Beep!
[A CLASS. Ti Remaining: 7 hours, 59 minutes.]
A crisp electronic chi rang out within the forest. Yamamura Miki confird the occupation success prompt that had flashed onto the machine's screen, then let out a sigh of relief and raised a hand to wipe away the fine beads of sweat seeping from her temples.
The continuous rushing about had brought a post-exercise flush to her fair cheeks.
"The sixth base point should now be successfully occupied." Having spoken, she observed the machine, thoroughly encircled by layers of vegetation, and turned her head toward Fuyuji Mikage. "How did Fuyuji-kun know there would be a base point here?"
Fuyuji answered without a change in expression. "That—Kito Hayato discovered it unintentionally when he was scouting this area earlier."
"I see..."
Catching a glimpse of Miki's weary expression, Fuyuji decisively abandoned any further thoughts of continued exploration. Today's level of physical exertion was already nearing the limit for Yamamura, whose physical stamina was not particularly good. Pushing any further might actually prove counterproductive.
"Morishita, ti to head ba—" Fuyuji swept his gaze left and right, and then his movents abruptly froze. With a strained expression, struggling to keep a straight face, he locked his eyes onto that small rear.
"Shh—"
Morishita Ai had her back facing Fuyuji. In an exceptionally unladylike posture, utterly devoid of any maidenly grace, she was sprawled flat upon the earth. Her small, adorably rounded bottom swayed gently and unconsciously from side to side in rhythm with her focused, intent observation.
"This species of pseudo-ground beetle is an extrely rare classification. Please wait just a mont."
"I say, Miss Morishita, could you possibly possess even a modicum of a girl's sense of modesty?" Fuyuji covered his own face with his hand. That small bottom, sticking up and bouncing along, always gave him an irrepressible urge to just smack it with the flat of his palm.
Morishita finally deigned to lift her head from the ground. Turning her face to the side, she cast a sidelong glance at Fuyuji with an expression that said, "Just as I thought." "Staring so fixedly at my butt without even blinking—Fuyuji Mikage truly is a super perverted, ultimate lecherous wolf after all."
"Rest assured. No one will see. This is, after all, an uninhabited deserted island." Morishita reached out and poked the insect on the ground, causing its originally slow, crawling pace to quicken considerably.
Am I not a person? Am I seriously not a person?
"Aren't you afraid a snake might suddenly dart out from right beside you?" Fuyuji spoke in a somber, drawn-out voice.
The gently swaying little bottom instantly froze. Morishita braced both hands against the ground, climbed up with a perfectly expressionless face, and dusted the dirt from her clothes as if nothing whatsoever had happened. "What is there to be afraid of with sothing like a snake? Only Fuyuji Mikage is scared of snakes."
What a devastatingly effective move of framing and bla-shifting!
"And just which certain soone was it who got scared by a dead snake a mont ago?"
"A snake?" Morishita blinked her eyes. Her small hand reached out and touched Fuyuji's forehead. "Fuyuji Mikage, could it be that you've grown so hungry you're hallucinating? Where was there any snake just now? Didn't we make our way here smoothly and without incident the entire ti?"
This person actually possessed the ability to fabricate nonexistent mories and engage in self-deception!
Having spoken, Morishita let out a helpless sigh and began walking on her own toward the direction of the campsite. "You must be faint with hunger. Let's go. It's about ti for dinner. We should be heading back now."
"..."
Fuyuji and Yamamura exchanged a glance. Shaking their heads, they shared a helpless, unspoken agreent, then lifted their feet and followed behind Morishita's unperturbed, nonchalant strides.
By now, the moon had climbed above the treetops. The night sky was alight with scattered, twinkling stars.
Roughly ten minutes later, Fuyuji's trio arrived at their loyal Class A campsite.
Gazing into the distance, in a clearing a short way from the cave entrance, a simple campfire, piled high with stones and gravel, was crackling and burning. The firelight illuminated the surrounding environnt with a bright, vivid glow. Several Class A students sat gathered around the fire, leisurely chatting away.
About ten ters away from the campfire, Katsuragi Kohei had gathered a few students, including Totsuka Yahiko, and was piling up the charcoal produced from the fire. Several thick tree branches were set above as a makeshift grilling rack. From the looks of it, they were preparing to do barbecue.
Katsuragi spotted the returning trio and set down the corn he was currently roasting. "Welco back. Good work. Did everything go smoothly? If you're hungry, just wait a little longer and dinner will be ready. If you want to bathe, you can go to the small wooden hut over by the cliff. If you prefer a hot bath, our current hot water reserves are also more than sufficient."
"..."
Fuyuji's trio subconsciously retreated a step. Their mouths twitched as they stared at the househusband version of bald-headed Katsuragi.
Although they had long known that Katsuragi had taken care of his little sister at ho by himself since middle school and was skilled in household chores, such an intense sense of dissonance still instantly dealt the three of them an indescribable... psychological impact.
