Classroom of the Elite Year 2 Volume 4

(Incomplete)
“Ayanokōji, were my actions unnecessary?”
“That depends on what happens next. Am I correct in assuming that
you will lend me a hand?”
“Of course... As your senior, isn't it natural to protect my junior?”
“You say you're going to meet Ayanokōji-senpai? Stop right there, let's
have a little fun!”
“Eh!?”
“Woah.”

I grabbed Ichinose just before she slipped.

“Why such a rush, Ichinose?”

“I-I have something to tell you no matter what, Ayanokōji-kun...!”

 Index

1) Prologue: Amasawa Ichika’s Monologue

2) Chapter 1: Obscure Movements

3) Chapter 2: Simple, Single-minded Silence
4) Chapter 3: A Battle Against Solitude
5) Chapter 4: Encirclement. Kouenji VS Free Group
6) Chapter 5: Each and Everyone’s Opinions
7) Chapter 6: The Man Known as Tsukishiro
8) Epilogue: And The Results are In
Prologue: Amasawa Ichika’s Monologue

Test tube babies.

Have you heard of that term before?

They are no longer called that and the term in vitro fertilisation is being used instead. I’m
one of those born from in vitro fertilisation.
I don’t know anything about myself aside from that.

I’ve never seen my parents’ faces.

Where are they now? What are they doing? Why am I in the White Room? Nothing.

Despite everything being unknown to me, I wasn’t interested in the slightest strictly
speaking.

They only told me this as far as I can remember:

Your parents are very talentful people.

Surely, that meant I was extremely blessed with talent from birth, right?

But my existence and the White Room’s existence are running counter with each other.

The ultimate goal of the facility is the education of all into equally outstanding people.

The limits of a single humans isn’t decided by their genes, it’s decided by the
environment. That’s what they are trying to prove.

Which ultimately means that someone as talented as me, who has superior genes, isn’t
welcome.

I am probably just an experiment for the White Room in the end.

I’m not interested in trying to refute that fact, but do they really think they will
succeed?

Intelligence, personality and mental stature.

Treating each and every one of them the same is impossible in my opinion.

The proof lies with me being here as myself, don’t you think?
I held pride over myself ever since I was a child unlike the others in the same
environment.

My eyes looked dead as I unenthusiastically did task after task. But it was all an act.

I was always questioning the very reason for the existence of the facility.

Grow up for the sake of the White Room?

Waste my own life in order to contribute?
Become the best success and spend my life for that goal? Was that my true desire?

You know, that sounds like the recipe for a sad life, don’t you agree?

I want to live life freely, don’t you too?

At least I do.
I would hate living my entire whole life within that closed garden after all.

Oh my, was that off-topic? Let’s return back then.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He is outperforming everyone else in the White Room in terms of

grades.

I wasn’t sure whether to believe it or not the first time I heard of him, naturally.

You want me to believe he severely surpassed all the scores my own blood had spent
working on?

But—yes. When I saw the data of him, met him in person and got to talk with him.

I knew.

He really was special after all.

But, I’m sorry senpai.

I really want to be your ally, but I can’t have it any other way.

I’ve spent far more time with them than with you, senpai. By far.
I’m surprisingly a lot more compassionate… than I thought I was.

Senpai, as someone who worships you,

I will gaze at you from afar when that time comes.

Chapter 1: Hidden Movements

Intro

The rain got stronger, and the fog got thicker.

Even with the poor visual and auditory conditions, I felt the nasty scent of someone
approaching me from behind.

It was the sound of someone jumping in the mud. It seemed deliberate, exaggerated.

Nanase also immediately noticed the movement.

When she looked back, she saw a student stomping aggressively, red hair swaying.

―It’s gonna Rain Heavily Senpai.‖

The one who emerged from the rain and the mist was none other than Amasawa Ichika
from Class 1-A.

It was well known that I was with Nanase, but this was by no means a mere
coincidence.

There were no other students around, and Amasawa didn’t seem like she was carrying a
backpack or the tablet.

She probably ran here from elsewhere.

She probably hid her luggage nearby.

Or she had followed me from the start without her luggage.

Other methods were possible, such as using a transceiver to follow someone else’s
directions, or through the collection of GPS results. Anyway, we could eliminate the
possibility of this being a coincidence.

Whatever the reason, her arrival was not a welcome one.

Besides, she didn’t come completely empty-handed. In her left hand, Amazawa held a
thick wooden stick. It was large enough to be considered a lethal weapon.
Was she trying to take me by surprise? But she got detected, which means…

In such horrible conditions, she would be able to approach undetected if she planned to
attack.

―Senpai, please take a step back behind me.‖

While fumbling for a justification for Amasawa’s appearance, the physically exhausted
Nanase stood by my side.

The side view of her face didn’t hide her wariness in any way, as she stared at Amasawa
unblinkingly.

―Huh? Shouldn’t you be welcoming me, Nanase? Look at this, my own comrade
ditched me. Or does this thing I’m holding in my hand look a bit intimidating?‖

Amasawa lightly tossed the thick wooden stick down to her feet, telling us that it would
be safe.

But Nanase didn’t let her guard down for a moment.

―You–mustn’t be trusted.‖

―Awww! Why would you say that? I’m obviously super cute.‖

I didn’t think that cute and trustworthy were the same thing, but that didn’t matter
now.

―What’s going on, Nanase?‖

Amasawa did have a side to her that nobody could understand.

Saying that she was someone who had an exceptional acting ability, as well as the
ability to execute plans would not be an overstatement.

It was only natural to be wary of her, something that I was fully aware of.

But Nanase being this wary couldn’t be explained.

Of course, it obviously made sense for Amasawa to be here.

You could assume that Nanase was just overreacting because she’s on my side…

―I’m not a bad person, right, Ayanokouji-senpai? I just have something I wanted to
talk to you about.‖

―Please don’t listen to her, she’s dangerous.‖

Facing with the Amasawa who had no hostile intentions, Nanase uttered a strong
derogatory against her without mercy.

Nanase’s statement seemed to be unjustified criticism. Although she said a lot,

Amasawa didn’t seem to feel embarrassed or awkward.

―Senpai… I’ve been hiding something until now. Shinohara-senpai’s group was
attacked, Komiya-senpai and Kinoshita-senpai withdrew. You and Ike-senpai climbed
the slope together then, right?‖

Hearing Shinohara’s voice from above, Ike rushed right up there.

I thought it was dangerous for him to go alone, so I went along behind him.

―After that, I noticed someone was watching us nearby and gave chase.‖

―So, when we found Shinohara and came back, you weren’t with Sudo and the others?‖

Nanase nodded slightly.

―And then what?‖

―Although I wasn’t able to catch up with my opponent… I saw her very unique hair.‖
Nanase said as she slowly extended her right arm towards Amasawa, pointing at her
with her index.

―At that time, it was you who was watching us from that place, wasn’t it, Amasawa.‖

―So you saw it After all‖

Instead of denying it, Amasawa immediately affirmed it with a smile.

Her attitude did not waver in the slightest, and she was not surprised by what she had
heard.

The person who was watching us in secret at that time was Amasawa.

―You’re the one who hurt Komiya-senpai and the others, right?‖

―Huh? Aren’t you jumping to conclusions? I might just have happened to be around
you guys.‖

―Then there was no need to run away, is there?‖

―Would you not run away when you’re being chased by someone who had a scary look
on their face? And I didn’t want to be suspected.‖

―I can’t believe that.‖

―So basically Nanase, you decided that I was the one who pushed the senpai down?‖

―I’m sure of it. It’s almost impossible for me to be wrong on this.‖

―You’re sooooo sure, but you also feel the need to add the word ―almost‖. Are you sure
you know what really is going on?‖

The two girls in the same group argued with each other in traction.

―So, can you swear that it wasn’t you that hurt Komiya-senpai?‖

―I can promise, but whether I keep that promise or not is none of your business,
Nanase,‖ Amasawa said that there was no point in doing so.

―Hypothetically, if it really was me who did that, then what would you do.‖

Instead of trying to get out of Nanase’s pursuit, she jumped into that whirlpool herself.

Nanase stifled her emotions but continued on to try to find out what was going on with
Amasawa.

―Why are you doing this? Please tell me that. No, before that, why didn’t your name
appear in the GPS signal in the school’s investigation?‖
About the latter point, there was no need to confirm it with Amasawa.

―The point of not leaving a trail behind you with the GPS is simple. Just destroy the
watch.‖

Amasawa happily showed off the watch she was wearing on her right hand to us.

―Yup. Whether intentional or not, a malfunction is a malfunction, and can be replaced

free of charge.‖

―But even if the GPS was broken before this, the school should have noticed.‖

―Yeah, but until they got to me, it’s super hard for them to determine the cause of the
malfunction.‖

The number of GPS signals on the island was over 400. Even if one or two signals
disappear from the tablet, there was no time to identify the cause. The first thing the
teachers needed to do was to ensure the safety of their students.

―However, there’ll be a thorough investigation on the school’s part someday, right? It’s
only a matter of time before it’s determined.‖

Since Shinohara herself said she was attacked, the school would definitely start a
detailed investigation.

In the process, only Amasawa’s GPS signal disappeared, which made it very likely that
she was the culprit.

But therein lies the problem.

―If the only person whose GPS signal disappeared during the time Komiya and the
others were attacked was Amasawa, suspicion on the part of the school is inevitable.
But that would be all since there’s no other evidence to prove it. So it can’t be concluded
that she’s the one.‖

―That–―

Nanase, who saw Amasawa directly, must have been tempted to identify her as the
culprit.
But it was much more difficult that one might think to confirm a crime. The school
absolutely had to avoid a trial that would make Amasawa drop out of the school due to
a wrongful conviction.

Originally, the watch existed in the uninhabited island examination to make the
students comply with the rules, and to maintain order. If it was easy to wear, it would
fail. In order to prevent impropriety, the watch needed to be strictly regulated.
Exchanges of the watches caused by malfunctions could only be performed once, and
each malfunction consumed points. Too many malfunctions may result in forced
withdrawal, etc.

But, the tighter the regulations, the more likely it was that a loophole could be
exploited. For example, tampering with a competitor’s watch in order to sabotage
them. And it would be an unacceptable special exam if a withdrawal was really only due
to an accident, or a malfunction.

―It’s customary to poke holes in the rules, and if the school can’t even find evidence,
anything is fine.‖ Even if this argument was far-fetched, what Amasawa said was
correct.

―If there’s no evidence, I can stand as a witness and prove that Amasawa was there.‖

―Using the same logic, the GPS malfunction and the fact that she was at the scene of
the crime would only make her suspicious at best.‖

If it was a highly violent student like Sudo or Ryuuen, who had problems regarding
their characters, the school would be more suspicious. But it was a girl in her first year
of high school. From the evidence, her being considered a bad person was not high.

And most importantly, Komiya and Kinoshita didn’t have a testimony of the attack.
Shinohara only said that she didn’t know who it was, in a vague statement.

The same is true for the statement, ―Nanase saw Amasawa.‖

If there was no conclusive evidence, it would be impossible for the school to punish
Amasawa.

―And there it is, Nanase.‖

Even so, the reason for Amasawa’s appearance here was still unknown.
Nanase’s questioning and Amasawa’s responses played out repetitively, with no signs of
progress.

The idea that something should be done just about now… was growing on me.

As for whether or not Amasawa was the one who injured Komiya and the others, we’ll
just put that aside for now.

To make some progress in this stalemate, I’ll hear her response to this.

―What are you doing here, no, how did you find us?‖

Considering the future of the exam with tomorrow and beyond, the three of us standing
in the pouring rain should be avoided.

The tent should be pitched immediately to avoid the rain.

―Don’t be so anxious, Ayanokouji-senpai. We should be happy, meeting in the middle

of an uninhabited island under such circumstances, right?‖

―Sorry, but it’s raining a lot more than I would like, so let’s get this over with.‖

―Then how about we put up a tent, and spend the night together?‖

Men and women were not allowed to spend the night in the same tent, as everyone
should know.

It would also seem as if Amasawa was trying to buy time with this meaningless
conversation.

―Ah, do you have a lot to worry about? It’s fine, it’s fine. After all, the school can’t
possibly monitor everything at once.‖

Amasawa tried to approach me, and Nanase immediately moved, grabbing her arm.

―What are you doing with that hand?‖

―Weren’t you planning to take a shot at Ayanokouji-senpai?‖

―When did you get turned around, Nanase? Didn’t you work with Housen to get him
expelled?‖

―That… has nothing to do with you. What did you come here for?‖

―I came here because I was lost and needed some help.‖

Telling such a lie that even she herself didn’t believe.

Did she come here to confirm the defeat of Nanase, and to survey the aftermath?

Judging from her attitude towards Nanase, she should also be aware that Nanase had
turned to my side.

No, if that was the case, there was no point in continuing her meaningless small talk
like this.

―I’d like to talk to Ayanokouji-senpai, so please move aside.‖

―Can’t you just talk like this?‖

―No, because it’s about the White Room.‖

Perhaps because she thought it was meaningless to hide her true identity any longer,
Amasawa confessed, just like that.

Nanase turned her eyes around in surprise.

Throughout this first semester, I’ve been aware of the existence of the White Room
student, but I’ve never been able to grasp their true identity.

I didn’t expect to find out in the form of a ―confession‖ like this.

―You get it now? Outsider.‖

If Amasawa really was the white room student, it made sense that she referred to
Nanase as an outsider.

―Let go of her hand, Nanase.‖

Despite her dissatisfaction, Nanase obeyed my instructions, and let go of her hand.

―That’s a good girl, Nanase. I don’t hate loyal dogs like you.‖

With that reply, Amasawa started to draw closer to me.

Was this what was needed to get the conversation going?

―Sorry, but since there’s the example of Nanase here, I don’t want to conclude it just by
hearing the phrase ―White Room‖.‖

―Yup, I can prove it to you. But… it would be a little bad for Nanase to hear.‖

Got it? She flashed her usual devilish smile.

She waved her hand lightly at Nanase, gesturing for her to keep her distance. Nanase
resisted, but it didn’t take long for her to heed the instruction. The rain was getting
heavier, and whispers from a few meters away shouldn’t be audible for her.

Stepping through the mid, Amasawa finally came within reaching distance of me.

―So where should I start?‖

Amasawa looked thoughtful as if she was saying to me, ―you can understand, right?‖

But her sudden appearance on this occasion really was incomprehensible.

