2.1

 

WE, THE STUDENTS OF CLASS D, had just survived the very first special exam of our second year. I’d wound up with an injured left hand thanks to my little entanglement with Housen, but successfully managed to eliminate the danger of expulsion. I understood well enough that it would take some time for my wound, which was the price I had paid for my efforts, to heal completely, but there was nothing I could do about that.

I left the reception room, with Tsukishiro watching me go, and let out a small sigh as I closed the door behind me. Now, I could go back to my ordinary, carefree everyday life as a student… Well, no. Not really. Things had gotten to the point where I couldn’t even entertain such naïve thoughts anymore.

Besides, my current environment had already begun to be a far cry from what you might call an ordinary, everyday life. Being summoned by the acting director to have a conversation with him was quite an unusual event, and one that would leave most students scratching their heads in confusion.

Even as I thought that, though, I resigned myself to the reality of the situation, recognizing that there was nothing I could do. I had run away to this school. I had no other choice but to accept that things like this were going to follow me forever. The only way I could be released from the chains shackling me would be to get expelled.

“Looks like the discussion’s over.”

“Yeah, seems that way,” I replied.

Chabashira, who had been waiting for me a short distance outside of the reception room, came up to me as if it natural to do so. I felt a little bit disappointed to see her, but didn’t let it show on my face. Tsukishiro didn’t know I was currently working with Chabashira, the teacher in charge of our class, and Mashima-sensei, the teacher in charge of Class 2-A. Given that, it was nothing short of unnatural for Chabashira to keep waiting around for me when Tsukishiro had called me.

The fact that Tsukishiro had used Chabashira to bring me to his office was perfectly understandable, considering her role as my homeroom teacher, but I couldn’t deny the possibility that he was using this opportunity to lay a trap. That was precisely why I’d wanted her to leave without making contact with me again. If you considered what a normal teacher-and-student relationship might look like, it was entirely unnatural for a teacher to do something like stand around and wait like she had.

If the situation had been a little calmer, Chabashira might have realized that. I was sure her decision was influenced by the fact that I had gotten a perfect score on the math section of the exam and made my true abilities known to some of my classmates. I understood why this whole situation made her restless, but this was rash of her.

But, well, I supposed if there was one thing that I could say in her defense, it was that we had vastly different opinions of him. From Chabashira’s perspective, Tsukishiro simply had a connection with a student’s father. A student she was a homeroom instructor for. That wasn’t surprising, though, considering she didn’t know any background information, like about the White Room. This naturally meant there was a difference in the level of caution we showed Tsukishiro and our attitudes toward him.

Which was exactly why I wasn’t going to say anything now. All I could do right now was leave as quickly as possible, so I put one foot in front of the other and made my way forward.

“You’ve become a bit of a celebrity now,” said Chabashira.

I was wondering what she was going to say when she opened her mouth. So that was what she’d decided to go with, huh?

“I’m not happy about it, but it was a necessary measure. I just have to accept it as something within acceptable limits, I guess.”

“But even putting aside the students from the other classes, how are you planning to explain this to your own classmates? You’ve been playing the part of the humble, inconspicuous student as much as possible so far. Now that you’ve gotten a perfect score on the math exam—despite how difficult some of the questions were—your classmates aren’t going to leave well enough alone. Have you already made moves to prepare for that?” she asked.

As I let Chabashira’s questions go in one ear and out the other, paying no real attention to her, I thought about what I was going to do from here on out. I had left my bag back in the classroom, so I had to go back.

“There was no way I could’ve taken steps to prepare for this beforehand. I’m going to have to start from here,” I replied.

Besides, it would’ve been crazy for me to deliberately go out of my way to announce to everyone that I’d be getting a perfect score in the math section of the upcoming special exam.

“You’re going to face some hardships. You’d best prepare yourself for an onslaught of questions,” said Chabashira.

“I know.”

If you already have some idea of what’s going to happen next, I’d really prefer you just let me go as soon as possible, I thought.

“Is it okay if we part ways right here? If I’m caught walking around alone with my homeroom teacher, I’ll end up attracting unwanted attention,” I told her.

“Yes, yes, I get it,” mumbled Chabashira, before walking towards the faculty lounge.

I was sure she was trying to suppress her emotions as much as possible, but it was easy to see that she was positively bursting with joy. She might act more distant than the other homeroom teachers, but in reality, Chabashira was probably the closest to her students. It was because she had lingering attachments and regrets from her own time as a student that those uncontainable feelings welled up within her.

Her poker face was good enough to cover that up when she was dealing with normal students, but… Well, from my perspective, she was an open book. So much so that it was comical. The fact that she was easy for me to manipulate was an advantage, but right now, she was just getting in my way. There was no point in wasting more energy on her for the moment, though, so I decided to forget about her for now.

I took out my cell and tried to call Horikita. But even though the call rang, it didn’t connect. I tried sending her a quick message as well, but she didn’t read it.

“Well, I tried, I guess.”

Horikita was most likely the most useful person I could enlist to help me get through this situation right now, considering the fact that we’d had our little wager over the math test and that whole thing about the student council over the past year. With a little explanation of what was going on, I was sure I could get her to accommodate me to some degree. I would have liked to have laid some groundwork ahead of time if possible, but it looked like I was just going to have to deal with this situation on the fly.

My classroom came into view. I wondered what the rest of the class was going to be like now that I’d gotten that perfect score in math. It would’ve been nice if almost all the students were already on their way back to the dorms, like usual.

Holding that hope in my heart, I returned to my classroom—and found a sight quite different from what I had hoped. It had taken me roughly less than half an hour to get back to the classroom after talking to Tsukishiro. Normally, most students would already have left the school building by now—but even though the only students currently left in the classroom were the ones who had no club activities, there were still a fair number of people around.

Of course, there could only be one reason for that: me. That was as clear as day to anyone who personally experienced both the vibe in the room and the stares of everyone there.

Horikita, the person who hadn’t answered her phone moments earlier, was there too. It seemed she was more aware of what my situation was like than I had thought. I didn’t have time to express my gratitude, though, because the moment I set foot in the classroom, students came up to me, eager to start firing off questions.

The very first person to come up and start barraging me with questions was one of the people from the Ayanokouji Group: Keisei. In contrast to Chabashira, who seemed positively overjoyed, the look on Keisei’s face suggested he was somewhat irritated.

“Sorry about earlier, when you tried to come up to me to talk,” I told him.

Keisei had tried to talk to me right after class ended for the day, only to be cut off when Horikita showed up. I had to start by apologizing for that.

“It’s no big deal. More importantly, is now a good time? I have several questions I want to ask you,” said Keisei.

Haruka and Airi, more members of Ayanokouji Group, came up next to us right away as well. Akito wasn’t around, probably because of his club activities, which I had made mention of earlier. We had attracted quite an audience though, and a lot of people were listening in on what we were talking about.

“You… What’s this about you getting a hundred points in math? I checked our entire grade level in OAA. Not even Ichinose nor Sakayanagi got a perfect score. You’re the only person in our grade who did,” said Keisei.

Getting a perfect score on a test, and in the process, doing just slightly better than other people had, wouldn’t normally cause a scene like this. However, this test was something else entirely. The more academically advanced students understood this particularly well. The better a student someone was, the better they understood how bizarre it was to get a perfect score on this test. Even the students who weren’t that good at academics were likely starting to catch on and sense something was off, considering how everyone else was reacting.

“Well, about that…” I started, trailing off.

As I started speaking, my eyes wandered. I settled my gaze on Horikita, who sat near the front of the classroom, seeking her help.

“Very well. I can explain,” said Horikita.

Normally, Horikita would have been making her way back to the dormitory around this time, but she must have decided to stick around after she saw the other students hanging back in the classroom. That was the right decision. Since she was already looking in my direction, I didn’t need to bother confirming that she had stayed behind to help me smooth things over.

To make sure that everyone’s scattered attention was focused on one point, she rose from where she sat, out of sight, and walked up to me to stand by my side.

“I’m…asking Kiyotaka.” Keisei seemed displeased by Horikita’s presence, apparently deeming her an unneeded outsider who had just cut in.

“Yes, I know. But Yukimura-kun, I am the one who has the answers you’re looking for,” replied Horikita.

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

By deliberately using a rather curious way of expressing herself, Horikita had single-handedly managed to attract the attention of Keisei and the rest of our classmates.

“This is the kind of score that you and I couldn’t get, Yukimura-kun… Actually, no, it was a score that no one in our grade level could achieve. I’m sure you’re wondering how Ayanokouji-kun managed to get a perfect score, right? It is puzzling, isn’t it?” said Horikita.

She had specifically directed her question at Keisei, but it was likely something that everyone in class was wondering about.

“Yeah… To be honest, I can’t wrap my head around it at all. I mean, I mentioned it earlier, but the questions that came up toward the end of the test seemed impossible to solve. I just can’t understand how Kiyotaka was able to solve those problems like they were no big deal at all,” said Keisei.

I did remember surprised comments from some of the people in class immediately after the test was handed to us. Starting with Keisei and Yousuke, the top-scoring students had discussed the extraordinarily difficult questions featured on the exam. The topic had come up in the Ayanokouji Group as well. I remembered that when they asked me about it, I’d given a vague response, not indicating whether I had solved the problems or not.