"No rush on that. Let's rest for a bit first." Fuyuji gave two dry laughs and politely declined Katsuragi's kind offer.
"If you need anything, call for at any ti." Having failed to receive an affirmative response, Katsuragi nodded slightly and returned to the barbecue rack with a faint trace of disappointnt, continuing the work in his hands.
"The camp's been set up pretty well..." Fuyuji stretched his muscles, stiff from the prolonged walking, as he surveyed the camp's arrangents.
A little further off, in the direction near the cliff, a faint wisp of smoke could be seen drifting upward. Two students stood guard there. Faint traces of steam wafted from the simple, makeshift containers atop the stove. Students who had finished bathing were climbing back up, one after another, from the small wooden hut behind the cliff.
Entering the cave, the interior had already been decorated quite presentably by the Class A students. Along both sides were resting areas covered with leaves, sanitary supplies, and plastic sheeting to enhance sleeping comfort. Males and females were separated by the central walkway. At the far end of the walkway was a communal area where supplies and tools were stored.
However, precisely because of this, all sources of fire were strictly prohibited from approaching the cave. A student had even been specially assigned to stand guard at the entrance and conduct checks. Cooking over fire, food chopping and preparation, and similar tasks were all done outside the cave. The tools would be moved back inside at night.
...
The night deepened. The orange-red flas leaped and danced among the firewood, producing dense, crackling pops and snaps. The dried branches burst and split apart under the intense heat, occasionally spraying fine, golden sparks.
In the clearing not far from the cave, aside from a small handful of students left to stand watch, the entire Class A student body, without a single absence, sat gathered in a great circle beside the campfire, tasting today's special deserted island dinner.
The Class A students pressed their palms together in unison and spoke in one voice, with neither sorrow nor joy.
"Itadakimasu..."
Roasted corn. Compressed biscuits. Plain boiled water. And so foraged, edible fruits... At a single glance, an overwhelming sense of barren poverty rushed forth to et the eye.
Fuyuji let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Our great Class A... to have fallen to such a state..."
Ever since enrolling in the Advanced Nurturing High School, he, Fuyuji Mikage, had never suffered hardship like this. Even though he had carried so hard, he was still stuck here gnawing on corn. Who could he even complain to for justice?
Morishita snatched the compressed biscuit in front of Fuyuji and grabbed her own piece as well. After a series of hard, clanging thuds, she stared at the perfectly intact compressed biscuit in her hand and turned and confronted Fuyuji with a pointed question. "Why did you prepare this kind of thing?! Are you seriously not afraid of chipping my teeth?!"
"Wasn't I thinking about how they're small in volu, easy to carry, and just one piece can satisfy the body's daily nutritional requirents?" Fuyuji pressed a hand to his forehead and directed a self-complaint at his past self from a few days ago. "If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have bought this kind of highly compressed type. Who could have imagined we could haul the entire bag of supplies back with a single jet ski?"
"Ma ma, at least these things guarantee we're nutritionally sated, right? Fuyuji-san was already incredible just to co up with that thod." Hashimoto Masayoshi was the first to jump out and flatter his leader.
"Our situation is already far, far better than the other classes." Matoba Shinji tore open the packaging and bit off a chunk with a crisp crunch, finding joy amidst hardship. "At the very least, we can guarantee three als a day. If the other classes want to save points, they can only manage two als a day."
"Now that you ntion it, that's true." The Class A students' appetites suddenly improved by several degrees.
"Ahem!" Katsuragi loosely balled his fist and gave two heavy, emphatic coughs. After drawing the attention of the entire class, he imparted the wisdom born of his personal experience. "Classmates—when consuming food that is difficult to swallow, after shoving a large mouthful of the food in, your teeth must chew rapidly. But take note: at this mont, do not let your tongue move about recklessly, lest it touch the taste buds above. Once they have been thoroughly pulverized, pair that with a drink of water, and you can fill your stomach in one breath."
All the students present fell into silence. Katsuragi—what exactly had you experienced before coming to the Advanced Nurturing High School?
"It's not that exaggerated. Truthfully, these aren't that bad." Fuyuji gnawed on his corn cob and rendered his assessnt of the compressed biscuits. "At least they taste better than the school's mountain vegetable set al. And if you don't like them, isn't there also corn?"
Just then, from sowhere unknown within the crowd, a single, utterly atmosphere-killing remark suddenly floated out. "Putting it that way... doesn't that an those Class D guys, who frequently eat the mountain vegetable set al, are actually living quite comfortably? As I recall, the cheapest set al in the guidebook is also compressed biscuits, right?"
The Class A students, who had just monts ago been carrying a trace of schadenfreude, suddenly found that the corn in their mouths no longer tasted fragrant at all. So Class D had actually developed antibodies to this?!
Because the first day had been spent setting up camp, scouting base points, and also searching for supplies, after hastily finishing dinner, the ti was still not even nine o'clock before the entire class had already lain down to rest.