The student of the white room had been lurking around until today, in order to get me
expelled.

However, the Amasawa in front of me exposed herself without taking any measures.

More importantly, it was strange that she hesitated to say anything up till now.

She was clearly stalling, stalling for time.

As if it was time to make a decision, Amasawa spoke up.

―The course you received when you were 10 years old was about the construction
theorem of base 5. When you were 11 years old, you learned about the theory of
relativity. I took the test twice, so I remember it well.‖

As if to prove that we learnt in the same classroom, she told me about the specifics of
the past.

―There, the interior of the classroom, the hallway, my own room, it was a world of
white.‖

It seemed that Amasawa knew about the White Room much better than Nanase.

It was also unlikely that she heard about this from Tsukishiro.

He wouldn’t tell anyone who was unrelated about the White Room.

That’s how I can conclude that Amasawa was the enforcer.

From the content of our conversation to her behaviour and speech, all of it fit the
requirements of a student of the White Room.

―What’s the advantage of revealing your identity by making a deliberate appearance?‖

―Huh, so you still care about that. It’s because I wanted to express that I’m not your
enemy, Senpai.‖

―That’s contradictory. The students of the White Room are the enforcers sent to the
school in order to get me expelled. It’s inconsistent to say that someone like you isn’t
my enemy.‖

Although Amasawa was already drenched in rainwater, she continued to speak.

―The generations after your 4th generation all harboured intense jealousy. So they
thought that those jealous students would be willing to participate in the operation to
get you expelled. But the higher-ups chose the wrong person.‖

―Is that why you took the initiative to reveal your identity?‖

Amasawa nodded.
―If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to reveal yourself right after enrolling? You’ve
managed to break into my room, so you should have plenty of chances to talk to me.‖

―But, even if I longed for something, it would still just be an imaginary person. Only
when I meet you directly and talk to you, will my longing turn into understanding that
this person truly is good. That takes time.

In order words, If I wasn’t a person with a good evaluation in Amasawa’s eyes, I would
be rejected by her. As the conversation flowed on, this reason was tentatively
established.

―Do you get it?‖

―Yes, if the White Room student proposed this of her own volition, they can only be a
person who would stand by my side.‖

―Yup, that’s it. It feels incredible, being an ordinary high school student living like this.
I’ve experienced this special feeling so far. But I’m more interested in allowing the
other White Room students to have this same experience.‖

―If you feel the same as me, you should also be aware of how interesting this place is…‖

―I get what you’re trying to say, Senpai. I’ve thought about this more than once.
Just stay here until graduation, being a student living a fun life. Although I’m not
good at making friends, and I don’t have many people I can talk to.‖ How should I
say it? It’s like she’s similar to me.

Although I had talked to Horikita, Ike, and others, there was still some sort of a
distance between us.

I remembered a certain period of time, where I couldn’t even consider them as

―friends‖, frankly.

―But I don’t lack communication skills like the predecessors.‖

Amasawa seemed to know what I was thinking and corrected me.

―I basically learned the same thing as the senpais. but on the other hand, I also learned
things exclusive for the 5th generation.‖
I didn’t answer, and let Amasawa go on.

―That is, the skills of communication and collaboration. Until the 4th generation,
because of the culture of individualism, those kids who failed got out of there. And it
was impossible for them to communicate with the kids with poor grades. They are
excellent, and of course, they’ve only been allowed to interact with people with the
same excellence.‖

If this is true, it’s understandable that she could make such varied expressions.
Although I can play certain acting roles for a short period of time, it was difficult to get
rid of the habit of living without emotion most of the time.

―Still can’t believe it?‖

―I believe in your origins, but I can’t accept the reason why you would tell me your
identity.‖

―As expected of a White Room student, you really are calm and collected. Do you not
think I would threaten you, Senpai?‖

I didn’t answer, and Amasawa continued, with a smile.

―Then– I’ve said everything I’ve wanted to say, so I’ll be going now, okay?‖

Amasawa turned around and said that. It seemed like her visit was to let me know that
she was a student of the White Room.

―What are you thinking, Amasawa?‖

―Didn’t I say this before? I just admire Ayanokouji-senpai very much.‖

She turned her head around and stroked my cheek with her wet fingertips.

―So, please don’t be defeated without my permission.‖

With that, her fingertips left my cheeks, and she started walking aimlessly away.

Who was she referring to when she said that? Tsukishiro? The first years aiming for
those 20 million points? Or…
―Ayanokouji-senpai, are you okay? Did anything happen?‖

I told the worried Nanase that she didn’t have to worry, and looked at my backpack.

―We’d better hurry, in this rain.‖

Although I wanted to organize all sorts of new information, there was a priority.

―Well, we should prepare the tents, right?‖

―Yeah.‖

I replied like that, but there was one thing that mustn’t be forgotten.

Confirm the footprints left by Amasawa after she left.

―Senpai…?‖

―If I don’t hurry, the rain will wash away the footprints.‖

The footprints of Amasawa, who had just left, had already begun to self-destruct.

―Footprints? What happened to her footprints?‖

When Komiya and the others were injured, there were also footprints near the scene,
the size of which was about the same as Amasawa, it seems.‖

In order words, as Nanase had seen, Amasawa was indeed on the scene.

―Sure enough, Amasawa wasn’t nearby by coincidence, but she’s the one who pushed
them down.‖

―I don’t know. At that time, the person who was monitoring Sudo and you was
Amasawa, right? However, this doesn’t prove that the person who pushed them down is
also her.‖

Nanase didn’t seem to understand what I was on about for a moment.

―Maybe there’s no definitive evidence, but surely it can be concluded that it was her?‖
―If we use the information we have now and logic, Amasawa is indeed the culprit.‖

―I think so too because I did see Amasawa at the time.‖

Of course, this was definitely not a mistake.

―But you didn’t see her pushing them down.‖

―That… well, but, she just exposed herself then.‖

―Can you even call it exposing herself? It’s very subtle. After all, what Amasawa said
was a hypothetical situation where she was indeed the person who pushed them down,
what would you do? She didn’t say clearly that she did it.‖

―Was she afraid of being recorded?‖

―In this rain, and us looking like this, do you think it’s necessary for her to be highly
vigilant?‖

If it depended on the situation, it was impossible for us to get this environment ready
for a recording.

―Even so, it’s not absolute. Especially after knowing that Ayanokouji-senpai is a
vigilant opponent, it should be appropriate for her to consider the maximum level of
caution.‖ In order to reduce her risk to zero, this was indeed a wise choice.

―The subject is 2 students. If they are deliberately injured with their lives in danger if
they are not dealt with, then they should escape in a hurry after committing the crime.
Why do you have to go back to the scene, and let someone see her?‖ As she packed up,
Nanase thought.

―This… she should be worried about the injuries of Komiya-senpai and the others. I
reckon this is the same as the psychology of how arsonists return to the scene of the
crime.‖

Indeed, there was a saying that arsonists would return to the scene.
There are various opinions about this sort of psychology, but it was very dangerous to
apply it that easily in this case. If we reason on the basis that Amasawa is the culprit, we
can only see the surface of it.

―It’s impossible for a student of the White Room sent by Tsukishiro to make this kind
of mistake without the awareness that no matter what happened, you do not risk going
back to the scene, and the corresponding measures surrounding that. In fact, Amasawa
knew that she was discovered by Nanase at that time.‖

In order not to miss anything, I continued to track the footprints that were about to be
destroyed.

―Why would she not hesitate to chase after us, but also expose her true identity?‖

―I think she thought that since she couldn’t hide being seen by you, she came to
contact us on her initiative. If we report it to the school, even if we can’t prove it, it’ll be
a problem for her. And if we entrust the matter to Acting Director Tsukishiro, that’ll be
dangerous.‖

―As far as a result is concerned, this also contradicts her returning to the crime scene.‖

―Can’t it be explained by her careless nature?‖

―Impossible.‖

Maybe Amasawa let Nanase discover her deliberately for some reason.

Then, I succeeded in gaining new hints from the footprints I followed.

―Sure enough, Amasawa’s actions has something that cannot be ignored.‖

―Something that cannot be ignored?‖

I followed her footprints that were about to be washed away by the rain.

―Amasawa came from behind me naturally, and if I started to look back from here…‖

At this time, Nanase also noticed a peculiar change for the first time.

―Is this another footprint?‖

―Yeah.‖

This footprint was slightly larger than Amasawa’s.

But because it had been deformed, the exact size could not be determined.

―This person had been close to us before, but the footprint is messed up. This happens
to be the place where they met with Amasawa’s footprint. And then the footprints of
this mysterious person go back from here.‖

―In order words, before Amasawa made contact with us, there was another…‖

It seems that it was impossible to judge whether this was a student, or someone related
to the school.

―Can you get me the stick in Amasawa’s hand just now?‖

Nanase picked up the stick that Amasawa had thrown away. Seeing this, I came to a
conclusion.

―Have you noticed anything?‖

―Have I noticed? I think it would be dangerous to hit someone with this. And that…‖

Nanase also noticed one thing after touching the stick.

―I don’t think it was picked up from around here.‖

―Well, in order to be used as a weapon, the useless branches and leaves have been cut
off. Judging from the shape of naturally falling branches, this shape is too unnatural.‖

―She intended to use this to attack Ayanokouji-senpai?‖

―If Amasawa wanted to attack me, she would launch a surprise attack from the
shadows. However, although she was holding a weapon, she didn’t appear to attack me.
Not only that, she just wanted me to notice her.‖

Something more can be seen from there.

―In other words, she didn’t plan to attack from the start. It was not Amasawa who held
the stick at first, but the person who was about to leave, right?‖

The footprint approached us at a slow pace, but then it got quicker and quicker as it
turned back. It should be that in order not to be discovered, they escaped and left.

―But why is this?‖

―According to Amasawa, I am the existence that she longs for. So she protected me
when I was about to be attacked. Thinking like that, we can take a look at the insides of
this matter.‖

―It’s a bit dangerous to consider her to be a comrade based on this alone…‖

―Of course. But, I can’t imagine who the owner of this footprint could be, and why they
would be spying on me.‖

―Maybe… It’s someone related to the school, or something?‖

―It’s possible. After all, I’ve got a bounty on me.‖

I fully considered if this footprint belonged to one of the students who was after that
bounty.

It was completely conceivable for someone to take that risk to force me out the school.

―Ah, yes!‖

Nanase seemed to have thought of something and said loudly.

―Senpai, let’s do a GPS search now! It hasn’t been long since Amasawa’s arrival. Even
if there was someone running at full speed, in this bad weather, they wouldn’t escape
too far, right?‖

Indeed, if we used GPS search now, as long as there was a response in the surrounding
area, all the suspects could be discovered at once. As long as the response was close to
us, we could find out who it was by sifting through the possibilities in order.

―Yeah, but if the watch is damaged like Amasawa’s, then it won’t be certain.‖
―No, that’s not the case. If you damaged the watch, the GPS signal wouldn’t just
disappear. What if there is another GPS signal other than Amasawa that disappeared if
I searched?‖

―…Then that’s the person.‖

―So, the person who wanted to attack me definitely wouldn’t break their watch.‖

―Then is it worth paying for at this point?‖

It was only about 15 minutes after Amasawa greeted us.

Not only do they need to escape the scene, but they also needed to go all out to get out
of the area.

With luck, it’s possible to determine the owner of this mysterious footprint.

Because of this, if I followed Nanase’s suggestion to perform a GPS search now…

―Don’t use the GPS search.‖

―Huh?… Why?‖

―No matter what kind of person they are, it’s nothing special even if they manage to
develop a strategy for responding to GPS searches on our side. Sometimes, there’ll even
be completely unrelated people.‖

This doesn’t mean that you can’t suspect and investigate unrelated people. However,
Amasawa let Nanase see her, as well as the appearance here, and so on. It was all
intelligence that the other party imposed on us, so it’s better to stay alert.

―However, I still feel like it’s a bit of a shame.‖

―At least, if it were me, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to be seen through. If a GPS
search is what this person forgot to consider, then I don’t need to be afraid of this
person at all.‖

Nanase didn’t understand, but she seemed to obey my decision.

In short, even if you had to organize your thoughts, you couldn’t continue in this
situation.

I stopped the conversation and decided to quickly set the tent up with Nanase. It

wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this was heavy rain.

Nanase and I set up tents, putting them face to face, and made other necessary
preparations. We then retreated back into our tents.

I took off my wet sportswear and underwear and wiped my hair and body with a towel.

Then I changed into spare underwear, opened the tent cover, and looked at the
situation outside. Although it was still daytime, it looked as dim as it did during the
night.

At least for today, we couldn’t make any moves.

Because the rain would pour into the tent without mercy if I didn’t close the cover, I did
so and laid down.

I learned about Nanase’s past and determined that Amasawa was a White Room
student.

However, not all the fog had been cleared.

Part 1

The heavy rain continued, and a text message was sent from the school. Although it was
predictable, today’s exams were announced to be cancelled. The report also stated that
it would be challenging to turn the situation around if the basics of moving around and
the events disappeared, but ways to make up for it were considered to avoid putting the
students in a difficult situation.

The weather wasn’t going to improve, so the school wasn’t sure if it would keep some
contents of the exam.

However, no matter what the school did to make up for it, the fact of the matter was
that the exam was suspended today, and that wouldn’t change.

The makeup was effective from the sense of the total score, but strategic plans
developed by the teams had to be pushed away once again.

And for me, this suspension was a blessing, brought on by the rain.

I would adjust for the 2nd half of the exam, where I would peak, and where I would
exert myself. Although I passed some teams with low scores and planned to gather
many points, day 7 was almost a full day of idleness, so everyone would be able to use
this break to regain their strength.

Of course, even this would not completely eliminate fatigue in this environment. Still,
the chance to rest itself made a big difference.

―…pai?‖

―Hmm?‖

It was raining heavily outside the tent, so it was loud, but someone’s voice could be
heard over that.

―Sen…pai?‖

There was the voice again. It was Nanase, in the tent across mine. I unzipped the flap
and peered outside the netting.
Despite the poor visual conditions, it wasn’t hard to see the tent right in front of me.

―I’d like to talk to you for a bit. Can I come over?‖ Nanase proposed that across from

her tent.

Nanase knew that it was inappropriate for a man and a woman to lean together in a
small tent-like that.

She knew that, and she shouldn’t have forgotten.

Although sleeping together is forbidden by the rules, staying together for a short time
wasn’t a problem.

As long as the students didn’t lose rationality, there was no moral issue.