“Kiyotaka knew that those were the kinds of problems no one in our class could solve. And yet, he never bragged about being able to solve them. Isn’t that weird? I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s all about… I feel guilty for even thinking this, but if he knew the answer all along, then that makes me think that it could have only been because, well, you know,” said Keisei.

“So, you’re suggesting he cheated… Yes, well, it’s certainly not surprising that anyone would think that, I suppose,” said Horikita.

Keisei had purposefully phrased his statement ambiguously, but Horikita came right out and expressed what he was suggesting in plain terms. Even though Keisei had turned away, seeming somewhat embarrassed, Horikita didn’t let up and pursued the topic further.

“It’s completely understandable to have doubts in this kind of situation. If I were a student who didn’t know anything that was going on here, I’m sure I would have suspected Ayanokouji-kun of wrongdoing, just as Yukimura-kun did. However, the truth is that things aren’t what they seem,” said Horikita.

She paused, taking a breath, and briefly glanced over at all our classmates, whose eyes were on her.

“I intend to give this same explanation to the people who aren’t here at a later date. But at any rate, to solve the mystery of how Ayanokouji-kun got a perfect score, I have to take you back to the beginning of spring, last year,” said Horikita.

The beginning of spring, last year. In other words, immediately after we had started school.

“We changed seating assignments the other day, but I’m sure you all recall that Ayanokouji-kun and I had been seated next to one another until recently, right? As soon as I came to this school, I began talking with Ayanokouji-kun. This led me to discover, by chance, that he was an exceptionally capable student…even better than me,” said Horikita.

“Wait, even better than you? Hold on. I remember Kiyotaka’s scores were all just about average ever since we started school. I’m sorry, but there really didn’t appear to be anything special about him. In fact, in OAA, his academic ability is ranked C—completely average—right?” argued Keisei.

Keisei had thought back on to the past and recalled it well. But Horikita was unfazed by his rebuttal.

“Of course. That’s because my strategy was already in motion from our very first test,” said Horikita, walking away from me, and heading up toward the podium.

She was doing it to keep everyone’s eyes focused on her, probably so she could draw attention away from me. I had expected she would help me out, but she was doing an even better job of it than I had imagined.

“He had the necessary knowledge to be able to get perfect scores in math all along. Since I knew about that before anyone else did, I thought up a little strategy,” said Horikita.

“…A little strategy?” asked Keisei.

I was betting he was going to have more than a few concerns regarding that point. He was probably wondering how in the world I’d obtained that kind of knowledge.

But Horikita sidestepped that issue for now, continuing with her main point. Namely, not how I had gained that kind of knowledge, but why she had hidden my academic skills.

She made that specific question alone the focus of her talk and brought everyone’s attention to it.

“Last April, we, the students of Class D, were over the moon after getting a hefty sum of money deposited into our accounts. I’m ashamed to admit that I was one of them. But I had a hunch that something unexpected might happen. So, as a sort of experiment, I asked my neighbor Ayanokouji-kun for a favor. I asked him to deliberately hold back on tests. I suppose you could say I was asking him to be a reserve unit or a trump card. Of course, I asked him to make sure he stayed at a level where he wouldn’t be dragging us down. Namely, at the kind of level that the school deems a C in academic ability,” said Horikita.

Up until this point, my grades had been completely unremarkable. Horikita was saying that was all intentional, and in line with a strategy that she had formulated. Of course, if someone carefully thought back to what had happened a year ago, they’d find this all very odd. There were several things people could take issue with, such as the fact that Horikita wasn’t the kind of person who had a good relationship with others back then, or the question of how and when she noticed my academic skills, and so on.

But for many, a year was a long, long time. Those memories were distant. Unlike with an incident so intense that the memory of it was etched deep into your hippocampus, what Horikita suggested was easy to accept precisely because nothing about it was striking or memorable, making it seem even more indistinct. Very few students would be able to clearly recall those days. Many would just think, “Oh, that’s how it was?” and then fill in the blanks on their own.

Of course, things weren’t going to go over that easily with someone like Keisei, whose feelings of mistrust ran deep at this point. He went after the parts that were difficult to explain away, not letting Horikita off the hook.

“…I find that all hard to believe. If you were having doubts about how this school operated, it would have been more beneficial for our class if you asked him to get high scores from the beginning. If he could get a perfect score on this exam, then it’s not impossible for him to have an academic ability ranking of A or A+. Even if it’s just one person’s score we’re talking about here, our Class Points would have gone up, slowly but surely,” argued Keisei.

He was saying that he didn’t understand the benefits of holding me as a reserve unit.

“Yes, I suppose you have a point. That would be all well and good, if you were only looking for Class Points in the short term. But what if he had given it his all from the start…? What do you think would have happened to Ayanokouji-kun by now? Well, no—to put it more accurately, what kind of future could you have predicted for him?” asked Horikita.

Faced with Keisei’s mistrust, she didn’t run or hide, but took his concerns head on and improvised. She never faltered and the words just effortlessly came out of her mouth. It was almost like she’d had it all planned out from the start.

“What kind of future could I have predicted for him…?” repeated Keisei, not understanding the meaning of the question.

Horikita began explaining what she meant.

“Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that Ayanokouji-kun had used the full extent of his abilities right away, starting in April, as you suggested, Yukimura-kun. In that case, his name would most likely become known to Sakayanagi-san, Ichinose-san, and Ryuuen-kun. When it comes to mathematics, he may very well be the best in our grade. If such a person were left unchecked, the other classes would think of him as an obstacle. It wouldn’t be surprising if they started putting plans in motion to get rid of him,” said Horikita.

“So you’re saying that he might have ended up being targeted?” asked Keisei.

“Yes. That wouldn’t be surprising, would it? Anything could happen at this school, after all. In fact, the school even went so far as to administer a special exam where a student was forced out by way of an in-class vote, and the truth of the matter is that Ayanokouji-kun was temporarily in danger of expulsion due to Sakayanagi-san’s strategy. Although he was still considered an ordinary student at the time and was only used as something of a scapegoat in that situation, I did have concerns that Sakayanagi-san actually saw him as a real threat and was after him,” said Horikita, explaining that depending on how the situation played out, I might have been the one who got expelled instead of Yamauchi.

“Wait, hold on, that’s not right. If Kiyotaka had been going all out right from the start, even if we were to compare him and Yamauchi, the results would have been as clear as day,” argued Keisei.

“I’m not so sure about that. Yamauchi-kun might have conducted himself better to avoid getting expelled, and Sakayanagi-san’s strategy might have become more complicated and more difficult for us to see through, as a result. In addition, Yamauchi-kun had many more close friends that Ayanokouji-kun does. It depends on what it is you’re comparing, exactly,” said Horikita.

Because what they were getting into now was really a pointless, circular argument, Keisei couldn’t really push further on this point. Even if he did bring up what had happened on other tests, Horikita would probably just respond with something similar.

“…Okay then, why now? If Ayanokouji carelessly flaunts his ability now, we’ll have the same problem, right? He’s gotten everyone’s attention by suddenly making a big splash. So he might become a target in the future,” said Keisei.

He was essentially saying there was no difference in risk if I had started going all out a year ago versus doing so right now. But it seemed like his response was well within what Horikita had expected. She showed no signs of panicking.

“No, there is a significant difference between if he had showed off what he could do a year ago versus showing it now. Our sense of unity as a class has grown by leaps and bounds over the past year. Each and every one of us has grown. We’ve also become capable of making the right decisions,” said Horikita.

Looking back at how we all were a year ago, even Keisei could probably see the truth of her words.

“And this isn’t just limited to Ayanokouji-kun, either. For example, hmm… Yes. He isn’t here right now, but I think Sudou-kun is an easy-to-understand example of this. Last year, he was a terrible student. He was, without a doubt, our class’s biggest burden. But what about now? While some small traces of his rather rough-and-tumble temperament remain even now, he has shown incredible improvement. His grades have improved tremendously, in particular. That, combined with his already high level of athleticism, means his overall ability in OAA is actually higher than yours as of May, Yukimura-kun,” said Horikita.

Keisei’s rating had gone up in April, but after this last exam, Sudou had passed him. Horikita had presented Keisei with a fact that he wasn’t about to dispute: the numerical value of one’s overall ability in OAA.

“Also, I’m not entirely sure if either you or I really had the ability or the will to protect Sudou-kun when we first came to this school. Don’t you agree, Yukimura-kun?” she added.

She was suggesting that it was questionable whether the same students who had argued that Sudou should have just been tossed aside and didn’t even think to help him could have seriously protected their classmates. However, if Sudou were to find himself in trouble now, even Keisei would likely help everyone to think hard and produce the best strategy to help him.

“If someone were to target Ayanokouji-kun now, we can work together to protect him. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to. And that’s precisely why I had Ayanokouji-kun show off what he can do now, to start raising the bar for our class overall,” said Horikita.

Some of the students here started to look convinced, seemingly saying to themselves, “Oh, okay, that makes sense.” However, more than half of the students still had some doubts about the situation. That being said, Horikita probably didn’t have enough material to work with to convince everyone of all of it. If her story was already plastered with lies, there would inevitably be some holes in it, no matter what she tried. Of course, she could at least put the matter temporarily to rest.

But if she had enough support, it would be a different story.

After making sure that nearly everyone’s eyes were on Horikita, I looked over at Yousuke—the guy our class put absolute trust in. Even though Yousuke was facing Horikita, he occasionally pretended to look around so he could see what was going on with me. Then, when he determined that we wouldn’t be noticed, he made eye contact with me.

