When Zero arrived at school with the rice ball, he saw Suzuka anxiously shaking Special Week.
Special Week, meanwhile, was mumbling like a zombie, completely lifeless.
Finally, Zero pulled out the large rice ball, and he and Suzuka together forced it into Special Week, which only then made her feel slightly better.
"So, Little Special ended up staying up all night, huh = =" Zero watched, speechless, as a slightly improved Special Week staggered into the examination room.
Well, at least she went from being hungry and sleepy to just simply sleepy, so that's an improvement, right?
"Little Special…" Suzuka was also very worried about Special Week's condition.
As for Zero, she was already preparing to submit a request to the Student Council for individual tutoring.
If she was truly left alone at school for remedial classes during the training camp, she would really cry, and as Zero had completed all the courses on her own, bringing Special Week to the training camp and providing her with additional individual tutoring there was the most suitable arrangement.
Plus, the Student Council members were all her people, so it didn't matter.
As for why she said she wanted to watch the fun, it was, of course, because such remedial exams were live-streamed, though the audience was limited to the team members of the students taking the remedial exam.
However… "Z-chan! Can you come and help?"
"Teio? Why are you here?"
"Hehehe, I'm the commentator today, but McQueen, who was supposed to be with me, couldn't make it due to family matters, and I just happened to run into you and Suzuka-senpai when I went out to find help~"
Wait a minute, why do you call Suzuka "Suzuka-senpai" but call me "Z-chan"?! Zero noticed the crucial detail.
"Eh? Because Suzuka-senpai is very tall, and Z-chan is so tiny~"
#!
In the end, because of Teio's bluntness, Zero got upset and refused to help, so Suzuka, unable to watch, stepped in to take her place.
When Zero looked around, she noticed that almost everyone from both teams was present, except for a few members of the Student Council.
Ah, is Little Special going to be publicly humiliated in front of so many people… I hope she doesn't do anything weird?
Subsequently, Suzuka and Teio also took their seats at the commentary desk, and the situation of the examinees appeared on the screen in the lounge.
It's a good thing this live broadcast wasn't broadcast school-wide… Actually, Zero was the one who suggested it, reasoning that instead of one proctor having all the trouble, it would be better to use a live broadcast so others could also watch for any cheating, and at the same time, use a race commentary style to let the examinees feel the atmosphere of a race in the exam room, thereby performing better.
Then, almost all the Student Council members, including Symboli Rudolf, unanimously approved this clearly mischievous proposal; only Air Groove voted against it.
In short, with a burst of stirring music, this remedial exam was about to begin. Air Groove, the proctor, had already distributed the papers, and Teio and Suzuka briefly discussed what needed to be explained before starting their commentary.
"Welcome everyone to Tracen Academy's Remedial Exam Special Program — Japanese Language Pop Quiz, Third Person! I, Tokai Teio, will be the live commentator, and Suzuka-senpai will be handling the explanations. Please treat us well!"
"Please treat us well."
"Now, let's introduce the examinees. Seat number one, examinee number one, Grass Wonder!"
The camera also focused on Grass Wonder, who was sitting gracefully in her seat, exuding the demeanor of a refined young lady, her gaze surveying her surroundings.
"A student who is participating because she was absent from the exam due to illness."
"Seat number two, examinee number two, El Condor Pasa!"
The Uma Musume warrior still wore her mask, and a confident smile that couldn't be hidden by the mask was on her face. As the camera showed her, she even let out a confident hum.
"You can see her overflowing confidence just from her expression." It seems Silent Suzuka is quite good at playing the straight man.
"Finally, seat number three, examinee number three, Special Week… she looks very sleepy!"
"I told you not to cram at the last minute…"
When the camera focused on Special Week, she was still desperately fighting off drowsiness, painstakingly writing her name. Her mismatched eyes and drooping ears made everyone present doubt whether she could even complete the exam.
"These three, who are always in the spotlight, will they show us an exciting race this time?"
While Teio tried to liven the atmosphere, the exam time quickly arrived.
