"The task [English Listening Test] has ended. The top three are: Kitagawa Ryo, 100% accuracy; Matoba Shinji, 95%; and Ninomiya Yui, 90%. Please come forward to claim your rewards."
Roughly ten minutes after the five participants removed their headsets, the overseeing teacher efficiently announced the top scorers. Aside from Ryo, the second and third place winners were top students from Class A and B, respectively. Ryo vaguely remembered Karuizawa Kei mentioning Ninomiya Yui before—an academically strong student with an A- grade but poor physical endurance, quite similar to D-Class's Yukimura Teruhiko.
The 200 points for first place were automatically credited to Ryo's group account, but since the reward also included a physical item—a two-person tent—Ryo accompanied the other two winners to the supply tent.
Just as the three finished collecting their prizes and Ryo was about to leave, Matoba called out to him. Turning around, Ryo saw the boy approach with a friendly smile and lower his voice:
"You're Kitagawa-kun from Class D, right?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
Ryo was a bit puzzled; he had no interactions with Class A, much less with Matoba.
"I wanted to ask if you'd consider trading the two-person tent you just won for a single-person one I have."
Matoba glanced at the darkening sky, his tone slightly rushed:
"I ran into a classmate earlier who said you'd already gotten a three-person tent from the [Impromptu Poetry Reading] task. And now you have a two-person one. Our group really needs a two-person tent... If you're willing, we can also offer some extra supplies to cover the difference."
His words were somewhat jumbled, but Ryo understood the gist: Matoba's group lacked sufficient tent space and didn't want to waste precious points purchasing one. Learning that Ryo's four-person group now had five spots' worth of tent space, they hastily came to negotiate.
"What can you offer to make up the difference? Honestly, a two-person tent sounds more spacious and comfortable."
Since they were the ones asking, Ryo didn't feel the need to be polite. After all, Class A and Class D were direct competitors in this survival exam.
Matoba grit his teeth and pulled from his backpack a hefty chunk of pork, half-frozen and starting to thaw—a reward from another earlier task.
"This is what we got as a prize this afternoon. Would this suffice?"
A boy standing behind Matoba frowned in protest—he had clearly been daydreaming about how to cook and eat that meat. The offer visibly upset him.
Technically, according to the redemption manual, the pork's value exceeded that of a single-person tent. But since points determined final rankings and the pork couldn't be converted back into points, its value was situational. For Class A's efficiency-minded group, exchanging a bonus item like this to avoid spending points made perfect sense—especially without proper cooking tools.
"Sure. But we need to report this to the teacher so they can witness the exchange."
Ignoring the other boy's expression, Ryo cheerfully agreed.
"...Of course. No problem."
Matoba hadn't expected Ryo to be so cautious but held no ill intentions and accompanied Ryo to declare the trade.
Back at camp, Ryo returned to the group of three girls, carrying the pork, thinking about how to cook it. Before he could speak, Horikita Suzune announced:
"The necessary supplies have been redeemed. We spent a bit more than expected and also bought a kitchenware set. After applying your [Discount] card, the total came to 1,462 points."
With this massive expenditure, their group's ranking dropped to the middle tier. In fact, they had spent more than many groups earned the entire afternoon—even with Ryo's Level 2 Discount card reducing costs by 25%.
"No worries. Spend some, earn some. Having more tools will make cooking easier anyway."
Ryo grinned as he proudly displayed the pork.
Although Horikita had obtained many ingredients in the [Cooking] task, most of the meat was canned. Compared to that, fresh meat like this was far superior.
"Let's head back. It'll be dark soon."
"I'll help Arisu carry some stuff. It looks heavy."
Sakayanagi and Ichinose chimed in cheerfully, the previous tension between them seemingly vanished.
As they returned, beams of golden twilight filtered through the branches, casting patchy light on the forest floor. Occasionally, birds darted through the trees.
Ryo and Horikita led the way with their new flashlights. The beams sliced through the encroaching dusk like swords, guiding the four-person group back to camp via the watch's real-time map.
When they arrived, Karuizawa Kei had already lit a large fire. Expecting a survival scenario during summer break, she had trained herself in basic wilderness skills. She waved at them cheerfully, the firelight giving her an unusually peaceful glow.
"Let's make stew and barbecue tonight."
Ryo opened his backpack and pulled out the barbecue grill, skewers, knives, and a stew pot. The 1,200-point kitchen set was impressively comprehensive.
"I'll help you prep the ingredients."
Despite her earlier insistence that Ryo should cook, Horikita stood up to assist without hesitation.
"Me too."