Like with my other classmates, there were many things that I hadn’t told Yousuke. If he were any other student, I was sure he would have some doubts and suspicions, just like Keisei and the others. It wouldn’t have been strange if he started peppering me with scathing questions. But considering that it was Yousuke we were talking about, I didn’t need to worry about any of that.

Yousuke only thought about what was in the best interest of his classmates. That was always his priority. He also understood the role he’d been given in this situation without needing me to explain.

“I think I understand, at least a little, the meaning of your strategy, to keep Ayanokouji as an ace up our sleeve. But I do have one question about that. Is mathematics the only thing that Ayanokouji is exceptionally good at?” asked Keisei.

“I cannot answer that question at this current point in time,” said Horikita, calmly. “Is the student known as Ayanokouji-kun demonstrating everything he’s capable of? Or is he not? Either way, by keeping the truth hidden, we can make sure he continues to be a thorn in the sides of the other classes.”

“That’s—”

Yousuke had been watching how Keisei’s behavior. He quickly interjected now in support of Horikita, interrupting Keisei as he tried to snap back at her.

“I see. I can understand what Horikita-san is trying to say,” said Yousuke.

He slowly walked up to Horikita’s side.

“I don’t quite understand all of what’s going on, so I’ve just been listening this whole time. But this does make sense to me. It’s true that an enemy whose abilities you can’t see in concrete terms can be rather unsettling. The other classes will most likely try to gather information since they’ll want to know more. But if no one else in class really knows the truth, then it doesn’t matter how deep they dig,” said Yousuke, filling in the gaps of Horikita’s argument while supplementing it with information that could be easily understood by everyone listening.

Horikita, having decided that Yousuke was an ally, kept in step with him and nodded.

“Yes. If we’re going to attract attention in the future anyway, we should take full advantage of it. It’s better to make our enemies think that he’s an unknown quantity. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were students standing outside our classroom right at this very moment, trying to listen in. That’s the kind of school this is,” said Horikita.

Everyone’s gazes fell upon the hallway for a moment. Was the student named Ayanokouji only capable when it came to math? Or was he good at other things too? By making the enemy classes wonder exactly where Ayanokouji ranked and how wary they needed to be of him, the enemy would be lost. Horikita’s story, intertwined with Yousuke’s additional comments, started sounding more profound.

“Wow, Horikita-san is like, super amazing, isn’t she? I’m honestly a little moved right now, for real.” Kei dropped in a casual comment right then to drive the story home further. “Don’t you think so too, Shinohara-san?” she added, turning to her friend for agreement.

She was probably trying to draw people’s attention away by getting them to focus on how great Horikita was, rather than on me and my abilities. Even though I hadn’t given Kei any kind of signal like I did with Yousuke, or even any kind of instructions, she intuitively knew what kind of role she could play here and acted in accordance immediately.

“I really think so too. I mean, I feel like I’ve been seeing Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun talk in secret with each other for a long time now. I guess they were thinking about how to help our class,” said Shinohara.

When Horikita first started here, she hardly talked to anyone except me. That fact ended up working in our favor right now. I supposed it also gave what Horikita was saying a certain degree of credibility.

The impeccable follow-ups from Yousuke and Kei were incredibly effective as well. The group mentality of “Well, if Yousuke and Kei think so, then I’m sure it must be true,” was in full force. Even Keisei, who’d had his doubts up until this point, was no exception to that.

“A strategy to hide his true abilities, huh… I suppose it is true that the other classes are probably quite surprised right now too,” remarked Keisei.

“Although I didn’t have a perfect grasp of how things worked at this school, I thought it would be best to have at least one insurance policy in place. For better or for worse, Ayanokouji-kun also seems to struggle to communicate with other people, and he doesn’t like being the center of attention either. That was why I asked him to keep his abilities hidden,” said Horikita, stating that this was all possible because both her thoughts and mine had lined up.

She then looked away from Keisei and addressed everyone in our class.

“That is the secret of how Ayanokouji-kun got a perfect score in math. I’m sorry for shocking you all like this.”

Even though Horikita had only one shot at this, with no chance of a do-over, she had performed beautifully from start to finish. But if we let the students hang out together at their leisure for too long, doubts might start welling up in them once again.

“I think it would be best if we consider the matter closed for the time being. Just as Horikita-san said earlier, we don’t know if someone might be listening in,” said Yousuke.

Yousuke deftly brought the conversation to a close, explaining the drawbacks of standing around and continuing this conversation right here and now. The smarter a student was, the more doubts they would still have—but at the same time, the smart students would also be quick to understand that this wasn’t something we should be discussing here and now. The proof of that was the fact that Keisei’s lengthy barrage of questions had ended, and he had gone silent.

I could say that this meeting had diverted their suspicions, to a certain extent. Also, thanks to Horikita’s performance—which went above and beyond what I had expected—it would be easier for me to take action in the future. Even if I showed off my abilities outside the field of mathematics, Horikita had laid the foundation for us to be able to simply explain it away, saying that I had been hiding those abilities too. That was key.

I was honestly quite grateful to her for having been able to do all this for me without us even having to meet beforehand and go over it.

3.1

 

CLASS HAD ENDED for the day, and Horikita and I set off for the student council office together.

“Do you have an appointment?” I asked.

Even if you just dropped by for a surprise visit, there wasn’t any proof that Nagumo would be in the office.

“Of course. I went through Chabashira-sensei and asked her to help us arrange a meeting with Student Council President Nagumo, so there’s no problem. That’s one more reason why I put this off until today. But it’s probably a good thing that I delayed this long. Thanks to that, I feel like my motivation to join the student council has increased a bit,” said Horikita.

“Because of the bounty we talked about?” I asked.

“That’s right. The student council is an entity which is supposed to remain absolutely neutral. If they were to do something unfair, which placed a burden on our class alone, then… Well, if that’s true, then that’s an issue that needs to be fought, and fought hard.”

I stealthily cast a sideways glance at Horikita’s face, sensing something akin to determination.

“It’s great that you’re all eager to go, but don’t get too carried away. There’s no proof that Nagumo is involved in anything yet. And besides, even if he is involved, he’s not the kind of opponent that can be dealt with so easily,” I told her.

Even if it was true, I doubted Nagumo would withdraw the bounty on my head just because we asked him to.

“Of course. I’m not going to do anything careless. I’ll wait until I’m absolutely certain to make a move,” said Horikita.

I felt relieved to see that though fired up, she seemed to still have a great deal of self-control. Shortly after, had arrived at the student council room, and opened the door.

“Please pardon the intrusion,” said Horikita, as we stepped inside the room.

Once inside the student council office, we saw that the person sitting in the president’s chair was none other than Nagumo, obviously. He crossed his legs, then greeted Horikita like he was a king or something. Nothing felt out of place about it, either. The fact that he looked so perfectly suited to the part was proof that he had a certain dignity about him.

In addition, I felt like Nagumo was even more calm and composed than before. That might be because the only person who was his equal, or perhaps even his better—Horikita Manabu—was no longer here. And by his side was the vice president, Kiriyama. Kiriyama briefly cast a glance in my direction, then quickly shifted his gaze over to Horikita.

“I hear you want to talk to me about something?” asked Nagumo.

“Yes. Thank you so much for your time,” said Horikita.

Kiriyama urged Horikita and I to take a seat, and so we obediently did as he instructed.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. My schedule’s relatively open right now, anyway,” said Nagumo.

Even with me there right in front of him, Nagumo seemed the same as always. Even if it were only the barest sliver of guilt we were talking, it wouldn’t be surprising if it showed up in his attitude, but…

“Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about? You didn’t come here just to have a regular ol’ chat, I assume, right?” said Nagumo.

Although that was a gesture meant to welcome us, that also was his way of asking Horikita to cut to the chase.

“I’m sure that your time is valuable, so I’ll get straight to the point. I would like to join the student council,” said Horikita, her voice carrying all through the student council office.

Upon hearing what she said, both student council members reacted in similar ways. They seemed to neither welcome nor reject what they’d just heard, but both simply wore looks of surprise.

“You want to join the student council?” repeated Nagumo.

His expression then changed from one of surprise to one of slight anticipation.

“Well now, you could certainly call this a curious turn of events, eh? Though I admit I don’t feel like just saying ‘yes’ outright, mind you,” said Nagumo.

“Meaning you’re not going to welcome me onto the council?” asked Horikita.

“That’s not what I’m saying. Basically, my stance is that I won’t turn away anyone who comes to me. If someone wants to join the student council, I’ll let them in as long as there’s room available. I’m not interested in why someone wants to join. Whether it’s because of OAA, or for future employment, or some sense of justice, that’s all fine,” replied Nagumo.

That was the sort of thinking typical of Nagumo, who, unlike Manabu, was open to anyone.

“But you’re special, Horikita Suzune. So I’m going to let you join the student council on just one condition,” said Nagumo.

“And what would that condition be?” asked Horikita.

“I want you to tell me the reason why you want to join the student council at this time,” said Nagumo.

Was he disturbed by me being there with Horikita? No—in a good sense, Nagumo wasn’t the type of person to worry about the little things. He genuinely wanted to know the reason why Manabu’s little sister wanted to join the student council. Of course, Horikita wasn’t going to say that it was because she lost a bet with me. Speaking honestly, she’d still be able to join the student council that way, but that would be all. She’d most likely never be able to win Nagumo’s trust, ever.

