On Monday, as it was the day of the exam, Kotetsu did not go to the Academy too early.
He had been reviewing for two weeks, so there was no need to struggle for those ten to twenty minutes in the morning.
On the way, Kotetsu encountered Izumo, who was also heading to school.
"Izumo, good morning," greeted Kotetsu with a brilliant smile.
"Good morning, Kotetsu," responded Izumo with a smile upon seeing his good friend.
"How was your weekend? Did you play, or were you studying all two days?" asked Kotetsu in a friendly manner.
"Study? Study my ass!" laughed Izumo.
Izumo asked, "Did you study?"
"I didn't study," replied Kotetsu, shaking his head, and then added, "Serious people don't review before exams."
"Can the results of last-minute revision be considered genuine skills?" Izumo nodded in agreement.
The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
"Shogi is really fun. After the exam, Kotetsu, you must give it a try," said Izumo, looking like a serious gaming enthusiast.
However, in his mind, he was thinking that things were now stable. Kotetsu probably hadn't really reviewed, and his only remaining opponent was Shisui.
"I'll give it a try when I have time. Recently, the novels I've been reading are really good. Izumo, you should check them out when you have time," Kotetsu recommended novels with a smile, as if he had genuinely read them.
"It should be fine. Izumo indeed hasn't reviewed and has been playing games all along. My only competition in this exam is Shisui," thought Kotetsu inwardly.
"Haha, I'll definitely check them out when I have time," responded Izumo with a hearty laugh, feeling quite pleased.
"Why are you two so happily chatting?" Anko appeared from behind and patted both of them on the shoulders.
"We're discussing how we spent our weekend," explained Kotetsu with a smile.
"Spent the weekend? Don't tell me you guys haven't reviewed at all?" Anko asked.
"Of course not. Anko, have you been reviewing these past two days?" Izumo asked with a surprised expression.
"No, not really. I just reviewed for a day yesterday," Anko replied after a moment of thought.
In reality, she had only spent half an hour reading a book on Sunday night, but when Izumo asked, making it sound like he had reviewed for two days, Anko felt it was a bit embarrassing to admit, so she lied and said a whole day.
"Oh, you reviewed for a day. That's good," said Kotetsu with a smile.
It was just one day, and there was no way it could pose a threat to him, who had been reviewing for half a month. In fact, Kotetsu felt Anko had reviewed less and probably should have spent the last two days reviewing.
"If you do well on the exam and get rewarded by your family, don't forget your brothers," Izumo joked with a smile.
"Hehe, considering your enthusiasm for games and novels, I suppose it's not too bad either," Anko was in a good mood.
Soon after, the three of them walked together to the Academy, entering their classroom and waiting for the exam to begin, chatting and laughing along the way.
Before long, Mutsuki and Ueda Aya entered Class 1-1. This time, Mutsuki drew the lot to be the invigilator for his own class.
"Yumi-sensei!"
The students in the class greeted Mutsuki, who responded with a smile.
"This time, Yumi-sensei, are you the one supervising the exam?" Kotetsu asked.
Mutsuki nodded in affirmation.
"Yumi-sensei, can we ask you if we have any questions during the exam?" Anko provocatively asked.
Thud!
Mutsuki knocked Anko's little head with two fingers and said, "You can ask, but the answer will be just this."
"Ouch." Anko covered the spot where she was knocked and immediately became obedient.
"Everyone, check if you have your exam tools ready. The exam will start in ten minutes," Mutsuki reminded.
Some cautious students, after hearing Mutsuki's reminder, began to check their belongings.
"Yumi-sensei, you have quite the popularity among the students," Ueda Aya exclaimed.
Just now, she noticed that almost all the students greeted Mutsuki.
This was a rare occurrence, considering there were forty students in the class, and there were always some who were introverted or didn't like to talk.
And there were also those who might think, "With so many people saying hello, even if I greet them, they won't notice me, and it won't make a difference."
"After all, I am their homeroom teacher," Mutsuki replied.
When the ten minutes were up, Mutsuki announced the start of the theoretical exam and, together with Ueda Aya, distributed the exam papers.
The students of Class 1-1 also gave Mutsuki face; throughout the entire exam process, not a single person spoke, everyone was quietly solving the problems.
Mutsuki and Ueda Aya took turns patrolling the room.
During the patrol, Ueda Aya curiously glanced at a few students working on their exams. This quiet atmosphere was indeed rare.
Perhaps because it's the Academy, the students are generally lively.
After looking around, Ueda Aya was somewhat surprised. Glancing at a few people casually, she felt that at first glance, everyone seemed to have answered the questions correctly.
"Yumi-sensei, the average score of your class in this exam is probably going to lead the entire grade again," Ueda Aya whispered, sharing what she had just observed with Mutsuki.
"It's hard to say before the exam results are out. Maybe other classes also did well," Mutsuki responded in a hushed tone.
Although it was a fact that the scores were good, Mutsuki felt it was better to keep it low-key.
When the exam concluded and the papers were collected, the atmosphere in Class 1-1 changed.
"Finally, it's over," Kotetsu revealed a smile, as if he had been liberated.
Reading diligently every day and figuring out how to keep Izumo from studying—it was quite tiring.
"Yeah, after this practical exam, we'll be on an extended break," Izumo also showed a relaxed smile and said.
After finishing the theoretical exam, he finally didn't have to act every day, trying to keep Kotetsu from reviewing.
"Kotetsu, Izumo, how do you feel about the exam?" Anko came over and asked.
"It's okay, but this exam felt quite challenging," sighed Hagane Kotetsu.
"Yeah, there were many questions where I had no idea, just wrote random answers. I have no clue how many points I'll get," Izumo's face showed a worried expression.
"Huh? Was it difficult? I thought it was pretty easy. Could it be that the review yesterday actually worked?" Anko scratched her head, saying. Somehow, she felt like she had seen this scene somewhere before.
"Shisui, how do you feel about the exam?" Anko asked Shisui, who was about to leave.
"It's alright," Shisui paused and replied.
He felt it was similar to the last exam, nothing special to mention.
"Why do I have such a simple mindset? Could it be that I did well on the exam?" Anko felt like the reward of Dango was getting closer to her.
"Tomorrow is the practical exam. Everyone must perform well and showcase our Ninjutsu skills to that female sensei." Anko remembered their plan to drive away the Taijutsu sensei from a long time ago.
"Definitely, this time we must get the school to bring in a reliable Taijutsu sensei," nodded Kotetsu.
"Actually, I think it would be great if Yumi-sensei could teach us. But if that happens, it would be too tiring for Yumi-sensei, having to take so many classes," lamented Izumo.
Other students also responded enthusiastically, expressing their determination to give their one hundred and twenty percent effort tomorrow and showcase their skills.
---
Don't forget to check out my patreon where you can read up to 50 advanced chapters https://www.patreon.com/CrazyNinja