Intro
The middle of June was gradually approaching.
There were no new special exams after the one in April, and so we were able to get on with our normal school lives for a while. And the White Room student who was targeting me hadn't made any moves yet.
Up to now, the only thing that had affected me was the time when Amasawa came to my room, and the major crisis concerning whether or not I would get expelled hadn't happened at all.
However, that accident seemed to have left too deep an impression on us, so much so that we hadn't yet found the right timing to kiss again. No matter how good an atmosphere we created, there was always like an invisible wall between us. Although I would like to break this wall down as soon as possible to make progress on our relationship, there was really no need to rush. Over time, Kei would be able to slowly remove that wall herself, moving onto the next stage naturally. That would help her growth.
As a high school student, I was living a substantial school life. At the same time, the season was changing into summer day by day.
The temperature outside began to rise slowly, just like every year.
On a sunny day, the temperature could reach around 30 degrees, and like every year, the temperature started to rise, bit by bit, announcing that summer heat would take over the spring breeze.
Living an ordinary school life for a long time, I've often heard this topic brought up.
What was one's favorite season? But it was an unexpectedly deep and
interesting topic.
Even people who were born and raised in the same place had different favorite seasons.
After experiencing the change of the four seasons at this school, I was once again looking forward to the hot season. If I thought about it, my favorite season is probably summer.
Maybe that's why the blue sky felt so beautiful and dazzling in this season. "Good morning, Ayanokouji-senpai."
As I was walking while looking up at the sky, I was greeted by someone in front of me.
Following the voice, it seemed to be Nanase Tsubasa, a student of Class 1-D.
She seemed to be on her way to school by herself, as the people walking around her didn't seem to be her friends.
"Oh it's you. Good morning."
Since she was walking in front of me, did she just happen to turn around and see me, or did she deliberately wait here because she had something to talk to me?
"Is there something in the sky?"
I didn't notice Nanase's presence because I focused my attention on the blue sky. But since she noticed that fact, she probably was looking at me for a while.
"Nothing, just looking out at the blue sky." "Looking at the blue sky, huh?"
Nanase, who walked by my side, followed my example, and also looked up at the blue sky.
Today's sky was cloudless, just a vast blue sea. "What a beautiful day."
"Yeah. By the way, I haven't seen you for a long time."
Although we've passed by each other once, it's been a long time since I've talked to her like this.
"Yes, we haven't met for about a month and a half."
Nanase and Housen jointly formulated a plan to get me expelled. Like Amasawa, if it were a normal person, feeling that it was hard to approach me would not be surprising at all.
"I've always felt sorry for what I did to you, Ayanokouji-senpai." Looking at the sky, Nanase said.
It seemed like the way she thought was deeper than I had originally thought. "Senpai, do you hate me?"
"I don't have any reason to hate you. It was for the special exam, right? There's no way out of it. Besides, I saw how you were trying to protect me, Nanase."
Nanase, even though she joined forces with Housen, rushed out and stopped Housen at a critical moment, despite the danger.
I still remember firmly the fact that she had confronted Housen who was hostile towards me.
"Is that special exam over? I didn't hear you mentioning anything about a deadline."
"No, the exam is still going on. The deadline is the start of the second semester."
In other words, the special exam would still continue on for a little bit? But then, the silence of Nanase and Housen in the past month and a half was a bit strange.
"Are you wondering why I haven't visited you since then?"
"It would be a lie if I said I wasn't wondering about that. I'm still wondering if you're up to something behind my back."
"Because of what happened last time, I'm convinced that even with a plan, it might not work out that easily. Also, after you knew our purpose, it would be very hard to pressure you in your everyday life."
"Then are you waiting for the other years to have their special exams? But what about the rest of you students?"
"I don't know how, but I think they already know that Housen-kun has already made a move."
"And since even someone like Housen failed, people judged that it wouldn't work out without good preparation? Then it's worthwhile for me to be so badly injured."
"I don't know if that's worth the cost of your left hand, senpai."
Among the 1st years, Housen Kazuomi, for better or worse, was one of those students who attracted all the attention.
It was perhaps a fortunate thing that Housen was the first to act against me. The question was, however, who exactly was behind this special exam.
Although it would be easy to just ask Nanase here…
However, the few times I looked at her, she looked away, so I had no choice but to give up asking her and looked forward again. Even if I asked her the question now, Nanase couldn't answer it. Within the remaining three classes, lurked unidentified insiders. It was also impossible for her to betray them to maintain fairness. In the end, Nanase just admitted the existence of the special exam to prevent her own Class D from being disadvantaged.
"Thank you for understanding me."
Since I've maintained my silence, Nanase said that, as though she understood what I was thinking.
Since we were going to school together anyway, I decided to talk about completely unrelated topics.
"You seem to be already completely used to life at this school."
From the way she was acting and speaking, she had shed the naivety of when she first arrived, and was fitting in well with the atmosphere of the school.
"Yes. I think the students in my grade, including myself, have become able to deal with all sorts of special situations. Although I don't know how much the upperclassmen know, us 1st years had taken our 2nd special exam at the end of May."
Just like how we 2nd years had our own battle, the 1st years had their own battles as well.
"Although I haven't heard from anyone directly, I've noticed rumors that there was already someone who was expelled."
The 2nd years have also heard that there was one student who got expelled during that special exam.
"Ah, so you do know about it? One boy dropped out of Class C in the first year."
After all, that student disappeared from the OAA list. But the one who dropped out was a student with an A in Academic Ability, so I guess he got a special penalty.
"There's always going to be rumors about such a big event."
"At this school, yesterday's friends who you were laughing with could be expelled without mercy today. That's why I've come to realize that every day
of this school life must be lived without regrets."
Although right now was a matter of just watching and letting the others fight among themselves, the time will come for Class 1-D to face the same situation. It was really important to have a sense of crisis like Nanase does.
Even so, in terms of the class points of the other years, I had no way of knowing.
That's why I didn't know which class won and which class lost in the exam. "How did your Class D place in the results of the exam?"
"The previous time, we came in last, and this time, unfortunately, we only made third. But this time, Class A and B battled fiercely, so the point difference created between the classes is very small."
It seemed like even having Class A and B as opponents for her class, they were able to stick closely to them.
On the other hand, the main reason why Class C came in last was probably because they had someone expelled.
"Is Housen more well-behaved recently? Or…?"
"It'd be a lie if I said he hadn't done anything. But it's true that he has nothing to do with this time's expulsion. You're the only one in his eyes now, Ayanokouji-senpai."
