Chapter 93 - 1 Part I(B)
Chapter 93: Chapter 1 Part I(B)
"Oh! Isn\'t that Ayanokoji-kun? It\'s been a long time~"
I didn\'t have many opportunities to meet Ms. Hoshinomiya because unlike other teachers that I saw regularly in class, she was also the doctor of the school. I bowed lightly and replied:
"Summer is the season of love. If you want to confess to a man you like, maybe it could be effective if done before this beautiful sea?"
"The sea is beautiful but I can\'t afford to do this during class"
She cried out. In view of the current situation, since everybody was staring, I wished she would stop getting involved with me.
"I have to take it easy"
"Oi, should I report this as a behavioural problem to the school upper authorities? There is no more time left"
"Ok ok, don\'t glare at me like that...I understood, I really got it. See you"
She took her leave from Ms. Chabashira with a sad face. Just when Ms. Hoshinomiya went back to B Class, it was the only suitable time for Ms. Chabashira to bring up the subject.
"So, let\'s explain the additional rules"
"Additional rules? There\'s still something else...?"
"Shortly, you will be granted permission to roam freely, but several spots are provided in each part of the island. These spots will be recognized as places simply called \'Rights of Possession\', and the class that will have them is entitled to exercise its own rights there. How to use them is a prerogative of the class that got the right. However, the right of possession has validity only for 8 hours from when it takes effect first after which the right is automatically revoked. It means that every time, you get the right to acquire another class. And you can get one bonus point each time you occupy one spot once. Even so, this one point is provisional and cannot be used during the trial. So, it will be settled and added up only at the end of the examination. Due to the school constantly monitoring the situation, there is no room for fraud regarding this rule. It\'s better to pay attention to this last point"
"Well, then, isn\'t that important? It\'s fantastic to come to the point. Leave it all to us!!!"
Sooner than later, Ike begun to ask Yamauchi and others to go searching.
That\'s also written in the manual in minute details. And various devices that indicated the right of possession were always prepared near the spots. We don\'t know how many spots are on the island, but it can be said that they should be important factors in the trail. Still...
"I understand that you\'re impatient, but this rule has a big risk. It\'s about whether to make use of that risk, take it into consideration and check it. All is written in the manual, including that risk."
As Ms. Chabashira suggested, the manual was written to clarify the special rules and additional rules all organized in bullet points.
- An Exclusive Keycard is required to occupy a spot
- You will get 1 point for each occupation. Occupied spots can be used freely
- If you use a spot occupied by another class without permission, you will get a penalty of 50 points
- The use of Keycards is restricted to the people who became leaders
- Leaders cannot be changed without justifiable reasons
The above-mentioned are the general rules. Subsequently, there has been also Ms. Chabashira\'s explanation, but it\'s written that there will be a cancellation of \'possession rights\' once every 8 hours and if some spots are unoccupied they can be seized simultaneously in several places, even if it\'s the same class that holds them down repeatedly. It\'s all permitted.
If one successfully occupies three spots repeatedly every 8 hours, he can get more than 50 points at the end of the trial. However, there is a big risk there.
Up to here, the rules are on a first-come-first-served basis. It seems to be a good mechanism if one possesses the same spots repeatedly by force. But, that\'s impossible. There\'s a rule written in the end about the reason.
On the 7th and last day, during roll call time, we\'re entitled to the right of guessing another class\'s leader.
In addition to this the classes, whose leader was caught, will lose all the bonus points they\'ve accumulated so far. It was a rule that would make people hesitate in participating to the "occupation battle", unless they had very great confidence.
"Without exception, you all get to decide one person who will be unquestionably the leader. However, you have the freedom to take part or not. If you\'re not greedy and ambitious enough, you won\'t become known as a leader and you will probably be over soon. When the leader is decided, please report it to me. In that occasion, we will provide a Keycard stamped with the leader\'s name. You have a time limit, until today\'s roll call. If you don\'t decide by that time, we will decide at our own discretion here. That\'s all"
In other words, even if you only stole a glance at the card, the embossed leader\'s identity will surely be brought to light. With this, Ms. Chabashira\'s explanation was over. The die was cast and then entrusted to the students. Hirata immediately set in motion.
"Later, there will also be time to think about who you should pick as a leader. But first, where will the base camp be? Whether we\'re going to be on the beach or in the forest...we should think carefully about the spot"
Attached to the manual, was a simple map of the island. Only the size and the shape of the island were written there. The area and the inclination of the forest were absolutely unknown. I\'d say this was more a blank piece of paper.
"It seems like we have to fill in the necessary parts by ourselves"
This was confirmed by the fact that a ballpoint pen has been prepared especially for this.
"It\'s okay to have a spot near the ship where all the teachers are, right?"