Having said that, the rain was heavy. Even the distance of 2 less than 2 meters between
the tents wouldn’t stop one from getting wet.

―Yes, come over.‖

I said, and Nanase nodded. She spread her towel out, preparing it to protect her head,
and opened the entrance to the tent. In order to welcome her over, I also hurriedly
opened up.

Sensing for the right moment, Nanase jumped out of the tent and quickly got into mine.

Of course, she got rained on, but since it was less than a second, it wasn’t that bad.

―Sorry, senpai, for disturbing your rest.‖

―No, it’s okay.‖

Nanase should be more tired than I was.

Her actions before coming to this area, plus the fierce fight that took place because of
the misunderstanding.

I thought Nanase had something to say to me, but she didn’t open her mouth right
away. It seems like she couldn’t say anything.
For a while, we observed each other, but the silence continued.

―Aren’t I a bit shameless?‖

Saying that, Nanase lowered her head apologetically.

―Just then, I was hostile to senpai, and even said some things that were excessive…
But now I greet you with such intimacy, it only troubles you, right…?‖ Only now did
Nanase want to face that guilt.

―I don’t mind, and you don’t need to apologize any more. At least, you should
understand that there’s no need for us to be hostile towards each other, right?‖

Although there weere parts that were a bit harder to let go of, there was a special exam
going on right now.

Mental confusion can be a detriment to actions and thoughts during the exam.

―Yes, indeed.‖

She understood. Nanase once again bowed her head apologetically.

―And then? What else do you have to say in this heavy rain?‖

―Ah, yes.‖

As if remembering something, Nanase spoke.

―Amasawa’s sudden appearance was lingering in my mind… When I think of how hard
you’re working, I can’t help but want to drive her away.‖

It seemed as though she didn’t have an agenda, just simply worrying about me.

Although it does seem a bit problematic to act out more than I, the person in question, I
appreciated her consideration.

―I decided that Amasawa was the one who pushed Komiya-senpai and the others
down.
I always thought that Amasawa’s way of not showing us her true self was a way to hide
the truth. Ayanokouji-senpai, you said that it wasn’t necessarily that Amasawa was the
one who did that, which I felt was a bit confusing…‖

―Because right now, the truth is still in the dark.‖

Although Amasawa was in a grey area that was infinitely close to being black, it was still
not completely tinted black.

―What I care about is the objective of the culprit. Whoever they are, what was their
reason for doing such a dangerous thing?‖

―Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard if we assumed the answer first. Then, let’s assume that
Amasawa isn’t the culprit, and start discussing it again.‖

By repeatedly exchanging opinions, sometimes it was possible to see otherwise invisible

things.

I don’t know who pushed Komiya and the others down. Judging from the fact that there
was no GPS response on the watch, it was clear that this was planned.

Next–

―That…that, though, isn’t that strange….‖

As soon as she opened her mouth, Nanase frowned, as if there was something that she
couldn’t understand.

―It would be strange if Amasawa didn’t have anything to do with this incident, right?
When her watch broke down by chance, Komiya-senpai and the others were attacked
by chance, and then by chance she was nearby, and then by chance I saw it~.‖

―It’s hard to call it a coincidence if it’s several coincidences stacked on top of each
other. That is to say, if Amasawa reasoned about Komiya’s case as if it had nothing to
do with her at all, we could solve the case quickly.‖

The idea that it was someone close to Amasawa who pushed Komiya and others down
surfaced.

―Even if the real culprit wasn’t Amasawa, she must have known the real culprit.‖
Then wouldn’t the possibility that Amasawa was an accomplice also come up?‖

―Yeah, maybe those footprints from earlier belonged to the real culprit.‖

If you considered that she was taking action to help the real culprit, that would explain
Amasawa’s actions.

―If they wanted to use violence, the methods wouldn’t be that much different.‖

Nanase had placed a hand on these connected clues.

―But…‖

At this point… How should I put it, I was starting to care about something completely
unrelated.

―But, what?‖

Nanase looked at me, bewildered, but I didn’t dare bring it up.

I said that because I simply couldn’t understand the ―composition‖.

The 7th day of this backwards lifestyle on the uninhabited island. Up till now, Nanase
has basically been moving with me all along. And I didn’t even have time to clean my
body properly.

Of course, there was a chance to take a shower when I changed to my swimsuit on the
beach before, where you could wash the sand off your body after swimming in the
ocean.

Nevertheless, the sweat from today alone was enough to give someone a headache.

Because it was a small tent, Nanase’s scene diffused throughout the area, but it wasn’t
an unpleasant smell. Although the stench of sweat could be masked by simply wiping it
off, what’s with this smell?

I would like to ask about it’s ―composition‖, but that was something a ―perverted
senpai‖ would do.

―No, I misunderstood, don’t mind it.‖

―Is that so~~‖

Nanase didn’t dig deeper into my statement, and just nodded her head.

Even though I had a girlfriend, I was still a beginner who had just started learning
about these things.

Anyway, when it came to these things, I didn’t understand a lot of things.

Antiperspirants and deodorant and things like that are pretty cheap, so she probably
bought those. That’s the only answer I could come up with right now.

Although I started it myself, it was inexplicably awkward.

Nanase didn’t seem to think much of it, so I’ll change the subject real quick.

―Although I can’t confirm exactly what Amasawa did to Komiya and the others, I can
roughly guess who’s with her on her daily itinerary.‖

Not understanding what I meant, Nanase tilted her head. I took the tablet out and
showed it to her.

―You can? That, doesn’t that have your personal information on it, Ayanokouji-senpai?
Is it really okay to show me this?‖

By personal information, she meant the scores that I had. The points and rankings
outside of the top and bottom 10 would not be publicly disclosed, so this was crucial
private information.

―I think me and you have built a relationship where we can trust each other, but it
seems like it’s my mistake…?‖

I told her unabashedly, and she quickly looked up.

―What! I’m super grateful that you trust me!‖

She replied somewhat shyly, somewhat happily, and somewhat apologetically.

It was a shameful expression that she wasn’t able to show until now.
―And since we’re doing this together, we can probably guess how many points we got
just by thinking back in the past, right?‖

Although there was also a part of the exam that I challenged alone, Nanase would
probably assume that I got 1st place.

So I didn’t care about showing my score to her, and started to explain.

―About the topic earlier, that’s it’s possible to know who’s with her in her daily
schedule–―

The quick-witted Nanase immediately realized something suspicious.

―Huh, senpai’s score… Shouldn’t you have more points?‖

―What do you mean?‖

Nanase tried to ask like that, calculating in her head.

―Reaching the bonus, the arrival points, and the event points… Minus the
penalties– And I think you got 1st in the one you participated in while I was on
break.‖ Her memory was pretty good.

This would be helpful for her in the future.

―You noticed that my score should have been 88.‖

―But now it’s 78 points, 10 points less. This isn’t a penalty….‖

So, how and why did these 10 points disappear? I’ll explain it now.

―Where we go in this exam is published 4 times a day with the designated area. That’s
7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I used the GPS service starting at 7 a.m. on the 6th day when it
was unbanned, and used it a total of 10 times, once per hour, excluding the noon break
at 12.‖

What could we see by doing this? Nanase didn’t understand it yet.

―GPS search is a very convenient tool to know all the students’ locations on the whole
island. However, if you only use it once, you can only know their current position, and
the usefulness is low. But if you divide the day into 10 parts and search repeatedly, you
can see many things that you couldn’t before.‖

By connecting the dots into a line, the trajectory of one’s path in a day can be traced. So,
if someone used the search 10 times, they would be able to notice that Nanase and I
often moved together.

―So, that’s the purpose of using your points. I see. Indeed, suppose we can know
everyone’s destination every hour. In that case, we might be able to find out who has
the same itinerary with who.‖

―But on the 6th day, Senpai didn’t look like he was using the tablet for a long time, so
wouldn’t you just forget it all? It’s hard to remember everything just like that, right?‖

―Impossible. It takes a lot of time to confirm each person’s name and location.‖

I opened the photo folder to show the images saved there.

―After using GPS search, I saved the screenshots. That way, I can use my free time to
observe this, and know what the others have done that day.‖

You couldn’t send messages or photos to others during the exam. However, saving
screenshots is a standard feature of the tablet, and is certainly available for use. By
repeatedly using the map, zooming in and out, locations of everyone can be recorded in
detail.

―Compare them according to different points in time, and actions of all the others
throughout the day are available as information that can be viewed at any given time.‖

Before going to bed, in the morning before the start of the exam, and in the middle,
during the breaks. Since these times are idle, it’s enough to use these times to confirm.

Because the map has detailed distribution of topics for that time, as soon as the 6th
day, information about the groups, what course of action each student took, and so on,
could be recorded.

―You actually did something like that, huh? I didn’t notice at all.‖
―I wouldn’t do something that would make someone who potentially is an enemy
notice that I did it. Because on the 6th day, I still didn’t know what kind of person you
were, Nanase.‖

It would have been foolish to let Nanase, an enemy, know that I was using GPS search
then. From confirming current locations to confirming event details, the tablet had a
relatively high refresh rate, so it didn’t look unnatural even if you manipulated the
screen.

Just keep tracking the specified area and event, and do a GPS search every hour, taking
a screenshot of the screen. Nanase admiringly swiped right on the map. Each time she
swiped, each student’s GPS signal would change position.

―But, with all due respect, can I ask if this is worth paying 10 points for? Since it takes
a long time just to analyze one person’s behaviour pattern. Maybe it would be worth it
if this image can be shared with others.

The value of these images would be apparent if it could be easily sent to friends by
email. More people could use GPS searches at shorter intervals, and we could confirm
it outside of exam time. It wouldn’t be surprising if other classes did just that.

―Even with individual users, it’s value depends on how you use this. Suffice to say,
whether this is worth more or less than 10 points will be decided in the future.‖
―So in that case…?‖

―That’s right. There’s also this sort of information that can be obtained through
repeated GPS search.‖

For example, the 1st and 3rd years. You can see new things when you sort this
information by grade.

Especially in the 3rd years, special activities in that year is evident.

―For example, a portion of the 3rd year groups were acting strangely throughout the
day. And this strange group has to be related to Nagumo’s group as well as Kiriyama’s
group. Through that investigation, I found something interesting.‖

Starting at 7:00 a.m. on the 6th day, I targeted only Nagumo’s group, observing their
movements every hour.
―First, at 7 a.m., Nagumo group was at B8.‖

―Does that mean that their last designated area on the 5th day was B8?‖

―It’s highly likely, but it could be at the southernmost part of B8, and B9 is just below
that. In any case, when they set off, they only had their own group member’s GPS
signals.‖

An hour later, at 8 a.m., multiple groups began to gather around Nagumo.

By 9 a.m., this phenomenon was even more apparent, as other groups visibly gathered
around Nagumo.

From here, the large group began to move together.

Observing 10 and 11 a.m., the pre-lunch hours, revealed something different.

―Many groups gathered and moved together… It’s almost like a school of fish.‖

―The overall effect of this you don’t need to pay that much attention to, but if you look
at the smaller things you’ll see something completely different.‖

Hearing that, Nanase nodded twice. After that, I displayed the maps till 3 p.m.

―Are they trying to monopolize this event test?‖

―In that case, no matter what the event is, as long as the comrades are suitably
organized, Nagumo can easily get 1st place.‖

It’s not complicated, but it’s a simple strategy, and a very powerful one at that.

―But, in that case, no group other than Nagumo’s group will score, right? Those groups
can’t be all on the same schedule either. Cooperating with each other to allow for a
specific group to win… Although it’s an idea that everyone has thought about before, it’s
impossible to actually do it,:

In other groups, they had to aim for their own group’s designated area.

And if they gave the event to Nagumo’s group, they couldn’t obtain high points on that
test.
―Yeah. This strategy works because it ignores the general premise of the uninhabited
island exam. Originally, why couldn’t you work with each other to make a certain group
win?‖

―That’s because it has to do with the class points as well as the expulsions, of course.‖

I showed Nanase the members of the groups that had gathered around Nagumo.

―This… the group serving as the foils are the senpais in the lower classes…‖

―There’s not a single Class A student in those groups.‖

―The difference in class points in the 3rd year classes is truly desperate.‖

―In other words, whether Class B or D loses, it won’t have an impact on the overall
battle in the 3rd year.‖

In the 1st year and 2nd years, the students are not yet at the stage of giving up on the
class battles yet. Because all of them compete with each other to reach Class A, they
also held the belief that they shouldn’t fall to the lower classes.

―But only the 3rd years can ignore the framework, and have the 4 classes working
together.‖

―The advantage of this strategy is that the group at the lower end of the scale can do as
much as they like on the test. Regardless of the score, even if they only get 1 point, their
status as one of the lower classes will not change. They’ll just lose class points, or have
someone get expelled.‖

―If you decide to fully support a specific group, you’ll hold a score that should be close
to 0. Although the 3rd year groups are already scoring low, with 20-30 points for each
group.‖

If you ignored the basic area designation and all of the exam topics, of course, you
wouldn’t get any points.

According to Nanase, it wasn’t surprising if they got penalized until they were near 0
points.

I didn’t answer, prodding Nanase to think, and she slowly began to notice.
To help her, I added a few comments.

―Once a strategy is recognized, it’s effectiveness decreases. How can they keep this
strategy from being detected?‖

―If there are 2-3 groups with 0 points, it’s obvious that they did something, and this
will be noticed by the other years. So in order not to be noticed, they’ll be allowed to
obtain some points…‖

She seemed to have found the reason in her own mind, and looked at me after saying
that.

Yes, it was because of this that Nagumo’s power is extraordinarily noticeable. It’s like
how some groups blatantly showing off their score of 0, claiming they’re pulling a
prank.

―There are a lot of people supporting Nagumo, but each group has at least 1 person
who steps on the designated area.‖

―This is to avoid repeated penalties and to reduce the accumulation of negative points.‖

This way, the minimum score of these groups will gradually accumulate.

―Members of Nagumo’s group who are helping him said that 1st place will be the
people in Nagumo’s conglomerate of groups competing with each other. As long as first
place is conceded, whoever takes 2nd and 3rd place will be the same. So even in the
case of a low ranking, the scores and positions would change. After that, they can
pretend that they were facing this special exam seriously.‖

It’s impossible to recognize this strategy without conducting a GPS search.

Even if you were suspicious before, that was mere suspicion.

