Time passed.
The third semester officially began.
Early morning.
2nd Year Class B was chattering nonstop.
The matter of Nagumo Miyabi being stabbed and Nishigishi being arrested quickly became a hot topic at the school.
Until now.
During the break and on the forums, he had heard many people's opinions.
Only then did Hikigaya realize how serious the divide was.
Most people leaned toward the view that Nishigishi had gone too far; no matter what, one cannot injure people, as it is undoubtedly a criminal act.
However.
There were also some people who felt Nagumo Miyabi deserved it.
What surprised Hikigaya was that most of Class B felt Nishigishi's actions were too excessive.
Those who felt Nagumo Miyabi deserved it were basically all third-years.
It seemed that because they knew Nagumo Miyabi could no longer return, the previously highly popular Nagumo Miyabi suddenly became a hated jerk among the third-years.
Perhaps.
Those who aren't the parties involved cannot feel the same way.
Soon.
The school bell rang.
Hoshinomiya Chie walked into the classroom looking exhausted.
"Teacher, your complexion looks very bad. Are you okay?"
"Ah, I'm fine. It's just that I've been worked to death these past few days."
"Is it really about the matter with Nagumo-senpai?"
"I suppose so. There are meetings every day, plus safety training. Dammit, I don't even have time to drink."
Hoshinomiya Chie clenched her hands in the air, looking a bit sad; it seemed her greatest dissatisfaction was having no time to drink.
"Everyone, remember, if there's anything you can't resolve, remember to contact me at any time. 083"
Hikigaya was a bit surprised.
It seemed the Nagumo Miyabi incident had frightened the school.
It made sense.
If a life were truly lost, Chairman Sakayanagi certainly wouldn't be able to escape responsibility.
That's why they were dragging the school teachers into frantic meetings.
"Alright, everyone cheer up. Next, I'm going to start explaining about the special exam."
"Special exam?"
Class B's students immediately furrowed their brows. Shibata said with some surprise:
"Teacher, it's only the first day of school. Are we already going to have a special exam so soon?"
"Well, you can also understand it as the final exam, so I need to explain it in advance."
"Even though that's the case."
As she spoke.
Hoshinomiya Chie operated her tablet, and the screen behind her displayed several large characters.
Theme Project Exam.
"Today is just to give the notification."
"Theme Project Exam?"
"Correct."
Hoshinomiya Chie nodded and continued to operate the tablet.
"First, each class will decide on a theme. Like basketball, soccer, Go, Shogi—any theme is fine."
"Then the school will formulate different exam rules based on the theme. However, the rewards are generally similar."
"It should be noted that for one-on-one projects like Go, they will become team projects under the rules created by the school."
"The main tests are teamwork, academic ability, physical strength, and all other abilities. Of course, individual ability is also indispensable."
"Hmm..."
Hikigaya frowned.
It meant they had to decide on the theme first, and then the rules and rewards would be announced.
Looking at it this way.
It would be a fairly large-scale exam.
There was no need to worry about the exam rules.
They would be fine.
After all, Advanced Nurturing High School had several decades of history. The exam rules for various projects probably all had previous examples to follow, which could be used directly.
"And the opponent?"
Ichinose asked with some concern.
"Our opponent is Class C."
Hoshinomiya Chie explained: "This was decided by the last Unanimous Consensus Exam. Although Class A also chose Class C, you and Class C chose each other, and Class D is also targeting Class A."
"So for this time, the opponents can be directly decided: Class A vs. Class D, Class C vs. Class B."
Upon hearing this, Kanzaki and the others immediately looked a bit solemn. The opponent was Class C, where Horikita Suzune was.
And Class B had no one who could compete with her.
Even Shibata was a step behind.
Although Class C's mental state didn't seem very good right now, their strength was the real deal.
In the last final exam.
Class C had also taken second place; it could be said that the current Class C had no weaknesses.
There was no helping it.
The strength of Sudou, Kouenji, Ayanokouji, Hirata, and Horikita Suzune was simply too overwhelming.
"Teacher."
After a moment of reflection, Ichinose asked with concern:
"Which class's theme will the school adopt? How is that decided?"
Clearly.
The theme was the key to deciding victory or defeat.
By choosing a project more favorable to one's own class, the probability of winning would naturally be higher.
"No matter what the theme is."
Hoshinomiya Chie's tone suddenly became serious.
"You need to decide on a leader. Three days from now, the leader will go to the multimedia classroom to draw lots to determine which class's project will be adopted."
"Leader?"
Hearing this, Class B's students immediately became nervous.
Ichinose also seemed to recall some unpleasant memories.
"That, Teacher... if we fail this exam, will there be an expulsion punishment for the leader?"
"There is..."
Hoshinomiya Chie's face was serious and her expression stern as she said:
"However, I can tell you that the leader will possess certain privileges, and this time Protection Points will also be effective."
"Whether to choose the most capable person to serve as leader and fight with all your might to win, or to choose someone who has a Protection Point as leader for the sake of safety."
"That point is something you need to consider for yourselves."
"Hmm..."
Hikigaya looked up at Ichinose and happened to meet her gaze, but he could clearly feel that Ichinose's eyes were filled with unease.
Although the rules were not clear.
Hoshinomiya Chie had stated explicitly.
The leader would have privileges, so it was obviously a very important position.
As for how powerful this privilege was.
That was probably also something they needed to think about.
In the last Unanimous Consensus Special Exam, Class B had discarded half of the private points they would receive from the school for the next six months.
Now.
In Class B, only Ichinose possessed a Protection Point. However, Ichinose did not have the courage to let anyone be expelled.
If.
Class C was led by someone without a Protection Point.
Ichinose would likely still do something half-hearted.
In that case.
It was basically certain they would be finished.
"The remaining time is yours. Everyone can speak freely."
After saying that.
Hoshinomiya Chie stood to the side and handed the podium over to everyone.
Under the gazes of those around him, Hikigaya walked onto the stage.
This exam.
Actually had nothing to do with him.
After all, creating the exam also required time.
It's just that during these few days, Hikigaya hadn't even mentioned it to the school.
Speaking of which.
Although the Sports Festival, Cultural Festival, Final Exams, and School Trip were all led by him.
But to be honest.
That was basically no different from fighting alone.
The people he needed to communicate with were basically just Nakanishi and a few others...
Standing in front of the stage like this felt like the first time.
Fortunately.
The opponent was Class C.
As long as that Ayanokouji, who looked like a light novel protagonist, didn't make a move, Hikigaya was very confident.
After all.
From the start of school until now.
He hadn't taken Class C or Class D seriously.
It wasn't that Hikigaya was arrogant or looked down on others, but rather that with a little thought, there were plenty of ways to deal with Class C and Class D!