21 Chapter 21 - The Spy

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"Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception." ~Niccolò Machiavelli

As morning arrived, everyone dispersed into groups, some preparing water to filter, some washing clothes, and some searching for food. Horikita remained in her tent, undisturbed, as her task of refreshing the claim on our camp had been completed. Ayanokoji, Sakura, and Kikyo had all departed together to search for firewood right after roll call.

This was a good opportunity to speak with Hirata, as he wasn't surrounded by the girls due to the necessity of performing various duties.

"Good morning, Hirata," I greet him as I approach his position. He was currently storing the males' sleeping bags in the females' tents to prevent them from becoming infested with bugs.

"Good morning, Eru. I didn't assign you any tasks as I thought you might want to try to get some sleep. It didn't seem like you got much last night," Hirata responds, his voice steady as he dusts off a sleeping bag of any dirt or insects before rolling it up.

"I appreciate the sentiment, although I can assure you I got enough sleep last night, at least more than I usually do," I tell him as I grab a sleeping bag and dust it off as well.

"Is that so? I don't know how you do it. If I slept as little as you do on a good day, I wouldn't be able to function properly," Hirata remarks, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Well, some are better at dealing with such things than others. It just so happens that lack of sleep normally has no major impact on my day-to-day life. Usually, I can get by without sleeping at all for days, then taking an entire day just to sleep," I explain, my tone as calm and composed as ever.

"That makes sense. If you couldn't sleep at all, you would be in a hospital by now," Hirata says, and I nod in response.

"I actually came here to discuss a different matter with you. I want you to limit Class D's point usage to the bare minimum. If we can live without it, we don't need it," I tell Hirata, my tone serious.

Hirata looks over at me and responds, "I don't think that's an unreasonable request. I think a lot of the class would even agree with that idea. But I'm surprised it's coming from you, you wanted to get the bathroom after all."

"Because, in a way, that was a necessity. The class may have split without it. But from this point on, unless the scenario is similar where a purchase is necessary to keep the class together or what we are purchasing is a literal necessity, we should work around our issues," I explain, my tone firm yet understanding.

"May I ask why the sudden interest now? Until today, you didn't seem to care much about the class purchases." Hirata asked, seeming curious about my sudden interest in the classes purchases.

I responded, "Horikita and I have simply reached a consensus that this is the most suitable strategy for the upcoming exam." I casually mentioned Horikita's name, knowing well that Ayanokoji was planning to attribute all his efforts to her. Why couldn't I use her as a shield?

Hirata nodded, "Horikita, I see. It's good that she discussed it with you. I know she has good intentions and tries to assist the class in her own ways, but sometimes her words can be… somewhat harsh, to put it mildly. Anyway, I understand. Don't worry about the points anymore; I'll handle that."

As I move to depart from Hirata, my gaze lands on Ayanokoji's group making their return. Among them, an unfamiliar face caught my attention: a student from Class C, Satoru Kaneda. A thought forms in my mind: he must be Ryuen's informant for Class D. I contemplated who Ryuen would dispatch to investigate Class D. I was certain it couldn't be Mio Ibuki, Albert Yamada, or Daichi Ishizaki. My reasoning? I had previously observed these three in Ryuen's company during my visit to Class C. Furthermore, neither Albert Yamada nor Daichi Ishizaki fit the archetype of the 'damsel in distress.' On the other hand, Kaneda, with his less-than-fortunate genetics necessitating the use of glasses and a face capable of inducing nightmares, did elicit a fraction of sympathy from the crowd.

Kikyo, with a worried expression, rushed up to Hirata and me, causing most of the class to gather around the new face at the camp. "Hirata, Eru, it's terrible! We found a Class C student beaten up in the forest. He had been sleeping there all night!" Amid the commotion, or perhaps after hearing those words, Horikita slowly emerged from her tent.

Before Kikyo could continue, Horikita cut her off in her usual serious tone; she said, "Before you say we need to help him, why don't you explain who he is and how you found him?"

"Of course," Kikyo replied, maintaining her worried expression. "Ayanokoji, Sakuka, and I went to collect some materials for a fire. While searching, we found Kaneda on the ground. I'm not sure if he was passed out or sleeping, but he was clearly not in good shape. We spoke to him, and he told us he was from Class C. He said Ryuen beat him up after a disagreement about how to handle this exam, and then he was kicked out of Class D. The next thing he knew, he was talking to us."

Horikita then asked Kaneda, "If you've been kicked out of your class, why don't you just leave for the ship? You have no reason to stay on the island."

Kaneda, gripping his tracksuit, looked down and feigned anger. "It's not as simple as you think. The argument with Ryuen and others from Class C started because they didn't plan to take this exam seriously. They want to squander all 300 points we started with and return to the ship immediately after. So, why would I return to the ship if I'll have to face them again in a day or two? I don't want to see them after what they've done to me."

Horikita then followed up, "Then why don't you report this to a teacher? Given that you're in Class C, they'd have no reason to believe you'd lie about such a situation."

Kaneda stayed silent, looking at the ground as he began to shake, attempting to force tears from his eyes.

