Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

"It's Kaneda."

"He can't do it."

If Hikigaya wasn't capable, he wouldn't have asked the student council president for that; it would be different if it were Ayanokouji.

Nagumo loves these cunning and unassuming people the most, so it wouldn't be bad to let Ayanokouji play with Nagumo.

[Attention all students. If time permits, please gather on the deck. We will soon see the island. You will surely see some very interesting sights in a short time.]

As the luxury ship sailed to a point where the southern islands came into view, the ship's loudspeaker began to broadcast announcements.

Many students who were originally indoors also went up to the deck to look around curiously.

"Look carefully."

After reminding Ryuen, Hikigaya focused his attention on the distant island, whose outline became clearer as the cruise ship moved forward.

The island, which looks like a primeval forest, is not large, only about the size of a few dozen football fields, but it is big enough for the more than one hundred students.

"What a beautiful island, little fish."

With the sound of the cane tapping on the deck, Sakayanagi led Kamuro Kito to the railing next to Hikigaya and looked out.

"Isn't this railing too high and blocking your view? Do you want me to lift you up onto the railing so you can sit and look?"

Hikigaya bent down slightly to scare the silver-haired female demon, and the demon's head was right next to him.

"I don't like the cold railing, but it's nice to rest on Zayu's shoulder." Sakayanagi chuckled, covering his mouth.

variable.

Hikigaya shifted his gaze from Sakayanagi's face back to Kojima.

Originally, Sakayanagi had abstained from the uninhabited island exam and hadn't even come on the cruise ship, but now it seems that Sakayanagi is also a little uneasy.

After approaching the island's pier, the ferry did not stop, but continued to circle the island before slowly coming to a stop at the pier.

During this detour, Hachiman also noted down the various man-made paths carved out of the island.

After docking at the pier, the ship's loudspeaker announced that everyone must change into sportswear, bring their mobile phones and the required luggage, and assemble on the deck. Most of the students, who were wearing their favorite casual clothes, slowly dispersed from the deck upon hearing this.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Hachiman returned to his assigned room.

The school hopes that students will have good communication skills, so even though there are many empty rooms, the students are arranged to stay in large rooms with three people per room.

Since no boys wanted to be his and Koenji's roommates, Hirata lived up to expectations and stepped up.

When Hikigaya entered, Koenji and Hirata were already changing clothes.

Wearing only briefs, Koenji was standing in front of a full-length mirror admiring his perfect physique. Compared to Koenji Hirata, whose body was also strong, there was a clear difference.

After taking off his shirt, Hikigaya, shirtless, went to his backpack to find the sweatpants that were underneath. By the time he found them, Koenji had already changed his clothes and was standing next to him.

"Your physique is pretty good, you scrawny boy." Koenji reached out and pinched his muscles, then showed an interested expression.

"You've improved so much compared to when you were in swimming class at the beginning of the semester."

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Uninhabited Island Exam Begins

"You're nowhere near as good as me."

Flattery never fails. After saying a few words of praise to Koenji, Hikigaya quickly changed his clothes, and the three of them packed their personal belongings from the school and went out together to meet on the deck.

After a certain period of time, everyone gathered and, led by their respective class advisors, left the cruise ship and arrived at the beach of the uninhabited island.

After all four classes had lined up, Mr. Mashima took a loudspeaker and stood in front of each class's line, facing the students.

Once the noise from the students subsided, Mr. Mashima announced that the students would undergo a special test on a week-long wilderness survival experience on a deserted island.

At the beginning of the school year, each class was given two tents, two flashlights, and a box of matches. Sunscreen and feminine hygiene products for girls were provided in unlimited quantities.

"It's really speechless. How can we survive on just these things? There's no food or water at all."

Shinohara's loud chatter quickly attracted the attention of students and teachers from other classes. Ryuen, who was standing at the front of the D class line, also cast a mocking glance at Hikigaya.

"Shut up."

