Every class felt a headache coming on the moment they saw what the other classes had submitted.
Class A in particular was in an uproar after laying eyes on Class C's five combat events.
"Class C... are they serious?"
Seeing this, Shibata of Class A couldn't hold it together. Every single one was a combat event, and every single one a gauntlet.
Shibata was a member of the track and field club, athletic but academically average, so at first he failed to see what made this setup so advantageous.
But unlike Shibata, Ichinose and Kanzaki saw through what Kamio Tatsuya and Ryuen were planning right away.
Combat events were indeed Class C's strength, and the gauntlet format did raise the other side's odds of winning.
Beyond that, though, the gauntlet also let Class C spend some of its less capable students, take the final judo event, which required five participants.
But with a gauntlet, Yamada alone could pin down all five of them, the classic one man carrying four.
You thought Class C was playing around with you?
Don't be naive. They were dead serious.
On top of that, what gave Ichinose and the others an even bigger headache was Class B's list, among the events their opponent had prepared was a math test as well.
A collision, and the rules on both sides were nearly identical. There was nothing funny about it.
Two nearly identical events meant that once Class A got through its math test, it would be left weak in mathematics from then on.
When the time came, it would be powerless against a Class B offensive.
Unless, of course, Class B happened to be their opponent in the math event.
Class A could, in fact, name Class B as its opponent directly, and any refusal on Class B's part would change nothing. The worry was that if Class B did turn them down, Class C or Class D might step up and take the match instead.
That would be no fun at all.
At the thought, Kanzaki had an idea: perhaps they could talk it over and arrange for the two classes to pick each other for the math event...
No, that wouldn't work either, since no one could guarantee when the math test would come up.
If it only appeared later, when the classes were already short on people, then no matter who they chose, they couldn't win. At that point, Class A's best option would be to hand its points to Class D, not to Class B or Class C.
Ah, this exam really was a difficult one, even if the protection points would spare the commanders from expulsion.
But...
If they wanted to win, all they could do was adapt on the fly when the time came.
Still, all of that was secondary. What mattered was not getting besieged by three classes at once, which meant they might have to find an ally.
The fate of the Class A boys at the forest camp exam was still fresh in her mind, and Kanzaki truly did not want to see Class A driven to that state again.
"Ichinose, maybe we could work together with one of the other classes."
Seizing a lull in the class's discussion, Kanzaki raised the suggestion with Ichinose.
She had expected Ichinose to at least consider it, but Ichinose shook her head without a moment's thought.
"Kanzaki, you're thinking about this far too simply."
"Simply? What do you mean?"
"Of the four first-year classes, even after a whole year, even Class D, which took the worst losses, not one of them has given up on contesting Class A.
"And there is only one way for a class to rise to Class A: make its class points the highest of the four."
"That much I know."
"Then how do you think a class makes its points number one?"
Hearing the question, Kanzaki thought it over briefly and had her answer.
"Well, there are two ways to bring your class points to first. The first, of course, is to raise your own class's points and become number one.
"The second is to drive the other classes' points down, below your own.
"And in practice, we've actually been doing both at once."
"Exactly." Ichinose sighed. "So the lower classes won't pass up this chance to weaken the current Class A, that is, us, and cut into our class points.
"And this exam has only one winner. Which means everyone is an enemy. An alliance is impossible."
Kanzaki fell briefly silent. Ichinose was right, this exam had only one winner. Even if they allied now, the moment an ally could plunder points from Class A, they would show no mercy either.
"And because we're Class A, we have to face the pressure of three classes closing in together. That wouldn't change for anyone, not for Class B, Class C, or even Class D if they rose to Class A."
Ichinose suddenly smiled.
On that point, the blame really lay with Kamio Tatsuya, he was the one who had started it.
He was the first to band the lower classes together and gang up on Class A, and as a result this year's first-years had reached an unspoken consensus: at every special exam, the lower classes team up against the class on top.
The island exam and the forest camp were prime examples.
And to keep Class C from facing that same predicament after it rose to Class A, Kamio Tatsuya had simply taken Class D into his own hands.
It was just that the news hadn't leaked yet.
Though by the time this exam rolled around, the students of the other classes would probably have noticed.
After first period, Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and sent Ayanokouji a text.
[Class B's chess event is on you. Remember to put forward a student who actually knows how to play.]
Class B's event: Chess
Required participants: one. Thinking time: one hour (loss if it runs out).
Rules: standard chess rules apply, except that no additional thinking time is granted after the forty-first move.
Commander privileges: may draw on the thinking time at any point to issue instructions during the game.
The rule clearly favored Sakayanagi, her health could not hold up to long hours at the board, hence the clause that no extra thinking time would be added after the forty-first move.
But because she wanted a true contest against Ayanokouji, she had left the commander privileges unrestricted.
So she really was serious about this.
Well, he hoped she would get her wish and face Ayanokouji across the board, and that, when Masumi drew chess, neither Class B nor Class D had been knocked out yet.
When Ayanokouji received Kamio Tatsuya's message, he sighed.
Chess, huh...
However sure he was that no one could beat him, if this match actually happened, he would be facing Sakayanagi through someone else's hands.
In that case, he would need at the very least someone who knew the basic rules of chess and could actually play.
Yet according to what Ayanokouji had learned from Hirata these past few days, Class D did not seem to have a single chess player.
Nothing for it, he would just have to train one from scratch.
With that thought, he turned his gaze to Horikita beside him.
Noticing Ayanokouji's eyes on her, Horikita's expression turned suspicious.
"What are you looking at me for?"
