We discussed the deal Ryūen-kun offered us in a place where he couldn't hear us.
We didn't all gather. We limited the number of participants by having people who wanted to join the discussion raise their hands. Too many people would make it difficult to progress. Only those who could keep up with my previous exchange with Ryūen-kun were here.
"So you said you wanted to accept the deal. Do you have a convincing reason?"
Yukimura-kun was the first to speak. The members were me, Horikita-san, Yōsuke-kun, and Yukimura-kun. It seemed that Yukimura-kun was against it, I was for it, and Horikita-san and Yōsuke-kun were on the fence. It's good to have dissenting opinions so we don't overlook anything.
"The reason I want to accept it is what I just said. While I was walking, I roughly jotted down the points needed to get through this exam... and Ryūen-kun seems to understand that well. It's the perfect price."
I showed them the rough estimate I had written on a piece of paper.
Food, drinking water... 6 points per meal (10 points for a set)Temporary toilet... 20 pointsShower room... 20 pointsTents for boys... 10 points for twoOther miscellaneous expenses... 30 points
"If we have two meals a day, it's 152 points, excluding drinking water. If we buy drinking water, it's exactly 200 points. Ryūen-kun, who came up with this plan in such a short time and calculated the points needed to get through the week without problems, is undoubtedly a sharp guy."
"Isn't the assumption that we'll use 200 points too lenient in the first place? If we can endure not using the toilet and shower and drink the river water, it should only cost 112 points."
Yukimura-kun, the representative of the frugal faction, said this. He couldn't accept paying such a large amount of private points when we could get by with a small amount.
"That plan would definitely fail, Yukimura-kun. We just agreed that Shinohara-san and the others could endure drinking the river water, but if we don't provide them with the toilets and shower rooms they wanted, they'll become frustrated, just as Saitō-kun said earlier. If they get sick from the stress or the cold river water, that 40-point difference will be for nothing."
Horikita-san responded to him. Her logic was perfect, and her words had a lot of weight since she was the one who stopped the argument. With her saying that, Yukimura-kun wouldn't be able to strongly object.
"...Okay. I won't say anything more about the points we'll use. But the fact that we're dealing with the notorious Ryūen is also a problem. What's his goal? ...He's giving up on the class struggle himself."
"You can't say he's giving up, Yukimura-kun. As I said earlier, if we proceed with the exam as it is, no matter how hard we try, we'll get about 150 points at most. And that's with the possibility of conflict occurring within the class. In that case, getting 200 points worth of points with no risk isn't a bad decision, is it?"
There were two big reasons why I was so positive about the deal. The first was the great benefit of being able to save points, which I had just explained to Yukimura-kun. And the second was a huge personal benefit for me. It was the ability to pin down Ryūen-kun's movements. The person whose movements were the most unpredictable and who we should be most wary of came to us. All we have to do now is accept this contract and confirm if my prediction is correct.
Just as I was thinking that, Yōsuke-kun, who had been quietly contemplating until now, mumbled.
"I'm in favor of the deal with Ryūen-kun. But I don't think things will proceed exactly as we've assumed. We need to have a plan for that."
"I've already thought about that. I don't have much time, so I'll explain it while writing a memo... First, in order to make this contract, we need to set some conditions. Conditions to make sure Ryūen-kun can't do whatever he wants."
With that preamble, I explained while running my pen across the paper. It's quite difficult.
"First, we can decide on all the supplies we'll buy with the 200 points. That's a prerequisite. And if there's any damage when the supplies are returned to the school, Class C will bear the penalty. For example, if Ryūen-kun gives us a tattered tent and then retires. And later, he says, 'The supplies are tattered? I don't know anything about that. You guys must have broken them while you were carrying them.' We can't have that, can we?"
"...You come up with these things so easily. Honestly, you're a little scary."
Despite Yukimura-kun's rude comment, Hirata-kun and Horikita-san were nodding in agreement. Hey, that's mean, isn't it? Maybe my example was bad... But Ryūen-kun would totally destroy the supplies we specified. This is just insurance to make sure we get proper supplies. Don't be so disgusted, I'll get sulky.
"It's just an example. Next, we'll make the points we pay in this contract 100 CPs. To put it simply, we'll haggle. They're just giving us supplies they can't use up, so there's no need to pay the full amount."
