I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

That leaves only the answer that Ichinose left voluntarily with the other party. In order to verify her guess, Amane went to the first floor to report the situation to the dormitory supervisor.

However, it is not yet confirmed what happened to Ichinose, so the dormitory supervisor refused Amane's request to investigate the surveillance footage.

She also told Amane that if Ichinose had not returned to the dormitory by 10 p.m., she should contact the teacher immediately.

These words almost made Amane furious. She immediately told the dormitory supervisor, who told her to wait until 10 p.m. and contact Ichinose again if he hadn't returned by then.

Please, it's only 4 p.m., which means there are still six hours until 10 p.m.

Give Tianyin six hours, and she can moisten the water to the next city.

Having no other option, Amane had to find another way. She began a targeted search, first checking the restrooms, the library, and the school playground to confirm that Ichinose was not there.

Then they started asking the girls in Class D about Ichinose.

As expected, they gained nothing. Even more bizarrely, Ando, ​​who had an injured leg, and another girl among Ninomiya's group also disappeared.

Amane's intuition told her that Ninomiya definitely knew something, but since she couldn't use physical interrogation methods, Ninomiya insisted that he didn't know Ichinose's whereabouts, leaving Amane at a loss for what to do.

As Amane took action, many people learned of Ichinose and her group members' disappearance. Hoshinomiya-sensei was particularly worried about the safety of her students and even suggested that she go up the mountain to search for them herself.

Finally, the school arranged for a team of male teachers led by Mr. Majima and a team of physical education students led by Mr. Horikita, mainly composed of third-year boys and mixed with some first- and second-year boys, to search the designated track for the relay race.

Even now, the school still believes that Ichinose is most likely training for the relay race, but only Amane has the keen sense that something has probably really happened.

Unfortunately, just as the search and rescue team was about to set off, a sudden downpour disrupted the search and rescue plan.

"You don't seem to be in a hurry?"

Horikita Manabu, who was soaked to the bone as soon as they set off, looked up at the thick, impenetrable clouds in the sky and asked Amane beside him.

In his mind, Amane, who had deliberately made the matter public, should be more eager than others to find Ichinose.

Because in addition to wild boars, there have even been news reports of wild brown bears being sighted in the nearby mountains. Although he heard this news when he was a freshman and came here in his second year, there were no longer any sightings. However, it still cannot be guaranteed that the brown bear has left.

In the early spring, when the snow is just beginning to melt and wild animals in the forest are starting to come out to forage, the disappearance of someone in the mountains is undoubtedly a very challenging thing for human beings.

Amane, however, was able to stand there calmly with him, waiting for the rain to stop. This meant that either she was confident that Ichinose was safe, or all her expressions of concern for Ichinose were just a smokescreen.

"What good will rushing do? If Ichinose went to the relay race track, even an idiot would know to head back in this heavy rain. If nothing happens, she should be back in another half hour."

Amane's words made Horikita Manabu subconsciously frown.

"What if something happens?"

"Then there's no need to rush, is there? Besides, there should be people who are more anxious than us right now."

Tianyin's gaze turned to someone not far away.

Horikita Manabu followed Amane's gaze and saw Ninomiya, who had just been arguing with Amane that she knew nothing, standing at the door gazing towards the mountain.

Besides Ichinose, her two roommates are also missing. If Ninomiya was just trying to tease Ichinose, or was planning to use the same trick again... with such a sudden downpour, if something happens, she'll be in deep trouble.

Therefore, Ninomiya is definitely much more anxious than Amane right now.

Seeing that Amane had her own ideas, Horikita Manabu didn't say anything more. In a few months, he would be leaving the school, and the path ahead would have to be walked by these younger generations.

He could no longer try to protect everyone like before, but... someone always had to step up and do what seemed like something only a fool would do.

When will anyone understand that this school, which prioritizes "meritocracy," teaches people not only how to adapt to society but also how to empower those with power to protect and safeguard certain things?

The object of protection can be oneself, friends, relatives, or even wealth.

Instead of turning into sharp knives that hurt each other.

Just as Horikita Manabu was still feeling emotional, Amane arrived at Ninomiya's side.

"I have some good news for you, do you want to hear it?"

good news?

Ninomiya immediately became wary and kept a certain distance from Amane.

"What good news could you possibly have? If you're here to test me, then forget it. I've already told you I really don't know where Ichinose is. Can't you see how worried I am about her? If I knew where she was, how could I not tell you? After all, she's one of our Class D members."

Ninomiya's explanation was well-reasoned and logical, and Horikita Manabu, who was standing to the side, nodded silently in agreement. There was nothing wrong with what Ninomiya said, and even he couldn't find any problems with it. It seemed that it would be quite difficult to get any information out of Ninomiya.

Horikita Manabu was somewhat curious about what Amane would do to Ninomiya. There was a camera right above their heads, and Amane had just looked at the camera's location. She shouldn't do anything reckless. What would Amane do then?

