Ibuki Mio reflexively glanced at her watch—the hands were steady at 6:30 PM. By her count, this was already her fifth day on the deserted island. She scanned her surroundings inconspicuously, her gaze eventually landing on a female classmate nearby. Although the other girl pretended to be idle, her eyes kept drifting toward Ibuki.
'These people are watching way too closely.'
Ibuki sighed inwardly. It wasn't just the evenings; even at night in the tent, or if she wanted to go to the bathroom at dawn, soone would "happily" wake up and say, "Oh, I need to go too, let's go together," insisting on sticking to her like glue. They were simply afraid she would pull so small stunt.
Even more frustrating was her luck with tent assignnts—she wasn't put with Shiina Hiyori. It was obvious soone worried they would collude in private and intentionally split them up.
'Honestly, Shiina Hiyori doesn't even know Ryuen's plan!'
Ibuki felt a mix of anger and amusent. When Ryuen Kakeru masterminded this, he only consulted her and Kaneda Satoru in private; he never ntioned a word to Hiyori.
These people were being overly cautious by guarding Hiyori as well. Besides, according to Ryuen's "script" on the first day, he only expected himself to jump out and challenge the class; he hadn't calculated that Hiyori would suddenly take a side—she was an unplanned variable.
Whether that was true or not, Ibuki couldn't say for sure; she only rembered Ryuen telling her that. Given Hiyori's personality, Ryuen never expected her to infiltrate Class B or D to gather leader intel.
To avoid suspicion, Ibuki had no choice but to let her friend tag along.
The subsequent events had gone smoothly enough: on the second day, everyone from Class C except Ryuen and the three of them withdrew to the ship. Ibuki had taken the opportunity to ask Hiyori—since they were "forced" to stay and had to seek shelter with another class, where would she want to go? There were only two choices: Class B or Class D. Ibuki had worried that if Hiyori chose Class A, she wouldn't know how to explain it. Luckily, Hiyori chose Class D, saving her a lot of trouble.
Then, Ibuki made an excuse to leave temporarily to hide her transceiver and flashlight. Hiyori cooperated obediently without asking a single question. On the way to Class D, they ran into Yamauchi from Class D, who proactively offered to bring them back to their camp.
Everything was going much better than expected.
Just as Ryuen predicted, Class D—led by Kushida Kikyo—kindly took them in. However, that "kindness" hid a level of vigilance far beyond her expectations.
Every ti she looked for a chance to act alone, she would "coincidentally" run into a female classmate. Especially Horikita Suzune, who watched her with sharp eyes like a hawk, practically carving the words "I suspect you're a spy" onto her face.
Ibuki Mio wasn't reckless enough to get caught easily, but she was getting anxious. After tonight, tomorrow was the last day of the exam. If she didn't move now, there would be no more chances. Initially, she planned to steal a girl's underwear and plant it in a boy's tent to create chaos as a distraction. But now, she didn't even have a gap of ti to herself.
As Ibuki was racking her brain, her watch chid—it was exactly 7:00 PM.
"Dinner ti!"
"Great! We get to eat the roast at Shimizu-kun brought back again tonight!"
The tents beca lively as the girls stood up. Ibuki followed; per the agreent, she had to stay within sight during collective activities. As she walked toward the central campfire, her eyes scanned the camp. Nearby, a simple stove had been set up where Hirata Yosuke and a few boys were grilling at, the aroma drifting far on the wind.
Just as Ibuki was about to make an excuse to slip away, a familiar voice ca from behind: "Ibuki-san, want to go grab so plastic bags for trash? They can also be used as disposable gloves."
She turned to see Kushida Kikyo, a perfect, gentle smile on her face. Ibuki was secretly delighted but kept a cold expression: "Fine."
This was a godsend. Just as they reached the temporary toilets, a commotion broke out. A boy tending the fire had accidentally let sparks fly onto so branches. Though the fire was put out quickly, people crowded around to check, and even Hirata ran over to help.
Ibuki was about to speak when Kushida looked over with concern and said, "Ibuki-san, go ahead and get the bags yourself. I'll go check on things over there to make sure no embers are left."
Before Ibuki could react, Kushida hurried toward the noise. Ibuki's heart hamred—this was her first chance to act alone since arriving at Class D! She didn't hesitate. She sprinted toward the Class D tent area.
The "tent area" was also where Class D stored their luggage. For convenience, everyone left their bags right outside their tents. As Ibuki approached, she spotted Wang i-yu squatting in front of the girls' tent, holding a keycard.
'Is that the keycard?'
Her original plan was a distraction, but stumbling upon the card directly saved her effort.
'So, the leader of Class D is Wang i-yu?'
