Chapter 236
She's not like Ichinose Honami, who doesn't overthink these things. She always believes her lover has his reasons for everything he does.
Compared to these trivial matters, what the girl is more worried about now is the increasingly warm atmosphere between the two of them.
What should I do? What should I do? Am I going to get bullied here?
For the entire next week, she will be staying in the Girls' Dormitory, where she will share a room with 14 other girls. There will simply be no suitable space for her and her lover to be intimate.
You can't just rely on the presence of both of them to eliminate their traits and just do it in the wild... that would be too embarrassing.
Aragaki Shun smiled slightly at the girl's charming expression. Today is January 4th, just the beginning of the beautiful spring scenery.
After Miki played a game of being Akito, the Leader of Class A ordered the girls to go to the common dormitory and call out Ichinose Honami.
Then the kind-hearted Archangel was pinned against the wall and given a severe beating, leaving with swollen lips.
The sun was almost setting by then. Seeing that the pink-haired girl had forgotten all her inner pressure, Aragaki Shun left the Girls' Dormitory area, completely satisfied.
Ichinose is indeed innocent and kind, but she is easy to win over for Aragaki Shun. Just a little bit of intimacy is enough to make him infatuated, leaving him no time to be sentimental about the comings and goings of strangers.
It can only be said that there are quite a few people in this school who are obsessed with love. Archangel is particularly vulnerable in this regard and can easily become immersed in it... Fortunately, it was Aragaki Shun himself who was captivated by him. Otherwise, if the class vice-president could lose his mind so easily, it would not be a good thing for Class A.
Six o'clock in the morning of the second day.
Upbeat background music started playing in the room; it was clearly a signal to everyone that it was time to get up.
"Having to get up at only six o'clock? The school is really strict. Looks like I'm in for a tough week ahead!"
Inside the dormitory, someone couldn't help but complain because of their morning grumpiness.
Aragaki Shun simply smiled at this, changed into his gym clothes, and went to brush his teeth and wash his face.
With his physique, he could easily go ten days or half a month without sleep, so he naturally wouldn't care about this little difficulty.
"Wait, where did Koenji go?"
As one of only three students from another class in the first group, Kaneda Satoru was very concerned about Yukimura Teruhiko and Koenji Rokusuke, who shared the same identity. Therefore, he quickly noticed a blond guy who was not in the dormitory.
Then, as if on cue, Koenji appeared, looking refreshed, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, before anyone else could even panic.
"Good morning, everyone. Are you planning to go out and find me? Hehe~ I feel pretty good this morning, so I did some morning exercises."
Upon seeing this, Yukimura Teruhiko frowned and turned to look at Aragaki Shun.
"Morning exercise? Who knows what challenges await us starting today? Unnecessarily wasting energy is not something I can condone."
But it's clear that Koenji wouldn't listen to such didactic words.
Not only that, he also refuted it with a smile.
"Even though I just finished training, my stamina is on a completely different level from the average person, so there's nothing to worry about. Besides, even Aragaki- boy didn't say much about my actions, so does Yukimura- boy really want to show off in front of Class A?"
"You... you, I was clearly thinking about the group's score..."
Seeing the members of this dormitory already showing signs of fighting even after just waking up, Aragaki Shun shook his head and didn't bother with the three people from another class. He simply led the other Class A students to the meeting place.
"There are less than ten minutes left before the designated assembly time. You can argue all you want, but if your group's score doesn't meet the requirements because you're late, don't blame me for giving up first place and switching to last place."
Aragaki Shun is the leader of the first group. If the group fails, he will be punished with expulsion.
But by then, it's hard to say who will be chosen because of the burial mechanism.
Having realized this, Kaneda and Yukimura dared not linger with Koenji any longer and immediately followed Class A out of the room.
Subsequently, at the teacher's request, the entire group of students gathered in one classroom.
"I am Onodera, the homeroom teacher of Class B. After roll call, you will go to the designated area outside to clean, and then clean the school building. This is your daily routine."
"Also, starting today, you will be taught not only by teachers from within the school, but also by other teachers responsible for various topics. Remember to greet them politely and treat them with respect."
Tsk~ Looks like the next week won't be easy -- the school is clearly going to put them through a lot of trouble.
The work at the Girls' Dormitory should be easier, but it will definitely be quite tiring by the end of the day.
Apart from Ibuki Mio, his other lovers are not very physically strong, so he needs to find an opportunity to go over and comfort them.
While thinking this to himself, Aragaki Shun didn't show it on his face. He naturally led the team outside to clean up.
After the teacher finished checking everyone's work, they were taken to an empty classroom for a morning meditation session. It took quite a while before they were allowed to go to the dining area for breakfast.
