Reasonableness

Beast's Forest.

Shota Aizawa was running quickly through the forest, his goggles lowered to serve as night vision devices, turning the pitch-black forest into a green world.

"Eraser Head, have you found those kids?" Mandalay's voice echoed in Aizawa's mind. "The first one to arrive, the boy with the afro, has woken up. I've arranged for him to go eat first."

Mandalay's Quirk is Telepath. The signal in this forest is not good. Before Aizawa set off, she connected with Aizawa Telepath that she could report the situation to him in time, so that he wouldn't still be searching in the forest when the students of Class A had already arrived.

Shota Aizawa obtained a map of the forest from the American Shorthair. The map marked the locations of the Earth Beast clusters and the positions of the activated monsters. Aizawa used this map to Search for the most likely locations where the Class A students would appear.

Shota Aizawa had been running through the forest for half an hour. At his speed, he had already completed one-sixth of the entire distance, but apart from the scorch marks left by Bakugo's explosion that killed the monster and the monster's battle traces, he had not found any other special traces.

"That's good. I haven't found them here yet, but the number of activated magical beasts along the way isn't high, which at least proves they haven't arrived here yet."

Before Shota Aizawa could finish speaking, three or four magical beasts pounced on Shota Aizawa from the shadows. He only paused for a moment, and the bandage around his neck flew off and wrapped around one of the beasts. Aizawa grabbed one end of the bandage and swung it like a flail at the other beasts!

The battle ended quickly; in just a few seconds, Aizawa had single-handedly taken down four enemies. Although he had the advantage of using support equipment, it was enough to prove his reaction speed and combat skills.

"Dumb--"

Shota Aizawa finished off the enemy, he suddenly heard the cawing of crows above. He initially ignored the crows, but even after he had been running for a while, the crows still hadn't shaken him off. Instead, they circled above his head, emitting indistinct cries.

Koji Koda seems to be able to communicate with animals. Could it be that this crow is sending him a message?

Shota Aizawa stopped and looked at the crow. The crow seemed to realize that he was paying attention to it, circled around Aizawa's head a few more times, and then flew off to another corner of the forest.

Aizawa confirmed the crow's special nature and followed it. A dozen minutes later, Aizawa saw firelight in the distance. He had a premonition that his students who hadn't reached the base were probably here.

Shota Aizawa walked over there, but he didn't get close; instead, he stopped in the shadows.

Before him lay a winding stream and students gathered around three or four bonfires, eating grilled fish, roast duck, and other wild game.

Kirishima, Ashido, and the others ate meat heartily around the campfire, while Tokoyami even sat by the river fishing with a bamboo pole. Their leisurely demeanor made it impossible to tell that they were in a forest inhabited by magical beasts; it was more like a picnic.

The crow flew to Koji Koda's side and cawed at him. Koji Koda understood, nodded hurriedly, moved closer to Jilan, and said something to him.

Jilan Jiyu sat in front of the fire. After hearing Koji Koda say that someone had followed the crow scouts they had just released to this place, he stood up, picked up a grilled fish skewered by Kirishima from the shelf, and walked towards a dark forest.

When Jilan saw that the person who came was Aizawa, he was taken aback for a moment, but he calmly walked up to Aizawa and said, "Mr. Aizawa, would you like some grilled fish?"

"..." Shota Aizawa, then took the grilled fish. However, he didn't eat it. Instead, he asked, "Why didn't you go to the base? Why did you stop here?"

"Without supplies, without a map, and with enemies lurking around at any moment, simply heading straight ahead to find a base that may not even exist... to be honest, as the class leader, I can't make that decision," Jilan said calmly. "I think you, Mr. Aizawa, understand that too. Rather than having everyone reach that goal exhausted and wounded, I'd prefer everyone to replenish their strength."

Aizawa asked, "... Bakugo arrived at the base an hour ago. Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"Even if he reached the base, he should be exhausted and his legs should be numb by now, probably still eating without any regard for appearances." Jilan smiled. "Since neither of us arrived at the base on time, what's the difference between us?"

Shoto Todoroki was in charge of starting the fire, Kirishima was in charge of slicing the wild boar they had hunted, and Shoji, who had Yaoyorozu arms, was in charge of grilling the meat. They sprinkled spices made with Yaoyorozu's own ingredients on the sizzling, oily meat. Everyone had smiles on their faces except for Koji Koda, who couldn't bear to eat the animals and only ate some fruits and berries that Izuku Midoriya had found. Jilan didn't think there was anything wrong with his choice.

Aizawa had no intention of blaming Jilan and the others. Compared to Bakugo, who had arrived at the base but made no plan and just acted recklessly, their actions, though Aizawa by Bakugo, were more reasonable. If this were a test, they would score higher. Aizawa appreciated those who could adapt to changing circumstances and make the right decisions.

However, this was not a test, but an order. Although Aizawa largely agreed with Jilan and the others' approach, he uttered these words.

"You're already an hour behind Bakugo. At your speed, it'll take you at least two more hours to reach the base. That's a three-hour time difference. Do you think there won't be any punishment?" Aizawa said calmly. "There will be no dinner at the base tonight, and tomorrow's training will be doubled."

"The lack of dinner isn't a big deal, since I think everyone should have eaten enough," Jilan smiled nonchalantly. "However, Mr. Aizawa, your calculation is wrong. We can reach the base in just twenty minutes, so let's skip the double training."

Twenty minutes? Aizawa didn't believe it. Even he had taken at least thirty minutes to get here, although... he had spent twenty minutes searching for clues.

"I'm not joking," Aizawa said coldly.

"I wasn't joking," Jilan replied. "Did the teacher think we spent three or four hours here just to replenish our energy?"

Aizawa was stunned. Yes, if it were just about replenishing their energy, they should have finished in half an hour at most. But here they were, having a barbecue, even engaging in recreational activities. Had they found a way to reach the base quickly?

"Then let me see it," Aizawa said.