She was almost certain, but then she suppressed the impulse. Ryuen had warned her: the card itself isn't proof. Soone holding it doesn't an they are the leader. Ryuen had shown her a real leader card; it would have the leader's na on it. She had to confirm the text on the card.
Using her martial arts training to suppress her breathing, Ibuki hid behind a tent like a shadow. After a minute, she saw i-yu put the card into a duffel bag and walk away. Ibuki exhaled. Ryuen's instructions flashed in her mind: First, confirm the card info. Second, take a photo with the digital cara. Third, get the photo to Katsuragi in Class A.
With no one around and her own bag containing the cara right there, she decided to finish it now. But before she could reach for it, a voice rang out coldly behind her:
"Ibuki-san, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Ibuki froze. Her heart sank as she turned around slowly. Horikita Suzune was standing there, arms crossed, her beautiful face expressionless and her eyes cold.
'Crap! Caught red-handed?'
Thoughts raced through her mind: being caught alone in the tent area during dinner looking through bags looked incredibly suspicious. Especially since she promised not to act alone.
"Seeing the keycard, your first reaction was to search your own luggage?" Horikita spoke first. "Even though the transceiver isn't in your bag! What are you doing?"
Ibuki glared at her, stunned.
"You... you went through my bag?!"
How else would she know the transceiver wasn't there?
"Search your luggage? I didn't need to do that," Horikita replied coldly.
"I found the transceiver on the path you took to get here—a plastic bag with a transceiver and a flashlight, right?"
"You..." Horikita not only knew about her buried stash but described it perfectly. Ibuki thought it was well-hidden.
"Searching my things! Aren't you afraid the school will disqualify you?!" Ibuki blurted out in anger.
"The school needs evidence of a search to disqualify . How can they judge without proof? Ridiculous!" Horikita's voice remained calm as she confird her suspicion.
"So, you admit it? That transceiver and flashlight belong to you. You claim Ryuen threw you out, yet you hid communication equipnt—you're a spy for Class C, aren't you?"
Horikita saw Ibuki trying to formulate a defense and laid out all the evidence: "I asked the girls and Yamauchi-kun who saw you that first night. Your fingernails were full of dirt, and your
knees were dusty. Plus, there was a handkerchief tied to a tree as a marker and signs of disturbed earth on the path. Do you think I'm an idiot? With so many clues, how could I not find it?"
"You... you jerk!" Ibuki's lip twitched.
Her plan had been so smooth in her head—get the card info, snap the photo, escape to Ryuen, and finish the task. She had even fantasized about encountering Horikita on her way out, leading her into the woods, showing her the cara to mock her, and maybe even beating her up in the rain.
But now? She was caught, she hadn't confird the leader, and her cover was blown! And she only tied the marker to the tree because she wasn't a survival expert; without it, she would have lost her burial spot.
"So, the person you were going to contact is Ryuen Kakeru, right?" Horikita's gaze locked onto her.
"He's hiding in this forest. Normally, once you saw the leader's na, you'd just go find him. Why go to your luggage first?"
Horikita paused, testing another theory.
"Your first reaction to the keycard was to check your own bag, not the one containing the card. If I'm not mistaken, the deal between Class C and Class A is more than just supplies. You're sharing leader info. And in your bag, you have sothing to record the card's identity—like a cara. It's for Katsuragi Kohei, isn't it? Rumor has it he is a very cautious man."
"You! ...How... is that possible!" Ibuki's voice trembled. Her eyes were wide with shock.
'Does this woman have an 'All-Seeing Eye'?'
She guessed Ryuen was the fourth person, she knew about the A-C alliance, and she even guessed the exact core of the deal and the existence of the digital cara! Was this all just deduction?
Was Horikita always this smart? No, this wasn't just "smart"—this level of insight was reaching the level of Ryuen or Shiina Hiyori! From the dirt under her nails to the handkerchief on the tree to the specific trade with Katsuragi...
Ibuki recalled eting her at the start of school—Horikita was just a cold, grumpy loner. How did she beco this sharp in four months? She felt like she had missed a class everyone else took.
Why did only Horikita improve this much?!
Now that everything was laid bare, Ibuki knew words were useless. She scanned the area, confirming no one else was in the tent zone. The panic faded, replaced by cold aggression. If
she couldn't outsmart this woman, she would use the most direct thod. She had trained in martial arts for years; she could surely take down one Horikita Suzune.
But before she could clench her fists, Horikita spoke as if reading her mind: "You don't actually think that by beating , you can just take the card and leave, do you?"
Ibuki froze. Horikita took half a step forward, her words hitting every nerve: "Setting aside whether you can beat , Chabashira-sensei and the other students are nearby. Do you think the staff and students will just watch you break the rules and use violence? Besides... did you really think I ca here alone?"
Just then, a series of footsteps echoed. Several Class D students erged from the shadows.
And Shiina Hiyori was standing among them.
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