"Don't be so quick to dismiss me. I haven't said anything yet. Don't you want to know what good news I have for you?"

Amane's mysterious demeanor did indeed attract Ninomiya's attention. However, since their positions were clearly hostile, Ninomiya carefully moved forward a few steps to the direction directly in front of the camera.

If Tianyin uses violence, it will be recorded by the camera, and then her plan will be considered a success, and even an overachievement.

"Oh? Well then, tell me, although I don't think you'll bring me any good news..."

"I just heard there are brown bears in the mountains!"

Tenon smiled and said something to Ninomiya that made the latter's face show a look of horror.

"What? Why would there be something like that on the mountain... Isn't this terrible? Why is this good news?!"

Ninomiya glared angrily at Amane. If it were a brown bear, things would be terrible. Ninomiya had some understanding of the bears' daily routines. At this time, some bears were waking up from hibernation and starting to hunt for food. Although it was still a bit early, no one could guarantee that such a situation wouldn't occur.

Just a few days ago, a boy said he saw an adult wild boar.

Even if there were bears, it wouldn't be unacceptable. What Ninomiya really couldn't accept was Amane's overly relaxed expression.

Why should she be here, trembling with fear, waiting for everyone to return, while Tianyin can be here chatting happily?

This is completely unfair!

"Of course it's good news, isn't it? This way, if some extreme situation arises, Ando and the other two won't be able to expose you, right? But I'm just afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that if those two are still alive, they'll come back and report you. This kind of thing happens all the time, so I think you should be mentally prepared."

Tenon's words made Ninomiya anxious, and his expression visibly changed.

Ando and the others weren't exactly resolute people to begin with; otherwise, they wouldn't have been willing to cooperate with her to eliminate the class's point deficit.

You should know that Ichinose is someone she has a very good relationship with.

But in the end, even the closest relationships can be defeated by self-interest.

The current Class D is just as united, but this time their purpose in uniting is to get Ichinose to drop out of school.

If Ando says something she shouldn't afterward, she'll be completely finished.

She didn't believe that Kiriyama would take responsibility for her mistake.

"They went to the relay track, but I really don't know what they were doing there."

Chapter 135: Rescue in the Rain

As time ticked by, night began to fall over the forest school nestled among the mountains. The school was originally located in a remote mountain area to allow students to get closer to nature and better develop their independence and social skills.

Unexpectedly, one day such an environment would become the source of the school's troubles.

At this point, four and a half hours had passed since Amane reported losing contact with Ichinose.

The torrential rain had been pouring down for over two hours without any sign of stopping. By this point, even the slowest person would realize that something was wrong.

If the purpose of going to the relay race track was simply to get used to it in preparation for tomorrow's exam, then encountering such heavy rain would definitely prompt them to turn back.

But so much time has passed and there has been no news of anyone returning, which has caused some students and school leaders to feel deeply uneasy.

Their last hope is that Ichinose and the other two missing girls delayed their return to school simply to avoid the rain.

It seemed that only in this way could they find some solace for their anxious hearts.

In the pitch-black night, apart from the brightly lit male and female dormitories, the lights in a conference room located in the forest school were also quietly on.

"Majima, do you mean we can't organize students and teachers for a search and rescue operation right now?"

Chairman Fujiwara frowned and confirmed with Professor Majima again.

Originally, the school planned to form a search and rescue team composed entirely of male teachers and male and female students from sports clubs, and to search for the three missing students from three directions.

At first, Ms. Majima agreed to the plan, but after being delayed by the heavy rain, she actually rejected its feasibility. At this critical juncture, Majima's opposition almost completely scrapped the search and rescue plan and had to start all over again. This gave Chairperson Fujiwara a headache. Every second was precious to her right now, and she had to ensure the safety of the students, after all, Chairperson Sakayanagi was a cautionary tale.

So she didn't have time to listen to Majima's nonsense, but Majima was very experienced in this area, so even she could only patiently listen to Majima's opinion.

“That’s right. First of all, it’s a matter of time. It’s already 8:30 p.m., and by the time everyone is ready to set off, it will be at least 9 p.m. Not to mention that time, it’s pitch black outside without any lights. Sending students and teachers out in the rain to conduct search and rescue operations in mountainous areas with extremely poor visibility and road conditions may cause unnecessary trouble.”

"Secondly... we don't have enough tools, and the weather is having a huge impact on us. We don't have enough flashlights for lighting, and we can't use torches in this weather. Even our shouts are drowned out by the rain, so..."

"So you're planning to give them up?"

Majima gently shook his head. It would be one thing if others didn't know, but how could he not know Fujiwara's temper? If she were to allow the search for the missing students to be abandoned, that would be like the sun rising in the west.

"Of course that's not what I meant. I believe you understand that I'm telling the truth. On one hand, unnecessary casualties in the rescue would make things more serious. On the other hand, Rin, don't forget that this school has been under close scrutiny by higher authorities due to repeated accidents during off-campus activities. Wasn't your sudden inspection on the deserted island also because of an accident at the school? If another accident happens, Rin, how do you plan to handle it?"