Nanase, who had been looking at the sky, finally looked towards me for the first time, with a bitter smile.
"Although it's a far-fetched theory based on only the result, I think it's thanks to you that he has become a bit more well-behaved. I guess you could say that he's taking some of the energy focused on the first year students and placing it on the upperclassmen. Recently, he keeps saying things like, "Let me fight the 2nd years". That's just great."
This was indeed a good thing for a first year. But now that she said that, the
fact that Housen would meet my eye when I passed his huge body was really just a sign of provocation.
"There should be a chance to fight with you first years sooner or later." Although we've only had one chance to work with them up till now.
But as long as Nagumo continues to pursue his policies, we would definitely compete with each other sooner or later.
"I hope I can spend my school life here without any regrets. "That'll be good."
As Nanase said, the friends you were laughing with yesterday might not be with you today.
That was the kind of thing that could happen in this school.
That's why we can't take every day we live here for granted, but rather, enrich it by ourselves.
Because each day that passed was a fixed past that could never come back.
"You must not leave any regrets in your school life as well, Ayanokouji- senpai"
Her words seemed to suggest that there is not much time left of my school life.
Her eyes contained a strong determination.
"Of course, I'll do my best to leave no regrets."
After hearing my reply, Nanase nodded with force, as if she was satisfied. "Then I'll take my leave."
Having almost reached the school building, Nanase bowed her head and left.
Part 1
Considering that the 1st years had taken their 2nd special exam at the end of May, as 2nd years, it wouldn't have been surprising for our special exam to be announced at any time. It was about time for us to be ready for that.
As if to test that readiness, the homeroom began differently than usual. "It seems like everyone is here, that's good."
After taking attendance, Chabashira worked the tablet on her hand to show the images on the monitor.
It didn't take long for her to get ready. She switched to a white screen and then turned back to us.
"I've been with you guys for a while now, so I'm sure you must've guessed what this is."
A new special exam is about to begin.
Even though everyone had that sentence in their throat, they still waited for Chabashira's next words.
Apart from some students, most students had their eyes on Chabashira, and after a pause, Chabashira laughed lightly.
"It's true that we'll be discussing the topic of the special exam after this, but to maintain the suspense for a bit longer, I'll pick it up later. First, let's talk about summer vacation."
After saying that, Chabashira looked at her tablet, and then an image appeared on the monitor.
The first thing shown was a picture of a luxury cruise ship. Our Class D had memories of a similar ship.
"Now I'll explain to you what'll happen in the summer vacation before it actually starts."
For a moment, the students looked at each other, as if they were trying to express their inner joy with sweet words.
However, the combination of a boat and a vacation also brought up a different memory deep inside everyone.
This school wouldn't just feed us sweet things. As we thought back on this, the monitor switched from pictures from the exterior of the ship to the interior. The schedule was also shown.
"From August 4 to August 11, you can enjoy to your heart's content your summer vacation on this luxury cruise for a total of eight days and seven nights. You can watch plays or pamper your taste buds. And there will not be anything like a special exam on the cruise."
In other words, we were being promised a real, genuine one-week vacation. The strongly sceptical students eased up a bit.
However, as soon as those images were cleared, that ease disappeared. It was as if saying that it was a temptation.
"But in order to fully enjoy this cruise trip, you must successfully complete the next special exam."
Just after the students were treated to a fantasy for a little while, they were quickly dragged back to reality.
This approach of lifting us up and then bringing us down would usually be very frustrating to us students.
However, the students instantly changed their mindsets to one of alertness to the forthcoming battle.
"Looks like you're indeed learning."
A smile of admiration appeared on Chabashira's face.
It wasn't as if she had brought up the vacation first and foremost just to be mean.
Even though we were still in Class D, she wanted us to prove that we are different from the Class D of a year ago.
Through trial after trial in succession, we had learned how to brace ourselves. "When would the special exam begin?"
Horikita, who was sitting in the front row's centre seat, asked a question.
"Usually, the course of events would be such that the test would start the same day or the next day, but unfortunately, this test is still a ways away. The next special exam will be held during summer vacation."
So, the school would use the summer vacation to carry out the special exam after the end of the first semester?
What caught my mind is that it was way too early to explain right now. They were announcing it now even though there was still over a month to go, so what did that mean?
In any case, from the schedule announced so far, like it or not, there was one special exam that would come up in the students' minds. The very moment when everyone was probably thinking the same thing, Chabashira's words transformed our thoughts into reality.
"You will have to participate in the "Uninhabited Island Survival" special exam and compete with each other."
Special exam, survival on an uninhabited island. The inter-class battle that
took place during the summer vacation in the first year was still fresh in our minds. Each class had to compete using a limited amount of class points, and there were rules for the special exam such as guessing who the leader was for the other classes, and occupying strategic points to obtain points.
"We have to do that again this year, huh…"
Keisei, who usually would quietly listen to the instructions of the special exams, murmured as if recalling memories of that.
Then, the boys and girls in Class D had a heated internal dispute and endured a number of hardships.
"You all probably recalled the uninhabited island survival exam from last year, but the exam this year is very different from the previous one. It's probably going to be tougher and more unforgiving than any other special exam before. Of course, in turn, the number of class points and private points you can get has increased dramatically."
In last year's uninhabited island, you were free to choose how you fight. If you wanted to win, you had to economize, but if you gave up on winning, you were permitted to live more freely. Also, you would not face harsh punishments like getting expelled so long as you didn't violate the important rules.
Although it was said that the exam would become tougher and more unforgiving, what would be the changes compared to last year?
There's no need to hurry in thinking of the answer, as Chabashira would probably tell us soon enough.
"First, I'll start by explaining the schedule in detail. There's no need to take notes now because you can download and check them afterwards on your smartphone or tablet."
Chabashira gave these instructions, and put the schedule of the special exam on the monitor.
July 19: Assemble at the sports field, take the bus to the port, and board the ship.
July 20: Special Exam starts; the exam will be explained, and supplies will be given.
August 3: Special Exam ends; rankings will be announced on the ship, and rewards will be paid out accordingly.
*Private points for August will be awarded after the uninhabited island exam. August 4: On the cruise, free to do anything the whole day.
August 11: Arrive at the port, return to school and be dismissed.
The closing ceremony declaring the end of the first semester is on Friday the 16th, and the schedule said we were to head out for the special exam three days later. Furthermore, the duration of the special exam is twice as long as the last one, lasting two weeks.
