of gold began to emerge in his mind, gradually occupying a corner.

Just as Chiba Yu was about to see it clearly, the sound of branches and leaves being stepped on reached his ears.

"Ugh~ I'm so tired. I should just finish up and go back to rest. Seriously, why did they have to set the temporary toilet so far away?"

The girl observed her surroundings cautiously, walking step by step with a stumbling gait.

Just as the girl was about to arrive, her hazy eyes caught sight of a pitch-black figure.

In an instant, the girl's consciousness snapped back, her eyes widened slightly, and her body gradually stiffened.

"D-don't tell me it's a ghost?!"

Thinking of this possibility, Karuizawa's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. Fear instantly occupied her heart, and she couldn't help but step back.

She rubbed her eyes, wanting to confirm that she had indeed seen wrong and that it wasn't a real ghost. The next second, the figure suddenly vanished from her sight.

"D-disappeared? Phew~ I must have seen it wrong." Karuizawa let out a light breath, trying to use this reason to bolster her courage.

Since she had overcome her fear, the next step was to continue looking for the toilet. With this thought, the girl began to move again.

The next second, a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly came from the nearby forest.

"Swish~ Swish~"

"Waaah!!!"

At this moment, the girl could no longer suppress the fear in her heart. She took off running, her eyes filled with lingering terror.

Karuizawa ran desperately toward the direction of the tents, wishing she had grown another pair of legs so she could shake off whatever was behind her.

Karuizawa subconsciously looked back, but the dark shadow that had been chasing her was nowhere to be seen.

However, the moment she subconsciously turned around, a human face appeared abruptly before her.

"Ah!!!!!"

"Waaah!!!"

Chiba Yu tightly covered Karuizawa's mouth while grabbing her struggling body.

"Keep it down, everyone is still sleeping."

Hearing that familiar voice, the tears that were about to spill from Karuizawa's eyes stopped halfway.

As her reason returned, Karuizawa finally saw the true face of the person.

"Wuu wuu~"

"...Sorry, sorry!"

He quickly took his hand off Karuizawa's mouth, and she finally couldn't help but gasp for air.

"...Anyway, calm down first. It wouldn't be good if you accidentally woke the others."

Looking at Karuizawa's terrified expression, with blurry tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes, a sense of guilt sprouted from the bottom of my heart, yet deep down, there was also a feeling I couldn't quite put into words...