Chapter 125: If We Were to Drop Out of the Exam, We'd Choose a Sacrifice
Soon.
It was the first day on the island, and everything went very smoothly.
Aside from the team that went to collect firewood encountering a snake, the other students treated the experience as a nice camping opportunity.
They were in high spirits.
Before long, the smell of grilled fish and the fragrance of vegetables stir-fried in pork fat could be smelled.
Unfortunately, the vegetable patch was occupied by Class B, so they couldn't use the vegetables from there.
"Everyone!"
Kushida cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted like a trumpet, "It's time for dinner!"
"Oh, there's even fish soup."
"It smells so good. The taste must be amazing."
"Kushida, you really outdid yourself."
"Hehe, it's nothing," Kushida said, somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, it's all thanks to Sudo-kun. He caught the fish and also cleaned them."
"Ah, I..."
Sudo, who was suddenly called out, became the center of attention and looked somewhat surprised, with an expression of astonishment on his face.
However, the astonished gazes of his classmates pleased him.
Even he wanted to be praised and recognized.
"Everyone, if you're going to thank someone, thank Sudo-kun. I didn't do much."
Kushida sweetly smiled, but her words moved everyone, especially Sudo, who felt filled with gratitude at that moment.
However, Hachiman wasn't surprised by this.
Kushida had always been building her "Kushida Empire," making everyone her "friend," and she would definitely try to rope in people like Sudo as well.
And now that such a good opportunity had presented itself, she naturally wouldn't let it slip.
After all, she wasn't lacking in favor. She had already done enough.
Instead, by generously attributing the credit for the fish to Sudo, she gained more goodwill from others while also earning Sudo's gratitude.
"That was really hard work,"
Kushida held up her fingers, tilting her little head, looking cute as she said, "You have to cut the fish, endure the fishy smell, remove all the organs, and scrape off all the scales. Sudo-kun really put in a lot of effort."
"That's impressive."
"Sudo, thank you!"
"I didn't expect you to have such a skill."
Guided by Kushida, the students of Class C began to praise him. Even Shinohara, who had argued with Sudo about starting the fire earlier, found a way to strike up a conversation with him.
Even those who usually had some animosity toward Sudo didn't say anything inappropriate at that moment.
After all, they were drinking fish soup, and Sudo had played a part in it.
Using the glass cups they had for washing, everyone filled a cup with the delicious fish soup.
They held the glass cups with both hands and took a sip, showing expressions of enjoyment.
As "everyone's Kushida," her cooking skills were naturally top-notch, or else it would be easy to lose points.
The atmosphere in the class improved again.
"Koenji-kun, this is yours."
Kushida personally served everyone their soup, always wearing a sweet smile, but when she reached a blonde male student, she gave him a large piece of fish.
"Mm."
Koenji nodded lightly, then walked away naturally.
He didn't say thank you, nor did he feel anything wrong with getting an extra piece of fish compared to the others.
The others saw this scene but didn't say anything either, accepting it gladly.
"Why?"
Not far away, Ibuki Mio, who had been quietly observing everyone, keenly noticed this subtle difference.
"Ibuki-chan."
Soon, Kushida came over with a cup of fish soup and a smile like that of an angel, "Hurry and drink it while it's hot. Try my cooking."
"Thank you."
Ibuki Mio nodded gently, showing no strange expression.
But Kushida didn't leave. Instead, she looked at Ibuki Mio with big, expectant eyes.
"It's really delicious."
Ibuki Mio took a small sip, her eyes lighting up as she showed a faint smile.
"Yay, I'm so glad."
Kushida patted her chest and sighed in relief, "I was worried it wouldn't suit Ibuki-chan's taste."
"How could it not? I'm already very grateful that you took me in."
"By the way, have you finished the fruits?"
"Mm, they're all gone," Ibuki said.
At this, Kushida nodded lightly.
However, Ibuki Mio secretly shook her head, feeling a bit moved inside.
Even though she was here as a spy, she couldn't help but feel guilty in front of Kushida, who was so pure and kind.
Kushida had been so generous, giving her fruit and fish soup, but she had to deceive her with a guilty conscience.
...
Later, around seven in the evening, the students of Class C were still going about their business.
Most of them were warming themselves by the campfire in the cave and preparing to take a bath.
Normally, they had to go to the beach for roll call at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
However, there was no sign of activity in Hachiman's class.