―Do you want the Student Council President to win even if you accept the fact that you
might be expelled? Even if they don’t get into Class A, they would want to avoid being
expelled, right?‖

―Maybe there are exceptions among them. But it’s what you say. Behind this ridiculous
strategy, Nagumo should also have prepared a backup measure for himself.‖
―A backup measure for himself?‖

―Students in Class 3-B and below can’t graduate in Class A if they just repeatedly do
the special exams. But it is possible to be promoted to Class A if you assist Nagumo.‖

―If that’s the only way, maybe people would choose to help…‖

In fact, if the choice was between graduating in Class B or below and graduating in
Class A, it’s not surprising that most people would be willing to join up.

―It’s really confusing. Is it the school that’s organizing the exam, or the student council
president?‖

―Actually, you’re right. Because Nagumo has his entire year, he’s not one who follows
the rules, he’s the one that makes them, and dictates them.

The person who can create such a situation really isn’t one to be underestimated. When
you read the history of the Advanced Nurturing High School, it’s not too much to say
that he’s the first person, and the last person, to exist in such a state.

Of course, we 2nd years are not at the mercy of doing whatever Nagumo wants.

On the fifth day of the special examination, I made a proposal to Ryuuen and
Sakayanagi. All the students in the 2nd grade would work together for a ―part‖ and
complete a specific project. In short, this was similar in nature to the strategy adopted
by Nagumo. However, it is not as focused as Nagumo’s, where only a specific group
wins. Since the 2nd years were competing with each other, there was no way to agree
on an argument tied to class points. We made it a condition that we cooperate with
each other in areas other than scoring in exams. Sakayanagi and Ryuuen had a group of
several students that made them feel uneasy. Both sides reached an agreement through
negotiation in the form of mutual support. For example, the Sudo group of Class 2-D is
used to help increase the maximum number of substitutes, which helped increase the
maximum number of students from the group of Class 2-A.

Although we had an adversarial relationship with each other, we did not hesitate to
work together as long as the stakes were the same, which is one of the things that
makes the 2nd year leaders so good.

Of course, I don’t think it would have gone so well if it had been the 1st years.
It was because the whole year had accumulated a year and a half of experience that this
strategy is possible.

―I get it. So you mean that for you, senpai, trading 10 points for this information isn’t a
big risk, right?‖

―I haven’t given up on my goal of getting to the top either. I’m lucky that Koenji is still
struggling. What I want are resources to support my companions at all times.‖

―Koenji-senpai is really powerful, surpassing Student Council President Nagumo’s

group all by himself.‖

Koenji was indeed impressive. But that’s a bit different from the truth. Koenji and
Nagumo’s group were fighting with each other. Whenever the top-ranked group was
revealed, everyone thinks this: ―It’s a battle between one person and the whole of
Nagumo group‖. But in reality, it’s a battle between Nagumo group and the battle style
of Koenji.

After the end of the 2 days when the rankings are still concrete, Nagumo will maintain
this status, and make a sprint in the remaining 2 days, where the rankings are not.

The only result would be that Nagumo would win, after losing the exhausted Koenji.

The strategy of using a group with more people to make big profits on event tests will
not lose. If Nagumo matches with Koenji, then there’s a chance for us to win.

―Let’s first use this information as a basis to investigate what movements Amasawa
made in the 6th day.‖

From this statement, Nanase also understood that there would be extra value to using
these 10 points.

―It seems like Amasawa isn’t in the designated area during the morning.‖

Normally, there was nothing special about spending the night in the same designated
area as us, who followed the same schedule.

But there was still a GPS signal 2 areas below us.

It may be that after spending the night alone, there was no sign of overlap with other
GPS.

―This is the position at 8:00 a.m., one hour after the announcement of the designated
area.‖

―Our target was B6.‖

―Ah. It seems like Amasawa is going to B6 using a different route.‖

Considering how far she moved in an hour, it was a very fast speed of movement.

Was it faster than the average person’s walking speed, or was it using the most efficient
route?

In any case, she didn’t look like a girl who would walk all alone in the forest.

Confirming with the map of the next hour, Amasawa arrived at C6, to the right of the
designated area.

It should have been now where she should have set off to the event next to the
designated area, with time to spare.

―That’s amazing, you can see everyone’s movements clearly on this map.‖

At least, she was doing the same exam as all the other students, until the morning of the
6th day.

And then from the 3rd screenshot up to the 7th screenshot, if we just look at Amasawa.

She didn’t do anything special, chasing after the designated area, participating in 3
events. As for whether she won or not, you can see that from Nanase’s tablet, so it
doesn’t matter how good or bad they are.

―At least at 5 p.m. on the 6th day, Amasawa didn’t come near us, and there’s no sign of
anything suspicious.

―Unfortunately, our net gain is 0.‖

―No, this is enough. At least she somehow seems to be facing the special exam
seriously, and didn’t exploit any loopholes.‖

In addition to the special exam times, there must have been some actions taken during
the evening to early morning. A GPS search during that time was also possible, but that
would be a waste of points.

Then, we received an additional notice from the school about the points that weren’t
available due to today’s special exam suspension.

[Due to the bad weather, the arrival bonuses on the seventh day, as well as the events,
were only about a quarter completed, and so the arrival bonus on the last day, the
arrival parity pay, and the event rewards are going to be twice as much. The weather
forecast indicates that the weather will be back to normal tomorrow morning.]

But on the last day, as it was on the first day, the exam was only 3/4ths of the day.

In that sense, would this be the right way to allocate the time to make up for the points?

―This might be a factor for a reversal.‖

If the score becomes twice as much on the last day, this’ll be considered the day that
determines the winners for most people, and so reversals are likely to occur.

―The judgement to put out the news of doubling the score on the last day very early is
correct. This allows us to re-examine the actions of the students in the 2nd half of the
exam.‖

Because today was a complete rest day, the pace of distributing physical strength will be
changed from tomorrow, and there are groups that will consider going for the sprint on
the last day. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone took advantage of this slow-paced gap
and increased their pace from day 8 onwards. Still, for me, this isn’t a welcome
development, and that included today’s bad weather.

I stared at the tablet for a while and noticed that Nanase, who was talking little, was
getting a bit impatient. That might be because her consciousness was blurring, eyes
closing and opening at times.

―Even though it’s still daytime, wouldn’t it be better to get some sleep?‖
After forcing her way up that mountain during the morning, and the fight with me,
Nanase’s strength should be depleted.

She who had already exceeded her limit two or three times. The feeling of fatigue
should have already hit her.

―Ah, sorry.‖

Although she tried to straighten her posture, sleepiness wasn’t something that could be
chased away as easily as that.

It would be worse if her body was covered in sores.

―Then, I’ll…Go back to my tent.‖

You’re the one who knows the state of your own body the best.

In this distracting situation, staying here would only be a liability.

―That’s better then.‖

After that, judging from the rain, I can’t move around freely all day then.

In that case, even if it’s just for a second, you need to let your body get rest.

Having said that, the tent wasn’t comfortable, and so it was a difficult place to be.

Nanase turned around and prepared to leave the tent, and looked back here.

―When the rain stops, I’ll go after Amasawa, since I know she’s a student in the White
Room, and so I’m concerned about her movements.‖

Indeed, even if she had been following behind me all this time, I couldn’t see anything.

Since they were in the same group, Amasawa couldn’t be that hard on Nanase.

―It’s a fact that Amasawa, as a student of the white room, was able to get through all
those tests in that age without any problems. In short, she’s threatening. Don’t
underestimate her based on factors such as her gender, or her age.‖
―I’m not too sure about the specifics, but she should be an extremely powerful
opponent.‖

Her fighting power alone can be considered to exceed Sudo and Ryuuen. Although they
have the advantage in wrist strength, in terms of technique and movement, Amasawa
was way ahead. Facing her would be like doing a handstand on a dangerous beach, with
no chance of winning.

―And you still have Housen in your group.‖

―In terms of strength, he’s not someone I can control either.‖

Nanase nodded, but for her, it wasn’t just his wrist strength that was dangerous.

Rather, Housen was not an opponent who acted solely relying on strength.

―I think it’s extremely unlikely that Housen is a White Room student, but the whole
Amasawa thing made me lose certainty about that. Anyway, my business comes second.
You need to protect yourself first.‖

Forcing me to drop out of school was not his primary objective. Now such an idea
became possible.

―I’m not afraid of getting expelled. I’ll do anything if it’s to protect Ayanokouji-senpai.‖

I was going to give her advice, but Nanase refused to take it that easily.

―Then I’ll change that statement slightly. Nanase, your unprepared actions may bring
unexpected harm to me. So please avoid risky cooperative actions.‖

I told Nanase that I wasn’t worried about Nanase, but about me in the future.

That way, Nanase’s brave expression became as soft as a puppy.

―That…That won’t do. I can’t give you any more trouble, Ayanokouji-senpai.‖

―You think so? Then act with caution please, okay?‖

―Got it, I’ll listen to you.‖

Telling Nanase this, she wouldn’t do any strange actions.

It probably didn’t occur to her that she had committed an act that could be seen as
shameful.

After Nanase returned to her tent, I looked down at my tablet again.

Confirm the scores of the top-ranking groups, as well as the bottom ranking groups.

And then organize the current situation according to the score.

Top 10 Group Ranking

1st: 2nd Year Koenji Group 168 points

2nd: 3rd Year Nagumo Group 166 points 3rd:
3rd year Kiriyama Group 150 points
4th: 3rd year Mizoe Group 133 points
4th: 3rd year Orai Group 133 points
6th: 2nd year Ryuuen Group 128 points
7th: 2nd year Sakayanagi group 127 points
8th: 1st year Takahashi group 115 points
9th: 2nd year Kanzaki group 104 points
10th: 3rd year Kuronaga group 101 points

Then I came in at 49th place with 78 points. The difference with the 1st placed Koenji
was 90 points.

Although it seemed that there was no way to reverse the score difference between us, if
I get 1st place in the arrival payoff and bonus points… Because there were 4 a day, I
would be extremely close if I get 1st 9 times in a row. Of course, this was only possible if
there was no conflict with my opponents.

If Koenji doesn’t slow down and keeps scoring at the current pace, his final score would
be about 350 points. If I wanted to catch up, I would have to earn about 40 points a
day.

If it were the other groups, they would definitely think ―no‖, and give up. But even
Koenji, who was different from the rest, should slow down the pace in the 2nd half.

―10th place as 101 points, huh?‖

When the rules of the uninhabited island exam were all explained, I would have
expected that at this turning point, the overall group points should have been higher.
The scores of top 10 groups, including my current score of 78, ranked 49th, gave the
impression of stagnation during the early-middle period of the exam. It peaked on days
2-3, and as fatigue began to set in, the number of missed points, penalties, and
nonparticipants in events increase, as they focused on reaching their designated areas.

However, as groups gradually began to merge, the total number of groups decreased.
This shouldn’t be forgotten either.

A big improvement in my score in the 2nd half of the exam was necessary to get me into
the top rankings.

And now, the 10th placed score became more critical.

Because of this, I didn’t push myself in the first half, and just watched quietly.

I will start exerting myself from tomorrow, Day 8. Today’s Day 7 exam was suspended
due to heavy rain, and I expect another big spike in points on day 8 and 9. With this,
the groups saving stamina and aiming for the x2 scores on the last day would also
emerge.
Chapter 2: Simple, Single-Minded Silence
TL: Graze/Reg
ED: PuffyPyjamas/Catalystic/Silent Death/RoTiPs

The heavy rain lasted until just about the break of dawn, casting a large shadow of
anxiety over the students.

However, by 6:00 AM, the rainclouds had vanished as if they’d never existed in the first
place, painting the sky with the same clear blue as the days before. That being said, the
forest’s canopy was so thick that it completely blocked out the sunlight in certain places,
leaving behind a muddy forest floor that would take a while to dry up.

“I’ll have to address the food shortage sooner rather than later…”

I was gradually starting to run out of energy, unable to maintain the daily caloric intake
necessary for a high school student. As I had never undergone intentional starvation
training before, this was my first time experiencing what it was like to have an empty
stomach for such an extended period of time.

While it’d be possible to stay active as long as I kept myself hydrated, that wouldn’t
exactly be the best routine to fall into. My immune system would take a hit and leave me
susceptible to illness and disease. I guess it wouldn’t be impossible to hunt for wild
animals or insects, but it shouldn’t have to come to that unless I had no other option.

You could buy food back at the starting area if you still had provision points left over,
but that wasn’t an effective long-term solution, nor was it available to me.

In other words, my only real option to get more food was to get it from Tasks, either by
placing high in the ones that awarded it, or by getting it for free from the ones that had
it as a participation prize.

However, the Tasks that provided food would only continue to get more and more
competitive from now on.

“I’m all packed and ready to go.”

Having finished tidying up the makeshift campsite, Nanase approached me with her
backpack strapped to her back.

“Amasawa’s most likely just going to head to the next designated area, right?”
“Based on the number of points we’ve earned, I’d say that’s a safe bet. So if it’s all the
same to you, may I continue to accompany you until we reach this first designated
area?”

I silently nodded in response. Since we were both going to the same place, there was no
reason for us to separate from each other just yet.

Shortly after we began walking, Nanase spoke up.

“Amasawa-san was following us as of the evening of the sixth day or the morning of the
seventh, right?”

“Without putting too much thought into it, it’s probably safe to assume that she
approached us using a GPS Search on the morning of the seventh.”

Since there was no way for us to see the search history, there was no concrete proof that
Amasawa had used the GPS Search at all. However, if it was clear that the group’s score
had decreased at some point over the course of the seventh day, then we could at least
be sure that someone from the group had used it.
Amasawa’s group wasn’t a part of the top nor bottom ten at the time though, so as a
member of the group, only Nanase would’ve been privy to that information.

“Naturally, I’ve referenced this with the data on my tablet already, but… as far as I
recall, our score didn’t go down whatsoever yesterday.”

In short, if Nanase’s memory was to be trusted, then Amasawa hadn’t used the GPS
Search.

“Although it’s unknown where on the island Amasawa-san was that morning, you and I
were traveling quite fast at the time. It wouldn’t have been very easy for her to catch up
to us unless she was already somewhere nearby, right?”

“That’s probably why she came up with a clever plan to help close the distance.”

Unlike the two of us, who were carrying around heavy backpacks and gear, Amasawa
had been traveling light.

As a result, even if she had started out a fair distance away, she was more than capable
of closing the gap between us.