Hikigaya, his face dark with anger, reprimanded Shinohara, causing the growing commotion in Class D to disappear. He looked at the speechless Majima-sensei and said, "Please continue, teacher."

In Majima-sensei's continuation, students are informed that each class will be given 300 exam points.

These test points can be used to purchase items from a guidebook distributed to each class, including food, water, and a wide variety of camping and entertainment equipment.

Of course, since it's an exam, we can't make things too comfortable for the students. Of the 300 exam points, whatever remains after the exam will be added to the class's points.

Therefore, you can't waste your points.

Because the island is neither too big nor too small, each student is equipped with a distress watch with GPS tracking to ensure their safety.

After distributing the supplies, Mr. Majima withdrew to Class A, and the homeroom teachers of the other classes went to their respective classes to explain the exam rules to the leaders.

"First, look at the last page of the guide manual, which lists the items for deduction review."

Chabashira didn't dare to put on airs in Hikigaya and didn't say anything unnecessary.

After opening the guidebook, Shiina and Horikita Hirata also gathered around Hikigaya.

The document lists four deduction items.

Exiting the exam due to physical discomfort will result in a deduction of 30 yuan.

Urinating or defecating indiscriminately pollutes the environment and incurs a fine of 20 yuan.

After each class sets up a designated attendance point, there will be two roll calls every day, and five points will be deducted for each absence.

The most serious offense is acts of violence, looting, or damage to equipment by other classes, resulting in the entire class being disqualified.

"What should we do when we go to the toilet?" Hirata pointed to the penalty item for not polluting the environment.

"This school provides toilets and lightweight tents that can also be used for changing clothes."

Chazhu took out a makeshift toilet made from a cardboard box and gave the girls a rough demonstration of how to use it, much to their disbelief.

"impossible."

"Who would use that kind of thing, especially something that's shared by both men and women?"

"The guy will probably be nearby when you use it, how disgusting."

Just as Hikigaya was about to speak, Shiina walked up to Sato, who had said that boys were disgusting, and said, "You can't say things like that. Creating antagonism between men and women is not a good thing."

Naturally, no one dared to say much in front of Shiina Sato, and the other girls followed suit and kept quiet.

Seeing that the girls' confusion had subsided, Hachiman looked at Chabashira and said, "What other important points are there? Tell me quickly."

After giving a disdainful look to the person who spoke rudely, Chabashira announced the additional rules.

There are several checkpoints on the island where you can use key cards issued by the school to check in. You can get one exam point by checking in once every eight hours, and the points will be settled after the exam.

The key cards can only be used by the leaders elected by the students, and on the last day of the exam, each class can guess who the leaders of other classes are.

You'll get fifty points if you guess correctly, and lose fifty if you guess wrong.

The class that guesses correctly will lose 50 points and will lose the extra points for the check-in point.

Because the conditions for leaders cannot be changed without special circumstances, arbitrarily occupying strongholds carries enormous risks.

“I will decide on the leader. Horikita, come with me.”

After pretending to think for a moment, Hikigaya issued the order.

After following Chabashira-sensei to the base set up by the staff, Hikigaya quickly obtained a key card with Horikita Suzune's name on it, which Horikita did not object to.

Generally, no one would choose a well-known leader in the class as the key card holder, because if a gambler guessed based on facts, it would be a big problem.

"Hirata, you lead the others to gather supplies and head in this direction. Horikita and I will go scout ahead. No one can use their exam points until I make a decision."

Pointing in the direction of his desired base, while the other classes were still lingering on the beach, Hachiman led Horikita into the forest of the deserted island.

"Come on up. You need to conserve your energy. I want to capture a few strongholds first."

After disappearing from everyone's sight, Hikigaya squatted down in front of Horikita. One of the reasons for choosing Horikita as the leader was that she had an A rating in physical strength and was light in body.

The most important things for survival on a deserted island are water and food. Two of the outposts have their own water sources and don't need to buy water from the school.

