Chapter 263 89: Isn't this just an open-book exam for me? Hand out the questions, Teacher!

The bus continued to travel along the mountain road for about another twenty minutes. The scenery outside the windows had completely transformed into deep green forests, and one or two streams could occasionally be seen by the roadside. The sound of water drifted in through the windows, faint and distant.

Hoshinomiya Chie stood up from the front row, holding a stack of printed documents. She clapped her hands, drawing the attention of everyone in the carriage.

"Alright, alright, listen up everyone—before we arrive at the forest camp, I'm going to hand out the specific curriculum materials. Yes, you still have to attend classes."

A chorus of groans erupted in the carriage.

"Eh—we still have to have classes?"

"Isn't this supposed to be a joint training camp? A camp is for having fun!"

However, it was just people saying that. Everyone knew this was a special exam.

Hoshinomiya shook her head with a smile and passed the documents from front to back. "Fun? When have you ever seen this school let you just have pure fun?"

When the documents reached Hikigaya's hands, he took one, passed the rest to the person behind him, and then lowered his head to flip to the first page.

The paper was standard A4, but the layout was very neat; it was clearly formal material prepared in advance. The title was written in bold, black type: "Mixed Joint Training Camp (Forest Camp Special Exam)."

Below that was a line of small text explaining: "A duration of 7 days and 8 nights. Male and female students will be assessed completely separately. There will be 6 independent groups for boys and 6 independent groups for girls, with no interference between them."

Hikigaya's gaze continued to move downward.

"Four core assessment items: Zen Meditation (Mental), Written Exam (Academic Ability), Road Relay Race (Physical Fitness), and Thematic Speech (Expression)."

"Scoring basis: The final total ranking of the 6 major groups will be determined by the average score of all four exams for every member of the group."

He flipped to the second page, which listed the breakdown of rules for the four assessment items.

"Zen Meditation (Mental Training)—Scoring based on two points: etiquette upon entry and stability throughout the meditation. Moving around or leaving early mid-session will result in a significant point deduction."

"Written Exam (Academic Ability)—Comprehensive cultural subjects test. Individual scores will be calculated separately and factored directly into the group average."

"Road Relay Race—Minimum requirement: Each group member must complete 1.2km; failure to meet the standard results in a direct zero. Relay hand-off points are only permitted to be set every 1.2km; violations will render the hand-off invalid. Scoring is based on both the completion speed of all members and the completion rate."

"Speech (Autonomous Expression)—Group thematic speech. All members participate in scoring, assessing teamwork and expression ability."

Hikigaya flipped through these pages twice, then closed them and placed them on his lap.

Kanzaki Ryuji, sitting next to him, had also finished reading and turned his head to ask in a low voice: "Hikigaya, what do you think?"

"Four assessment items covering mental, academic, physical, and expression," Hikigaya said. "There are basically no weaknesses to exploit. Relying on a single subject to pull up the score isn't very realistic."

"Yeah, every item requires full member participation, and everyone is scored. And—" Kanzaki tapped his finger on the 'Road Relay Race' entry—"at least 1.2 kilometers per person, with a zero for failing to meet the standard. If there's someone in the major group with very poor physical strength, this item is basically a wash."

"So grouping is very important," Hikigaya said. "You can't just consider strategy; you also have to consider the actual abilities of the members."

Kanzaki nodded and didn't ask further.

At this moment, the buzzing discussion in the carriage was much louder than before. After the documents were distributed, everyone was flipping through those pages, some calculating scores, some analyzing the exam structure, and some already consulting with neighbors about which project needed focused preparation.

Hoshinomiya waited for a while, then clapped her hands to quiet everyone down.

"The requirements for boys and girls are the same; this is also written in the materials. However—" She raised a finger, "After arriving at the forest camp, boys and girls will be completely separated in terms of accommodation and activities. But during lunch, the boys and girls will be together. So, there is one hour of contact time every day."

Her gaze swept across the entire carriage.

"In other words, you have one hour of communication opportunity every day. You can exchange information, communicate strategies, and confirm the progress of your respective major groups. You decide how to use this one hour."

Instantly, some people breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, at least there is still an hour to discuss—"

Or perhaps this was an opportunity specifically arranged for strategic communication after the boys and girls were separated.

Hikigaya leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the forests retreating outside the window. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dancing light spots on the window. His fingers tapped twice on his lap, silently organizing the information just received.