"...Isn't that a bit too much?"
"Well, well, I'll do the negotiating, so just watch."
If Ryūen-kun's aim is what I think it is, he won't be too particular about the price.
---------
"So, those are the conditions we're looking for."
And time returned, and I was once again facing Ryūen-kun. The smile on his face disappeared when he heard the conditions. He must have judged that I wasn't an easy opponent to deal with.
"...That's out of the question. I can really take this deal to another class, you know?"
"If that happens, I'll go to both Class A and Class B and tell them the conditions we came up with. The top two conditions are just for insurance. As for the last one, we're buying the points you're left with because you're retiring. Why would we need to pay the full amount for that?"
Well, what's he going to do? If this deal is his only plan, he won't agree to my haggling. But if his real goal is somewhere else, he should compromise to some extent.
"Tch. The penalty for damaged supplies will be split between C and D. As for the points, we'll settle for 150. I won't accept anything less."
"Ohh... That was quite easy, wasn't it? I thought you'd try to haggle more."
"Hmph. I'm not going to do something so pathetic."
...I definitely don't want to see Ryūen-kun haggling like a stereotypical Osaka woman. Jokes aside, we've found our compromise. We can proceed without any problems now.
"Alright, let's make a contract! I'm looking forward to a good deal, Ryūen-kun."
After that, Ryūen-kun and I got permission from our respective homeroom teachers and completed the deal.
"The items that have already been purchased have been applied for. You should think carefully about what to buy with the rest of the points by tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Thank you, Ryūen-kun."
With the same fearless smile as before, Ryūen-kun disappeared into the forest. I felt the tension that had filled the air dissipate.
"Wow. When I heard he was the guy who set up Sudō, I thought he was dangerous, but he might actually be a good guy?"
"Maybe! We can buy food and all sorts of tools, and I might want to have a bonfire with everyone at night!"
Everyone in Class D was happy with the unexpected gain. In fact, we could now afford to buy the toilets, showers, fishing gear, and cooking utensils, which had been a concern, making this survival trip a lot easier.
"Hah... For a moment, I thought we were done for, but thanks to him, it seems we'll be okay this time."
Horikita-san said this while wiping sweat off her face. "Him" must refer to Ryūen-kun.
"With the bonus points, we'll have about 320 points, right? Even after paying Class C, we've secured about 17,000 yen in spending money, and everyone's motivation has gone up. It's a good sign."
"That will bring Class D's points to 400. Considering the other classes have a little over 100 points... We've finally caught up a bit."
Her tone was the same as always, but I could see the great joy in her heart. I massaged Horikita-san's shoulders with both hands and spoke to her to help her relax.
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself. As long as we don't make any stupid mistakes, winning is a sure thing, so just relax."
"I can't do that. I have to live up to everyone's expectations."
She's so stubborn... Okay, I'm going to play a little prank on her. Horikita-san was still frowning, deep in thought. I moved my hands from her shoulders to her armpits.
"Hee!"
"I'll keep tickling you until you agree?"
I actually wanted to massage her chest through her jersey, but I decided against it since I'd probably get knocked out.
"S-Stop it... Mnh, wait."
...She sounds a little seductive. Could it be that Horikita-san has that kind of fetish...? I'm getting a little excited. What am I going to do, can I endure this for a week?
"Come on, come on~ If you don't say it soon, it's going to get worse~? "What are you doing, you idiot?!" Ouch!"
When I got carried away, I was hit by someone else, not Horikita-san. I looked back to see who it was, but I only knew one person who would do something like this.
"Ouch... Didn't you hit me a little too hard, Ayanokōji-kun?"
"I didn't. You promised to come up with a plan after the deal was done, remember? Did you forget?"
Oh yeah, I did.
"Sorry, sorry. Well, if you need anything, come talk to me, Horikita-san."
"W-Wait!"
Horikita-san's face was beet red as she glared at me. She's usually scary, but she was sitting on the ground, her ears also red, so she didn't look threatening at all.
"Was that a good idea? Leaving her like that."
"I think so. It probably helped her relax, right?"
"...I guess so."
Ayanokōji-kun seemed to want to say something, but he didn't say anything more.
