In practice, I originally just wanted to be a slacker.

It was unexpected that after Ryuen removed Ibuki, Ayanokoji would be the first to become restless.

Tatsuya Kamio almost laughed.

As for why Ayanokouji asked that question, it's because of his collaboration with Ryuen.

"That's right, I don't want Class D to fail the exam because of this. It's your business if you want to go against Mr. Chabashira, please don't drag me into it."

"You're really scared about dropping out of school."

Kamio Tatsuya sneered.

"We're in the same boat here, aren't we? Didn't you also take action on the island because of Chabashira-sensei's threat?"

That's partly true...

"In short, I can tell you that I haven't revealed the identity of the leader of Class D, so you can rest assured about that." Kamio Tatsuya suddenly smiled. "I won't make any rash moves until I'm sure I've completely gotten rid of the threat from the Tea Pillar. We're the same in that respect."

Then Ayanokouji remained silent for a while.

"Can I trust you?"

"So what do you want? Do you want me to sign a contract with you to guarantee that I haven't betrayed Class D?" Kamio Tatsuya found it somewhat amusing.

However, he couldn't laugh anymore after seeing Ayanokouji's serious expression.

"You're really boring."

"I just don't want to be dragged down by you and forced to drop out of school because of this ridiculous reason."

"Since you don't trust me, why ask me? Just do what you think is right and don't worry about my problems."

Because your worrying is useless; if they wanted to betray Class D, they would have done so already.

After that, the two did not exchange any words along the way.

After picking some fruit, the two returned to camp.

"You're finally back. By the way, have you seen Ibuki-san?"

As soon as they returned, Hirata greeted them.

“She disappeared early this morning; I thought you had already noticed.”

Hirata looked somewhat worried when this was mentioned.

“Ibuki-san couldn’t have left for no reason; something must have happened.”

This guy probably still thinks Ibuki is a good person.

Okay, let me remind you.

"Perhaps it's because she achieved her goal, so she left."

"Has the objective been achieved?"

"That's right. Maybe her initial goal was to find out who the leader of Class D was? If she found out who the leader of Class D was, then naturally she wouldn't have any reason to stay here."

"You mean she's a spy?"

After saying that, Hirata fell silent. Judging from his expression, he had clearly considered this point as well.

However, when he updates the device's usage rights, he always has Horikita blend in with several other people, so it shouldn't be known by Ibuki or any other students.

That's right, even many people in Class D don't know who the real leader is.

"So? What are your plans? Do you intend to change the leader?"

"But shouldn't leaders not be changed at will?"

Hirata hesitated, because if changing the leader could make Class D safer, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

The problem is how to change the leader; simply withdrawing from the exam is definitely not an option.

"If the leader is unable to take the exam due to their own health reasons, such as illness or injury..."

"no!"

Before Kamio Tatsuya could finish speaking, Hirata rejected him.

"Even if other classes guess the leader, I will not allow the students in my class to get hurt or sick on purpose."

Oh, that's just like you.

Kamio Tatsuya had nothing to say about this. He didn't even know who the leader was, and he couldn't even manage to get Hirata to withdraw from the competition without his knowledge.

However, Ayanokoji seemed to care a lot about what Tatsuya Kamio said.

Back at the camp, the weather grew increasingly gloomy.

Kamio Tatsuya decided not to go anywhere today and to stay in the camp or tent, since he had done what he was supposed to do.

The rest is up to time.

Ayanokoji, on the other hand, went to Horikita immediately after returning to the camp.

"Horikita, you've noticed Ibuki's gone too, haven't you?"

"That's right, I discovered it first thing this morning."

Horikita's expression wasn't good, and despite the hot weather, her tracksuit zipper was still fully zipped up.

"Now the girls are all saying that she is a spy, and the incident of Karuizawa's underwear going missing has also been blamed on her."

"And what about you? Do you think she's a spy?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Horikita said, somewhat displeased, feeling that Ayanokouji was underestimating her. "Although there is no evidence, no one else but her would do something like this."

"In that case, you should have properly concealed your identity as the leader."

"Every time I update my device usage rights, I blend in with the students arranged by Hirata-kun, so I shouldn't be found out by Ibuki or the other students,"

"But you can't guarantee that, can you?"

Faced with Ayanokouji's question, Horikita fell silent.

Horikita believes there are only two possibilities for Ibuki's sudden disappearance: either Ibuki gave up when faced with difficulties, or Ibuki realized that she was the leader of Class D.

"What's the point of saying all this now? There's no way to change the leader without a legitimate reason." Horikita gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Even if I withdraw from the exam now despite the criticism from the students, I will still be the leader."