“There is some antagonism between my brother and me, so I came to this school to settle that conflict. But even after I had enrolled here, the relationship my brother and I had didn’t change,” said Horikita.

Nagumo listened to Horikita’s words, which she spoke slowly and in a clear tone, very intently.

“I hadn’t grown at all. There was no way my brother was going to recognize me. In the end, I spent an entire year unable to even talk to him. All the way up until he was just about to graduate,” said Horikita.

It seemed like Horikita chose certain truths from her past to tell Nagumo.

“So, were you able to make up?” asked Nagumo.

“Yes. It was at the last possible minute, but we were able to reconcile. That was when I first developed an interest in the student council, which my older brother had dedicated his school career to. It’s been a long and winding road for me, but I want to follow the same path that my brother took,” said Horikita.

She’d originally had no intention of joining the student council. So if you were to ask me if everything she’d just said was how she really felt, then I’d say no, not everything. Still, by covering her statements with many little truths, she was able to cloud Nagumo’s ability to discern the authenticity of her story.

“The path that your brother took, eh? That’s quite a noble story,” said Nagumo.

However, it was precisely because Nagumo sensed that she had done something to blur his vision that he seemed to be somewhat wary of Horikita.

“Does that mean I can assume that you’re intending to eventually become student council president?” asked Nagumo.

No matter what kind of answer Horikita gave, it probably wasn’t going to impress him. This was the kind of situation where a simple lie wouldn’t leave a good impression.

“Yes. As I mentioned before, I wish to follow the same path my brother took, so I also intend to become student council president,” said Horikita.

Horikita had, quite daringly, chosen to set a difficult goal hurdle for herself. What she said didn’t seem to be a lie, either. Now that she had decided to join the student council, it seemed like she was really prepared to follow in Manabu’s footsteps.

“I see. But Honami has already been working hard for a year now as a member of the student council, albeit from behind the scenes. You do understand that means that you’re lagging behind her in being considered for the position of student council president, right?” said Nagumo.

“I don’t think the gap is wide enough that I can’t bridge it,” said Horikita, responding more quickly and more forcefully than she did with any of her previous statements.

Kiriyama, who had remained silent up until this point, turned to Nagumo and spoke. “Even though they don’t really look much alike, I suppose she really is Horikita-senpai’s little sister.”

“I am a little uncomfortable calling you Horikita, though. I might have already called you by your first name several times already, but just double checking, is it okay for me to call you Suzune from now on?” asked Nagumo.

“Please feel free,” said Horikita.

“Y’know, it was bothering me a little that we still didn’t have any second-year students on the council except for Honami.”

After hearing Horikita’s true intentions through his direct questioning of her, Nagumo agreed to let her join the student council. He rose from his seat and walked over to where Horikita was, extending his left hand to her as she stood up to meet him. Horikita met his outstretched hand head-on, grasping it with her own.

4.1

 

CONSIDERING THAT THE first-year students had had their second special exam at the end of May, it wouldn’t be too surprising if we, the second-year students, had one announced any day now. It was about time for us to be ready for something like that. Then, as if to evaluate our resolve, our usual morning homeroom began.

“It seems like everyone is present. That’s good.”

After Chabashira had finished taking attendance, she started fiddling with her tablet, most likely to project something up on the monitor. Shortly afterward, she must have finished what she was doing, because the screen went completely white. When that happened, the students looked up at it.

“We have been together for quite a long time now. So I’m sure you probably have some idea of what this is about,” said Chabashira.

A new special exam was about to begin. Even though everyone clearly had something they wanted to say, they all waited to hear what Chabashira was going to announce. After a brief period of silence, she let out a little chuckle as she took in the gazes of nearly all of the students in the class.

“Yes, we will certainly be discussing a special exam. However, to keep you in suspense for a while longer, we’ll hold onto that discussion until later. First, I’m going to talk to you about summer vacation,” said Chabashira, casting her gaze down at the tablet.

An image appeared on the monitor—first, a picture of a luxury cruise ship. Our class certainly had memories of a similar ship.

“Now, I’m going to start by explaining a bit about what this summer vacation will be like,” said Chabashira.

The students looked at each other for a moment, their expressions conveying the joy they felt at the sweet-sounding words that had just come out of Chabashira’s mouth. However, the combination of the words “ship” and “vacation” ultimately dredged up some very different memories that had been deeply ingrained in us. Those memories reminded us that there was no way this school would let us indulge in such sweet fantasy.

As we were reminded of that fact, the picture on the monitor changed from an exterior view of the ship to an interior view. The itinerary was also displayed, in similar fashion.

“From August 4 through August 11, you’ll be able to enjoy your summer vacation freely and to the absolute fullest on this luxury cruise liner. That’s a total of eight days and seven nights. You can watch plays or indulge in tasty meals. And there will be nothing even remotely like a special exam held on this cruise, either,” said Chabashira.

In other words, we were being promised a true, genuine vacation for about one whole week. The students who had serious doubts felt themselves relax a bit.

However, that slight easing of doubts disappeared as soon as the on-screen image faded away. It was almost like poison had been delivered right into our eyes.

“However, in order to fully enjoy this cruise, you must successfully complete the upcoming special exam,” said Chabashira.

After those few brief moments of dreamlike bliss, my classmates were swiftly yanked back to reality. The act of lifting the students’ hopes, only to drop them back down right after, would normally have resulted in great disappointment. However, the students instantly changed gears in their minds, adopting an attitude that showed that they were ready and willing to accept this upcoming battle.

“It seems you really have been learning,” said Chabashira, an approving smile appearing on her lips, as if to express her admiration of us.

It wasn’t like she had mentioned the vacation part first simply out of sheer meanness or anything. She probably wanted to prove that even though we were still Class D, we were different from how we were a year ago. After all the trials and tribulations we’d endured, we’d learned to brace ourselves and keep our spirits up.

The very first person to ask a question was none other than Horikita, whose seat was directly in the middle. “When will this special exam begin?”

“Well, typically when we make these announcements, the special exam would be given that very same day or the next. Unfortunately, in this instance, it’s still a ways off. The next special exam is going to be held during the summer break,” said Chabashira.

So, the school was going to hold the special exam during summer break, after the first semester had finished? If that was the case, what concerned me was the fact that it seemed far too early for the teachers to be explaining the rules right now. What was the purpose of this announcement, if the exam was still more than a month away?

At any rate, whether we liked it or not, there was one particular special exam that sprang to the students’ minds when they considered what had been said so far. Then, just as everyone seemed to be thinking the exact same thing, Chabashira spoke once more and transformed those thoughts into reality.

“You’re going to participate in an ‘Uninhabited Island Survival’ test, and will be competing against each other.”

Survival on an uninhabited island for a special exam. The battle between the classes that took place during summer break during our first year had been deeply etched into our brains. Each class competed against one another using the limited number of Class Points that we were given during that exam. Also, there were additional rules such as trying to guess who the leader for each class was and getting points by occupying zones.

“So, we have to do that again this year…” mumbled Keisei, who must have been recalling what had happened then. He would normally have quietly listened to the entire explanation of the special exam, but had probably spoken up because our class had quite a challenging time back then, including some fierce infighting between the guys and girls.

“I’m sure you’re thinking back to the uninhabited island survival exam that you took last year. However, this year’s exam is going to be different from the previous ones. This will be more rigorous, more grueling than any other special exam. Of course, the Class Points and Private Points that you can earn in this exam will be significant, though,” said Chabashira.

We’d been free to fight any way we wanted to in the Uninhabited Island Survival battle last year. If you were determined to win, you needed to be frugal with your assets, but if you were fine with giving up on trying to win, then you were allowed to spend your time relatively freely. That was the kind of exam it was. There were no harsh measures such as expulsion, at least not as long as the students didn’t violate any important rules.

She said that this exam was going to be more rigorous and more grueling, but what changes would be implemented from last year’s exam? I didn’t need to worry about getting an answer to that question, though, because I was sure Chabashira was going to tell us right away.

“Let’s start by going over the schedule. You can download it to your own devices later and look it over, so there’s no need for you to take any notes here,” explained Chabashira.

She put up the schedule for the special exam, just as she said she would, the monitor lighting up again now that something was being projected to it.

July 19: Assemble on the sports field. Depart by bus. Board the cruise ship at the harbor. Depart.

July 20: Special exam begins. Explanation of special exam, distribution of supplies, etc.

August 3: Special exam ends. Rankings will be announced onboard the cruise ship. Rewards will be handed out accordingly.

* Private Points for the month of August will be allotted after the results of the uninhabited island special exam are applied.

August 4: Start of free time on the cruise ship.

August 11: Arrive at harbor. Return to campus. Dismissal.

The closing ceremony, which would mark the end of the first semester, was going to be held on Friday the sixteenth. We were scheduled to depart three days after that. Moreover, we could tell from the schedule that the duration of this special exam would be twice as long as the previous one, at two weeks.

“Sensei, based on this schedule, won’t our summer break be shortened like, a lot?” asked Nishimura, launching his question like it were an arrow.

The summer break was generally supposed to be around forty days long, but even if you counted the free days spent lounging around on the cruise ship as part of our summer break, we still were only getting about twenty-four days. It was no wonder students felt dissatisfied.

