Yukio had already grasped the rules Sakagami explained; the only thing he didn't understand was the role of the commander. "Sakagami-sensei, how does it work that the commander doesn't participate in events yet can intervene in any event?"
The class all looked at Sakagami. This vague, even self-contradictory phrasing left everyone with the same doubt.
What is this—Schrödinger's cat? Not participating, yet able to intervene—when in doubt, invoke quantum mechanics?
Sakagami pressed his hands down lightly, signaling everyone to settle, then began to explain. "The commander is extremely important. As I said earlier, you decide every event yourselves."
"Even how the commander intervenes is up to you. Take an academic event like a math test as an example: if you choose that, you can also stipulate how the commander may intervene."
"For instance, the commander could answer any one question on your behalf. Or, if the commander's ability is outstanding and worthy of trust, you could even have the commander do the entire paper, while you just copy down the answers the commander dictates."
"Besides intervening, the commander also decides which classmates participate in each event. For some events, the commander's 'intervention' could be to swap in a different participant."
"However, the school also wants you to understand one thing: the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. The commander may seem to have high authority, but the responsibility is even higher."
"If the student serving as commander wins, they receive 1,000,000 private points. If they lose, they are penalized 1,000,000 private points. If they don't have enough on hand, deductions will be taken from next month—and the months after—until the amount is fully paid."
At that, Yukio understood at once. The original penalty for this special exam was probably "the commander is expelled," but after the student council's revision, it became a private-point penalty instead.
Ryuen, after mulling over the rules, thought of something else. "Our class picks ten events, the other class picks ten."
"That's twenty events total. Looks like more than a full day—maybe the school's testing a class's overall endurance. We'll need to get logistics ready."
"No, no," Sakagami quickly denied it. "You don't need to worry about that. When the time comes, the school will randomly select seven events from the twenty proposed by the two classes to test everyone.
"That's what I meant earlier—luck is also part of what this exam is testing.
"If your luck explodes, you could even get all seven drawn from our class's list, which would be a huge advantage."
"Conversely, if all seven are from the opponent's list, that's a big disadvantage, since their events favor them."
"And with seven events, it's obviously first to four wins—I don't need to spell that out, right? Lastly, about class rewards and penalties: for each event you win, you seize 50 class points from the other side."
Kaneda did the math. "So if you sweep, you can gain as much as 350 class points, and the other side loses 350.
"That's a 700-point swing between the two classes in a single day."
"Exactly," Sakagami nodded. "If you can do it, that's exactly what I'd love to see."
Hearing that, the class buzzed at once. Three hundred fifty class points meant an extra 35,000 private points per person per month—totally worth fighting for.
"Let's go for the sweep!"
"Damn, this year-end exam really is a grand culmination—it tests everything."
"Too bad… there's a fighting game I'm godlike at, but the school definitely won't approve it."
Seeing everyone fired up, Sakagami relaxed and rapped his knuckles on the podium to bring them back on topic. "That's the rules covered.
"Now for the schedule."
He chalked it on the board, and the whole class watched:
March 8: Rule briefing & preparation March 10: Submit class events, commander selection, and chosen opponent; publish the opponent's event list March 15: Special exam day March 16: Closing ceremony; spring break begins April 6: New school year
"That's your overall timeline," Sakagami said, flicking the chalk neatly back into the tray. "From the end of today's classes onward, all your time can be used for discussion, preparation, and practice for the exam."
"Eh?" Ishizaki was the first to spring up, face brimming with inexpressible joy. "So starting now—we don't have to go to class? Heck yeah!"
"…" Sakagami's smile froze; the cheerful look faded. "Ahem. Technically, yes."
"But teaching students is a teacher's job, so Ishizaki—come to my office later and pick up some worksheets to do over spring break."
"When the new year begins, I'll check them myself. And don't entertain any little schemes—I'll be looking closely at the handwriting. Don't even think about spending private points to hire someone to do them."
Moments ago elated, Ishizaki suddenly glitched like a jammed radio; his flailing froze, and a second later he was in tears. "Nooo! Sakagami-sensei!"
"How about… you just keep teaching us!"
"Hahahaha!" The whole class burst into laughter again, and even Sakagami on the podium started laughing anew. That'll teach you to cheer, huh? "Heck yeah," was it?
A little "education" for the blockhead—and now he wouldn't have to lug those worksheets back to the staff dorm. What a relief. Thinking that, Sakagami looked at Ishizaki with even more "care."
Ryuen couldn't care less whether Ishizaki had worksheets or whether he had the only spring-break homework among first-years. He went straight to Yukio. "Well? Have you decided on the events and the commander?"
"Mm, I've decided on part of the events." Yukio nodded, then raised his voice to Sakagami. "Sakagami-sensei, about picking an opponent—what if the class we choose is also chosen by someone else, or they choose a different opponent than us?
"What happens then?"
Sakagami stroked his chin, looking quite pleased, as if praising Yukio's thoroughness. "Simple. If you choose each other, you face each other. If the choices don't match, the school assigns opponents randomly."
"That, too, is part of the luck factor."
...
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