Recaps

Majima Tomoya explained the Joint Responsibility rules for the Comprehensive Test, including the risks and rewards attached to choosing a person in charge. The students faced a deadline to choose one, while the threat of expulsion and class-point debt made the stakes clear.

• Majima Tomoya clarified that a group placing last would not automatically be expelled; expulsion depended on its final average falling below the School Authority's Score Line.
• Majima explained that each group had to choose a person in charge by the next morning, and that leader would be expelled if the group fell below the Score Line.
• Majima announced that a person in charge whose group placed in the top three would double the rewards for students in their class.
• Majima said an expelled person in charge could name one group member for Joint Responsibility, provided the School Authority confirmed that member had substantially contributed to the group's failure.
• Majima warned that each expelled student would cost their class 100 Class Points, with any unpaid amount becoming debt and leaving the class's points and monthly Personal Point deposits at zero until repaid.

Majima Tomoya explained the Forest School rules, including the steep cost of reversing an expulsion and the limited daily time boys and girls could spend together. As the class prepared to organize for the exam, Kazehara Tetsu took the microphone and began addressing his classmates.

• Katsuragi Kouhei asked whether an expulsion could be reversed, and Majima Tomoya explained that saving one student required 20 million Personal Points and 300 Class Points, while the expulsion still cost 100 Class Points.
• Majima Tomoya told the students that boys and girls would live and study separately, with only one hour each day to eat together in the cafeteria.
• Majima Tomoya urged the class to discuss how to form Small Groups, choose a leader, and use the rules before the exam began.
• Kazehara Tetsu stood at the front of the bus, took the microphone, and began telling the class that they seemed too tense.

Kazehara Tetsu rallied Class A around his goal of exceeding 3,000 Class Points by the end of the Third Semester and took charge of the boys for the Mixed Training Camp. He proposed a 15-person group with students from all Four Classes, then challenged Katsuragi Kouhei’s warnings about betrayal and expulsion.

• Kazehara Tetsu reminded Class A that its points had risen from 920 to more than 2,000, but said the lead was not yet secure.
• Kazehara declared that he wanted Class A to surpass 3,000 points by the end of the Third Semester and called for unified leadership.
• Kazehara appointed Sakayanagi Arisu to lead the girls, while Katsuragi Kouhei refused to lead the boys and recommended Kazehara instead.
• Kazehara accepted the boys’ leadership role and asked Katsuragi to handle discipline and daily affairs.
• Kazehara proposed forming a 15-person group with 12 Class A students and one student from each of the other classes to maximize rewards.
• Katsuragi warned that outsiders could sabotage the group and cause expulsions, but Kazehara dismissed his fear and challenged him to explain what he was afraid of.

Kazehara Tetsu directed Class A’s preparations for the upcoming exam, assigning Sakayanagi Arisu to arrange the girls’ teams and telling the boys to form their groups. After the class surrendered their phones at the remote mountain site, the students were separated by gender and led toward the Main Building and Annex Building.

• Kazehara Tetsu told Katsuragi Kouhei that he had a way to build trust through someone who would have a reason not to refuse him, and Katsuragi agreed to leave the plan to him.
• Kazehara Tetsu asked Sakayanagi Arisu to form the girls’ teams around three people whose names he had sent her, and she agreed to follow his instructions.
• Kazehara Tetsu ordered the boys to choose a twelve-person core group, while the remaining students were told to join teams from other classes without being expelled or costing Class A points.
• As the bus arrived at the mountain parking lot, Kazehara Tetsu handed his phone to Majima Tomoya with the other students.
• The students were split by gender, and Kazehara Tetsu followed the boys toward the large wooden Main Building.

Kazehara Tetsu recruited Kanzaki Ryuji and Hashimoto Masayoshi into Class B’s Small Group as part of a planned personnel swap. Kanzaki accepted the cooperation but chose a cautious 14+1 arrangement, prioritizing Class B’s safety over higher-multiplier Points.

