Yukio's class—every student arrived early, sitting upright and prepared to face the next four hours of the Unanimous special exam.
Four hours… if you called it long, it wasn't really that long.
Among all the special exams they'd endured, Unanimous was definitely one of the shortest.
Even if they dragged it all the way to the limit, it was still only four hours. Compared to the longest one—the workplace special exam that lasted a month and a half—four hours was nothing.
But if you called it short, that wasn't quite right either.
From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., they weren't allowed to leave their seats. Even if you got hungry, thirsty, or needed the bathroom, you'd have to endure it.
So everyone was careful. They didn't even dare drink too much water, afraid they'd ruin the exam over something stupid. Every single person was on high alert, quietly waiting for their homeroom teacher.
Soon, around 8:50 a.m., Sakagami-sensei entered Yukio's classroom—along with another staff member they didn't recognize.
That immediately raised questions.
This exam was supposedly simple… so why did it need two proctors?
Sakagami explained right away.
"Let me clarify."
"This exam strictly forbids communication between teachers and students. Every question must be answered by your own judgment."
"And during voting, you are forbidden from talking to each other."
"The only time you may talk is during the ten-minute discussion period that triggers when your votes are not unanimous."
"So this teacher is here to monitor you. If you violate what I just said, the exam will be judged a failure and forced to end immediately. Your class will be penalized 300 Class Points."
The moment they heard that, several students' faces tightened further.
So Yukio-bro was right—this simple Unanimous exam was absolutely hiding something.
And it wasn't a small problem.
Seeing how quickly his students understood the seriousness, Sakagami nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, take out your phones. Log into this page."
"Once the exam starts, we won't be able to communicate."
He turned on the projector and displayed an internal URL.
The students—Yukio included—logged in.
The interface was ridiculously barebones: only two buttons.
Agree and Disagree.
Soon, 9:00 a.m. arrived.
No one spoke anymore. The room went still as everyone stared at the front, waiting for the first question.
Sakagami didn't say a word. He simply pressed a key, and the projector displayed the prompt.
[Question 1: From now on, every month, five randomly selected students in the class will receive no private points at all. After that month ends, they may receive private points again. However, one randomly selected student in the class will gain 1 Protection Point. Agree / Disagree.]
Perhaps the system accounted for reading and thinking time, because voting didn't start immediately.
A full minute after the question appeared, every student's phone screen lit up.
Above the two options, a clear 30-second countdown appeared.
They all knew the rule: if you exceeded the time limit twice or more, you'd be expelled.
So nobody hesitated. They selected Agree or Disagree based on instinct.
Yukio had already arranged it: he and Ishizaki would vote differently, guaranteeing they wouldn't reach unanimity on the first round and would secure discussion time.
The result appeared quickly—projected for everyone to see.
[Agree: 12 votes. Disagree: 28 votes.]
Then the fixed ten-minute discussion period began immediately.
Students who'd been holding their breath exploded into speech.
"See?! Just like Yukio-bro said—this exam is absolutely not simple! They open with a nasty question like this on purpose, just to make us hesitate!"
"Quit whining. Time's tight. We're here to discuss, not complain about the school."
"Why would anyone vote Disagree?! Just do the math—we profit! We're at 3,500 Class Points now, that's 350,000 private points per month. But one Protection Point can be exchanged for 20 million! That's insanely worth it!"
"Not necessarily!" someone shot back. "Read carefully! It says 'no private points at all.' At all."
"That means it's not just the fixed monthly allowance. Even special exam rewards—hell, even the 20 million you'd get by exchanging a Protection Point—could be counted as 'private points' and become unclaimable!"
"I'm guessing most people voted Disagree because it's uncertain. The first thing it asks is for us to take a loss so some random person benefits. Most people's first instinct is to reject it."
Yukio glanced at Shiina.
That last analysis had come from her.
It surprised him a little—but it also made sense. Shiina really did see through things cleanly when she focused.
Because this exam went straight for the throat—human nature.
People are selfish by default. That wasn't an insult, it was biology.
Any living thing acts to protect itself.
The question targeted every month, meaning five random victims each month. Statistically, any single student had a very small chance of getting hit constantly…
But the moment you imagine it—the moment you picture your luck going bad—most people will instinctively vote Disagree.
Because it's a disgusting deal.
Even if the odds are low, nobody wants to imagine being unlucky for two or three months in a row.
So for class cohesion, chasing one Protection Point here just wasn't worth it.
Yukio stood up, drawing everyone's attention.
When their boss moved, the class fell silent on reflex.
Sakagami looked deeply satisfied. The monitoring teacher looked honestly shocked.
Yukio scanned the room.
"Simple. We unanimously vote Disagree."
"Lower classes might chase Protection Points to survive future expulsion penalties."
"But do we need it?"
"Even if some people think we do, it's just because they see 'Protection Point equals 20 million' and want the profit."
"But are we short on 20 million?"
"To gain a measly 20 million, you want to accept a rule where every month five random classmates earn nothing?"
"Not worth it. Do the actual math."
"Five people's monthly allowance alone is 1.75 million. And we've still got over a year left."
"However you calculate it, that goes beyond 20 million. So we vote Disagree."
Then Yukio sat back down.
Ishizaki responded first, immediately.
"Yukio-bro's right! Who the hell needs a Protection Point?! We're not desperate!"
"Tch, only Yukio-bro can casually say 'a measly 20 million.' Man, I want to say that just once. So damn cool."
"Hahaha, go nap on your desk. If you fall asleep, you can say it all you want in your dreams."
Thanks to Yukio's conclusion, the discussion barely lasted five minutes before the class had effectively unified—everyone was ready to follow him and vote Disagree.
But by rule, even after reaching consensus, they still had to wait out the full ten-minute discussion period before the second vote could begin.
A moment later, the second-round vote opened.
No one wasted time.
[Agree: 0 votes. Disagree: 40 votes.]
...
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