"Sensei, based on this schedule, won't our summer vacation be very short?"
Nishimura shot out a question like an arrow out of a bow. Summer vacation was normally about 40 days, but even if we count the voyage on the ship as summer vacation, there would only be about 24 days of summer vacation. It's understandable that the students would express their discontent.
"Unfortunately, there will be no making up for that time. The shortening of the summer vacation is final."
The school caught the arrow the students shot head-on.
Of course, getting some voices of disapproval were unavoidable.
Because for most students, a day off is more valuable than a day spent studying in school.
"However, as compensation, there'll be a week's voyage on the luxury cruise ship. Based on how you think about it, this week should be worth more than
the two weeks that you will lose. As I just said, that period of time during the voyage would be free time purely for your enjoyment."
Chabashira seemed like she was trying to encourage us with that.
Last year we also went on board a luxury cruise ship, but there was very little time to enjoy it then fully. I recalled the time when the zodiac exam was added after the uninhabited island survival exam.
For us living within the school campus, the outside world was both new, and exciting. Even though we would be on a ship, being able to live a different life than usual could make it the ultimate summer vacation. The students who had been expressing their discontent seemed to have been more or less convinced by that. If you couldn't accept it, you couldn't move forward.
And this year, unlike last year, because the students were to some extent loaded with private points, they wouldn't have to face any inconvenience on the ship. That was also an important reason why it was less stressful for the students.
"Okay, now back to the topic at hand. Although the uninhabited island survival exam was also held last year, the biggest difference between them can be said to be "scale". The duration of the exam is two weeks, and the area of the uninhabited island used for this exam will be larger than before."
An uninhabited island floating on the sea filmed from above by a drone was shown.
"Also, not just students from the same year, but all the students from all the school years will be competing against each other."
In other words, this scale of this exam would be far bigger than the last one in many ways.
"The number of people you'll have to fight will also be higher than ever before."
What an unexpected unfolding; All the years would be involved in this
survival exam.
And the fighting wouldn't be just against students in the same year. That was the particularly surprising part.
"Wouldn't that… be extremely disadvantageous to the first-year students, and advantageous for the third years?"
Hirata, who hates inequality, raised his doubts. If the test would involve participating with the other school years, then everyone should be equal. But that wasn't the case this time. Thus, based on the difference in age, physical ability and experience, a considerable gap would arise.
"I know what you're saying, but I'm going to state in advance that no exam can be 100% fair. Even just taking you 2nd years as an example, there's almost a year's difference between the students who were born late and early in the same year, but you're still fighting on the same stage, right?"
But in other words, although there was a year's difference in terms of school year, if we look at age, there could even be a disadvantage of nearly 2 years that had to be borne by the later-born.
"If a first-year asked for advice, as a senpai, it is the nature of a senior to at least answer it, but how much one says is up to them. It is the same when you ask the third years for advice."
There was no problem with consulting if necessary, but it would be like helping one's enemy.
"Although there are more or less some gaps between the school years, everyone's basically fighting under the same stage. Therefore, in order to fill in the gaps between the school years, the younger students will receive higher rewards, and their corresponding penalties will be lighter."
So, the higher your school year is, the less you get paid, and the harsher your punishment? This seems to be drawn from the special exam in April where students had to find partners. In that exam, although it was the same test, the penalty for the 2nd years was expulsion, while the first years were punished
by taking away their private points. There was a huge difference between the two punishments.
"On the basis of this, I'll continue. Now, I'll proceed onto explaining "part" of the new rules for the uninhabited island survival exam."
The word "part" made the students look at each other.
"In other words, not all the rules will be made public today."
Chabashira first instructed us to listen obediently, and then switched the screen on the monitor.
On the screen, the word "group" stood out.
"In order to understand the rules of the uninhabited island survival exam, you must understand the groups."
It seemed like the introduction to this particular exam was much longer than ever before.
This seemed to be hinting at the difficulty of the uninhabited island survival exam that awaited us.
"The next special exam, the uninhabited island survival exam, will have a rule which allows a maximum of 6 people to form a big group to work with each other. Remember this first; if the people you group with are in the same year, you will be allowed to form the group regardless of any class boundaries."
"Which means… the students in the 2nd year, are our allies…?"
Horikita, who used to believe that everyone not from her own class is an enemy, talked to herself, her voice echoing within the classroom.
Chabashira had to have heard Horikita's words, but she continued to speak without replying.
"In the period from today till Friday, July 16 inclusive, approximately four
weeks, you have the right to select up to two second-year students of your choice to form a small group of a maximum of 3 people. The small groups form the basis of the big groups. However, although I said you could form the group with whoever you liked, there are still rules that exist. First, as I already said, you can only group up with students from the same grade. You can't form a group with 1st or 3rd years."
In other words, it's alright to partner up with a Class 2-A or a Class 2-C student.
A maximum of four can be in a small group created by the 1st years, and 3rd years could have up to three people in a group, same as the 2nd years. This is probably one of the handicaps prepared for each school year. This rule was clearly displayed on the screen. A situation in which all classes worked together to form the strongest group for the competition could also occur. If you could freely form an ideal group, the possibility of winning would certainly appear. Or rather, the other years would surely pick out the best candidates to form the groups, so in order to counter that, we have to gather all our power.
"And then, for the ratio of boys to girls in the next exam, when both boys and girls form a mixed group, the proportion of girls to boys must be at least 2 to 3."
This means that the combinations of 2 boys and 1 girl, or 1 boy and 1 girl would not be allowed.
The possible combinations of the small groups were shown on the monitor. [1 boy] [2 boys] [3 boys]
[1 girl] [2 girls] [3 girls]
[1 boy, 2 girls]
There were seven combinations in total. On the contrary, groups of [2 boys, 1 girls] and [1 boy, 1 girl] cannot be formed and will be rejected.
"What happens if you don't form a group… or if you can't form a group?"
"As shown in the list of possible combinations, a group of 1 person can be established. Although the benefits are reduced, no special problems will arise. This is because the next special exam can be done regardless of the size of the group. If anyone, whether male or female, wants to take on the challenge by himself or herself, it's allowed."
Although there would be nothing better than having as many people as possible, a single person can still take the special exam without any issues.
"Although there will also be students who think that it would be easier with only one person, there would be nothing better than having as many people as possible. Apart from the advantages of having more people, special privileges are afforded to groups with more people. Therefore, I would not recommend choosing to fight on your own except as a last resort."