Four assessment items—meditation, written exam, relay, and speech. Boys and girls separated, only one hour of communication per day. Seven-day exam cycle, six-group ranking.

After thinking slightly, he turned his head and looked towards the middle of the carriage.

Ichinose was sitting two rows away, holding that document, whispering something with the girl next to her. Her expression was serious, occasionally nodding, occasionally making notes on the edge of the document. Sunlight shone in from the window beside her, plating her golden-pink hair with a layer of warm light.

Hikigaya watched for a while, then withdrew his gaze.

The bus was still driving forward.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and Hoshinomiya stood up again: "Alright, before we arrive, I have one more thing to say. The exam rules have been given to you. We haven't reached the forest camp yet, so boys and girls can still communicate. Therefore—if you need to make arrangements, now is your last chance."

Her tone was a bit more serious than before.

"After arriving at the forest camp, boys and girls will be separated, and you won't be able to discuss face-to-face like you can now. Although you can have contact during lunch every day, by then the membership composition of each major group will already be fixed, and there will be very little room for temporary adjustments. So—"

She glanced at the students in the carriage.

"Seize this time to confirm your exam approach. If there is anything that needs to be communicated in advance, say it now."

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds, and then the murmurs started up again. Some people turned around to talk to classmates in the back row, some stood up from their seats to walk over, and some took out pens to write and draw on the back of the document.

Hikigaya sat in his seat without moving.

He heard a familiar voice come from behind him—

"Hikigaya-kun."

He turned his head and saw that Ichinose had stood up from her seat two rows away and had walked to his seat at some point. She was holding her own copy of the document and a small notebook, her expression serious.

"Kanzaki-kun, may I sit here for a moment?" Ichinose asked.

Kanzaki glanced at Hikigaya and then stood up: "You guys talk." He moved back a row and sat in an empty seat.

Ichinose sat down in Kanzaki's former spot, turning sideways to face Hikigaya. She opened her notebook; it already had quite a bit written in it, the handwriting neat, carrying her own habitual style of annotation.

"I looked at the rules carefully just now," Ichinose said, her voice neither high nor low, just right for the two of them to hear, "and discovered that compared to the rewards and penalties... the penalty side is much more severe."

Hikigaya nodded.

"Yeah."

Ichinose continued, "The rewards for the top three places—giving private points, giving class evaluation points—none of them are very substantial. The first place gets 10,000 points per person, and the class gets an extra ten points. It sounds like a lot, but when spread across the entire major group—the actual benefit to each person is limited.

And there is a requirement for the number of people in a group; you can stuff in at most 15 people. And if within this limit, one person is from another class and the others are all from the same class, then the first place only gets 14x10=140 evaluation points.

Of course, if a student from their own class in the first-place group serves as the group leader, then the reward is doubled, but it's still only 240 evaluation points, less than 300 points."

"But the penalty is different." Hikigaya took over her sentence. "The second-to-last place results in a deduction of 10,000 points and 20 class points. The last place—the leader is expelled, the class is deducted 300 points, and there is also a forced designated expulsion."

Ichinose nodded, a kind of prudent gravity in her beautiful eyes.

"So I was thinking," she said, "that for this exam, perhaps we could adopt a... relatively safe strategy."

"How so?" Hikigaya looked at her.

"When forming teams, students from all four classes should be included." Ichinose tapped an entry in her notebook with her finger. "Each group contains at least two classes of the same grade level, which means we cannot completely avoid other classes. But if we proactively pull in all four classes—letting every major group contain people from classes A, B, C, and D—then whether it's rewards or penalties, they will be evenly distributed."

Hikigaya looked at her without speaking immediately.

"If you win, all four classes get bonus points. If you fall to last place—" Ichinose's voice dropped a little, "the penalty will also be spread out. The person expelled is the leader, but the leader doesn't necessarily have to be from Class A. The forced designated expulsion can also only target people in the same group. If there are people from each class in the same group, then the other side won't find it easy to take action randomly."

"...You are trying to dilute the penalty intensity by sharing the risk," Hikigaya said.

"Yeah." Ichinose nodded. "Or even more extreme—" She flipped a page in her notebook, "What if we could confirm the list of the last-place major group in advance?"

"How to confirm?"

"For example—let a student from Class D serve as the leader of that group."

Hikigaya's eyebrows moved slightly.

