COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 191: The Last Straw

Hikigaya knew that Horikita's keycard had been stolen by Ibuki. He had assumed she went after Ibuki, so why had she suddenly dropped out of the exam?

"Hirata, you're saying Horikita collapsed because of a high fever?"

Hikigaya sighed a little when he heard that. Even though she had taken medicine, the exhaustion from the past few days, combined with the sudden weather change, had pushed her body past its limit, causing her illness to flare up again.

"Yeah, Horikita collapsed outside. Luckily, Ayanokouji found her in time and took her to the school nurse. She's stable for now, but according to the nurse, she won't be able to continue the exam, so she has no choice but to withdraw."

There was clear concern on Hirata's face.

He had seen firsthand how much Horikita had done for the class during this time. He had wanted to stop her, but she had insisted on pushing through. After all, if Horikita took a break, they would lose a large number of bonus points from holding onto their base camp. Plus, there was also the risk of exposing Class D's leader.

"Ayanokouji?"

Hikigaya was surprised to hear that name from Hirata.

He already knew that Ayanokouji had figured out Ryuen's plan. The whole thing with Ibuki's camera was most likely his doing as well.

But if Horikita had to withdraw because of her condition, that meant the new leader would be...

Hirata noticed Hikigaya's reaction and seemed to guess what he was thinking. Leaning in slightly, he lowered his voice.

"Ayanokouji just told me that since Horikita is out, the leader's identity has to change."

"The new leader... it's Ayanokouji, isn't it?"

Hirata nodded.

"Ayanokouji said this needs to be kept secret for now, but I trust you, Hikigaya."

As expected.

Since Ayanokouji had already figured out Ryuen's plan, he must have also been keeping an eye on Ibuki's actions. That meant he was most likely aware that Horikita's keycard had been stolen.

Looking at the final outcome, it was clear that Horikita had failed to get the keycard back from Ibuki. But even if she had, it wouldn't have made a difference—her identity as the leader was already exposed.

When Hikigaya returned to Class D's camp earlier, he had been thinking of an excuse to convince Horikita to voluntarily withdraw from the exam. But now, it seemed like he didn't have to worry about that anymore. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that Ayanokouji had played a key role in Horikita's withdrawal.

And more than that, Hikigaya had a strong hunch that, just like him, Ayanokouji had been making moves behind the scenes during this special exam.

Hikigaya glanced back at Class D's camp. The effects of the fire from yesterday seemed to have mostly faded. The tense, hostile atmosphere between the boys and girls had eased up quite a bit, no doubt thanks to Hirata's efforts. Hikigaya found himself quietly impressed by Hirata's ability to keep things under control.

On the sixth day of the uninhabited island exam, Class A had voluntarily compensated Hikigaya with a huge amount of private points, Class B's leader was exposed, Ryuen's plan in Class C had been completely laid bare, and Class D had gone through both a fire at their camp and Horikita's withdrawal. Every class had faced its own set of challenges, creating an intense, storm-like tension in the air.

And soon, the seventh day of the exam arrived.

After completing the usual morning roll call, Class D began packing up their supplies at the camp. Meanwhile, Chabashira-sensei approached Hirata.

Hirata knew that this was the most crucial part of the exam—the leader guessing phase.

He thought back to last night when Ayanokouji had specifically come to talk to him about his guess for Class C's leader. After considering it for a moment, Hirata wrote down Ryuen Kakeru.

He naturally skipped over the leader of Class B, as he already knew that information. Then, it was time to guess Class A's leader.

"Hirata."

At some point, Hikigaya had moved next to him and quietly whispered a name into his ear. Without hesitation, Hirata wrote down Totsuka Yahiko.

"You're not even going to think about it a little?"

Hikigaya was a bit surprised at how decisively Hirata had made his choice.

"I trust your judgment, Hikigaya."

Hirata looked at Hikigaya seriously, then leaned in and whispered, "Actually, on the first day, when Koenji exchanged points for a first-aid kit, I happened to be there too. At the time, I wanted to help him, but he refused.

He told me, 'You should look forward to Pochi Boy's performance on the last day.' I was confused back then, but now I finally understand what he meant.

You're just like you were at the beginning of the school year, Hikigaya—always quietly working for the sake of the class. Thank you."

Hikigaya: "..."

Koenji, that bastard.

But then, Hikigaya's eyes narrowed as he noticed the name Ryuen on the paper.

"Hirata, did Ayanokouji tell you that Class C's leader is Ryuen?"

Surprisingly, Hirata scratched his head awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile.

He didn't confirm it directly, but his reaction told Hikigaya everything he needed to know.

Ryuen was indeed the leader of Class C. But whether that was still the case today was another story.

Hikigaya sighed internally. If his prediction was correct, and they guessed wrong on Class C's leader, then Class D's final points would be nearly wiped out. They had already spent a significant amount throughout the seven days—down to just 170 points. Adding in the points lost from Horikita and Koenji's withdrawal, the only thing keeping them afloat now was the bonus points from holding their base camp.

—

Meanwhile, over at Class A's camp...

After everything that had happened yesterday, Katsuragi looked visibly exhausted.

Trying to calm the other students while also dealing with the opposition from Sakayanagi's faction had drained him. But despite all the struggles, he had still managed to stabilize the situation in the end.

They had lost a lot of private points, but as long as their class points remained intact, they could continue to keep Sakayanagi in check.

"Katsuragi, bad news!"

Suddenly, Totsuka's panicked voice rang out as he rushed over. He looked furious as he shouted, "That bastard Hashimoto messed up while trying to capture a base camp, and we just lost 50 points because of it!"

Katsuragi shot up from his seat, his face filled with anger.

"They're still pulling stunts like this at a time like this?! Do they have no bottom line at all?!"

He forced himself to take a deep breath to calm down. What was done was done—there was no changing it now.

"Katsuragi, with Hashimoto's backstabbing, we might not even have 350 points left. This... this is really dangerous."

Totsuka's voice was full of concern.

"On top of that, everyone already lost 45,000 private points during this exam. Even the students who support us are starting to get frustrated. If we end up with a low final score too, I'm afraid..."

Katsuragi's expression grew darker. Of course, he was already aware of this problem. Totsuka clenched his fists, his face twisted with frustration.

"Katsuragi, we can't just sit back and defend anymore. The enemy is attacking—we need to strike back! If we can win big in the leader guessing phase, we'll not only make up for our lost points, but we'll also crush Class B's momentum! And we'll finally get revenge on that dead-fish-eyed bastard!"

Katsuragi's face was dark and uncertain.

At the same time, Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei, had arrived at their camp.

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