Kushida looked at Hachiman's stopped figure and suddenly thought of something.
Previously, she had accidentally kicked a railing and exposed her true nature, and this scene was witnessed by Hikigaya Hachiman. Kushida felt deeply threatened by him. She originally tried to use a handprint to threaten him, but it had no effect. Instead, she gave herself away and was caught by him at her weak point.
Then she had to obey his orders to betray the Class at a specific time.
For Kushida, who wanted to be everyone's angel and a pure white lotus, once such a betrayal was carried out, if not handled well, it would greatly damage her image. Therefore, this was something very hurtful to Kushida.
"Although I suggested you draw, you didn't honestly listen, did you?" Hikigaya said. "And then on the ship, Ike Kanji wanted to confess to you."
"Although the matter was resolved, you're still very unhappy, aren't you?" Hachiman said.
Hmph.
Listening to his words, Kushida actually understood what he was saying.
Was he saying he wanted to help her deal with her emotions?
"You watched the island's video for quite a while on the ship. I think you probably discovered some good spots," Hachiman said. "And then, for the past two days, you've wanted to really let loose, haven't you?"
"I have nothing to do right now, so I can go with you and keep watch."
"…" Kushida.
Indeed.
Hikigaya Hachiman's perceptiveness was annoying.
Her past outlet for venting emotions was writing a blog, but it would be seen by others.
And her middle school life exploded because of it.
Then she considered writing a diary, but a diary being exposed was also dangerous.
So, it transformed into kicking railings.
Using physical activity to vent.
But unfortunately, she was caught by Hikigaya Hachiman.
And now, he had become perhaps the person who understood her best in this school.
"You're annoying," Kushida said to Hachiman in a cute voice, but when none of her classmates could see, she added, "Then come with me."
The first part of her tone was like a spoiled child, but the latter half sounded like she was humoring him.
And this was Kushida's cold tone after her dark side emerged.
Hey, Kushida, even though you're currently facing away from the campsite, don't change your tone so quickly.
You should know that if you're exposed, you'll be the first one affected, alright?
Hachiman grumbled inwardly.
However, Kushida's reaction like this meant that her emotions were probably nearing their limit.
So, intercepting her today was the right move.
...
When Hachiman heard the exam broadcast on the ship, he had Sakura record it.
Then everyone watched it together, looking for important points to remember.
Most of what Hachiman remembered were strongholds, but Kushida was different; what she sought were… places suitable for her to do something similar to kicking railings.
And the place Kushida chose… was the Central Tower.
This White Tower allowed one to see other strongholds and was a very advantageous position.
However, although Kushida went there, she didn't walk towards the White Tower itself.
She led the way only around the small tower, then walked straight towards the bushes at the edge of the White Tower.
Then she stopped.
"Kushida?" Hachiman looked at her.
Then he came to Kushida's side and understood why she had suddenly stopped.
That was it.
Looking at both sides of the bushes, he discovered two strange spots: two large nails driven quite deeply into the ground.
He bent down and looked down.
Immediately, he saw a large empty space below.
And where the two large nails were located, a steel ladder was hanging, and next to it was a very thick rope, seemingly used to tie oneself for a second layer of protection.
Hachiman saw Kushida remain still, so he took action. He grabbed the rope with one hand and walked down with his feet, stepping onto two rungs, confirming the strength of the deeply driven steel nails; it was safe.
"Did you discover this place?" Hachiman asked.
"I discovered it by chance," Kushida said. "Originally, I had memorized two areas, thinking I could vent my emotions there after arriving on the island. Things like Ike Kanji actually confessing to me directly filled me with emotion."
"Then unfortunately, after arriving on the island, I found that both areas I had memorized were strongholds. They had already been cleared by Kouenji," Kushida said. "So I had no choice but to explore new places myself."
"Then, my luck was pretty good, and I found this place."
Is that so.
"And this position goes downwards, and if you walk down a few steps, take a look," Kushida said.
Which meant she had actually walked down before, didn't she?
So, Hachiman stepped down the ladder.
The distance wasn't great, only about ten meters.
And what appeared before him was a small valley, and not far from the ladder, there was a small hut.
Yes.
It was a house.
Standing on the grassy area above the Central Tower, there was a significant drop to this hut. If one wasn't careful enough, it was very likely to be missed.
Hachiman descended the ladder and reached the small wooden hut. Hearing a sound, he realized Kushida had also come down.
It was just that she was probably tying herself with the thick rope while descending the ladder.
She didn't notice Hachiman here.
So Hachiman could confirm that today… she was wearing underwear.
This was natural.
Because she was wearing sportswear, nothing could be seen, of course.
"I've been here once," Kushida said. "But I didn't go directly down to this flat ground. Instead, I discovered a small wooden hut and an open area from the ladder, and then I went back."
"After all, since there's a small wooden hut, there's no way to guarantee whether there will be people here."
In other words, she had come out alone to explore the area, but she was also worried about encountering danger.
"There are indeed people here," Hachiman said. "But they shouldn't be here during these exam days."
Saying this, he pushed open the door.
The door was unlocked. There wasn't much dust on the wooden floor, indicating that someone might have lived there just a few days ago.
At the same time, it could be noted that there was a bed in the house, as well as fishing gear, and even a small refrigerator and a small kitchen.
A telescope hung on the wall.
"This should be the residence of this artificial island's administrator," Hachiman said. "An ordinary island wouldn't have so many resources, and just like the vegetable patch on Ichinose's side, it's definitely not wild."
"It's impossible for these crops to grow without human care. So do people come by boat every time to take care of them? Obviously not, so there must be staff quarters somewhere."
"And this residence is probably here."
"Rather, it must be here."