“Unfortunately, there will be no making up for that lost time. The fact of the matter is that your summer break will most definitely be shortened this year. That’s just how it is,” said Chabashira.

The school had stopped Nishimura’s arrow dead in its tracks. I supposed that a bit of booing was unavoidable. To many students, days spent on break were more valuable than days spent learning in school.

“However, on the bright side, you’ll get to spend one week on a luxury cruise ship. Depending on how you look at it, this one week you get to spend on the cruise ship might be more valuable than the two weeks of normal time that you’ll be losing. And as I stated earlier, you can enjoy your time on the ship purely as a vacation period,” said Chabashira.

It seemed like Chabashira was trying to encourage us to hang in there by saying all of that. We did get to ride on a cruise ship last year, but we’d had extraordinarily little time to actually enjoy it. After the uninhabited island survival exam ended, I remembered, we’d been thrust into the zodiac exam.

To the students, who lived here on campus, the outside world was so fresh and exciting. And even though we were going to be onboard a ship, we could still say we’d be able to spend our time there differently from how we usually would. It could be the best summer vacation ever.

Even the students who had been complaining seemed to be satisfied, more or less. If you weren’t satisfied, you couldn’t move forward. And besides, unlike last year, we had replenished our Private Points to a certain extent, so it wasn’t like we’d be inconvenienced by a lack of funds on the cruise ship. I supposed that was another reason why this might be less stressful on the students.

“Now then, let’s get down to business. This is similar to the uninhabited island survival exam that you had last year, but you could say that the most significant difference here is in terms of scale. In addition to the fact that there’s going to be a two-week long test period for this exam, the island that we’re using for this is larger in size than the one you were on before,” explained Chabashira.

An uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean was shown on the monitor. The photographs seemed to have been taken from the air.

“And this time, it won’t just be students in the same grade competing. Students from every grade level will be competing against each other.”

Meaning that the competition was going to be larger in scale than the previous one in many ways.

“Therefore, the number of opponents you have to fight will also be higher than ever before,” added Chabashira.

Well, that was an unexpected development. This test of survival would involve all grade levels, and on top of that, students wouldn’t just be facing off against opponents from their grade. That bit was particularly unexpected.

“So, wait… Doesn’t that mean that the first-year students will be put at a significant disadvantage, whereas the third-year students will have an advantage?” asked Hirata, a student who despised inequality.

If this were an exam where we were partnered with students from other grade levels, then everyone would be equal. But that didn’t seem to be the case this time. If so, it meant the difference in physical ability and experience that came with age would create a considerable handicap.

“I understand what it is you’re trying to say but let me just go ahead and say that no exam is ever going to be one-hundred-percent fair. Even if we’re only talking about you second-year students, you’ll be competing on the same stage despite the fact that there’s nearly a year’s difference between those born in April and those born in March of the following year, right?” replied Chabashira.

To put it another way, though, that meant there were also cases where students in grades only a year apart might have an actual age difference of nearly two years. That would be a significant handicap.

“If a first-year student comes to you asking you for advice, it befits you as their senpai to give them at least some kind of answer. However, the exact nature of what you say to them is entirely up to you. Likewise, you could also ask a third-year student for their opinion,” said Chabashira.

So, while there didn’t seem to be a problem with discussing things as much as you’d like or if necessary, it would basically be like helping the enemy.

“There will be a minor handicap applied based on grade level, but you’re basically going to be on a level playing field. So how are we going to make up for the difference in grade level, you ask? The answer is that the lower the student’s grade level, the more rewards they can receive and the fewer penalties they have to worry about,” said Chabashira.

Which in turn meant that the higher your grade level, the fewer rewards you might receive, and the more severe the penalties, huh? This seemed somewhat similar in structure to the special exam that was held in April, where we had to find partners. Though the test contests were the same in that exam, the penalty the second-years faced expulsion, whereas the first-years just saw a difference in the number of Private Points they’d gain. That was a significant difference.

“Anyway, taking all of that into account, let’s move on. I’m now going to explain part of the outline, regarding the new rules for the uninhabited island survival exam,” said Chabashira.

The word “part” made the students exchange looks.

“That means not all of the rules are going to be revealed to you today, at this time,” she added.

Chabashira instructed us to listen quietly to her explanation and then brought up a new image on the monitor. We looked up at it, seeing the word “group” stand out prominently.

“In order for you to understand the rules of the survival battle on the uninhabited island, we must begin with the rules regarding the formation of groups,” said Chabashira.

It seemed the preliminary part of this particular special exam was going to be much longer than any we’d had before. This also seemed to hint at the intensity of the battle that awaited us.

“Your next special exam, which is to say, the uninhabited island survival battle, has a rule that allows you to form large groups of up to six people and cooperate with one another. The first thing that you must remember is that these large groups can be formed with any student from your grade level, regardless of class,” explained Chabashira.

“So, does that mean…the other second-year students are our allies…?” muttered Horikita quietly to herself.

She’d assumed, until then, that everyone outside our own class was an enemy. Her quiet monologuing echoed throughout the room. I was sure her muttered words had reached Chabashira’s ears, but she continued speaking without answering the question.

“For the next four weeks or so, from today until the end of Friday, July 16, you second-year students will be given the right to form small groups of up to three students with any partners of your choosing in your grade level. These groups will be the basis for the large groups. However, even though I said you can team up with partners of your choosing, there are some restrictions involved. One of those is, as I just said, that you can only choose students from your grade. You cannot form a group with first-year students or third-year students,” explained Chabashira.

We could work with anyone from our grade. In other words, students from Class A could team up with Class C. Apparently, first-year students were allowed to make small groups of up to four students, while third-year students could make small groups of up to three, like we second-years could. I supposed that was one of the handicaps were being doled out for each grade level. The rule in question was then clearly displayed on the monitor.

It might be possible for all four second-year classes to work together to form the strongest groups to compete in this test. If we were free to assemble ideal groups, we’d naturally have a chance at winning this thing. On the other hand, if the other grade levels were similarly able to form the best possible groups of people, we’d need to summon all our strength in order to compete with them.

“Next, we have the gender ratio. In the case of a mixed-gender small group, girls must make up at least two-thirds of the group,” said Chabashira.

So groups of two boys and one girl, or just one boy and one girl, weren’t allowed, huh? The possible group combinations were shown up on the monitor.

[1 Boy] [2 Boys] [3 Boys]

[1 Girl] [2 Girls] [3 Girls]

[1 Boy & 2 Girls]

Seven possible configurations. Meaning that group configurations like [2 Boys & 1 Girl] or [1 Boy and 1 Girl] would be rejected.

“What happens if you don’t form a group? …Or in the event that you can’t form a group? What then?”

“As you can see from the list of possible combinations, ‘groups’ of just one person can be formed. There would be fewer benefits to such an approach, but it’s not disallowed. The next special exam can be conducted regardless of the number of people in your group. If anyone does want to try going it alone, they are allowed to, regardless of gender,” said Chabashira.

Although the fact of the matter was that the more people in your group, the better off you were, it sounded you could still take this special exam on alone without issues.

“I’m sure that some students might feel more comfortable being on their own, but the more people in your group, the better. In addition to the advantages you gain by simply having more people, there are also special benefits for having more members. I would strongly recommend you do not choose the option of trying to go it alone in this test, except as a last resort,” said Chabashira.

I supposed if that if you could handle yourself well enough, it would be all right to be on your own. But students who couldn’t form a group would essentially be forced to take the exam while at a disadvantage, which meant joining a group of three was basically the minimum requirement necessary for a normal student to be ready to compete.

“There are a considerable number of benefits to forming a group, but there is one caveat. Once a group has been established, people cannot transfer to another group for any reason whatsoever,” said Chabashira.

Once you’d formed your group, it seemed you were stuck together as allies until the special exam was over.

“I understand that we’re unable to change our group, but we can form groups of up to six people for the special exam, correct? So far, we’ve only heard about being able to form small groups of up to three people. Could we please hear more about that?” asked Hirata, addressing Chabashira.

“Yes, that is a key point. When the actual special exam begins, the small groups will be allowed to form up with each other. You could have two groups of three people come together, or three groups of two people, or even six individuals. However, there are conditions for the formation of larger groups as well. In large groups of four persons or more, the group must be at least fifty percent girls,” explained Chabashira.

So the gender ratio rule would change, requiring groups to have a one-to-two ratio of girls instead of two-to-three. If these restrictions were going to be changing, I supposed sticking with a small group of just one or two people in the beginning was a viable strategy.

“From everything you’ve heard thus far, I’m sure that some students might think that it’s fine if they form their groups right after the special exam starts, but it’s really not as simple as all that. Though you are free to form groups with anyone you’d like, it will be extremely difficult for you to form your ideal large group during the exam. There will be many cases where you might want to form a group of up to six people, but won’t be able to do so,” said Chabashira.

So it seemed that being in a smaller group wasn’t necessarily entirely without merit. But considering the risks of having to survive on an uninhabited island alone from start to finish, it would be safer to form a group of three people at this stage after all, I supposed. If we didn’t take into account students who had been expelled, there were forty students for each class in all grade levels. With four classes in each grade level, that was 160 students per grade. Since the school had clearly stated that groups of up to a maximum of six students could be formed, the minimum number of groups that could be formed in this test, for all grades combined, would be eighty-one. Since there were no guarantees that you would be able to form a group of six people during the actual test, depending on how things played out, it was possible that the number of groups competing against each other could actually be somewhere in the triple digits.

