It was nearing noon.
Hikigaya sat near the boiler, resting his back against it. His job was simple—sit there, occasionally bring water to the girls, while the boys just threw it away.
Like a worker on an assembly line, he only needed to shut off his mind and go through the motions. Apart from the exhaustion, it wasn't too difficult.
On the Other Side...
"Horikita-san, Ayanokouji-san."
Ichinose approached the two with a look of mild surprise. "Welcome."
Commander?
Hikigaya turned his head slightly at the unexpected greeting.
What the hell?
The arrogant girl and the psycho with a flying fish head? Again?
Were they here to collect information?
Immediately, Hikigaya snapped back to reality. Damn it. So it really was the arrogant girl and the psycho with a flying fish head.
One of them—Horikita—was someone he had indirectly offended by deleting her contact information. The other—Ayanokouji—was a psycho who didn't even like MAX coffee. What kind of person doesn't like MAX coffee? That alone was enough for Hikigaya to decide that avoiding him was the best option.
Silently, he turned back to his work, pretending nothing had happened.
But still...
What was with that welcome?
It seemed like Class B and Class D had a cooperative relationship going on.
Class B also had their own investigation team. Kanzaki and the others had gone out earlier to gather information, so this must be a courtesy exchange.
"Um," Horikita responded curtly. She rubbed her arms as she glanced around before giving a small nod.
"We wanted to come and investigate the situation. Is that convenient?"
"Of course! Go ahead and take a look!" Ichinose replied with a bright smile, leading them further into the camp.
Class B had a well-organized division of labor.
The boys fished and transported ingredients. The girls prepared and cooked meals. Meanwhile, another group was in charge of exploration.
Soon, Ichinose led the two to a cliffside, where a group of students was climbing down.
Seeing this, Hikigaya felt his stomach churn.
No wonder Class B could cooperate with Class D.
Their goal was to advance to Class A, while Class D was just trying to climb up from the bottom. This foundation for cooperation made sense.
However...
Wasn't this a bit too careless?
What if they got stabbed in the back?
Hikigaya couldn't help but recall his past experiences of being deceived.
Ichinose and the others were far too trusting. Was this what made a leader? A broad-mindedness that allowed for such cooperation?
Well, it didn't matter to him.
He could never do something like this anyway.
"As Expected of Class B"
On the rocky reef, Horikita looked around at the students of Class B hard at work, her expression filled with a quiet frustration.
"Ichinose-san is surprisingly capable," she admitted, her tone laced with reluctant admiration. "Finding a wooden house like this… It must have saved a lot of resources. You don't even need tents, toilets, or baths. I can see Class B reaching Class A soon."
Ichinose scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed. "Not at all. It's thanks to everyone in the class working together. Hikigaya actually found this cabin—I just helped organize everyone's efforts."
For a moment, Horikita was silent.
She observed the surroundings with an unreadable expression.
Finally, she muttered, "That still takes leadership skills."
Ayanokouji raised an eyebrow. Horikita was clearly in a bad mood today, too distracted to notice the real issue here.
"Hikigaya?"
Ayanokouji's voice held a hint of doubt.
"Oh," Ichinose said with a lighthearted chuckle. "He's a classmate of mine. You probably haven't met him yet, right?"
"Can you introduce us?"
Horikita finally seemed to snap out of her thoughts.
Though Class B and Class D were allies for now, that alliance wouldn't last forever. Someone with insight like Hikigaya was definitely worth keeping an eye on.
"Sure~" Ichinose responded cheerfully.
After all, it was only a matter of time before they met each other.
"Hello."
Hikigaya looked at the three standing in front of him and immediately regretted everything.
Why were they here?
He was just supposed to start fires and keep to himself. Why did these people always gravitate toward him?
With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to the conversation.
Ayanokouji's gaze sharpened slightly as he examined Hikigaya.
So it was him.
His guard went up instantly.
"I didn't expect it to be you," Horikita said in a neutral tone.
People tended to believe in optimism, despite evidence to the contrary.
Though she still avoided facing Horikita Manabu, a part of her was willing to believe that Hikigaya's words might be true. That her brother was paying attention to her. That she needed to prove herself.
"Eh?" Ichinose blinked in confusion. "Hikigaya, you two know each other?"
"Well, you could say that..."
Hikigaya had nothing to hide.
At the start of the school year, he had sold Class D's rules to Horikita for 30,000 points. That deal had already played out. Class D had still ended up with zero points, so there was no reason to be secretive.
Whether Horikita would keep that to herself or not, however, was another matter.
"So that's how it is," Horikita said flatly.
She made no effort to hide it, though her tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Thanks to him, I was able to learn the school rules early on. However, those morons in Class D still managed to ruin everything."
There was clear contempt in her voice.
Even after being informed, they had ignored the warnings and acted recklessly. Stupid beyond belief.
That's why Class D had started the semester with zero points.
Hikigaya frowned slightly.
While her words seemed accusatory, they also felt self-directed.
She wasn't just frustrated with her classmates—she was frustrated with herself for being in Class D in the first place.
Still as arrogant as ever.
Horikita Manabu was wasting his time worrying about her. She wouldn't change until she took a few hard hits.
That said...
Her honesty here meant she wasn't scheming to dismantle Class B.
She had no hidden motives.
And that was enough for Hikigaya to relax.
Ayanokouji observed silently.
So this was where Horikita had gotten her information.
This pervert had actually figured out the school rules before anyone else.
In reality, many in Class A and B had likely figured them out as well.
At least they understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Unlike Class D, which had assumed they were fine and spent points recklessly.
That level of stupidity was rare.
"Horikita-san," Ichinose said with a gentle smile. "Class D has its own strengths too, right? People like Hirata, Kushida, and Ayanokouji. You should rely on them more."
As expected of Ichinose.
Even if she had doubts, she wouldn't let them show.
She wasn't naive. She was just good at hiding her true thoughts.
But now Hikigaya was uncomfortable.
It felt like a boss subtly warning him before dragging him into a private meeting.
Would what he did cause problems later?
Probably not.
After all, Class D's points were already at zero.
Right?
Ichinose wouldn't actually hit him… right?
For a brief moment, Hikigaya genuinely considered running away.
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