"----"
The entire venue suddenly fell silent.
It was a silence so complete that even breathing seemed to have stopped.
Ryuen Kaito's declaration threw every class's calculations of their own scores into disarray.
With such a revelation hanging over them, the announcement of the exam results felt like an impending stay of execution. Every student present went blank and lost the ability to react.
The first-year homeroom teachers, however, appeared to pay no heed to the state of the various classes.
Yet on closer inspection, the teachers' reactions differed subtly.
Majima Tomoya stood at the front with the score sheet in hand, his eyes closed as though he were thinking about something.
Hoshinomiya Chie wore her usual bright, smiling expression, but upon closer look, her gaze first rested on Ichinose Honami before shifting to Fang Li. Her eyes held genuine delight, as though she had seen something interesting.
Like Majima Tomoya, Sakagami Kazuma had his eyes closed, but his expression was exceptionally grim.
Chabashira Sae remained as expressionless as ever.
Under these circumstances, Majima Tomoya opened his eyes and picked up the loudspeaker.
"This past week, we witnessed firsthand the effort you put into this Special Exam."
"Whether you faced wilderness survival head-on and did everything you could to conserve points, or kept looking for ways to challenge the additional rules and investigate the Key Points and leaders, your various approaches made this exam quite exciting."
"For now, let me speak on behalf of all the homeroom teachers and offer you our regards. You worked hard."
Majima Tomoya gave that brief commendation.
Then...
"Next, we will announce the results of this Special Exam."
Majima Tomoya's gaze swept across everyone present as he spoke in a low voice.
"The school guarantees absolute fairness and impartiality in these results. Therefore, we will