If you could easily handle the exam, forming a one-man group might not be a bad option, but students who couldn't form a group would be forced to take the exam under unfavourable conditions. In this case, for a normal student, forming a group of three would be the lowest requirement to stand on the same starting line as everyone else.
"There's nothing but advantages to forming a group, but there's also a point worthy of attention. That is, once you've established a group, you can't switch to another group whatever the reason may be."
After forming a group, it seems like the group members will have to be together as allies until the end of the special exam.
"We can't change groups, but we could form a group of up to 6 for the special exam, right? But so far, we can only form small groups of up to three people. What's up with that?"
Hirata raised his question to Chabashira.
"Yeah, that's the key point. After the special exam starts, the small groups will be allowed to come together. 2 groups of 3 people or 3 groups of 2
people or even 6 lone wolves could form one big group. However, the conditions for forming a group still exist. In a big group of more than 4 people, the percentage of girls in the group must be at least 50%."
The rules for the proportion of girls in a group will be changed from 2:3 to 1:2. If the restrictions are going to change, sticking to small groups of 1 or 2 people to begin with can be a strategy.
"From this, some students might think that they can just form their groups after the special exam starts, but that won't be an easy thing to do. Although you are allowed to group with anyone freely, it will be extremely difficult to form your ideal big group in the exam. Situations, where one wants to form a big group with the maximum of 6 people but isn't able to, could be very common."
While having a small number of people in a group didn't seem entirely without its benefits, considering the risks of going through the uninhabited island survival exam from the beginning to the end all alone, forming a group of three people beforehand would be safer.
Without considering the dropouts, in the whole year, each class has 40 people. That's 160 students in each year with four classes. Since it's clearly stated that only groups with a maximum of 6 people can be formed, there will be at least 81 groups in the entire school when the exam starts. And since there's no guarantee that every group will be able to have 6 people, the number of big groups competing against each other might reach triple digits.
"Okay, I also know that asking you guys to form groups as you please might still leave you confused. After all, if you don't know the contents of the exam, you won't be able to target the people you need."
Presumably, everyone was thinking that way. Chabashira continued on.
"I cannot tell you the contents of the next exam. However, let me touch upon what kinds of abilities will be needed."
After saying that, Chabashira looked at the students who were wearing stiff expressions.
"In last year's uninhabited island survival exam, there were many students who were worried because they didn't get a chance to show their potential. But this year's exam can be considered to require 'all types of abilities'.
Academic ability, physical ability, mental ability, communication ability. In addition to the abilities I just listed, there's a high likelihood that you'll need to use the abilities in which you're good at."
It's not good enough to be only good at studies or only good at sports.
I guess it means that the more things you are good at, the more of an advantage you have.
At first glance, it was hard to see the connection between an uninhabited island and academics, but there are actually many ways to test it.
For example, if the rules were designed so that if you couldn't answer a question correctly, you couldn't get any food.
It is possible for a group made entirely of people proud of their physical ability to get knocked out immediately.
"Although forming a group with students who you are close with is important, it's very likely that the overall ability of the group will directly relate to the results you'll get on the special exam, so I advise everyone to consider the right talents when forming your groups."
Students with a high overall ability forming a group will simply be more beneficial.
However, as Chabashira said, choosing students who you have a good relationship with is a point that couldn't be overlooked.
We don't know the contents of the exam, and it's possible effective teamwork could make all the difference.
"Although I said the more people you have, the greater the advantage, the biggest reason for that is not that you have six bodies or six brains. Rather, it's because of the rule regarding the dropping out of group members from
the exam. Let's compare the situation where Hirata takes the official exam on by himself till the end, to the situation where the trio of Hirata, Sudo, and Hondou challenges the exam till the end."
After Chabashira finished typing something on the tablet, the image on the screen switched. Displaying Hirata's name in a one-man group and the names in a three-man group including Hirata. The borders of each name were coloured blue.
"Suppose that during the special exam, Hirata is met with some kind of accident and could not continue the exam. Of course, if he was participating alone, his group would be disqualified immediately, and will pay the penalties."
Hirata's name in the one-man group turned red, indicating his disqualification.
"On the other hand, what would happen if Hirata dropped out in the three- man group…?"
Although Hirata's name turned red, the names of the other two group members remained blue.
"While Hirata will be disqualified and sent back to the ship, the other two members can continue the exam without any issues. And if that group persevered until the very end and got first place, Hirata, as one of the group members, would also be considered as ending up in first place."
In other words, even if individuals were eliminated, it was fine as long as the group survived?
Basically, having fewer people in a group would only bring disadvantages.
"No matter how many people drop out in the middle of the exam, the group can continue to function without any issues until the last person drops out. To put it simply, the more people there are in a group, the more chances they have to survive."
So that's the case. It's confirmed that the groups are tremendously important.
No matter how capable a student is, they still could meet with an accident and get injured or fall ill.
In terms of dispersing that risk, forming a 6 man group is a condition essential to victory.
"Now that you know the importance of groups, I'll explain the rewards."
At this point, the impact of the uninhabited island survival exam on the class will be made public for the first time.
#Rewards
Group placed First:
300 Class Points, 1 million Private Points, 1 Protection Point. Group placed Second:
200 Class Points, 500,000 Private Points. Group placed Third:
100 Class Points, 250,000 Private Points.
Groups placed in the top 50% (including groups placed 1st to 3rd): 50,000 Private Points.
Groups placed in the top 70% (including groups placed 1st to 3rd): 10,000 Private Points.
*Class Points rewards for the top three groups will be taken from the class years of the bottom-placed three groups.
Class Points are not related to the number of people, but are divided equally
by the number of classes (rounded.)
From what's shown on the screen, the rewards in both Class and Private Points are quite high. There would be huge changes if the top 3 places are taken by the same class, but there was something weird to take note of.
"This is the list of rewards for this time. Keep in mind that since you can't group with anyone outside of your year this time, it will inevitably turn into a competition between the years. However, both the rewards and penalties will be given out by group per class. In other words, if a group consisting of only Class D students gets first place, the rewards for first place will be given entirely to Class D. On the other hand, if a group consisting of students from all four classes gets first place, the rewards will be divided equally among the four classes. While a group made up of the best students of each class might have a higher chance of winning, it wouldn't change the class point standings in the slightest."
Because the difference in the number of people from each class in the group wouldn't matter, the 300 class points will just be divided equally among the four classes.
This way, even getting first place would not narrow the gap in class points. No, at any rate, at this current stage where we can only form small groups with a maximum of 3 people, one class wouldn't be able to join. This would make an ideal negotiation impossible.
