"After all, their academic ability speaks for itself. The lowerclassmen will come looking for teams on their own."
"And according to reports from the class, some clever students from Class 1-C have already expressed interest in pairing up with Class A."
In other words, was Class A planning to skip this special exam?
Did Class A simply not care about this exam at all?
Of course they did not. Class A's overall capabilities were right there for everyone to see.
They were highly sought-after among the first-years.
And if they put in their full effort, the rewards were too meager anyway.
Class A's academic ability was not low, so the chance of anyone being expelled for failing was practically zero.
They truly had no need to pay much attention to this special exam.
"Ah—"
Little Kushida, seemingly somewhat envious of Class A's composure, suddenly made a sound.
She took out her phone.
"Hirata went to find first-years from Class 1-D without even eating lunch."
"It seems Ayanokouji's academic ability isn't particularly good, so he asked Hirata for help."
"And he found three Class 1-D students with academic ability ratings of B-."
"He also asked me for help. To approach the first-year girls," Kushida said. "First, I'll find a partner for the client, Ayanokouji."
Oh.
Hirata had acted quickly.
And Ayanokouji had asked Hirata for help because his academic ability was not particularly strong.
Then Hirata had gone straight to work without even eating.
It seemed the two had already begun cooperating.
Oreki had handed Hirata over to Ayanokouji before, and Hirata had immediately proven useful.
In an exam that crossed grade levels, academic ability was important, but so were social skills.
Although the OAA system allowed them to obtain information about the new students quite directly,
how to approach them,