One moment, they were casually discussing whether another special exam would be coming, and the next, the school had already sent out notifications to their phones.
If Kure Ragna didn't already have some understanding of how this school operated, he might have thought they decided on this exam at the last minute just to mess with the students after seeing the speculation on the forums.
The education system, after all, often had a tendency to be borderline sadistic—some teachers thrived on tormenting students, feeding off their anxieties, and creating unnecessary challenges just because they could.
A simple way to sum it up: The more students fear something, the more likely the school is to make it happen.
So, when the forum discussions heated up about the possibility of an exam, the school probably thought, Oh, you care about it this much? Well then, let's make it official!
Kure Ragna and Sakayanagi Arisu compared their messages in their dorm room. The texts were essentially the same, except for their assigned room numbers.
It made sense. With 160 students, there was no way they'd all be crammed into a single room for instructions. The school wouldn't bother specifying room numbers if that were the case.
At nine in the morning, Kure Ragna went to the girls' dormitory to find Kushida Kikyo. The moment he arrived, she greeted him with a direct question.
"Kure Ragna, did you get the text from the school?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"What's your assigned room?"
"204. Why?"
Kushida frowned slightly before showing him her phone screen. The rear camera was angled towards her, displaying the message.
"Mine says 2:30 PM, and my room number is different from yours."
Kure Ragna studied her message for a moment, sensing something odd about the timing but unable to pinpoint it immediately.
If the school was dividing students into groups of four per room, and assuming his group was the first at 10:00 AM, then by 2:30 PM, they would have gone through at least eight groups.
But Kushida's timing suggested there would be even more rounds beyond that.
160 students in total… Why split them up this much?
It almost felt like the school was setting up a large-scale strategy game, with different waves of players being sent in at different intervals.
Instead of overthinking it, he decided to let it go. Choose C: stay oblivious.
Since the special exam was approaching, Kushida didn't stay out late with Kure Ragna that evening. They had dinner around five before going their separate ways.
She returned to her dorm, while Kure Ragna headed to the second floor of the yacht, where students rarely went, to find Room 204.
At exactly 5:55 PM, five minutes before the scheduled time, he put away his phone and stepped inside.
To his mild surprise, he wasn't the first to arrive.
There were five chairs in the room. One was already occupied by Hideo Satomura, the so-called "doctor" who had confidently predicted Class B's downfall at the start of the new semester.
The other seat belonged to Yukimura Teruhiko, one of the top academic students in the grade.
Hideo adjusted his glasses, clearly taken aback by Kure Ragna's presence.
"Oh? So one of the remaining seats belongs to His Highness Kure Ragna?" he quipped.
Kure Ragna frowned slightly at the strange title but chose to ignore it.
Hideo had a habit of speaking in a theatrical manner, just like Kouenji's tendency to randomly insert English words into his sentences.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Kure Ragna replied flatly, his eyes scanning the room.
Besides the two students, there was one more person present.
—Tomonari Mashima, the Class A homeroom teacher.
Talk about an awkward reunion. The last time they had interacted, Kure Ragna had been helping to dismantle Class A's strategies on the uninhabited island. And now, here they were again.
Not that it mattered much.
Mashima glanced at him briefly before shifting his focus back to his phone.
"Next time, knock before entering," the teacher said without looking up.
"Why? Is this your personal office?"
"No, but it's basic etiquette."
"What if I don't?" Kure Ragna smirked as he casually took a seat.
Mashima simply shook his head, choosing not to engage further—probably to avoid a spike in blood pressure.
Minutes passed. Then, right as the clock struck six, a hesitant knock sounded at the door.
Knock… knock… knock…
"Come in," Mashima said in a neutral tone.
The door opened, revealing Kei Karuizawa.
Her gaze flickered across the room, pausing briefly on Kure Ragna before she instinctively took half a step back. It was subtle, but noticeable.
Mashima, however, didn't dwell on her hesitation.
"The school instructed everyone to be punctual, yet you're late. Please take your seat," he said firmly.
"…Sorry," Kei murmured before shuffling inside. She kept her head down as she sat in the remaining chair to Kure Ragna's right.
Once all five seats were filled, Mashima straightened up, adopting his usual authoritative stance.
"Now that everyone is here, I will explain the rules of this special exam," he announced.
"In this exam, all first-year students have been divided into twelve groups, each corresponding to one of the twelve zodiac signs. Your performance will be judged based on your ability to think critically."
He continued, his tone formal and deliberate.
"The skills required in society can be categorized into three main areas: Action, Thinking, and Teamwork."
"The last special exam tested teamwork. This time, the focus is on Thinking—analyzing situations, identifying problems, formulating solutions, and demonstrating creativity to create new value."
As Mashima spoke, the expressions on the students' faces grew increasingly blank.
Kure Ragna sighed.
"Teacher, you could've just said 'we're testing intelligence.' Why the unnecessary lecture?"
Mashima paused, his eye twitching slightly.
At least one thing was certain—this exam was going to be a pain.
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