Chairman Fujiwara seemed to understand the meaning behind Mashima-sensei's words.

Currently, only a few students have failed to return to their dormitories on time. Even if they report it to the police, they will have to wait at least 24 hours before an emergency search can begin after the students are confirmed as 'missing'.

However, if Chairman Fujiwara were to organize a search now, it would be tantamount to admitting that someone is missing, and could easily lead to a terrible public relations crisis.

Majima did not give up the search and rescue idea, but reminded Chairman Fujiwara to conduct the search and rescue only after ensuring that there would be no accidents in the next operation.

For example, if seven or eight people were injured while searching for Ichinose, and the remaining rescuers had colds or fevers, then even if the three rescued individuals were unharmed, Chairman Fujiwara would still bear some responsibility.

This is also why Majima opposes searching for the missing students now, because the possibility of accidents is too great when conducting a search in such an extremely harsh environment. It is an action that requires taking certain risks, both for the students being searched and rescued and for the school leadership.

"I understand what you mean. So when do you think is the best time to search for students?"

President Fujimori asked the question that she most wanted to know the answer to right now.

After a moment of contemplation, Majima gave Chairman Fujiwara an answer that she found completely unacceptable.

"If Ichinose and the others haven't returned by 10 o'clock, we'll contact the police station in a nearby city and ask them to organize search and rescue personnel and hunters to come here to assist us tomorrow. We can also organize manpower to search as soon as it gets light tomorrow, which would be more prudent."

Majima's answer made Chairman Fujimori laugh in exasperation. Wait until tomorrow morning? What's the difference between that and giving up on the rescue?

"Mashima, you've changed. You weren't like this before."

"I haven't changed. Rin, you're oversimplifying things. We need to be responsible for everyone. The missing students are certainly our top priority, but those involved in the search and rescue are also students! What we need to do is be responsible for every student fairly, that's all."

Just as Mashima finished speaking, there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door.

After giving Mashima, who was still furious, a deep look, Chairman Fujiwara quickly composed himself.

Seeing this, Mashima calmed herself down and, after confirming that no one else could tell anything was amiss, Chairman Fujiwara spoke to the door.

"Please come in."

As if they had been waiting for a long time, the door was opened with a whoosh after they heard the order to enter, and Chazhu, whose hair was soaked by the rain, hurriedly walked into the room.

The two people in the room stood up simultaneously upon seeing Chazhu's attire. Judging from the anxious expression on Chazhu's face, something serious must have happened.

"Chairman Fujimori, Professor Mashima, something's happened!"

The two felt a chill run down their spines when they heard Chashu address them with such a formal title.

"Don't worry, what happened? Did someone go looking for Ichinose without permission?"

Mashima spoke first, asking a question in return.

This was the worst-case scenario he could imagine. Ichinose was quite famous and popular among the first-year students, and there was always someone who couldn't wait for the school to make a search and rescue decision and would act on their own.

Furthermore, as the leader of Class 1-D, Honami Ichinose holds a very high position in the hearts of most of the students in Class 1-D. Moreover, even the other two missing persons were from the same class as Ichinose, so it is not incomprehensible that Class 1-D acted on its own.

But why... is it Chabashira who's reporting this?

Unless it's another, even more troublesome situation.

“That’s right. I heard from Horikita Manabu that Miyako Amane went into the mountains to look for Ichinose-san without permission after climbing over the wall.”

"This is utterly ridiculous!!!"

Before Chazhu could finish speaking, Chairman Fujimori slammed his fist heavily on the table, knocking over the teacup beside him. The already cold tea dripped down the edge of the table and onto the floor.

“Majima, you will be in charge of things here for the time being. I will contact you by phone at 12 o’clock. If I do not contact you on time, I will follow your advice. The search and rescue team will be dispatched at 6 o’clock tomorrow morning, and the police and hunters must arrive here by 8 o’clock at the latest. If the other party does not agree, I will allow you to use my name to communicate with them.”

As Chairman Fujimori spoke, he took off his suit jacket and tossed it onto a chair to the side. Then he began rummaging through his suitcase for clothes and tools that would be useful for moving around in the mountains.

"Rin, are you planning to...?"

"Yes, I will take all the teachers and security personnel from the forest school with me, so you will have to arrange for teachers and students to take charge of the security of the forest school. Tomorrow's exam will be postponed by one day."

Mashima reluctantly accepted the order, but in fact, before he could even accept it, Chairman Fujiwara had already begun frantically gathering manpower.

It wasn't impossible to search for Ichinose from the beginning. Long before Amane came to the Forest School, Kuninori Miyako and her father, in order to prevent the extracurricular activities of the school from going wrong like the last sports festival, specially arranged for some very professional people from the family to come here to act as 'teachers' of the Forest School.

In other words, Fujiwara Rin, who was already married, was not qualified to command the people like Miyako Mai. However, due to the special circumstances, she had no choice but to forcibly conscript these people to obey her orders.