Chapter 1 Part I

The gymnasium

Students and teachers alike gathered together.

Everyone lined up, watching the ceremony enthusiastically. The prominent figures of the school, including some people we don't see normally, were all present.

This was the moment when the 3rd year students took a big step forward into a new beginning.

Whether they were the ones moving onto higher education, the ones who were going straight into work, or the ones who had stopped, failing to find their way in the road of life, they were all about to stop being a child and gallop towards society at full speed.

I was thinking.

What would my position be on that stage 2 years later?

What would I be thinking of then?

I wanted to believe that even after deciding the route in life we would take, we would still be able to paint these events into our hearts.

I wanted to believe that what we learnt in this school would be as crucial to survival as food is.

"Next, I want to invite the students who, after three years of hard work, have graduated in Class A up to the stage."

The host said this through a microphone.

The already quiet gymnasium was cloaked in an even deeper silence.

"Class A's representative——"

If the name that was called out here wasn't Horikita Manabu or one of his classmates…

It would mean that the results of the final special exam had changed the rankings of the classes in the third year.

Many of the students and teachers were waiting for this moment, paying close attention to the words of the host.

Because as long as you were enrolled in this school, graduating from Class A was the greatest achievement there was.

"Horikita Manabu, please come up to the stage."

After that name was called out, Horikita would probably be relieved from the bottom of her heart.

Although I don't know how much pressure Nagumo exerted on him, the elder Horikita still graduated from Class A without a hitch.

Impressively, he stepped up to the stage, casting his eyes on the students and the staff.

"Greetings. On this beautiful, blossoming spring day, I welcome you to this graduation ceremony."

The elder Horikita's speech had started.

He first showed gratitude towards the grand graduation ceremony itself.

Then he talked about what had happened three years ago when he had first entered the school.

"I still clearly remember the first day I set foot into the campus of the Advanced Nurturing High School. I felt that there was a different atmosphere compared to normal schools. As I was shouldering the burden of the future, I vowed to make these three years a meaningful one."

I felt some sort of warmth from the assertive and composed nature of his speech.

The elder Horikita felt like a different person from the one who presented on the same stage as the student council president a year ago.

I felt this change as the speech advanced.

It wasn't just him. The students of this school had also grown significantly over this time.

"Although this was a personal matter, I spoke to the 1st year students last year as the student council representative."

As if he were thinking the same thing as I was, the elder Horikita said this.

"Compared to what you were like last year, I can see how much you've grown with just a glance."

A year ago, the elder Horikita's silence changed the attitude of us fickle first years.

That was something many of the students hadn't experienced before.

And now at this graduation ceremony, not one student was whispering.

The elder Horikita's warm eyes looked upon us, as a student who was going to graduate.

"At the same time, I hope that the students who will soon be the new 3rd years provide a suitable example for the new 2nd years to fully exert their strengths, all the while complying with school regulations, and practising discipline."

After a few minutes, the speech slowly came to a close

"I wanted to assure you that the things we learn in this school will not only play a role in our future lives but also become our most valuable asset."

Horikita's brother once again stared at the students before him.

"The person who will stand up here and speak to you next year, and the year after that, will be able to understand what I'm feeling.

The person who gave the valedictory.

In other words, the leader of the graduating Class A.

Was Nagumo the most probable candidate for that?

The students in the first year were still engaged in chaotic warfare. Who would come out on top? Horikita? Ichinose? Ryuuen? Sakayanagi?

Or would it be another person replacing one of the current leaders of the classes?

But then again, only ⅓ of our time at the school had passed.

The classes would change in the future as more students dropped out.

But even so, only the leader of the class who won the final battle would have the right to stand up on that stage.

The elder Horikita slowly continued. "Thank you, all of you, for the past three years."

Soon, it came to an end.

After the speech to the students, he then turned towards the teachers and addressed them, and then finally to the school itself.

After the grand speech, the graduation ceremony moved onto the next stage.