---------
After my discussion with Tsugumi ended, I was asked by Hirata to gather firewood. I made sure to stay close to the base camp. I had originally planned to ask Tsugumi and Horikita to come with me, but they were both busy with other classmates and had to decline... I think I'm working hard, too, but what's the difference between us?
"H-Hey, Ayanokōji. You have to keep this a secret, okay?"
Of course, if I did it alone, it would take until sunset, so I asked some people who looked like they would help. One of them was Yamauchi, who just spoke to me. Yamauchi, who put his arm around my neck, pointed to Sakura, who was gathering branches a little farther away, and whispered to me.
"I... think I'm going to go for Sakura."
"Huh?"
"No, I mean, Kushida-chan is way too high-level, right? She's so good at socializing. So I'm going to give up on that high goal for now. And compared to her, Sakura is bad with people, and, well, she's not used to guys at all."
Yamauchi spoke at length about things I didn't even ask. He didn't care about my disgusted look and openly talked about his desires.
"To be honest, I'm going to go as far as I can on this trip. I think a girl like her will fall for a guy who can act gentle and considerate. I'd even go for a kiss. No, seriously. Sakura is okay for now. No, Sakura is good!"
...I see. So this was the reason he offered to help me after initially declining my invitation when he found out that Sakura would come with me.
"What do you mean 'for now'? You've never even talked to Sakura before. This is pretty sudden."
"No, I mean, I'm regretting that I didn't see her before. She's plain, so she didn't catch my eye, but she's super cute and an idol, right? And her boobs are just the best. I want to have a reputation for having a harem of girls, just like Saitō. And having an idol as one of them, wouldn't that be super cool!?"
Yamauchi's breath got heavier as he spoke. At first, I thought he just wanted a girlfriend, but for some reason, he had changed his goal after seeing Tsugumi.
"So you have to support me. Like, leaving me alone with Sakura right now."
"That's not what I call support..."
"What's wrong? Are you going for Sakura, too? Is it her boobs?!"
I don't know why, but I felt a little annoyed.
"Tsugumi doesn't have a harem of girls in the first place. And isn't it a bit too much to set him as your goal?"
I'm not 100% sure I agree with his actions, but he probably doesn't openly express his vulgar desires like Yamauchi does. I think it's impossible to reach that level unless you realize that.
"Of course he does! He goes to school every morning with a super cute childhood friend, and Horikita is totally in love with him, right? And I heard that Ichinose from Class B has been telling everyone that Saitō is amazing, too. It pisses me off!"
Sakayanagi, Horikita, Ichinose. I don't think she's in love with him. She probably knows that he's the one who came up with the fake camera plan after he gave her some love advice. However, for Yamauchi, they were all in the same category.
"Give up for now. I'll help you once you get a little closer to Sakura. Besides, I want to go back and check if we can actually make a bonfire. Right?"
Yamauchi's shoulders slumped, but he quickly perked up.
"You're so rigid. Oh well, I don't have to rush. Ayanokōji is our friend, too!"
I wish you wouldn't lump me in with you. I thought that from the bottom of my heart.
"Now, go and gather some more branches. I'll pick up some over there, too."
He said that and pushed the branches he had gathered onto me. I might have been a little mean to Sakura. She probably came with me out of pity because she thought I had to gather branches by myself, but she never expected to be accompanied by Yamauchi, the guy she dislikes the most. As a result, Sakura gathered branches almost in complete silence, probably wary of me and Yamauchi.
"I think this is enough, isn't it? We have more than enough for today."
Indeed, we had gathered more than enough for a single day. At Yamauchi's word, we finished gathering the branches, and the three of us started heading back to the campsite.
"Hey, hey, Sakura. Do you want me to help you carry some? It must be hard for a girl. You might get hurt."
He must have planned to say that from the beginning, as he only had half the amount of branches I did. He was trying to act like a gentle and considerate guy.
"I-I'm fine... Ayanokōji-kun is carrying a lot. Please help him instead."
"Oh! Sakura, you're so kind! Ayanokōji, you're being greedy by carrying so much all by yourself. Here, I'll take half of it, so give it to me."
He said that and took about half of the branches he had pushed onto me earlier. It seemed like a two-step plan to show off his kindness even if Sakura rejected him. It was so like Yamauchi to be so resourceful only at times like these.