“I understand you must feel perplexed, after being told to just go ahead and form small groups of your choosing. If you don’t know what the contents of this exam will be, you can’t exactly narrow down what kind of people you might need,” said Chabashira, sure that everyone in class had arrived at that conclusion.

She continued speaking.

“I cannot tell you exactly what the next special exam is going to be assessing you on. But I can lightly touch on what kind of skills that you may need. That kind of thing,” she added, taking a look at the students, whose expressions had tightened. “I’m sure many students were left feeling frustrated by last year’s survival exam on the uninhabited island, feeling as though they were unable to really demonstrate their potential. However, it is safe for you to assume that this year’s exam is going to test all kinds of ability. Academic ability, physical ability, emotional strength, and communication skills. There’s a strong possibility you’ll be able to make use of strengths other than those I just mentioned, too,” explained Chabashira.

So it wasn’t enough to simply be good at academics or sports. This meant that students who were good at many things would have an advantage, from the sounds of it. A connection between an uninhabited island and academics was difficult to imagine, but I supposed there were many ways in which it could be accomplished. For example, a rule that said you didn’t get any food if you couldn’t answer a question correctly first. A group made up of people who could only boast of their physical prowess could be eliminated all too quickly.

“Although it is important for you to choose students you have a good relationship with, a group’s overall strengths are likely to tie directly into their performance during this special exam. I recommend that you look for the right people for the job when forming your groups,” explained Chabashira.

This meant students who were talented all-rounders would simply have better odds if they teamed up with each other. However, as Chabashira had said, choosing students you got along with was an important consideration, too. Considering that we weren’t sure exactly what kind of exam this would be, chances were good that cooperation would be key.

“Although I’ve said that the more people you have, the more advantages you’ll have, the reason this is true isn’t because you’ll have six brains or six bodies working together. It’s because there’s a rule for this exam which implements a dropout system. Let’s compare what would happen in a situation if Hirata tried to get through this exam by himself versus what would happen if we were in a group of three, with Sudou and Hondou,” said Chabashira.

She then typed something on her tablet. After she did so, there were two groups displayed up on the monitor. One was a group made up of just Hirata and the other was a group of three people, which included Hirata. Each name shown on the screen was colored blue.

“Let’s suppose that, during the special exam, Hirata suffered some kind of unfortunate accident that made it impossible for him to continue. Naturally, if he were going this test alone, that would mean his group would be disqualified at that point, and he would be penalized,” said Chabashira.

In the box for the one-person group, Hirata’s name now turned red, indicating disqualification.

“On the other hand, what would happen if Hirata were forced to retire during the exam if he were in a group of three…?” said Chabashira.

Though Hirata’s name in the three-person group went red, the other two names remained blue.

“Hirata would be disqualified and sent back to the cruise ship, but the remaining two members of the group would be able to continue the test without any issues. And if the group managed to stick around until the end and win first place in the exam, then Hirata would be considered as having come in first place as well, since he was also a member of the group,” she explained.

So even if an individual dropped out, it would be okay as long as the rest of the group survived. That being said, the loss of any member of the group was bound to have a negative impact.

“It doesn’t matter how many people you lose along the way. The group will continue to function without issue until the very last person is gone. In other words, the more people you have in your group, the more ‘lives’ you have, to put it simply,” she added.

I see. This confirmed how significant the groups were. No matter how capable a student might be, accidents were still bound to happen, like getting injured or falling ill. In order to minimize that risk, the formation of a group of six was essential in order to win.

“Now that you understand the importance of the groups, let’s talk about the rewards,” said Chabashira.

Now the real impact of this uninhabited island survival battle would become clear to us.

Rewards

FIRST PLACE GROUP

300 Class Points, 1,000,000 Private Points, 1 Protection Point

SECOND PLACE GROUP

200 Class Points, 500,000 Private Points

THIRD PLACE GROUP

100 Class Points, 250,000 Private Points

GROUPS IN THE TOP 50% (Including those in First through Third Place)

50,000 Private Points

GROUPS IN THE TOP 70% (Including those in First through Third Place)

10,000 Private Points

* Class Points awarded to the groups in the top three places will be transferred from the grades of the groups in the bottom three places.

Class Points will be divided evenly by the number of classes, regardless of the number of the students (rounded).

Based on the rewards shown up on the monitor, the Class Point and Private Point rewards were fairly large. If one particular class dominated the top three spots, the class rankings would be significantly shaken up.

But there were some bizarre things to take note of.

“This is the list of rewards for this particular exam. It is important for you to note that you cannot form groups with students outside your own grade for this exam, so essentially, each grade level will be competing against each other. However, the effects of the rewards and penalties are applied based on the composition of each group. In other words, if a group made up of only Class D students takes first place, then the rewards for first place will all belong to Class D. On the other hand, if a group composed of students from all four classes wins first place, then the rewards will be divided equally among the four classes. So, if you create a group made up of the best, most capable students from each of the four classes, you might be able to increase your odds of winning, but your Class Point standing might not really change all that much,” explained Chabashira.

And because the number of people in a particular group didn’t factor into the equation at all, the 300 points would simply be divided out equally among the four classes. Which means that even if you did take first place in that situation, you wouldn’t really be able to close the gap in Class Points. Well actually, I supposed, given we could only form three-person groups at this stage, we wouldn’t be able to form any with students from all four classes in the first place. That would make it impossible for us to have any sort of ideal discussion, most likely.

“And then… The total Class Point rewards for the top three places, a massive 600 points in total, will be collected equally from the grades that fall into the bottom three groups. Say for example that the group that comes in first place is made up of second-year students, and the group in last place is made up of first-year students. That means Class Points will be collected from each of the first-year classes. The rewards for the group that comes in second correspond with the group that comes in second-to-last, and similarly, the group that comes in third place will get their rewards from the group that comes in third-to-last,” explained Chabashira.

So there was a strong possibility that different grade levels would try and rob points from each other, from the sounds of it.

“Now then, I’ll go on to explain what will happen in a situation where groups from the same grade level come in first and last place, respectively, for the sake of comparison. In this instance, it would be a bit of a special case. The classes included in the group that placed in last would have to pay a hundred Class Points to the classes that had come in first place. Second-to-last place, sixty-six points. Third-to-last, thirty-three points. If a group made up of a single class comes in first place, they will still get the 300 points, as usual. However, if another group of students from the same class were to come in last place at the same time, that means a hundred points would be deducted, so the winning class would only get 200 points,” explained Chabashira.

Which meant that if a group comprised of students from all four classes were to win, each class would get seventy-five Class Points. No matter how many students your class had in first place, if you happened to have students from your class in a group that placed at the bottom, it was possible that you could lose out.

“Additionally, in the event that the Class Points the school has collected is not enough to cover the payout, the school will compensate and pay the remainder. The same rule applies when collecting points from the other grade levels, as well,” she added.

Apparently, even in situations where they didn’t have enough Class Points to pay up, the rewards would still be guaranteed.

“Well, supposing if a group comprised of students from all four classes does finish in last, the amount that they have to pay out will be reduced, but only slightly. Last place will have to pay out seventy-five points. Second-from-last will pay out fifty points. And third-from-last will pay out twenty-five points. I suppose you could say that everyone shares the burden equally,” said Chabashira.

I supposed that was kind of a bonus, in an exam where cooperation was quite difficult.

“And of course, groups that place at the bottom of the rankings will naturally suffer some penalties. The groups that place in the bottom three positions will have Class Points snatched from them, as I had mentioned earlier. But that’s not all. Students in the bottom five groups will be expelled,” said Chabashira.

The students gasped. Five entire groups meant it was possible that a maximum of thirty students could be expelled.

“B-but, if only students from our class are the ones who end up getting expelled, then…”

“In the worst-case scenario, that would leave only nine of you. But there’s no need to worry about that. In the unlikely event that you are penalized, you could pay six million Private Points to save yourselves. That amount is divided by the number of people in a group. So, for a group of six people, it would cost one million Private Points per person,” explained Chabashira.

So, even in the unlikely event that we did get hit with the expulsion penalty, there seemed to be ways that we could save ourselves.

“There is a condition, though. You must have the requisite number of points to pay out that fee to save someone on hand, on your own phones, before you board the ship. You will not be able to borrow or lend any Private Points once the exam has begun.”

Which meant we didn’t have the option of helping each other later. We needed to procure those points before the exam.

“But within the group that is penalized, I’m sure that there will be some students who can pay up and some who can’t. What happens if one of the students in the group doesn’t have enough points to cover their share?”

“Don’t worry about that. Even if five out of the six people in a group come up short and can’t pay their share, the sixth person, the one who does have enough to cover their share, can still save themselves by paying out that one million Private Points,” said Chabashira.

Basically, if you had enough people, it seemed like you didn’t need to worry about having the others dragging you down with them.

“May I ask a question?” asked Horikita, raising her hand, sitting directly facing where Chabashira was standing. “The rules state that if you team up with other classes, each class gets an equal share of the rewards. In the end, wouldn’t that rule result in students choosing to form groups only with students from their own class?”

Horikita was saying that even if you did your best to win, it would be pointless if you had to split the Class Points multiple ways.

“If you decide that there’s no benefit in doing so, then yes, you can simply decide to team up with your own classmates only. That’s all,” replied Chabashira, telling us to figure out for ourselves what to do.