"Because from the Central Tower, you can see most of the strongholds on this island."
"And there's also a telescope here."
This was a reverse deduction. To see the surroundings, a telescope was provided.
"Is that so."
"Then is it possible that this administrator is still on the island now, or will temporarily return to this house?" Kushida said.
The reason she said this was that she saw a wooden post in the open space in front of the hut, and that wooden post might be used by the administrator for physical exercise.
At the same time.
It was also similar to a railing, which could be kicked.
So, Kushida was a bit interested.
But also a little nervous.
Because even though Hikigaya could help keep watch, if the administrator suddenly returned, she might still be witnessed in her true form.
So she wasn't completely at ease.
"They won't be back during our exam," Hachiman said with certainty.
Then he walked towards where the fishing gear was placed.
Kushida followed him and then discovered that there was a card reader next to the fishing gear. But it was still dark, which meant that this place had not yet been discovered and entered by other students.
There are many strongholds on the island, and to gain points, one needs to find the card reader in the stronghold and have the Team Leader swipe the Team Leader card.
So, the fact that there's a card reader here means this is also a base.
However, this place cannot be used as a base.
The reason is that the cabin is small, only allowing a few people to sleep on the floor, like the small wooden cabins you'd find in Chiba Village during elementary School field trips.
Therefore, it cannot accommodate an entire Class of students living together.
"Since this place is also considered a base and allowed to be occupied by students, why leave an administrator here?" Hikigaya said. "So the administrator will definitely be cleared out. They won't be back during the exam."
"That makes sense." Kushida nodded.
"So, should we tell Kouenji about this base?" Kushida said.
A base can earn 3 points a day, and it's only the second day of the exam, so occupying one more base can bring an additional twenty-something points to the Class.
"No need." But Hikigaya said. "Don't you want to vent your emotions? If you reveal the information about this base, then you won't have a place to vent."
"I offered you a way to vent your emotions: drawing."
"But you don't want to draw."
"And you don't dare to kick the railing at School anymore. Two months have passed, and you must have accumulated a lot of emotions. Just kicking the railing for a while won't satisfy you, right?" Hikigaya said.
"Oh, you're so annoying, talking as if I need to vent every day." Kushida, however, blinked gently.
"Then just vent today and don't come tomorrow." Hikigaya said. "I'll tell Kouenji about this base tomorrow."
"No." But Kushida's expression changed instantly. "How could I possibly finish venting in just today's time?"
Her tone also became cold.
And when Hikigaya looked, her cute Little Angel appearance had begun to darken. Although her features hadn't changed, her eyes had become cold.
This was a strange phenomenon.
Kushida's Little Angel appearance was adorable to everyone who saw it, but now that she had darkened, Hikigaya felt even more attracted to her.
In other words, was his taste actually quite strange?
"Then, please." Hikigaya said.
So he walked to the side, sat down, and began to keep watch.
"What a boring man." Kushida gazed at him deeply. Then she walked over to the wooden stake, seemingly ready to kick it.
But.
"Also, don't curse at me." Hikigaya added.
"..." Kushida.
She had only cursed at Hikigaya Hachiman once and then her weakness was seized by him, so she wouldn't repeat the same mistake.
Therefore.
"Those guys really have no self-awareness."
"Like Ike, what nerve does he have to confess to me?"
"Don't you know, I really hate you!"
"Horikita Suzune, that guy, I've been so nice to her, but she won't tell me any secrets. So, she still just sees me as a superficial friend, right..."
"..."
Kushida was still beyond saving.
Meanwhile.
...
Meanwhile.
On the beach, at the supplies exchange point.
"Chabashira, a student from your Class found the administrator's cabin." The teachers were on the beach looking at their computers. Students carried wristbands with GPS devices, allowing their movements to be tracked.
Then.
Hoshinomiya spoke.
It was the second day of the Uninhabited Island Exam.
Most students had already set up camp.
Although Class C's actions of clearing 20 bases in just 2 hours on the first day shocked the teachers of the other Classes, there were still clues.
The announcement on the ship had already reminded students about the exam.
So Class C probably made preparations.
There were a total of 20 bases on the Uninhabited Island.
And now, only 22 were occupied and in use.
Three more were empty.
But just now, one of the remaining three was also discovered.
And this base was unique, much harder to find than the others.
It was like an Easter egg.
"That's amazing." Hoshinomiya said. "To be able to find such a hidden place. Chabashira, the students in your Class are really standing out in this exam."
"Rather, I couldn't tell at all that your Class was so strong."
...Chabashira.
Chabashira was just brewing coffee and almost spilled it at the remark.
But she steadied herself.
She knew that her friend was saying this on purpose.
To draw the attention of the other two teachers.
This was natural.
Because in this exam, to get points, one needed to preserve as many initial points as possible, then acquire enough base points, and then correctly guess the Team Leader of the other Classes.
Just on the initial points alone, Class A, with the support of supplies from Class D, maintained their initial points at 220, unchanged.
But Hoshinomiya's Class B had already spent 100 initial points and would continue to spend more due to the entire Class's high consumption.
Even if they were very frugal, their final initial points would probably only be around 150-170.
As for Chabashira's Class C, their initial points went to 0, and they didn't show up for roll call, but they occupied 20 bases. As long as the other Classes didn't guess their Team Leader, they could earn over 300 points.
As for Class D's initial points, they also went to zero, and 37 students forfeited, but their forfeiture had value because all of their initial 300 points were used to buy supplies and move them to Class A.
In other words, they must have completed a transaction with Class A and gained something.
So Hoshinomiya, as the Teacher of Class B, started to get anxious.
Because.
It seemed like Class B hadn't gained anything in this exam. They were just honestly participating in the exam.
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