"And— — the colossal total reward of 600 class points for the top three groups, will be evenly collected from the years of the bottom three placed groups. If the first-placed group is a second-year group and the last-placed group is a first-year group, the reward will be taken equally from every first- year class's class points. The second-placed group corresponds to the second- to-last group, and the third-placed group corresponds to the third-to-last group.
In other words, it's likely to become a situation where the years would be robbing each other's class points.
"Next, for comparison, I will explain what will happen in case the top and
bottom groups are from the same year. In that situation, there will be a special arrangement. The classes in the last placed group will have to pay 100 points each to the classes in the top group, while the classes in the 2nd to last-placed group will have to pay 66 points each, and the third to last with 33 points each. If a class wins first place alone, they will receive 300 points, but if that class also has a student alone in a group in last place, 100 points will be deducted, and they'll only get 200 points."
The class points that a mixed group of 4 classes would receive if they win is 75 points per class. Even if your class has a group in 1st place, if a group containing students from your class comes in the last place, your class would still be at a loss.
"In addition, if the levied class points do not reach the reward amount, the school will fill in the remainder. This rule applies to the other year's levies as well."
Even if the levied class points are not enough, the rewards will still be guaranteed.
"Furthermore, if a group with a mix of 4 classes finishes bottom, the number of class points to be taken will be reduced slightly. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd last place will be reduced to 75, 50, and 25 class points respectively, again, an equal burden."
Was that a bonus because it is difficult to work together in this exam?
"There are, of course, penalties for the groups placed at the bottom of the rankings. Only the bottom 3 groups will have their class points taken away, but that isn't all. The students of the bottom 5 groups will be expelled."
The students held their breaths.
5 groups, up to 30 people might be expelled.
"I-If only Class 2-D becomes the target of expulsion…"
"In the worst-case scenario, Class D would be reduced to 9 people. But that
would be extremely rare. In the event that you do face the penalty for the exam, you can pay 6 million private points to be exempt from it. The division of this amount is based on the number of people in the group. For a group of six, a million private points per person would do."
Even if you were penalized, there seems to be still a way to save yourself.
"After the exam starts, you cannot borrow or lend points to each other. As a result, it is necessary to keep enough points to save yourself from the penalty on your own phone before boarding the cruise."
The option to help each other afterwards doesn't exist, so it seems necessary to raise points in advance before the special exam starts.
"Within the group that is penalized, there might be some students who can pay and some students who can't. If there's even one person who doesn't have enough points, what will happen?"
"Don't worry about that; Even if 5 out of the 6 students fall short, the other student who has enough can bail themself out by paying 1 million private points."
From the look of it, so long as you have the right number of people, there is no need to worry about having others drag you down with them.
"Are there any questions?"
The one who raised her hand now was Horikita who was sitting right in front of Chabashira.
"If you form a group with the other classes, the reward will be split equally among the classes. Wouldn't that rule result in only choosing people from your own class to form the groups?"
Horikita thought it would be pointless to work hard to survive and achieve victory just to get the class points split evenly among the classes.
"If you decide that there's no benefit in that, then you can just form groups with students of your own class. That is all."
Chabashira retorted by telling us to figure out by ourselves what to do.
There is no objectively correct solution to this problem. But what is certain is that if one wanted to monopolize the rewards and created groups with only one's classmates, the leftover groups would be forced to engage in difficult battles and some groups could be formed which would be likely to get expelled. On the other hand, increasing the number of classes in a group would decrease the reward itself, but it would also make it easier to form a broader group and control the risk of the penalty. Of course, that might create other risks as well.
Forming groups for survival on the uninhabited island.
Here's a summary of the information Chabashira has given us so far.
Survive for up to two weeks on the uninhabited island.
Because of the variety of abilities needed, groups with higher overall strength have an advantage, but the unity of the team mustn't be ignored.
The top groups will be given special rewards such as class points, private points, protection points. (But class points will be divided equally by the number of classes in the groups.)
Groups must be formed with at least 1 to at most 6 people, and the more people, the more advantageous. (The ranking of the group will depend on the last person in the group that gets eliminated.)
The bottom groups will receive penalties, including getting expelled. Subject to the rules, small groups can be freely formed within one's year (up to 3 people.)
Forming big groups during the exam won't be easy.
That's the gist of it, but that explanation alone still doesn't give a complete picture of the exam.
"I've given you all a tedious explanation so far, but there's more to explain apart from that."
Chabashira took a breath and continued to what needed to be explained.
"Take a look at this."
The monitor display switched screens, displaying 8 items. Basic Cards overview
1. Head Start: At the start of the exam, the points you can use are multiplied by 1.5.
2. Bonus: The owner of this card gets twice as many private points from rewards.
3. Half Off: In the event of a penalty, reduces the number of private points to be paid by half. Only valid for the cardholder.
4. Free Ride: Designate a group at the start of the exam. Receive as a bonus half of the private points won by the designated group. Joining with the designated group nullifies the effect of the card.
5. Insurance: In case the owner of this card is to be eliminated due to ill health, gives that person one grace day to recover. Not valid if the elimination is due to cheating.
Special Cards overview
1. More People: The owner of this card can join a group as the 7th person. This card can be used once the exam starts, and the required ratio of boys to girls will not apply.
2. Nullify: In the event of a penalty, reduces the number of private points to be paid to 0. Only valid for the cardholder.
3. Trial: Receive the right to get 1.5 times as many class points from the rewards of the special exam. However, the group will be penalized if they don't enter the top 30%. The school will provide the additional class points for the rewards.
"What, what are those?"
"These are like items that can affect the uninhabited island survival exam, and everyone will receive one of these. Except for one of them, there is no harm to having one of these. You can more or less understand that by reading the instructions."
It was a lineup of a total of 8 types of cards, ranging from cards that would allow you to gain an advantage in the special exam to cards that are designed to protect you. The latter would be useful to protect yourself, but if you consider it as a safeguard against failure, then the evaluation would be different. The trickiest one is probably the "Trial" card, which contains the only drawback. If used well, it has the potential to pay more than any other reward, but placing in the top 30% wouldn't be easy.
"Each student will receive one of these eight cards at random. The cards will be distributed tomorrow morning, and until the special exam begins, you can transfer or trade the card you get, so long as it is within your school year.
Anyone can look up who holds what card in the OAA. You can either sell them to students who want to buy them, or you could collect multiple cards by buying them. But the effects of the same cards do not stack, so there's absolutely no point in getting two identical cards."
