-191- Your girlfriend wants to approach me?

On this day, Hori didn't leave his room but stayed on his bed reading a detective novel.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wasn't in the room, seemingly having been invited by Class D's trio of idiots to the top floor swimming pool for an activity ostensibly called swimming but actually aimed at observing girls in swimsuits.

Though, given Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's personality, he didn't seem like someone who would indulge in such foolish behavior. However, being invited out by friends apparently put this introverted man in a surprisingly good mood, so he joined them.

Kouenji Rokusuke was also not in the room, as usual, moving freely and unpredictably.

On the other hand, Hirata Yousuke, who was usually very popular and always invited out whenever he had free time, was unusually staying in the room.

Of course, seeing Hirata Yousuke adjusting his outfit, he was probably getting ready to go out as well.

As he said himself,

"Karuizawa-san invited me to dinner later."

Hirata Yousuke then habitually extended an invitation to Hori.

"Nanaoya-kun, would you like to join us?"

In the past three days, Hirata Yousuke had frequently invited Hori to join Class D's gatherings. Despite being refused several times, he persisted tirelessly.

From his perspective, he probably couldn't stand seeing someone left out and extended the invitation out of goodwill.

And in Hori's case, Hirata Yousuke likely also had the intention of helping him get along better with his classmates, hence repeatedly inviting him.

Unfortunately...

"Do you think that's appropriate?" Hori didn't even look up, continuing to read his detective novel as he spoke, "Karuizawa is your girlfriend, right? Why would you invite me to dinner with your girlfriend?"

Isn't this making himself a third wheel?

Are there really such unromantic men in this world?

However, Hirata Yousuke said,

"It's not just Karuizawa-san; there are three other girls from our class joining us. So, even if Nanaoya-kun comes, no one would be unwelcome."

In other words, it wasn't just his girlfriend inviting him; other girls were also involved, right?

If Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki were here and heard this, they'd probably want to strangle Hirata Yousuke, wouldn't they?

Besides, saying they wouldn't be unwelcome is pretty unlikely, right?

"Even if others are okay with it, your girlfriend doesn't seem to like me, does she?"

Hori casually remarked.

At the start of the special exam on the deserted island, Hori had publicly pointed out Hirata Yousuke's shortcomings and limits, which earned him unilateral hostility from Karuizawa Kei, Hirata's girlfriend.

Since then, under Hori's leadership, Class D unexpectedly navigated the wild successfully, leaving Karuizawa Kei with nothing to say, yet she still didn't like Hori. Throughout the week of camping, she never spoke a word to him.

But this was not surprising.

Not only was her boyfriend criticized by another guy, but given Karuizawa Kei's personality, she was bound to dislike Hori.

In front of everyone in Class D, Karuizawa Kei always displayed a strong and prickly demeanor. Apart from Hirata Yousuke and her close friends, she never showed a good face to others. She even seemed to despise all the other boys in Class D, often displaying a look of annoyance towards them.

Naturally, this included Hori.

Therefore, if Hirata Yousuke invited Hori to dinner, Karuizawa Kei's smile would likely disappear for the entire day.

Perhaps, there might even be a hidden conflict between her and Hirata Yousuke because of this.

As the saying goes, better to demolish a temple than ruin a marriage.

Hori, while not particularly caring about others' opinions, wasn't about to intentionally make others uncomfortable.

However, to Hori's surprise, Hirata Yousuke said,

"Actually, recently Karuizawa-san has been mentioning you, Nanaya-san."

This surprising statement came from Hirata Yousuke.

"She's been talking about me?"

Hori couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

It was indeed an unexpected turn.

But Hirata Yousuke nodded confidently.

"Though it's just small talk, it seems Karuizawa-san has been intentionally bringing you up since the deserted island, so I think she doesn't genuinely dislike you."

What do you think?

Hirata Yousuke's eyes conveyed this question as he looked at Hori.

Hori really wanted to remind him,

"You're asking what I think? I should be asking what you think, right?"

If what Hirata Yousuke said was true, it meant his girlfriend had been subtly expressing a desire to interact with another guy, right?

If it were any other guy, it wouldn't be surprising if he got jealous or even furious over this. Why are you being so kind as to proactively create opportunities?

Aside from that, Hori felt something was odd.

"Karuizawa wants to approach me?"

What's going on here?

Given that woman's personality, this seemed highly improbable.

Was there some reason behind it?

As Hori was pondering this...

"Ding—!"

Suddenly, a sharp ringtone simultaneously sounded from both Hori and Hirata Yousuke's phones.

It was the phone's ringtone.

The sound startled both Hori and Hirata Yousuke.

"That ringtone…?"

"What's going on?"

Hirata Yousuke looked surprised, and even Hori raised an eyebrow.

The reason was simple.

Neither of them had set such a ringtone for calls or messages.

For Hori, it was even simpler. He had set his phone to vibrate for both calls and messages, so there shouldn't be any ringtone at all.

But Hori didn't stay puzzled for long.

He already knew what was happening.

"This is the school's ringtone, right?"

Indeed.

This was the school's designated ringtone.

During the opening ceremony, Chabashira Sae had explained this.

"If the school has something extremely important to inform the students, your phones will ring with a specific ringtone. Please pay attention to this."

It seemed that the "extremely important matter" had arrived.

At the same time, an announcement was made on the cruise ship.

"Attention all students, attention all students."

"Just now, the school sent an email containing important information to all students. Please check it and follow the instructions accordingly. If any student has not received the email, please report it to the nearest faculty member immediately. This matter is very important, so please do not overlook it."

"Repeating, just now…"

Hearing the announcement, Hirata Yousuke hadn't reacted yet, but Hori had already lowered his head to look at his phone.

Then, he immediately opened the email that had been sent to his phone.