As the boys dragged their leaden legs into the gym one after another, the dark red glow of dusk slanted through the high windows and spilled across the vast, empty indoor court.
It wasn't long before the doors on the other side of the gym swung open.
The girls filed in, too.
They looked hardly any better than the boys.
It wasn't even five in the evening yet.
At this rate, by the time the closing ceremony ended and they boarded the buses, it would probably be the middle of the night before they returned to Advanced Nurturing High School.
There was no long, bureaucratic opening speech.
"Everyone, thanks for all your hard work."
"All the Special Exams at Forest School have now officially come to an end. Before announcing the specific rankings and rewards, I'd like to share the most important result, and the one you're all most concerned about."
At that moment, it seemed as though the hundreds of people in the gym had all stopped breathing at once.
"Both the boys' and the girls' groups..."
He paused deliberately for a second before revealing the answer that had everyone nearly at the end of their rope.
"Both groups scored above the school's predetermined Score Line. In this Special Exam at Forest School... there were zero expulsions. This is the best possible outcome."
"Phew..."
"Thank goodness..."
"We made it..."
If any sound could capture the moment everyone collectively let go of a heavy burden, it was the deep sigh that now rang through the gym.
Kazehara Tetsu stood among the crowd.
He didn't cheer, or let out a long breath of relief like Katsuragi Kouhei beside him.
His eyes weren't focused on the person at the podium. Instead, he looked past the rows of heads and picked out a