Chapter 75: Yukinoshita's Turn
Just as the Class A group was planning to continue walking back, the walkie-talkie in Hikigaya's pocket suddenly rang.
"This is Yukinoshita Yukino. Students scouting around the beach just reported seeing the Class C students leave the deserted island by ship, withdrawing from this exam. However, some students noticed that bases previously occupied by Class C are still occupied, leading to the speculation that not all Class C students have withdrawn and that Class C's leader is still on the island.
If any students discover information about Class C students, please contact me immediately."
Yukinoshita's voice, mixed with static, came through the walkie-talkie. After inquiring about the status of several external groups, she asked Hikigaya's group for their news.
"Hikigaya, did you find anything on your end?"
"Yes, we saw two Class 1-B boys exploring the Tower Base, and one of them was holding a key card. It seems Class B's leader isn't Shiranami-san, but a boy named Shibata Sou."
"Is that so... Just as expected of Hikigaya-kun. You're very good at staking out and ambushing."
"Are you insulting my lack of presence?"
"Oh my—not at all. Speaking of which, it seems your self-proclaimed excellent human observation was fooled by a supposedly weak girl."
"You have some nerve to say that, considering how long you observed Class B yourself," Hikigaya couldn't help but retort.
"Um... Yukinoshita-san, everyone is listening..."
Just as Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were bickering, a very polite voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie.
That's right, everyone was seriously listening now, waiting for Yukinoshita to assign tasks. A few seconds after being pointed out by a classmate, static came through the walkie-talkie again.
"...In any case, if any students discover anything suspicious, please contact me as soon as possible."
Yukinoshita finally managed to say a sentence after a long pause, and then the communication was cut off.
Hikigaya, putting the walkie-talkie away, looked up to find Morishita staring intently at him, and Hashimoto giving him a meaningful look.
'Ah... I feel like I've just created a super embarrassing dark history.'
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.
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As Hikigaya's group was nearing the Class A base camp, they ran into Katsuragi and the others who were out occupying bases.
"Oh? Katsuragi-kun, Kamuro-san, and Kito and Totsuka. What a coincidence," Hashimoto vigorously waved at Katsuragi's group.
Hearing Hashimoto's greeting, Katsuragi and the others, busy heading to the next base, only turned their heads and nodded slightly. They didn't stop, hurriedly leaving through the forest fork to the front-left of Hikigaya's group.
"Wow, being a leader must be tough, running all over the deserted island every day to occupy bases..." Hashimoto sighed with an odd tone, then suddenly turned to Hikigaya and asked: "Hikigaya, why does Class A have three key cards? Katsuragi's group of three or four people moving together makes it easy for other classes to discover their traces, right?"
"...That was Yukinoshita's arrangement. I'm not sure," Hikigaya lightly shook his head.
"I see..." Hashimoto lowered his head thoughtfully, not saying anything more.
Not long after, Hikigaya's group returned to the Class A base camp, only to find several students from other classes standing outside the cave entrance, peeking in.
Leading the group was a slightly sleazy-looking boy with glasses and a mushroom haircut. Behind him were a boy with an honest face, a girl with short blue hair, and a tall, burly Black man.
'Hold on, is that Black guy who looks like a mini-Titan actually a student too?'
"You must be Class C students. Is there something you need at our Class A base?" Hashimoto immediately stepped forward and asked.
"I am Kaneda Satoru of Class 1-C. We are here to scout the situation," Kaneda pushed up his glasses, looking at the cave entrance covered with a plastic sheet, and said calmly: "I just want to look inside. Is there a problem?"
"This is the base that Class A occupies. I wouldn't recommend you rashly break in," Hashimoto said with a smile.
"Oh? So this is Class A's base? But I remember there was no rule in the exam preventing entry into the cave, was there? While the cave base is unusable for us after you occupy it, that's not the same as a right to exclusive occupation. Logically speaking, we should have the right to look inside or confirm the device, shouldn't we? Otherwise, you could forcibly monopolize all bases, not letting us see the occupation devices... The exam wouldn't be possible that way, would it?"
