At first, Ibuki Mio had no idea what she had grabbed.
It certainly did not feel like a tablet, but she could not tell what it was through Kaoru's jacket.
What confused her even more was that the man who had been struggling so desperately a moment earlier suddenly became perfectly still.
Mio instinctively squeezed once, trying to identify it.
Something inside the fabric shifted beneath her hand.
She squeezed again.
Kaoru's entire body stiffened as though she had struck an extremely sensitive pressure point.
"Ibuki..."
His expression twisted. He forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"Could you let go?"
Mio stared at him in astonishment.
What had she caught that could make the normally insufferable Kaoru show such an expression?
Then realization suddenly struck her.
Her hand had slipped inside the edge of his jacket and caught the fastening of a hidden belt pouch at his waist, pinching both the clasp and a particularly painful piece of skin beneath it.
As if bitten by a snake, Mio released him and jumped several steps backward.
"Y-you pervert!"
Kaoru stared at her in disbelief.
"You were the one blindly grabbing me. Were you trying to see my score or tear my belt off?"
Cold sweat had appeared on his forehead. Her grip had been completely uncontrolled, and she had nearly torn the clasp straight into him.
"Hah?"
Mio's nose practically wrinkled with anger.
"Don't blame me! Why are you hiding strange things under your clothes?"
She rubbed her hand against her tracksuit as though trying to wipe away invisible germs.
"Disgusting. If I ever grab something weird again, I'm breaking it!"
"That's supposed to be my warning to you."
A vein throbbed on Kaoru's forehead.
"If you reach into my clothes again, I'll tie your hands behind your back."
"Try it! I'll bite you!"
"If you bite me, I'll gag you."
"Go ahead!"
They glared at each other.
Seeing Mio's small canine tooth, Kaoru suddenly decided it was better not to continue that line of conversation.
"I'll let this go once. Follow me again, and whatever happens is your responsibility."
Kaoru did not want to spend the entire day arguing with such a stubborn girl.
Mio sneered, convinced that he was only pretending not to be shaken.
She felt rather proud.
Apparently, she had finally found a way to make Kaoru panic.
Her confidence in challenging him returned almost immediately.
"Fine. Tell me your score first."
Mio made a grabbing motion with one hand.
"Either you tell me, or I check it myself again."
Kaoru took a slow breath.
There was no point in continuing this nonsense.
"Try it."
Mio froze.
Then fury exploded across her face.
She had endured the humiliation of that awkward accident, yet Kaoru still refused to reveal his score.
She immediately assumed a fighting stance and charged.
If Kaoru wanted another confrontation, she would not retreat. Backing down now would mean admitting she could never defeat him.
Knowing she would struggle in a direct contest, Mio aimed for the tablet at his waist instead.
"Hand over your score, Mitoma!"
Kaoru calmly blocked her reaching hand.
As she attacked again, a length of rope suddenly appeared in his palm.
Mio continued pushing forward, only for Kaoru to twist her wrists together and loop the rope around them in one smooth motion.
Her body abruptly stiffened.
"Eh?"
She stared blankly at her bound wrists.
Where had the rope come from?
Naturally, she could not have known it was one of Kaoru's rewards—a magical tool capable of transforming into whatever implement its user required.
A rope still counted as a tool.
Kaoru offered no explanation.
Instead, he pulled the rope just enough to turn her around and delivered two sharp warning taps against the back of her tracksuit.
Smack. Smack.
Humiliated tears immediately gathered in Mio's eyes.
She tried to kick him, but Kaoru kept hold of the rope and remained safely outside her range.
Whenever she found an opening and attempted to attack, he gave her another sharp tap.
Unable to reach him, Mio could do little more than turn in frustrated circles.
"Guh... Mitoma! Untie me and fight properly!"
Her only response was another smack.
Mio became so angry that she nearly cried.
This was both humiliating and painful.
Twice before had already been more than enough. Why was she suffering through the same kind of punishment again?
At first, Mio continued cursing him loudly.
Gradually, her protests lost strength until only frustrated grumbling remained.
Kaoru looked at her.
Her face was filled with humiliation, her lip caught between her teeth, and tears shone in her defiant eyes.
Yet the instant he raised his hand again, Mio hurriedly squeezed her eyes shut.
"We'll call this a draw."
Kaoru lowered his hand.
"I know you hate me, but people have vulnerable places. You can attack someone during a fair competition, but don't grab blindly at places that could seriously injure them."
Mio opened her eyes.
The rope around her wrists had already vanished.
She immediately looked tempted to attack him again and recover her dignity.
"My score is nineteen."
Kaoru spoke before she could move.
"Almost the same as yours. If you want to compete, I welcome it. But I have something else to do now, so stop following me."
Mio's attention immediately shifted.
Damn it.
He was ahead of her by only two points!
"Why do you always use such humiliating punishments?"
She rubbed the back of her tracksuit, still feeling the sting.
"Would you prefer that I actually fight you seriously?"
Kaoru asked expressionlessly.
Mio glared at him.
"Pervert!"
Kaoru ignored the insult, picked up his luggage, and prepared to leave.
Mio instinctively wanted to stop him.
Her intuition told her Kaoru was hiding something disgraceful, which was why he had been so determined to drive her away.
