Inside the Class A camp, the students had completed their basic tasks for the day.
After lighting the campfire and completing their personal hygiene, the students did not immediately go to the tents to rest. After experiencing the sudden special exam, everyone had a lot to say to others, so they formed small circles and chatted lively.
There were no strict restrictions in the rules on when to sleep, so it was up to everyone's discretion. Besides, the class leader and core members were not here at the moment, so everyone wanted to play a little longer.
On the hillside behind the camp, Hashima Hikaru and Ichinose Honami were snuggled together. The girl put her little hand in his hand, and the two of them communicated in a very soft tone, not too loud.
"Do you think we can really win this time, Hashima-kun?"
"I think as long as everyone can unite as one, there is nothing we can't do. Haven't we already obtained the name of a class leader?"
"That's true."
Ichinose Honami squeezed the boy's big hand, her voice filled with a touch of relief. "Although everyone was a little flustered at the beginning, they quickly calmed down under Hashima-kun's leadership. Even while enduring various discomforts, they didn't complain."
"So, I think it's really great to be assigned to this class."
Hashima Hikaru looked at the camp below and could vaguely hear everyone's laughter. He had spent a semester with the students of Class A and had developed a very strong sense of belonging to this group.
Although the overall quality of Class A was not the strongest, it had qualities that other classes didn't have in certain aspects, and that was unity and the ability to fully trust each other.
The boy had seen this several times, and now, under his and Ichinose Honami's leadership, everyone had safely passed two large-scale exams, and the class evaluation score had stabilized above 1000 points.
The point collection plan that was originally formulated had been progressing smoothly. Ichinose Honami's private points were about to break through the 10 million mark after completing the initial sale of the rules to the three classes, and the subsequent three months of class point collection.
And due to the school's organization of this cruise trip during the summer vacation, everyone's idea was to return to school before carrying out the point collection in August. At that time, the points should be able to successfully break through 10 million.
As long as they could successfully collect 20 million private points, if the students in the class encountered a expulsion crisis later, they could use this as a certificate for change. After all, Hashima Hikaru and Ichinose Honami didn't want anyone in the class to be missing.
"I think so too. It's really lucky to be able to meet everyone here," Ichinose Honami's beautiful eyes were filled with a gentle light as she stared at the boy's profile and said softly, "And... it's also lucky to meet Hashima-kun."
"Hehe, this may be the arrangement of fate."
Hashima Hikaru smiled faintly. After these four months of the semester, he had actually learned a lot about the other three classes.
Class B, which had fallen from the top position and was undergoing internal struggles among its class leaders, Class C, which had risen to third place but had many problem children, and Class D, which was currently ranked last and had caused several violent incidents.
They all had some obvious problems. If he had been assigned to these classes, perhaps the situation would have been completely different?
The boy didn't make too many in-depth assumptions in his mind. He only wanted to help Class A maintain its advantage in first place and graduate smoothly from here.
"Actually, I have a selfish request now. Can you listen to it, Hashima-kun?"
Ichinose Honami felt the aura coming from the boy that she was so attached to, and a certain thought suddenly surfaced in her mind, making her unable to help but say it directly.
"What request?"
"It's just... Can I call... Call..."
Although she had thought this for a long time, when it really came to making the request, the pink-haired girl's heart began to beat wildly with nervousness, causing her to stutter several times.
"Can I... call you by your name, Hashima-kun?"
After uttering this request, Ichinose Honami's little heart instantly jumped to her throat. The little hand she was holding in the boy's palm began to sweat uncontrollably.
"This..."
Hashima Hikaru pondered for a moment. In order to better control the stocks, he couldn't directly confirm an intimate relationship with any woman, otherwise there would be big problems in handling the distance issue later.
But under the current circumstances, it would seem too impersonal to directly reject Ichinose Honami. In these few months, he had truly felt the girl's golden heart, her willingness to help others, her empathy, and the fact that she was a good cook.
All of this made Hashima Hikaru unable to help but think of the photo on the [Life Album] he had unlocked earlier.
In the future, will I marry Ichinose?
Although it was a prediction, it might not be a 100% ending, but it was still possible.