Saying this, Kaneda reached out to lift the curtain covering the cave entrance. Ibuki, who was standing behind him, pulled out a camera from her pocket, apparently intending to record the situation inside the cave.
"What is all this senseless noise?"
Just as Kaneda and the others were about to force their way in, a cold, clear voice arrived.
Seemingly having heard the commotion outside, a displeased Yukinoshita walked out of the cave, looking at Kaneda with her dark blue eyes: "You're Kaneda-kun, right?"
"Oh? And you are?"
"I am Yukinoshita Yukino of Class 1-A. Our Class A students' private belongings are kept inside the cave. I'm afraid a visit right now is inconvenient... Kaneda-kun, it seems your classmates have all withdrawn from the exam. Why are you still here scouting?"
"Ha, although Ryuen-kun and the others have withdrawn, as long as someone from our Class C remains on the island, we can still participate in the leader guessing at the end of the exam. We are merely checking on Class A's exam situation."
"Aren't you worried about exposing Class C's leader by acting so conspicuously?" an observing Class A boy couldn't help but ask.
"Ha, so many of our Class C students have withdrawn that our Material Points have long since dropped to zero. Even if you guess our leader correctly, the most we'll lose is some base occupation points. But if we can discover your leader, we stand to gain a lot," Kaneda chuckled.
Indeed, as Kaneda said, Class C was currently in a situation where they had nothing to lose, and the risk of exposure for the leaders of Class A and Class C was completely different. Class C hadn't occupied many bases, while Class A, led by Katsuragi's group, was traveling back and forth between multiple bases twice a day. It was possible that the points Class C gained from base occupation weren't even a fraction of Class A's total.
"Is that so... Then feel free to try to look inside. However... Hmm?"
Yukinoshita looked sharply at the Class C students. While speaking in a frigid tone, she scanned the surroundings.
Just then, Yukinoshita suddenly saw Hikigaya standing nearby, quietly watching the show. As if she thought of something interesting, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. She motioned for Hikigaya to stand at the cave entrance: "Hikigaya, come over here for a moment."
Hikigaya walked to Yukinoshita's side with some confusion, just about to ask a question, when she lightly patted Hikigaya's shoulder and gave him a slight smile: "Then, I'll trouble you to be responsible for blocking the Class C students..."
'Hey, hey, hey, what nonsense are you spouting, Yukinoshita? Are you serious about having me stop them alone?'
"Are you kidding me? You don't actually think this guy with dead fish eyes can stop us, do you?" The blue-haired girl, Ibuki, looked at Hikigaya disdainfully and frowned, apparently feeling slighted.
"I certainly don't expect this guy to stop you, but if you truly intend to force your way in, please be prepared for the consequences.
The moment any of your fingers touches this man, I will file a complaint with the school regarding violence against a student and interference with another class's exam. If Class C is disqualified from the exam, you will have brought it entirely upon yourselves," Yukinoshita showed no sign of fear, coldly watching the Class C group as if they were fleas.
Her calm and weighty words caused Kaneda and the others, who had no rebuttal, to stop in their tracks.
Understanding Yukinoshita's intention, Hikigaya suddenly bent down, rolled up his pant leg, exposing the wound wrapped in gauze, and then plopped down onto the ground.
In a monotone voice, with no fluctuation in his tone, he said: "Ah! I was pushed and injured by Kaneda-kun from Class C."
"Is that so? The wound looks quite serious," Yukinoshita glanced at Hikigaya's wound, which had a few red stains, then gave the Class C group a cold, beautifully cruel smile.
Meeting Yukinoshita's gaze, Ibuki took a step back, looking back at Yukinoshita with a look mixed with fear and hostility.
"...Let's go," Seeing Hikigaya and Yukinoshita working in tandem and knowing that a forced entry was impossible, Kaneda looked intently at the two of them, then sheepishly led the Class C group away.
