-146- Just pretend I didn't say anything

"Haven't eaten anything for a whole day?"

Upon hearing Ibuki Mio's words, all the students of Class D fell silent.

Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyou even showed expressions of pity, unable to say anything for a moment.

The bustling campsite of Class D, which was just lively until now, suddenly fell silent.

But upon careful consideration, this didn't seem like a strange thing.

Since Ishizaki Daichi had come out early in the morning before dawn to look for Ibuki Mio and Kaneda Satoru, it meant that these two had been expelled from Class C, which happened yesterday.

This meant that Ibuki Mio had spent the entire day in the forest yesterday, not only spending the night alone in the pitch-black forest but also with a high probability of not eating anything if she couldn't find food.

One couldn't possibly eat bugs and wild grass in the forest like Ryuen Kakeru suggested, right?

So, it's not surprising that Ibuki Mio hadn't eaten anything all day.

And until now, everyone present realized, perhaps because she had spent the whole night in the forest, Ibuki Mio's sportswear was somewhat dirty and messy.

This made the students of Class D, who had been opposing sheltering Ibuki Mio, show a hint of reluctance, exchanging glances.

"Ibuki, take this."

In the end, Kushida Kikyou couldn't bear the silence and took out some of the fruits that the class had picked in the orchard earlier that morning, handing them to Ibuki Mio.

"...Thank you."

Ibuki Mio seemed ashamed of this begging and charitable act, her tone becoming increasingly self-deprecating and stiff, but unable to resist the torment of hunger, she took the fruit and quietly began to nibble on it.

Although Ibuki Mio ate quietly and silently, her speed was not slow at all. Even though she didn't appear to be devouring the fruit, it was still disappearing rapidly in her hands.

"Take your time, there's plenty more here."

Kushida Kikyou seemed to feel sorry for her, comforting Ibuki Mio while handing her more fruits.

No one blamed Kushida Kikyou for this gesture.

Although it was very precious food and distributing it to students from other classes made no sense, it only increased their own burden. However, knowing Ibuki Mio's situation, no one would object to this, right?

This also seemed to strengthen the determination of Hirata Yousuke and others to let Ibuki Mio stay.

"I still think Ibuki should stay." Hirata Yousuke tried to persuade everyone in the class, "We can't just ignore people in need, can we?"

This statement could only be made by someone overly kind-hearted.

Unfortunately, seeing Ibuki Mio's condition, no one present could refute it, right?

Therefore, everyone could only continue to exchange troubled glances, looking extremely distressed.

They didn't want to watch a girl expelled by the class return to the forest alone.

They couldn't let students from other classes increase the risk in the camp.

These two conflicting thoughts caused conflict in everyone's hearts, making everyone distressed.

In the end, Ike Kanji, feeling impatient, scratched his head and handed everything over to Hori.

"Let's leave it to you, Nanaya-san. You said that you would decide everything in this camp, and none of us is allowed to have an opinion, right?"

Ike Kanji's self-defeating statement made everyone else make the same choice.

"Yeah, let Nanaya decide."

"Even if we all agree, if Nanaya disagrees, there's nothing we can do."

"On the other hand, as long as Nanaya agrees, then we have to accept it."

"So, Nanaya-san, it's up to you to decide."

Everyone made such remarks one after another.

Instead of continuing to struggle, it was better to let Hori make the decision.

Everyone made this choice spontaneously.

Of course, what everyone said was not wrong.

As long as Hori made a decision, everyone present had to accept it, whether they liked it or not.

This was agreed upon from the beginning.

"Nanaya-san, please."

"Nanaya-kun..."

Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yousuke also looked at Hori with hopeful eyes.

Even Ibuki Mio seemed to have understood that in this camp, Hori was the true decision-maker, stopped eating, raised her head, and looked at him.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Hori didn't make a decision immediately.

Hori just gazed at Ibuki Mio and spoke.

"Since you've already been expelled from the class and can't return to the campsite, why don't you simply abstain and go back to the ship?"

That way, she wouldn't have to endure the hardships of living in the forest because of being expelled, right? Not to mention, once expelled, it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to spend a whole week without any food or water, let alone without any food or water.

Finally, even if one collapses due to hunger and discomfort and is sent back to the ship, announcing their withdrawal, that would be normal.

In that case, wouldn't it be easier to abstain from the beginning and go back to the ship directly?

"Why choose to spend time alone in the forest?" Hori posed this question.

To this, Ibuki Mio's answer was unwavering.

"I don't want to give up like those guys!"

Ibuki Mio answered without a hint of hesitation.

Her strong attitude and the tone carrying a strong sense of self-will told others that this girl wasn't willing to give up easily.

Kushida Kikyou had previously said that Ibuki Mio's personality was unexpectedly strong, somewhat similar to Horikita Suzune, so her relationship with others wasn't very good.

Now it seemed that was true.

This girl indeed had some similarities with Horikita Suzune, as neither was easy to give in or yield.

Perhaps, in order to bring Ibuki Mio back to the campsite, Kushida Kikyou had also spent a lot of effort. If it weren't for spending a night alone in the forest, experiencing thorough hunger, fatigue, and inconvenience, Ibuki Mio might not have agreed to come over, let alone ask others for food?

Of course, this also indicated that Ibuki Mio would rather yield here than yield in front of her classmates who had been expelled from the class.

So, even if it meant being stubborn, Ibuki Mio didn't want to quit and become a laughingstock to those guys.

This was the attitude she showed.

Hori fell into thought.

After a while, Hori, as if finding it troublesome to think more, made a decision casually.

"If you want to stay, however, as the price for us accommodating one more person's food, water, and bedding, you must also contribute labor and help with necessary tasks."

Saying this, Hori smiled faintly.

"Of course, if you find it difficult, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Ibuki Mio's words from earlier were returned to her exactly as she said them.

It was almost like a provocation.

This naturally made the girl with a strong sense of pride clench her eyes and bite her lip.

"...Okay."

After a while, Ibuki Mio made a response.

"I agree."

So, Ibuki Mio stayed in the campsite of Class D.