Chapter 78 – Extremely Inefficient Exam Instructions

"Ah, Yukio-kun, you guys are here too." The only person who could greet the Class C team so warmly among the first-year students was Ichinose.

At 5 p.m., Yukio and the members of Class C came over to gather information about the special test, only to find that Ichinose and the members of Class B had arrived first.

Both groups squeezed into the hallway. Despite the luxury cruise's spaciousness, the first-floor hallway wasn't wide enough to comfortably accommodate nearly a hundred people.

This made it a bit crowded, and everyone had to endure it. However, it was only a matter of tolerating for a bit. Around Yukio and Ichinose, there were noticeably fewer people, as everyone seemed to want to give the leaders of their respective groups some space.

Yukio didn't have any reservations about greeting Ichinose after being put in a spot and nodded in acknowledgment: "You guys arrived quite early."

"After all, it's a special test," Ichinose responded without any hint of resentment, as always, like an angel oblivious to negative emotions: "Everyone might be a bit nervous. Coming early to adapt and relax is good."

If Yukio brought his whole class over just to understand the situation firsthand and then inform them about what to do next,

Then Ichinose's reason for bringing her class was merely to let everyone chat, relieve nervousness, and face the special test in good spirits. Gathering intelligence was secondary.

This approach was very much in Ichinose's style.

Perhaps influenced by Ichinose, the members of Class B didn't seem to have much against Class C, despite the latter having cost them class points and the monthly private points of 300,000. These issues seemed trivial to Class B.

There were even students from both classes who were in the same club greeting each other, asking about each other's scheduled times and locations, wondering if they might end up in the same group for the test.

"Ichinose, your class really has a great vibe," Yukio remarked upon seeing the atmosphere among Class B, feeling somewhat moved.

Such an innocent class could easily fall to the bottom of the first year with a single misstep.

However, Ichinose didn't catch the implied message in his words and was very happy to receive Yukio's approval: "Not really, everyone in our class is very nice. They naturally help each other out."

"It's my favorite class!"

Ichinose's sincere words made the smiles on the faces of Class B students even brighter, appearing more enthusiastic, leaving Class C somewhat astonished.

Some students from Class C initially thought that after the ordeal on the uninhabited island, their clubmates from Class B would part ways and stop hanging out together. But now, they realized they were still good friends.

"Wow, you guys are making quite the show of it." Joining the conversation as the atmosphere between the two groups warmed was Katsuragi, leading a few students from Class A.

He didn't bring his entire class, seemingly only those who were about to participate in the special test at 5 p.m.

"Ichinose-san," Katsuragi greeted politely.

Yukio's side was more discerning: "Katsuragi, I'm looking forward to another opportunity to trade with you during this special test."

Katsuragi's face, which had been somewhat serious, immediately darkened. The trade with Class C was his perpetual sore spot, marking his most humiliating defeat!

Yet Katsuragi quickly calmed his negative emotions, not letting Yukio provoke him: "Yukio, if you're trying to infuriate me to make me lose my cool, that's quite unrealistic."

"And also, don't be too pleased with yourself. Everyone has at least one thing in their life they're particularly proud of."

"But many geniuses, after achieving one satisfactory result, can only fade into obscurity, blending in with the rest."

Facing Katsuragi's stubbornness, Yukio didn't rush to retort but looked around before shaking his head regretfully: "Horikita didn't come."

"Otherwise, Horikita could have helped me rebut your argument."

What he meant was that since entering the Advanced Nurturing High School, Yukio had at least two things he was particularly satisfied with: one was the midterm exam where he outmaneuvered Horikita and Class D, and the other was the uninhabited island special test.

Understood this way, Katsuragi's statement falls apart.

Katsuragi, of course, understood the implication and felt somewhat humiliated: "Yukio, do you only revel in your past victories?"

Yukio found Katsuragi somewhat amusing, with his serious demeanor and bald hairstyle, missing his calling as a monk: "I'm sorry about that."

"I'd like to occasionally dwell on past failures too, to see what it feels like, but alas, I've never lost. Annoying, isn't it?"

Katsuragi was internally cursing, finding it impossible to have a normal conversation with Yukio! Just wait! In this special test, as long as he's careful enough, he'll definitely make Yukio lose for once!

Then, Yukio, you can savor the bitterness of defeat!

"Alright, alright," Ichinose, ever the peacemaker, intervened: "There's no need to argue, right? We're all classmates, why bother with this?"

"Even if we belong to different classes and there's competition, it's not good to be hostile towards each other."

Out of respect for Ichinose, Yukio and Katsuragi ceased their argument and simultaneously stopped, but as the time nearly reached 5 p.m., they noticed the absence of Horikita from Class D.

Only three students from Class D came for the special test, and seeing groups from other classes made them even more nervous.

The students from the three classes were puzzled, wondering what was up with Class D. Did they not want to gather any information? Or were they planning to communicate via mobile phones later? That would be so inefficient.

But their absence was noted, and after 5 p.m., thirteen students from the four classes politely knocked on the doors of four rooms. They entered different conference rooms according to their class.

It was indeed just a twenty-minute meeting, after which they came out and were immediately surrounded by their classmates, eager to know about the special test. The answer was that the test hadn't started yet; this session was merely to explain the rules for grouping for the special test.

With such information, even those who were nervous like Ishizaki felt relieved. So, the test wasn't starting right inside there?

That was reassuring for them.

However, Yukio and Ryuuen exchanged glances, both sensing something off: "Just to explain grouping rules, and they're using such an inefficient method?"

Ryuuen shared the skepticism: "There must be something more. If it was just about explaining the groups, they could have gathered all students at the cruise ship's theater on the top floor, where there's enough seating for everyone, and explained it all at once."

"Wasting four hours just for this rotation of explanations is too time-consuming and inefficient."

"Perhaps Suzuki, Oda, and the others might have missed some critical information or couldn't grasp it. Ultimately, we'll have to listen for ourselves at 8:40 p.m. to find the answers."

Yukio skeptically glanced towards the conference rooms: "Or perhaps, this highly inefficient arrangement itself hides some unusual hint."

***

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