Stolen Again

"Hirata Yousuke is a handsome man. It's not just his outstanding looks, but rather his entire philosophy of action. He's always the first to take on tasks that others find troublesome or are unwilling to do, and he accomplishes them to a high standard, satisfying everyone involved."

Through his observations, this was Ayanokoji's assessment of Hirata.

When Ayanokoji returned to the camp with a few medicinal herbs, he was met with a group of scrutinizing eyes.

"Where have you been?" Horikita Suzune asked.

Sensing that something was off with everyone, Ayanokoji didn't lie: "I saw Horikita seemed to have a fever, and I thought if she had to withdraw from the exam because of it, we'd lose points. So, I took it upon myself to go out and find some medicinal herbs. I hope they'll help."

Ayanokoji had indeed brought back herbs, and while most students saw them as mere weeds, Wang Meiyu recognized them. With her corroboration, the girls weren't as hostile towards Ayanakoji, but they still remained suspicious.

Hearing Ayanokoji's voice, Hirata also emerged from his tent: "My apologies, Ayanokoji, for entering your tent without permission to search. Kei's underwear was stolen, and I'm investigating."

"And did you find anything?" Ayanokoji asked calmly, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

At this moment, Hirata was inwardly grumbling: I never would have thought Ayanokoji was such a pervert. I really have to admire him; he can stay so calm even now. Ugh, and I have to clean up his mess.

"Ayanokoji is innocent," Hirata lied, but the girls didn't see through it. Only Ayanokoji noticed the slight unnaturalness in Hirata's expression.

Regarding the theft, the girls didn't actually suspect Ayanokoji at first. Because Ayanokoji was handsome and usually quiet, the girls generally had a good impression of him. This was the "handsome guy effect," just like no girl would suspect the handsome Hirata.

Their intuition pointed to Sudo Ken, Ike Kanji, and Yamauchi Haruki—the boys who were always lewd and used foul language.

"Then let's search everyone, one by one! We must find the culprit!" Shinohara Satsuki was not satisfied with the situation.

Her suggestion, however, was met with opposition from all the boys: "Why should we?! If your underwear went missing, it's because you didn't keep an eye on it. Why should you demand to search all of us? What right do you have to search us all?"

Seeing the growing tension between the boys and girls, Hirata stepped forward again: "Everyone, leave this matter to me. I promise to give you a satisfactory conclusion. For now, everyone, please go back to doing your own things."

Since Hirata had said so, the boys dispersed. The girls still wanted to press the issue, but Hirata gave Karuizawa Kei a look, and Karuizawa reluctantly led the girls away.

Wang Meiyu stayed behind to help Ayanokoji process the herbs.

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

"Hirata, you'd better find the culprit." Although he was her protector, Karuizawa's tone was far from friendly.

Hirata pulled out the pink panties from his pocket: "I'm sorry, Kei, it was actually me."

Karuizawa looked shocked: "Impossible, it can't be you. Hirata, who are you protecting?!"

Seeing Hirata's hesitation and distress, Karuizawa gasped: "It's Ayanokoji!"

Even though Hirata admitted to being the culprit, Karuizawa still believed he wasn't the thief. Karuizawa wasn't stupid and immediately thought of Ayanokoji as the biggest suspect, because Hirata had only been to Ayanokoji's tent.

Pale-faced, Karuizawa snatched the panties back from Hirata's hand, wanting to confront Ayanokoji directly, but Hirata was determined to protect Ayanokoji: "Kei, let's leave it at that. I'll talk to Ayanokoji, and he'll apologize to you after the exam."

"I'm your girlfriend! Is this how you treat your girlfriend?!" Karuizawa clearly couldn't accept this outcome.

Karuizawa was deeply disappointed, disappointed in Hirata. She had thought he was someone who could protect her, but what had he protected in the end?! Karuizawa felt betrayed. Ayanokoji stole her panties today, and not only did Hirata not punish Ayanokoji, he even spoke up for him. Was a simple apology enough? Was this something an apology could fix?

What Karuizawa saw in this incident was Hirata's attitude. Today, her panties were stolen, and he could make Ayanokoji apologize to her. But what about next time? If she was bullied or physically harassed by another man next time, would an apology be enough then too?

