Outsider : Classroom Of The Elite

Chapter 3.4 - Tedious

Day 1, 11:53 AM.

We somehow managed to match up to Kouenji's absurd walking speed. Currently, we were headed toward the southern part of the island. Kouenji was in the lead, and Ayanokouji and I were simply followers in his footsteps. This was probably the first time I had set foot in such a wild forest. Unlike Kouenji who's been to different parts of the world, I had no experience with the wilderness whatsoever.

"Ah, I am so beautiful, and melding with the exquisite environment around me enhances my stellar looks." he talked to himself while walking. "I am the pinnacle of beauty."

"Hah~" I sighed at the sight of that narcissistic oddball.

I thought we'd be fine so long as we walked in one direction, but I was wrong. Firstly, walking in a straight line was impossible. There were natural obstacles we couldn't cross, which forcefully changed our path and veered us right or left. Yet Kouenji was progressing without any hint of difficulty.

"Excellent athletic ability and no sign of reticence about the outdoors either. What's his story?" Ayanokouji commented.

"He may act like an anomaly. But he's probably the most capable out of all our classmates." I added.

Though I, personally, think that all his talents were wasted on him.

"By the way, I'd like to ask you ordinary people something. Don't you think this is truly beautiful?"

"What on earth is he on about?" Ayanokouji turned to me.

"I think he's probably talking about himself,"  I replied.

"Levent-boy is correct!" somehow he overheard my remark. "Do you not understand how I, with my perfect physical beauty, shine in such a place?"

"So he wanted me to compliment him on his 'perfect physical beauty', huh? I see." Ayanokouji mused.

"You look great, Kouenji..." I complimented him in the most monotone voice ever. Though even my half-hearted response seemed to have satisfied his urges. Kouenji continued walking.

"There's no need to worry. Even if something happened in a forest like this, there won't be a problem." Kouenji remarked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean by that, Kouenji?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I wouldn't call this a natural forest. The probability of getting lost during the day is extremely low. It's precisely for that reason that I'm a little curious."

"Now that you mention it, I did notice some charcoal marks on the cave wall. Apparently, we're not the only ones." I added.

"Yeah, I think I heard something along the lines of this island being owned by a survival training company," replied Ayanokouji.

"Either way, we can't really change the fact that we have to keep dragging this for the next seven days." I sighed.

After walking for another few minutes, I began to notice some minor changes in the area. With every step we took, the forest was getting less and less dense. Which indicated that we were getting close to our intended goal. That was when Kouenji stopped in his tracks. Turning, he flashed another audacious smile while stroking his hair.

"May I ask you common folk another question?" Before we could reply, Kouenji continued. "What do you think of this place? What do you see when you look around?"

"It seems like the density of the trees keeps getting less and less. So, there's a massive chance of there being an open plot of land somewhere nearby." I replied.