• The School Authority instructed the students to form six Small Groups within each year before forming Large Groups that evening.
• Kazehara Tetsu approached Kanzaki Ryuji and persuaded him to cooperate with Class A, citing the advantage of helping Class B win and earn Points.
• Kanzaki Ryuji agreed to join Kazehara Tetsu’s Small Group, trusting Ichinose Honami’s recommendation while warning Kazehara not to betray him.
• Kazehara Tetsu proposed that Hashimoto Masayoshi join Kanzaki’s Class B group, and Kanzaki accepted the capable Class A student.
• Kanzaki Ryuji said Class B planned a 14+1 setup and rejected Kazehara Tetsu’s suggestion to mix in more students from other classes, explaining that he valued safety over extra Points.

Kazehara Tetsu recruited Kanzaki and Ryuen into his cross-class Small Group, then invited Hirata and Class C students to fill its last spot. Hirata refused, while Yukimura questioned whether Class A could be trusted not to sacrifice the outsiders.

• Kazehara Tetsu left Kanzaki and approached the withdrawn Ryuen, inviting him to join the Small Group.
• Ryuen accepted Kazehara Tetsu’s invitation and walked with him, making three classes represented in the group.
• Kazehara Tetsu invited Hirata to take the group’s last spot, but Hirata refused because he wanted to support his classmates.
• Kazehara Tetsu offered the remaining Class C students a chance at rewards and safety if they joined his group.
• Yukimura challenged Kazehara Tetsu, asking how Class A could guarantee it would not sacrifice the other classes.

Kazehara Tetsu persuaded Yukimura Teruhiko to join his First Group by arguing that Class A had strong odds of winning, and Yukimura volunteered to protect his own interests. After registering the First Group and seeing Class B form its team, Kazehara arranged a Third Team with seven Class A students and five Class B students, then turned his attention to the remaining Class C and Class D students.

• Kazehara Tetsu argued that Class A had little incentive to sabotage the group and that Class C could limit its risk by sending someone expendable.
• Yukimura Teruhiko volunteered to join Kazehara's First Group, and Kazehara accepted him.
• Kazehara registered the First Group as Shibata Hayato led Class B in forming its own team.
• Kazehara and Kanzaki Ryuji assembled a Third Team with seven Class A students and five Class B students, with Kanzaki agreeing that a Class A student should lead.
• Kazehara clapped to draw the attention of the remaining Class C and Class D boys.

Kazehara Tetsu used the limited spaces in the Third Group to draw three students from Class C and Class D into a mixed group with Class A and Class B. The 33 boys left from Classes C and D then faced the problem of dividing themselves into groups without taking a points penalty.

• Kazehara Tetsu explained that the remaining students from Classes C and D would lose points if they formed undersized groups, and offered three places in the Third Group as a way to improve their multiplier.
• Students from Classes C and D rushed to join, and Kazehara Tetsu selected two from Class C and one from Class D.
• The Third Group reached 15 members and left to register, while 33 boys from Classes C and D remained in the gymnasium.
• Kaneda Satoru proposed splitting the 33 boys into groups near the 15-person limit, but Hirata Yosuke objected that this would leave three students without a group.
• The students began arguing over how to divide themselves evenly and minimize their losses.

Class C and Class D formed three first-year groups after a bitter dispute, and Miyabi Nagumo proposed forming the Large Groups ahead of schedule through a rock-paper-scissors selection order. Horikita Manabu challenged the proposal as unfair because the first-years lacked information about the upperclassmen, but Nagumo defended exploiting that ignorance.

• Class C and Class D students argued before compromising on three groups of eleven, with Group D led by Class C, Group E led by Class D, and Group F led by a Class D student.
• The six first-year boys’ groups were finalized, with the first three holding advantages and falling under Class A’s direct or indirect control.
• Miyabi Nagumo arrived with the second-years and Horikita Manabu with the third-years, then proposed forming the Large Groups ahead of the scheduled time.
• Nagumo proposed that representatives of the six first-year groups use rock-paper-scissors to determine the order for choosing second- and third-year groups.
• Horikita Manabu argued that the first-years lacked enough information for the selection to be fair, while Nagumo insisted that exploiting others’ ignorance was part of the rules of society.

Kazehara Tetsu proposed letting first-years with a clear choice select groups before the others used rock paper scissors, then chose to place Horikita Manabu’s third-year group and Miyabi Nagumo’s second-year group together. Nagumo disliked the idea because he wanted to compete directly against Manabu, and Kazehara agreed that the arrangement would make them cooperate.