Karuizawa fell silent. She realized that Hirata didn't have the ability to protect her, or rather, that others were more important to Hirata than she was. Recalling her middle school experiences, Karuizawa felt a faint ache in her abdomen. Yet, what could Karuizawa do? In this class, Hirata was the only one she could rely on now.

"Fine, I'll tell everyone I made a mistake, that the panties weren't stolen, and I found them myself." Karuizawa left with a ashen face.

Hirata finally breathed a sigh of relief, then began to fret over how to approach Ayanokoji.

Meanwhile, after drinking the medicine that Ayanokoji and Wang Meiyu had brewed for two hours, Horikita Suzune broke out in a sweat, but her mind felt much clearer.

At lunchtime, Karuizawa apologized to the entire class, saying she had made a mistake.

Although the boys were annoyed and the girls remained suspicious, the matter was brushed aside.

That evening, Horikita Suzune drank another bowl of Ayanokoji's medicine. Her face contorted; the medicine was truly bitter, but Horikita drank every last drop: "This must be the nastiest thing I've ever tasted in my life."

"Not necessarily. Don't make such absolute statements so early," Ayanokoji took Horikita's bowl back. "The culprit this morning was probably Ibuki."

"You also think Karuizawa wasn't mistaken?" Horikita moved, maintaining some distance from Ayanokoji.

"It's too suspicious. I imagine Hirata told Karuizawa to say that. But in terms of outcome, it wasn't a bad resolution. I'm just worried that Ibuki's goal might not stop there. You need to be careful." Ayanokoji placed the bowl by his feet.

"Are you saying Ibuki's target is me?" Horikita fell into thought.

"It's the Magnetic Card. My guess is Ryuuen isn't the type to give up easily. I'm sure when it comes to guessing the class leaders at the end, he'll make a move, and Ibuki is his informant," Ayanokoji analyzed expressionlessly.

Horikita, who was already wary of Ibuki, became even more alert.

"How are the other classes doing?" Horikita asked. Due to her discomfort, Ayanokoji handled the external investigations. While other students in the class also went out to gather information, they found nothing. Horikita hoped to hear some good news from Ayanokoji.

"I've pretty much confirmed the leaders for Class A and Class B. Since everyone from Class C went back to the ship, they're difficult to investigate."

"How did you do that? Why were you able to find out the leaders of Class A and Class B? What exactly did you do when you were out?" Horikita rattled off her questions, but received no answer from Ayanokoji.

Seeing Ayanokoji's completely lifeless expression, Horikita had to change the subject: "The leader of Class C is most likely Ibuki, right? After all, the students who returned to the ship lost their exam qualification, so the only Class C person left on this island is Ibuki."

Ayanokoji shook his head: "I searched Ibuki's bag, and there was no Magnetic Card."

"When did you search it? How come I didn't know? Wait! Ibuki has been staying with me this whole time, and I've been watching her almost constantly. When did you do it?"

Another deadpan silence.

"Then is it possible Ibuki carries it with her, or hid it somewhere else?" Horikita changed the topic again.

"Possible, but unlikely. I'm more inclined to believe there are other Class C students on the island, like Ryuuen."

What Ayanokoji said made sense. Although everyone knew Class C students had returned to the ship, no one could confirm that all Class C students had boarded. Their return to the ship was timed after the evening roll call, when each class was taking attendance at their own campsites.

From Class C's campsite to the ship after roll call, no one knew if anyone might have left during that distance, because it was very dark, and there were many people, making it hard to judge. Class D, across the river, could only vaguely see Class C's group leaving the campsite.

After chatting with Ayanokoji for a while, Horikita felt that he was far more complex than he appeared, and she also gained a different perspective on this exam. Lying in her tent, Horikita couldn't sleep, pondering the details of the exam.

In the middle of the night, Horikita felt someone moving around near her, causing a light breeze to brush against her. Without alerting them, Horikita squinted her eyes. Although it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything, until Ibuki opened the tent. In the moonlight, Horikita saw Ibuki steal something from her bag.

Before Ibuki moved in, Horikita had entrusted the Magnetic Card to Ayanokoji, so Horikita was now curious what Ibuki had stolen.