Chapter 135: Encounter on the Road, Honami Ichinose's Turn (Two-in-One 4k) (Patreon)

Day six of the deserted island Special Exam.

Hikaru Naruse had completed another round of checkpoint refreshes in the early hours of that morning. The exam was drawing to a close — tomorrow at noon, the final rankings would be announced.

He was looking forward to the final results.

Two days earlier, Naruse had discovered where Ryuen was hiding — some cave on the western side of the island.

It was far from the beach, and the terrain itself was fairly concealed. If Naruse hadn't spent this whole time circling the island, he probably wouldn't have noticed it so easily.

That guy had been living there alone for nearly a week.

No companions, no supplies — surviving purely by catching wild animals and gathering wild fruit. Ruthless, really.

Meanwhile, Class C's homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami, had been stationed on the beach this whole time. Barring any surprises, he'd head to that cave tomorrow, just as he and Ryuen had arranged.

After all, by now most of Class C had already dropped out of the exam, so the keycard holder had to be Ryuen.

Ryuen intended to write down the names of the other classes' representatives at the very end — the finishing blow after all his careful lying-in-wait.

Not a bad plan on paper, but naturally, the outcome wouldn't go the way he wanted.

Naruse quickly ran through everything he'd done these past few days. Overall, things had gone pretty smoothly.

First: trading supplies with Class C had secured Class A's high-quality living for the following six days, while the "fake card" strategy had perfectly concealed the identity of the real representative.

Second: using his physical abilities to search for checkpoints at night and refresh them according to the rules, plus the camp's own checkpoint, gave him four scoring points total — in the end, he'd earn close to an extra 100 points at minimum.

Third: making sure Class D's representative, Suzune Horikita, stayed in good enough physical condition — he'd brought her medicine so she could keep serving as representative until the exam ended. That way, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't pull some dirty trick to run her health completely into the ground and force a change of representative.

Besides, the gentleman's agreement with Honami Ichinose sounded fine and all, but Naruse wasn't about to pull his punches just because of their personal relationship.

Since he'd only promised not to write her name, writing down Chihiro Shiranami instead was perfectly fine.

Guessing wrong wouldn't cost him any points anyway, and maximizing his gains had always been part of Naruse's plan.

As for Class A itself, there was definitely nothing to worry about — the real keycard had stayed in his possession the whole time. Even Kohei Katsuragi had only seen it once, on the very first day.

With that, all that was left was to wait for tomorrow's results.

"I really am looking forward to this."

Naruse did a rough tally of the points. This time around, Class A's gains from the deserted island exam would definitely be substantial.

It was around eleven in the morning.

Naruse walked alone through a basin surrounded by dense forest, heading back toward Class A's camp for lunch.

After days of diligent exploring, he'd become extremely familiar with the deserted island by now.

He pretty much knew where every stream and steep slope was. He could move swiftly even at night, let alone during the day.

Just then, right after rounding a clump of bushes, he ran into a familiar face again.

Honami Ichinose.

The girl stepped out of the trees behind him, a backpack nearly as large as his own on her shoulders. Her complexion wasn't great, and fatigue showed plainly on her face.

Clearly, she'd been out in the forest searching for checkpoints, or timing a refresh.

The moment she saw Naruse, surprise crossed her face.

"Naruse-san?"

"Ichinose, what a coincidence — running into you again."

The two exchanged a glance, and knowing smiles quickly spread across both their faces.

They both knew exactly what the other was doing out here. There was no need for questions — they simply understood each other.

If they weren't going to talk about checkpoints, they'd need some other topic to start with.

"Ichinose, it's almost noon — are you headed back to camp now?"

"Yeah, better head back and refuel."

The girl gave her arm a little wave, looking rather cute doing it.

"Then we can walk part of the way together," Naruse said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Mm-hmm."

By now it was the sixth day of the exam. Through everyone's exploration of the island, the three classes still competing already knew each other's camp locations.

It was completely shared information at this point. Ichinose knew exactly where Class A's camp was too, and readily agreed to walk together.