Air Groove looked at the watch on her wrist, and at the moment the stopwatch hit 12, she declared, "Exam begins."
"Oh! The three have started! No noticeable difference yet!"
Although very sleepy, Special Week, as if by instinct, had perfected her excellent gate-starting technique, and so, as the start fell, her pen also began to write.
However, she was quickly left behind.
"Breaking away is examinee number two, El Condor Pasa! Her pen shows no hesitation! Has she thoroughly reviewed her Japanese language?"
"It seems she has studied well."
Their commentary was watched by everyone in the lounge, who nodded in agreement.
"Following closely is Grass Wonder, quietly staying right behind El Condor Pasa!"
"Very stable."
Grass Wonder was calmly writing her exam, also with almost no hesitation. If she hadn't been sick, she probably wouldn't have been in this remedial exam, right?
"And in last place is Special Week!"
"I can't bear to watch anymore… (crying voice)" Suzuka looked somewhat helpless.
At this moment, Special Week was hunched over her desk, writing the paper with a pained expression.
The three of them knew the situation in the exam room, so they naturally wouldn't cheat. At the same time, the three of them had all reached the multiple-choice questions.
"At this moment, everyone has reached the multiple-choice questions of the third major section! Oh, my! Special Week suddenly accelerated here and ran to the front!"
"I… I'm trusting you, Little Special, okay?"
"Oh, my! That's a special dice pencil made by Fukurai-senpai!"
Special Week suddenly pulled out a pencil and threw it on the desk. The other end of the hexagonal pencil had its outer skin shaved off, with numbers one to six written on it.
And the creator was Machikane Fukukitaru, an enigmatic Uma Musume who loves fortune-telling and supernatural things like superstitions. She even opened a fortune-telling shop at the academy, which is said to be very accurate, but how could such a small tool possibly be useful?! And when did Little Special get this thing!?
Seeing Special Week pull out this dice pencil, the members of Spica slapped their hands to their foreheads.
They already knew what was coming.
"Currently leading is Special Week, accelerating desperately!"
"There's no need for this kind of desperation!" Suzuka was so anxious she was almost in tears.
"In the competition between the three, they've unknowingly reached the fourth major section! The final sprint of the long reading comprehension!"
"El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder have both stopped writing!"
"Because it's a long reading comprehension, you can't do it without reading it carefully."
Special Week noticed the halted pens of the other two and instantly perked up, her pre-exam sleepiness seemingly swept away.
(This… this is my distance!)
Thinking this, Special Week began throwing the dice pencil even faster.
"Taking advantage of this, Special Week suddenly accelerated and ran to the very front, with no intention of hiding the dice!"
"Little Special… (crying voice)"
Why do you need a dice pencil for reading comprehension?! The members of Spica were already clutching their heads in agony, unable to watch, while Zero was already ordering a complete set of Five-Three exercise books from China.
"The pens of all three are moving quickly, who will be the first to finish!?"
Finally, Special Week, who used her dice instead of her brain, was the first to complete the exam.
"I'm done!" Special Week raised her hand.
"It's Special Week! Special Week is the first to cross the finish line!" Teio, not one to shy away from stirring things up, continued her commentary.
"Oh my, what a splendid race, what do you think, Suzuka-senpai?"
"Ah… it was a very splendid run… but…"
As the exam papers were fed into the automatic grading machine, everyone's scores appeared on the big screen.
First place: Grass Wonder, 98 points
Second place: El Condor Pasa, 62 points
Third place: Special Week, 20 points
"What matters in an exam is the score…" Zero finally said, and everyone around her looked at her with comforting smiles.
Everyone knew how much Zero had hoped for Special Week, and because of this, they felt some empathy for her current distress.
Special Week's originally confident smile gradually froze as the scores appeared on the big screen, then disappeared, leaving only bewilderment.
Just wait, Little Special, I won't let you have a lonely training camp… Zero looked at the full set of Five-Three exercise books she had already ordered and thought angrily, gritting her teeth.
And Special Week suddenly shivered as if she had sensed something.
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