"Class D's evaluation score is negative," Ichinose explained, "so even if they are last place and get deducted 300 points, it won't change their bottom-ranking position for them. And the penalty of expulsion—if we talk through conditions with that Class D student in advance and provide sufficient point compensation, letting him voluntarily shoulder the leader's risk, then we in Class A can completely avoid the worst result."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Hikigaya quietly, waiting for his response.

The voices of the others in the carriage buzzed, like they were separated by a thin layer of water. Yet, the small space between Hikigaya and Ichinose was temporarily quiet.

Hikigaya leaned back in his chair, flipped the document in his hand, and then closed it again.

"...What you're considering is seeking stability."

"Yeah."

"Mixing the four classes to dilute the penalty; locking in Class D to be at the bottom in advance; using points to bribe the leader. All these strategies are aimed at ensuring we in Class A don't suffer the greatest losses."

"Right," Ichinose said. "I feel that for this exam, the risks outweigh the benefits. Rather than taking the risk of being expelled to fight for first place, it's better to first ensure that you won't fall to last place."

"This line of thinking itself is not wrong," Hikigaya said.

Ichinose's expression relaxed slightly.

"But—" Hikigaya continued, "—Katsuragi will also think this way."

Ichinose's expression tightened back up.

"Katsuragi Kouhei is from Class C. You know his style—stable, cautious, dislikes taking risks. Like you, he will lean towards sharing risks and finding fallback plans. If he is also eyeing Class D—or rather, if he also wants to protect his own class by 'pre-locking in the last place'—then the problem arises."

"...What problem?"

"There aren't enough Class D people," Hikigaya said. "Six major groups for boys, six major groups for girls, totaling twelve groups. Class D has a total of only forty people, and when spread across twelve groups, the number of people per group is very limited. If Class A, Class B, and Class C are all fighting for Class D people to be the 'bottom-ranking leader'—do you think the price for Class D people will go up? Furthermore, although Class D's situation is not good, there are also students who don't want to be expelled and face the risk of expulsion."

"So, there aren't that many people to choose from."

Ichinose pursed her lips. Then she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"And," Hikigaya continued, "Class D also has their own plans. Whether it's Hirata Yousuke or Horikita—they cannot unconditionally hand over their classmates as sacrifices. Even if points are paid, it depends on whether they are willing to sell.

And even if these students are willing to be sold, whether they will be bought off by other classes is uncertain. After all, Class D is truly poor, and since they've already accepted expulsion, naturally, they want more money to make it more worthwhile.

So for us, it's still possible to have the rug pulled out from under us."

"..."

Ichinose lowered her head, looking at the lines of text she had written in her notebook, silent for a long while.

"...You're right," she said eventually. "I thought about it too simply."

"It's not simple; it's that you considered the safety aspect but didn't consider the competitive aspect," Hikigaya said. "Your strategy holds up in a situation of complete information symmetry. But if every class is using the same strategy—it becomes a bidding war of who pays higher and who has broader connections. And our points—"

He paused.

"Although there are quite a few, they aren't infinite. And once you give away that many points, this exam becomes meaningless," Hikigaya summarized.

Ichinose took a gentle breath and then closed her notebook.

"Then what does Hikigaya-kun think we should do?"

Hikigaya didn't answer immediately. He turned his head and looked out the window. The forest scenery was still flowing past, and occasionally he could see the corners of house roofs peeking out from the treetops in the distance.

"...Your train of thought is actually an effective foundational framework," he said. "It just needs adjustment."

"Adjustment?"

"The matter of pre-locking in the last place is itself feasible. The key lies in—who will be that 'locked-in bottom-ranker'."

Ichinose looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Although Class D is a negative score, their people are also people. They also don't want to be expelled. If we forcibly push them towards last place—they will fight back," Hikigaya said. "But if we can make them feel that 'voluntarily being at the bottom' is more advantageous for them—then it's different."

"...Make them feel it's advantageous?"

"For example, give them sufficient point compensation. Or provide rewards in other aspects," Hikigaya said. "Specific conditions are hard to say right now. After arriving at the forest camp, we'll see based on the actual team formation."

Ichinose listened quietly to the end. She lowered her head, wrote a few words quickly in her notebook, and then looked up.

"Then—what about Sakayanagi-san?" she asked. "How do you think she will arrange things?"

Hikigaya's gaze moved slightly.

"Sakayanagi." He repeated the name.

He remembered the dream from last night. Then he shook his head.

"...Sakayanagi should be the offensive type," he said.