There wasn’t going to be a definite right answer to that question. However, if there was one thing we could be sure of, it’s that if you tried to monopolize all of the rewards and only form groups with students from within your own class, the less-capable leftover groups comprised of a mishmash of students who didn’t get picked for the main groups, would be forced into a difficult situation. At the same time, you’d be creating groups that would likely run the risk of getting expelled.

On the other hand, if you increased the number of classes represented in your group, the rewards would be fewer, but you would be able to create a broader group more easily and you could control the risk of being penalized. Of course, there were other risks that might come up.

As far as forming groups for the survival test on the uninhabited island went… Here was a summary of the information that Chabashira had presented to us so far.

 

•Survive on an uninhabited island for up to a maximum period of two weeks

•A wide variety of skills will be needed, and a high level of overall ability will be more advantageous, but cohesion cannot be ignored

•Special rewards such as Class Points, Private Points, and a Protection Point will be given to the groups that place at the top (Class Points are divided equally based on the number of classes though)

•Groups will be formed, with a minimum of one person to a maximum of six, and the more people in your group, the more advantages you’ll have (Group rankings are determined by when the last person gets eliminated from the group)

•The groups that come in last will receive penalties, expulsion is also a possibility

•In accordance with the rules, we can freely form small groups within our grade (up to a maximum of three people)

•Forming a large group during the exam will not be easy

 

That was a rough breakdown of everything so far, but that explanation alone wasn’t enough to give us the entire picture.

“I understand that this has all been a lot to take in so far, but there is still a lot left to explain,” said Chabashira.

She drew a breath, then moved on to the next part of her explanation.

“Please take a look at this.”

The monitor refreshed, now showing eight items on the screen.

 

Basic Card Overview

Head Start: Points available at the start of the exam are multiplied by 1.5.

Bonus: Whoever owns this card gets double the Private Point rewards.

Half Off: Halves the number of Private Points that needs to be paid out for a penalty. Only valid for the student who owns this card.

Free Ride: At the start of the exam, designate a specific group. You will receive half of the number of Private Point rewards that the designated group will receive. This effect disappears if you join with the group you’ve designated.

Insurance: If the owner of this card would normally be disqualified from the exam due to poor health, they are instead given one full day to recover. Not valid in the event of disqualification due to cheating, etc.

 

Special Card Overview

One More: The owner of this card can join a group as a seventh member. It takes effect once the main portion of the exam has started and is not affected by the gender ratio rule.

Nullify: The Private Points needed to be paid out for a penalty are reduced to zero. Only valid for the student who owns this card.

Trials and Tribulations: Using this card entitles you to be able to earn 1.5 times the Class Point rewards for the special exam. However, if your group fails to place in the top 30%, then your group will be penalized. The school will cover the increased reward amounts.

 

“Wh-what are those all about?”

“These cards are items that will affect the uninhabited island survival exam. Everyone will receive one card. With one exception, there is no drawback to having any of these cards. Their efficacy can be roughly understood by looking at the descriptive text on the cards,” explained Chabashira.

There was a total of eight kind of cards in the lineup, ranging from cards that would give you an edge in the special exam to cards that specialized in protection. The latter cards were useful in the sense that you can keep yourself safe, but if you consider that they were basically for when you’re prepared for defeat, it was likely that those cards would be evaluated differently. The tricky card out of the lineup would be “Trials and Tribulations,” the only one that has a disadvantageous aspect to it. If you used the card effectively, then it carried greater potential than any other rewards, but it wouldn’t be easy to break into the top thirty percent.

“Each student will get one of these eight cards, selected at random. The cards will be distributed tomorrow morning. The cards that you’ve obtained can be transferred or traded with students from other classes so long as they are in your grade level until the special exam officially begins. Anyone can view who holds which cards in the OAA app. You can sell your cards to anyone who wishes to buy them from you. You can even buy up a bunch of cards and hold onto multiple. However, the same card effects cannot be stacked, so there is absolutely no point in having two of the same card,” explained Chabashira.

Card Overview and Rules

Both Basic Cards and Special Cards can be traded with students from within your grade level. You cannot trade with students from within your own class. Also, once a card has changed hands, it cannot be traded again. Even if multiple copies of the same kind of card are used, card effects do not stack.

This meant that a single student could theoretically hold up to a maximum of eight kinds of cards at once and could use them all. However, because the cards had positive and negative applications, it wasn’t like you could activate all their effects at once. In the end, you would just have effective options at your disposal that you could use.

“Also, regarding the special cards… There are three kinds of special cards, and they’ll be handed out randomly, but only one will be handed out to each grade level. Therefore, there is the possibility that, through sheer coincidence, one class may come to hold all three cards. That’s all,” said Chabashira.

An explanation of the uninhabited island special exam, followed by an explanation of the rewards and penalties. And then an explanation about the distribution of items called cards. And thus, we came to the end of the long overview of the uninhabited island survival exam.

“I’m sure that some of you might not have understood everything that we just went over, but by lunchtime, the special exam manual will be automatically distributed to your tablets so you can check out the information that way,” said Chabashira, having now finished explaining everything to us.

The bell rang loud and clear, signaling that it was the end of our first-period class.

“I suggest that you think long and hard about what kind of group strategy you’re going to produce. You have time,” she added.

After giving us that bit of advice, Chabashira left the classroom. Afterward, the students began to huddle together. Kouenji, who was sitting far to the left of me, one empty seat between us, stood up, and then went out into the hall. It looked like he was simply acting according to his selfish whims, as we had come to expect, but he was walking at a quicker pace than usual. I felt like there was something off about the way Kouenji was behaving, so I decided to follow him.

I tried to soften my footsteps and anything else that might cause me to be detected so that I wouldn’t be noticed. That being said, there was only so much that I could do. There weren’t an infinite number of things I could hide behind, like I could on the island.

However, ordinary people didn’t usually go about their day with the consideration of being followed. Even if an amateur were to try and tail another amateur, the person being followed would probably only vaguely suspect something was up.

Shortly afterward, I heard the voices of both Chabashira and Kouenji coming from around the corner. I hid near the corner, holding my breath, and listened in on their conversation.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about, Kouenji?”

“Well, teacher, I can’t help but feel that you left a crucial detail out of your explanation,” replied Kouenji.

I was guessing that Chabashira was probably standing face-to-face with Kouenji now, as she waited for him to ask his question.

“A crucial detail?” she asked in return.

“Namely, if a person who is taking the exam entirely on their own happens to succumb to illness or injury, what would happen to him or her as a result?” asked Kouenji.

“Ah, I was wondering what you were going to ask. What a trivial question,” replied Chabashira.

Even though I couldn’t actually see her, Chabashira had a somewhat amused smile on her lips when she said that.

“If I remember correctly, you bowed out of the last exam due to illness. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work this year. No special exceptions will be made. You would be penalized, meaning that you’d be asked to pay six million points if you wanted to stay. And judging from what you have on hand, that would be impossible for you,” said Chabashira.

“Fu fu, yes, that’s certainly true. I’m the sort of man who is quite liberal with his cash flow, after all, so it seems like I am in quite the predicament here, yes.”

It seemed like Kouenji had been planning to bow out of even this special exam on the uninhabited island, as expected. But there was no escape route open for a solo-participant trying to tackle this exam.

“In that case, what are you going to do? Maintain your freedom and get expelled?” asked Chabashira.

“Hmm, I wonder? Yes, yes, I wonder. Well, I don’t mind if you run along now, teacher.”

Kouenji must have been satisfied with the answer he had gotten from Chabashira, because he just told her to leave. I started hearing footsteps. They immediately picked up in speed, and then I couldn’t hear them anymore. I’m guessing that Kouenji was going to start moving soon too. In that case, I supposed there wasn’t any reason for me to hang around here for long.

I decided to leave without making a sound. But then…

“By the way, who is the person hiding over there, spying on me?” asked Kouenji.

Kouenji had noticed me hiding from him. I could tell from the way his voice carried in the hall that he must have turned around.

“Whether or not you come out is entirely up to you,” he added.

It wasn’t like he just blurted that out on a whim or anything. It was almost like he had the keen senses of an animal or something…

Although I could have returned to the classroom without revealing myself, I decided to face him honestly.

“Oh ho, Ayanokouji Boy. Do you have some business with me, perchance?”

He didn’t seem surprised at all. If anything, he was indifferent to my presence there, acting nonchalant about it. It wasn’t so much like he had been anticipating that I would have been there. It was more like he just didn’t care who was there.

“Horikita told me to keep an eye on you. She said it’s because she can’t tell what you’re going to do,” I replied.

“Hmm.”

Kouenji looked at me as though he were sizing me up, and then slowly started walking towards me.

“You seem to be quite good at coming up with a front to hide what you’re up to. But I see neither truth nor lies from you, Ayanokouji Boy. I won’t trust the words of a person like that,” said Kouenji.

“I never saw you as the type of person who would trust anyone anyway,” I replied.

“Fu fu fu, well, that’s certainly true, yes. I do not trust anyone other than myself. Not a single person. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I’m not even interested in anyone else.”

Once Kouenji got directly beside me, he stopped completely still.

“And of course, that applies even to you, Ayanokouji Boy,” he added.