• Miyabi Nagumo asked the first-years whether they objected to his rock paper scissors method, and Kazehara Tetsu stepped forward with an alternative.
• Kazehara proposed that prepared students choose first and that undecided students use rock paper scissors afterward, and Nagumo accepted.
• Kazehara asked to select both the second- and third-year groups at once, and Nagumo granted permission.
• Kazehara chose Horikita Manabu’s third-year group and Miyabi Nagumo’s second-year group for the same Large Group.
• Nagumo said he wanted a direct contest against Manabu and called the proposed cooperation sickening, and Kazehara nodded in agreement.

Kazehara Tetsu forced Miyabi Nagumo to honor his promise to join Horikita Manabu’s group, helping the students form their groups quickly. After everyone dispersed, Kazehara invited Nagumo to scout the exam grounds, and Nagumo agreed to go with him.

• Kazehara challenged Nagumo to either keep his word or admit publicly that he had spoken without meaning it, and Nagumo agreed to join Horikita Manabu’s group.
• First-year groups formed through club connections, while the remaining students paired up through Rock Paper Scissors.
• Nagumo dismissed the students and watched them leave, including Horikita Manabu and the other members of their group.
• Kazehara stayed behind and invited Nagumo to explore the exam area with him.
• Nagumo accepted Kazehara’s invitation, and the two headed out together to scout the grounds.

On the Forest Path, Miyabi Nagumo questioned Kazehara Tetsu about his connection to Horikita Manabu and why he had placed them in the same group. Nagumo failed to uncover Kazehara’s motives and warned that boredom might lead him to cause trouble within the Large Group.

• Miyabi Nagumo asked Kazehara Tetsu whether he had a private relationship with Horikita Manabu, and Kazehara denied it.
• Nagumo accused Kazehara of ruining his chance to defeat Horikita Manabu by assigning them to the same group, while Kazehara said he had done it to maximize their chance of winning.
• Nagumo rejected Kazehara’s explanation and suggested he had helped Horikita Manabu to get closer to Horikita Suzune.
• Kazehara dismissed Nagumo’s romantic theory and pointed out that Horikita Manabu would see it as baseless gossip.
• Nagumo warned Kazehara that if the Large Group became too boring, he might cause trouble to entertain himself.

Kazehara Tetsu rejected Miyabi Nagumo’s proposed contest and warned him against trying to manipulate the results. When Nagumo pressed him about his encrypted background, Tetsu hinted that his family was the country’s biggest supplier and left Nagumo shaken.

• Miyabi Nagumo proposed comparing their groups’ average exam scores, but Kazehara Tetsu refused because the different year levels made the contest unfair.
• Nagumo offered Personal Points or Student Council privileges, but Tetsu said he knew Nagumo might bribe students to sabotage his group.
• Tetsu said his group was not united by loyalty, but that any student who betrayed him would be expelled and face ruin afterward.
• Nagumo revealed that he had found much of Tetsu’s student file encrypted and pressed him about his background.
• Tetsu pulled Nagumo close, made a gun gesture against his chest, and whispered that his family was the country’s biggest supplier.
• Nagumo froze, unable to dismiss Tetsu’s claim as a bluff, while Tetsu said it was only part of the truth.

Kazehara Tetsu and the other students began their first morning at Forest School with cleaning, meditation, and breakfast. Miyabi Nagumo proposed that the first-years take the first turn preparing breakfast, and everyone looked to Kazehara for his response.

• Kazehara Tetsu woke the first-years and led them to the classroom, where Onodera explained the cleaning routine and etiquette rules.
• The students cleaned outdoors in the cold, then gathered in the dojo for a brief meditation session.
• Onodera told the students that their small groups would prepare breakfast starting the next day, and the school provided their first meal.
• A second-year suggested that the three year groups take turns cooking, and Miyabi Nagumo proposed that the first-years go first.
• Miyabi Nagumo asked Kazehara Tetsu whether he objected, leaving the first-years waiting for his answer.

Tetsu organized his group’s cooking rotation and delegated the details to Katsuragi before the students attended a lecture and began long-distance training. The chapter ended with all forty-five students running on the sports field in preparation for the final-day relay.