Then they received another bombshell:
"Today, breakfast was provided by the school, but starting tomorrow, the entire group will be responsible for preparing it. Remember to discuss the number of people and task allocation together."
"Really? I've never cooked before."
Members of other groups also arrived. Upon hearing the news, some began to complain, and many students who hadn't spoken up also looked troubled, clearly distressed by the situation.
Aragaki Shun calmly looked around, seemingly unconcerned about the arrangement.
Although he hadn't specifically honed his culinary skills, his exceptional learning ability meant he was quite accomplished in this area, reaching level 4, which was the normal limit that an ordinary chef could achieve through hard work.
Many world-class chefs are only at this level; beyond that lies the realm of the exceptionally gifted, and there are at most four or five such individuals in an era.
However, the breakfast menu seemed to be pre-determined, and the school even sent out a thick document specifically for it.
Today's meal is very simple: a traditional Sakurajima three-dish meal with a soup, served in small portions.
"Uh, is that all..."
For students who are growing and have a big appetite during puberty, this amount of food is clearly not enough. Some of them can only reluctantly go to get more rice after finishing the vegetables.
Upon seeing this, Aragaki Shun ran directly to the teacher next to him.
"Since we're cooking ourselves, can we not follow the menu? I'm confident in my cooking skills. Can the school provide more ingredients, or do we need to use Private Points to buy them?"
The middle-aged teacher was somewhat surprised to be asked such a question, but still readily gave an answer.
"No problem. The school only provided the menu to make things easier for you. It would be even better if you had your own ideas."
When Aragaki Shun returned to the group with satisfaction, the group members all wore hesitant expressions, with Koenji Rokusuke being particularly blunt:
"I didn't expect Aragaki- boy to be so skilled in this area? I'll have to look forward to it."
"Food is one of my few hobbies, and I've studied it for a while before."
Aragaki Shun didn't see it as a secret that needed to be hidden, so he simply responded casually.
As for why he can reach the top level of humanity with just a little research?
Don't concern yourself with the affairs of those with Transcendentalist!
316. The helplessness of the mediocre; Asahina Nazuna was ordered to drop out of school?
I wonder if it's to let the students participating in the Mixed Training Camp experience the hardships of impoverished life.
Anyway, the breakfast prepared by the school was really mediocre; not only was the portion small, but the taste was also just average.
After eating, the group generally didn't rate it highly, saying it was only slightly better than the free Mountain Vegetable Set Meal.
However, this is only the second day of the exam. Starting tomorrow, students will officially have to prepare their own breakfast.
To this end, the heads of the second and Third Year even went to Aragaki Shun to propose a plan for the three grades to take turns making breakfast.
"If everyone distributes the responsibility equally, how about we take turns being in charge for one day each year, starting from first grade?"
Excluding today, all students will undergo six days of assessment at the Forest School in the future, rotating through the three academic years. Therefore, each academic year only needs to prepare breakfast for two days.
This is a fair solution; the only difference is the order of priority. However, the first graders definitely won't be at a disadvantage, since they won't be making breakfast on the day of the final exam.
"Okay, let's leave it at that."
As the person in charge of the first-year students, Aragaki Shun readily agreed.
Although there are other ways to distribute the food, it's also possible to divide everyone up by grade and have each student prepare breakfast for their own grade.
The problem is that if students are to cook for themselves, the students in charge of that task will definitely have to get up an hour or even two hours earlier.
The school notified us that the assembly time was around 6 a. m., and if we needed to go any earlier, we'd have to set our alarms for 4 or 5 a. m... This wasn't an easy task for some students who weren't used to waking up early.
Now that we've agreed that the three grades will take turns preparing breakfast, each grade only needs to get up twice in the morning.
Taking these factors into account, Aragaki Shun and the two senior leaders made a more detailed plan and finalized everything before informing the many members of the group.
Fortunately, no one in the group had any objections to the plan.
Next, everyone found a place to sit down and chat for a while. When the school's announcement came again, it was time for the morning classes.
According to the initial information provided, all members of the group were to gather in the same classroom to learn various insights and experiences.
In the afternoon, physical training is conducted, mainly focusing on long-distance running, and Relay race will be held on the day of the final exam.
In the first group where Aragaki Shun was, the students in Class A had always been excellent in all aspects, and the students in Class C, Kaneda Satoru, and Class B, Koenji Rokusuke, did not need to worry about physical fitness. Only Yukimura Teruhiko from Class D was somewhat weak in this aspect.
Fortunately, the group rankings were based on average scores, and the opposing team knew they were dragging the team down, so they gritted their teeth and ran as hard as they could.
"Haa~ Haa~~"
Seeing Yukimura Teruhiko struggling Matoba keep going while panting heavily, Aragaki Shun frowned slightly and told him to go and rest for a while.