“I’m guessing she used a trick of some sort to find out my exact location.”
“Are you saying that Amasawa-san had somebody else disclose where you were,
Ayanokōji-senpai?”

“Possibly.”

As it stood now, it was hard to be absolutely certain as to what method she had used.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 2 Part 1

TL: Graze/Reg
ED: PuffyPyjamas/Silent Death/RoTiPs/Catalystic

“It looks like this is where we part ways, Senpai. At least for now.”

Once we had both earned a one-point Arrival Bonus for crossing the boundary into area
E3, Nanase finally broke the ice.

“How do you plan on joining up with Amasawa and Hōsen?”

The GPS Search was an excellent tool for finding out where other people were located,
but it was hardly cut out for facilitating a get-together.

That was a job far more suited to a tool capable of direct interpersonal communication,
such as a walkie-talkie.

“I can’t imagine that I’d cross paths with them by aimlessly wandering around the
island, but it’s not like I can waste a bunch of points searching for them either. With that
being the case, I’ll start out by using the point I just got and try my best to chase after
their GPS signals. If I can’t find them after that, I guess I’ll just travel to the next
designated area.”

This meant that she was probably going with a minimalist approach, searching for
Amasawa and Hōsen during whatever downtime she had between areas.

I thought about asking her to share Amasawa’s location with me before she left, but
since she hadn’t even started with the search yet, I decided to simply let it slide.

“I think it’ll take a first-year student like me to poke around and find out what other
first-years are up to. If I catch wind that something bad is going down, I’ll come running
and let you know, Ayanokōji-senpai.”

While Nanase was brimming with enthusiasm, I was afraid that she’d end up lost,
aimlessly going around in circles.

“Just don’t overdo it.”

With a respectful nod of the head and her tablet in hand, Nanase set off.
It’d be nice if she could meet up with them soon, but that would all depend on how the
other two behaved moving forward.

If they were consistently touring the designated areas, it’d be over and done with fairly
quickly, but knowing those two, it wouldn’t be surprising if the both of them ended up
moving erratically instead.

After watching Nanase’s figure disappear into the depths of the forest, I took out my
tablet.

I was finally back on my own again, and with it, I could officially get started with the
second half of the exam.

“No Tasks nearby, huh?”

There was one about 400 meters away from here, but it had already opened up
registration more than twenty minutes ago, which would turn into thirty-five minutes
given that it would take me fifteen or so just to get there. Furthermore, only five groups
would be able to participate.

Ultimately, I decided that going after this Task wouldn’t be very practical, so I opted to
take a break instead. I’d sit back and wait for the next designated area to be announced
so that, by the time my strength was fully recovered, I’d be ready to get up and take
action.

When the clock struck 9:00 AM, I picked up my tablet and readied myself for what was
to come.

Whether I’d make a beeline for the designated area or head for a Task instead, it all
depended on where the next area unveiled itself.

I quickly checked my tablet, only to find out that it was the random designation for the
day.

The area in question was area E6, three areas to the south of here, which wasn’t actually
all that far away, considering the fact that it had been randomly designated.

I started walking immediately but kept my eyes glued to my tablet as I did.

After inspecting each of the Tasks that had also appeared at the turn of the hour, I
decided on my course of action.
In order to earn as many points as possible in the time I had left today, I needed to
be efficient.
To that end, it was crucial that I did everything in my power to discount the influence
of luck.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 2 Part 2

TL: Graze/Reg
ED: RoTiPs/Catalystic

Shortly before 4:00 PM. I had just finished up with a Task I was participating in and
was about to take my leave from the site.

“Ayanokōji-kun?”

Thereupon, I crossed paths with Horikita for the first time since we parted ways at the
start of the exam.

Although she looked a little surprised to see me, she didn’t seem particularly tired.

“It’s been eight days, huh?”

“That it has.”

We were currently in area F7, reunited once again since our last conversation back on
the first day of the exam.

“Did you come for the Task, or are you simply passing through? Where are you headed
after this, Horikita?”

“I’m heading to G8. I ended up passing through here on the way. What about yourself?”

Apparently, the area she was headed toward was right next to mine.

“F8. It looks like we’ll be going in the same general direction.”

Since it’d be a waste of time to stand here and talk, the two of us immediately set out
together without so much as another word.

Traveling together seemed like the best way to go about this, given that we’d be taking
the same route for the most part.

“You’re in better shape than I expected. And from the look of it… I assume you’re still on
your own?”
“Yes, I am. It’s troublesome in many ways, but being alones tends to make many things
easier as well.”

It was true that, by being alone, you didn’t need to worry about taking care of others or
matching their pace.

However, throughout the entire exam so far, Horikita’s name had never shown up in the
bottom ten. While that was decent proof that she was doing well for herself in terms of
points, it was strange that she didn’t seem tired at all.

“Is it really so hard for you to believe that I’m still in such good shape?”

“Most of the students I’ve come across have looked awfully tired.”

“Hmm. Did something unusual happen?”

“Unusual? Ah… now that you mention it, have you heard about what happened with
Shinohara?”

“Yes. To be exact, I heard about it today. In light of that, I’m glad that I ran into you.”

Apparently it had gone something like this: somebody from Class 2-A had reached out
to Horikita while she was near the starting area earlier today, and they had urged her to
meet with Sakayanagi, whereupon she was informed of Komiya and Kinoshita’s
retirement.

Afterward, Sakayanagi told her about the strategy that I had proposed back on the fifth
day and the two began to negotiate.

“You didn’t refuse to cooperate, right?”

“I had no reason to do that; I had to prevent Shinohara-san from getting kicked out of
school. I heard that you were one of the first on the scene at the time, do you know the
details of what happened?”

“No, not really. I think it could’ve been both an incident or an accident.”

I explained what I knew as someone who had seen the aforementioned crime scene from
up close.

Of course, I kept certain things to myself, such as the fact that Amasawa had been
watching from the shadows.
“Shinohara-san’s group ranking has been dropping lower and lower every day.
Currently, she’s placed seventh from the bottom. At this rate, it seems she’ll fall far
enough to qualify for expulsion by the end of the day today, so we have to hurry. If
worse comes to worst and we can’t find another group for her to join, I’ll take matters
into my own hands. Before I ran into you, I was lucky enough to secure first place in a
Task that rewarded me with three additional spaces in my group.”

This was good news. The Tasks that increased maximum group size were fairly
uncommon, and they were highly sought after as well.

Taking first place in such a contested Task couldn’t have been easy.

“But if that’s how things play out, then it’ll be just you and Shinohara scoring all the
points. If possible, I hope our collaboration with Sakayanagi goes smoothly so you can
merge with a group that’s doing better for themselves.”

Horikita nodded in agreement.

“At any rate, over these past eight days that I’ve been walking around the island, I’ve
really come to realize that a lot more groups have walkie-talkies than I anticipated. I’ve
seen students making use of them all over the place, Sakayanagi-san telling her fellow
classmates about what happened to Shinohara-san is only one such example.”

“It seems like a particularly strong trend among the upper classes, who are capable of
taking charge and have the points to spare. Walkie-talkies let you exchange information
over long distances, so depending on how well you make use of it, it could be worth
spending such a large number of points.”

“If we trusted one another a little more, I wonder… if we could’ve done that as well…?”

Horikita pursed her lips ever so slightly, perhaps having found the notion fairly difficult
to imagine, despite having mentioned it.

“While walkie-talkies are certainly useful, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’d do
all that much for us. It’d just be a waste if we didn’t end up doing anything with them.”

“That’s true enough.”

I took out my tablet to see if any new Tasks had appeared, only to find that a risk-free,
hassle-free Task that gave out food as a participation prize had shown up not too far
from our current location.
Furthermore, there was room for as many as fifteen groups to register for it.

However, it only gave out a single point that all groups would get for participating, so it
wasn’t all that appealing on the points side of things.

“I’m running low on food, so I think I’d like to drop by this Task. How about you
Horikita?”

If she had her sights set on her designated area’s Early Bird Bonus, then she’d be better
off pushing forward without batting an eye.

“I don’t have that much food remaining either, so I’ll drop by the Task as well.”

Since our priorities were identical, we decided to change course and proceeded on our
way to the Task.

Although the Task itself was a blessing, participating in it would be highly competitive.

Horikita and I began to pick up the pace as we hurried to the Task site. On the way, we
gradually began to catch sight of other groups. From first-years, third-years, and even
second-years, all of them seemed to have their sights set on the same destination, given
how they were all moving in the same direction as us. In fact, the majority broke into a
run as soon as they realized that they were surrounded by direct competition.

“Horikita, you don’t need to worry about me. Go ahead and hurry to the Task site.”

“Look who’s talking. If you’ve really run low on food, then you ought to be a bit more
pressed yourself.”

“I just don’t have the energy to run anymore.”

“And I’m in the same boat.”

Despite the rush, it seemed her stance regarding the wasteful expenditure of stamina
was the same as mine.

She was all on her own, and yet it was clear that she was acting with a certain degree of
flexibility, methodically pacing herself as she tackled the uninhabited island exam.

Not long thereafter, we arrived at the Task site just in time to participate, whereupon we
both decided to take some time to mingle with some of our classmates that we hadn’t
seen in a while. After all, even if we rushed to our designated areas from here, we’d
probably be too late to qualify for any Early Bird Bonuses. With that being the case, we’d
be better off looking to exchange information until the last minute so that we could
make the most of the rest of the exam.

Moreover, many of our classmates still didn’t know about what kind of situation
Shinohara had been put in.

Later on, once the exam was done for the day, I tallied up my score. I had earned 4
points from Arrival Bonuses and 14 points from participating in four different Tasks, for
a total of 18. This brought my overall score up to 96, 23rd place on the leaderboards.

On the whole, I got the impression that groups had been more active today than on the
fifth or sixth. However, since there were also groups that, for the most part, hadn’t been
active at all, a distinct line had been drawn between those who were looking to conserve
their stamina and those who weren’t.

The eighth day, which I had otherwise expected to devolve into a fierce battle, hadn’t
actually been that bad in the end. There hadn’t been any significant changes in the
scores of the top ten either, as the Kuronaga group was still in tenth place with a total of
111 points.

Tomorrow, my goal was to maintain an ideal rank and, if possible, meet up with
Sakayanagi once again.

I fell asleep that night hoping that the upcoming designated areas would lead me toward
the starting area.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 3 Introduction

Chapter 3: A Fight Against Solitude

TL: Graze
ED: PuffyPyjamas/RoTiPs

After brushing away the cobwebs that had tangled around my clothes, I slowly took off
my backpack and set it down on the ground.

The Uninhabited Island Exam had entered into its ninth day, and it was as hot and
humid out as ever.

By the time I had safely arrived at the fourth designated area, I was already breathing
heavily.

One way or another, I had managed to reach my intended destination, just as scheduled.

The sweat on my brow slowly began to trickle down the bridge of my nose, so I wiped it
away with the sleeve of my jersey.

Area D5, the designated area revealed at 3:00 PM, had been a considerable distance
away from the previous area H9. It had taken quite a lot of effort to make it within the
allotted time period.

In fact, I had even run into a decent Task along the way, but chose to give up on it so as
to minimize the risk of accruing a penalty.

Although the journey had taken me almost two full hours, it didn’t seem that very many
other groups had arrived yet, as I had successfully earned the third-place Early Bird
Bonus.

I wasn’t dissatisfied with my progress for the most part, but I still hadn’t been able to
make it back to the starting area and meet up with Sakayanagi.

It’d just be a waste of stamina if I forced myself to go there now, and I didn’t want to
overwork myself. I had crossed paths with several Class 2-A students throughout the
day today, but unfortunately, none of them had walkie-talkies. I thought about whether
or not I should just bite the bullet and go there tomorrow morning, but… well, that
would make things fairly complicated.
After deciding to put aside the whole situation with Sakayanagi for the time being, I
went ahead and took a look at everything that had happened today.

“So with all the points I earned today, I’ve upped my total score to 112, huh?”

The Kuronaga group, who had maintained their 10th place spot, had a comprehensive
score of 123 points, a mere 11 points ahead of me, who had risen up to 13th. Given that it
would soon be 5:00 PM, this 11 point gap was most likely where things would end for
the day.

My goal was actually to reach 11th place, but an 11 point difference seemed well within
my tolerance range. Although it happened slightly behind schedule due to what
happened with Nanase and the rough patch of weather, I had finally secured the
strategic position that I’d been aiming for since the very beginning.

That’s right, I had been aiming for 11th place since before the uninhabited island special
exam even started. I was currently in 13th place, which was a bit lower, but that wasn’t
the important thing here. Rather, I just needed to make certain of one thing: that I
didn’t rise up to tenth.

In order to stand on the winner’s podium, you’d have to put in the work to pile up
points. However, regardless of whether you were all on your own or in a seven-man
group through the use of the ‘More People’ card, by being part of the publicly-visible top
ten, you’d inevitably end garnering attention, even if you didn’t want to.

And by garnering attention, your rivals would become wary of you, and you’d have to
face the risk of being sabotaged before the end of the exam.

In order to avoid that and yet still have your sights set on a top spot, 11th place was the
most ideal position to be in. That being said, there were still a few drawbacks to this
strategy. Given the exam’s nature, staying in control of your score can be fairly difficult.
Therefore, if you didn’t keep a close eye on your score, it’s possible that you might find
your group’s name inadvertently showing up on the leaderboards, even if only for a
moment. And if that were to happen, the entire strategy would be for naught.

Furthermore, an even greater drawback was the fact that it was heavily dependent on
the score of the 10th place group. The smaller the gap between 10th place and 1st place,
the easier it’d be to mount a comeback. However, if the gap was on the larger side, it’d
be increasingly difficult to turn things around since you’d need to earn a larger number
of points to catch up.

For that exact reason, it was important that the top groups strove to actively impede
each other’s progress.
But… that had been happening less than anticipated. So much so, in fact, that certain
groups had been allowed to run away with the lead.

Fortunately, the absence of pressure from the first and third-years meant that the
second-years were at a relative advantage, although that didn’t exactly mean very much
given all the other drawbacks. In order for groups to interfere with each other, they’d
need to sacrifice their own ability to earn points, so it’d be difficult to put anything into
motion unless you already had a substantial number of points on hand.

I was curious about what Nagumo was going to do moving forward. It seemed like it’d
be a good idea for him to take on countermeasures of some sort to deal with Kōenji, his
foremost competitor for the top spot. However, from what I saw during my previous
GPS Searches, there was no indication that he had any plan to run interference at the
moment. It was conceivable that he was simply pouring his energy into scoring points
right now instead, but…

“With the way things are going, even if I don’t win, I won’t have any complaints as long
as Kōenji takes first or second.”