• Tetsu’s group agreed to get up at four-thirty for their cooking shift, and Kanzaki, Ryuen, and Yukimura accepted the plan.
• Tetsu assigned Katsuragi to organize everyone’s cooking duties, and Katsuragi agreed to make a list.
• Tetsu and the first-years entered the classroom, where Ryuen sat apart from the group as the second- and third-years arrived.
• The students attended a lecture, then gathered on the sports field at noon for long-distance training.
• All forty-five students started running on the track to prepare for the relay race on the final day.

Kazehara Tetsu kept a measured pace during the long-distance training run, helping Yukimura Teruhiko avoid overexertion as other runners fell behind. He moved toward the front and was joined by Miyabi Nagumo, who questioned his apparent lack of effort.

• Kazehara Tetsu warned the struggling Yukimura Teruhiko to monitor his condition and conserve energy during the training run.
• Yukimura Teruhiko asked why Kazehara Tetsu was running so slowly despite his abilities, and Kazehara told him to focus on his breathing.
• As the pack spread out, Kazehara Tetsu maintained his pace and passed exhausted runners until only about a dozen students remained ahead.
• Miyabi Nagumo slowed down from running beside Horikita Manabu and dropped back to match Kazehara Tetsu's pace.
• Miyabi Nagumo criticized Kazehara Tetsu for appearing to stroll, while Kazehara claimed that endurance was his weakness.

Nagumo President confronted Kazehara Tetsu about his extraordinary speed in the Sports Festival, but Kazehara dismissed his questions and offered an explanation Nagumo did not believe. After the day's training ended, the students ate dinner and prepared for an early start the next morning.

• Nagumo President told Kazehara Tetsu that he had calculated his 200-meter time at 19.50 seconds and pressed him to explain his speed.
• Kazehara Tetsu claimed a higher-dimensional system enhanced his abilities, but Nagumo President dismissed the claim as a joke and assumed Kazehara was hiding a training method.
• Kazehara Tetsu returned from the long run without sweating while most of the students struggled to stand.
• Kazehara Tetsu and the others completed their afternoon classes and seated meditation before heading to dinner.
• Kazehara Tetsu warned the group they would wake at 4:30 the next morning for physical labor, and they filled up at the dining hall.

Kazehara Tetsu met Sakayanagi Arisu during dinner and learned how she had assembled the girls’ Large Group for the exam. The Class B recruit completed a four-class combination, leaving Class A in control of the core groups as the night ended.

• Kazehara Tetsu sat with Sakayanagi Arisu and asked how she was coping with the Forest School’s demanding schedule.
• Sakayanagi Arisu told Kazehara Tetsu that Shiina and Kushida had joined her group, while Ichinose Honami had declined so she could look after her classmates.
• Sakayanagi Arisu recruited Kobashi Yume from Class B by telling her that Ichinose had tacitly approved the plan and that joining could benefit her class.
• Kazehara Tetsu and Sakayanagi Arisu discussed how their groups had formed and prepared to take turns cooking.
• Kazehara Tetsu and Sakayanagi Arisu parted after he reminded her to stay warm and she wished him victory on the final day.

Miyabi Nagumo visited the first-years’ room with Kiriyama Ikuto and two third-years, claiming he wanted to strengthen friendly relations. He brought playing cards and invited the students to play, drawing Kazehara Tetsu into the exchange.

• The first-years settled into their shared room, where Kanzaki Ryuji chatted with students and Yukimura Teruhiko answered questions while Ryuen Kakeru kept to himself.
• Miyabi Nagumo arrived with Kiriyama Ikuto and two third-years, and Katsuragi Kouhei waited for Kazehara Tetsu’s nod before letting them enter.
• Miyabi Nagumo said the students needed a way to pass the long nights without electronic devices and produced a box of playing cards.
• Miyabi Nagumo invited the first-years to play cards to strengthen relations, and Kazehara Tetsu set his book aside and approached.

Miyabi Nagumo proposed a card-game wager that would redistribute breakfast duties among the three years, but Kazehara Tetsu rejected his choice of Old Maid as too simple. The confrontation ended with Kazehara challenging Nagumo to play a game that required skill.