"No, if the school determines that your physical condition prevents you from continuing to serve as a leader, then that would be a valid reason, right?"

As she spoke, Ayanokouji reached out and placed her hand on Horikita's forehead, but Horikita immediately dodged it.

"Do you want to die?"

It's very hot, at least above 38 degrees Celsius, which falls into the category of high fever.

"You've been enduring it since the first day of the exam, haven't you?"

Horikita looked at Ayanokouji in silence.

"Given your current physical condition, you simply can't continue, you understand?"

"There's only one day left. Even if it's just hanging on, I'll keep going."

"If you persist, you might be able to hold on until the end of tomorrow's exam, but if your leadership role is guessed correctly, Class D will lose more than just thirty points."

"Fifty points... plus all temporary points?"

Horikita chuckled self-deprecatingly. It was a simple question: should he deduct thirty points to ensure everything went perfectly, or take the actual number of points, or even more, and gamble it out?

She had gambled before, betting that Longyuan hadn't seen through her plan, but she lost that gamble.

this time……

"Are you sure that if you withdraw from the exam due to health reasons, you can change the leader?"

"I don't know, but you can just ask Mr. Chabashira about this."

"Yes, we can just ask Mr. Chabashira."

Horikita nodded to himself, then walked alone toward Chabashira-sensei's camp.

Chabashira Sae, who was staying at the camp, even smiled when she saw Horikita Suzune.

"A rare guest indeed, would you like to use points?"

"Tea Pillar Teacher, I'm afraid I won't be able to participate in the subsequent exams."

Chabashira Sae stared at Horikita Suzune's face for a moment, then laughed.

"I thought you were going to hold out for a long time."

Clearly, this person had already noticed that Horikita's body was not right.

Then, she stepped forward and placed her hand on Horikita's forehead; it was very hot…

"If I abstain here, then the leader..."

"Because the leader abstained due to illness, a new leader will be selected from the class in order to allow the exam to continue."

After receiving a positive reply from Chabashira-sensei, Horikita finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 124 Choosing Again

Around noon, Mr. Chabashira arrived at Class D's camp and announced something to the students.

"Horikita Suzune withdrew from the exam due to health reasons, and Class D has had 30 initial points deducted."

The news was like a devastating blow, leaving the students in Class D stunned.

"Are you kidding me! There's only one day left, can't she just hold on a little longer?"

"That's thirty points! That's three thousand personal points every month!"

"Damn it!"

The reactions of the students in Class D made Tatsuya Kamio even more disgusted.

Are you willing to disregard your classmates' health just for 30 class points?

Horikita's situation was clearly different from Koenji's. Although the students in her class didn't interact with her much, they generally knew that she was a very serious student.

Therefore, they knew very well that Horikita Suzune had withdrawn from the exam because she was physically unwell and couldn't continue, which was completely different from Koenji's deliberate laziness.

Even so, some people still stood up to criticize her, including not only boys but also some girls.

"Um, Chabashira-sensei, how is Horikita-san feeling? She seems to have been holding on for several days."

Finally, a normal person appeared, and at this moment, they were still concerned about Horikita's health.

Oh, so it's Kushida. Never mind.

You probably wish she would burn to death!

"His fever has reached over 39 degrees Celsius. I don't know the specifics, but he has been sent back to the ship for treatment."

The students in Class D shut up. Although some of them were still very dissatisfied, they all knew that a fever of 39 degrees Celsius was no joke.

How stupid.

Kamio Tatsuya understood Horikita's feelings; he probably felt that withdrawing from the competition would affect the students in his class.

Why don't you just tell the teacher you're not feeling well and then use your points to buy medicine? Do you think those idiots in Class D will object?

Indeed, if you say you're not feeling well and need points to buy cold medicine, the students in Class D might disagree. But if you say you're feeling unwell and want to withdraw from the competition...

They will definitely choose to let you buy cold medicine and persevere a little longer, since a strip of cold medicine only costs five points, while dropping out of the exam will deduct thirty points.

And that's not actually the biggest problem.

The biggest problem is that Horikita could potentially be a source of infection.

Because everyone's constitution is different, their resistance to colds and fevers is also different.

Horikita, you're in good health and can last six days, but the others are different.

If a few people get infected, and then those people all fall ill at the same time... then Class D might as well not take the exam at all, they'll all be wiped out.

Overall, I admire her will, but I don't approve of her methods.

"In addition, since Horikita was also the leader of Class D, but now he has to withdraw due to health reasons, you must choose a new leader in order for the exam to continue."

Is Horikita the leader?

Most of the students in the class looked at each other in bewilderment, clearly unaware of the news.

So that's why you abstained at this time?