[It's finally here... This is the official special exam...]
[Will someone get expelled again this time?]
[Please don't let it be me... I don't want to end up like Yamauchi...]
The students in the class immediately became restless.
Just after a student had been expelled, they were now facing another round of exams. The pressure on every student was immense.
At this moment, Chabashira Sae had already placed a total of 48 cards on the blackboard.
Each card was about the size of a playing card. The ten white cards were blank, while the yellow cards seemed to have the names of students written on them.
However, many students noticed that there were only 38 yellow cards, one fewer than the number of students.
"First, let me explain these ten white cards. They represent the exam items you'll choose for this exam—later, you'll discuss and decide on ten exam items of your choice. Written tests, shogi, poker, baseball—just write down any items you think you can win. You'll also need to think about and set the rules for determining the winner."
Chabashira Sae said with a smile.
"Of course, while it's free choice, there are still rules that must be followed. To put it bluntly, if you choose obscure competitions or games that most people don't know, only the proposer will have a chance of winning. Also, the rules of the items must be fair and easy to understand. So, after you propose the items, the school will judge their appropriateness and decide whether to adopt them. Additionally, to avoid ties, the rules will need to be adjusted."
'Yare yare, we have to choose the items ourselves?'
After hearing the exam rules, Saiki thought for a moment. If it were him, what items would he choose?
Flying, X-ray vision, shooting lasers...
Obviously, none of those were possible.
Saiki couldn't think of any suitable items for himself at the moment.
'Since we're choosing the items ourselves, at least they should be items where I have an advantage—meaning I'd have to perform well in those items... I can't think of any, but since we have to choose ten items, others can choose them. It shouldn't have much to do with me.'
"Now, let me give an example. Ike, what are you good at? Anything, just say it."
As she spoke, Chabashira Sae turned her gaze to Ike Kanji.
"Uh... what am I good at..."
Ike Kanji struggled for a long time before finally saying, "Rock-paper-scissors... I'm pretty good at that."
The surrounding students burst into laughter, but Chabashira Sae listened seriously and wrote "Rock-paper-scissors" on a white card.
"Then let's tentatively choose rock-paper-scissors as an item. How do you plan to set the rules?"
"Uh... how about best of three wins?"
"Good."
Chabashira Sae nodded and wrote the rules below the card.
"This item is well-known, and the rules are simple and clear. The school has no reason not to adopt it. Next, we just need to repeat this nine more times to finalize all ten items."
'Yare yare, rock-paper-scissors is acceptable?'
Saiki muttered to himself, recalling how he had never lost at rock-paper-scissors back in kindergarten.
If it's rock-paper-scissors, it's not unacceptable.
"The exam schedule is also very important. It will roughly be divided into three stages."
Chabashira Sae continued, picking up a piece of chalk and writing the exam dates and rules on the blackboard.
March 8th—Special Exam Announcement Day. The opposing class will be decided on the same day.
March 15th—Finalize the ten items. The opposing class will announce their ten items and rules.
March 22nd—The Selection Project Exam officially begins.
"But, teacher, if we have to do up to twenty items, won't the exam take too long?"
Ike Kanji asked.
"On the day of the Selection Project Exam, each class will narrow down the ten items to five, which will be the actual items used in the exam. In the end, there will only be ten official items in the final exam."
Chabashira Sae explained.
Meanwhile, Horikita Suzune's mind was racing:
"In other words, five of the ten items are just bluffs... false information to mislead the opponent, right?"
"Not only that, but the selection of the five items could also serve the same purpose. The final ten items will be randomly selected from the pool by the school's system."
Chabashira Sae further explained.
"Also, regarding things like participant selection, the school will distribute more detailed rules later. You can read them carefully—"
At this moment, Chabashira Sae's face showed a meaningful smile as she continued:
"In addition to deciding the items, there's another important part. To manage the large number of students, this special exam requires a 'Command Tower.' The Command Tower cannot directly participate in the exam items, but they can intervene to some extent, providing assistance to the students. The method of intervention will also be decided by you. For example, in rock-paper-scissors, the Command Tower could be allowed to participate at any time, making only one move, or they could replace the student playing rock-paper-scissors."
'Command Tower... This school really likes to complicate simple things... But...'
Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly.
'Perhaps the Command Tower is a good position for me! It's not yet clear how many students will participate in the exam. If everyone has to participate, then the Command Tower is the most suitable role for me.'
'First, the student who becomes the Command Tower doesn't have to participate in the exam items. That's great. If it's something like a written test, that's fine, but if it's a sports-related item... If I lose control for a moment, the consequences could be disastrous...'
'So, I need to find a way to become the Command Tower.'
Saiki's mind raced, and he quickly made this decision.
At the same time, many other students also became interested in the position.
[Command Tower... Not having to participate in the exam sounds amazing!]
