Kouenji said something that made no sense.
"You haven't changed your mind, have you? The current situation no longer allows you to go back on your word," Horikita said, crossing her arms, her tone slightly stern.
"Don't worry, I will keep my promise and complete the task you gave me. Likewise, I hope you don't forget your agreement with me," Kouenji Rokusuke said pointedly.
"Is it about the agreement that you won't be forced to participate in any future exams? Don't worry about that, we will keep our word. Besides, Class D isn't unable to advance without your strength."
Horikita's dismissive attitude was met with Kouenji's hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha, I hope so. Speaking of which, Horikita girl, do you know that this island is a cage that confines people? All the new students are thrown into this unfamiliar environment, and then given the command to integrate into the environment and survive within a week. No one questioned or resisted; they all obediently accepted this arrangement and this fate..."
Kouenji Rokusuke's words were cut off abruptly by Horikita Suzune.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Facing Horikita Suzune's questioning, Kouenji Rokusuke seemed a little disappointed.
"I originally thought that you, being with Miyako girl, would understand my thoughts. It seems I overestimated you. There are differences between people. If Miyako girl were standing in front of me right now, she would definitely understand what I mean. I am about to embrace freedom, while you can only continue to struggle in the cage."
For some reason.
Horikita Suzune actually recalled Kouenji's seemingly insane and absurd words.
However, what she cared about was never Kouenji's cryptic hints.
Instead, it was Kouenji's evaluation of her and Amane, which was on completely different levels.
Horikita admitted that she and Amane had some differences.
But in Horikita's view, this was merely due to different directions of growth and effort.
Amane's direction of effort was physical strength, while her direction of effort was intelligence.
Every time, Amane walked on the edge of danger and often got involved in trouble. If it weren't for a few strokes of luck, Amane might even have been expelled.
In contrast, Horikita dealt with every event around her with absolute rationality. This led to her not being easily influenced by others, not easily falling into traps set by others, and not being swayed by compassion for classmates or similar relationships, ultimately leading to being manipulated and betrayed.
So far, Horikita had not been involved in any incidents.
Therefore, even though Amane had achieved considerable success for the class with her methods, Horikita Suzune still believed that only her way of acting could make the class go further.
Horikita saw this exam as a stepping stone to prove her strength.
At the same time, she also wanted Amane to realize that she was someone who could fight alongside Amane.
It was she who had asked Amane to work hard for the class to reach Class A.
But in the end, Amane's plans and arrangements almost completely bypassed her.
As if deliberately avoiding her.
She knew Amane also had her own secrets.
But what she couldn't accept was that Amane wouldn't even rely on her a little more, even when betrayed.
Therefore, she had to prove that her strength was comparable to Amane's. Only then could she stand side by side with her.
But... whether it was Hirata, Ayanokoji, or Kouenji.
They all gave Amane extremely high praise... and almost overwhelmingly so.
This made Horikita involuntarily begin to doubt herself.
Was there really such a big gap between her and Amane?
No, absolutely not!
It was just because she hadn't yet displayed her abilities and methods, which was why everyone's evaluations were a bit biased... it must be so.
As long as she could lead Class D to a better result in this exam.
Amane would recognize her strength.
Recognize that she was also someone who could fight alongside Amane.
Evening.
Amane, resting in her tent, heard movement outside and poked her head out curiously.
The students of Class C were walking towards the cruise ship, backpacks on, chatting and laughing.
Shiina was organizing the remaining girls to process ingredients in a hurry.
Amane, who had no idea what was happening, was completely bewildered.
She had only taken an afternoon nap; had something big happened?
"Hiyori, are you planning to give up on the exam?"
It wasn't surprising that Amane thought this way; anyone seeing Class C's setup would assume they were giving up the exam.
"Hmm, we all think the environment here is too different compared to the cruise ship, so everyone plans to go back to the cruise ship to continue our vacation. Anyway, the points have already been used up, so there's no need to worry about points being deducted, and everyone can rest better," Shiina said very casually.
But Amane still sensed a hint of something unusual.
Three hundred class points had actually been used up?
If she remembered correctly, at least over 100 points remained unused, apart from some ingredients purchased in the morning.
How did Class C manage to spend it all at once?
Seeing that many people didn't return to the cruise ship but were instead in charge of smoking food.
Amane immediately thought of a possibility.
But... was such a thing really possible?
If they left the group, it would truly be survival on a deserted island.
Even with food, one couldn't guarantee absolute safety. The real crisis in surviving on a deserted island wasn't food, but illness.
Even if Class C were to gamble everything, they shouldn't be playing such a high-stakes game.
Perhaps she was just overthinking it?
"Amane, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Seeing Amane's expression change, Shiina asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I'm just curious, since you're all planning to give up the exam, why are you still buying so much food?"
Facing Amane's question, Shiina's expression didn't change at all.
"Because some classmates want to hold another party on the beach tonight, so I used all the remaining points to buy food. I want everyone to enjoy themselves to the fullest. You can also come to the party later, Amane."
Shiina's answer was very reasonable.
Holding a party to bid farewell to the exam, since they were leaving the island anyway, they might as well spend all their points and go wild.
Class C probably had this idea.
But in Amane's eyes, the more reasonable something was, the more unreasonable it became.
At least half of the people were getting on the boat.
The remaining people were mostly girls; did they really need that much food? Moreover, she saw someone hanging salted meat on a rack, then moving the rack to the beach, trying to speed up the drying process before air-drying it.
This was a simple method for making jerky and cured meat.
She didn't believe this was Class C preparing for a so-called party.
Just as Amane was about to press further about the afternoon.
She actually saw Ryuuen Kakeru with a backpack in the crowd.
Were they really going to withdraw from the island?
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