Just as the boy's thoughts were flying far away, Ichinose Honami suddenly said something that retreated to the next best thing. After her last romantic charge was brushed aside by Hashima Hikaru, she had long since learned to be smart.
If a request cannot be fulfilled, then what will Hashima-kun decide if I take a step back?
"If you don't feel comfortable with it, then can I only call you by your name when we're alone?"
"..."
This sentence was like a perfect step, hitting the angle that Hashima Hikaru had just been hesitating about. If it was just calling him by his name when they were alone, then there wouldn't be much of a problem. It wouldn't cause trouble for the other stock characters.
"Um, okay. Actually, I think my relationship with Ichinose-san is already very close. We should have been calling each other by our names a long time ago."
The boy smiled lightly and nodded in agreement to her request.
No matter what, Ichinose Honami was the first stock he had acquired, so it wasn't a big deal to give her some special treatment.
"Okay, then..."
The girl seemed to be brewing her emotions, because she had waited too long for this moment. After confirming that the other party had agreed, Ichinose's heart was instantly filled with joy.
"Hikaru." She gently uttered the syllable.
"Yes, I'm here."
Hashima Hikaru nodded slightly, with a very gentle expression on his face.
"Hikaru."
"...I'm here."
"Hikaru."
"Are you a child learning to pronounce, Ichinose-san?" The boy said helplessly, "There's no need to keep calling me, right?"
"Hehe, because I'm really happy right now. This is a benefit that is exclusive to me, so of course I have to enjoy it."
After a while, Ichinose Honami took the initiative to say, "Since I've already called you by your name, Hikaru, then you should also call me by my name, right?"
"...."
"It's also limited to when we're alone. Want to try it? That's more fair." The girl knew that she was taking an inch, but she had already prepared herself and wouldn't back down at all.
"Alright."
Hashima Hikaru couldn't do anything with her anyway. It was just calling each other by name when they were alone, not a big deal.
"Then... Honami?"
The boy wasn't shy, just a little awkward. After all, he usually didn't call his classmates by their names. Even Shibata and Kanzaki, who were close to him, he called them by their last names.
"Yes, I'm here."
The pink-haired girl squeezed Hashima Hikaru's hand, a very sweet smile on her face.
Although she couldn't become his lover yet, Ichinose Honami believed that this day wouldn't be too far away.
"We've stayed here long enough, right? Shouldn't we go back? It's almost nine o'clock. We should let everyone rest early. Tomorrow, we still need to collect supplies and explore the island."
Hashima Hikaru looked at the watch that the teacher had given him, which showed the current time.
"Yes, let's go back together."
The two stood up from the hillside and returned to the camp below together.
Glancing at the girl's satisfied pretty face, the boy saw a new notification popping up in the system, and there were two of them.
[With your help, Class A safely passed the first day of the special exam and successfully obtained the name of Class B's class leader. Ichinose Honami has become increasingly dependent on you. Ichinose Honami's stock price has risen by 10 points, the current stock price is 180.]
[Being able to call each other by name when alone is a very important thing for Ichinose Honami. Ichinose Honami's possessiveness towards you has become stronger. Ichinose Honami's stock price has risen by 20 points, the current stock price is 200.]
"Hiss..."
Looking at the two new notifications that popped up, Hashima Hikaru's expression instantly became a little strange.
Although the stock price rising to 200 did break the all-time high, allowing the funds that could be exchanged for his Ichinose Honami stock to rise again.
But this stronger possessiveness, no matter how you think about it, is not a good sign, right?
Although the boy had done a lot of things to get closer, none of the other stock characters had shown this trait. They mostly just wanted company.
"I have a feeling that... something not very good might happen."
Hashima Hikaru touched his chin. No matter what, Ichinose Honami would be the closest girl to him. That was something that wouldn't change.
No matter what problems might arise, nothing should happen before a romantic relationship is established, right?
Yes, right?
After walking into the camp, the two, as core figures who held the right to speak in the class, began to call on the other students to prepare to rest. The camp had become quite comfortable thanks to everyone's efforts, so everyone could spend a peaceful night tonight.
However, in front of everyone, Hashima Hikaru and Ichinose Honami naturally needed to restore their ordinary titles as agreed.
"Good night, Hashima-kun."
"Good night, Ichinose-san."