Chapter 123: Ibuki-san: These Old 6
"What's up?"
Horikita noticed that Hachiman had been staring at her since earlier.
"Nothing," Hachiman immediately shook his head.
He had just been thinking that Horikita looked especially impressive. Normally, boys like to feel dominant, but he realized that strong girls also seemed quite appealing.
Hachiman thought maybe he had a bit of M (masochistic) genes.
But if his admiration for strength meant being asked to work, then he might very well end up obediently working too.
So, was he destined to become a working person?
That thought was so terrifying that he quickly erased it from his mind.
.
.
.
Because of the snake sighting, most students started using small tree branches they found to bang together as a makeshift tool.
Hachiman wanted to say that doing that would likely make the snake appear again, but it wasn't really necessary to say it out loud. After all, Horikita was with him. Even if the snake came rushing out, he would be fine—Horikita was incredibly reliable.
Having noticed Horikita's strengths, Hachiman found himself paying more attention to her.
He realized that he had been having some strange dreams lately.
Even dreams about marrying Kushida-san, which was kind of a horror story for him.
Could he possibly dream about Horikita Suzune?
However...
"Hikigaya, can you explain why there's lipstick from another woman on your shirt?"
"And also, you skipped class today. That's not a good attitude."
"You need to remember you're taking care of all of us, so you need to work even harder."
Hmm.
Just imagining such a future made Hachiman give up.
.
.
.
A total of 9 people went out to gather firewood.
Despite the snake incident, the forest was rich in resources, and they gathered quite a bit of wood.
Naturally...
Considering Horikita's health, Hachiman took responsibility for carrying her share of the firewood back to camp.
But as soon as he returned, a problem arose.
That problem was...
"Ah! The fire just won't light!"
"Yeah! These logs won't catch fire at all!"
Seeing that no matter what they tried, they couldn't get the fire started, Sudo's temper flared up. He kicked all the logs scattered on the ground, making a mess of the area.
The flying dirt hit a nearby girl, making her cry out in alarm.
"Eek!"
"Hey, Sudo, what are you doing?!"
Shinohara Satsuki, a friend of Karuizawa, gave Sudo an angry glare. She was part of the "spicy girl" team and had a strong presence.
Karuizawa seemed to have gone off to pick fruit with Kushida, so she wasn't around.
But Satsuki's fiery attitude remained. Even when facing off against the enraged Sudo, she didn't back down.
"What am I doing? The fire won't light!"
"It's not that the fire won't light, it's that you're useless!"
"What did you say?! You wanna fight?!"
Sudo, once again irritated, started to pick a fight with Satsuki, a girl.
Even though he had said after the incident on the boat with Class A that he would change, it seemed that change wasn't happening as quickly as he hoped.
"Come on, everyone, calm down."
The peacemaker Hirata quickly stepped forward, standing in between them and urgently trying to stop the argument. "Starting a fire is something that takes time; you can't rush it."
"Tch."
Satsuki turned away with dissatisfaction and was pulled aside by Hasebe.
"Hmph, Hirata, you do it!"
Sudo, grumbling, snorted but didn't physically fight. Instead, he aggressively shoved the lighter into Hirata's hand. Then, grabbing a fishing net that had been exchanged, he walked off toward the river.
He couldn't get the fire started, but now he was being mocked.
He was going to win somewhere else!
"So, where's Ike?" Hachiman asked, searching for someone.
The people with camping knowledge, including those who had recently read related books, were Horikita, Kushida, and Ike, who actually had experience with camping.
Hachiman didn't see Kushida, but starting the fire shouldn't be a hard task for Ike.
"Ike and Kushida went to pick fruit," Hirata answered.
"The resources here are abundant, and some students wanted to try some different fruits. Someone said they spotted blueberries. Blueberries are so expensive at the supermarket! If we can eat them, that'd be such a deal."
Really.
Even though they had exchanged plenty of supplies, including long-lasting bread, the students were treating this exam like a real camping trip and were now craving different foods.
Hachiman glanced at Horikita.
Earlier, Sudo had argued over the fire, and now there were more than twenty students in the camp.
Though not a huge crowd, it was enough for Horikita to make an impression.
Especially since she might need to drop out of the exam at any moment due to her health, and Hachiman had already taken care of the issue regarding deductions for dropping out. But she was still at risk of leaving, so it was good to let her have some presence now.
"I'll do it."
Horikita caught Hachiman's gaze, and, slowly, she walked over to the fire.
She reached the fire pit, where a neatly stacked pile of logs lay. One of the logs showed signs of being singed by fire, but it hadn't caught. As she stared at the pile, Horikita remained silent.
"This is how you start the fire?"
Horikita fixed her cold gaze on Hirata and asked, expressionless.
"Well, what should I do?"
Hirata awkwardly nodded.