"Offensive type?"

"She won't be satisfied with 'not falling to last place'. What she wants is 'making other classes fall to last place'," Hikigaya said. "Given her personality and style, it's more likely she will actively set up a layout, push representatives from other classes into [last place], and then use the rules to expel them."

Ichinose's face changed slightly.

"Then if—"

"If we adopt a stability-seeking strategy while she adopts an offensive strategy—"

Hikigaya said, "We might not necessarily win this exam. Because she is pushing forward while we are shrinking back. The final result is likely that she reaps the benefits while we are caught in the middle."

Ichinose gripped the corner of her notebook tightly.

"...Then what should be done?"

Hikigaya looked at her, and it took two seconds before he opened his mouth.

"You need to be stable, but you also need to have preparations for a counterattack," he said. "A safe strategy must be taken, but at the same time, keep an eye on Sakayanagi—or rather, keep an eye on everyone trying to profit from offensive strategies. If they really push someone into the position of 'definitely being expelled', we must ensure that person is not one of our own."

Ichinose was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"...Okay. I understand."

She took a deep breath. The tension faded slightly, replaced by a more grave focus. She flipped to the last page of her notebook, wrote a line of text on it, and then closed it.

"Then after we get to the forest camp, we—"

"I'll make arrangements later. As for the girls' side, you mainly just remember: whoever is in danger, pull them into the same group, and you serve as the leader for that group. Because other classes don't have as much money as we do and can't immediately scrape together 20 million points," Hikigaya said. "So they won't bear to be expelled."

"Yeah." Ichinose nodded.

If her plan was a stability-seeking scheme, then Hikigaya's plan was actually more radical than Sakayanagi's.

It was full of aggression.

And so.

She stood up, hugging her notebook to her chest, and looked at Hikigaya.

"Thank you, Hikigaya-kun."

"..."

Ichinose smiled slightly and turned to walk back to her seat.

Hikigaya leaned back in his chair again, his gaze falling on the back of the seat in front of him, not looking out the window anymore.

He thought of the information he had obtained from the connected dream—in this exam, he eventually won, containing Tsukishiro's plan. But at the same time, the major group Hiyori belonged to ended up in last place.

In other words, in that "future," he didn't manage to save Hiyori.

Was it because he chose a different strategy? Or because the group Hiyori herself belonged to was beyond his control? But regarding this 20 million to waive expulsion, among the first-years, only he could afford the cost.

However, Hiyori had said she was facing an expulsion crisis.

So why?

For Hikigaya, this was an open-book exam, but there were still areas that needed further exploration.

The sunlight outside the window was getting brighter, and the color of the forests was changing from deep green to a brighter emerald. The bus turned a corner, and ahead, a stretch of open flat land could be seen. Several wooden buildings were situated there, their roofs shimmering with a gentle luster in the sunlight.

"We're almost there, right?" someone whispered.

Hikigaya withdrew his thoughts and sat up straight.

His gaze was leveled straight ahead.

-

-

-

Meanwhile, on another bus, the atmosphere in Class B of the first year was completely different.

Sakagami Kazuma stood at the front of the carriage, and like Hoshinomiya, had already distributed the materials to everyone. But he didn't say much in the way of explanation—he just finished handing out the documents, reminded them to "read them yourselves," and then sat back in his seat.

Ryuen Kakeru leaned back against the chair, legs crossed, holding those few pages of paper. After flipping through them once, he threw them to the side.

Ishizaki reached out from behind: "Ryuen, did you finish reading?"

"For these kinds of rules, reading them once is enough," Ryuen said. "It's not anything complicated."

"Then do you have any arrangements?"

"Arrangements?" Ryuen tilted his head. "I have already reached a preliminary consensus with Katsuragi."

"Eh?"

Ryuen picked up the sports drink at his side and took a sip. "You know what kind of personality Katsuragi has—stable, conservative, unwilling to take risks. So he will very much want a 'safe plan.' And I—"

The corners of his mouth curled slightly.

"I can give him that plan."

"But—" Ishizaki scratched his head, "what benefit is there for us in reaching a consensus with him?"

Ryuen glanced at him, his eyes carrying the implication of "you finally asked the key question."

"The benefit is—if Katsuragi is willing to cooperate, I can make a killing from this exam."

"Make a killing?"