"No, don\'t be too sure. As I suppose, there are only few spots, so near here you won\'t find anything"
If there\'s no water, there\'s no food too. Building a base here means that it\'s possible it\'ll end up being the farthest position from the place where we\'ll get the resources. To make matters worse, during daytime the sunlight is very strong and the environment is rough. On the other hand, it seems like there\'s also the risk of going too far in the forest.
"More importantly. First, I need a toilet. I can\'t hold it anymore"
Sudou grabbed the simplified toilet assembled by Ms. Chabashira.
We assembled a one-touch tent, set it up at a short distance and then we went inside. Shinohara and others were looking at the situation while sitting huddled together, impossibly close. Ms. Chabashira took a step backward. She probably won\'t take part in this anymore and we may now do as we like.
"Hey, Hirata-kun. Isn\'t it better to decide ahead of time about what to do about the toilet?
Before long, things including the toilet will be necessary to other students too. The girls\' thought is reasonable.
"We could decide but, don\'t we just have to grin and bear it now, do we?
"No, it doesn\'t mean that there\'s no other way"
Hirata, who had dropped his eyes on the manual, raised his face while saying this.
"In the manual it\'s written that temporary toilets can also be purchased with points and then installed"
At those words Shinohara and others gathered together around him all at once and looked into the manual. The functions of a provisional toilet seemed to be impeccable, and seeing the reference pictures it compares favourably to the toilet at home because it\'s flushable. If this is the case, the girls will consent enough. But the problem is that it needs 20 points per temporary toilet? It\'s really difficult to judge whether it\'s expensive or cheap.
"Absolutely Not! I mean I don\'t really like that too...Even that, for me it\'s impossible!"
A lot of girls, triggered by Shinohara\'s remarks, agreed to that. For the girls, the presence of the toilets, may be better than food and water\'s. They communicated well enough to show their intention of not budging an inch from there.
"Wait, wait a minute. You guys want to spend 20 points? Only for a toilet?"
Reacting acutely, Ike ached to tell that he was against it and wanted to save points. Just like other guys who could bear with the cardboard box toilet. It probably means that we should refrain from useless expenses as much as possible.
"About the toilet, yes it\'s a good one. But we get this one too. Look! We have a lot of time to use points. It\'s a bad idea not to save points now".
"You can\'t decide, because it\'s Hirata-kun that will collect all the opinions and decide. Hey, Hirata-kun"
Ignoring Ike\'s talk, Shinohara pleaded Hirata to buy a temporary toilet.
"That\'s right...to have at least a decent toilet for girls would definitely be....."
"You have the freedom to gather opinions but you can\'t decide arbitrarily"
Ike looked at Hirata, who wanted to approve the toilet\'s purchase, and hurriedly stopped him.
"AHH, STOP BUGGING PEOPLE. Karuizawa-san say something. We have the temporary toilets here"
Shinohara called out to Karuizawa, representative of the girls, asking for consent.
"Is that so? That\'s going to be pretty rough. But I want the class points. It seems like I\'ll have to bear with it too"
Unexpectedly, Karuizawa, who was likely to complain first, agreed to use the simplified toilet.
"The school will prepare the minimum necessary. I will endure it. There\'s a river where we can bath, and if we use well this place, don\'t you think it will come out okay?"
"That\'s...Karuizawa-san!!!!"
If Karuizawa said so, there\'s no way of going against her face to face, even though Shinohara is very self-assertive. That\'s because majority of the girls is more attached to Karuizawa, so the influential voice has been by all means restricted only to her. Yukimura suddenly joined in the fight between Ike and Shinohara.
"I don\'t understand the girls\' feelings of wanting a provisional toilet. However, I don\'t accept that we use the points indiscriminately and/or arbitrarily object our opinions. If you want a provisional toilet, I\'d want to tell you the decision after collecting at least the majority of the votes"
Sliding the glasses up his nose, he vented (his anger) with severe voice towards Shinohara.
"I....I am just making a natural request as a girl. Boys should mind their own business"
"A natural request? Mind our own business? That\'s impossible to understand. Isn\'t that simply discrimination?"
"WHAT! Discrimination....Ahhh my head hurts. Hirata-kun, get him off my back, ok?"
Probably they will never yield on the toilet and Shinohara, by herself, refused to back down.
"This test is a rare opportunity. A chance to fill in the points difference with other classes. Valuable points cannot be used for temporary toilets and such. I have no intention of staying in D Class forever. It\'s out of question to follow whatever one would like to do personally like Shinohara. So here, I want to decide on a secure plan"
"Eh? About that, do you mean to suggest I wasn\'t thinking about anything or the consequences?"
"If even a monkey can do it, one should be able to work here following the natural instinct. I hate that women operate according to emotionally charged arguments"
"Huh? It doesn\'t mean that I want to use all the points indiscriminately. I meant that there has at least to be the minimum necessary things. Do you have the intention of only speaking in theory?