Even after I had gotten that perfect score in the math section of the exam, Kouenji looked no different than usual when he left the classroom earlier. And there hadn’t been any signs at all of him asking anyone about it, either. I could detect no lies whatsoever in what he was saying.

“What are you planning to do for this special exam?” I asked.

“Hm, yes… I’m sure there will be more to discuss, but may I be included in your group?” asked Kouenji.

I was wondering how he was going to respond to my question. I see. So that’s how it was going to be. If he partnered with at least one person, then that means Kouenji can withdraw from the exam right at the start with ease.

“Sorry, but I have to turn you down. I don’t exactly have the kind of leeway to invite in the sort of person who is essentially guaranteed to bow out right when the exam begins,” I replied.

“Fu fu fu. I see. Well, I suppose that’s that, then,” said Kouenji.

“Is it okay for you to think that way, though? Even if you find a group somewhere that’ll let you in, in the end you’ll be leaving the fate of your expulsion in someone else’s hands,” I answered.

“Yes, that certainly is true. If I simply withdraw without doing anything, that is,” said Kouenji.

He resumed walking, moving past me. As he did though, he gave me a parting shot.

“I’ll think long and hard about how I’m going to get through this before the exam begins.”

With that, he returned to the classroom.

6.1

 

I ARRIVED AT THE CAFÉ in the mall a little ahead of the time we were supposed to meet. While I was finishing up paying for my drink, I saw two guys I’d normally never expect to see together seated by one another. One of them was Ryuuen, the very same person who had asked me to come here today. And the other was…

“You mentioned one more person would be coming. So you were referring to Ayanokouji then?” said Katsuragi Kouhei, from Class 2-A.

He directed his gaze toward me with a rigid expression on his face. I wouldn’t say that Ryuuen and Katsuragi were necessarily like oil and water, but the two of them were by no means on good terms with one another.

“What kind of meeting is this supposed to be, anyway?” I asked.

“What, you plannin’ on standin’ while we talk? Take a seat,” said Ryuuen, with an odd smirk on his face.

I did as Ryuuen had instructed, sitting down in an empty chair. There was a unique atmosphere in the air here, the likes of which I had never experienced before.

“I knew there was something different about you, compared to the average student, but it seems you have even more hidden talents than I imagined, Ayanokouji. To think you would get a perfect score on the mathematics test,” marveled Katsuragi, who I hadn’t spoken to since we started our second year, immediately bringing up my math score.

“Ku ku. Come now, Katsuragi, don’t admire him too much. That’s all ancient history,” said Ryuuen.

“Ancient history? You sure seem relaxed even though there’s an unexpectedly powerful enemy in your midst. Are you that exhilarated by defeating Ichinose and being promoted to Class B?” said Katsuragi.

“Save it. Ichinose is self-destructing all on her own. She ain’t even close to bein’ on my radar,” said Ryuuen.

Sure enough, this entirely unexpected pairing was already causing the mood to sour. Things were looking tense.

“…And? I’d like to know why you called me here,” said Katsuragi.

That confirmed Ryuuen was indeed the instigator of this meeting, so I waited along with Katsuragi for him to speak.

“What’re ya rushin’ me for? Go on, relax a little,” said Ryuuen.

“There’s no way I can relax. If people see me with you, that alone will cause me trouble,” said Katsuragi.

He was concerned about being seen by people around us, so it wasn’t strange that he was urging Ryuuen to get to the point. Even though it was the morning of a day with no classes, there were sure to be more than a few students watching. If students from our grade level saw us, they wouldn’t be able to hide their shock.

“What is Class A after in the next special exam?” asked Ryuuen.

“What are they after? The same thing that everyone is, surely,” said Katsuragi.

“Are you gonna try and grab all the Class Points yourself? Or somethin’ else? That’s the question. From what I can tell from OAA, you’ve mostly been formin’ groups with Class C. But looks like Kitou’s on his own. Plus, Ichinose, Shibata, and Sakayanagi bein’ together just smells fishy to me, no matter how ya look at it. You guys workin’ together?” asked Ryuuen.

I had been curious about that too. Aside from the group of three that Ryuuen had mentioned specifically, Hashimoto and Kamuro from Class A had formed a group with one of Class C’s best and brightest students, Ninomiya. Then, on top of that, there was the fact that the “One More” card, which Amikura had originally, was now in the hands of Hashimoto from Class A. I couldn’t imagine that was all mere coincidence.

“You’re free to interpret the situation however you wish, but I cannot confirm anything,” said Katsuragi.

“I ain’t looking for any of this diplomatic back-and-forth crap. Gimme some honest answers,” said Ryuuen.

“In that case, I’ll give you an answer that’s easy for you to understand. I do not intend to tell you a single thing,” said Katsuragi, clearly and decisively.

Even though Katsuragi and Sakayanagi had opposed each other, he naturally demonstrated that there was no way he was going to share confidential information about his class with Ryuuen, an enemy.

“It is only during the day on which the test begins that you will know how Sakayanagi intends to fight this battle. No one will know anything of her strategy until she says something herself. If you really must know, then you just have to ask her directly,” he added.

“Oh, so you don’t know simply because she doesn’t trust ya, huh?” said Ryuuen.

“That might be the case,” said Katsuragi.

As Ryuuen himself had said, information didn’t necessarily trickle down to Katsuragi. He had mentioned earlier that Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were at opposing ends, but actually, it was more that Katsuragi was the sole person in Class A who wasn’t part of Sakayanagi’s faction. That fact was so well-known that I didn’t even need to bother asking to check.

In any case, this whole conversation so far had been nothing more than the opening act.

“How the mighty have fallen, eh, Katsuragi? This time last year, you were a worthy playmate. But now you’re just a shadow of your former self. You’re the same as the rest of the garbage. Guess that’s just the end of the road for somebody whose faction lost out, huh?” said Ryuuen.

“If I recall, you got worked over by Ishizaki once yourself,” Katsuragi fired back.

“Come on, don’t ya wanna crawl your way back up now too? I mean, that dude who was holding you back, Totsuka, is gone now, right?” prodded Ryuuen.

Suddenly, Katsuragi slammed his right fist down on the table. Yahiko had idolized Katsuragi. When Ryuuen mentioned his name, Katsuragi, who had remained calm up until this point, let his anger show through.

“If your goal was to make me angry, then you’ve succeeded, Ryuuen. Satisfied?” asked Katsuragi.

“What? Aw, still can’t get those widdle feewings out of your system? I’m kinda relieved,” said Ryuuen.

He clapped his hands together three times, giving Katsuragi a mocking round of applause. He then continued.

“Don’t ya think it’d be an interestin’ turn of events if we could get Sakayanagi expelled in the next special exam?”

“…What?” asked Katsuragi.

“If she’s gone, then Class A’s gonna be without a leader, obviously. If that happens, you can get to bein’ in charge,” said Ryuuen.

“I don’t know what it is you’re plotting, but that’s impossible. Supposing even if you managed to defeat her on the island somehow, she has ample Private Points, enough to save herself. And on top of that, if the situation called for it, she could use her Protection Point anyway,” argued Katsuragi.

Getting Sakayanagi expelled would be an extremely arduous task, considering she had funds and a Protection Point.

“Yeah, it’s true that if we’re gonna get her kicked out of school, we’re gonna need to hit her at least twice. Well, I’m just kiddin’ about the island exam thing, anyway. That was a joke. Survivin’ on the island’s gonna be about clawing your way up on your own power, not knockin’ down your enemies,” said Ryuuen.

7.1

 

“IT’S ALREADY THE latter half of July. It has been getting quite hot lately, hasn’t it?” muttered Tsukishiro as he looked down at the large buses arriving at the school, one after another.

“Yes, it certainly has been,” replied a first-year student, without a hint of emotion.

Tsukishiro continued speaking without turning to look at the student. “No more time spent on analysis, please. There is nothing to be gained by delaying action any further.”

“Are you…telling me to expel Ayanokouji Kiyotaka now?” asked the student.

“Is that too much for you to manage?” asked Tsukishiro.

“I have established that he’ll be an easy opponent. Well, actually, I knew that all along,” said the student.

“I will help you as much as I possibly can. That being said, I cannot provide you with more support than this,” said Tsukishiro.

Upon hearing that, the student thought that Tsukishiro was aggressively pushing for this plan to move forward.

“Are you saying that you have been pushed to act recklessly yourself?” asked the student.

“Yes. I had to jump through some impossible hoops to scrape together the budget needed for this special exam. More importantly, I had to force the rest of the school administration into submission when they objected to the exam’s strict rules,” said Tsukishiro.

“Will it be difficult for you to continue in your position as Acting Director then?” asked the student.

“Quite. The fraud allegations made against Director Sakayanagi are about to be cleared up, and it is obvious I’m going to be relieved of my duties. That’s precisely why I’ve prepared a massive display of fireworks for the very end. I hope you will use whatever means necessary to remove Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from this school. Is that clear?” said Tsukishiro.

“…Yes. There will be no more hesitation.”

“I am glad to hear that. In that case, please…be as violent as you wish during this special exam. Go on a rampage. Once everything has been taken care of, you will return to your old life. Let us both return to the places that we are supposed to be, hm?” said Tsukishiro.

A girl’s left hand—her dominant one—clenched tight, naturally swelling with strength. Tsukishiro, seeing that out of the corner of his eye, smiled gently and broadly.

“I am expecting great things out of you…Nanase Tsubasa-san.”