In modern society, who would be skilled at using these primitive methods anymore?
"Even if you've never tried, you should have learned about it in books."
Horikita sighed, unsure of what else to say.
"Actually, no," Hirata answered honestly.
With that, Horikita began to start the fire.
Starting a fire requires a firestarter, and a lighter can serve as a small firestarter.
Then, she used the lighter to ignite dry grass and twigs. Once the fire was big enough, she could light the logs.
Horikita couldn't help but shake her head at Sudo, who had tried using the lighter directly on the logs.
Soon...
"Whoosh!"
With the firestarter, the wood quickly ignited.
"Horikita-san knows how to do this too!"
"Wait, isn't this supposed to light the fire?"
The camp's mood lifted again.
Soon...
The team that went to collect fruit returned.
Due to the abundance of resources, they brought back a variety of different fruits.
Even Sudo, who couldn't start the fire, came back with two fish from the river.
But...
"It seems we're still missing one person." Since they were in the wilderness, Hirata was paying close attention to the students.
He quickly noticed that one of the students was still missing.
"It seems Yamauchi isn't back yet," Hirata said.
Yamauchi wasn't in Hachiman and Horikita's firewood-gathering group.
"Yamauchi? He seems to have found something and told us to come back first," Ike said.
The girls had found wild fruit and lacked the knowledge to identify it, so they wanted Ike, who had camping knowledge, to check it out.
At that time, Yamauchi had also been with him.
"Yamauchi is back!"
At this moment, a boy at the entrance of the cave said.
Then this boy seemed to be in a daze.
Because.
Yamauchi did not return alone. He brought with him a girl with short blue hair, looking very neat. Although she was wearing sportswear, her face had bruises, and her hands were covered in dirt, making her look a bit messy.
However, as soon as Horikita saw the other person, her gaze suddenly became sharp.
She recognized her.
Ibuki Mio from Class D.
Previously, on the boat, Ibuki had cooperated with Ryuen to put on an act in front of her and Hachiman. At that time, she didn't understand why Ryuen was putting on that act.
As for Hachiman, he believed that the impact of the act from back then would eventually come in handy at some point.
And now… it had come in handy.
This exam involved guessing the leader, so Ibuki, from another class, coming to their class was a dangerous move, wasn't it?
She herself knew that for this exam, she, along with Hachiman and Kushida, had been planning for some time.
Even though she was sick, she still insisted on participating in the exam.
In the worst-case scenario, the class could secure more than 300 points, guaranteed.
But if the leader's identity was guessed, they were finished.
So.
At this moment, Horikita's emotions became a bit agitated.
"Calm down."
However, at this moment, a hand suddenly rested on the girl's shoulder. "Someone who can't control their emotions won't be able to defeat Class A."
"I understand."
Upon hearing this, Horikita clenched her fist, struggling for a moment before loosening it and letting out a long breath.
Hachiman also sighed gently.
Although Horikita Suzune appeared to be a cold, ice queen who was indifferent to everyone, in reality, she did not hide her emotions.
Whether she liked someone or disliked them, it would show in her eyes.
Of course, most people couldn't tell just by looking at her face.
But to truly stand on your own, you couldn't just rely on a blank expression.
More importantly, it was about the gaze – it had to be calm and composed.
People with calm eyes and a smile were far more terrifying than those who had a blank face but intense fluctuations in their eyes.
For example, Sakayanagi Arisu.
When she thought about something dangerous, she would always smile.
"Ibuki is probably here to gather information on our class's leader." Hachiman said. "In other words, she's a spy. Let's see how the classmates react."
"Let's see if anyone can be useful in the class competition."
Oh.
So this would be a test to observe how the classmates would react.
And indeed, the classmates did react. In fact, when they saw someone from another class, some of them were already considering the safety of their own class.
So.
"Yamauchi, what the hell are you doing?"
"Bringing someone from another class here, are you an idiot?"
"We're in the middle of an exam! Class D and we are in competition!"
When Yamauchi explained to the others that Ibuki Mio and Ryuen had fallen out, and she was beaten and thrown out by Ryuen, it didn't evoke any sympathy from the others. Instead, it only brought disapproving looks from many people.
At that moment, several boys gathered around.
"No, what are you guys worried about? She's just a weak girl!"
Yamauchi's face turned red from the scolding, and he tried to defend himself with a raised neck. "Didn't you see the bruises on her face? She was abused by Ryuen from Class D because she was unhappy with his violent rule, and now she's been thrown out. Shouldn't we help her?"
"Well… it looks like her face injuries are quite serious."
"Yeah, those scars don't look fake…"
"If that's the case, should we let her stay?"
Some of the students from Class C, although they usually couldn't contribute much besides holding others back, surprisingly, many of them had big hearts. Seeing the bruises on Ibuki Mio's face, they immediately felt sympathy.
