"Kaneda-san."
Ichinose waved his arm casually and said with a bright smile, "We are going to update the stronghold."
"Ah, yes! Then I’ll go take a rest outside the camp."
Kaneda nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead before turning around and leaving without any hesitation.
Not at all like a spy.
It seed like he was just trying to live up to his position as a Class C student. Even if he wasn’t earning class points, he still put in the effort to get through this exam.
Hikigaya’s dead-fish eyes followed Kaneda’s retreating figure.
This was a top school, after all. Even soone from Class C was still so capable. And yet, Kaneda had lost to Ryuuen.
What kind of person was Ryuuen, exactly, if he could rule over Class C with sheer force?
As he pondered, Hikigaya followed Shibata and the others to the wooden house. Under their watchful eyes, Chihiro Shirami renewed their possession of the stronghold.
"Um..."
Hikigaya hesitated before speaking. "Is this really okay?"
He couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing was off.
Ichinose and Kanzaki were both sharp and ticulous. They had thought everything through—so why were they acting so relaxed?
"It’s fine," Kanzaki replied, glancing toward the boys’ camp on the cliff. He seed to be deep in thought. "I’ve been watching Kaneda these past few days. He doesn’t seem like a spy. At least, his actions don’t suggest it. Or do you have another opinion?"
"Well..." Hikigaya nodded. "What if we break sothing and fra Kaneda so he gets removed from the exam?"
No choice.
This was about personal points, after all.
He wanted Class B to win.
"Huh?"
Everyone imdiately understood what he was implying. Shibata and the others looked shocked.
"No way."
"That’s too much."
Shibata and Kanzaki both shook their heads.
"Yeah," nlai muttered under her breath, almost like a mosquito’s whisper. "If Kaneda ends up being kicked out of Class C, and we frad him for it, wouldn’t that be too pitiful?"
Hikigaya scratched his head.
That was true.
As a bystander, Kaneda did seem pitiful.
He wasn’t trying to harm anyone. It was just that Class B was too calm about the situation.
"It’s okay, Hikigaya," Ichinose reassured him with a warm smile. "Everyone has worked hard, so we’ll definitely pass this exam. And when the stronghold was updated, Kaneda wasn’t anywhere near it, right?"
"True..."
Hikigaya reluctantly accepted that answer.
"Speaking of which," he asked, "what about Class A?"
Since the start of the exam, he had been staying in the camp and had no idea what was happening on the island.
Class A had only lost 60 points in the first month of school, which ant they were obviously the most elite class.
And yet—
They had zero presence.
That didn’t seem normal.
"Class A, huh?"
Ichinose smiled. "You might not know this, but Class A has two leaders right now."
"Sakayanagi Yusu couldn’t participate in the exam because of her leg injury. The one in charge is Katsuragi."
Hikigaya vaguely rembered hearing that na before.
Wasn’t he the one who ran for the student council along with Ichinose but got rejected?
"Katsuragi is a very mature and cautious leader," Ichinose explained. "Compared to Sakayanagi, he’s more defensive. This ti, he just occupied a cave and stayed there without making any risky moves. We don’t know the details, but there’s nothing to worry about."
"That so?"
Hikigaya nodded.
It seed that Class A’s strategy was all about defense.
But it was surprising to hear that they had internal conflicts.
Even with infighting, they still managed to maintain first place.
That level of discipline was impressive.
Oh well.
If it wasn’t a problem, he didn’t need to care.
After chatting for a while, the group disbanded.
Hikigaya stared at the stronghold screen in front of him, his dead-fish eyes reflecting his thoughts.
The idea that hard work always pays off—
Was completely wrong.
Most of the ti, effort was aningless.
It was just sothing people told themselves to feel better.
However—
Ichinose had a point.
Kaneda had never approached the stronghold during the update.
But still—
Ichinose rejected both his ideas: changing the leader and framing Kaneda.
Hikigaya thought about it and decided to let it go. He chose to trust Ichinose for now.
While lost in thought, he noticed Hiyori preparing dinner, chopping corn nearby.
He watched her small, delicate figure.
By the way—
What was her full na again?
...Forget it.
Nas weren’t necessary in conversations. He was used to talking to people whose nas he couldn’t rember.
"Hey."
Hikigaya spoke softly.
"Huh?" Hiyori turned around in surprise. "Hikigaya-san, what’s up?"
"Let see the key card."
"Okay!"
Without hesitation, Hiyori pulled the card from her pocket and handed it to him.
The card was green, roughly the size of a bank card but about three tis thicker.
"Thanks."
After examining it, Hikigaya handed it back. "By the way, you shouldn’t just take it out so easily."
"Huh?"
Hiyori’s face flushed, and she waved her hands in a panic. "I-I only did it because it was you, Hikigaya-kun!"
"Ah. Oh."
It took him a second to process that.
If she said that to any other guy, they’d probably take it the wrong way.
But she didn’t an anything special by it.
Probably just trusting him as a classmate.
"Alright, I’ll be going."
Hikigaya turned and left.
Still—
Hiyori’s timid personality was a little concerning.
If she failed, she’d probably bla herself.
As a mber of the cover team, he had to protect her.
The next day, Hikigaya was still sitting by the boiler as usual.
Being on an uninhabited island was a rare experience.
It was a sha he couldn’t take pictures to show off to Komachi.
Ichinose had arranged for soone to take photos, though.
But—
If he wasn’t in any of them...
He’d cry.
Just as he was spacing out, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Good afternoon."
Kaneda appeared beside him, adjusting his glasses with a smile. "Need any help?"
"Nope."
Hikigaya didn’t hold back.
"Co on, don’t be shy."
Kaneda grabbed so firewood and threw it into the fire. "Ichinose and the others were kind enough to let stay here, but I’m still from Class C. If I don’t help out, I feel guilty."
This guy...
If he refused again, he’d seem heartless.
Gotta admit, Kaneda had been working hard.
He got along well with Class B, helped out with tasks, and didn’t seem like a freeloader.
If he were more handso, he’d probably be pretty popular.
For a mont, Hikigaya wasn’t sure—
Was he the Class B student, or was Kaneda?
"Alright then," Hikigaya relented. "Pour cold water into the bottles."
"Got it!"
Kaneda filled the bottles. "By the way, I don’t know your na yet."
"Hikigaya."
"Can I call you Hikigaya-kun? You can call Kaneda. Or even Satoru, if you’d like."
Hikigaya let out a dry laugh. "Hahaha."
Spy.
This guy was definitely a spy.
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