Stolen Again

"His name was Hirata Yousuke, and he was a handsome guy. Rather than saying his looks stood out, it would be more accurate to say that his principles of action did. He always took the lead in handling things ordinary people found troublesome and did not want to do, and he did so to a high standard that satisfied others."

Based on his earlier observations, that was how Ayanokoji evaluated Hirata.

When Ayanokoji returned to the camp carrying several medicinal herbs, he was met by a crowd of scrutinizing eyes.

"Where did you go?" Horikita asked.

Noticing that something was off with everyone, Ayanokoji did not lie. "I noticed that Horikita seemed to be showing signs of a fever. I thought that if she dropped out of the exam because of it, we would lose points, so I went out on my own to find some medicinal herbs. I hope they help."

Ayanokoji had indeed returned with medicinal herbs. Though most of the students saw nothing but weeds, Wang Meiyu recognized them. With her confirmation, the girls were not quite as hostile toward Ayanokoji, though they still remained suspicious.

Hearing Ayanokoji's voice, Hirata came out of the tent as well. "Sorry, Ayanokoji. I entered your tent and searched it without permission. Kei's underwear was stolen, and I'm investigating."

"Did you find anything?" Ayanokoji asked calmly, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, Hirata was inwardly grumbling, I never thought Ayanokoji was this kind of pervert. I really have to admire him—he can still stay so calm at a time like this. Sigh, and now I have to clean up his mess.

"Ayanokoji is innocent." Hirata was lying, but the girls did not see through him. Only Ayanokoji noticed that Hirata's expression was somewhat unnatural.

When it came to the theft, the girls had not initially considered Ayanokoji a suspect. Ayanokoji was handsome, and since he was usually quiet, the girls did not have a bad impression of him. That was the handsome-guy effect, just as none of them suspected the handsome Hirata either.

They had a feeling that the culprit was one of those boys who were always lecherous and foul-mouthed, like Sudo Ken, Ike Kanji, or Yamauchi Haruki.

"Then search everyone one by one! We have to find the culprit!" Shinohara was dissatisfied with the outcome.

But her suggestion was opposed by all the boys. "Why should we? You failed to keep track of your own underwear, so why should all of us be searched? What right do you have to search everyone?"

As the conflict between the boys and girls grew increasingly heated, Hirata stepped forward again. "Everyone, leave this matter to me. I'll definitely give you a satisfactory conclusion. For now, please go back to what you were doing."

Since Hirata had said so, the boys dispersed. The girls still wanted to press the matter, but Hirata gave Karuizawa a look. Karuizawa had no choice but to lead the girls away.

Wang Meiyu stayed behind to process the herbs with Ayanokoji.

As soon as the crowd had dispersed, Hirata sought out Karuizawa. The two went behind a tree.

"Hirata, you'd better find the culprit." Though he was the person she depended on, Karuizawa's tone was far from friendly.

Hirata took out the pair of pink panties from his pocket. "Sorry, Kei. I was the one who did it."

Karuizawa looked stunned. "Impossible. It couldn't have been you. Hirata, who are you protecting?"

Seeing Hirata's hesitant and troubled expression, Karuizawa cried out, "It was Ayanokoji!"

Although Hirata admitted that he was the culprit, Karuizawa still believed he was not the thief. She was not stupid and immediately thought of the most likely suspect, Ayanokoji, because Hirata had only gone into Ayanokoji's tent.

Pale-faced, Karuizawa snatched the panties back from Hirata and wanted to confront Ayanokoji face-to-face. But Hirata was determined to protect Ayanokoji. "Kei, let's end this here. I'll talk to Ayanokoji. After the exam, I'll make him apologize to you."

"I'm your girlfriend. Is this how you treat your girlfriend?" Karuizawa clearly could not accept this result.

Karuizawa was deeply disappointed in Hirata. She had thought he was someone who could protect her, but what had he protected in the end? She felt betrayed. Today, Ayanokoji had stolen her panties, yet Hirata not only refused to punish him but even spoke up for him. Was an apology enough? Was this something that could be resolved with a single apology?

What Karuizawa saw in this incident was Hirata's attitude. This time, when her panties had been stolen, he could make Ayanokoji apologize. What about next time? If she was bullied next time, if another man violated her body, would a single apology settle that too?