[But it should be someone capable, right?]
[It feels like the Command Tower will have fewer troubles than the regular examinees.]
"The Command Tower will receive extra personal points if they win, but they will also bear the responsibility if the class loses—"
Chabashira Sae's gaze swept across the students' faces as she continued.
"That's right. If the class loses, the Command Tower will be responsible and expelled!"
[Expelled?!]
[There are benefits, but the risk is too high!]
[I don't want to be expelled! Whoever wants to be the Command Tower can go ahead!]
Hearing Chabashira Sae's words, the students who had been interested in the Command Tower position immediately fell silent.
"Now, please discuss and decide on the Command Tower. If no one volunteers, I will randomly assign a student—after school, the Command Tower will go to the multipurpose classroom to decide the opposing class for this exam."
After saying this, Chabashira Sae distributed more information about the exam, including the exam items and participant arrangements. Each student could only participate in one item at most.
After arranging most of the details, Chabashira Sae left the classroom, letting the students decide on the Command Tower themselves.
"So, is anyone willing to be the Command Tower?"
Horikita Suzune took the initiative to ask, her gaze sweeping across the class—
However, everyone avoided her gaze.
[There are personal points, but... but there's a risk of being expelled!]
[I don't want to be expelled...]
[No one wants to be the Command Tower, right?]
But at that moment, two people raised their hands simultaneously.
"May I be the Command Tower?"
Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke in unison.
[Sakayanagi will probably be Class A's Command Tower.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself. It was precisely because he wanted to compete with Sakayanagi that he had decided to take on the role of Command Tower.
[Saiki also wants to be the Command Tower? Probably for the same reason as me.]
'Oh no, I forgot about Sakayanagi...'
Saiki suddenly remembered that he had just challenged Sakayanagi Arisu a few days ago. He wanted to be the Command Tower simply to avoid trouble.
"There are two candidates?"
Horikita Suzune's eyebrow twitched slightly. This was somewhat unexpected.
Seeing Saiki raise his hand, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his hand and said:
"In that case, I think Saiki is a better choice than me."
'Yare yare, you're finally being useful for once.'
"After all, Saiki-kun has protection points. If he becomes the Command Tower, the risk will be the lowest."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka added.
This made the other students turn their attention to Saiki.
[Is Saiki trying to protect others from being expelled?]
[Saiki is so kind...]
[We must not let Saiki down in this exam!]
'Hey, hey... I didn't think that far ahead...'
Seeing the respectful and grateful looks from his classmates, Saiki didn't know how to respond.
Horikita Suzune, however, looked at Saiki very seriously.
[Saiki... He really is a suitable candidate for the Command Tower. I still don't understand why he became first place in the last class vote. His abilities are probably even greater than I imagined!]
'To be honest, I don't understand either.'
Saiki complained in his mind.
"Is there anyone else who wants to be the Command Tower?"
Horikita Suzune continued to ask, though she already had her answer.
[Even if someone else wants to be the Command Tower, they must be capable of handling the role.]
"Although it's the Command Tower, we can still make detailed plans in advance. As long as the Command Tower follows those instructions and patterns on the day, it shouldn't matter much who the Command Tower is."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka added.
This was also why he chose to give up competing with Saiki for the Command Tower position.
It didn't matter who the Command Tower was.
"Alright, in that case, the Command Tower is decided."
'Yare yare, in any case, the goal is achieved. I can finally slack off during the upcoming exam.'
Saiki's lips curled into a slight smile.
After school, after some discussion, Saiki prepared to go to the multipurpose classroom.
The exam items hadn't been fully decided yet. What needed to be decided now was which class Class B would face.
Without a doubt, Class D was the most suitable opponent.
In terms of class ranking, Class D was currently the weakest, and Ryuen Kakeru was still in a state of not caring much about class affairs.
However, Saiki already had a target in mind—Class A.
'If I don't choose Class A, Sakayanagi will probably come and do something strange again. It's better to settle things with her now and avoid future troubles.'
Saiki thought to himself.
He soon arrived at the school building. Seeing Saiki's arrival, Chabashira Sae was somewhat surprised.
"I didn't expect you to be the Command Tower, Saiki."
"Because no one else wanted to do it."
Saiki casually replied.
"Your performance in the last class exam exceeded my expectations. I'm sure the other students didn't expect you to be first place either."
"I'm also curious about that."
Saiki replied.
[Saiki... This guy is definitely hiding something... Both the exam results and Acting Chairman Tsukishiro's behavior indicate that... I was completely fooled by him before, even overlooking him at one point... Since Ayanokoji lied to me, saying Saiki wasn't worth paying attention to, he might have already secretly teamed up with Ayanokoji...]
[Wait, could it be... that the class's previous actions weren't just planned by Ayanokoji?]
[Saiki... might be an even more noteworthy existence than Ayanokoji.]