The two walked side by side through the forest, with Naruse taking the lead in small talk.

"Ichinose, how's life at your camp been?"

"Not bad — everyone's been working hard. Though we definitely can't compare to you guys," she said, smiling, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Is that so?"

"I mean, you guys even have a barbecue grill. Quite the camping lifestyle."

Both Class B and Class D had already heard about Class A's barbecue grill.

"Are you interested in some barbecue, Ichinose? You're welcome to try some."

Naruse extended the invitation with a smile. Tomorrow was the last day anyway, and everyone in Class A had already agreed — aside from setting aside enough for tomorrow's breakfast, they'd hold a bonfire party tonight.

The plan was to use up all the remaining supplies and give the exam a perfect send-off.

"I really appreciate the invitation, but I'm not part of your class. Even if everyone welcomed me, it'd still feel a bit strange, wouldn't it?"

Ichinose wasn't the type to coast on others' goodwill. Because of her Student Council duties, she'd become friends with quite a few girls in Class A.

But even if everyone welcomed her, in the current climate of inter-class competition during the exam...

...once she showed up, someone was bound to feel uncomfortable.

Ever considerate, the girl politely declined Naruse's invitation.

"I'll pass, I think."

"Ha, you really are thoughtful, Ichinose."

Naruse nodded with a smile, then added, "If that doesn't work, I could pack you some barbecue to go — let you see what I can do."

"Oh, you can do that?"

"Yeah, I'll let you in on a secret — I'm the chef with authority over food distribution. Everyone has to listen to me," Naruse said, his smile radiant.

"That's definitely tempting."

Ichinose covered her mouth and laughed, as if something had occurred to her, and made a playful joke.

"You sound awfully practiced at this, Naruse-san. Don't tell me you've already packed some up for someone else?"

"Yeah."

Naruse answered honestly enough — giving someone a portion of barbecue wasn't a big deal to begin with.

"I've been to Class D's camp before. Gave some to Kei, twice."

"Is that right."

"Yeah, food matters a lot out here — more useful than any gift."

"Mm-hmm."

Nodding in agreement, a memory slowly surfaced in Ichinose's mind, catching her off guard.

She remembered a secret she'd overheard that day, and her feelings immediately grew complicated.

[Karuizawa and Naruse-san are in a fake couple relationship.]

She'd been bothered by this the whole time. Now that she and Naruse had grown closer, she really wanted to figure out what was actually going on.

Last time, she'd clearly had the chance to ask him alone, but she hadn't brought herself to do it.

And now, here it was on her mind again...

Wanting to know the answer, Ichinose fell silent as they walked.

Naruse's instincts were sharp — noticing this at once, he asked.

"Ichinose, what's wrong?"

Hearing the boy's gentle question, Ichinose suddenly made up her mind.

She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and fixed Naruse's face with a burning gaze.

"Naruse-san, actually, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a while now, but I never got around to it."

"Is that so?"

Naruse paused for a moment, then said gently.

"No need to be nervous, Ichinose. Ask whatever you want."

"Then I'll ask."

"Sure, go ahead."

"I'm really going to ask."

"Ask."

Ichinose's deep blue eyes trembled slightly. She took another deep breath, and staring at Naruse's smiling face, spoke slowly.

"Naruse-san..."

"Are you and Karuizawa a fake couple?"

"?"

*

The eastern side of the deserted island.

A cave hidden behind boulders and shrubs.

The cave's interior was fairly spacious, large enough to fit several people comfortably. The ground had been swept clear, and a pile of dry firewood sat in the corner.

At the center of the cave, a campfire had gone out, still sending up a thin trail of smoke.

A man crouched beside the fire, twisted open a plastic bottle, and drained the water inside in one go, his expression perfectly calm.

It was Ryuen.

His red hair was far dirtier than it had been at the start of the exam. What should have been a flowing, flamboyant style now looked greasy and matted.

