They had expected Class B to agree, but instead, they were met with refusal.
"While I'd like to believe you, asking us to take the risk of filling in Mitoma-kun name based solely on your word isn't enough to convince everyone" Ichinose Honami said with a hint of apology, though her real reason was something else.
"You can fill in his name before the exam ends and pay the personal points after the results come out" Horikita conceded, knowing her argument sounded weak.
There was no way around it—the school didn't allow students to bring phones to the island, so she couldn't possibly have any evidence.
Either they had to steal Kaoru Mitoma key card, or… wait, maybe she could bring Ichinose along next time?
"What if we're wrong?" Ichinose asked naturally.
Horikita countered "Based on the update schedule, he'll be back around 2 PM tomorrow. Why don't you join us in ambushing him again?"
Ichinose was momentarily taken aback, but the proposal seemed hard to refuse.
"I'll go with you" Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
At this point, Ichinose had little choice but to nod in agreement.
Horikita didn't linger any longer.
Since Class B still had doubts, pushing for a discussion about compensation likely wouldn't yield good results.
Instead, it would be better to show them concrete evidence first and then demand payment.
Given Ichinose personality, she probably wouldn't intentionally delay the payment and Horikita request wasn't excessive—she just needed enough to clear her 400,000-point debt.
Returning to Class D camp, Horikita immediately retreated into her tent to rest.
After a busy afternoon, she was exhausted.
Ayanokouji continued to stroll leisurely around the campsite, his gaze inadvertently falling on Kushida Kikyo, who was chatting with her friends, her face full of smiles.
Although her academic ability and talent couldn't compare to Horikita Suzune, she was still a target worth paying attention to.
However, staying too close to Kushida Kikyo would make him too conspicuous, which is why he had kept his distance.
His gaze then shifted to another side, where a girl was sitting quietly under a tree at the edge of the campsite, watching Class D intently.
Ibuki Mio from Class C.
As far as he knew, Ayanokouji was the only one in the class who knew she had brought a camera, and only the two of them knew that the camera was broken.
In this situation, Ayanokouji felt that he and Ibuki Mio were on the same side.
****
The next morning, a scream erupted from the girls' tent of Class D.
Soon after, the girls, with an air of determination, gathered all the boys and delivered some shocking news.
"Ha???? Karuizawa socks were stolen?"
Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki had initially thought it was something serious, but upon hearing this, they couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Hearing this news, Hirata Yousuke also showed a hint of surprise.
"Not only were her socks stolen, but the culprit also did something terrible to Karuizawa shoes. Right now, Kushida and the others are comforting her inside the tent" Shinohara Satsuki said coldly, seemingly unwilling to elaborate.
"We need to search the boys' luggage and tents."
"Wait, why should we be searched? Maybe she just lost them by accident" Ike protested.
"I remember you went to the bathroom very late last night and took quite a while" someone interjected.
"Idiot, how could it be me!"
Despite Ike fervent protests, they were in vain.
Shinohara, representing the girls, proposed the search to Hirata, who had no choice but to agree.
However, the girls were only responsible for checking the luggage and backpacks, while they asked Hirata to help search the boys for any hidden socks.
For the girls, Hirata was the only one they could trust now.
While waiting for his turn to be searched, Ike glanced at his backpack and suddenly looked panicked.
Yamauchi was the first to notice his companion unusual behavior and sneaked a peek, only to see several pairs of socks.
"So it really was you? You're actually interested in this kind of thing?" Yamauchi whispered, lowering his voice.
"Did you... you know... do it with the socks last night?"
"It wasn't me! I don't even know who put them there" Ike retorted, flustered.
"Anyway, you need to hide them now!"
"Wh-where should I hide them?"
"Ayanokouji!"
Without hesitation, they shoved the socks into Ayanokouji hands.
Is this what friends are supposed to do?
Ayanokouji sighed and had no choice but to stuff the socks into his pocket.
Soon, it was his turn to be searched.
The girls rummaged through his backpack, while Hirata, with an apologetic expression, patted him down.
For a brief moment, Hirata paused, but then he continued as if nothing had happened.
Was he letting him off the hook?
After the search was over, the girls looked at each other, puzzled that they hadn't found the culprit.
"You must have hidden them somewhere!"
"Hey, don't make baseless accusations! So what if a smelly sock is lost? It's not a big deal."
"Don't think I don't know about you guys' weird fetishes. Karuizawa shoes… they're a mess. I bet you took her socks to do something perverted!"
"Don't slander us like that! Not all of us are foot fetish freaks!"
"Anyway, until the culprit is found, no boys are allowed near the girls' tents, except for Hirata!"
"If that's the case, why don't you just move your tents to the other side and even use separate bathrooms!"
"Fine, why not!"
The class atmosphere, which had been gradually warming up, suddenly plummeted to freezing point.
The girls were suspicious of the boys and the boys felt unjustly accused.
Soon after, Class D was divided into two separate zones for boys and girls, with neither side allowed to cross into the other's territory.
In this tense atmosphere, Horikita Suzune felt utterly exhausted.
She was already in poor condition, and the constant shouting from both sides only added to her mental chaos.
How is this class supposed to climb to Class A?
Watching Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Hirata Yousuke being dragged off to do manual labor for the girls, she silently got up and decided to head to Class B camp alone.
She hadn't forgotten her goal for today.
So, at the base of the tower, Horikita Suzune and Kanzaki Ryuuji once again spotted Kaoru Mitoma figure.
"Now do you believe me?"
"Sorry, it's not that we doubt you, but this whole thing is just too unbelievable" Kanzaki Ryuuji said with a serious expression.
"What do you want in return? I'll report it honestly to Ichinose."
Horikita Suzune was about to suggest paying Class D in installments with personal points, but then she changed her mind and said instead.
"After the exam, Class B must give me one million personal points in one go."
She felt it wasn't worth it to hand over a large sum of personal points to Class D.
Moreover, the reason she demanded cash was because she could only accept cash right now—she couldn't wait for installment payments.
If she didn't get personal points soon, she'd end up becoming Kaoru Mitoma "slave"!
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