The girls were given priority use of the limited few tents, set up on the relatively more comfortable side of the cave interior. The boys lay scattered across the various parts of the cave, each adopting whatever posture was most comfortable for themselves.
With a soft click, the few lanterns redeed with points were switched off. The interior of the cave was plunged into complete darkness.
The cave that had felt refreshingly cool during the day—once forty people suddenly moved in for the night, all manner of strange, exotic odors, intermingled with the exhaled carbon dioxide, blended together, causing the air inside the cave to suddenly turn thick and turbid.
Fuyuji opened his eyes and gazed at the pitch-black expanse above. He couldn't make out the faces of those around him. All he could vaguely discern was that there were human silhouettes there. The breeze blowing in from the cave entrance made him feel a few degrees more comfortable. The calls of nightingales and crickets resounded ceaselessly outside, yet within the cave, there was only utter silence.
He turned over. The pillow, made from a plastic bag wrapped around leaves, rustled and crinkled. Imdiately after, the sound of rustling and crinkling rose continuously from every direction within the cave.
At last, Fuyuji could hold it in no longer. Facing the deep, profound darkness of the cave, he voiced his question. "What do you all think—back then, if Uesugi Kenshin hadn't fought Takeda Shingen at the Battle of Kawanakajima, would he have had a chance to contend for supremacy over the realm?"
"Probably not. How would he have broken Oda Nobunaga's three-line volley fire tactic later on?" The words had barely settled before the class's outstanding academic talent, Matoba, imdiately offered his own insight.
"I actually think it might have been possible. After all, that prolonged war of attrition drained a massive amount of national strength from both sides." A gentle voice drifted over. It was Sanada Kosei's voice.
"If I were the one leading the campaign, there'd definitely be a chance." Yet another student joined in the discussion.
"Oh? And what brilliant insight do you have? I, for one, think Takeda Shingen's advantage was greater." Another voice rang out in the darkness.
"I'd first do this, then do that, and in the end, wouldn't the realm be mine?"
"No, no, no. Your plan couldn't possibly succeed. The situation at that ti was..."
...
Very quickly, under Fuyuji's leadership, the topic veered from the storms and clouds of the Warring States era straight into European history, then swerved from ancient warfare right into modern politics...
"Are Japan's politicians all useless trash? They can't even handle this kind of problem properly."
"Yes. After all, all they know how to do is say 'sumimasen'..."
"If it were , I'd definitely do this..."
"Oh, oh! Naruhodo~ As expected of you, Fuyuji-san."
Another five minutes later.
The entire body of Class A boys roared in unison. "Fuyuji-san! With just one command from you, we shall unanimously elect you as the new Pri Minister of Japan!"
Fuyuji: "Don't want to. No way I'm becoming that kind of trash. But I think Hashimoto is actually quite suited for it."
Hashimoto: "Oi, oi. How did this suddenly get dragged onto ? And Fuyuji-san, in what way am I suited to be the Pri Minister of Japan?"
Fuyuji: "Look—isn't Hashimoto the kind of guy who, at a single glance, you can tell is exceptionally skilled at saying 'sumimasen'? If he went up there, he'd be perfectly suited to apologize. Probably really good at dogeza too."
The entire body of Class A boys: "Oh, oh! That is indeed the case! Then let us unanimously elect Hashimoto Masayoshi as the new Pri Minister of Japan!"
Just as the Class A boys were discussing with fiery, heated passion, a somber, ghostly female voice drifted over from the other side of the cave. "I said—have you all said enough yet?!"
Gak!
The clamorous noise within the cave halted like a duck seized by the throat. It was Kamuro Masumi.
"Fufu~ Don't be like that, Kamuro-san. I think everything they're saying is quite interesting, actually."
"What next, what next? Fuyuji Mikage, after becoming Pri Minister, how would you solve Japan's bear problem?" The curious baby, Morishita, posed her question.
"Well, that..." Fuyuji straightened his expression. "Naturally, I would call upon those with aspiration to step forward and valiantly wrestle them in combat. That Tarzan of the Apes from today—I reckon he could beat a bear to death with his bare hands."
The entire cave fell silent for a brief mont, then let out a unified, resounding "Tch~"
They chatted for nearly another full hour. Everyone had sunk into a state where they wanted to sleep, yet simply couldn't.
"What ti is it now?"
"Not even ten-thirty."
"No wonder I can't fall asleep. Normally at this hour, I'd probably still be in my dorm reading."
"So it turns out that without anything to kill ti, it can be this boring?"
"Let's play sothing else? We don't have much to do tomorrow anyway. We can sleep in a little later."
"Play what?"
"ntal arithtic gas?"
"Word chain?"
"Bingo?"
"Wait!" Fuyuji suddenly propped up his upper body in the darkness. His voice filled with shock and uncertainty, he exclaid. "I seem to recall... back when we were preparing the supplies, I secretly stuffed a few decks of playing cards in there."
"..."
The entire cave sank into a deathly, absolute silence. The very next second, every single student spoke in perfect, raging unison.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
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