His red-and-white tracksuit was so filthy it was nearly unrecognizable, caked with dirt, grass stains, and all manner of unidentifiable grime.

Clearly, he'd been putting real effort into "surviving in the wild."

Days of hardship had left a short stubble on his chin, making his already unfriendly face look even more ferocious.

Tossing the empty bottle aside, Ryuen pulled a black walkie-talkie out of his pants pocket.

He checked the time on his watch, then pressed the talk button.

"Hey... Suzuhira, can you hear me?"

The radio stayed silent for a moment before a broken, static-laced voice came through.

"I can hear you, Ryuen."

It was a girl's voice — Miu Suzuhira, who'd been staying at Class B's camp for several days now.

"How's it going today?"

"I already saw it..." Suzuhira's voice came through a bit clearer now. "I saw the keycard."

"Who's holding it?" Ryuen's voice jumped up several notches.

"It's Chihiro Shiranami."

"OK."

At the name, a cold smile tugged at Ryuen's lips.

"Good... got it... Your job's done. Just wait for tomorrow now."

"Okay."

"Hm...?"

According to the plan, radio conversations were meant to be quick — the moment they finished talking, the radio was supposed to shut off right away to minimize the risk of exposure.

But just as Ryuen was about to switch it off, he glanced at the display and noticed the channel indicator was still blinking.

If the channel hadn't closed, that meant Suzuhira still had something to say.

"What is it?"

"I met up with Yabu in the forest the night before last. She said she still hasn't had a chance to get close to the keycard."

"Tch."

Ryuen clicked his tongue. He'd figured Class D would be the easiest to manipulate, yet after several days, Nanami Yabu still hadn't gotten hold of the keycard.

"Let's hope there's still a chance today. Otherwise, I'll just have to gamble."

Ryuen didn't continue the conversation, simply switching off the radio.

"What a pain."

Ryuen stepped out of the cave. Ever since he'd started putting this plan into motion, things had actually gone smoothly.

There was the supply trading, the intel war around his high-profile withdrawal from the exam, and then planting moles in Class D and Class B.

Every piece had been advancing steadily, but the fact that he still didn't have Class D's keycard name was starting to irritate him.

If he still didn't have the name by the end, he'd have no choice but to gamble.

Ryuen had actually snuck close to Class D's camp himself at one point to take a look. Right now, there were three possible candidates for the keycard holder.

The most conventional choice was Yosuke Hirata, currently Class D's class representative, capable and well-trusted by everyone.

The second was Kikyo Kushida, and the third was Suzune Horikita.

That was the conclusion Ryuen had reached through his intelligence gathering.

Picking one out of three might hurt his final score if he got it wrong, but if he guessed right, it would be an absolute, total victory.

As for Class A, though, Ryuen actually felt quite confident about their keycard holder.

Because on the third day of the exam, Ryuen had snuck near Class A's camp and observed from a distance for a while.

And then, he'd seen something critically important.

Kohei Katsuragi had pulled a blue metal card out of his pocket, walked into a cave, and didn't come back out for a good while.

Ryuen knew there was a card-scanning device inside that cave, which meant there could only be one answer, practically speaking.

He'd originally thought Naruse would be the one holding the keycard this time.

But thinking about it from another angle, Naruse's overly flashy personality and his current fame within the first-year cohort made him the more likely wrong guess.

Ruling out every other possibility, Class A's representative had to be Kohei Katsuragi!

Having confirmed this, Ryuen's mood turned a bit smug.

Either way, he was confident he'd catch everyone off guard.

The rules for the final round of guessing other classes' representatives were simple enough.

Guess a name right, gain 50 points; get guessed correctly by another class, lose 50 points.

That swing meant a full 100-point gap either way. He already had the names for Class A and Class B's representatives — only Class D remained.

If he got Class D's name right too, that would make three correct guesses in total.

Class C would gain 150 points, while every other class would lose points — which meant Class C was bound to come out the winner.

Ryuen leaned back against the cave wall, the smile at his lips deepening.

"Just wait."

"This time, I'm going to win for sure!"