"Horikita, do you know how to play chess?"
"Huh?"
...
After a full week of thorough preparation, the day of the first-years' final special exam finally arrived.
The rules stated that the commander of the losing class would be expelled, but every commander this time held a protection point from the class vote exam.
So the end result would simply be that the three commanders of the losing classes would lose the protection points they had only just obtained.
Even though no one would be expelled this time, there was no room to relax, one slip, and being overtaken by a lower class was a real possibility.
Class A's class points currently stood at 1007, while Class B had 871, a mere 136 apart.
On top of the points earned for each victory, this exam's first place would also receive a bonus of 200 class points from the school.
So as long as Class B won, it could easily climb back to Class A.
As for Class C, currently at 501 points, with a bit of luck, even leaping straight up to Class A in one bound was not out of the question.
More than 500 points adrift, and yet a comeback was still possible.
If the third-years' final exam worked the same way...
Then Horikita Manabu truly could not afford to relax yet.
Before the exam began, just before leaving the classroom, Kamio Tatsuya looked back at the students of Class C one more time.
"We've already decided who enters which event, but the situation can change in an instant. Even if the order ends up different from what we agreed, I need you all to stay calm and handle it."
"Yeah, yeah, get going already. With me here, nothing's falling apart. You just make sure you don't fall apart instead."
Hearing Ryuen's slightly impatient reply, Kamio Tatsuya felt, oddly enough, very reassured.
"Heh. Who do you take me for?"
Kamio Tatsuya smiled, left Class C, and headed for the multipurpose classroom in the special teaching building.
On the way, he texted Horikita to confirm the day's exam strategy.
"Good morning, Kamio."
"Morning, Tatsuya."
By the time he arrived, Ichinose and Kamuro were already there.
"What are you two talking about?"
"The exam, what else? Honestly, I get the feeling Class A is in for a rough ride this time." A bitter smile crossed Ichinose's face.
"Heh. That's simply the fate of every Class A. Once Class C climbs up there, feel free to gang up on us in return."
His words quieted the room for a moment.
"You seem quite confident about this exam, Tatsuya? Planning to jump straight from Class C to Class A?" Far from taking offense at Kamio Tatsuya's arrogance, Kamuro studied him with interest.
"Where there's a will, there's a way." The smile never left Kamio Tatsuya's face. "Oh, right, is Ayanokouji not here yet? Or did he already go inside?"
"Haven't seen him. And we can't go in yet, the teacher said we're all to head in together once everyone's here." Kamuro answered his question.
"Don't tell me he's got diarrhea?"
Kamio Tatsuya thought, with pure malice.
"Badmouthing people behind their backs isn't a good habit."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ayanokouji's utterly emotionless voice rose from behind him.
"I was just showing concern for you, Ayanokouji." Kamio Tatsuya was not embarrassed in the slightest. "Anyway, since everyone's here, we should head in, shouldn't we?"
With all four present, the teacher inside the room had of course noticed the commotion as well.
"Since everyone's here, go on in."
Late March in Tokyo still carried a chill, but the air conditioning in the multipurpose classroom had clearly been running for quite a while, a wave of warm air met them the moment they stepped inside.
The room looked much as it had last time: a large, cross-shaped desk at its center.
Chairs were placed in the recessed positions around it, partitions divided the desk into sections, and the letters A, B, C, and D were written on the partitions.
And around the room, the four first-year homeroom teachers had taken their places behind the chairs.
"Everyone, please find the seat matching your class."
Kamio Tatsuya glanced left and right, there was no seat marked C in sight.
Well, it had to be across from him, then.
Once all four commanders were seated, Mr. Mashima, standing behind Kamio Tatsuya, spoke again.
"The exam will begin in five minutes. Please use the time to ready yourselves."
The multipurpose classroom fell quiet. While settling his own mind, Kamio Tatsuya observed his surroundings.
Standing behind him was Mashima Tomonari, Class B's homeroom teacher; behind Ichinose across from him stood Chabashira Sae of Class D; behind Kamuro was Okabe; and behind Ayanokouji was Hoshinomiya Chie of Class A.
The chairs were just the right height, high enough to make out the faces of the students seated nearby, and no hindrance to sneaking a glance at Ayanokouji.
"Teacher, may we talk freely?"
"Go ahead."
Yet even after receiving permission, Kamio Tatsuya did not speak again.
If Sakayanagi were the one sitting there, he would certainly have tossed a jab or two her way, but with Kamuro here, he let it go.
They all knew each other far too well; trash talk would have been pointless.
The five minutes passed quickly, and the first-years' final exam officially began.
"All right, we are about to begin. Please prepare yourselves. First, turn on the monitor in front of you and confirm that your computer is working properly."
At the teacher's instruction, Kamio Tatsuya switched on his monitor. After a few seconds, the image gradually came into focus.
On the screen before him were the facial photos of every member of Class C, all thirty-nine of his classmates, everyone but Kamio Tatsuya himself.
All that remained was to assign these members to the upcoming events as needed and send them off to compete.
Then, on the right side of the screen, the five events each class had submitted appeared, every class's list rendered in its own color.
Below the events was a draw button; above them, the facial photos of the four commanders.
"I am Mashima, the proctor of this special exam. You are all well familiar with the commander rules by now; if anything is unclear, ask the teacher beside you at once. Now, beginning with Class A, we will proceed with the event draw."
With that, Mashima glanced toward Chabashira, standing behind Class A's seat.
"Ichinose, please begin the event draw."
Chabashira Sae's calm voice rang out, a reminder aimed at Class A's commander, Ichinose.
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