Especially since she was a genuine beauty.
It was likely that many of the boys, just like Yamauchi, had a bit of a fantasy in their minds about rescuing the girl and having her repay them by falling in love.
"You guys"
Kei, who had gone out with Kushida-chan but had already returned, frowned in dissatisfaction. "Although it does look like Ibuki is injured, she's from Class D, right? If she was beaten by Ryuen, then she could just forfeit and go back to the ship, there's a medical room there. Why did she have to come here?"
Although she hadn't received any orders from Hachiman, Kei had her own thoughts.
When it came to thinking and handling matters, she was likely much more capable than most of the people in their class.
"Are you suspecting Ibuki?" Yamauchi clenched his fists and turned red in the face.
"Yes."
Kei raised her head, not hiding her thoughts, and said, "I'm suspecting her. She could very well be a spy from Class D. Don't forget, this exam involves guessing the leader, and if the leader's identity is guessed, all the reward points will be nullified. Our class needs at least 300 points as a guaranteed minimum!"
"Kei is right,"
The curly-haired girl beside Kei immediately nodded.
This was Sato Maya.
Ever since she mistakenly thought Kei had been secretly taking pictures of the test paper for her, she had become Kei's loyal friend.
Without hesitation, Sato Maya stood behind Kei. "Our class C can't take that kind of risk."
Meanwhile, in a corner.
"Your Kei seems to be doing pretty well,"
"If it weren't for you giving her instructions beforehand, her performance would be quite impressive right now," Horikita suddenly spoke from beside Hachiman. "She's loyal to her class and also thinks about the dangers."
"…" Hachiman.
Please don't use the phrase your Kei like this.
Moreover.
Hachiman also knew that when he had exposed Kei's inner thoughts and borrowed Horikita's room, and after making a deal with Kei, whether it was joining the student council or working on old exam questions, Kei had performed well.
Horikita also knew that Kei was helping him at that time.
So, even though Horikita used this somewhat ambiguous statement, there was probably no other meaning.
The argument continued.
"Don't you guys have any sympathy?" Yamauchi tried to argue.
"It's because of this meaningless so-called sympathy from you boys that you'll drag us down," Sato Maya countered sharply.
"It's not that there's no sympathy, but it's clear that going back to the ship would be the better choice. Yet she chose to come back to our camp with you. Yamauchi, don't you think that's strange?"
"Or is it that you just stopped thinking the moment you saw a girl willing to talk to you?"
In the face of Yamauchi's argument, both Sato and Kei didn't hesitate to retort.
One could say, while the argument between Shinohara and Sudo might have drawn some attention, now, the atmosphere between the two sides was only growing tenser.
"What did you say!"
Yamauchi's neck turned red, as Sato's words had reached the level of a personal attack!
What did she mean by saying no girl would talk to him!
"Everyone, please stop arguing."
The ever-kindhearted Hirata rushed forward and tried to mediate, "Arguing won't solve anything."
"No need to force it."
Ibuki Mio, who had been quietly watching from a distance, stood up with her backpack and said, "I don't want to cause trouble for you guys. I'll leave now."
With that, Ibuki Mio turned decisively and walked away, not lingering at all.
It was as if she truly had no ulterior motive and was only here because Yamauchi had invited her.
"Ibuki…"
Yamauchi reached out with his hand, trying to grab her retreating figure, opened his mouth but ultimately didn't speak, lowering his head in shame instead.
As they watched this scene, some of the girls in the class seemed to be whispering to each other.
"Did we go too far?"
"Well, it's an unavoidable situation."
But this time, Kei appeared exceptionally resolute and said firmly, "We finally have a chance to gain a lot of points, and we absolutely cannot let anyone ruin it."
Meanwhile, Hirata was surrounded by a few students, seemingly discussing something. Perhaps they felt watching Ibuki leave without any humanitarian consideration was wrong.
"Wait a second!"
In the end, it was Hirata who spoke up and hurriedly chased after Ibuki. "Ibuki, it's getting late. If you don't return to the ship, it's dangerous for you to be out here alone."
"It seems the test is over," Horikita said.
"Mm."
Hachiman nodded.
Leading this class really was difficult.
While some students were outstanding, most were hard to manage.
So.
He began thinking that if, in this exam, they could secure 300 points as a base score, and then Koenji could take 100 points, by the end of three years, Koenji would have 10 million points even without doing anything.
This was a move to hire Koenji.
Hachiman had no intention of splitting and consuming the class's points.
But now, he suddenly felt... maybe he should be a bit more ruthless.
The capable should bear more responsibility. If he could seize enough points, then he should participate in the harvesting himself.
Using the class as a machine to accumulate points for himself.
Because he suddenly realized that giving the class too much pocket money was somewhat wasteful.
Some people didn't deserve to receive that much money.