At the same time,
"You guys..."
Ibuki looked surprised, "Your supplies are so plentiful."
After dinner, she was brought to the cave base.
She stared in disbelief at the abundant and even somewhat luxurious supplies.
Even though they wanted to take a bath, the shower equipment in Class C had two sets, one for the boys and one for the girls.
And some students even had books to read.
It was known that students were checked by their homeroom teachers when they arrived on the island to ensure they didn't bring unnecessary items, such as books. Therefore, having books now could only mean that they had exchanged them after arriving on the island.
There was also a corner piled with a large amount of bread, water, and some supplies that didn't seem necessary.
"Did you not know?"
"Our class spent all our initial points, so now we have plenty of supplies. And because we've spent all our initial points, we don't have to go for roll call anymore," said Yamauchi, who had been picked up by Ibuki.
"You guys are crazy," Ibuki commented.
Crackle, crackle.
Meanwhile, over at Hachiman and Horikita's side, Hachiman placed a branch into the fire, making the flames burn more fiercely, the warmth from the fire making everyone feel cozy.
"I've finally been convinced."
"Yamauchi really has no sense of caution, he directly told Ibuki that our initial points have been reduced to zero."
Horikita sat down, watching Hachiman play with the campfire. She sighed helplessly, pressing her left hand against her right elbow.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Hachiman said. "Although we haven't gone through many special exams yet, I think there will definitely be some cruel exams here, like maybe they will require one student from our class to drop out."
"Doesn't this kind of thing happen in society too? They say it's because the company is underperforming, so they lay off workers."
"So, someone has to be laid off, and for us, in a special exam, there might be a situation where someone has to drop out, or maybe we'll even have to choose which student drops out," Hachiman continued.
"Isn't that terrifying?"
A female student joined Hachiman's conversation.
This was Karuizawa Kei, who had a ponytail. Her friend Sato had gone to wait in line for a shower, but she stayed here.
In fact, there were about a dozen students by the campfire, and since Ibuki was an outsider, she had accepted Kushida's help. However, she was tactful enough to know that half of Class C didn't welcome her.
So, she stayed in the corner, and Yamauchi, noticing she was alone, walked over to her.
Everyone watched Yamauchi's retreating back, but soon their attention shifted back to the topic Hachiman was discussing.
How could they possibly make everyone choose which classmate should drop out?
"Yes, it's scary, but you can't deny that such a situation could arise," Hachiman said. "It's a difficult decision."
"My dad got laid off," a student suddenly said.
This made the atmosphere a bit more somber.
At this moment, Kushida chimed in.
"Then, what if our class faces such a situation? I don't want anyone to be treated so harshly," Kushida, the little angel, said.
She showed a slightly sad and saintly expression.
Hachiman, who knew her well, understood that this expression was likely sincere.
Although Kushida was a troublemaker, she really did try to make friends with everyone and helped out with the various problems of her "friends."
So, this statement probably came from the heart.
Now, talking about the issue of choosing a student to drop out of their class—did anyone oppose it, aside from the heavy atmosphere?
For example, didn't Hirata oppose it?
Of course not, because Hirata had already gone to the shower room.
So, it was fine to discuss this sensitive topic now.
Additionally, this conversation could serve as a precautionary measure for the classmates.
Hachiman continued.
"If such a situation really happens, there are two options," Hachiman said. "One is to gather 20 million points. With 20 million, you can either move to another class or exempt one person from the dropout punishment."
"So, you can use money to save the student from being expelled."
"And 20 million seems difficult, but if you divide it among everyone, it's only 500,000 per person," Hachiman said.
"Oh."
So, each person would have to pay 500,000.
As Hachiman spoke, the group was swayed by Kushida's angelic refusal to reduce the class size, and the fear of possibly being the one to drop out, so they were reluctant to have anyone expelled.
As a result,
It became clear that unless they themselves were at risk of being expelled, they didn't want to spend 500,000.
What does 500,000 mean? It's the amount of class evaluation points they'd need to gather over 10 months of continuous efforts.
Although it was possible that the class evaluation points might increase with each special exam, improving their living expenses,
Still, 500,000!
That amount of money could be spent in the shopping district or at school.
It was equivalent to 500,000 yen in purchasing power, and they would have to spend it all in a single exam?
Even though only a dozen students were gathered around the campfire, half of them already showed signs of reluctance.
Hikigaya continued.