Suddenly, I saw a girl sitting with her back leaning against a large tree. She wasn't a Class D student. I could have just left her alone since she was from another class, but I could tell that something was wrong with her. Her cheek was red and swollen. I could tell that someone had slapped her with considerable force.
"Hey. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Yamauchi couldn't just leave a girl who was hurt and was the first to speak to her.
"...Leave me alone. I'm fine."
"You're fine...? You don't look fine at all. Who did this to you? Should I call a teacher?"
Judging by the swelling, it was clear that she was in a lot of pain.
"I just got into a fight with someone in my class. Don't worry about it."
The girl laughed self-deprecatingly and rejected Yamauchi's words. Her tone was boyish, but it was clear that she wasn't well.
"A fight... Are you a Class C student?"
"...How did you know?"
"Ryūen said, 'I kicked out a fool who opposed my plan, so if you see her, tell her to retire.'"
"I don't want to. I don't know what they'll do to me if I go back so soon."
I couldn't imagine that everyone in that class would agree to his plan. She was probably a student who rebelled against it, even after they tried to force her to accept it.
"We're Class D students. If you want, you can come to our base camp."
Yamauchi asked for our consent, so Sakura and I gave a small nod and went along with him.
"Huh? What are you talking about? There's no way I can do that."
"I mean, we should help each other when we're in trouble. It's only natural. Right?"
She turned her face away and fell silent as if she had no intention of listening to our words. It would certainly be easier to just leave her alone, but a girl wouldn't be in a place like this by herself unless there was a good reason.
"I'm a Class C student. That means I'm your enemy. You know that, right?"
She meant that she had no right to be helped.
"But... I can't just leave you alone here. Class C students are good people who gave us supplies! I don't think of you as an enemy."
"Yeah. Class C is going to retire anyway. There's no way we can guess their leader anyway."
"...You guys are so stupid. You're too kind. My class would never do something like this."
The girl sighed in exasperation at our attitude, as if helping was the natural thing to do.
"Don't worry. I don't think there's any problem."
"Right? No problem. I'm Yamauchi Haruki. Nice to meet you!"
"I guess you guys are good people... But you're still stupid."
The girl, who looked exasperated but accepted the introduction, looked away from us and gave a short reply.
"I'm... Ibuki."
---------
"—And that's what happened. Can we take her in?"
"I see... Can I see your injury, Ibuki-san?"
After returning to the base camp, I spoke to Tsugumi. When I explained what had happened, Tsugumi's eyebrows furrowed in a pained expression.
"Mnh..."
"It must hurt so much... Ryūen-kun is so cruel. It might not help, but use this."
Tsugumi brought a hand towel that was distributed as an amenity. He cooled it in the river, squeezed out the excess water, and placed it against Ibuki's cheek. Tsugumi's paternal, or rather maternal, side was in full display.
"That's your towel, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh, don't worry, it's brand new and unused."
"...That's not the point."
I was so glad Tsugumi was here. I was sure he could convince everyone to let us take in Ibuki. But Tsugumi was already taking Ibuki to the rest of the class. It seemed he would do it even if I didn't ask.
Since she was a Class C student and had been beaten by Ryūen, Ibuki seemed to be getting along with the class surprisingly well.
"Well? Isn't Saitō-kun cool?"
"...Well, I can see why the rumors reached Class C. He's a little clumsy, but..."
"That's what's so good about him!"
"Okay. It seems we'll be able to manage Ibuki-san."
"...Tsugumi. What do you think she is?"
He didn't seem to be suspicious at all, so I asked him as he came back looking like he had finished a big job.
"Huh? I think she's a spy, of course? Ryūen-kun is pretty evil. He makes us think we're allies through a deal, then has Ibuki-san, a spy he secretly sent, steal information about the leader. It's not confirmed yet, but it won't hurt to act as if she is."
"I thought so. Honestly, I wish he would just retire quietly."
"Ryūen-kun isn't that kind of person."
I never imagined at the time just how malicious and cunning Ryūen was.
"They say you can't cure a fool, even if they die. Do you want to try? I think there are things you can see once you die."
If I had kicked Ibuki out, would my relationship with Tsugumi have been different?
I was so lost in meaningless assumptions that I couldn't understand him anymore.
============
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