COTE:Oreki Houtarou's Strength-Supreme Classroom

This development is certainly off.

While on the deck, Oreki-san confirmed that Ibuki and Ryuuen deliberately acted as if they were at odds in front of everyone. At that time, Oreki-san thought the other party might be planning something big.

The current situation is that the students in Class C have abstained from voting, and the class C teacher on the class guidance board also seems reluctant to reveal more information.

This indicates that the remaining students from Class C on the island are either the leaders or spies gathering information about the leaders of other classes.

So when he saw Ibuki, Oreki-san had already confirmed that she was the spy left behind by Class C.

But...

He was also surprised that a student from Class A could actually pick up a spy. According to Kamuro-san, she wanted to instigate Ibuki to rebel and then use Ibuki as a spy buried in Class C.

The idea was okay, but you have to consider the situation. At least, it's not suitable now.

Once the information about the leader of Class A is leaked, the blow to Class A will be huge. No student in Class A can bear it or is willing to bear it. So the first priority is to reduce risks.

So now, Oreki-san brought Kamuro Masumi, Kito Hayabusa, and Ibuki to the Class B camp. The students of Class B had walked for a long time in vain today and then finally occupied a stronghold as a camp.

Depending on the situation, it seems that after waiting for the first 8 hours to pass, the time limit for Class D to occupy the stronghold became invalid, and then they seized it in advance.

Although Kouenji is very fast, there are 40 strongholds surrounding the island, and he cannot seize them immediately.

So this is Class B's first victory.

But the students in Class B also had some preparations. The conditions for choosing a stronghold to capture were now very good. It was a vegetable patch equipped with wells for irrigating the fields, so there was no shortage of water.

They even set up a device to use water drawn directly from the well in the vegetable field for bathing, using a gas water heater.

Earlier today, in the camp, Oreki-san, who felt bored, read the material manual distributed by the school for exchanging basic points.

There are three types of water heaters: gas water heaters, solar water heaters, and electric water heaters. Among them, gas water heaters are the cheapest, requiring only 10 basic points.

However, the gas water heater is only for heating the water and does not come with a shower room.

As a result, Ichinose and the others set up a shelf themselves and then placed large garbage bags, provided free by the school, around the shelf. They received many large garbage bags and used them as curtains.

Therefore, the basic points for redeeming the shower room were saved. They really know how to live a good life, those students of Class B.

It can also be seen from this that the agreement between them and Ryuen of Class C may not have reached 200 basic points, so they should save wherever they can.

But saving money is not the real path to success in this exam, Oreki-san thought to himself.

...

"Students from Class A—"

"And then those from Class C—"

Oreki-san and the others were quickly noticed by the students of Class B. The surrounding Class B students immediately paid attention.

"Everyone from Class B," Oreki-san said, "We don't mean any harm."

As he said this, Kamuro-san and Kito, who were following behind him, quickly set aside the sugar cane and corn they had brought with them.

"This is—"

Ichinose was probably busy with other things and did not appear immediately. However, the athletic boys Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata, who were going to check out Ryuuen's base, both came over.

"These are some resources from our base," Oreki-san said. "I would like to support you out of humanitarianism."

"Then, I also have something I want to ask of you."

"Ask us?" Kanzaki Ryuji frowned.

At this moment, there was a little commotion behind the students in Class B. The students got out of the way, allowing a super-beautiful girl with waist-long pink hair to come to the front.

This was Honami Ichinose. Among the first-year students, she was as good-looking as Horikita-san. At the very least, she was the class star of Class B.

At the same time, she was trusted by the students in Class B due to her charisma. She was also the actual representative of Class B.

Her hair was still a little damp. She must have just taken a shower. And even though she was wearing red sportswear like everyone else, she still looked quite cute. She was the type of person who looked good in anything she wore.

"This is Ibuki-san," Ichinose Honami immediately recognized the girl from Class C brought by Oreki.

"Oh my God! Her injury is also so severe," Ichinose said.

