No Scruples for Victory

However, this did not mean the matter had simply come to an end. Faced with the result of nothing being found in their luggage, Shinohara and the others once again put forward a new proposal.

"A body search. We demand a body search. The person who stole the underwear is a pervert, and since he's a pervert, who knows where he might have hidden it?"

Faced with the aggressive stance of the girls, Ike was the first to lose his patience. He stood up immediately and retorted, "Don't you think you're pushing your luck too far!"

But this rebuttal only invited further suspicion from the other girls.

"Don't you think Ike has been acting strange since a moment ago?"

"Yeah, yeah, he feels really suspicious."

"There's a very high possibility that he's the pervert."

The girls began to whisper among themselves, all of them suspecting that Ike had stolen Karuizawa's underwear.

Faced with such accusations, Ike, who hadn't stolen anything, didn't hesitate to turn all his pockets inside out.

Watching the public demand for a body search grow increasingly intense, Chiba Yu couldn't help but think: if he hadn't made preparations last night, he would likely be on the verge of disaster right now.

"I think it's very likely to be Ike; after all, he's been acting sneaky from the very beginning."

"I feel like that Sotomura is also very likely. I heard he bought a whole cabinet of figures, and thinking about how he secretly takes them out to admire them in the dorm every time, could he..."

"Exactly, exactly, and also that..."

"If you ask me, it's not impossible that it's Chiba either. Even though he looks harmless, who knows if he's actually a closet pervert deep down."

"..."

For a moment, the girls fell into an eerie silence, casting strange looks toward Inogashira, who had made the comment.

"W-what? Is there something wrong with what I said?" Inogashira asked, feeling puzzled as she saw everyone turn their gaze toward her.

"No, it's nothing. We just think that if we had to pick the boy in the class least likely to do such a thing, besides Hirata, it would probably only be Chiba left."

"Yeah, yeah. After all, it's Chiba. If you suspected him, he'd probably just look at you with an innocent face and say something like, 'Huh? Why would I do something like that? Who would bother with such a troublesome task?'"

Matsushita, Shinohara, and the others agreed with Mori Nene's words and nodded in unison.

"This... alright, I guess I overthought it."

After all, Inogashira was not part of the same inner circle as Karuizawa and the others. Although there were many rumors about the two in class, since she hadn't delved into them deeply, it wasn't impossible for her to say such a thing.

Seeing the conflict continue to escalate, Hirata had no choice but to agree to the girls' demand for a body search to prove that the boys hadn't done it.

While standing in line, Chiba Yu glanced casually toward the girls' tents.

If one listened carefully, they could still hear the sound of Karuizawa sobbing inside the tent.

She truly lived up to her reputation as the one who commanded the girls in the class; even her performance was so dedicated. Chiba Yu felt no envy for her ability to maintain her "queen" persona in the class.

"Chiba, you're next."

Hearing Hirata call his name, Chiba Yu walked over slowly and spread his arms, letting him check.

After patting Chiba Yu's clothes and pockets and confirming that there was nothing wrong, Hirata let out a rare sigh of relief.

"With this, the suspicion on our class's boys should be cleared," Hirata said with a hint of exhaustion but still wearing a smile. Although Chiba Yu could still see the worry in his eyes, he didn't point it out.

After the results were relayed to the girls, the matter was temporarily left at that. Although the girls still had strong objections, they couldn't use this as an excuse to hinder the continuation of the exam.

The day passed in this heavy and oppressive atmosphere. It wasn't until evening that Chiba Yu saw Karuizawa emerge from her tent.

Looking at her swollen, tear-filled eyes and the faint traces of tears still lingering on her lashes, Chiba Yu felt a surge of guilt for reasons unknown.

Seeing Karuizawa sitting alone, hunched over by a tree with her arms wrapped around her knees and a dejected look in her eyes, Chiba Yu sighed and slowly walked toward her.

Mori Nene, who had been preparing to go over to keep Karuizawa company, immediately turned and walked to Chiba Yu's side when she saw him approaching.

"Karuizawa is still feeling very distressed. If you can, please help out, Chiba-kun. At the very least, try to comfort her, otherwise, her body won't be able to take it."

Mori Nene seemed to know Chiba Yu's character very well and, fearing that he might not only fail to say anything kind but also make Karuizawa even more agitated, she offered a subtle reminder.

"...I understand." Chiba Yu nodded and continued walking toward Karuizawa.

Arriving at Karuizawa's side, Chiba Yu didn't speak, but simply sat down next to her.

"You've worked hard."

Chiba Yu watched the boys sitting by the campfire in silence, speaking in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

Karuizawa slowly raised her head and scanned the surroundings. After confirming that no one else was nearby, she lowered her voice and said:

"Seriously, I'm truly exhausted today. You'd better reward me well after we get back."

Karuizawa's tone was unusually low and carried a hint of hoarseness; Chiba Yu surmised that her voice had been affected by crying for so long today.

"Yeah," Chiba Yu replied briefly.

The two sat there quietly, watching the bright moonlight of the night, without continuing the conversation.

After a long while, as if she had finally regained her composure, Karuizawa spoke again slowly: "After everything that happened today, I finally understand what you meant by those words you told me last night."

"Hmm?"

"It's truly terrifying. If you hadn't sensed everything in advance, I'm afraid today wouldn't have been an act." As she spoke, she felt a lingering fear in her heart.

She stared blankly at Shinohara, who was still locked in a verbal battle with several boys not far away, and Mori Nene, who was constantly speaking up for her, then looked at the boys on the other side who were continuously refuting the claims, feeling that this tactic was simply too despicable.

"This school believes in exactly that: only by using any means necessary to achieve one's goals can one reach the summit that others look up to. Ryuen has simply realized this a step ahead of everyone else."

"...And what about you? Will you become like that too?"

"Me? Don't joke around. I'm just someone who spends all day thinking about how to slack off, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. What could you possibly expect from me?"

But when he turned his head, he saw Karuizawa watching him quietly, a trace of disappointment in her eyes.

As his laughter faded, Chiba Yu calmed down as well, looking up to gaze silently at the moonlight.

"Who knows..."