"We'll be training here for another six days. If you collapse from exhaustion now, the others will be in for a headache."
"I'm sorry, I'm the one who dragged the team down."
Yukimura, who usually prided himself on his excellent grades, looked ashamed at this moment.
There were many physically demanding activities starting in the morning, and he was really struggling to keep going, so he had to step aside and watch the other members of his group continue training.
If it were a matter of academic knowledge, offering advice might get you some temporary help, but what's being tested now is basic physical fitness. This kind of quality relies purely on physical talent and daily training; if you can't do it, you can't do it, and there are no shortcuts.
"Before entering this school, I always believed that studying was a student's primary responsibility and that grades were the best reflection of ability. But now it seems that simply studying is far from enough."
With a bitter expression on his face, Yukimura Teruhiko finally admitted his shortcomings after repeatedly feeling powerless in the face of Special Exam.
Looking back now, his position in Class D was probably similar to that of Ken Sudō before he was expelled, except that one focused on physical fitness and the other on academic performance. Both were experts in one area but had significant weaknesses in another.
"These things vary from person to person; there's no need to overthink it."
Aragaki Shun patted the top student on the shoulder, saying, "Although according to the shortest plank principle, how much water a bucket can hold depends not on the longest plank, but on the shortest one."
"However, when taking action or making decisions, it is undoubtedly correct to make the most of one's strengths and advantages while avoiding or mitigating one's weaknesses and shortcomings."
Ordinary people have limited time and energy, and they can't use cheat codes to enhance themselves, so it's perfectly fine for them to focus more on areas they are better at.
In Class D, compared to fools like Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, Yukimura Teruhiko, a bookworm who only cares about grades and devotes all his attention to studying, is actually quite good.
Even if his social skills are on par with Horikita Suzune's, it wouldn't be a big problem in a typical high school.
Anyway, after graduating from high school, everyone will go their separate ways, so the so-called friendship among classmates isn't that important.
The only problem is--
"It's not wrong to prioritize grades, but your academic level isn't actually that high, is it?"
Faced with the blunt assessment from the Leader of Class A, Yukimura's face flushed red instantly, and he opened his mouth to say something.
But when he thought about how Aragaki Shun himself had been the top student in his grade since the beginning of this year's freshmen enrollment, this top student suddenly became hesitant to speak, unsure of how to respond.
A long silence followed, perhaps three minutes, perhaps five minutes. Aragaki Shun saw Yukimura gritting his teeth, seemingly lost in thought. He shook his head, picked up two bottles of mineral water from the side, and casually tossed one of them to Yukimura.
"To put it bluntly, high school students who are truly good at studying and have exceptional academic talent don't normally need to take shortcuts like this Advanced Nurturing."
Yukimura Teruhiko, Horikita Suzune, Matsushita Chiaki, Wang Meiyu, and even Sakayanagi Arisu —these students who ranked in the top ten of their grade in midterm Final Exam —are probably considered by ordinary people to be outstanding students who are far beyond their reach and difficult to emulate.
But in reality, they are just ordinary high-achieving students. Top-tier high-achieving students are required to get full marks in every normal exam, while academic geniuses do not need to put in much effort to easily surpass the diligence and hard work of high-achieving students.
They scored around 90 in all subjects, and with consistent performance in their strongest subjects, they might even get full marks... Just pick any high school that focuses on college entrance exams, and the top two students in the regular classes there should be at a similar level to Yukimura and his classmates.
If they were placed in the top classes of these high schools, it would be quite normal for someone with Yukimura's or Matsushita's grades to simply blend into the crowd.
Ultimately, Advanced Nurturing is not a normal school whose primary goal is to help students get into higher education institutions.
Here, even at its peak, a grade only has 160 students, so being in the top ten doesn't really mean anything.
In addition, Advanced Nurturing students are generally recommended by various national high schools across the country, and then selected from among them.
Those truly top-tier students, even geniuses, can get into their desired universities on their own. There's no need for them to come here for Advanced Nurturing. The local key high schools would have already reserved them for them. There's absolutely no reason to send such talents away.
After all, these high schools that focus on college entrance exams need top-notch students the most, while Advanced Nurturing have no requirements for grades at all, and even students with an E grade can get in.
In short, in this school, the only true academic genius is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, while Aragaki Shun is an exceptional individual who defies convention.
Ichinose Honami may possess near-genius academic talent, but her mind is too preoccupied with interpersonal relationships and romance, so she doesn't really put in much effort when it comes to studying.
The Yukimura Teruhiko, Matsushita Chiaki, Horikita Suzune, and even Sakayanagi Arisu, can only be considered ordinary geniuses, like one or two in each grade and class of a normal high school.