Cards overview and rules
1. Both Basic and Special Cards can be traded within the same year.
2. You couldn't trade within your class, and once a card has changed owners, it cannot be traded further.
3. The effects do not stack when you use the same card. In other words, a student can hold and use up to 7 cards.
However, because some of them can only be used in positive or negative cases, not all of the cards' effects can be used. In the end, you just get effective options to use in either case.
"Also, of the three special cards, they will be randomly distributed, and each school year will get only one of each type. Therefore, it is possible that one
class might coincidentally end up with all three of the special cards. That is all."
Explanations regarding the instructions for the uninhabited island survival exam, and of the rewards and penalties.
And then explanations regarding the distribution of items known as Cards.
At this point, we finally finished listening to the long overview of the uninhabited island survival exam.
"Some of you might not be able to understand the explanations this time fully, but before lunch break, a manual will be automatically sent to everyone's tablet, so you can check from that."
Just as Chabashira finished her explanations, the bell rang, and the first class ended.
"There's plenty of time for you to think slowly about what strategy for grouping to use."
Leaving that advice, Chabashira left the classroom. The students gathered after that.
Under these circumstances, Kouenji, who was sitting to my left across an empty seat, left his seat and walked towards the corridor. Although it looked like his usual egotistical behaviour we had become very familiar with, he was walking quicker than usual.
I felt that Kouenji's behaviour was a bit odd and decided to follow him.
In order not to be noticed, I tried to eliminate the sound of my footsteps and other related scents. That said, since this place wasn't like the uninhabited island, which had lots of cover, there wasn't much I could do.
But normal people usually don't spend their lives cautious of being followed. Suppose an amateur was tailing another amateur, even if they half-assed it, they probably wouldn't get noticed.
Shortly after, I could hear Chabashira and Kouenji from around the corner.
I held my breath at the corner and listened to the conversation between the two.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Kouenji?"
"I just don't think Teacher explained a crucial point."
Chabashira, presumably standing face to face with Kouenji, waited for his question.
"A crucial point?"
"If a person who is taking the special exam alone falls sick on the day, what happens then?"
"And here I was wondering what you'd ask. How boring."
Although I couldn't see her, Chabashira laughed somewhat delightfully. "You withdrew from the exam last year by taking sick leave, right?
Unfortunately, that won't work this year. You will be penalized without any special treatment. In other words, you'll have to pay 6 million private points. From what you have on hand, it's impossible."
"Fufu, that's true. I'm an avaricious and insatiable person, so this is quite troubling."
Even for this time's uninhabited island survival exam, Kouenji seemed to have planned to withdraw as usual.
But there is no way for a solo participant surviving on the uninhabited island to escape.
"So what are you going to do then? Carry out your freedom, and then get expelled?"
"Really, I wonder what I should do? You can leave now, teacher."
Kouenji seemed to be satisfied with Chabashira's answer, so he asked Chabashira to leave. In a bit, the sound of her footsteps disappeared.
Kouenji, too, will probably set out soon, and so staying here would be pointless.
And so I decided to leave that place quietly. But—
"By the way, who's the one who's hiding and spying on me, and from where?"
Kouenji noticed me, who was hiding. I could tell just by the direction of his voice that he had turned around.
"Whether you come out or not is up to you."
He hadn't just said that on a whim. He's as acute as an animal…
Although I could have gone back to the classroom without showing my face, I decided to reveal myself honestly.
"It's the Ayanokouji boy? Do you want anything from me?"
Without even a hint of surprise, he indifferently accepted my presence. More than him predicting it, it was like he just didn't care who it was.
"Horikita told me to keep an eye out on your actions. We don't know how Kouenji will act, she said."
"Hmm."
Kouenji slowly walked towards me, his eyes appraising me.
"You seem to be good at hiding yourself. But I can't see through your truths and lies, Ayanokouji boy. I won't trust the words of someone like that."
"I didn't think you were the type to trust someone."
"Fufufu, that's true. I have no trust in anyone except myself. Rather, it's more like I have no interest in anyone else."
Kouenji, who came to my side, stopped walking for a moment. "That applies to you as well, Ayanokouji boy."
After I got the perfect score in math, Kouenji left the classroom with no expression on his face.
There were no signs of him asking anybody else about the details later either. I couldn't detect a single lie from Kouenji's words.
"What are you going to do in this special exam?" "Yeah… Speaking of that, can I join your group?"
I was wondering how he was going to respond. I see how it is.
As long as Kouenji groups up with someone, he can easily withdraw after the special exam starts.
"Sorry, but I'll have to reject you. I don't have the leisure to accept someone who's guaranteed to quit at the very beginning."
"Fufufu, is that so, there's no helping it then."
"But is that way of thinking really good? Even if you find a group that you can join, you'll end up having to trust others with your fate of getting expelled."
"That's true, if I quit without doing anything." Kouenji once again took a step, walking forward.
"What should I do? I'll carefully think about it until it officially starts."
Leaving behind those words, Kouenji returned to the classroom.
Part 2
"A special exam on an uninhabited island for the second year in a row. Although it's not like I haven't thought about this…"
"I thought it was coming, and it really has."
After returning to the classroom, the routine conversation to prepare for the special exam began.
Everyone, along with Yosuke, gathered around the front row seat of Horikita, sorting out the current situation.
Kouenji also returned to his seat, using his usual mirror to look at himself, revelling in it.
"The particularly important part of this exam is, although there are certain conditions, we can form groups with anyone in the same year at will."
This was a new rule that had never existed in the special exams up to now.
And in the end, the appearance of such a rule was beyond what had been expected.
"But, what about the distribution of class points when you win? Although I understand the reason behind it, there's no benefit in grouping up with other classes. It just feels like we'd be messing around if we do that."
Exactly. Sudo's thoughts were just a matter of course, as he delved into the point. This special exam was not just a competition across the year groups, but also a battle between classes of the same year. Forming groups consisting of members of just your own class was the only way to complete this exam efficiently.
Even so, the school had prepared some interesting rules.
Grouping up with strong students within the school year would make it easier to get into the upper rankings. Low risk, but low reward. On the other hand, grouping up with only members of the same class would present a high risk, high reward opportunity.
The ideal situation would be forming groups of 2 or 3 within the class, and then converging into the big groups later.
However, it was not easy to form big groups after the special exam began. If there was no guarantee of being able to form a big group before freely, then the danger of failing would be great. But despite this, it was also true that this special exam hid previously unimagined destructive power. If one class took all three top spots, they'd receive 600 class points. If Class 2-D achieved this goal, it'd be an express ticket to Class 2-B.
