#81 Survival Test 5

Everyone stared at Horikita, expecting her answer whether she accepts the post of the leader or not.

"...I understand, I accept this role" Horikita nodded her head with a serious expression.

This time, people like Ike and Yukimura were pretty satisfied that someone serious as Horikita became the leader since they were aware that she wouldn't just waste points.

*Clap* "Good! Now, all we need to do is to choose which spot to go to. I don't think we have time to check out both spots, we have to act fast." Hirata clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention and said with a delighted smile that would normally bring anyone's mood up.

"The spot we found is really good, it has good terrain and it's also very close to the river so we can monopolize it." Ike said in an excited tone.

"What about the spot itself? How well is it covered?" Horikita asked.

"Well...It's kinda positioned in open so I guess others can spy on us from the bushes." Ike said with a nervous expression.

"Hmm...You said the terrain is really good, are you confident in your claims?" Horikita questioned while holding her chin.

"I have already camped outside a few times so be assured when I say that it's good terrain enough to set up more than 2 large tents there." Ike nodded his head with a serious expression as if he was taking pride in his experience.

'Looks like he will be pretty useful in this test...Is this school trying to give everyone their opportunity to shine? In that case...I wonder when a test related solely to physical ability will appear. They aren't just trying to beat the knowledge into our heads. They are forcing us in a situation where we have to use even basic knowledge. Practically, this should be supposed to make us more intelligent by finding a broader view on the problems we face. Obviously, people need to be smart and have knowledge if they want to excel in their field but if they can't apply that knowledge, it just becomes useless.'

"Fine, let's go to the spot Ike's group discovered. Are you fine with it, Iwamura-kun, Karuizawa-san?" Horikita said and already got ready to follow the path Ike's group previously took before turning around and asking Yuichi and Karuizawa.

Yuichi just lightly smiled and nodded his head without saying anything, completely aware why Horikita made this decision.

However, the same couldn't be said about Karuizawa...

"But why? The spot we found is also near the river and half of it is covered by the trees so there is a smaller chance of someone spying on us."

"Because the terrain wasn't exactly ideal for sleeping. We could endure it for a day or two but after that, our bodies would become all sore. That spot is most likely designed for classes to just claim and not to make a base out of it. At first glance, it might look like an ideal spot but on careful inspection, it is just a bait." Horikita patiently explained to Karuizawa who on the other hand looked at Yuichi after hearing that.

Yuichi just shrugged his shoulders.

'She was able to see all of that in such a short time? She has indeed very good visual perceptual skills' Yuichi praised her a bit with a faint smile on his face.

With the matter resolved, the students of class D made their way towards the spot Ike's group discovered.

.

.

"See! I didn't lie, the terrain is ideal, there is also plenty of shade so we won't get heatstroke either. The river is right there so we have also solved bathing and drinking water!" Ike said in an excited manner as he was showing the place to others.

Horikita kept nodding her head as she was inspecting the area around the spot while holding her chin with a thoughtful expression.

"What? Drinking from the river?! Are you insane?" Shinohara however had different idea. Obviously, she didn't want to drink water from the river for very obvious reasons...

"Wha-? Why?! It's completely clean and pure, it's clear that this is natural spring water." Ike was immediately frustrated because it was once again Shinohara who had a problem with something he suggested.

The girls slowly joined Shinohara but this time even the boys looked a bit unsure, after all, if the water was full of bacteria, they could lose all points just because of the river.

It looked like Ike definitely weren't planning on backing down from this so Shinohara tugged the sleeve of her champion, Hirata.

"Um, I don't think it's safe to drink from that." Hirata who was unsure what to do to please everyone replied with a helpless expression.

Yuichi who was watching this unfold rolled his eyes and groaned which attracted the attention of a few people who turned at him.

"I will borrow this for a second" Yuichi approached Hirata and snatched the survival catalog from his hands.

"Hmm...Here! Look at this." Yuichi said and showed everyone a certain page of the catalog.

"We can buy this cauldron and boil the water in it over the campfire." Yuichi said with a tired expression.

"But that's a few more points to spend...we are already buying the toilet" Ike said still a bit dissatisfied and even Shinohara didn't look like she was convinced but since Yuichi was the one who suggested this, she didn't talk back to him immediately.

"Alright, Ike. Let's do it Shinohara-san's way, look at the cost of this single cauldron and then let's check the price of single bottled water and multiply it by the number of students and days we have to spend here. You know what...It might actually be better to buy bottled water all the time." Yuichi said with a furrowed brows.

"?!!!! haha, no, no, no! The cauldron is good, good!" Ike looked around at the number of students and even without having to calculate the number of points spent on the water, he immediately agreed with a frantic expression.

"But...Is that really safe?" Shinohara still seemed a little unsure and a few girls followed her exemplar. They all looked towards Hirata who in return looked at Yuichi for help since it was his idea, to begin with.

"*sigh* It's perfectly fine, the boiling method kills disease-causing organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. As long as this water doesn't contain any toxic chemicals or fuel, it's a way to go. And don't worry, if it really contained toxic chemicals or fuel, the school wouldn't let us stay on this island because it could cause quite a big damage." Yuichi explained with a patient smile and a few girls stopped having worried look on their faces but Shinohara was still reluctant.

"Still..."

"Shinohara, if you keep making a fuss over every trivial crap, no one will really give a damn about your opinion since you would be only complaining about everything. This is supposed to be a survival test so we also have to tolerate some things, we already decided to buy a toilet but if you think that everything will go on your whim, you are wrong." Sudo who already lost patience with her barked at her with a dissatisfied expression.

It looked as Sudo's words actually hurt Shinohara a bit as she took a step back with an uncomfortable expression which in turn made her friends glare at Sudo, however, Sudo wasn't someone who would back down easily either so he stared back at them.

"Alright, let's calm down everyone. I have a proposition so please hear me out." Hirata stepped in the middle to stop them from worsening the mood of everyone.

"Let's give everyone a chance to choose without being hold responsible for spending points individually."

When girls who were still unsure heard his words, their eyes gleamed with hope however that also quickly disappeared.

"I disagree" Yuichi said with folded arms.

"Huh? Why?" Hirata asked with a confused expression.

"Sure, let's give everyone a chance to choose but only once they drink the boiled water. If they will find the taste somehow funny, they can choose to buy bottled water but not before tasting it first." Yuichi explained.

Ike and Sudo supported Yuichi's idea even though Ike was really reluctant to even give them chance to choose since the water would be perfectly safe after boiling, however, he was still aware that this was about finding the compromise.

"That...Wouldn't it feel kinda bad to force others to drink it if they think it's unsafe?" Hirata asked with a worried look.

"All I can say is that there will be other things forced on you in your life and it won't be just water. Others should learn how to accept things that might even make them uncomfortable, in this case, they are just required to try it, they don't have to continue. Don't you think that those who want to spend the least points back down enough already? You can't expect the other side to back down from something without you doing the same. I am sorry, Shinohara-san." Yuichi said with his closed eyes and Hirata couldn't say anything against Yuichi's logic so he turned at Horikita who was their leader, waiting for her decision.

"...If most people agree with Iwamura-kun's conditions, let's do it that way." Horikita nodded her head and Shinohara sighed but still backed down and simply resolved herself to drink it at least once.

With this matter finished, Hirata went to report to Chabashira-sensei the name of their leader and also the items they want to buy.