Before Kaneda could finish his poorly executed act, I decided to lend him a hand, "You're afraid of what Ryuen might do if you report him, aren't you? His expulsion is unlikely since you lack evidence of his assault, and there is no guarantee that Class C would take your side. At most, Class C would be disqualified from this exam, which would likely only serve to infuriate Ryuen further."

Kaneda glanced at me, then stuttered, "Y-yes, I don't know what he might do. Ryuen isn't one to shy away from using violence. That's how he took control of Class C, after all." His voice was timid.

Horikita, in her usual serious tone, asked me, "Eru, are you actually buying into his story?"

I responded, "Look at his face; it's as symmetrical as an octagon. It's no wonder Class C would want to pick on him when he's such an easy target. It is because of people like him that others think the world is godless. Don't worry, Kaneda, I'm not a believer myself, but I'll still hope for a divine intervention to correct the mistakes made in your creation."

At my joke, a few members of the class snickered, covering their mouths, while Kaneda simply lowered his head, likely genuinely upset now.

In his usual mature manner, Hirata intervened to pacify the crowd, "Come on, guys, that's not very nice. Let's resolve this issue respectfully."

"Apologies if my joke offended you, Kaneda. It was merely a joke. As for why I trust him, I've been to Class C before and have observed Ryuen's group. I also noticed that Kaneda didn't seem to be part of that group when I visited Class C." I added, subtly covering for the spy. If he wants to challenge me and attempt to figure out the leader of Class D, then he's welcome to try. I'd be interested to see how our little showdown turns out.

Sato quickly broke my train of thought, "Eru, why are you staring at Kaneda like that? It's a bit unsettling." Her words drew the attention of a few others towards me.

"Like what? That's just my usual way of observing people,"

Hirata then said, "Okay, everyone, let's get back to what matters. We're losing focus here. Raise your hands if you're okay with letting Kaneda join our camp." I quickly raised my hand along with more than half of the camp. "Good, now let's move on to other matters…" Hirata continued to discuss our point situation, how we were spending too much too quickly, and plans to manually filter water and focus more on food collection so we wouldn't have to rely on points daily for necessities. If all goes well, we should end up with over 200 class points. He might not have been the smartest, but that wasn't always what mattered in a leader.

As Hirata continued to speak, my gaze met with Ayanokoji's. I sensed he might have something to convey, and I had a query of my own.

"Do you have a moment, Ayanokoji?" I asked, to which he responded with a nod, leading me toward the nearby river. "Does the name Yahiko Totsuka ring any bells?"

"Yes, he's the one I suspect to be the leader of Class A," Ayanokoji replied. I remained silent, allowing him to elaborate. "When I stumbled upon the cave and saw the keycard, I noticed two people, Katsuragi and Totsuka. Interestingly, it was Katsuragi who was holding the keycard when they both emerged from the cave."

"I see. So, you deduced that Katsuragi wouldn't make such a glaring mistake, and hence, the real leader must be Yahiko. It's logical to assume that one of the two individuals seen exiting the cave and then claiming the spot would be the leader. Katsuragi, being quite paranoid, would have ideally claimed the spot with a group, but his distrust of the other members of Class A led him to claim the spot alone. In a last-ditch effort to divert attention, he waved the card around as if announcing, 'Hey, I'm the leader. Guess me and lose 50 points, please,' hoping that would be enough to satisfy any onlookers."

Ayanokoji nodded, then posed a question, "Knowing Katsuragi is so paranoid and untrusting, how were you able to find out the name of Class A's leader?"

"Well, had I heard the story you just narrated from the beginning, I wouldn't have even bothered. But let's just say I have a reliable informant in Class A. It shouldn't be surprising. The Sakayanagi faction is awaiting its moment to strike. It wouldn't take long for the members to investigate Katsuragi and his faction. It's hard to play defense like Katsuragi prefers when you're not just fighting a war outside, but inside too."

"I presume Yamamura has been of some use then. What are your thoughts on the spy from Class C?"

I responded, "What is there to think about? The spy is covered in bruises, yet his glasses remain unscathed. It seems Ryuen couldn't find anyone more discreet to spy on us, or perhaps he underestimates us."

Ayanokoji continued, "Well, it works in our favor. We can proceed as usual. By the way, when we found him, there was some flattened, dug-up ground next to him. Any idea what that could be?"

I replied, drawing from my analytical skills, "Yamamura informed me that Class C is essentially providing information and their equipment to Class A in exchange for 800k private points a month. However, Katsuragi requires evidence for the information." Ayanokoji nodded, indicating that this aligned with his predictions. "Given that, we can assume that whatever he buried is likely a communication device intended to contact Ryuen after an image or video of our keycard or some evidence of that nature is acquired."

"If that's the case, I'll naturally handle it," Ayanokoji stated, to which I responded with a nod of my head.

As I stepped away from Ayanokoji and surveyed the camp, I noticed the members engaging in conversation with Kaneda, even sharing their food with him. Horikita was nowhere in sight, leading me to deduce that she had likely retreated for some rest. Ayanokoji soon detached himself from me entirely and moved towards the group encircling Kaneda.

The ambiance within Class D had significantly improved compared to the previous day. It appeared as though the prospect of surviving the remaining six days without major complications was becoming increasingly plausible.

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