"Hashimoto-kun, please bring over a table and chair set," After seeing the Class C students leave, Yukinoshita suddenly turned to Hashimoto and said.
"Understood." Hashimoto nodded lightly, walked inside the cave, and then, as Yukinoshita requested, brought out a folding table and chair, placing them at the entrance of the cave.
"Hikigaya, all you have to do is sit here. I'm leaving it to you," Yukinoshita glanced at Hikigaya, who slowly stood up, dropped this instruction, and then turned and walked into the cave.
"..."
'Seriously? Just sitting is all I have to do? This is the ideal job! I must make good use of this experience and find a similar job in the future.'
Hikigaya slightly adjusted the position of the table and chair to avoid blocking the path for Class A students entering the cave. Just as Hikigaya was sitting and spacing out, he heard a
familiar sound of footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw Yukinoshita walking out again, carrying a first-aid kit in her hands.
Yukinoshita gently placed it on the table in front of Hikigaya, then softly asked: "The gauze on your wound needs changing. Can you take care of it yourself?"
"Ah, yeah... Thanks."
Hikigaya took out the gauze from the first-aid kit, but noticed Yukinoshita was still silently standing there, showing no intention of leaving.
"...Is there anything else?"
"I just wanted to breathe some fresh air outside," Yukinoshita took a deep breath, yawned like a kitten, and then stretched her arms wide.
"I get it. The cave is a bit confined and stuffy. It's easy to feel drowsy," Hikigaya nodded in agreement.
The cave was filled with various supplies, as well as tents and students' personal luggage. The sheer number of items made the air feel heavy.
While Hikigaya was changing the gauze on his wound, Yukinoshita had been gazing at the direction the Class C students left.
After pondering for a moment, she suddenly asked:
"Hikigaya, what's your take on Class C's actions just now?"
"...The Zero-Point Operation, I guess. Class C's Material Points have already dropped to zero due to student withdrawal. This deserted island exam won't have a negative impact on them, so conversely, Class C, which no longer needs to worry about point deductions, can adopt some less conventional methods."
"Is that so? While that's an unexpected approach, it won't yield good results. Class D has already withdrawn from the exam. Even if they successfully guess the leaders of Class A and Class B, they can only gain a maximum of one hundred points. Furthermore..."
Saying this, Yukinoshita gave a confident smile: "Class A's leader isn't that easy to discover."
"...One more thing, Hikigaya. You went out exploring with Hashimoto-kun today. Did he take any specific actions?" As if remembering something, Yukinoshita turned to Hikigaya.
"Hmm?" Hikigaya looked at Yukinoshita with some surprise. Judging by what Yukinoshita said, she seemed to have already noticed Hashimoto's unusual behavior.
Seeing Hikigaya's surprise, Yukinoshita lightly brushed the black hair on her shoulder and explained: "Hashimoto-kun seems to have been looking for Class A's leader these past few days. He's come to me several times, saying he wants to contribute to Class A and wants to
work with Katsuragi-kun to provide cover for the three key card holders. Furthermore, from what I've observed, when Hashimoto-kun chats with classmates, he often subtly guides them to discuss the matter of the leader."
"I see..." Hikigaya nodded knowingly, then honestly replied: "Well, on the way back, Hashimoto-kun said he left his flashlight at the tower and went back for it."
Yukinoshita briefly said "Is that so?" then took out her notebook and recorded the information.
"So, what are you planning to do?" Hikigaya asked with some curiosity.
"Only you and I know the identity of Class A's true leader. As long as we don't say anything, and as long as there are no issues on Katsuragi-kun's side, there is almost no possibility of Class A's leader being exposed.
Moreover, as of now, Hashimoto-kun's actions haven't caused any harm to Class A. I intend to wait and observe for a bit longer."
"What if Hashimoto-kun really intends to betray Class A's interests?" Hikigaya asked curiously.
"Then, of course, I will pursue it to the end. Don't let my appearance fool you; I'm the type who holds a grudge."
'No, just one look is enough to tell you're the type who holds a grudge.'
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