Ichinose followed suit. Her mother had always insisted she focus solely on academics, forbidding housework, but Ichinose had gained some cooking experience through past theater troupe duties. She was surprisingly capable in the kitchen.
This left Karuizawa and Sakayanagi exchanging awkward glances.
Kei couldn't cook at all. Most of her energy these years had gone into acting, and she had grown used to being fed by Ryo. As for Arisu, although she theoretically knew how to cook, she couldn't quite execute it in practice.
The result: Ryo, Honami, and Suzune efficiently handled meal prep, while Kei and Arisu sat quietly by the fire.
Night gradually deepened. Though the stars shone brightly, the moon was nowhere to be seen. The silhouettes of trees thickened into shadows, and occasional wind rustled the leaves.
The stars had always been there, but people rarely noticed them. Unlike the moon, which everyone could see, only a few would ever spot the North Star.
This, perhaps, was why the moon carried so much symbolic meaning through the ages.
As Kei looked up, searching for the moon, random thoughts surfaced.
"Are you interested in constellations, Karuizawa-san?"
Sakayanagi, seemingly bored with the wait, initiated conversation.
They both tactfully avoided glancing at the trio cooking together. It wasn't that they didn't care—they just didn't want to see something so synchronized.
"Not really. I just like looking at the stars."
Kei was surprised Arisu initiated conversation but quickly responded with a smile.
"Are you well-versed in them, Arisu?"
"Not especially. It's been years since I saw stars clearly from the city."
Arisu leaned back on the picnic mat, gazing skyward.
It was her first time truly venturing into the wild, yet she didn't feel afraid or out of place. Seeing the stars sparked a deep sense of tranquility.
"Stars shine so that everyone can one day find their own."
She murmured.
"But what if different people find the same star?"
Kei lowered her gaze, sounding as if she were truly pondering the question.
"Everyone can see a star, but only one can reach up and claim it."
"Many pour their courage and passion into pursuit, only to realize in the end they've chased nothing but distant light, projected from millions of light-years away."
Arisu turned away, ending the conversation.
She simply sat in silence beneath the sky, listening to her own heartbeat.
From the moment it resumed its steady rhythm in her chest, she had already made her choice.
-------------------------------------
"Dinner is served!"
Kitagawa Ryo wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and, unfazed by the heat, lifted the entire stew pot and placed it at the center of the circle where the four sat. The moment he removed the lid, a wave of fragrant steam rose into the air.
"Grilled skewers over here."
He then brought over grilled pork skewers from the barbecue rack. Considering the girls' preferences and the lack of spices, he hadn't made them too spicy.
Ryo himself liked heavy flavors, but he had previously avoided spicy foods to protect his vocal cords. In the simulator, he had once eaten shrimp dumplings with chili sauce.
Judging by the quality of the meal, their group could easily claim to have the best cuisine on the island. Most students were likely surviving on bread and other portable foods, unwilling to spend over a thousand points on a full cooking set.
Although they had only redeemed four sets of utensils, Karuizawa Kei had purchased her own during the day, so there was no shortage.
Pouring drinking water into disposable cups, Ryo was the first to raise his hand in a toast, like a kid at summer camp:
"Cheers!"
The camping mood was infectious. The girls smiled and raised their cups with him:
"Cheers."
No one brought up the exam or scores. Instead, the conversation naturally shifted to everyday life—who liked whom, who was chasing whom. After all, the students of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School were just sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys and girls. Romantic rumors were everywhere.
For example, Yoshimoto from Class 1-C's archery club had successfully started dating a second-year senior from the same club right before summer break.
Ryo had heard about it too. Back then, some of Yoshimoto's friends had a misunderstanding with Class C's Miyake Akito over the same matter, though it seemed things had since been resolved.
"How long do you think they'll last?"
Suddenly, Karuizawa Kei tossed the question to Ryo.
"Say, will that senior wait a whole year for Yoshimoto after graduating?"
She continued, answering her own question:
"Age-gap relationships in school always face that issue. Especially here, in a fully enclosed environment like this school, it's even harder."
"While dating inside the school, the campus becomes your whole world. There's nothing else to consider, so people don't consider anything at all."
If Ryo hadn't poured the water himself, he would've suspected Kei was drunk.
Her deep blue eyes had grown visibly misty. She looked up, starlight falling into her gaze.
"I once read a quote from Camus."
"A couple on a train, both rather plain-looking. She clings to him, smiling, teasing and affectionate. But his eyes are dull, and he even seems embarrassed to be loved so openly by a woman he's not proud of."
Kei looked at Ryo intently and asked, slowly and clearly:
"Right now, am I a girl you can be proud of, Ryo?"
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