By staying at or around 11th place, I wouldn’t attract very much attention. And even if I
were to have my progress stunted via sabotage by Amasawa or one of the other first-
years, I wouldn’t have to worry about dropping all the way down to the bottom of the
leaderboards.

All I needed to do at this point was maintain a high rank until the end of the twelfth day
of the exam.

I took a well-earned rest in the shade of a nearby tree, and once the sweat had faded
from my brow, I put my backpack back on and set off, headed toward the neighboring
area.

Rather than set up camp right on the border, I wanted to find a nice, open spot located a
bit further out.

Just around the time when the sun began to set and I needed to make a decision as to
where I’d be camping for the night, I caught sight of an isolated, one-man tent pitched
in a clearing not too far ahead of me. The entrance was zipped shut despite the
sweltering heat, so it didn’t seem like its owner was resting inside. Perhaps they were
out scouting the surrounding area, or possibly even going to the restroom.

“What a nice spot.”

It was hard to find such a flat, open spot in this neck of the woods.
It’d make things a lot easier for me personally if I could just set up my tent somewhere
around here.

However, compared to when I had Nanase accompanying me, I was currently a boy
traveling on his own.

As such, if this tent’s owner was a girl, my presence could lead to inadvertent trouble if
they didn’t trust me to be here.

What’s more, whoever it was, I wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that it was a one-
man tent.

Were they acting separately from the rest of their group, or had they been on their own
since the beginning?

If it were the latter, then it was almost certainly someone I was acquainted with.

At this point, I at least wanted to find out their identity, regardless of whether I ended
up pitching my own tent here or not.

I decided to stick around for a little while to see if the owner would turn up.

If they were out for a walk, then they should be back before sundown. And, if there were
noises coming from inside the tent, then I could just call out to them.

I was fully aware that it’d be more efficient to try calling out to them now, but… well…
you get the idea.

I waited for about ten minutes after that, but there was no sign nor sound of anyone.

The longer I waited, the more possible it began to seem that they had simply gone to bed
early.

And since I had no reason to believe that anyone else would show up looking to use the
campsite, I finally made up my mind and called out from beside the tent.

“Is anyone there?”

I held my breath for a few seconds and listened carefully for a reaction of some sort, but
it was perfectly silent.
“Sorry, but I’d like to set up my tent nearby. Please let me know if you have a problem
with that.”

I went through the formality of asking for permission, and, having reached the
conclusion that there was truly nobody inside, lowered my backpack down to the
ground.

That is, after having appropriately distanced myself from their tent, of course.

Although I was still somewhat curious about who it was I was sharing a campsite with, I
quickly finished pitching my own tent.

Time and time again, I’d been thoroughly impressed with how much easier this tent was
to set up than the one used during last year’s uninhabited island exam.

And that wasn’t the only thing. It was also nice to have a tent all to myself without
having to fuss over sharing the space with somebody else.

Though, this introverted way of thinking may just be the reason why my friends were so
few and far between.

A sunny, cheerful person would probably say that sleeping in a tent without other
people would be boring.

I couldn’t help but wonder if there would ever come a day where I’d think so as well.

“…I really can’t imagine it.”

It was a future that would probably never come.

“I thought I heard some weirdo show up, but to think it was you of all people.”

Just as I was sorting out my change of clothes for tomorrow, a voice called out to me
from behind.

Apparently, the owner of the lone tent just across the way was none other than Ibuki.

“Did I make too much noise?”

“Not really.”

Her response was brief, and she immediately followed it up with a piercing glare.
I thought that she’d say something else, but she instantly went back inside her tent
instead.

Feeling like something was out of sorts, I decided to go and see what she was up to.

“You got a minute?”

I called out to her from outside her tent, but she ignored me. The only thing I could hear
was a faint, indistinct noise coming from inside.

“I’d like to ask you something.”

I tried calling out to her again, but she still refused to respond.

At first I thought that she was merely ignoring me, but upon further inspection, it
seemed like she was actually up to something in there.

“I’m gonna unzip the flap, okay?”

Just to be safe, I waited for thirty seconds or so before unzipping the entrance to her
tent.

“…What do you want?”

Upon looking inside, I was met with the sight of a seated Ibuki who seemed to be
chewing on something.
“You’re really─ Wait, no, what are you eating?”

“Jerky.”

“Jerky…? That wasn’t included in the Uninhabited Island Manuel they handed out to us
before the exam, though?”

In other words, she had secured fresh meat somehow, perhaps by purchasing it, and
dried it into jerky all by herself.

However, it’d take quite a lot of time and effort for her to go through the jerky-making
process on her own.

Back when the exam first began, she had started out by provoking Horikita before
immediately setting off for the first designated area. If she had been carrying raw meat
back then, it went without saying that it would’ve spoiled within a few hours of this
scorching heat.

With that in mind, it made more sense to think that this was a part of a strategy that the
entirety of Class 2-B was in on.

I could imagine that some Class 2-B group out there had taken on the job of making a
large quantity of jerky for the rest of the class.

It would only be possible because it was cost-effective and cheap on the wallet. No
matter how portable it might be, straight-up buying premade food that has a long shelf-
life, such as dried meats, wouldn’t be very practical from a cost-performance standpoint
due to the high prices the school would charge for it. So, rather than buy the processed
result, you could get more bang for your buck by going through the effort to make your
own jerky out of raw beef instead.

I hadn’t seen what Ryūen’s food situation was like back when I crossed paths with him,
but it was probably safe to assume that he was carrying emergency rations as well, jerky
in particular. Even though it couldn’t hurt, the students of Class 2-B could look past the
highly competitive Tasks that supplied participants with food.

“What’s it matter to you? It’s none of your business.”

I could stand here thinking about this all I wanted, but it didn’t sound like I’d be hearing
the truth from her any time soon.
At any rate─ as far as I knew, Ibuki’s name hadn’t shown up in the bottom ten groups so
far, even though she was taking part in the exam all on her own. It seemed that she had
managed to maintain a somewhat decent score.

For Ibuki, taking a top spot in a Task centered around academic ability would be a lost
cause.

With that being the case, her main source of income had to be the Arrival Bonuses and
Early Bird Bonuses that came from traveling to designated areas, and outside of that,
she’d be limited to the Tasks that tested our athletic skills.

As a result, she’d inevitably wear herself out at a faster rate than other students.

Anyone with eyes could see just how much physical and mental stress she had been put
under.

In fact, it was entirely possible that she had already gone well past her limit.

“How many people have you spoken with since the exam started?”

“Wha…?”

It didn’t seem like she had been sleeping very well, as I could see faint, dark circles
taking shape under her eyes.

“…Just Horikita. You heard me say I wouldn’t lose to her, right? You were there.”

“In other words, you’re saying you haven’t had a proper conversation with someone
since day one?”

At best, she had probably only opened her mouth to answer yes-no questions during the
Task registration process.

“You should try and find someone to talk to, even if only a little bit.”

“Ain’t no way I’m gonna talk with my enemies.”

“Then talk with a classmate. If you wander around long enough, you’re sure to come
across someone.”

“I don’t think of my classmates as ‘friends’.”

Her current state was the result of her closing herself off from the outside world, hiding
away in her shell. And to think she had been like this for nine days now, and yet still had
five more to go before the end of the exam.

If the fraying thread that was holding Ibuki together were to snap, everything would
most likely come crumbling down around her.

And, as a lone student, if she were made to retire from the exam, her expulsion would be
all but set in stone.

However, this special exam was such that, if at all possible, you didn’t want to let groups
from your own school year get expelled. To that end, it would be ideal if Ibuki could
dedicate a day to rest and recovery. If she could spend a full day taking it easy, that
would probably be enough for her to regain most of her energy. Given the type of person
she was, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to make it through the remaining four days of
the exam at that point.

But, reality was not so merciful. As easy as it may seem, taking a day off from the exam
would be incredibly difficult.

And, even if she were to force herself to take a break, there was no saying whether or not
her mental state would improve.

While you rested, your rivals would be racking up points, placing you at risk of not only
being overtaken, but possibly even causing you to sink down to the very bottom.

It’d be impossible for an ordinary person to sit back and empty their mind while the rest
of the world moved on with the exam without them.

Besides, missing out on all four of a day’s designated areas would lead to a penalty, of
which the ramping effects would only make the following days that much more
strenuous.

“Get out already.”

“…Alright.”

Even though it was Ibuki, she was still a girl.

With the sun sinking further and further under the horizon, it wouldn’t exactly be
appropriate for a boy to be looking inside a lone girl’s tent like this.
Even if Ryūen was here right now, I had my doubts that even he would be able to solve
her problem.

After leaving Ibuki’s tent, I went back to sorting out my clothes.

It had been a fairly windy day today, so I hoped that it’d be a relatively cool night
tonight.

“Hey.”

Just when I had reached a decent stopping point with what I was doing, Ibuki emerged
from her tent.

She staggered a bit as she got to her feet, wobbling around somewhat haphazardly, but
she regained her bearings soon enough.

And then, with her hands in her pockets, she proceeded to walk straight over to me.

“How many points you got right now?”

She had finally come out of her tent, only to follow it up by asking me something
surprisingly bold.

“We’re mutual enemies, you do know that right?”

“So you won’t tell me.”

In a low voice, she mumbled something that sounded like the word ‘cheapskate’, but I
still had no intention of divulging that information.

I could tell her that I was currently in 13th place, but there wasn’t a single person on this
deserted island who’d stand to benefit from it.

“That’s just how it is.”

“Then, at least tell me if you’re higher or lower than me. I’ve currently got─”

Just as Ibuki was about to willingly disclose her own score, I held out my hand to stop
her.

“Sorry, but I won’t be answering your question, no matter what form you put it in.”
Merely telling her if my score was higher or lower would be no different from giving her
a hint, and the same thing went for lying to her about it.

It may seem risk-free for me to say that my score was lower than hers, but if people were
to learn that I was struggling to secure points, then there’s a chance that someone may
try to force me into a desperate situation in order to expel me. No matter what, I had to
prevent any intel about me from taking on a life of its own.

Ibuki clicked her tongue, her hands still in her pockets.

“…Whatever. It was a waste of time to bother with askin’ you anyway.”

“Fair enough. Besides, your true target here is Horikita, right?”

As soon as Horikita’s name crossed my lips, Ibuki’s tired, listless demeanor changed
drastically.

She pulled her hand out of her pocket and presented me with her middle finger and a
scowl on her face.

“When you next see that bitch, do me a solid and tell her that I’ll absolutely never lose to
her.”

“That’s fine and all, but I’m probably not the one you should be giving the middle finger
to.”

“You, her, same difference. After all, you two are on real good terms with each other.”

No, we weren’t.

She was completely off the mark, but from her perspective, it probably looked like
Horikita and I treated each other that way.

Apparently, she didn’t have anything else she wanted to say to me, as she began to walk
back to her own tent without another word.

“Hold on a moment.”

I called out as I went after her, only for her to look back just as I was reaching out to
grab hold of her arm.
She was already more than wary of me, but upon seeing what I was doing, that wariness
was cranked up to the maximum as she instantly moved to avoid my hand.

“Haaa? You tryna pull somethin’?”

She clenched her fists as she spoke. It seemed she had interpreted my actions as me
trying to pick a fight with her.

“That wasn’t my intention here at all, but─”

Leaving my sentence unfinished, I extended my arm for a second time and, without
giving her an opportunity to escape, swiftly grabbed hold of her wrist.

“The hell are you doing!?”

She sent a kick flying at me in a panic, prompting me to block her foot with my free
hand. I expected her to try it again, but she instead let out a sigh of resignation and
averted her gaze.

“I’ll admit I can’t beat you, sure, but one of these days, I swear I’m gonna get the
satisfaction of kickin’ your teeth in.”

Personally, I’d rather she didn’t set such an unsettling goal for herself.

“So? Did Horikita put you up to this? Tryna get in my way?”

Not only did she fail to understand my true intentions behind grabbing her wrist, but
her strange suspicions had led her to an even stranger conclusion all of her own.

As one of Horikita’s classmates, it didn’t seem like there was any way my words would
make it through to her.

Thinking about it logically, the odds of getting Ibuki to willingly take a break had been
minuscule from the very beginning.

“Your pulse is racing.”

“Hah!?”

“The inside of your mouth looks dry too, not to mention how cracked your lips are.
You’re obviously dehydrated.”
With the way things were going, it wouldn’t be very surprising if her first Warning Alert
was to go off soon.

Actually, it was entirely possible that it had already gone off by now.

The reason why she had been passively sitting within her tent was probably not just that
she was tired, but that she had been trying to prevent an alert from going off due to her
abnormal heart rate.

“I’m not all that thirsty… anymore.”

“Anymore? So then, you’re saying you were thirsty at one point?”

I let go of Ibuki’s wrist and she immediately distanced herself from me with an openly
hostile look on her face.

“Mind your own business. There ain’t anything wrong with me.”

With that, she turned her back on me once again, but I immediately gave chase and
made it to her tent a step ahead of her.

“Wait, wha─? What are you doing!?”

She wasn’t going to listen to me no matter how clearly I spelled it out to her, so I went
inside her tent and dragged out her backpack.

“Show me what’s inside.”

“Haaa!? No way in hell I’mma show a guy. No, I wouldn’t even do it for a girl either.”

“Fair enough.”

Since she wasn’t going to grant me permission, I simply opened it up without

permission instead.

“Hey! I said no!”

Inside her backpack, there were clothes, amenities, and a bit of food like jerky.

Aside from that, there was a plastic 500ml water bottle, but it was already empty.
Since the school had set up trash receptacles at certain locations such as Task sites, she
should’ve already thrown away anything she didn’t need by this point. However, there
wasn’t so much as a single drop of water inside the plastic bottle, indicating that it had
been empty of its contents for quite some time now.

In addition, she didn’t seem to have a walkie-talkie or any other form of communication
device.

“How long have you been out of water?”

“I don’t have to tell you anythi─”

“I said, how long have you been out of water?”

I asked my question again, this time with a stronger tone and a rigid, unsparing gaze.

“…A full day… and then some.”

“So you’ve just been walking around without water like this?”

“Nope. I’ve been resting here all day today.”

“What an obvious lie. There were no GPS signals anywhere near here this morning.”

“You did a GPS Search?”