"Points," Ryuen said. "Katsuragi will pay for his 'safety.' At the same time, we can also use the points we get to buy off the people from Class D and make them firmly stuck in last place. This way—if everything goes smoothly—the only ones ending up with point deductions will be Class D."

Ishizaki's eyes widened: "Then won't that mean we, Class B, are completely unaffected?"

"If it goes smoothly," Ryuen repeated the term, his tone carrying the hidden meaning that "of course it couldn't possibly go completely smoothly."

Ibuki Mio, sitting in the front row, turned her head back and interjected with a frown: "However, if the last place is Class A? Wouldn't that be even better?"

Ryuen looked at her.

"Class A?"

"Yeah," Ibuki said. "Class A's evaluation score is the highest right now. If we let them fall, wouldn't we in Class B have a chance? And—" her voice lowered, "—if we can get Hikigaya expelled, there will be a lot less trouble in the future."

The carriage was quiet for a moment.

Ryuen put the sports drink on his lap, his gaze falling on Ibuki's face, speaking neither fast nor slow.

"Even if you take Hikigaya down right now, he still has the opportunity to climb back up later."

Ibuki was stunned for a moment.

"That guy—" Ryuen's voice dropped, "—is not the type to be completely finished because of one failure. His layout ability, his point reserves, his cohesiveness within his class—these things won't vanish because of one expulsion crisis. Even if he were really pulled down from this position—"

He paused.

"He would find a way to climb back up. And very quickly. As for getting him expelled, that's basically a pipe dream."

Ibuki opened her mouth, eventually said nothing, and turned back around.

Ishizaki smacked his lips on the side. "Then we—"

"Wait," Ryuen said. "Let's first see the grouping situation. And also—"

He turned his head, his gaze piercing through the carriage, landing on a window seat.

Shiina Hiyori was sitting there. She was holding that document, but her gaze was outside the window, as if looking at the scenery, or as if not looking at anything at all. Her expression was no different from usual, that quiet, almost emotionless calmness. But Ryuen noticed that her movements flipping through the document were slower than usual—as if she were absent-minded.

"Shiina," Ryuen called out.

Hiyori turned her head slowly, looking at him.

"How do you view this exam?"

Hiyori was silent for two seconds.

"...The rules themselves are not complicated," she said, "but in execution, there are many variables."

"Yeah." Ryuen nodded. "Then have you thought about how to deal with it?"

Hiyori didn't answer immediately. She lowered her head, looking at the materials in her hands, and only spoke after a long while.

"...Not yet."

Ryuen stared at her for a few seconds, then moved his gaze away.

But he noted one thing in his heart—Shiina Hiyori would not be like this usually. Although she didn't often talk in class, whenever she was asked a key question, her answers would be very clear and well-organized. And the "not yet" way of answering just now wasn't like her.

But having hired someone, he didn't doubt them; he didn't delve into it, just unscrewed the sports drink again and took another sip.

And the mountain forests outside the window spread out in patches under the sunlight.

Hiyori redirected her gaze outside the window again.

Her fingers gently rubbed the edges of the paper, her fingertips feeling somewhat cold.

Last night's dream—or rather, that clear fragment—still remained in her mind.

She saw Hikigaya. And from the conversation between her future self and him, she already knew that he would eventually win in this exam, containing Tsukishiro's plan.

And then there was herself.

Last place.

The major group she was in ended up at the bottom out of all six groups.

The leader of the group was expelled, and then—that "she" faced an expulsion crisis. And eventually, that "she" wasn't expelled. 20 million points were paid out as the cost to waive the penalty.

Hiyori withdrew her gaze from outside the window, letting it fall back to the materials in her hands.

She didn't take in a single word of the text on the paper.

20 million points.

Her current personal point reserves were far from that figure. If that dream were true—if she were really assigned to the last group in this exam—she would have absolutely no ability to pay that money.

Unless someone paid for her.

And the only person who had the financial resources to pay for her...

A possible option emerged in her mind.

But she didn't continue thinking about it.

She just closed the materials, placed them on her lap, leaned back against the seat again, and closed her eyes.

Clearly knowing the exam results, it seemed like an open-book exam, yet in the end, she was the one in last place, facing the risk of expulsion.

"..." Hiyori.

—What rotten luck.

She said softly in her heart.

-

-

-

At the same time, on the bus for Class C of the first year.

Katsuragi Kouhei sat in a front seat, holding the document, and had already read it from beginning to end three times. His expression never changed much, but classmates nearby could feel that the air pressure around him was lower than usual.

