A New-Era Matchmaker / Dorm Room Raid

However, having already experienced it yesterday, the students in the other groups could only force themselves to refocus and concentrate on their tasks, secretly praying that today's schedule would align, at least enough to make them feel at ease while they ate.

Soon, as time slowly approached six in the morning, the Forest School's loudspeakers once again began playing background music to remind students to get up and eat breakfast. Although the melody was still melodious, just like the saying "don't use your favorite music as your alarm clock," if they listened to it for another two days, this tune would probably become one of the most hated tunes among all the students at ANHS.

After welcoming all the students of the Third Large Group with a breakfast no less lavish than yesterday, Kitagawa Ryo could clearly feel his popularity rising among the upperclassmen. After all, everyone's personality is different, and not all second and third-year students were obedient to Miyabi Nagumo or the class Leader, especially the latter, who only had two months left until graduation. There were still quite a few ordinary students who wanted to spend their last days on campus peacefully.

Watching Kitagawa Ryo effortlessly dispel the potential hostility of many upperclassmen with just one breakfast, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka calmly took another sip of the thick soup Kitagawa had prepared. He silently retracted the modifier "effortlessly" from his previous statement, after all, being able to hone his culinary skills to this level was hardly effortless.

After breakfast comes the familiar cleaning and sanitation routine.

Perhaps because it is located deep in the mountains and forests, the area, which was carefully cleaned just yesterday, is now covered with a thick layer of dead branches and leaves again after just one day. However, if you look up, you can see some new buds on the old trees along the road, as if announcing in advance the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

Cleaning is indeed a tedious and patience-testing task. Yesterday, the first time doing it, there might have been some novelty, but the repetitive work made many students of this age feel rather bored. Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo in the Third Group seemed to be showing signs of this, Sotomura Hideo and Yukimura Teruhiko were simply still recovering from yesterday's long run, so their progress was significantly slower than yesterday. Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to personally direct them, giving the two from Class D a slightly stern reprimand while also taking on some of their work with the other students so that they could rest for as long as possible.

After cleaning, there was meditation, followed by the same lecture as yesterday. Kitagawa Ryo was once again called to the podium to serve as Oki Masashi's teaching assistant.

Next to the podium was a window for ventilation. In his spare time when he had nothing to do, Kitagawa Ryo would go and look at the scenery. Since he knew he didn't have much to teach the other person and had accepted his help, Oki Masashi himself tacitly approved of Kitagawa Ryo's slacking off.

Around the last period, thanks to his superhuman eyesight, Kitagawa Ryo managed to catch a glimpse of the activity on the other side of the playground through the window. It was the girls who were doing activities at a different time from them; they had already started their long-distance running training.

The girls in the First Group were probably active during this time, because Kitagawa Ryo easily spotted Sakayanagi Arisu.

Nearly a year ago, when the school year started, the other person's official physical ability rating at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was still E, indicating that they were not suitable for participating in any sports activities. Nearly half a year ago, during the summer vacation, their physical ability was about the same as that of Shiina Hiyori, who was still struggling to run and was at the back of the team. In the latter half of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, they even dragged the team down to the point of feeling guilty.

But things are completely different now.

If Arisu's top three finishes at the Sports Festival were partly due to the relatively weaker strength of her group of students, she is now undoubtedly above average.

Sakayanagi Arisu is running forward on the track, full of youthful energy. Her silver hair, simply tied into a ponytail for ease of exercise, bounces energetically.

Da da da--

Although they were quite a distance apart, Kitagawa Ryo seemed to be able to hear the sound of each of the other's firm footsteps on the ground.

He suddenly felt a little dazed.

It has been quite a while since the last time the other person walked with their cane tapping away.


Chapter 407: The Magpie Bridge in the New Era (6k)

The second and third days of the Mixed Training Camp passed uneventfully. Apart from meeting Horikita Manabu on the first night, Kitagawa Ryo slept soundly for the next two nights, maintaining a very regular schedule. Every day around 4 a. m., he would get up on time to go to the Outdoor Cooking Area to cultivate goodwill with the upperclassmen, and then concentrate on studying the school's various courses. Even though the Special Exam was almost halfway through, he still maintained his total score as the top student in the entire school.

