Chapter 77 – The Second Special Examination

Three days had passed since the uninhabited island special test, and the first-year students had completely relaxed, happily enjoying this summer vacation trip on the cruise.

However, the joy was for the other classes. The students of Class C were somewhat tired of it all. Ishizaki listlessly sprawled on a café table: "Ah, this is so boring. Yukio-san, is there anything fun to do?"

While students from other classes were having a great time, members of Class C had been on the cruise for over five days, having already tried all the entertainment facilities several times.

Even Ishizaki and other not-so-good students of Class C went to the theater and watched plays twice. The first time was simply due to a lack of other options, and they ended up sleeping out of boredom. The second time, they still couldn't understand the play and dozed off again, deciding not to return.

So now, while other classes were still enjoying themselves, the bored students of Class C gathered around Yukio, hoping he knew of some new places to find entertainment.

"When you're bored, reading a book is always beneficial," Yukio said, not really addressing Ishizaki's inquiry but engrossed in a novel.

He was thankful to Shiina, who, unlike others who brought only personal items for this school-arranged summer vacation, brought luggage filled with books aside from two sets of uniforms for convenience.

It was perfect for Yukio to pass the time, but Ishizaki made a face as if saying, "I'd rather die than read a book": "That's unrealistic, Yukio-san. I just can't get into reading."

Ibuki chimed in from the side, supporting Yukio: "If you're bored, find something to do yourself. Don't you guys like playing cards?"

"We've played too much already," Ishizaki waved dismissively, looking utterly uninterested. "These last two days, Komiya, Kondo, and I have been playing cards every day. We've even lost a few cards from the deck."

"The school should've arranged for us to go somewhere else on this cruise trip. What's the fun in just drifting on the ocean all day?"

Perhaps Ishizaki's grumbling inadvertently drew the school's attention because, in an instant, various ringtones echoed throughout the café.

Everyone was puzzled, wondering why they were receiving text messages simultaneously. Then, they quietly turned their gaze towards Ishizaki.

Ishizaki, rarely the center of attention, now found himself the subject of everyone's gaze. But it wasn't admiration they were showing, rather a sort of "Look at you, the prophet of doom" attention, which made Ishizaki laugh rather awkwardly.

At this moment, all the announcements on the cruise, including the café where they were gathered, seemed to be in sync with the sound of the text message alert: "Important notice, please all students check your phones."

"The school has sent important information to the mobile email of all first-year students. If any student has not received the message, please contact your class instructor immediately."

To emphasize the importance of this notice, the announcement was repeated three times, ensuring that no student was left unclear about the instructions.

This caught everyone's attention. Having gone through the ordeal of the uninhabited island special test, the first-year students were no longer naïve. Many immediately took out their phones to check the message, their expressions serious.

Even before reading the message, everyone guessed that this was yet another special test arranged by the school.

"Here it comes, finally!" Ishizaki was visibly excited: "Yukio-san and Ryuuen-san had already said there would definitely be another special test! Man, it's finally here!"

"Exactly," Ibuki also sighed in relief, quickly checking the message sent by the school: "This lingering uncertainty was worse than just getting it over with. Waiting till now, always worrying about the special test, has been spoiling all the fun these last few days."

The students of Class C were not surprised. Yukio had already informed them during the second celebration banquet. Sakagami, their class instructor who took care of them, had also hinted enough with his knowing smiles, neither confirming nor denying.

So now that the special test had arrived, the students of Class C actually felt relieved, focusing earnestly on the message without any more worries about the upcoming test.

Yukio didn't bother with them; he closed his book and leisurely took out his phone to read the message.

[The special test is about to begin. Please arrive at Room 3 on the second floor of the cruise by 8:40 tonight. Latecomers will be penalized with point deductions. The required participation time is only 20 minutes. Please keep your phones on silent throughout.]

The message was brief, providing just a time and a place, with the rest being meaningless filler.

At this time, Ryuuen waved his phone screen at Yukio, showing the content of the message: "Yukio, I have to gather at 8 tonight. Same for you, right?"

Yukio didn't say anything, just nodded, indicating that he and Ryuuen had the same time and location. Ishizaki, however, was a bit puzzled: "Huh? Yukio and Ryuuen, you guys also have 8:00 pm? But mine is, well, it seems a bit far from yours."

Ryuuen reluctantly tugged at his face and eventually handed his phone to Ishizaki to clarify. They were scheduled for 8:00 pm, and Ishizaki's slot was earlier than theirs.

Ibuki was even more confused: "At least you all are in the evening. Why do I have to be there at 6 pm?"

Gradually, the students of Class C realized that this special test would be held separately for everyone, not just different locations but different times as well.

Yukio first turned to Shiina, Kaneda, and the others: "How about you guys? What time slots do you have?"

"I have the exact same as Yukio-kun." Shiina showed her phone with a hint of happiness, making Ibuki, sitting beside her, even more dissatisfied with the school's arrangement, muttering complaints silently.

Kaneda mentioned another time slot. After a brief tally, it turned out that everyone's locations were similar, mainly small conference rooms on the second and third floors of the cruise, all equipped with surveillance cameras.

As for the time, it ranged from 5 pm to 9 pm, with a new batch every twenty minutes, leaving the students of Class C especially puzzled, wondering what the school was planning this time.

Upon learning about the situation and that everyone would be taking the special test separately, Ishizaki became visibly anxious: "Yukio-san, can you predict what the test will be about? Just separating us like this, I'm worried I'll drag our class down."

"Do you think I'm the school? Predicting the test?" Yukio couldn't help but be amused by Ishizaki's concern but reassured him, considering Ishizaki's earnestness: "Don't worry too much."

"At least you're not in the earliest batch. Who in our class is scheduled for the first slot at 5 pm? Let's go together to get an idea of the specific details of the special test."

A student named Suzuki was the first to raise his hand, followed by another student, Oda. Both were in the earliest slot, and a third person also raised their hand.

"Let's settle on that then. We'll all go together to check it out when the time comes."

***

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