"Katsuragi," a boy sitting behind him leaned over, "how do you feel about this exam—"

"Very difficult," Katsuragi answered briefly.

The boy was stunned for a moment: "Difficult? But the rules look—"

"They look not difficult," Katsuragi interrupted him, "but when you execute them, there are pits everywhere."

He didn't explain much, just flipped the material to the last page, pointing to the note on a certain line above.

"The average score of the group's four-part exam determines the ranking." In other words, if one person drags their feet, the whole group suffers. And when grouping, we cannot completely control which people we will be grouped with. Because this is a joint exam with the upperclassmen.

And all we can do is try our best, but if we intentionally go easy, then we will be the ones who end up unlucky."

The boy lowered his head looking at that line of text, silent for a few seconds.

"Then—what should we do?"

Katsuragi closed the materials and leaned back against the chair.

"Grouping first," he said. "After grouping, see which people we are grouped with, and then formulate a response strategy. Saying more right now is useless."

The boy nodded and didn't ask again.

Katsuragi's gaze fell on the back of the seat in front, his brow slightly furrowed.

He thought of what Ryuen said last night. "Protection fee"—the term was still echoing in his mind. Ryuen proposed charging points to guarantee that Class C students wouldn't be designated for expulsion. That was a very direct threat, but he had to consider this option.

Because Ryuen could control the entire Class B, he could create a situation attacking Class C. But the fact that he didn't do so was for the sake of interests.

Points.

Ryuen needed points.

This made Katsuragi think of another person—Hikigaya Hachiman.

How would that person play his hand this time?

Katsuragi had no answer.

He only knew one thing: if Hikigaya was also laying out a plan in this exam, then he must be very careful not to walk into the other party's chessboard.

Because his own layout wasn't as good as the opponent's.

The bus continued to drive forward. Mountain wind poured in through the gaps in the window, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth.

-

-

-

And on the bus for Class D of the first year, the atmosphere was more gloomy than any other class.

The materials had been handed out, but not many people were truly reading them carefully. Some held the document, flipped through two pages, and tossed it to the side; some didn't even flip through it at all, just using the materials as a pillow under their arms.

"..."

Hirata Yousuke stood in the middle of the carriage, holding his own copy of the document, looking around at the surrounding classmates, and then cleared his throat.

"Everyone—regarding this exam, shouldn't we discuss the grouping strategy first?"

No one responded immediately. After a while, someone said lazily: "Grouping isn't something we can decide, right? Didn't it say we have to form teams with people from other classes?"

"But at least we can think about which classes we should team up with," Hirata said. "For example—if we can try our best to be grouped with people from Class A and Class C, then at least their overall strength is relatively strong, and the probability of us riding on their coattails—"

"Team up with A and C?" someone interrupted his words, their voice carrying clear distrust. "Wouldn't that just make us a burden again?"

"But people from Class A and C are indeed relatively strong—"

"Strong is strong, but we are so weak, will they want us?"

"Uh."

This was indeed a fact.

Class D was a bunch of waste, and there was internal strife, so it was indeed a bit difficult.

A chorus of low echoes soon sounded in the carriage. Hirata's expression was somewhat helpless, but he still insisted: "Then—at least within our own class, can we confirm first who is willing to be the leader?"

After this sentence was spoken, the carriage was quiet for several seconds.

Then someone laughed, the laughter carrying a kind of self-deprecating bitterness.

"Leader? Who's going to be the leader? If you're the leader, win and get double the reward, lose and get directly expelled. Does anyone in Class D want to take that risk?"

"Especially since our evaluation score is now at -470 points, so double the reward, the number still won't be positive."

No one could argue with this point.

Even if they won big in this exam, it would be a drop in the bucket.

Especially since they didn't have the confidence to win big. Rather, they were worried that other classes wouldn't take them along to play.

"...I'm just saying to confirm the willingness first—"

"Hirata-kun." Another voice rang out. It was a girl sitting by the window, her tone more direct than the others. "Do you think there's anyone in our class—who is willing to proactively go and be that leader?"

Hirata opened his mouth and eventually didn't speak.

After all, the reward was doubled but not very effective, but the punishment was great, even involving expulsion.

The carriage sank into a gloomy silence again.

After a long while, a boy in the back row suddenly spoke: "Speaking of which, does this camp cover three meals a day?"