On the second and third days, during the six card draws, Kitagawa Ryo didn't continue his good luck from the first day. Apart from two protection cards that were almost useless for a score-chasing player like him, the amplification cards he drew no longer had the 0.5 drop rate of only 10%, but instead had three 0.1 and one 0.3. However, combined with the three cards he got on the first day, he still managed to reach an amplification multiplier of 1.7. Compared to most students who were still stuck with multipliers below 1, this was definitely among the highest level. After all, not everyone could get the maximum of three card draws every day like him.

Regarding the rankings of the groups and the larger groups, the Third Group, which gradually adapted to this Special Exam, also began to demonstrate its formidable strength on paper. In particular, after the addition of Written Exam exams such as 'morality' and 'social skills' to the daytime curriculum, Yukimura Teruhiko, who had previously struggled with physical abilities, recovered. Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo, who had also started thinking about improving their scores in other areas, became much more proactive, choosing to get up early and help with chores with Kitagawa Ryo. By the end of the third day, their Third Group had finally surpassed the First Group, led by Ken Sudō, in total score, officially becoming the top group in the grade.

As for the larger groups, the second and third-year groups were almost completely outmatched by the other groups of the same grade led by Miyabi Nagumo and Horikita Manabu. The former goes without saying, and the latter had initially thought they were in for a tough fight. However, with Nagumo's focus shifting and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's instructions, neither the second nor the third year students actively sought to cause trouble for him and Class 3-A. The situation was more relaxed than ever before, and the points were naturally racked up very quickly.

That's why, even though Kitagawa Ryo's team had secured first place in their group, their Third Large Group still finished second overall. However, Kitagawa Ryo himself wasn't too bothered by this, since he could only influence himself and his group. He couldn't and wouldn't bother with the second and third-year seniors, and with the First Year holding the fort, their overall group ranking wouldn't be too bad, so he was naturally indifferent.

Actually, among the six groups on the boys' side, the atmosphere in their Third Large Group was the best. According to Ishizaki Daichi, Watanabe Norihito Hashimoto Masayoshi, and other classmates' casual conversations and occasional visits, Kitagawa Ryo also learned that the atmosphere between the other groups, especially the relationship between the upper and lower grades, was not very good. There were often students who acted like seniors and pointed fingers at the First Year students while saying things like "for the sake of the whole group's grades." If they weren't worried about losing points, there were several times when they almost had a direct confrontation.

As for why the Third Large Group hasn't experienced such a conflict yet, besides Kitagawa Ryo intentionally trying to improve his popularity with the upperclassmen, it's also related to the grades of the three grades. After all, from the first day until now, their First Year group has consistently scored the most points. Even the most shameless upperclassmen wouldn't dare to use the name of the larger group to lecture them. In fact, it's the upperclassmen who are dragging down the lowerclassmen.

"... Huff, huff."

The rapid breathing behind him interrupted Kitagawa Ryo's thoughts. Turning around, Yukimura Teruhiko trudging along with heavy steps, his forehead and face covered in sweat. His glasses were even slipping down his nose, and he had to help them up every now and then.

Unlike the previous three days' schedule, starting today, the daily long-distance running training location has been moved from the playground inside the Forest School to the mountains outside the school. They also took the opportunity to announce a project called Road Relay Race, which will be held on the final day of the Final Exam. Each group will need to complete the 18-kilometer round trip route in a relay format. Their lecture class this morning was even canceled specifically for this, and the entire four hours were allocated to allow the students to experience the route in advance, either by walking or running.

Four hours and eighteen kilometers round trip may not sound like a particularly difficult task, but this is, after all, a mountainous area with undulating terrain, and the road conditions are completely incomparable to the asphalt track on the playground, giving it a nostalgic experience of being on Uninhabited Island.

