For such a large-scale exam, Kōhei and Houtarou would surely be in charge, so they just needed to bring the materials back.
"..." He noticed his two classmates' behavior.
He let out a soft sigh. Indeed, having only male companions during an exam felt somewhat boring. If Arisu, Suzune, or even Kikyō were here with him, he'd probably be able to think faster.
Nevertheless, Houtarou quickly analyzed and processed the information Tomonari provided.
The exam's complexity — from its notifications to its rules — was designed to make students think carefully, with massive points awaiting at the end.
Once this job was done, they could rest for a while.
After flipping through the rules paper twice, he handed it back to his teacher.
"Are you sure you're done looking? Or have you already memorized it?" Tomonari asked.
"I can wait a bit longer if needed." Houtarou said, gesturing to take back the rules paper.
Tomonari: "..."
Actually, he had something to say.
The uninhabited island exam and the ship exam were annual traditions, serving as opportunities for new students to earn Class Points. Here, classes could either widen their lead or accumulate points.
Previously, Class B under Miyabi had built their point foundation in this month's exam, while Manabu's Class A had established their foundation for widening the score gap.
This time, in the island exam, Class A had achieved excellent results, earning 471 Class Points.
Though not as impressive as Class D's 650 Class Points, this class had still managed to lose 1,000 Points in just one month, despite knowing the school rules.
Almost no teacher thought Class D stood a chance. They couldn't even read Sae's expression — she seemed completely shut down.
The exam had been almost single-handedly turned around by Rokusuke. He had infiltrated the island early, identified all the strategic points, and gained an advantage.
On the morning of the seventh day, all the teachers on the beach witnessed him dragging his sick body to request a change of leader, citing legitimate reasons.
This proved that Class D had produced a formidable student. The teachers were well aware of his background.
As the sole heir to the Kōenji Conglomerate, he excelled in various aspects but was extremely unsociable — his poor interview performance had left a lasting impression on the teachers.
Having someone of his status placed in Class D would likely be embarrassing upon graduation. Rokusuke probably aimed to gather 20 million Points and graduate as part of Class A.
Working with Class D to reach Class A wasn't something an heir to a conglomerate would do — he'd likely just gather the 20 million Points and be done with it.
Moreover, as Class A's homeroom teacher, Tomonari had greater authority. He understood that if Class D ever had a chance to challenge Class A, the school would intervene.
Though cruel, the school operated on tax money, and promoting Class D students would invite severe criticism.
This was probably why Sae was so withdrawn... When exceptional students emerged in her class, she could only watch helplessly as they went their own way.
Tomonari observed Houtarou, deep in thought.
As a teacher who had already taught one class year, he knew there wouldn't be any more exams with such high point values ahead. Class A's position was essentially secure.
He had always felt Houtarou was different.
While Kōhei represented stability and Arisu represented aggression, Houtarou had demonstrated both qualities during the island exam — showing his ability to balance advance and retreat.
So, as a member of Class A, would he choose to widen the Class Point gap in this exam, or focus on gaining Private Points?
And if he chose to gain points, how many would he aim for?
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Houtarou simply wanted to make big money.
He had interfered with Class D's island exam content and received 270 Class Points. This meant Class D students had to pay him 270×40=1.08 million points monthly, drawn from their Class Points.
For this to work, Class D needed to maintain their point balance. With Rokusuke there, protecting his own interests, he would certainly intervene if Class D was at risk of failing, ensuring they kept their points.
Rokusuke was thus a guarantee — he could sustain this for at least 6 months.
These points would serve as repayment if his benefactor senpai ever demanded compensation.
Though being supported felt good, he couldn't confirm their identity. His attempt at a Precognitive Dream about his benefactor senpai had yielded nothing but blankness, leaving their information unclear.
As someone who avoided trouble, he wanted to prepare for a potential split. Even if it seemed excessive, having compensation ready meant they could part ways if his benefactor senpai became problematic.
Now, it was time to focus on making money.
After the 15-minute rule memorization period ended, Houtarou disabled his phone's vibration and issued a command to Class A students.
Memorize the list of participating group members. Understanding the information about Class C students in each group was especially crucial.
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It was 9:20 PM.
The announcements for the last batch of students had concluded. When Houtarou called Teacher Tomonari again, the call connected — indicating the teachers had finished their tasks for the day.
While Houtarou's phone remained silent, Masumi's phone beside him buzzed constantly with incoming reports from their classmates.
Soon enough, they had completed the previously missing list of Class C students.
Houtarou noticed an interesting detail in the groupings: he was assigned to the Rabbit group, while Suzune was in the Dragon group.
He had obtained the Dragon group's member list from Kōhei. Though he hadn't needed to provide information initially, after learning that Class Points were at stake in this exam, he had taken the initiative.
The exam involved 159 students (with Arisu absent), divided into 12 groups named after the zodiac animals.
At 8 AM tomorrow, one privileged student would appear in each group. If other classes correctly guessed the privileged student's class during the buzzer round, that class would lose 50 Class Points per correct guess.
The privileged students would be determined at 8 AM tomorrow morning.
A crucial question emerged: how many privileged students would come from each class? What if all 12 privileged students were from the same class?
Such a class would face serious consequences.
If all 12 privileged students were identified correctly, it would result in an immediate loss of 600 points. Though the odds seemed unlikely, even this remote possibility troubled Kōhei.
Being prudent, Kōhei immediately collaborated with Houtarou to complete the group member lists.
The Dragon group consisted of:
Class A: Kōhei Katsuragi, Ryōko Nishikawa, Shinji Matoba, Koharu Yano
Class B: Sayo Andō, Ryūji Kanzaki, Hitomi Tsube
Class C: Takumi Oda, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Masashi Sonoda, Ryūen Kakeru
Class D: Kikyō Kushida, Yōsuke Hirata, Suzune Horikita
The group's composition of 14 members was particularly intriguing.
It included key figures from each class: Kōhei representing Class A, Ryūji from Class B, Kakeru from Class C, and the influential trio of Suzune, Kikyō, and Yōsuke from Class D.
This arrangement suggested that the Dragon group might have been deliberately assembled to include representatives from all four classes.
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