Bonus chapter unlocked by your Power Stones!
Ryuen's recap was brief, yet it made clear he'd fought tooth-and-nail these seven days and achieved plenty—at least squeezing into the top four and locking in Yukio's class victory for this special exam.
Doing the math, everyone in Yukio's class now knew the outcome was secure: out of four events they had dominated two outright.
Yukio had bought up a pile of answer sheets and swapped out the other classes' cards; add in the outdoor relay. Even if their Cohesion score wasn't guaranteed first, it would still rank near the top.
With Ryuen's performance added in, no matter how you looked at it, first place overall belonged to their class.
Sure enough, among the homeroom teachers who soon assembled, one—introducing himself as the third-grade Class A teacher—announced the full camp-exam results:
First place: First-year Class A, Yukio's class
Second place: Third-year Class A
Third place: First-year Class C, Ichinose's class
Fourth place: Third-year Class B
Fifth place: First-year Class B, Sakayanagi's class
Sixth place: Second-year Class B
Seventh place: First-year Class D
After the broadcast, many upperclassmen finally felt they'd saved some face. In the previous workplace exam every senior class had crashed, even Horikita Manabu's Third-year Class A.
This time, although first place still went to a first-year, at least two upper-grade classes made the podium—certainly an improvement over last time's disaster.
"Man, I really thought we could beat the first-years this round. And yet Yukio's class still takes it—swapping answer sheets, soaking our outdoor shoes—unbelievable!"
"Seriously. I heard Horikita-senpai's Class 3-A scored a perfect hundred in Cohesion, and they still lost to Yukio's class. What a shame."
"And don't forget their 'toilet war-god' Ryuen! He's the real menace—knocked out tons of seniors all by himself!"
"What's there to moan about? First-years get a twenty-percent total-score boost. Without that, Class 1-D would've dropped way down—maybe dead last; their Cohesion score was the lowest of all."
"Eh? You didn't hear? In the Individual Ability event Class 1-D had the top scorer."
"No kidding? Well, that explains it."
While upperclassmen debated, the first-years were quietly tallying their own gains.
[Current overall totals for First-year:
A Class, Yukio's class – 2390 pts
B Class, Sakayanagi's class – 1580 pts
C Class, Ichinose's class – 1490 pts
D Class, Matsushita's class – 220 pts]
The class order hadn't changed—same positions as before. The greatest pressure now bore down on Sakayanagi's class.
They were still far behind Yukio, but Ichinose's class had surged forward—the gap was now under one hundred points, dangerously close. One slip and Sakayanagi could be overtaken.
After finishing the calculations, Hashimoto cast an anxious look at Sakayanagi. "Your Highness, our situation looks shaky. Ichinose's class could pass us any time."
"No need to fret, Hashimoto-kun." Sakayanagi's face held not a trace of worry. Beneath her calm, elegant expression burned a fierce, solitary confidence. "This setback is only because Katsuragi was eliminated, letting Ichinose's class creep ahead.
"It will not happen again."
Katsuragi was not deaf; he heard every word. Owning his mistake, he bowed his head in shame. "My apologies. I failed to inspect the food properly and dragged the class down.
"I intend to volunteer for expulsion to acknowledge responsibility for this defeat."
Hashimoto gaped—was Katsuragi taking it that far?
Other students were shaken as well. "K-Katsuragi-kun, really, it's not that serious, is it?"
Katsuragi ignored their pleas and kept his head lowered to Sakayanagi. He was so tall and she so petite that without bowing he would literally "look past her."
"Enough." Sakayanagi waved a hand lightly, dismissing the idea. "Make up for it later. Who knows when Katsuragi-kun's abilities may prove useful again?
"In Yukio-kun's hometown slang: atonement through merit."
"?" Katsuragi blinked—he understood the sense, but why quote Yukio's dialect to make the point?
Over in Ichinose's camp the mood was jubilant—they'd cut the gap to Sakayanagi.
"Great job, Kanzaki! Grabbing third in the Individual event let us edge past Class B!"
"That was close, though—we almost couldn't pull it off. Our Cohesion score was a few points lower than Sakayanagi's."
"Hard to believe—I thought our class had to be more united than theirs."
"Haha, so much for testing unity. Over there it was just Sakayanagi's personal analysis holding things together; without her they'd have cratered like Class D."
Class D, the object of gossip, was surprisingly quiet—perhaps they'd argued enough earlier. Faces were thoughtful or heavy; no one spoke.
Hardly surprising: they alone were stuck around two hundred class points while the others averaged well over fourteen hundred. The gulf felt hopeless, suffocating.
The happiest group, of course, was the big winner—Yukio's class. Laughter and cheers echoed nonstop.
Ishizaki was the most excited, leaping and shadow-boxing in mid-air. "Yahoo! Finally done! Eight full days without touching my precious console—tonight I'm gaming all night!"
"I'm in, Ishizaki! What're you playing? Let's co-op—pull an all-nighter and grab lunch together tomorrow!"
"Straight to lunch, huh? Meaning we'll sleep through breakfast?"
"Obviously! Quit yapping and join!"
"Nope, I'm wiped. Outdoor runs, sutra copying—my brain's fried. I'll veg out with the January hentai releases; couldn't watch any of them at camp."
"Na-nani?! January… H--. Ishizaki, forget games—I suddenly feel no joy!"
"Traitor!"
...
For every 3 five-star reviews → +1 extra chapter
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.
Read 50+ chapters ahead on Patreon! [patreon.com/METARLN]
Use code FREE2ALL for 30% OFF!