But the punishment had hurt enough that she no longer dared follow.
If he caught her again, she might have to spend the night sleeping on her stomach.
...
Elsewhere, Morishita Ai was quietly attempting to sell her refilled mineral water to several students.
"A two-liter bottle costs two hundred and fifty basic points from the school."
Ai spoke confidently.
"I'm offering to exchange the same amount for supplies. Clearly, you benefit from the deal."
Several students appeared interested.
However, the student leading the group examined the bottle carefully. It was only around two-thirds full.
"You've already drunk from this bottle, haven't you?"
"We aren't selling the container."
Ai lied without changing expression.
"If you want water, I'll pour it into your own bottles."
The greatest weakness of her refilling business was how easily people could notice the used packaging.
She quickly added, "Don't worry. Nobody has drunk from it. It's clean drinking water. I can provide whatever amount you want, up to two liters."
The explanation was strange.
She was selling water but refusing to sell the bottle?
Still, none of them immediately found a reason to suspect her.
Refilling bottles was simple, but most students would never imagine that someone as shameless as Ai would then attempt to resell the water.
Watching them consider the offer, Miki felt nervous on Ai's behalf.
She was terrified someone would ask whether the water was genuinely safe.
"Have you heard of Mitoma Kaoru from Class 2-A?"
Ai blinked innocently.
"We're his classmates. If you're concerned about anything, I can call him over."
The moment they heard Kaoru's name, the students' expressions changed.
He was the man openly opposing Nagumo Miyabi. Most students could not help respecting that.
There were also absurd rumors that he had dozens of girlfriends, which made many boys deeply envious.
They looked at Ai more carefully.
This attractive girl might even be part of Kaoru's rumored group.
"If it belongs to President Mitoma's group, we'll trade canned beef and pork miso soup for it."
"Thank you for your purchase."
"No, no. You're too polite."
The students enthusiastically introduced their classes and names, hoping Ai would ask Kaoru to remember them.
Ai poured out two liters of water and received four or five cans in exchange.
Buying the same food from the school would probably have cost around five hundred points.
"Are you running low on food?"
One of the students asked.
Ai had intended to brush the question aside, but when she noticed how serious—and even frightened—several of them looked, something stirred in her mind.
She nodded.
"I knew it. It happened again..."
Seeing Ai tilt her head in confusion, the student lowered his voice.
"People are saying there's a ghost on this island. Several groups have had their food stolen by it."
Ai showed little reaction.
Miki, however, jumped in fright.
"A g-ghost?!"
Someone glanced at her and explained, "They say it's a small white ghost with two terrifying green eyes. It comes out at night searching for food."
Miki's face turned pale.
She could already imagine a white apparition leaping out of the darkness to devour her.
"Do ghosts really exist?"
Ai looked doubtful.
"What they saw was probably a wild animal. The school warned us that animals live on the island."
"No. It definitely wasn't an ordinary animal."
The students shook their heads.
"Your food was probably stolen too. Be careful. Whatever you do, don't go outside at night."
After leaving that well-intentioned warning, they hurried toward their next destination.
"G-ghosts can't really exist... right?"
Miki looked timidly at Ai.
With Kaoru absent, she had moved closer to the other girl for protection.
"I don't think they do."
Ai's answer allowed Miki to relax slightly.
Then Ai added, "But if one really exists, I'd like to meet it. That sounds entertaining."
Miki looked ready to cry.
Camping in a forest at night was frightening enough already.
Now there was supposedly a ghost wandering around too.
How was she expected to sleep?
"Eh? The task already ended?"
"Yes... I'm sorry. I walked too slowly."
"It's fine. We already knew Airi had terrible stamina. She barely lasts through any physical activity."
"Wah! D-don't say it like that!"
At that moment, several girls' voices came from nearby.
Ai followed the sound and saw Karuizawa Kei, Kushida Kikyō, and Sakura Airi approaching.
Kikyō had apparently said something embarrassing, because Airi's face was bright red and she kept striking Kikyō's shoulder.
Seeing the familiar Airi, Miki froze.
She had known they would meet at some point, but she had not expected it to happen on the second day.
At the same time, Kikyō and the others noticed Ai and Miki.
Airi looked equally surprised.
Then she offered a small smile and discreetly waved toward Miki, visibly excited to encounter one of her close friends.
For some reason, the gesture made Miki's chest ache again.
She immediately told herself not to think too much.
She and Airi were friends.
She could not possibly be jealous of Airi, nor did she have any strange feelings toward Kaoru.
They were all simply friends.
"Is she one of Airi's friends?"
Kikyō lightly bumped Airi's shoulder.
"She looks like a Class A student."
Although the little angel knew nearly everyone, Ai and Miki happened to lie outside her usual social circle.
If even Kikyō did not know them, Kei naturally had no idea who they were.
"Yes. Miki is also Kaoru's classmate."
Airi nodded.
"She's a friend of mine and Kaka's."
To be honest, Airi felt slightly embarrassed—and proud—that she was finally able to introduce someone else as her friend.
Kikyō's eyes turned thoughtfully.
She was about to greet them when she noticed Ai quietly beginning to retreat.
Kikyō froze.
What kind of reaction was that?
Why was Ai trying to escape the moment she saw them?