-112- The island in the sea

About an hour later, Hori, who was in the room, heard a broadcast echoing throughout the ship.

"This ship is about to arrive at its destination. The cruise ship will land on the island owned by our school. Please change into your sports clothes within thirty minutes, and after confirming your luggage, gather on the deck with your phones."

"Special notice: Except for phones, all personal items should be left in the room and not brought along."

"Repeat: This ship..."

Such broadcasts echoed three times throughout the entire cruise ship.

Hori lying in the room suddenly opened his eyes.

"Finally arrived?"

After murmuring, Hori got up from the bed and began to change into sports clothes as instructed by the broadcast.

The sports clothes were notified to be brought by the homeroom teacher before departure.

However, Chabashira Sae asked the students to bring winter sports clothes, with jackets and long pants, instead of summer sports clothes with short sleeves and shorts.

Even though it's summer vacation, wearing winter sports clothes would probably lead to complaints from students who can't stand the heat, right?

Hori casually put on the clothes, even putting on the jacket.

After changing clothes, Hori heard Hirata Yousuke entering from outside the door.

"You're quick, Nanaya-kun." Hirata Yousuke greeted, looking around the room before asking, "Where are Ayanokouji-kun and Kouenji-kun?"

Hori didn't have time to answer the question.

Because almost as soon as Hirata Yousuke's voice fell, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka came back.

"I'm back."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka greeted in a flat tone.

That bland and powerless tone probably wouldn't leave a good impression on any girl, right?

"Welcome back, Ayanokouji-kun."

Hirata Yousuke welcomed Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's return gently, not taking his flat tone seriously.

However, Hori noticed.

In Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's usual emotionally flat voice, there was now a faint hint of low tone.

Obviously, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's mood at the moment was not as flat as it seemed on the surface.

Hori was puzzled by this Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"What happened?"

Hori asked directly.

"...Nothing, really."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka looked at Hori, shook his head, and the barely perceptible low tone in his tone disappeared.

If Hori hadn't trusted his own feelings, he might have mistaken Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's slight anomaly as an illusion.

However, before Hori could inquire further, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka spoke again.

"Anyway, let's quickly change clothes and gather on the deck."

After speaking, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't speak again, but took out sports clothes from his luggage on the bed and started changing.

"That's right, it's not good to be late."

Hirata Yousuke agreed with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's statement and also began to change clothes.

"Right on time!"

Kouenji Rokusuke also walked in from outside the door, equally soaked, as if he had come straight from the swimming pool to the room.

Now, Hori lost the opportunity to pursue the matter.

"Nevermind."

After suppressing this matter in his heart, Hori opened the door, left the room, and went to the deck.

...

"Is that it?"

"Not bad..."

As soon as he arrived on the deck, Hori noticed that there were many people here.

Students who had changed into sports clothes gathered in front of the railing on the deck, pointing and gesturing towards the sea ahead.

Hori looked over.

The next moment, Hori saw it.

In front of the cruise ship, an island slowly appeared, catching everyone's eye.

"Is that the island?"

It was a lonely island sitting in the ocean.

The island was covered with dense trees, forming a forest that occupied more than eighty percent of the island, leaving only the edge to resemble a beach.

From a distance, the island bathed in sunlight, emitting a lush green hue, really looked like a resort.

The students on the deck emitted feelings of anticipation, excitement, and excitement after confirming the island with their naked eyes.

Upon closer inspection, the central figures of the other classes were also present, gazing at the island.

Katsuragi Kouhei was still with Totsuka Yahiko, standing at the forefront of the deck. While others were immersed in excitement, they appeared calm, not only without a smile, but also taking out a pen and paper, apparently recording something.

Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji were also gathered at another place on the deck, pointing and whispering to each other while looking at the direction of the island.

Ryuen Kakeru, on the other hand, was also with Yamada Albert and Ishizaki Daichi, but he treated the two as if they were air, just staring at the island ahead with a smile on his face.

In addition, the rest of the students were almost all immersed in the joy of playing, already planning where to play on the beach after reaching the island.

Even Class D was no exception.

Among them, two girls called out to Hori.

"Nanaya-kun."

"Over here! Nanaya-kun!"

The ones who called out to Hori were Sakura Airi and Kushida Kikyou.

Standing together in front of a railing, Sakura Airi and Kushida Kikyou looked at Hori who came out from the ship, one showing a relaxed expression, and the other energetically waving towards Hori.

Seeing this, Hori went over.

"Look! Nanaya-kun! We've arrived!"

Kushida Kikyou happily pointed towards the island ahead, seeming to be in a very good mood.

"I see."

Hori nodded, then shifted his gaze to Sakura Airi.

"Why didn't I see you on the deck just now?"

Hori naturally asked.

After a semester, Hori and Sakura Airi were already familiar with each other, so there was no need for formalities.

Sakura Airi could only relax a little when facing Hori.

"Because everyone was so excited after setting sail, it bothered me a bit, so I stayed in the room the whole time."

Sakura Airi said, feeling ashamed, which was indeed in line with her style.

Hori shrugged, stepped forward, and stood between Kushida Kikyou and Sakura Airi.

Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki seemed to cast angry glances in their direction, but Hori ignored them and continued to gaze at the island ahead.

As the ship approached the island, its speed began to slow down.

It was said that this lonely island was leased by Advanced Nurturing High School from the government, with an area of ​​about 0.5 square kilometers and a maximum altitude of 230 meters, which was quite large.

The cruise ship seemed to want the students to have a good look at the island, so it didn't dock immediately but circled around the island first.

When the cruise ship finally docked, the homeroom teachers of the four classes also came out from the ship.

"Gather! Roll call!"

Under such instructions, the students began to gather on the deck and line up.

After about twenty minutes, all the students from the four classes had gathered.