Karuizawa fell silent. She realized that Hirata did not have the ability to protect her, or rather, that others were more important to him than she was. Thinking back on junior high, she felt a faint pain in her abdomen. Yet what else could she do? In this class, Hirata was the only person she could rely on now.

"Fine. I'll tell everyone that I was mistaken, that my panties were never stolen and that I found them myself." Karuizawa left with a dead expression.

Only then did Hirata let out a sigh of relief, before starting to worry about how he should approach Ayanokoji.

Elsewhere, after drinking the medicine Ayanokoji and Wang Meiyu had spent two hours boiling, Horikita broke out in quite a bit of cold sweat. However, her mind had become much clearer.

At lunchtime, Karuizawa apologized to the entire class and said that she had been mistaken.

Though the boys were upset and the girls were suspicious, the matter was brushed aside just like that.

That night, Horikita drank another bowl of Ayanokoji's medicine. Her features twisted together. The medicine was truly bitter, but she still drank every last drop. "This is definitely the worst thing I've ever drunk in my life."

"Not necessarily. Don't make such an absolute conclusion so early." Ayanokoji took Horikita's bowl back. "This morning's culprit was probably Ibuki."

"You also think Karuizawa wasn't mistaken?" Horikita shifted away, keeping a certain distance from Ayanokoji.

"It was too suspicious. Hirata probably made Karuizawa say that. But in terms of the outcome, it wasn't a bad way to handle it. I'm only worried that Ibuki's goal may not end there. You need to be careful." Ayanokoji placed the bowl by his feet.

"You mean Ibuki's target is me?" Horikita fell into thought.

"The Magnetic Card. Based on my deductions, Ryuuen is probably not the type to give up easily. When it comes time to guess each class's leader at the end, he will definitely make a move, and Ibuki is his informant." Ayanokoji analyzed the situation expressionlessly.

Horikita had already been wary of Ibuki, and now she became even more vigilant toward her.

"How are the other classes doing?" Horikita asked. Because she had not been feeling well, she had left the task of going out to investigate to Ayanokoji. In fact, other classmates had also gone out to gather information, but they had gained nothing at all. Horikita hoped to hear some good news from Ayanokoji.

"We can basically confirm the leaders of Classes A and B. Since all of Class C returned to the ship, though, they're difficult to investigate."

"How did you do that? Why were you able to investigate the leaders of Classes A and B? What exactly did you do when you went out?" Horikita fired off question after question, but Ayanokoji gave her no answer.

Seeing that Ayanokoji wore the expression of a dead fish, Horikita could only change the subject. "Class C's leader is most likely Ibuki, right? After all, the students who returned to the ship lost their eligibility for the exam. That means Ibuki is the only Class C student left on the island."

Ayanokoji shook his head. "I searched Ibuki's backpack. There was no Magnetic Card."

"When did you search it? Why didn't I know? No, wait! Ibuki has been staying with me the whole time. I've been watching her almost constantly. When did you make your move?"

Once again, he answered with dead-fish-like silence.

"Could she be carrying it on her, or perhaps hiding it somewhere else?" Horikita changed the subject again.

"That's possible, but unlikely. I'm more inclined to believe that there are still other Class C students on the island, such as Ryuuen."

What Ayanokoji said made sense. Everyone knew that Class C's students had returned to the ship, but no one could confirm that every last Class C student had boarded. They had returned after the evening roll call, when each class was conducting roll call at its own camp.

No one knew whether someone had slipped away during the stretch from Class C's camp to the ship after roll call. It was dark, and there were many people, making it difficult to tell. Class D, separated from them by a river, could only vaguely see Class C's students leaving their camp together.

After talking with Ayanokoji for a while, Horikita felt that he was far less simple than he appeared. At the same time, she gained a different perspective on this exam. Lying in the tent, Horikita could not fall asleep as she pondered some of the exam's details.

Around midnight, Horikita sensed someone moving around beside her, stirring a faint breeze that brushed against her. Without alerting them, she narrowed her eyes. The darkness was too complete for her to see anything, until Ibuki opened the tent. In the moonlight, Horikita saw Ibuki steal something from her backpack.

Before Ibuki moved in, Horikita had left the Magnetic Card with Ayanokoji. So now, Horikita was also curious about what Ibuki had stolen.