"Both of you calm down! I understand what Yukimura-kun is trying to say but if you talk so belligerently maybe you won\'t resolve anything, will you? More calmly........"
"Calmly? Under no circumstances should we use the points at our discretion?"
"That\'s..."
Hirata-kun, who was caught in a dilemma between two people whose tension was rising, was desperately attempting to settle and organize things while trying to not to show his troubled face as much as possible.
"For Class D that has no leadership, the future is going to be unpredictable and dark. Besides, Hirata-kun who is a pacifist can\'t decide on one thing decently, right?"
While I was watching over the situation from a little distance, next to me there was Horikita who sighed a little too heavily, after realizing that the situation wasn\'t going to develop at all.
"It seems likely that this trial is going to be much more complicated and difficult to understand than we thought."
Unusually, rather than being perplexed Horikita showed signs of being embarrassed.
"It\'s a great opportunity to get points – and you\'re okay with enduring it, right?"
Seen from profile, Horikita\'s expression seemed to be a bit irritated rather than complex.
"I wonder. I\'m not optimistic enough to say that it is easy at this stage. I\'m the same as the others. I\'ve never lived in such a place before so I can\'t predict anything. I\'m realizing the trial that seemed to be simple at a glance has changed greatly. I want to save the points we all share, but I can\'t find good resolution. What an obscene trial."
There were groups who decided to use points, groups who decided not to use points and groups who\'ve decided to use every important point.
Even if they\'re divided in a very simple way, the classes fell into these 3 categories. Furthermore, a small difference emerged from there as well. In other words, there was a strategic pattern which envisioned only the number of students in substance. It won\'t be easy to face that fact in a class of over 30 people.
About the thick manual, as much as one can adjust himself according to those pages, at the same time, it also seemed to represent the difficulty of the class to be united.
From far away, Ms. Chabashira looked persistently at the confrontation between boys and girls with cold eyes, but not to the point of assessing them. After all D Class was a gathering of defective goods and was only going to fall.
Was it a suicide?
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to leave as much as one point like Yukimura-kun too. But I\'m not confident I can live a week without satisfactory equipment. That\'s my honest opinion. I think we should challenge ourselves, but how far can we bear it... How about you?"
"Mainly the same opinion. Everything is much unknown."
"Look. By any chance, did A Class and B Class already settled with a story?"
We turned our heads to the voice of a flustered girl.
Although only a few minutes had passed, I could see several students from each class gathering together and going into the forest. Perhaps, they were going to look for spots or the best base-camp area. As if symbolizing their quality, we in D class and C class are still lacking in finding resolution. We couldn\'t even properly make a start.
"Oh, shit. This isn\'t time to be leisurely talking about toilet! I\'m gonna do anything to protect my points. I\'ll go find camp areas and spots. Yukimura, Shinohara and the others – don\'t use points by yourselves."
"Got it. We won\'t."
You couldn\'t say that Ike and Yukimura were usually good buddies, but it looked like they would cooperate together if they had the same goal.
"Wait a bit Ike-kun. It\'s dangerous to go inside the woods without a plan.
"Would staying here worrying solve everything? It won\'t right?"
The feelings of going and staying were clashing with each other.
However, Hirata didn\'t meet with the basis of persuading Ike and the others to stop their actions.
"I\'ll come back as soon as I find a usable spot or site. After everyone moves there we\'ll talk to each other. Easy-talk, right?"
Do Sudou and Yamauchi intend to search for a spot as well?
They had gathered around Ike who was losing his patience.
"Is Ayanokouji also coming?"
Sudou called out and met my eyes. I lightly shook my head and refused.
"I want the three of you to never act alone. If you get lost, it will be hard."
It looked like Hirata realized it\'s useless to stop overflowing vigor.
"I see. Well, find various things!"
Even so, it became hot with nothing blocking the sunlight.
Seems like we\'ve dried up discussing in this place for a long time.
"At least, it seems tough to build a base here..."
Classmates started occasionally shrieking due to the heat and it looked like Hirata felt the toughness of making a base camp out of a beach as well. If this were a genuine camp, we\'d have ways of setting up a parasol and turf tent, having fun swimming in the sea and protecting ourselves from the sun as much as we like, but in this condition even that was hard.
"Shall we move until we find a place with shade for the present? We can also talk while moving."
Hirata took the initiative and started carrying the tent. The other guys jumped too.
"By the way ... Did Sudou tidy up that toilet properly?"
One girl pointed at the toilet anxiously.
Someone said that when Sudou came out after doing his business, he was empty-handed.
At least inside that ...
The sun was blazing down on the toilet left. The inside of the tent was certainly a steam bath.