#24 Scouting

"Here you go" I said as I gave Horikita her fake card.

"Why did you buy it for 40 S-points?! You could just buy a plain one, without my name on it for much cheaper" Horikita asked me with an angry expression.

"I have my reasons and it is also better to be prepared for anything, right?"

"Are you saying that someone from our class might betray us?" Horikita asked with a bit surprised expression.

"There are many benefits other classes could offer, why would someone with absolutely no faith in advancing to a higher class decline a good offer? Not to say that they might even do it without being discovered, the temptation is pretty big"

"But still, spending 40 S-points right off the bat is a little bit of...waste" Horikita understood my reasoning but she still wasn't happy about it.

I didn't say anything else and just kept walking towards our camp.

"Hey, you want our class to advance to Class A right?" Horikita asked out of nowhere.

"Isn't that pretty obvious?" I answered her with a calm face.

"Why? What is the fuel that keeps you fighting for a better class?" Horikita frowned and asked me with a serious expression.

I guess to have fun? To experience school life I completely skipped in my previous life? Maybe because I think that my parents would perhaps want me to try my best? I am not quite sure of a reason myself.

"Isn't the 100% chance of employment or enrollment in the university tempting enough?" I answered with a slight delay.

"Is that truly your only reason?" Horikita asked me with a doubting look.

"Yes" I answered without any hesitation.

After that, Horikita stopped talking but she was occasionally glancing at me.

"What?" I tried to ignore her glances but it was growing to be more annoying so I simply asked her.

"How about cooperation?" Horikita said with uneasy expression, I guess she isn't used to asking for help.

"Between us?"

"Yes, we both want to reach Class A. Your academic abilities are average but I already know that you are only making it seem like that" Horikita said with a firm expression.

"Are you saying that just because we share the same goals we should cooperate?" I asked her while completely ignoring her last statement.

"Yes, that's what I meant"

"...I will think about it" I said with a slight delay to show her that I actually "thought" about her offer.

...

When we came back, everyone was already waiting around the 'spot' we had to claim by scanning the card.

"Alright, I think that it will be best if everyone will form a circle around the leader and a few people that will be near him" Horikita suggested and everyone formed a circle around Horikita, Hirata and me with their backs facing us.

Hirata was on the right side of Horikita and I was on the left side, he was looking intensively at the terminal which would make it harder for me to scan my card without being discovered.

"Hirata-kun?" I called him which surprised him and he immediately looked at me with his usual friendly smile.

"Yes, Walker-kun?" He smiled and I used this chance to scan the card from the dead angle. Only Horikita was able to see my action since she was standing right before the terminal.

*beep*

The terminal produced a short sound and on display, we were able to see our class and a timer.

I guess I will have to reclaim it at night which is pretty good since most of the students will be asleep.

When we began with setting up the tents, I overheard Hirata's conversation with Ayanokoji.

"Ayanokoji, could you please help us by gathering a few branches we can use for a campfire?"

"...No problem. I will find some" Ayanokoji answered with a stoic expression

"Don't forget to take someone with you, it's dangerous to go alone!" Hirata reminded him.

"Hey, Hirata-kun, I will go get these bottles filled with seawater, ok?" I came to him right after Ayanokoji left and showed him plastic bottles inside my small bag

"Oh? I almost forgot about that. Thank you, Walker-kun" Hirata smiled, however, he didn't forget to remind me to take someone with me. Unfortunately, going with someone wasn't within my plan.

I told him that I already know the way and that I am experienced enough and after a few minutes of arguing he let me go alone.

..

Somewhere in the forest

*sigh* Finally alone.

But I must say that this certainly brings back memories. I smiled while looking all around me.

I quickly came to the beach and filled up the battles with seawater and then I left but instead of going to the direction of our camp, I went a different way.

Tch, I can't run too quickly, these wristwatches are constantly checking our pulse and if I run too fast without my pulse increasing then they will definitely get suspicious. My speed is one thing but I have almost unlimited stamina when it comes to running, so even my pulse is quite stable while exercising or running.

I adjusted my running speed to average speed and started to breath more frequently to speed up my pulse. This is probably the hardest thing I had to do since arriving here.

After running for only around 15 minutes I was able to spot the cave's entrance covered by a tarp and one student standing right before it. He is probably on the lookout for any students from other classes.

If I am right, he is from Class A but I am not sure about the name.

I moved as close as I could without being noticed by him. I observed him for a while but after a while, I decided to go ahead but just when I planned to leave, someone walked out of the cave.

Hmm? Isn't that Kohei Katsuragi? He is the one that opposes Sakayanagi to be a leader. I heard that there were 2 factions in Class A but most of the students support Sakayanagi. Maybe he will get more support after this survival test since Sakayanagi isn't here, that of course, under the circumstances that nothing bad will happen to them. I couldn't help but widely smile at that thought.

I personally don't really want to help Sakayanagi to get even more power but fighting someone strong is always more enjoyable than fighting a weak opponent.

Hm? Is that the card in his hand? Why would he show it like that in the open area? There is no way that he didn't think of others spying on them, that means that he probably isn't a leader but he could also want others to think that way. I bet that he isn't the leader, there is simply too much risk play it that way and I don't really need to think about it that hard since I will visit them later.

I left the place and went to find the other 2 classes. After a while, I was able to locate Class B's camp, their camp was on a pretty good spot and they also seemed pretty organized, not like our class but one thing surprised me. There was a student I didn't recognize which meant that he is from class A or C.

When I found Class C, I couldn't help but frown.

They are all playing around, they probably already spent all their points which is quite confusing. Why would you give up class points for free? Do they want to enjoy a few days here and then go back on the ship? After all, there is no mention of negative points and they can also guess leaders without any risk but I don't think that's the strategy Ryuen would choose without a proper reason. No reason thinking about it now but if I want to make a move against them then I should do it tonight.

I should return back, it's getting dark already.

On the way, I collected even more fruits with negative effects when eaten.

When I came back I noticed one person that didn't belong to our class.

Isn't that girl from Class C who usually hangs around with Ryuen? Why does she have a swollen face? What are you thinking, Ryuen? This girl and there is also that guy inside the Class B camp...

In the first place, why would anyone even take her in our camp?

"Walker-kun, you are finally here! I was getting worried that something happened to you" Hirata immediately called out to me when he saw me.

"Sorry, I lost a sense of time. By the way, who is she?" I apologized and asked about information on the girl from Class C.

Hirata explained a situation to me and everything became clear to me.

Most likely, she is here to cause trouble, same with that other guy but I don't really care since I can at least make use of that fake card I bought for Horikita.