"But if we rely on only our class, there are some talents that can't be offset. And if it's only our class that forms groups within our own class… What if the other classes join forces? The worst-case scenario would be that only Class D falls behind as the gap widens."
It would be ideal to win with only Class D, but at the end of the day, that is just an ideal situation.
If any class chose to challenge the special exam alone, that class would run the risk of getting targeted by all the other three classes working together. If that class lost, there wouldn't be any sort of high reward waiting for them.
"If it's just that we can't win, that's a different story, but if we withdraw too early, we'll run the risk of expulsion. In other words, if we have enough self- confidence… No, if we can't be certain of victory, then we'll have to form groups of 6 with the other classes."
A special exam like this one, in which the other classes were both comrade and enemy, had never existed until now.
When considered this way, wasn't it also an important part of a strategy to
form groups with the students in the other classes right from the start? However, there was no easy guarantee that the pace of the other classes would be in line with each other. Although in terms of results, there's not much advantage in grouping up within your own class, since there could be a large change in class points this exam, you'd want to try to outperform the other classes as much as possible. Not to mention the classes that are at the bottom.
And so, under the premise of having to form groups, which direction to turn the rudder to start with?
"How will Sakayanagi, Ryuuen, and Ichinose act?"
In order to decide on the groupings, Horikita used Yosuke's words as a basis to speak to everyone.
"Class A, who is in the leading position, probably wouldn't be troubled by the mixing together of the classes. It doesn't matter which group wins, as long as the gap of points between their class and the other classes does not become narrower. On the contrary, the next three classes that rank below them, including us, would like to narrow that gap."
"Then how about an alliance between the three classes? If the gap is extended by Class A, let's first establish an alliance from Class B to D. To be able to narrow that gap with Class A wouldn't be bad."
Sudo, who was listening to the conversations, came up with a good idea.
Joining forces with which we have a common enemy, to attack Class A together.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is what you mean. It's not a bad objective to isolate Class A. If it is Ichinose, she probably will accept this proposal."
"But if we propose to isolate Class A, we have to be prepared for Class A's hostility. Considering Sakayanagi's character, I think that, even with our Class D, the bottommost class, she'll still mercilessly use her resources to
deal with us."
In general, Class A's energy would be focused on the 2nd place Class B that is trying to catch up.
But, as Yosuke said, Sakayanagi tended never to let the prey she decided on escape.
"We still need to quietly get closer to the top classes as much as possible."
"Even if the three classes are to fight together, it's better if it's not us who makes that proposal."
Allowing the other proposers to accept Sakayanagi's hostility. Easier said than done.
The most troublesome thing about this special exam is that only negotiating within your class couldn't solve all the problems.
No matter how heated the discussion got here, nothing would get done. If we couldn't grasp what Class B and Class C were actually thinking, if there would be no unified guidelines being implemented, then it'll end up as nothing more than a theoretical plan, useless in practice.
That being said, it wasn't so easy, getting the three classes to talk with each other without any trouble.
Ichinose aside, it's hard to imagine Ryuuen would readily agree to it.
If Sakayanagi became aware of this information, she would naturally make her move as well.
"Seems hard to make a judgement…"
Although there was more than a month to form the groups, there was no way to stay calm as groups formed around us, one by one.
"It would be of great help if another class raises a similar proposal…"
The students of Class D were having a hard time with this. "Just forming a group by itself is quite a headache." Besides forming a group, there was another important thing.
That is the existence of cards with various effects. Tomorrow morning, the school would give all students each a unique card that couldn't be transferred between classmates. And because cards that have been transferred once would be locked in place, they couldn't return to the original owners' hands. In other words, you could only simply trade, or buy, or sell them with students outside of the class.
"Actually, most people will probably start to act tomorrow." "Yeah. Gathering effective cards into a group is also a key point."
The day when the prohibitions of forming a group for the next special exam were lifted.
Of course, there would occur a significant change in the situation of the classes, including Class D.
Part 3
After school, the cell phones of the students who had excellent academic or physical abilities rang at the same time. Horikita approached me as she watched the situation.
"It seems like everyone's quickly making their move. After all, it's natural to want to bring the outstanding students into one's group."
Regardless of the strategies of the class to which you belonged to, the first to make their move wouldn't lose anything.
"Did you not get any messages, Horikita?" "No, I didn't."
"I see. After all, there are only very few people who know your contact."
"You knew it already, and you still had to mention it deliberately. You're a nasty guy. So, did anyone contact you? Ayanokouji-kun, who got a perfect score in math? Your cell phone is surprisingly quiet."
Horikita asked me back, so I decided to look at my phone, which hadn't made a sound yet.
"Unfortunately, my battery's dead. I haven't charged it for two or three days."
"If you don't use your phone frequently, you'll charge it less often."
No, although I would like to deny that it didn't happen, she wasn't wrong. If you didn't use your cell phone much, you might unknowingly forget to charge it.
"Don't you need to pay more attention to our classmates? It'll be really troublesome later if they hastily form groups."
"I've already instructed them on what they should do earlier. I summed it up in an easy to understand way and sent it to everyone. But you didn't seem to notice it, since your battery's dead."
While Horikita said that, she turned her cell phone screen towards me.
-Please don't form a group before Class D reaches an agreement.
-Nevertheless, if you absolutely want to decide on your group as early as possible, please contact Horikita.
It seemed like Horikita had anticipated this situation, and set up some minimum regulations.
"This is not enforced, because this matter ultimately depends on personal judgement."
With whom to group up with or not was indeed a matter of personal choice. You couldn't form a group with people who didn't fit your personality, which would affect your chances of getting expelled. Even if all four classes work together, there was no ideal combination of groups where no one would get expelled.
Due to that, we could only make some suggestions.
I always carried my phone charger with me, so I plugged it in and left my seat.
Because there might be students in the classroom eavesdropping on our conversation.
"Has there been communication from Ichinose? It wouldn't be strange if she proposes a plan for the whole year to help each other."
"There doesn't seem to be contact yet. Neither Class A nor Class B has made any proposals. If all the 2nd years had the thought of wanting to come
together, then there probably should be some communication between them at this stage."
If people grouped up without permission based on their own preferences, cooperation would become more and more difficult. If there were no plans for a peaceful discussion from the beginning, it would end up with all the 2nd years fighting with each other. If Horikita wanted to establish a cooperative relationship between the classes, she would probably have taken action.
