Classroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Unexpected Visit from a Class C Classmate

Just then, Ichinose Honami’s cheerful voice drifted through the clearing from a distance.

“Everyone, lunch is ready!”

The students of Class B gathered from all directions, converging around the center of the camp. Each of them carried a small, rather crude-looking wooden board. These makeshift plates were obviously scavenged from the surrounding forest—their surfaces were uneven, the edges rough and splintered, but each one had been carefully wrapped in a clear plastic bag to serve as sanitary tableware.

Carrying a portion of the freshly prepared food, Ichinose walked over and took a seat beside Kaedehara Tetsu and Kamuro Masumi.

“The presentation isn’t exactly elegant,” Ichinose said with a bright, apologetic smile, “but everyone put a lot of care into preparing it!”

Tetsu looked down at the meal resting in his hands. It consisted of a few wild vegetable leaves, chopped into uneven, yellowish strips. Beside the greens sat small, pale chunks of boiled meat that looked entirely devoid of seasoning. A handful of unrecognizable wild berries rounded out the meager rations.

Taking her place on one side of the circle, Ichinose pressed her hands together in a polite gesture to initiate the meal. “Well then, everyone, let’s eat!”

Kamuro picked up a limp vegetable leaf, placed it in her mouth, and chewed. A subtle, complicated expression flickered across her face.

The taste was… practically nonexistent. Aside from the sharp, natural bitterness of the wild foliage, there was only a microscopic trace of saltiness, so faint it was almost a phantom sensation. Evidently, the only seasoning Class B had bothered to purchase from the manual was basic salt, and they were rationing it with extreme prejudice to save their precious points.

“How is it?” Shiranami Chihiro leaned forward from her spot nearby, her eyes wide and expectant. “Does it taste okay?”

Tetsu swallowed the bland mixture and offered a smooth, practiced nod. “It’s quite good. Being able to forage and prepare safe food in this kind of environment is already a remarkable feat.”

Though his words were wrapped in standard politeness, his expression remained perfectly composed and entirely sincere. Under true wilderness survival conditions, possessing the knowledge to identify edible plants and process them without poisoning the camp was genuinely commendable.

Across the circle, Kanzaki Ryuji chewed his food in silence, his sharp gaze lingering on the two guests from Class A. Tetsu’s passing remark about Chihiro earlier still gnawed at his nerves, leaving a lingering sense of unease. Yet, watching the black-haired boy act so naturally and graciously now, Kanzaki began to doubt his own paranoia.

‘Perhaps I over-interpreted it,’Kanzaki thought, his brow furrowing slightly.’Maybe it really was just a casual remark.’

“Speaking of which, how is life over at the Class A campsite?” a short-haired Class B boy asked, leaning in with genuine curiosity. “I heard you guys found a really good place to set up.”

“It’s manageable,” Tetsu replied smoothly, keeping the details vague. “The conditions are simple, but everyone is trying their best to adapt.”

“That’s great! Even though this is a special exam, it’s always better if everyone can be a bit more comfortable.”

Beside Tetsu, Kamuro silently observed the underlying dynamic of the Class B students. She quickly noticed a glaring anomaly compared to the rest of the school: there were absolutely no isolated cliques. Everyone naturally bled into the group conversation, smoothly passing the spotlight around. Even the painfully introverted students were gently encouraged to chime in at the right moments.

It was a sickeningly harmonious atmosphere—something incredibly rare in the cutthroat, hyper-competitive ecosystem of Advanced Nurturing High School.

“Does Kamuro-san usually play any sports?” a girl sitting next to her asked, initiating a conversation. “I noticed you keep your physique in really good shape.”

“Running, mostly… and swimming, I guess,” Kamuro muttered, her tone flat. “I’ve been practicing since I was little.”

“Wow, no wonder your figure is so good!”

“I really want to learn how to swim too,” another girl chimed in with a sigh, “but I can never find the time, and I’ve just never been able to get the knack for it.”

“Actually, it doesn’t require that much time…” Kamuro replied. It was rare for her to voluntarily extend a conversation, but the overwhelming friendliness was difficult to completely shut down. “The key is just finding the right method to breathe and float.”

“Could you teach us, Kamuro-san? We’re surrounded by seawater on this island. If we could learn to swim properly, maybe we could forage for more food sources in the ocean!”

