The next day, Houtarou stared at the tent ceiling.
He walked out of the tent and gazed at the narrow one-meter-wide river before him.
The fresh mountain air enveloped him, making his body feel refreshed and his mind clear.
He considered himself lucky — no one in his tent snored. Being sensitive to noise, he would have struggled to sleep otherwise.
His mood was good this morning. After washing up, he noticed Masumi hadn't come by yet. It was already 6:30, and she still hadn't risen.
She was likely exhausted from yesterday's events — the revelation about Mio being a spy and all the service work afterward. Houtarou didn't mind her sleeping in.
Unlike Arisu, he wasn't accustomed to being waited on anyway.
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At the beach in the morning.
"Morning roll call is complete. All 40 students are present. Next roll call will be at 8 PM." Tomonari announced.
With that, the morning roll call concluded.
The students had to spend a week on this small island. With one day down and the final day being only half-length, they needed to plan for the five days in between.
Class A had traded their 270 Base Points with Class D for protection. With only 5 bases available, they could earn a maximum of 15 Reward Points daily, aiming for the full 90 Reward Points.
By following the exam rules, they would need to accumulate close to 400 Class Points for a perfect score.
Kōhei's plan involved assigning daily rotations: guards for the bases, escorts for the leader during card-swiping operations, and teams handling meals and harvesting corn and sugarcane to improve their living conditions.
He particularly emphasized camp security after seeing Class B students arrive at roll call in a state of mental distress.
Honami and her group had ignored Houtarou's warning.
After discussing with her classmates, they had concluded that Class D's control over the bases wasn't permanent. So they had decided to act.
The plan backfired spectacularly.
At 2 AM, after they managed to swipe the card reader at Kakeru's previous base, Rokusuke appeared at their vegetable garden camp and swiped his card.
With their leader absent from camp, they had neither the means to counter-swipe nor any grounds to prevent Rokusuke's action.
They could only watch helplessly as he swiped his card.
The card reader displayed:
『 Class D occupied, time remaining 07:59:58 』
Having their camping base taken over by another class was a devastating blow.
Class B students were in a miserable state.
All students were forced awake and had to relocate in the middle of the night. Staying would cost them 50 Base Points for remaining at a Class D-occupied base.
Everyone was completely drained, looking even worse than the day before.
How pitiful — they had ignored the warning they received.
When Houtarou glanced toward Class D, he counted 17 students with their backs turned to him.
Previously there were only 16 — clearly, they had accepted Daichi as their spy.
Having met him before, Houtarou easily recognized Daichi's figure standing next to Rokusuke.
Rokusuke held out his left hand while Daichi gave him a hand massage.
The egoist knew how to enjoy himself. He didn't care if everyone knew he was the leader — he even swiped cards openly. Spies clearly didn't concern him.
With a willing pawn at his disposal, why wouldn't he make use of them?
This made Houtarou decide to explore the island.
Though only 40 bases were visible from the white tower, he suspected there might be some with special rewards.
He would skip guard duty and corn harvesting today.
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Houtarou first headed to one of Class A's bases — the white tower overlooking most other bases.
But the tower wasn't his real destination.
This was an artificial island. The sugarcane and corn weren't natural — they needed regular maintenance.
He reasoned there must be staff stationed here to tend the crops. Logic suggested they would be based at the island's center to minimize travel time to all areas.
The central tower stood alone, but it lacked living quarters. When Rokusuke visited, he'd climbed it purely for the vantage point to locate bases.
Only 40 bases were visible from there — but Houtarou was certain there was one more.
He searched around the small tower. Since it served as both landmark and observation post, staff quarters had to be nearby.
Walking along the grass and scanning both sides, he stopped at an inconspicuous spot at the edge.
There, he found two large nails driven deep into the ground. Bending down to look.
Below, he discovered a large open space. A steel ladder hung where the two large nails were anchored, with a thick safety rope alongside it.
After testing the ladder several times to confirm the steel nails were secure, he began his descent.
The climb down was brief — only about ten meters.
At the bottom, a small valley opened before him, and nestled within it stood a small cabin.
Yes. A cabin.
He pushed open the unlocked door. The wooden floor was surprisingly clean, suggesting recent occupancy.
Found it!
Houtarou breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside, he found a bed, fishing equipment, and a modest kitchen area with a small refrigerator. A pair of binoculars hung on the wall, and beside the fishing gear sat another card reader.
The reader's display remained dark — proof that no other students had discovered this place.
Upon inspection, Oreki found the card reader's batteries matched those at Class A's base and were equally new.
The binoculars confirmed his theory — they were provided to observe the surroundings from the small tower.
In other words, the 41st base — got it!
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"Mashima, a student from your class has discovered the 41st base." Chie said, watching the teachers' beach-side computer monitors.
Tomonari knew she was peeking at his screen again.
It was too late to hide the GPS software now. He could only maintain his stern expression.
But then.
"Oh... Chabashira, a student from your class also found this 41st base." Chie glanced at Sae's computer, her voice tinged with envy.
Sae's GPS map showed another student who had broken away from the returning camp group.
They had apparently followed Tomonari's student.
Both had now reached the same undiscovered base — a hidden easter egg in the form of the island caretaker's cabin.
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At this time, Houtarou emerged from the cabin.
"You're such a coward."
He climbed up the ladder and reached the grassy area.
For a moment, he thought he glimpsed a girl's skirt — but no, all students were wearing tracksuits.
A familiar face came into view, prompting him to speak.
"I loosened the ropes earlier so you could use them as a safety line, but you still wouldn't climb down. Well, since you're here now, let's descend together."
He paused, his dark green eyes reflecting the figure before him.
"Kushida-san."
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