The carriage was quiet for a moment, and then someone laughed. After laughing, they sank into silence again. That question sounded like a joke, but everyone present knew it wasn't. Because in the last special exam, in order to swap test papers with Ryuen, Class D owed a huge debt of points. For the next three months, they had to tighten their belts to live. Whether the three meals were free—for Class D right now, it was indeed a realistic question.

There were still disgusting free meals in school, but if the forest camp charged money, they definitely wouldn't be able to hold out.

Hirata sighed and stopped talking.

He sat back in his seat, lowered his head to look at the materials in his hand, his brows tightly locked.

Yukimura Teruhiko suddenly leaned over and lowered his voice to ask. "Hirata, do you really intend—to pull Ayanokouji into the group?"

As someone who once supported Ayanokouji but discovered Ayanokouji's true nature, Yukimura was still very vigilant.

Hirata was silent for a while.

"...If there is no one else willing to team up with him, I will consider grouping with him," he said. "Watching him is better than letting him run around randomly."

The boy shook his head. "But everyone is unwilling to group with him. The thing about the VIP exam last time—the sports festival incident, and then the current swapping group exam."

"I know," Hirata said.

"You know and you still—" the boy was somewhat surprised.

"So I only said 'consider'," Hirata interrupted him. "I haven't decided yet."

The boy didn't advise him further, just sighed and turned back.

Hirata's gaze swept across the carriage and finally landed on a window seat.

Horikita Suzune was sitting there. She was holding that document, but her gaze didn't fall on the paper—she was looking out the window, as if thinking about something else.

Hirata hesitated for a moment but still stood up and walked over.

"Horikita-san."

Horikita turned her head and looked at him.

"Regarding this exam, do you have any strategy to deal with it?" Hirata asked.

Horikita looked at him and was silent for two seconds.

"...None."

Hirata was stunned. "None?"

"None," Horikita repeated, her tone very flat. "For this exam, whether it's rewards or penalties, comprehensively speaking, I see no hope."

Her gaze redirected outside the window again.

"Class D's evaluation score is negative. Even if we lucked into first place and added class points—it would still be negative. There is still a long distance to ascend to Class C. And if we fall to last place—"

She paused.

"The negative score becomes an even more negative score, and someone gets expelled. That's all."

Hirata stood there, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"...Then what you mean is—"

"What I mean is," Horikita said, "the best strategy right now is to minimize losses as much as possible. Don't harbor hopes of winning; just don't lose too miserably."

After she finished this sentence, she didn't speak again.

Hirata stood in place for a while and then silently returned to his seat.

The mountains outside the window were getting closer and closer, and the bus's bumping became more frequent.

Almost there.

-

-

-

And at this time.

On the bus for Class A of the second year, Nagumo Miyabi sat by the window, holding a document, but he wasn't looking at it. His gaze fell on the forests flying past outside the window, the corners of his mouth hanging with a trace of calm satisfaction—that satisfaction wasn't aimed at any specific thing, but rather more like a mask that he was accustomed to wearing.

"Nagumo." Kinoshita, sitting next to him, leaned over, "Have you looked at the materials?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think?"

"Interesting," Nagumo said, his tone so light it didn't sound like they were discussing an exam that could potentially get him expelled. "There's more room to maneuver than I imagined."

Kinoshita was stunned. "Room to maneuver?"

"Look—" Nagumo flipped the material to a certain page and tapped his finger on a line of text above. "The last place of the major group, the leader is expelled, and then a student from the same group is designated for forced expulsion. It looks like a penalty, but looking at it from another angle—isn't this just giving an opportunity to 'let someone be expelled with justification'?"

Kinoshita's face changed slightly: "However—if the one falling to last place is us—"

"So we can't let ourselves fall to last place," Nagumo said. "Just ensure someone else is in last place."

He closed the materials, leaned back against the chair, and rested his hands behind his head.

"I have already figured out how to do it."

"...How to do it?"

Nagumo turned his head and glanced at Kinoshita.

"The situation of the second year right now—" He raised his finger, "Class A 1655 points, Class B 1011 points, Class C 740 points, Class D -290 points. Class D's score is the lowest, so—if the last place falls on Class D, the impact on the ranking for the whole grade is the smallest."

Kinoshita squinted to think for a while: "You mean—let Class D people be the 'bottom-ranker'?"

"Of course," Nagumo said. "And not just let them be the bottom-ranker—but also make them designate a student from Class B when 'designating for expulsion'."