"But I won't choose this option," Hachiman said. "It's not easy to save up 500,000. I don't want to spend it like that."
"But don't you think it's unacceptable to just watch a classmate drop out?" Kushida, the little angel, replied.
She still had that saintly expression.
This made some students who felt they were mediocre and might be the ones to drop out feel comforted by her words.
Kushida was on their side.
But,
"What if the one who has to drop out is Yamauchi?" Hachiman said to Kushida, "If it's you, Kushida, or Hirata, I'm willing to pay 500,000, but if it's Yamauchi, I wouldn't be willing to."
"...This kind of thing..." Kushida seemed conflicted.
What Hachiman was talking about was if they were faced with an exam where someone had to drop out, he had made up his mind on who should be expelled.
But what was bothering her wasn't this point.
Because,
Hachiman's words had mentioned her name.
If it's Kushida who drops out.
If it's Kushida who drops out.
What does that mean, Hachiman? Do you want her to drop out?
Didn't she help you with the exams? And now, you're being this harsh?
Thinking about this, her heart was already wavering, but Kushida tried to maintain the outward appearance of a little angel.
"So," Hachiman said. "If this kind of exam really happens, then let's choose Yamauchi to drop out."
"After all, his current actions haven't taken our class's safety into consideration."
"We've already used up our initial points, so now we rely on the base points. If our leader's information gets leaked, the base points could also be lost," Hachiman said. "Should we continue tolerating someone who doesn't consider everyone's interests?"
"..."
"..."
Hachiman's words made the students around the campfire silent.
Normally, Hachiman's words would be divisive.
They were even somewhat cruel—how could someone directly suggest expelling a classmate?
But no one around the campfire contradicted him.
Moreover, there was one important point:
If there really was an exam where one student had to drop out, and that student was chosen, wouldn't the others be safe?
If Yamauchi dropped out, everyone else would be safe.
"So," Hachiman continued, "if this kind of exam really happens, I hope everyone here will choose to expel Yamauchi."
Yamauchi's actions right now were dangerous. While some people might have felt sorry for Ibuki, after eating and sitting down to warm themselves by the fire, listening to Hachiman's analysis, they suddenly felt the danger had increased.
What if Ibuki really was a spy, and if something happened with the base points? That would be a huge loss.
At the same time,
The responsibility for keeping Ibuki here would fall entirely on Yamauchi. If an exam requiring someone to drop out came up, Yamauchi would take the fall, and everyone else would be safe.
So Yamauchi would be the necessary sacrificial offering if such an exam came up.
If they sacrificed Yamauchi, they would be safe.
If something went wrong and it reached them, it would be troublesome.
So, expelling Yamauchi would protect both everyone else and himself. It seemed like the safest choice, right?
If they could make an agreement now, they could safely navigate any future exams that required such a decision.
Just as Hachiman was about to make an agreement with the group,
A student suddenly stood up from the campfire.
"Yam... Yamauchi... don't get too close to Ibuki."
It was Ike, who had also heard Hachiman's words, but quickly stood up and walked over to Yamauchi. He had also been sitting by the fire.
He and Yamauchi were friends, and he didn't want his friend to drop out.
However, he understood that now that their class's initial 300 points were used up, leaving Ibuki in the class was too risky.
If, if the base points really disappeared, then Yamauchi would really be expelled.
"Ike is a person who values emotions," Hachiman observed, watching Ike's back.
Because Ike could withstand the pressure from the campfire and still go over to Yamauchi to try to help him, he had really thrown himself into it.
But Hachiman didn't think Ike's actions would be useful. Even if he convinced Yamauchi, once everyone started thinking about expelling a classmate, if such an exam came up, it could really be carried out.
For self-preservation.
So Hachiman was just giving everyone a precaution.
After all, he was also looking out for himself.
If he were expelled by a joint effort from others, it would be tricky for him too.
After all, he still had plans to earn some points at this school and exchange them for cash, hoping for a stable future.
He didn't want to risk falling into ruin.
Thinking like this made him feel a bit frustrated, because Hachiman knew the reality of the class situation. If they really faced an expulsion exam, the class wouldn't care about who had contributed or who might be useful to the class when deciding who to expel.
It was probably just based on personal preferences.
Isn't that terrible?
Even the good students could be expelled. And he himself could be expelled too.
So picking a scapegoat was a way of self-preservation.
At that moment,
Some noisy voices came over.
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