Horikita didn't show any particular signs of displeasure from me leaving my seat and instead followed me.
It seemed like she still had something to say.
After walking into the corridor, and confirming that no one was around, she spoke to me again.
"This time's uninhabited island exam… Can you get first place by yourself?"
"Leave me alone. The only thing we know now is that it's an uninhabited island special exam."
"I was wondering if you, who got a perfect score in math, even needed a group."
What kind of reasoning was that? Are her forceful words her way of trying to express what she wanted to say?
"If we come in first place, our Class D will gain points for certain. We can let the 1st and 3rd years fight for the 2nd and 3rd place. Better than letting the other 2nd years get it."
Easier said than done.
"If that is the case, we can form the groups with the core objective of avoiding any dropouts, and forming the groups would be easier ."
If we shifted our direction to forming strong groups to win, then weak groups would inevitably be created.
"Not everyone can afford to pay the private points for relief."
"Yes. For the students who are a little worried, I would like to collect as many private points as possible, but if the student who lends me points receives the penalty of expulsion, there's no helping it."
There's nothing more futile than saving someone else while falling down yourself.
"If you don't want that, then you can only ask students with a points surplus." That would work, but there were a limited number of such students.
"Although a method that would result in no dropouts exists, I don't think anyone would want to do it."
"The plan to withdraw intentionally from the start?"
It seemed like that Horikita had already noticed a loophole in this exam. According to the rules, only the first 5 groups to withdraw would get expelled. In that case, if we intentionally prepared 5 sacrificial groups and let them withdraw, the rest of the students wouldn't have to worry about getting expelled. However, to do this, a total of 30 million private points would need to be prepared, not to mention the fact that the years of the top three groups would take class points from the years of the bottom three groups. Even if the students in the sacrificial groups were from the same year, because the rewards were reduced, we wouldn't be able to recover from our losses. The fact that the top three and the bottom three groups were linked together could be considered as the school's way of trying to prevent improper behaviours.
"It feels like we can only rely on our own strength to survive." "That's true. Can I consult you again?"
Horikita, who had stopped walking, said that. "If it's within the acceptable range."
"That's enough, thank you."
It seemed like Horikita had something to talk about, as she returned to the classroom.
I watched Horikita's back as she left, and decided to head for the elevator.
Part 4
On the way from the corridor to the entrance. "Yo!"
The person who greeted me as I was looking at the black screen before the phone turned on was a student of Class 2-B, Ishizaki Daichi, who had a smile floating on his face. Did he encounter some good news?
"I contacted you through your cell phone, but there was no response, so I came straight to you.
"Sorry about that, my phone happened to run out of battery."
"Forget it, it's fine, just do me a favour and give me some time, alright?" "Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"Wha, that's an interesting joke. Does a guy who can intimidate you really exist in this school?"
Ishizaki responded to my joke with his own. "Are you busy after this?"
"No, I'm just about to go back."
"Really? Then there's no problem. Come."
With a smile that didn't give me any chance to speak, Ishizaki beckoned with his hand and strode forward.
If I watched him go like this, I'd lose track of him in the blink of an eye.
If he were going to make trouble here, it would only attract everyone's attention.
Since I had time, I decided to follow Ishizaki from behind.
But as I turned around the corner, a big wall that shouldn't have been here appeared suddenly before my eyes.
No, it wasn't a wall. It was Ishizaki's classmate, Yamada Albert.
He was wearing sunglasses, and he put his right hand, which had an air of intimidation about it, on my shoulder.
"Hey."
"… Hey."
I wasn't quite sure what was going on, so I just answered him with the same word. What on earth just happened?
The intimidation which I thought was a joke actually had a touch of reality in it.
"Hi, Ayanokouji-kun."
Next to the wall-sized Albert, the figure of Hiyori appeared. "What a rare combination."
"Maybe so."
I thought Ryuuen would be here too, but that didn't seem to be the case. "What are you doing here, let's go."
"Go? Go where?"
"Well…yeah, I haven't thought about that yet."
Ishizaki rubbed his left index finger under his nose, laughing sheepishly. "I have a bad feeling about this, so could you let me go?"
I felt like the developments here wouldn't be any good, so I asked to leave. "You're free, right? I won't let you go back."
"Won't let me go back… what are you doing?"
Albert, who was standing behind me, grabbed me with his immense strength, and wrung me firmly. Then, Hiyori also pulled my arm into her chest.
Together the two of them captured me.
"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun, but you can't run away." "Huh…?"
In the end, this could totally be called intimidation.
…Could this kind of joke stop before it went too far?
Anyway, it looked like these three were going to take me away from here. "We stand out here a lot. We should move, Ishizaki-kun?"
"Yeah. So, where to?"
"Hmm, then… how about Ishizaki-kun's room?" Hiyori suggested casually.
"Huh? My….my room? No, no, that's a bit…! Never, never!"
When Ishizaki heard that his room had been suggested, he refused, flustered. "What's wrong? Are there any inconveniences?"
"That, that's because, there are various reasons. Even if you asked me, you said that so out of the blue…"
"We wouldn't mind if your room is a bit messy, right?" Albert, who was asked for his consent, turned his face.
…Japanese, isn't it good that he understood?
He surely needed to use it in exams and lessons, but I wanted to hear him speak Japanese once.
"Yeah, yeah. Not just a little bit, it's extremely messy! There's nowhere to put your foot! Aiya, what a huge shame!"
"Don't worry. If you need it, I'll help you clean up." "Nononono! Tissues and stuff, I can't let a girl clean them up!" He couldn't help but blurt out those messy things.
"Tissues…? What does that mean?"
Hiyori tilted her head incredulously. What was that all about?
"Anyway my room is a bit…! Yes, that's right, let's go to Albert's room!" Ishizaki changed the topic in a panic.
"Right, isn't Albert's room great? Right? Right?"
Ishizaki suggested, as if he was running away from something. "OK."
So he understood Japanese, after all. Albert showed his agreement with a brief response.
After that, he started moving while carrying me.
"But…Am I going to just be carried away like this?" "It's okay. Yamada-kun is very strong."
No, that wasn't the problem.
It just felt like we've become unusually conspicuous. "No problem. In a way, it's also a kind of dissemination."
After saying that, Hiyori, gently smiling, as usual, walked over like a leader. "I see, as expected of Shiina! Great idea, great idea!"
What did you want to do by taking me away?
With that question in mind, I was taken to the dormitory.