The choice of words here needs attention. She used "also," which implied that she had also met students from Class C before.

"On their way back from roll call, the students in our class found Ibuki sitting alone under a tree," Oreki-san said.

"According to her statement, Ryuuen swallowed up the results of the agreement with your class through violence."

"Then Ryuuen and the others gave up and returned to the ship."

"She didn't want to be around them."

"Being beaten two days in a row, I doubt there will not be any problems if she contacted him again."

As Oreki spoke, he looked at Ibuki.

Ibuki noticed Oreki's gaze.

She wondered, what should she do now? What did he want her to do?

In other words, she found it unbelievable. She was supposed to spy on the leader of Class A, but now she had been brought to Class B.

And now that Oreki had brought her out, she really couldn't just go back. After all, if she refused to leave Class A, wouldn't that easily raise suspicion? So she followed him cooperatively.

The result now seemed to be that they were going to leave her here in Class B. Although Ibuki found it incredible, she still followed the script given by Ryuuen.

"I hate Ryuuen. I don't want to be on the ship with that guy." As she said this, she held her right arm with her left hand.

There was a bruise on her right arm. And there hadn't been one yesterday. In other words, she had been beaten just today.

"Ryuuen has gone too far!" said some of the students from Class B who had been on the deck of the ship yesterday and had seen Ibuki being beaten.

And now, seeing she had been beaten even worse today, they were clearly concerned.

"This situation is indeed not suitable for making contact with Ryuuen anymore," Kanzaki Ryuuji, who had spoken rather aggressively before, now spoke more gently.

"Our class has the same idea," Oreki-san said. "Kamuro-san was the one who picked up Ibuki. But when we brought her back, we found... our tent was full."

"We only have four tents, and sleeping 10 students in one tent is already very crowded," Oreki added.

In reality, there were six tents. So, if divided equally, each tent could house seven people, leaving space for two extra students as there were only 40 students in Class A. Oreki complained internally but kept his expression neutral.

Kamuro-san remained silent, trusting that Oreki-san would explain everything later. She simply nodded, confirming, "That's right."

When the tents were mentioned, Ichinose nodded in understanding. Even Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata, who had explored Ryuuen's stronghold together, looked a bit embarrassed.

After all, when they returned to camp, Ichinose had arranged for students to bring back the two unused tents from Ryuuen's group.

Some students were still setting up those tents. In other words, they were using Class C's tents, leaving the Class C students without shelter. The comparison was, indeed, quite embarrassing.

"Moreover," Oreki-san continued, subtly hinting that he had no intention of moving but could encourage Class B to take action.

"The rules of this exam do not allow fighting or seizing resources. If such incidents occur, points will be deducted."

"But Class C already has a basic score of 0, so these punishments don't really affect them. However, since Ibuki was indeed subjected to violence by Ryuuen, even if we return to school, you can still report Ryuuen's behavior to the student council."

"Ryuuen has already been penalized for previous conflicts with students in Class D. I think you're well aware of this, Ichinose-san.

Because of his criminal record, if this incident is reported upon returning to school, I suspect Class C would face a penalty, likely a deduction of 50 points from their class evaluation score."

Ibuki was taken aback. She hadn't heard anything about this before. But as she noticed everyone's eyes on her, she had no choice but to nod.

"I will testify," Ibuki agreed, though she had no idea about such proceedings. Or...

In other words, after this test, no matter how many points Class C earns, will they lose another 50 points? What is Ryuuen thinking?

After Oreki-san said this, the students in Class B seemed relieved. Half of them accepted Ibuki out of kindness, and the other half saw it as an opportunity to contribute to their class.

Ryuuen from Class C was so disliked that it seemed beneficial if he could be punished.

"Then, Ichinose, I entrust Ibuki to you," Oreki said. "On our way here, we encountered some snakes and similar creatures. They seemed non-venomous, but we can't leave her alone in the wild."

"I understand," Ichinose responded, looking at the students of Class B. No one had any objections.

After taking over Class C's tent, it would be embarrassing to see their students wandering in the wilderness.