Of course I hadn’t. I was bluffing. However, I didn’t think Ibuki would call me on it.

After all, with how desperate she was to beat Horikita, I couldn’t imagine that she’d
willingly choose to take a break.

“Has your first Warning Alert gone off yet?”

“…It did about an hour ago. That’s why I reluctantly decided to turn in early for the
night.”

Warning Alerts worked on a system where they would only stop going off once the
detected abnormality stopped happening.

And then, if the same abnormality were to resurface later on, you’d be met with a new
Warning Alert rather than having it escalate to an Emergency Alert.
“If you don’t rehydrate at some point, it’ll keep ringing even if you rest.”

If she couldn’t get her rapid heart rate under control, an Emergency Alert would be soon
to follow.

By the time it came to that, she would likely be even more dehydrated, to the extent that
if she were to receive a medical checkup, she wouldn’t be able to prevent herself from
being sentenced to retirement.

“I’ll handle it tomorrow, and if push comes to shove I’ll even go back to the starting area,
so drop it and leave me alone.”

“It’s more than two kilometers from here to the starting area. If you were to collapse
along the way, it’d be all over.”

“Then I’ll just do a nearby Task or some shit.”

“You can’t do that though, can you? Otherwise you wouldn’t be in the state you’re in
now.”

The only way to appease Ibuki’s irrationality was to present sound logic of my own.

I went and fetched my backpack from my own tent and took out two plastic 500ml
water bottles that I had gotten from Tasks earlier today.

“Trade me.”

“What?”

“It just so happens that I’m running short on food. On the other hand, I have a bit of an
oversupply of water. I’m asking you to negotiate with me since I think we can make a
fair trade.”

Ibuki swallowed audibly as she looked at the pristine water held within the plastic
bottle, however warm it may be.

“How about it? I’ll say it again just to be sure, but I’m looking to make a fair trade here.
You’ll have to give me a suitable amount of food in exchange.”

“Who the hell do you think you are to─”

“Feel free to say no, but I won’t be giving you a chance to change your mind.”
I maintained a firm, unyielding attitude, and Ibuki drew silent.

“If you retire due to dehydration like this, you’ll definitely lose to Horikita. In fact, I met
with Horikita a little while ago. Her complexion was perfectly fine, and she didn’t seem
to be having any problems with water or food either.”

Rather than emphasize the impending threat of expulsion, I dropped Horikita’s name,
the most effective buzzword to spurn Ibuki into taking action.

“I get it… I’ll trade with you. But, how much do you want from me?”

With what she had on hand now, Ibuki would run out of food in a little less than two
days.

However, if I were to ask for just a few meager scraps, it wouldn’t exactly be a fair trade,
now would it?

“Half of your remaining food. That should be enough.”

“Only that much?”

“It’s at least better than sustaining myself by eating random weeds.”

Just like that, we finalized the trade and exchanged the food for water.

As soon as Ibuki had one of the bottles in hand, she popped off the cap and downed
about half of it all in one go. Normally, I would’ve told her to try and conserve it, but
considering that she was already suffering from dehydration, I felt it better for her to be
hydrating herself as soon as possible.

Apparently, she didn’t like me seeing this side of her, as her usual sharp, pointed look
quickly returned.

Even if her physical condition were to improve somewhat, her state of mind clearly
wasn’t normal right now. She had been subjected to a great deal of stress with no time to
relax, left with no choice but to try and come to terms with her situation.

I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer she’d be able to hold out.

Would it be a few hours, or a few days? Hopefully, she’d be able to persevere until the
very end.
Ibuki and I had different Tables, so once we parted ways, we probably wouldn’t meet
again until after the exam was over.

As such, I felt like I should at least say something more here, for what it was worth.

“I’m not gonna thank you if that’s what you’re after. It’s supposed to be a fair trade,
remember?”

“I don’t want you to thank me.”

“Then whatta you want?”

She was probably sensitive to human contact due to constantly having her guard raised
for the past day or so. That mindset would be useful in the short term for sure, but in
her current situation, it would only bring about her own destruction.

“If you’re not doing too badly with points, how about you spend most of the day
tomorrow resting? That, or switch to a strategy where you only focus on acquiring food
and water?”

“So you’re sayin’ for me to give up on scoring points? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Upon hearing my suggestion, Ibuki flared up and lost her temper.

“I’m not puttin’ in all this work ‘cause I don’t wanna get expelled. My only goal here is
beating Horikita.”

I was well aware of that.

And it was precisely because I understood what was motivating her that I was giving her
the advice she needed to increase her odds of succeeding.

But… well… Ibuki has hated me ever since she found out that I was the ‘X’ Ryūen had
been looking for.

Due to her warped, biased perspective of the type of person I was, my true intentions
had no chance of getting through to her.

“I’ve got nothin’ more to say to you.”

Saying that, Ibuki went back inside her tent and zipped up the entrance.
My attempt at persuading her felt like it had been unsuccessful, but my words should’ve
at least served as an effective warning.

At any rate, with this, Ibuki should be fine for the next day or two.

Beyond that, it’d be up to her. She’d just have to get back on her feet and secure food
and water for herself.

Since she was alone, I was somewhat worried about her score, but having seen how
adamant she was about her match with Horikita, she probably wasn’t doing that bad.

Although the night was still young, I had used up a lot of my energy today, so I decided
to turn in early.

Despite the muggy summer heat, I spent the rest of the evening relaxing before drifting
off to sleep.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 3 Part 1

TL: Graze/Hina
ED: PuffyPyjamas/Ani/RoTiPs

First thing in the morning, I left the campsite to use the bathroom in the nearby forest.
When I returned with my sanitary disposal bag in hand, I caught sight of Ibuki
crouching suspiciously beside my tent.

“What are you doing?”

“!”

Her head shot up with a look of surprise on her face. It seems that she had been so
focused on rummaging through my backpack that she didn’t notice me return to the
campsite.

“Were you trying to sneak a peek at my tablet, or was there something else you wanted?”

Unfortunately for her, it was impossible for a third party to gain unauthorized access to
my tablet since I had enabled the lock screen.

“I wouldn’t do somethin’ like that! I just… I just wanted to make sure our trade was
actually fair, that’s all.”

After saying that, she quickly distanced herself from my backpack.

“You’ve only got one bottle of water left in there, and you’ve already drunk some of it! I
thought you said you had too much water?”

Although I had only been away for just under a minute, I guess I had been a little
careless.

Apparently, that had been more than enough time for her to confirm the contents of my
backpack.

That being said, I couldn’t exactly blame her given that I had gone through Ibuki’s
backpack without permission just the day before. Even if I were to lie and say that I
drank the rest of my water last night, she’d just have to ask where the empty bottle was.
After all, it was against the rules to litter on the island.
“So what, were you trying to help me out to get me to owe you a favor?”

“If you hadn’t gone through my backpack, you never would’ve felt like you owed me
anything though…”

“Grr…”

My words hit right on the mark, causing Ibuki’s cheek to twitch ever so slightly.

“In other words, I’m telling you that the truth doesn’t matter. It was a fair trade either
way.”

“I ain’t convinced, but… I get it. If that’s the way it is, I’m not gonna give any water back
to you.”

“If I did this to have you owe me a favor, would you pay it back?”

“No way.”

“…Is that so?”

Apparently, she had been compelled to rummage through my backpack simply because
she couldn’t bring herself to trust me.

Since the conversation dried up after that, I went back inside my tent.

It was only half-past six when I heard sounds coming from over by Ibuki’s tent.

I unzipped my tent’s entrance to take a look at what was happening, only to find that she
had already started to pack up her things.

If this had been the second or third day of the exam, I might’ve thought that she was just
brimming with motivation, but…

The vibe she was giving off told me she didn’t want to be disturbed, so I simply looked
the other way.

Before long, 7:00 AM arrived, and with it the first designated area of the day, which was
announced to be area E4. I immediately decided to spend one point to run a GPS Search
and pinpoint the locations of everybody else on the island.
This search was well worth the single point it cost to run it. My score was so close to the
10th place Kuronaga group that I might accidentally overtake them. By spending one
point here, the gap between our scores would widen to 12 points. That way, even if I
earned 11 points from taking the first-place Early Bird Bonus, I’d still be just barely
outside of the top ten.

Looking at the map, there were about three other groups who had the potential to
contest me for the Early Bird Bonus.

Among them, there was a certain, particularly formidable opponent sitting in an ideal
position for sweeping up the bonus. With that being the case, I decided to give up on
fighting for it, which worked out perfectly since my top priority right now was to
replenish my resources. Incidentally, this GPS Search also let me see how many
students were nearby the Tasks I was interested in. In other words, it opened up the
door for me to predict what the competition would be like before I dedicated any time to
pursuing it.

By the time I had finished getting ready and stepped foot out of my tent, Ibuki was
already nowhere to be seen.

There was little to gain from taking action before the exam started for the day, but I
suppose she just wanted to get away from me as soon as possible.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 3 Part 2

TL: Graze/Hina
ED: PuffyPyjamas/Catalystic/Ani/RoTiPs

Although the designated area had been fairly close to the campsite, it still took me
around an hour and a half to get there. Needless to say, when I finally stepped foot in
the area, my watch didn’t indicate that I had earned the Early Bird Bonus, leaving me
with just a one-point Arrival Bonus instead. Of course, I wasn’t dissatisfied with this
since I had participated in a Task along the way.

Area E4 was located at a fairly high altitude atop a cliff, so the view was decent enough
that I could survey a good part of the island.

“You sure took your sweet time getting here, Ayanokōji.”

In my peripheral vision, I spotted Kiryūin. She spoke to me without so much as looking

in my direction, her eyes trained down at the base of the cliff.
“So it seems.”

Back when I ran a GPS Search this morning, she was the formidable opponent who
shared a table with me that I felt would be the most troublesome to compete against.

“So, Ayanokōji, are you the one who’s been making me work for all the Early Bird
Bonuses?”

“I wonder. People can end up in the same area sometimes despite being a part of
different tables. More importantly, I thought you weren’t interested in making it to the
top ten, Kiryūin-senpai.”

Earlier this morning, Kiryūin had shot up from below 10th place all the way to 9th.

“Well, this exam’s been more interesting than I expected. It’s kinda unbecoming of my
age, but I’ve been really hyped up recently.”

She said it was ‘unbecoming of her age’, and yet she was only one year older than me.

“I figure I’ll keep going at my current pace, at least for the time being.”

“So you don’t want to get first place, Senpai?”

“Everyone’s foaming at the mouth over the top spot. If I got mixed up in that, I wouldn’t
get to chill out and enjoy myself. Though, if Nagumo and Kōenji collapse, then that
might change things a bit.”

“Collapse? Honestly, that doesn’t seem very likely at the moment.”

“Do you really think that Nagumo’ll leave Kōenji free to his own devices?”

Apparently, Kiryūin had also foreseen how things would play out moving forward, at
least to a certain extent.

“With the current stalemate, it’s hard to say that Nagumo’s guaranteed to come out on
top. It seems he’s been patiently watching things so far, but he’ll make his move sooner
or later. Or more specifically, make his move on Kōenji. Depending on the situation, it’s
possible that both of ‘em will start slowing down on earning points.”

Alternatively, it was possible that one of them would get crushed and plummet down
through the ranks.
“That’s true. Kicking one’s opponent down is important, after all.”

Although there was no way to tell exactly when it would happen, they would definitely
clash with each other here at some point.

Or, at very least, it felt safe to say that Nagumo would stop Kōenji.

“How about you? Are you aiming for the top spots, Ayanokōji?”

“Unfortunately, I really can’t see myself getting into the top ten.”

“That so? I thought you’d have just about the same number of points as me.”

She seemed awfully interested in me and how well I was doing.

Well, to be exact, it probably wasn’t just me that she was interested in.

She was surely looking to analyze the strategies of each and every student in the school.

“As a word of advice: most groups are probably gonna start slowing down soon, so don’t
give up and keep on doing your best.”

Even though I hadn’t known Kiryūin for very long, it was clear to me that she was quite
an influential character.

She was by all means an exceptional student when it came to both the depth of her
insight and the breadth of her intuition, qualities that even the OAA system failed to
account for.

“To change the subject, from what I’ve seen on my tablet, it doesn’t look like any groups
have retired yet. What do you think of that?”

“It just means that I can’t afford to get careless, not even for a moment. That’s all.”

“Hmm… I found out something interesting when I stopped by the starting area
yesterday. Apparently, some of the groups that have been running out of food and water
have been taking up a new last-ditch strategy of sorts. They’ve started cutting loose
some of their members in order to conserve resources.”

“That’s a wise decision.”

No matter how many points your group racks up, if the whole group retires, you’d be
disqualified and your expulsion would be all but set in stone. That being the case, it
would be safer to send one or two people back to the starting area instead, even if it
meant taking an overall drop in terms of efficiency. There, not only could they drink an
unlimited amount of fresh water, but they’d also be able to maintain their personal
hygiene, therefore making it easier to avoid getting sick.

“The bottom ten groups probably have their fingers crossed right about now, praying
that some other group will retire first.”

“There’s no telling what someone who’s been pushed into a corner might do. Don’t be
negligent, okay?”

“Is that really something a lone girl like you ought to be worried about, Kiryūin-senpai?”

“Oh? Hmm… Well, it’s true that, as a young, dainty maiden, it may be best for me to be
more cautious.”

Even though I said what I had in jest, surprisingly, she had taken it seriously.

“If it comes down to it, then yeah… I’ll just have to get through it by force.”

Saying that, Kiryūin clenched her fist.

Honestly, her response wasn’t very maiden-like, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.”

“Fufu, sorry for taking up so much of your time. After all, for the likes of us, every single
second is precious.”

With that, she lightly lifted up her hand and began to walk away.

Based on the direction she went in, she was probably headed toward a nearby Task.

“You’re not gonna come along? There might be space for you as well if you hurry.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t think I’d be able to beat you, Senpai.”

By now, there were probably at most two spots left for the Task in question.
Additionally, there were already more than three other groups in the nearby area, so
with Kiryūin also heading over to it, my odds of being able to participate were already
shaky at best.

As I watched her leave, she suddenly stopped and, despite the fact that she was pressed
for time, looked back to say one last thing.

“Ah, I get it now─ It seems I’ll have to go check up on this Task on myself, just in case.”

