Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 9 - Leader

My fever was getting worse. I had thought I could hold out, but six days into the island exam and I was barely able to function.

I had a job to do. That thought was the only thing that kept me going at this point. I had been entrusted with the role of class leader, the only person who could use the keycard to secure our spot.

It was a shame that we hadn't been able to claim any others, since the other classes probably had two or three extra spots each at least, but with my health so deteriorated there was nothing we could do.

There also wasn't anyone I trusted to claim a spot with me.

Out of the entire class, only Ayanokouji was someone I respected, and even that only went so far. He was an enigma, someone I couldn't understand in the slightest. I accepted his immense talents, but even so...

He told me not to trust him. He told me himself, and that was something I couldn't ignore.

No, in this class I truly am alone.

And that was fine. I had always been alone. I had no need for friends or allies, and now wasn't any different. Except it was.

I couldn't do this alone, at least not in my current condition. For the last two days, the only time I had moved was to secure the spot every eight hours, an action that hampered my ability to sleep properly and recover from my illness as effectively, or when I went to the toilet or rinsed my face in the river.

It doesn't matter, though. I can't retire. That was the only way out from my illness, and the cost of 30 points was too high.

I made my way back from the spot controller, after reclaiming the spot for another eight hours, and returned to the tent where I spent most of my time. Luckily I had established on the first few days that I wasn't interested in getting involved with any games or activities, and my responsibility to claim the spot got me out of every other job on the campsite. All of this meant that I was left alone almost all the time, to rest and take the seven-hour window I had to try and recover somewhat from my fever.

Once I reached the tent, I was left to ponder once again how the girls had obtained such luxuries. I wasn't one to complain about it, since due to my illness, the fans and mats made it much easier to rest than a sleeping bag on the ground, but it seemed incredibly irresponsible to be wasting points on such pointless luxuries.

It was made that much more confusing to learn that it was Kushida who suggested the idea.

Kushida, who since day one, had been organising and running the class, controlling and limiting what we spent points on as much as was reasonable, had been the one to suggest spending points on such trivial luxuries. It was a suspicious choice, and I suspected one of the two consistencies wasn't her idea.

Once again, it all came back to Ayanokouji. I'd been watching him over the past few days, as he lazed around the campsite in his hammock, and the only person I'd seen him interact with was Kushida. Clearly, they were working together, or more likely, he was running the show from the shadows.

Kushida was a smart student. I'd seen her scores in class, and while they weren't close to me, they were well above average, nothing to scoff at. Despite that, I didn't think she was the one in charge of our camp. Sure, she was capable of organising the points, and delegating tasks since most of the class blindly trusted and followed her, but was she capable of winning the exam?

No, but Ayanokouji was.

He was the one who made me the leader. Even now, after thinking about it, I couldn't understand his reasoning. Yes, out of everyone, I certainly was a good candidate to be leader, something that I'm sure he recognised when he made me leader. It wasn't an impulse decision, but a rational one, that even Kouenji had recognised as the best choice.