One is a well, and the other is a river.

However, the base that Hachiman set up for Class D was not one of these two, but a cave base deep inside an uninhabited island.

Because there are two smaller outposts near the cave outpost, you can get a lot of test points in seven days.

"Okay." Horikita, who now only treats other boys as men and doesn't consider them men except for her brother, climbed onto Hachiman's back without saying a word.

Horikita, who has been exercising for many years, is very light, so her flexibility is much less than that of Ichinose.

After a moment of contemplation, Hikigaya immediately grabbed Horikita's thigh and jogged forward.

"If you see anything that seems out of place along the way, you can make a note of it and check it on the way back."

"Ah."

What appears to be an empty, uninhabited island is actually an artificial island, where some schools have specially planted edible plants and fruits.

The more food you find, the less you need to buy from the school; points are earned little by little.

After arriving at the river outpost, Hachiman immediately had Horikita check in and occupy it before turning to the well outpost. By the time Hachiman reached the well, he was almost out of energy.

At the same time, he also heard voices approaching from afar.

"The rest is up to you. Go straight in this direction and you'll find a clearly man-made road. Follow it and you'll see a cave. Take over that place."

"If I'm the only one clocking in, won't I be exposed if someone bumps into me?" Horikita asked with a puzzled expression.

"After you check in, hold up your clothes to cover your face as much as possible, leave the cave and return the way you came. It doesn't matter if you get discovered, in fact, it's better that way."

Since the leader cannot be changed without a special reason, Hachiman should provide a reason that the school cannot refuse.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Hashimoto Wins MVP

Shortly after Horikita obediently left, Katsuragi and Totsuka appeared before Hikigaya.

"Hey, where are you two rushing off to? Are you going to take over a stronghold?"

Leaning against a large tree by the roadside, Hikigaya waved casually to the two of them.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Katsuragi’s expression remained unchanged, and he stopped Totsuka from speaking, gesturing for him to leave with him quickly.

"If that's the case, then I must follow them and see who the leader is."

Hachiman stood up, leaning against a tree, as if he was about to follow.

"The exam has only just begun. If you dare to keep up, go ahead and do so. Who knows what will happen later?"

"I'm sorry, but please understand that our class leader is alone in the front, capturing a stronghold, and we can't let you see him."

Hikigaya certainly understood what Katsuragi meant.

If he dares to do something like following Katsuragi and his companion to hinder their potential capture of the stronghold, resulting in a lose-lose situation, Class A will learn from Class D and hurt each other.

However, if Hikigaya directly states that the leader of Class D is alone and Katsuragi still wants to advance, then it would mean that Katsuragi is going to fight Class D to the death.

After stopping, Katsuragi tried to turn the tide, saying, "In that case, please take out your pocket and let us confirm whether you are lying."

"Okay."

He turned his empty pockets inside out and even took off his sneakers to let the two of them check.

"How about it, do you want to bet that there really is only one person ahead who has checked in and occupied the stronghold ahead?"

"...Let's explore other places, Totsuka O-ni (1-??) Sanrinba (#2)."

"Sigh," Hikigaya sighed inwardly after Katsuragi and the other man left.

If Katsuragi didn't seek stability and instead acted aggressively, he could discover Horikita and determine that Horikita was the leader based on the occupation time displayed inside the cave stronghold.

In that case, his desperate obstruction would dispel their suspicion that he had seen through the D-class leader's simplistic approach on the very first day.

After turning back every three steps to confirm that Katsuragi and Totsuka really hadn't followed, Hikigaya could only regretfully reunite with Horikita.

“We just ran into Katsuragi and Totsuka. To prevent them from lying in wait on the road, just cover your head with your coat and I’ll carry you back.”

He wanted to go all out with the act, but he was afraid that being too reckless would arouse Katsura's suspicion. If they met, he should first make them confirm that she was a girl.