The proposal instantly sparked an enthusiastic chorus of agreement from several other students nearby.

“Eh… um, well…” Kamuro shifted uncomfortably, clearly out of her depth in the face of such relentless enthusiasm. “Let’s… talk about it if there’s a chance later.”

Undeterred, several girls continued to crowd around Kamuro, eagerly discussing swimming techniques and breathing exercises. They were in high spirits, chattering away about various minor details. Though Kamuro looked thoroughly unaccustomed to being the center of such warm attention, she still patiently, if reluctantly, answered their questions.

After a while, the camp finished their meager lunches. Several Class B students stood up to tidy the area, collecting the crude wooden boards to wash them by the river.

Just then, the distinct crunch of dry foliage echoed from the perimeter of the camp.

Everyone turned toward the sound, watching as a strange figure stumbled out from the dense treeline. It was a medium-built boy wearing a dirty, disheveled tracksuit. His hair was a tangled mess, his face pale and smeared with dirt, radiating pure exhaustion and unease. His eyes darted around unfocused, as if he were terrified to take another step forward.

“Excuse me… is this the Class B campsite?” the boy asked, lingering at the edge of the clearing. His voice trembled with uncertainty.

Ichinose stood up immediately, her signature gentle smile blooming on her face. “Yes, this is Class B. Who might you be…?”

“I am Kaneda Satoru, from Class C.”

The boy took a deep, shuddering breath, as if summoning the last dregs of his courage just to speak. “I… I was kicked out by Ryuuen.”

A wave of shocked murmurs rippled through the Class B students. None of them had expected to encounter a stray student from Class C under these circumstances, let alone one who looked so thoroughly defeated.

“Kicked out? What happened?” Ichinose asked, her voice laced with immediate concern as she raised a hand to signal her classmates to quiet down.

Kaneda’s expression twisted into a bitter grimace. He raised a trembling hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“That guy, Ryuuen… he’s gone completely crazy. He ordered everyone to withdraw from the exam. He said that this kind of wilderness survival is entirely meaningless, and that we’d be better off just giving up and spending the week on the cruise ship.”

“But I couldn’t agree with that approach,” Kaneda continued, his voice rising in manufactured agitation. “We came here for a special exam, to earn Class Points for our future. How can we just throw that away so easily just because the living conditions are a little tough?”

“So you opposed his decision?” Kanzaki interjected, his eyes narrowing slightly as he analyzed the boy’s story.

“Yes. I stood up and told him that his approach was wrong. I said we should strive to adapt to the environment instead of running away from the challenge.” Kaneda looked down at his dirty shoes. “As a result… he said I was meddling in his business. He told me to get lost, and to stop ruining everyone else’s ‘vacation mood’.”

Hearing this tragic tale, the surrounding Class B students all exchanged looks of deep sympathy. Being exiled and abandoned by one’s own class leader in the middle of a harsh, uninhabited island was a nightmare scenario that easily tugged at their heartstrings.

“So, what do you plan to do now?” Kanzaki asked.

“I don’t know…” Kaneda’s voice cracked, sounding as though he were on the verge of tears. “I’ve just been wandering around the island. I don’t know where to go. I originally wanted to find a safe place to camp by myself, but I’m not familiar with the terrain at all, and I was terrified of getting hurt. I saw the smoke from your fire, so I just wanted to come over and ask for directions…”

Ichinose made her decision without a single second of hesitation.

“If you really have nowhere else to go, then stay here with us.”

Kaneda’s eyes widened, lighting up with a mixture of shock and desperate hope. “Is that really okay? I’m from a rival class… won’t taking me in cause a negative impact on your group?”

“It’s perfectly fine.” Ichinose waved her hand dismissively, her tone overflowing with absolute, naive sincerity. “In such a difficult environment, everyone should help each other instead of pushing people away.”

Upon hearing those words, Kaneda’s eyes reddened. After allegedly being thrown away like trash by his own peers, suddenly receiving such unconditional warmth from an enemy class seemed to overwhelm his emotional state.

“Thank you… thank you all so much.” Kaneda bowed deeply, hiding his face from the crowd. “I swear, I definitely won’t cause any trouble for anyone.”