COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 176: The Tension in Class D

Ibuki suddenly felt uneasy as she looked at the dead-eyed boy in front of her. A cold sweat began forming on her back.

She knew very well how dangerous he was. The midterm exams, the surveillance incident—he had been pulling the strings behind the scenes. A man who kept making Ryuen suffer and was someone Ryuen genuinely feared.

"I-I need to use the bathroom!"

Ibuki felt like she couldn't let Hikigaya keep leading her by the nose. At the same time, she was afraid she might slip up and reveal something without realizing it. So she quickly made up an excuse to leave.

Hikigaya silently watched her walk away. But soon, his eyes fell on the backpack Ibuki had left behind.

He remembered what he saw early yesterday morning—Ayanokouji rummaging through Ibuki's bag.

What was he looking for?

What could be inside that caught Ayanokouji's interest?

In the end, Hikigaya chose not to go through the bag himself. Instead, he placed it somewhere safe and left.

Later, he found Kushida and asked for a small favor. Before long, she returned from talking to Yamauchi.

"That idiot said he forgot the exact spot where he found Ibuki. He only remembers the general direction."

Kushida looked at Hikigaya with a puzzled expression.

"You're investigating Ibuki? Is there something wrong with her?"

"There's definitely something, but I don't know the details yet."

Hikigaya casually brushed off her question. That afternoon, he went out specifically to check the area where Ibuki was found.

Since he didn't have an exact location, he had to search slowly, step by step. Thanks to his exceptional memory, he could reconstruct images in his mind with near-perfect accuracy. His focus and attention to detail were heightened to an extreme level.

Normally, Hikigaya didn't use this ability much. It always left him feeling drained and starving afterward.

As he searched, he pulled out an egg from breakfast that he had saved earlier.

Before long, he noticed something unusual.

A strip of cloth was tied around the trunk of a tree.

Markings weren't uncommon in this forest—he had already seen four or five on his way here.

But what caught his attention was the soil beneath this marked tree. It looked fresh, as if it had been dug up and buried again.

Hikigaya lightly kicked the ground and found it was loose.

Definitely man-made.

He dug into the soil and soon uncovered a plastic bag containing a flashlight and a walkie-talkie.

It all clicked.

"I see."

Hikigaya looked around the forest, smirking coldly.

"So, there's a wild dog hiding out here?"

After carefully restoring the soil to its original state, he returned to camp and sought out Kushida again.

"What?! You want me to secretly check Ibuki's bag?!"

Kushida's eyes widened in shock, glaring at Hikigaya.

"Do you take me for some kind of thief?! What if I get caught?! Hikigaya, you bastard! You always make me do the dirty work!"

"50,000."

"No way! There are too many people at camp! I'll definitely get caught!"

Kushida refused outright. If she got exposed, her entire reputation would be ruined. She wasn't stupid enough to take that risk.

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you."

Hikigaya continued to tempt her.

"And you only need to take a quick peek. A few seconds of work for 50,000 private points—what do you think?"

His words sounded like the devil whispering in her ear, full of temptation.

"Then... why don't you ask Horikita or Sakura? You just want to dump all the risk onto me!"

Kushida sneered.

"It's because I trust your skills."

Hikigaya didn't get angry and simply stated the truth.

"You might not realize it, but you're way more capable than you think, Kushida."

Kushida froze for a moment.

She unconsciously bit her lip, feeling something strange stir inside her.

"Hmph! Trying to trick me again? You liar!"

Kushida gritted her teeth and glared at Hikigaya.

"You need to pay more!"

"No problem!"

Evening was the busiest time for everyone. The boys were focused on preparing dinner and starting a fire, while the girls took the opportunity to use the temporary shower facilities.

As an outsider, Ibuki usually lined up behind all the other girls. After grabbing a change of clothes from her backpack, she entered the shower.

Meanwhile, Hikigaya walked up to Yukimura and the others and quietly said a few words. The next second, their faces darkened with anger, and they stormed over to Shinohara and Karuizawa, demanding to know why the girls' tent had electric fans.

Yukimura's voice was loud enough for all the other boys to hear. Most of them immediately grew furious, with Ike and Yamauchi reacting the most strongly.

To save points, everyone had been enduring the hot and humid summer nights. Sleeping in a tent with seven or eight people was already unbearable, but they gritted their teeth and put up with it for the sake of saving points.

And yet, the girls had secretly spent points on electric fans just to sleep more comfortably?

Of course, this made the boys furious!

Not to mention, electric fans weren't cheap. The girls' tent must have had at least two, meaning they had spent a considerable amount of points just for their own comfort.

Despite the boys' angry accusations, Shinohara, Karuizawa, and the others showed no guilt at all. Instead, they confidently said, "Well, we already bought them, so what do you expect us to do?"

Their attitude only made the boys even angrier, leading to a heated argument. Hirata quickly stepped in to mediate, and while everyone was distracted, Kushida made her way to the shower area, where Ibuki's backpack was hanging.

She quickly unzipped it, took a glance inside, and then zipped it back up. Acting as if she had just arrived, she joined Hirata in trying to calm the situation.

In the end, with Horikita stepping in, the girls reluctantly agreed to hand over one of their fans for the boys to use, which barely managed to settle the dispute.

However, the class atmosphere had already become tense, and the hostility between the boys and girls was now more apparent than ever.

Later, Kushida found Hikigaya and told him what she had seen inside Ibuki's backpack.

"You're saying... there's a digital camera in her bag?"

Hikigaya was momentarily surprised by Kushida's report, but then he suddenly realized something.

"That guy Ryuen isn't just a gambler—he's a greedy gambler."

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