A Tyrant's Will

Volume 3: Chapter 1.4 - New Acquaintances

At the center of Class D's base camp, two tents had been pitched side by side. Shinohara and the other girls had claimed both of them. In other words, that left the boys to sleep out in the open.

Most of my classmates had probably never spent a night outdoors before. At least it was summer, so catching a cold was unlikely, but that did little to improve our situation. We were still in for an uncomfortable night.

For one, we had to deal with mosquito bites on our arms and legs, not to mention the various insects crawling through the grass. Once night fell, our already limited visibility would become even worse.

That said, Ike, still determined to preserve as many points as possible, decided to take action.

Several of the boys tried pulling up grass to use as makeshift bedding, while others talked about whether it was possible to cut down some trees. After helping set up the girls' tents, Hirata came over to us, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Can I talk to you for a minute? There's something I wanted to ask."

"Sure. What is it, Hirata?"

"I'm worried about what will happen once the sun goes down. We only have one flashlight for a group of forty students. If we want to move around at night, I think securing some form of light should be our top priority."

It was true that I would rather not spend the night without any form of illumination. Even something as simple as going to the toilet would become a nightmare. Horikita also needed to renew the rights of exclusive possession at 1 a.m., so we had to make sure she could at least see where she was going.

When I asked Hirata what we should do, he thought for a moment before answering.

"We could make a bonfire. I was hoping you could go out and collect branches."

Apparently, I had been singled out as the most qualified person for the task. Perhaps I should not have been so proactive earlier when I was carrying the tent. All it did was give me more work in the long run.

"Well. I'll pick up ones that look good."

"Thank you! Ah, but it's dangerous to go alone. I think you should invite someone else to come along."

I agreed and set out to find a partner. Horikita was leaning against a tree, tapping her foot in irritation as she let out a deep sigh. I decided it would be best not to bother her, but she noticed me looking in her direction and came over anyway.

"Why is it that whenever I ask you to do something, you're so uncooperative, but the moment Hirata asks, you agree immediately?"

"Hey, I can't help it. For one, Hirata is sincere with his requests, while you are clearly trying to take advantage of me. On top of that, he is far more charismatic and better-looking than you, which probably plays a role," I replied.

Horikita shot me a glare. "For someone like Hirata, who's positioned at the center of the class, to rely on you is kind of pathetic."

"Class D's real leaders are Hirata and Karuizawa, for better or worse. No one else is as qualified."

Horikita possessed the competence and ability to rally the class, but her leadership and interpersonal skills were sorely lacking, to the point that I was not even sure those qualities existed within her. Kushida, on the other hand, could not stand the harsh words that surfaced whenever the class argued, yet she still insisted on doing her best. Even now, she was probably somewhere else, putting all her effort into whatever task she had taken on.

"Setting that aside, there's nothing I can do to help. If there were a clear enemy and a clear objective, I might be of some use. But I'm still unsure whether we should use points at all, or to what extent we should use them."