We Clearly Agreed to Stay Single Together, Yet You Stabbed Me in the Back First?!

The sixth day of the special exam.

Because the culprit had yet to be found, the girls' grievances grew increasingly intense, escalating to a point where they were having severe arguments with a portion of the boys.

In the end, unable to reach a satisfactory outcome, the girls collectively made a decision: they would relocate their tents and physically separate themselves from the boys to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Ultimately, the boys had no choice but to agree to this demand. After all, it was understandable that the girls were worried if the matter remained unresolved, and with only one day left until the end of the exam, there was no need to stir up trouble at this critical juncture.

Chiba Yu hooked the tent's guy line onto a peg and let out a helpless sigh.

"Sorry for the trouble, Chiba. My apologies; if I hadn't agreed to them, you two wouldn't have been dragged into this."

"No, it's nothing." Before Chiba Yu could speak, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka answered first.

Chiba Yu shouldn't have had to participate in such a thankless task, but unfortunately, during the recent argument, the girls had originally intended for Hirata to help them move the tents.

However, that woman Horikita Suzune had popped up from somewhere, insisting that she wouldn't feel at ease with only Hirata coming over to the girls' area. She demanded an additional boy before she would relent, and subsequently recommended Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Originally, the matter had nothing to do with Chiba Yu, but who would have guessed that Karuizawa would suddenly chime in:

"Since you said it would be faster with another boy helping, why not pull Chiba in too? He looks harmless enough, after all."

In that moment, Chiba Yu felt despair in his heart.

Ultimately, he had the honor of becoming one of the members tasked with moving the tents.

"Harmless... heh." Chiba Yu scoffed at himself, unsure if it was because of that description or the self-pity stemming from being dragged into manual labor.

"Hirata-kun!"

"What is it?"

Just then, the girls called out Hirata's name.

Great, now one of them was going to be snatched away, causing their already low efficiency to plummet exponentially.

Before long, Hirata looked at the two of them with a conflicted expression, but eventually, under Ayanokoji's persuasion, he headed toward the girls' side.

With that, the original trio was reduced to a duo, and Chiba Yu felt a bitterness he couldn't put into words.

"Are you alright?" Seeing Chiba Yu clutching his chest, Ayanokoji asked without a hint of emotional fluctuation, showing no sign of actual concern—though his poker face wasn't exactly a new development.

Once the abstract art of the situation concluded, Chiba Yu had no choice but to continue his work, even starting to secretly wonder if he should just sell Karuizawa out.

"You seem very tired."

Chiba Yu glared at Ayanokoji with his dead fish eyes and retorted, "What do you think? I had planned to take a nap, and now, who knows how long I'll be stuck doing this."

"Is that so..." Ayanokoji couldn't grasp Chiba Yu's logic; in his view, wasting time and idling away like this was incomprehensible.

To him, every action a person took was driven by some purpose. Chiba Yu's lack of pretense was baffling, yet he didn't show it, instead tacitly accepting his behavior.

Perhaps, he thought, this was simply a specific trait of Chiba Yu's character.

"What about you? You keep talking about me, but don't you feel helpless? Just because of one word from Horikita, you have to do this thankless job."

"It can't be helped. You know how Horikita is; once she sets her mind on something, not even ten cows could pull her back. If I don't do as she says, I don't even want to imagine what might happen afterward."

Watching Ayanokoji say these words with a completely expressionless face, Chiba Yu was left dumbfounded, his eyes blinking uncontrollably.

"You really are..." Chiba Yu searched for a long time, unable to find the right word to describe Ayanokoji.

In the end, he could only walk over, pat him on the shoulder, and sigh, "It's not easy for any of us."

"...I feel like you've misunderstood my meaning."

"I get it, I get it. I understand everything."

After a bit of banter, they finally finished the arduous task after driving in the last peg.

Just as Chiba Yu slowly stood up, intending to go rest, Ibuki walked up behind them, carrying her backpack.

"Could I bother you for a moment?"

The two turned around, looking at Ibuki with confusion.

Unexpectedly, Ibuki only glanced at Chiba Yu casually before shifting her gaze to Ayanokoji.

"It seems things aren't easy for Class D either."

"We're in the same boat; it's not easy for anyone," Ayanokoji replied, while Chiba Yu stood to the side, listening quietly to their conversation.

However, looking at the situation, it was highly likely that Ibuki was planning to leave. After all, with this incident occurring in Class D, if she stayed, she would inevitably be treated as a thief. Rather than staying to be suspected, it was better to get out early.

"Regardless of the reason, as a girl myself, I find stealing girls' underwear unforgivable."

What a powerful psychological fortitude. If he didn't know a few things, he might have actually been played by her.

Chiba Yu stood to the side, silently keeping his thoughts to himself. Meanwhile, he felt several gazes fixed on them.

He glanced back and saw Sudo, Ike, and the others squatting there, watching them intently—the way they were postured, it looked as if they might charge over at any moment.

Chiba Yu didn't doubt that if Ibuki admitted to stealing the underwear right now, Sudo and the others would absolutely tear her to shreds.

"I believe you."

Chiba Yu jerked his head back to look at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had spoken those words, feeling as if he were meeting this man for the first time.

This wasn't just some poker-faced, dense guy; this was clearly a master!

What a sly fox Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned out to be, playing the fool all this time while hiding his true colors. And here you were claiming you didn't know how to flirt—you're clearly quite the smooth talker.

Fine, fine, everyone keeps insisting they're hopeless loners, but it turns out I'm the only clown here. With a surprise move like that, it'd be harder not to have a girlfriend! Didn't you see Ibuki blushing over there?

After a brief chat, Ibuki took her leave, leaving only the two of us behind.

Time slipped away bit by bit until evening finally arrived.

Chiba Yu and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat by the campfire, watching the flames roar, feeling nothing but a dull ache in their stomachs.

Because everyone had been roped into helping out, the rest of the class was gathered in small groups, while Hirata had gone off to handle other business, leaving the two of them all alone.

"It must be tough having all the chores dumped on you two."

Hearing the familiar voice beside him, Chiba Yu sighed helplessly. "Hey, your sister's here."