Kinoshita was stunned. "Class B? Designate Kiriyama?"

"Heh heh." Nagumo's voice lowered, and the satisfaction also faded slightly. "Although he won't succeed, he mostly hopes to target me in this exam. So since he chose to do this, then screw him!"

Kinoshita was silent.

"So this exam," Nagumo leaned back against the chair again, "I want to ensure two things: First, Class A and Class C do not fall to last place, because last place is -300 evaluation points, which is unfavorable for us who need points. Second, someone from Class B must be expelled."

Saying this, he touched the item in his pocket—a point card. The touch was very thin, but the number inside was enough to make one's heart beat fast.

"And—" he said, "someone from Class B of the third year—"

"Class B of the third year?"

"Already contacted me.

They also want to fight for it," Nagumo said. "Their goal is to ascend to Class A at graduation. So for this exam, they need my help. And as an exchange—they can also help me."

His gaze fell on the mountain ridge line in the distance outside the window, and that trace of calm satisfaction returned to the corners of his mouth.

"President Horikita," he said softly, "are you ready?"

The wind outside the window poured in, blowing the hair in front of his forehead, but he didn't go to tidy it.

-

-

-

And at this time in Class A of the third year, the atmosphere was completely different.

In the back row of the bus, Horikita Manabu sat quietly. He also held a document, but that document was as flat as if it had never been opened. He just placed it on his lap, his gaze falling on a certain point ahead, his expression calm, not like he was participating in an exam that might determine the direction of his graduation.

He sneezed just now.

Tachibana Akane, sitting next to him, immediately turned her head. "Horikita-kun? Are you okay? Did you catch a cold?"

"I'm fine."

Horikita Manabu answered, his voice very flat, "It was just a sneeze."

"But the temperature in the mountains is much lower than in the city, and you're not wearing enough—"

"I said I'm fine."

Tachibana Akane opened her mouth and swallowed the words that followed. But she dug a thin coat out from under the seat and silently placed it next to Horikita Manabu's lap. Horikita Manabu glanced at the coat, didn't say anything, but also didn't push it away.

Others in the carriage were sitting in twos and threes, some chatting, some resting with their eyes closed, some reading materials. But if you listened carefully, you would find—almost no one was discussing the content of the exam.

"How do you think things will be arranged this time?"

"Don't know, wait for Horikita-kun to say."

"Anyway, he definitely won't let us suffer a loss."

"Also true."

Conversations like this occasionally appeared between different seats, but they all ended quickly. People in Class A of the third year seemed to have become accustomed to it—discussion was meaningless, because the final decision-making power was in Horikita Manabu's hands. What they needed to do was not "propose a plan," but "execute the plan."

This trust wasn't formed in a day or two. For three whole years, every one of Horikita Manabu's arrangements had never disappointed them. So up to now, they had even given up the thought of "should we discuss it."

Just believe in him.

Don't add to his burden.

This was the style of Class A in the third year.

Horikita Manabu picked up the material on his lap and opened the first page. He read a few lines, then closed it, and put it back on his lap.

"Horikita-kun," Tachibana Akane said softly, "do you think this exam—"

"There will be people who want to target me," Horikita Manabu said. "Especially Class B of the third year, even if they can't get me expelled, they will still hope to make our class suffer losses. After all, this is their last chance."

"Then—"

Tachibana Akane's face went white for a moment, "—"

"But that is on the premise that they can make me fall to last place," Horikita Manabu continued, "and as long as my major group doesn't fall to last place—their plan will not succeed. And I ensure my major group will not be last place."

"So for the group I'm participating in, I will serve as the leader.

As for other groups, students from our class absolutely cannot become the leader."

Tachibana Akane nodded.

"...Then we—" Tachibana Akane continued to ask.

"Just play as normal," Horikita Manabu said. "For the four assessment items, we have no weaknesses. As long as we don't make mistakes, we won't fall to last."

After he finished this sentence, he closed his eyes.

Tachibana Akane looked at his quiet side profile and didn't ask again.

She redirected her gaze outside the window.

At the end of the mountain road, the building outlines of the forest school could already be seen. Several wooden buildings had roofs shimmering with a gentle luster under the sunlight, surrounded by layered trees and an open square. The bus was slowing down, the sound of the engine becoming lower and lower.

From the distance, the bus horn sounds of other classes came, like a kind of echo across the grade levels.

This exam was about to begin.

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