Speaking as though she had connected the dots and seen through my strategy, Kiryūin
left it at that and set off toward the Task once more.
Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 3 Part 3

TL: Graze/Hina/Reg
ED: PuffyPyjamas/RoTiPs/Catalystic

The sun had set on the tenth day of the exam and it was now just past 9:00 PM.

I was in the middle of going over the final rankings for the day and the GPS screenshots
I had taken when a bright light flickered against the side of my tent from somewhere
outside.

“Is someone really traveling this late at night…?”

Albeit somewhat dangerous, there were groups out there who’d look to make up for lost
ground by traveling to their final designated area in the dead of night.

Reflexively, I began to track the light from within my tent. Whoever it was, it didn’t
seem like they were deliberately pointing their flashlight in my direction. Instead, given
the light’s erratic movements, it seemed like they were scouring the general area, as if
they were frantically searching for something.

With my curiosity piqued, I decided to leave my tent and find out what was going on.

In the distance, I could see the light of a flashlight sparsely illuminating the dark forest
as it gradually moved further and further away from my campsite.

Sure enough, it looked like someone was desperately searching for something… or
someone.

Was it Amasawa, searching for me in order to lure me into a trap of some sort?

No, if it were her, I didn’t think she’d use her flashlight so brazenly like this.

It’d make more sense for her to confirm my location with a GPS Search and close in
secretly, hidden under the veil of darkness.

“…Yume-chaaan…?”
I could just barely hear a feeble, timid voice coming from the flashlight’s direction. I
didn’t recognize whose voice it was, but I did know that, nicknames aside, there was
only one person at this school with the name Yume.

It was most likely Kobashi Yume from Class 2-C. So, with that being the case, it was
probably safe to assume that the voice belonged to someone involved with that class.
And, if I recalled correctly, there was a girl named Shiranami Chihiro in Kobashi’s
group.

In any case, she sounded like she might burst into tears any second now. It was possible
to just turn the other cheek and act like I hadn’t seen anything, but that would be hard
given that she was a student of Class 2-C. After all, Class 2-C had recently begun to
collaborate with Sakayanagi and the rest of Class 2-A.

I fetched my tablet from inside my tent and turned on the external light that came with
it.

It was a bit dim when compared to the more traditional flashlight, but it should be
enough to get her to notice my presence.

Not long thereafter, the beam of her flashlight pointed in my direction.

“Yume-chan!?”

She shouted out, her voice filled with a mixture of panic and excitement as she quickly
made her way over to me.

After being momentarily blinded by the light of her flashlight, the girl slowly began to
come into view.

“Yume-chan!”

“Sorry, but I’m not Yume.”

“Oh…”

The person who emerged from the thicket of trees was none other than Shiranami, just
as I had suspected.

“Uhm, Ayanokōji-kun… Good evening.”

Although she and I weren’t at all close with each other, she seemed somewhat relieved
to see me.

Was that a testament to just how hopeless of a situation she was in?

“It’s pretty dangerous to be wandering around at night all on your own. Where are
Kobashi and Takemoto?”

“I, uhm… I don’t know… I was in a hurry to meet with them, but before I knew it, I
couldn’t really tell where I was anymore…”

I shouldn’t have asked a question with such an obvious answer.

The forest’s landscape often looked the same no matter which direction you were facing.
It would only take a single wrong turn to lose your sense of direction.

With that in mind, it was probably safe to assume that Shiranami had drifted far away
from the rest of her group.

“How long has it been since you last saw them?”

“I’m not sure… maybe around fifteen, twenty minutes…?”

In which case, she probably wasn’t so lost that she’d never be able to find her way back,
but she was definitely far enough away that her group wouldn’t be able to hear her
calling out to them.

“In any case, wandering around aimlessly will only get you even more lost.”

“Y-yeah.”

For now, I decided to take charge and lead her back to my tent, using my tablet to light
the way. It would be troublesome if I were to get lost as well, after all.

I couldn’t just leave my things unattended and head off to help her find her group.

So far, for the most part, a good number of students had probably found themselves lost
just like Shiranami.

Eventually, they’d all make their way back. It’d just be a matter of whether or not they’d
get lucky and do it quickly, or if it would take them a while.
However, if it took too long, they’d have to spend the night lost in the forest all on their
own, which would be challenging, to say the least.

Even though it might not be very taxing physically, mentally, it would be exhausting.

We arrived at my campsite before long, whereupon I turned around and spoke to the
restless Shiranami.

“There are a lot of bugs, so you can hole up in my tent for now to avoid them if you’d
like.”

“Ehh!?”

Rather than sound surprised, it was more like her voice contained a subtle tinge of fear.

“I won’t go in, so you don’t need to worry.”

While she and I clearly weren’t on the same page and there were a few small issues with
my reasoning, I shooed Shiranami into my tent and zipped up the entrance between us.

“I-I’m sorry for intruding… on your resting place…”

“It’s fine. More importantly, are Kobashi and Takemoto doing well?”

“Yeah.”

In which case, they were probably getting worried that Shiranami hadn’t returned yet.

They were most likely discussing whether or not they should go out and search for her
or stay and wait at their campsite.

“Did your group make a contingency plan for when one of you gets lost?”

I asked, but Shiranami simply shook her head from side to side, so I just continued to
speak.

“It’s possible that Takemoto might go out to look for you on his own, but there’s a
chance that he’ll get lost. Having said that, if Takemoto and Kobashi were to search for
you together and leave their tents and bags unattended, that would be pretty risky too.”
It wouldn’t be very practical for them to pack up their tents and take their things with
them either, given that it was possible that Shiranami might make her way back to their
own campsite all on her own, only to find it completely deserted.

If they wanted to play it as safe as possible, then they shouldn’t wander out of sight of
their tents, but instead patrol the surrounding area, keeping their lights on as they call
out to Shiranami in hopes that she would notice them. However, since they hadn’t even
discussed beforehand what they would do in a situation like this, there was no telling
whether or not they’d be able to keep calm and make a level-headed decision.

There was a good chance that they had gone out to try and search for her without so
much as a second thought.

“What now…?”

She posed a question, but rather than ask me, it felt more so like it had been meant for
herself. It could be said that she had just made a silly mistake, but in another light, it
could also be said that she had made a grave one. It was understandable that she felt
anxious.

The problem now was trying to figure out what Kobashi and Takemoto would do. No,
depending on the circumstances, it could very well be even more complex than that.

“Is your group still just the three of you? Or have you taken on more members?”

“That…”

Shiranami, who had previously been perfectly fine with telling everything she knew, was
now suddenly at a loss for words.

Since she’d definitely be aware of what went on within her own group, there had to be
some other reason for her hesitation.

Currently, Ichinose’s class was in a tight-knit alliance with Sakayanagi’s class.

Of course, there were a handful of groups in Class 2-C that had been made between
close friends, but the vast majority had been made in consideration of the Class 2-A
alliance. Therefore, telling me if her group had merged or other such internal details
would be no different from leaking private information. In that sense, Shiranami’s
decision to say nothing had certainly been the right thing to do.

“I get it. You don’t have to tell me anything in detail. Just hear me out first.”
With that as a preface, I continued.

“If I were a member of your group, I would’ve almost certainly noticed what happened
by now. I’d probably come to the conclusion that you had gotten lost, left to putter about
the dark forest all on your own.”

Shiranami nodded meekly.

“Of course, I wouldn’t just give up on you. I’d start out by trying to call out to you. But as
I said not too long ago, if that didn’t work, I’d have to try something else. Suppose
Kobashi was the one who had gotten lost, what would you and Takemoto do next if
calling out to her wasn’t working?”

“…I’m not sure… maybe we’d go looking for Yume-chan together…?”

“Even if it puts you both at risk of getting hurt and retiring from the exam should things
go south?”

“She’s my friend. There’s no way I could just leave her to fend for herself.”

Her response was truly befitting the unity of her class; it didn’t matter whether or not it
was the right strategic choice. As a student of Class 2-A, Takemoto may be a bit
reluctant to leave the campsite at first, but in the end, he would probably fold and
decide to help all the same.

That being said, the most reliable plan moving forward would be to sit back and wait for
them to come looking for her.

And if push came to shove, they might even spend a point on the GPS Search to try and
find us.

However, with how dark it was, there was no telling if they’d be successful even with one
or two searches of the nearby area.

“Does your group have points to spare? Would spending two or three on GPS Searches
put your rank at risk?”

“That─ I wonder. I don’t think it’d be very good.”

It seemed as though they weren’t ranked very high, at least not to the point where she
felt comfortable spending a couple of points. Would doing so cost them everything, or
would it not matter in the end? There was no way to tell what impact it would truly have
until the exam was over.

Shiranami probably didn’t like the thought of her fellow group members using up their
points to come searching for her either.

As expected, the best option she had right now was to wait on standby here at my
campsite after all, but… I couldn’t discount the possibility that Takemoto and Kobashi
might not come looking for her, or that they give up after they aren’t able to find her. If
that were to happen, I’d be forced to spend the night outside given that Shiranami
would be using my tent, which, in turn, would probably end up slowing me down
tomorrow.

Therefore, if there was ever a time to take action, it would be now.

“How are you?”

“Eh?”

“I’m asking if you have enough energy to walk?”

“Y-yeah. That should be fine, it’s just…”

I unzipped the entrance to my tent and motioned for Shiranami to come back out.

“Come, I’ll take you to your group.”

“But… how?”

“Well, it’s not like aimlessly wandering around the forest is going to solve anything,
so we’ll use this.”

I showed her the tablet I had in my hand.

“If I do a GPS Search, we’ll know which direction to go and approximately how far we’ll
need to move.”

However, even with this, it probably wouldn’t be easy to meet up with them.

It would be exceptionally difficult to properly navigate the forest with how dark it was.
For an ordinary student like Shiranami, it would be basically impossible without the
repeated use of the GPS Search.

“Why… Why are you helping me…?”

“Why? This special exam pretty much comes down to a battle between the different
school years. That’s why.”

“But, for you to go so far as to use a GPS Search…”

For me, spending one or two points wasn’t all that much of a burden.

I could always earn more points as long as I didn’t get enough to go above 11th place on
the leaderboards.

However, it wouldn’t do me any good to tell her about that, so I figured I’d just make up
a reason that she’d believe.

“If I had to say… I guess it’s because you’re one of Ichinose’s classmates.”

Just as the words crossed my lips, the look on Shiranami’s face stiffened ever so slightly.

“…Are you…”

Seeing her reaction made me wonder if I had said something distasteful.

“Hm?”

“Are you and Honami-chan…”

Shiranami trailed off again before shutting her mouth as though she had nothing left to
add.

Somehow, I managed to understand what she was getting at, albeit after a delay of sorts.

I had been reminded of everything that Ichinose’s other classmates told me back when I
crossed paths with them a few days ago.

“There’s nothing going on between us.”

I quickly attempted to correct her misunderstanding, but it only served to make her
already stiff expression that much more pronounced.

I decided to drop the topic for the time being and proceeded with the GPS Search. After
a moment, I looked at the results. Since Kobashi and Takemoto’s GPS signals were right
on top of each other, it was clear that they at least hadn’t separated. We immediately
began to walk, headed off in search of Shiranami’s group.
And then, after about ten minutes of walking in the direction of their GPS signals…

“Chihiro-chan!!!”

Kobashi called out, having spotted us as we emerged from a gap in the trees.

Her backpack was strapped to her back, and beside her stood their third group member,
Takemoto, who also had his backpack on. And from the fact that Takemoto was carrying
another backpack in his hands, it seemed like they had set off for Shiranami with all
their belongings in tow.

Considering that they had been heading straight toward us, it seemed highly likely that
they had also used the GPS Search.

In the end, we all decided to go to where I had set up camp.

“Thanks a bunch for helping out Chihiro-chan, Ayanokōji-kun.”

“No, I’m sure you guys would’ve found her eventually. There’s no need to thank me.”

“No need to thank you? She could’ve gotten injured if she had gone much further, not to
mention how much harder it would’ve been for us to track her down.”

Despite being from another class, even Takemoto was relieved that Shiranami had been
found so quickly.

If they had to chase after her as she wandered around in the forest, this might have cost
them more than just a point or two.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but, do you guys have a walkie-talkie?”

Having found a good opportunity to change the topic, I looked to Takemoto and asked
about something I had been curious about.

“Huh? Walkie-talkie? I have one but─”

Since I had done them a favor, they’d most likely be willing to lend it to me for a bit.

“If it’s alright with you, could I have a word with Sakayanagi? I’m worried about some of
my classmates, so I’d like to ask her if any of them have returned to the starting area.”

“If that’s all it is then sure. Hold on a sec.”

Takemoto didn’t seem to mind my request. In fact, he seemed happy to pay back the
favor, seeing as he quickly took out his walkie-talkie and started fiddling with it.

As a product provided by the school, the walkie-talkies were naturally digital rather than
analog. Additionally, they came with full support for privacy codes. Put briefly, privacy
codes allow you to have private conversations with anyone who has the same code in a
particular channel, thus eliminating the risk of having your communications intercepted
by a third party. The groups that chose to purchase walkie-talkies for this exam
should’ve each been given a privacy code to use in order to prevent any information
leaks.

Soon enough, Takemoto spoke into the walkie-talkie to see if Sakayanagi was there to
pick up.

She responded not too long afterward, at which point he passed the walkie-talkie over to
me.

“I’d like to speak with her privately, if that’s alright.”

Seeing the three of them nod in response, I politely distanced myself from the campsite.
Of course, I made sure to stay where they could see me so that they didn’t think that I
was up to something nefarious. Then, after speaking with Sakayanagi for a short while, I
went back to the group and handed the walkie-talkie back to Takemoto at Sakayanagi’s
request.

“That’s everything Sakayanagi. Sorry to bother you so late.”

Takemoto spoke, Sakayanagi said a few short words in response, and with that, the call
was over.

Based on their brief exchange, it seemed that everything had gone by without a hitch.

“That really helped, I was able to get all the information I needed from Sakayanagi.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Also, Sakayanagi asked me to give this to you permanently.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Takemoto handed the walkie-talkie back to me.

“We’re the ones who should be thanking you~ Right Chihiro-chan~?”

“Yeah, thank you for helping me tonight Ayanokōji-kun.”

The three of them, Shiranami included, expressed their thanks once again, and just like
that, they began to set up their tents.

That night, I drifted off to sleep listening to them tell stories about Class A and Class C,
stories that I’d usually never be able to hear.
Sorry but That’s How much it is available at the Time. Will Update this Link Soon. So
Stay Tuned!

Arigato Gozaimus~