It was long since Sumeragi Byakuya died, and Team Sumeragi split up.
Back then, most members joined Sumeragi Reito or Sasazaki’s team.
But, that’s not all of them
Some, precisely ten students didn’t belong to either.
They’re a small group, they’re no threat, and so we ignored them so far.
Since we can’t afford to assign any person to surveillance, we weren’t able to find them until now.
Those people…the third group is in our field of view.
They’re all men, and even from a distance, you can tell that they’re trouble.
I can’t see it with my eyes, but their cheeks are all skinny and ghastly.
It’s as if you put skin on a skeleton.
Perhaps they’re not getting a decent meal.
「 Are they planning to cross the ocean on that raft? 」
「 I wonder 」
They’re on a raft, not a boat.
Even looking at them from a distance, that clearly looks dangerous.
It looks like it’s going to break into pieces.
「 No, that aside. 」
I noticed something.
「 From what I heard from Amane’s report, they have some girls in the group 」
「 So I heard, but.. 」
If I recall, the third group at least has some girls.
About one or two. I forgot the number, but there should be a few women in there.
However, I only see men in the raft.
I can’t see their faces, but I’m pretty sure those are boys because of the uniforms.
Besides, none of them look like a woman.
That aside, there are exactly ten students on the raft.
「 What’s going on? 」Mana asks.
「 Hmm…. 」
They’re in dire need of help.
They’re even putting themselves on an improvised fragile raft.
「 I think they abandoned their women 」
「 Abandoned? 」
「 They could’ve sent them to Sumeragi or Sasazaki, or maybe 」
I didn’t say anything else.
Even though it’s certain that they left the women.
They thought that the girls are just a hindrance.
「 Then, why are there ten of them? 」
「 It’s simple. The guys who deserted when Byakuya was alive probably joined their team. Maybe some left Reito or Sasazaki’s team and joined them. Either way, it’s nothing important 」
「 I see 」
「 If you ask me, the problem is the lack of women there 」
「 Huh, why? Didn’t they send them to Reito or Sasazaki? 」
「 Either that, or kill them, and my guess is that the latter is highly likely 」
「 Kill?! No way! 」
「 It’s likely. Far more likely than sending them to the other teams 」
「 W-Why?! 」
Mana doesn’t seem to get it.
「 If they send the girls to the other team, then they’ll have to face Reito or Sasazaki 」
「 Yes, that’s likely 」
「 At that point, Sasazaki would want to add the men to their team. They just want personnel. That’s why Sasazaki’s a no. That said, Reito won’t just let the men go either 」
「 Why? 」
「 They’re at war with Sasazaki. He’d think that they’re spying for Sasazaki. If that’s the case, Reito will also try to add them to his team. Even if they’re spies, there should be no problem as long as they can’t escape. It means, they’ll be detained no matter which team they make contact with. It’s unnatural for them to be in the water like that 」
「 True. Hokage’s right./ But why is there a need to kill them? 」
「 There’s none, but, it’s likely the girls kill themselves even if they didn’t 」
「 W-Why? 」
I sighed, saying “It’s regretful”
「 High-school boys have insatiable lust. Even those who would have a tight sense of reason in this lawless world, and in this extreme situation where they’re just skin and bones, it’s not surprising to think that they’d take a shot before they die 」
「 That’s… 」
「 Furthermore, even if their girl members are bigger, like ours, the ratio would be 8:2 at most. Girls are like food in front of a hungry wolf. It would be weird if they don’t take a bite 」
Mana furrows her eyebrows.
She looks unconvinced, and she has a complicated look on her face.
「 We’ve had that thought at least once too you know 」
「 Resorting to rape? 」
「 Not that. About doing as you please in the end and not having any regrets. It’s not just rape. It doesn’t matter what you do, whether you put all your savings into lottery tickets, confess your love to someone you like, or punch someone who disgusts you. Have you thought of those? 」
「 Yeah 」
「 Those guys are facing the “end” They don’t think they can cross the ocean on that poor raft either. It’s most certainly that they’d die, and so they made their resolve. If so, they’d want to do something to avoid regrets. However, unlike in Japan, there’s only so much you can do in the current environment. In their case, the only thing they can vent out is their lust 」
Mana seems to have figured it out now.
Her mouth is opened wide in despair.
「 That’s why I’m thinking that it ended up with gang rape. If they had girls, I’d be surprised if they didn’t. No one goes to death without their last supper 」
「 B-But, that’s the case if there were living girls in the team, right? What if they weren’t there? Or they died long ago? 」
「 That’s also likely. That’s why I want to check 」
「 Check? 」
「 It would be quicker to ask them, but I don’t want to talk to them 」
「 Yeah. They’re scary, so no 」
「 If so, let’s find the bath they took to get to the sea. Considering that the waves are calm, then the raft should be moving in a straight line. Assuming if you connect a line from the raft to the beach…. 」
I move my index fingers.
From the raft in the sea to the forest.
「 They should be around there. Let’s go 」
「 Okay 」
We rushed to our destination.
While doing so, we didn’t fail to check if they noticed us.
I thought that it’ll be okay, and in fact, it was.
「 Around here… 」
We arrived at our destination.
「 I knew that they went to the sea from here 」
「 How can you tell? 」
「 The way the twigs and grass are trampled 」
This is an information collection technique by the US special forces.
Ten footprints were identified, so we’re sure that we’re in the right place.
The footprints extend to the depths of the forest.
「 They seem to have made the raft in the woods 」
We follow the footprints through the forest.
After a while, there was a change in the footprints as we’re advancing.
「 It looks like they made the raft here 」
The footprints had changed from migration to stagnation.
It’s a slightly open area in the forest, ideal for building the raft.
There are also traces of their work.
「 The footprints are going in many directions, so I’d say that this is a good base to work from- 」
「 Hokage! 」
Mana interrupts.
「 What’s wro-ah! 」
I looked up and noticed it too.
「 That’s….no…no way 」
Mana tumbled to her knees.
Tears spill from her eyes.
「 This is cruel 」
There’s one girl in our view.
Her entire body is covered in semen, and her uniform has been violently torn off.
Human waste leaks out of her groin and her face is discolored blue.
Her body is already out of breath, hanging from a tree by the strap of a student bag.
As predicted, she was raped, and she killed herself in despair.