• Nagumo persuaded Tsunoda and Ishikura to stay, then proposed betting on breakfast duties for the Training Camp.
• Ishikura questioned whether the students present could decide for the whole Large Group, but Nagumo insisted they could represent the others.
• Kazehara Tetsu agreed that the first-years would join the wager.
• Nagumo suggested six rounds of Old Maid, with each losing year responsible for breakfast for one day per loss.
• Kazehara called Old Maid boring and challenged Nagumo to choose a game requiring more brainpower.

Kazehara Tetsu challenged Miyabi Nagumo to a game of skill instead of Old Maid, then proposed a memory contest using a deck torn into fragments. After Nagumo identified memorization as a way to win, Kazehara began explaining the next rule.

• Kazehara Tetsu proposed a game with little to no luck involved, and Miyabi Nagumo accepted the challenge.
• Kazehara asked whether he could ruin the new deck, and Nagumo gave him permission.
• Kazehara tore all 52 cards into four pieces each, making 208 fragments.
• Kazehara explained that players would study the fragments for one minute, then try to find all 16 pieces matching a called number without making a mistake.
• Nagumo reasoned that players could memorize the fragments' positions for selected numbers, and Kazehara agreed before introducing another rule.

Kazehara Tetsu explained a punishing card game that required players to track 50 hidden card fragments and continuously update their positions after displacement commands. Miyabi Nagumo accepted the challenge, and the contestants began the one-minute memorization round before Kazehara sealed 50 randomly selected pieces in the box.

• Kazehara Tetsu explained how players had to search the scattered fragments while remembering the hidden cards and tracking their changing positions.
• Miyabi Nagumo refused to back down from Kazehara Tetsu's challenge and agreed to play to the end.
• Ishikura, Miyabi Nagumo, and Kazehara Tetsu studied the 208 fragments during the one-minute memorization period.
• After time ran out, Kazehara Tetsu randomly selected 50 fragments by touch and placed them inside the opaque box.

Kazehara Tetsu dominated the memory game, while Miyabi Nagumo also demonstrated impressive recall and Ishikura struggled. The rounds continued, with Ishikura failing again and the pressure shifting to Nagumo.

• Ishikura went first in the opening round but failed to find all the 10 fragments, giving Kazehara Tetsu the advantage of his mistakes.
• Kazehara Tetsu found all fourteen 3 fragments and correctly identified the two remaining fragments inside the box.
• Miyabi Nagumo found all sixteen J fragments outside the box, and Ishikura lost the first round, leaving the third-years responsible for preparing and cooking breakfast.
• Kazehara Tetsu continued to clear the board effortlessly in the following rounds, while the game grew increasingly tense.
• In the third round, Ishikura failed to find the Q fragments, and Miyabi Nagumo faced the task of finding the 4s.

Kazehara Tetsu defeated Miyabi Nagumo and Ishikura in their card-memory contest, winning the bet over breakfast duties. Nagumo promised to make Horikita Manabu honor the result, while Kazehara and the first-years went to sleep relieved.

• After several mistakes by Nagumo and Ishikura, Ishikura won the third round, giving Nagumo his second loss.
• Kazehara continued the contest until 9:50 p.m.; he remained undefeated, while Nagumo finished with two losses and Ishikura with four.
• The groups confirmed the breakfast schedule, leaving the first-years free of cooking duties for the next six days.
• Kazehara asked Nagumo to ensure Horikita Manabu accepted the bet, and Nagumo promised to make him honor it.
• Nagumo left with the defeated third-years and Kiriyama Ikuto, and Kazehara told the first-years to sleep before turning out the lights.

Kazehara Tetsu and his classmates followed their usual morning routine at Forest School before learning that daily speeches would be part of This Exam. The chapter left them facing an assessment that could favor confident speakers and challenge more introverted students.

• The students meditated and attended their morning lessons as usual.
• Kazehara Tetsu watched Ichinose Honami encourage and support her classmates during a run.
• The Moral Lecture teacher announced that students would give daily speeches as part of their assessment.
• The teacher explained the speech evaluation criteria and assigned different topics to each school year.
• Kazehara Tetsu considered how the speeches might benefit confident students like Ichinose Honami and disadvantage less communicative classmates.