At the same time, according to Oreki-san, accepting Ibuki was still beneficial. They were dissatisfied with Class C and closely monitoring their class evaluation scores.

If Class C could be deducted a few more points, it would be advantageous for everyone. If Ibuki were placed in another class, her injuries might not recover as quickly.

Now they had clear goal in mind.

Keep Ibuki first, and then see if you can spend 5 basic points to exchange for a digital camera. It's important to take photos of Ibuki's injuries and keep them for the record.

Alternatively, take Ibuki and Kaneda to the homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, during roll call tomorrow morning.

Let the teacher be a witness or something like that. The students' cell phones were taken away, but not the teachers'.

So maybe they can ask the teacher to help take photos of Ibuki's injuries. This saves basic points.

The students of Class B became enthusiastic. In Ibuki's view, these students were convinced that she was beaten by Ryuuen and seemed eager to seek justice for her, saying they would definitely help report it.

Ibuki felt as though she had ended up in a very unfavorable situation.

Ichinose then turned slightly and said, "Oreki-san, can we have a few words alone?"

"Sure," Oreki-san agreed.

Giving Ibuki to Class B wasn't a kind act—it was more like disposing of garbage—so Oreki-san was willing to accept Ichinose's request.

...

As a result, Ibuki was surrounded by the enthusiastic students of Class B. They joined forces to ask Ryuuen for supplies.

Ichinose also considered that some students might be accidentally injured. The stronghold they occupied was a vegetable patch, so they needed Band-Aids and iodophor for washing and cutting vegetables. The girls wanted to help Ibuki clean her wounds.

Ibuki, likely unaccustomed to such attention, seemed uncomfortable and wanted to be stern or fierce. However, seeing that many of the girls were even tearful, after such a long day, she couldn't maintain her tough demeanor.

This left Ibuki in a difficult position. If this continued, she might end up staying in Class B. Did the mission to infiltrate Class A fail?

...

Oreki and Ichinose walked outside the camp. Ichinose carried a flashlight. The sky had completely darkened, but the moonlight was still bright enough to see the road ahead. Therefore, Ichinose didn't turn on the flashlight.

Oreki, on the other hand, felt differently. While ordinary people's vision is limited at night, he felt that if he concentrated, his vision would remain nearly as clear as it was during the day.

And this no longer belongs to the category of human beings. In other words, not only did he gain superpowers, but his body also completely changed. The mood was a little complicated.

However, he knew there was a very beautiful girl beside him now. Unlike Horikita-san, who is aloof and distant, Ichinose-san has a temperament that touches people's hearts.

With her pink waist-length straight hair, delicate facial features, and clear pupils, just talking to her and spending time with her feels very comforting.

Additionally, her hair was still a little damp from the shower, adding a pleasant scent of shampoo.

In other words, is he bringing a girl out who has just taken a shower?

"Oreki-san——"

As they walked, Ichinose suddenly tilted her head, blinking her eyelashes gently, and called his name.

Did she know that her posture was very cute?

Oreki-san knew that while Kushida might be an angel who can pretend, Ichinose seemed like an archangel who didn't need to pretend at all.

Therefore, when the two shared some common gestures, Ichinose-san had a greater impact.

"Let's just stay here," Oreki-san said.

"Ichinose, you seem to have had a hard day. You don't need to walk any more. You still have some distance to return to the base."

"Woo——"

Speaking of which, Ichinose-san seemed quite aggrieved. She had suffered a lot today. Her physical fitness and athletic talent were not high.

Despite not wanting to stand out, she worked with everyone to find a stronghold, only to find that all of them were occupied by Class D.

After walking around, her feet hurt, and although she felt comfortable after taking a shower, the pain returned as she walked out with Oreki-san. Her feet almost felt like they were no longer her own.

At that moment, Ichinose looked to Oreki like an aggrieved cat at home. Seeing such a cat, he felt an impulse to reach out and touch it.

Since Ichinose-san was not as tall as him, he could easily reach out and touch her head.