"How are you? Can you still hold on?"

Upon seeing Yukimura Teruhiko's seemingly about-to-collapse appearance, Kitagawa Ryo deliberately slowed his pace, stepping back to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, and asked him with concern, followed by words of comfort:

"If all else fails, we can just walk through these four hours slowly. After all, the final Final Exam is a relay race, and the members can choose the distance they want to run. Yukimura can just run the first 1.2 kilometers."

In the rules of the Road Relay Race, each team member needs to complete a distance of at least 1.2 kilometers and at most 4.8 kilometers. Kitagawa Ryo himself knew that Yukimura Teruhiko's physical condition was indeed a bit too much to handle, so he immediately assigned him the lowest possible minimum.

"Hmm, phew... phew, I understand."

"There's no use in pushing yourself too hard. Physical fitness isn't something you can develop in a day or two. If you overexert yourself and sprain your ankle, it will affect your Final Exam. Not only will it affect your group, but your individual score in this area will also be zero."

The one who said this was Hashimoto Masayoshi, who was also conserving his energy and only intended to complete today's Hashimoto Masayoshi trip to the minimum standard. Since joining the Third Group, he could be said to follow Kitagawa Ryo's lead in everything, and his responses were always incredibly smooth. At least in terms of interpersonal relationships, he was impeccable.

Then, he very kindly took Yukimura Teruhiko's arm by the shoulder, and smiled when he saw the other's surprised expression.

"Relax, relax. This stretch of road is too long. There are only school staff near the start and finish lines, so don't worry about being seen by them."

After saying that, Hashimoto Masayoshi looked up at Kitagawa Ryo and said:

"Regarding the route allocation for our Final Exam, does the team leader have any ideas now?"

"We'll discuss the specifics after we finish this run, but we do want to prioritize having team members with lower stamina complete the flatter sections, and ideally, the distance should be at least 1.2 kilometers. Any extra distance can be handled by Ayanokoji and me."

"That sounds good. I can run more myself, and the team leader doesn't need to worry too much when allocating mileage, as long as I can contribute to the team."

"Yes, I'll consider it."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement. It had to be said that the format of this road relay race test really benefited their Third Group. After all, their group had long-distance running experts like himself, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and Hirata Yosuke. Hashimoto Masayoshi and Miyake Akito were also quite good, and even delinquent athletes like Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo were above average. Not only did they offset the disadvantages of Yukimura Teruhiko and Sotomura Hideo, but they could even say that they had the advantage.

After telling Yukimura Teruhiko to take his time, Kitagawa Ryo sped up, preparing to study and familiarize himself with the 18-kilometer round trip mountain road first, so that he could easily assign each team member to a suitable section of the road later.

Because this field training exercise was conducted in large groups, Kitagawa Ryo ran a short distance faster and encountered some older students walking or running on the road. However, he didn't intend to talk to them. He simply nodded to the people he met and continued running.

The section near the turnaround point is a long, narrow uphill climb. Although Kitagawa Ryo could vaguely sense that the overall terrain in the first half of the journey was constantly rising, the steepness of this last section was clearly visible to the naked eye. Although the winding mountain road had been widened to allow cars to travel, the obvious angle of inclination still made it difficult to drive.

Waiting and registering near the turnaround point was Sakagami Kazuma teacher of Class 1-D. Perhaps he wasn't surprised that Kitagawa Ryo was the first to arrive, or perhaps he was just used to the stern expression. After quickly registering Kitagawa Ryo and recording his grades, he sat back down in his chair, sipping the hot tea from his thermos, and responsibly reminded him, "Please be careful on your return trip."

The first half is uphill... the second half is downhill.

After briefly surveying the return route from the highest point in the area, Kitagawa Ryo continued on his way. However, this time he didn't obediently follow the road marked by the school, but instead veered directly into the forest beside the road at a bend.

The forest path, unpaved by humans, is entirely made of natural soil. However, because of the sunny weather these past few days, it wasn't too damp, making it relatively easy to walk on, and you didn't have to worry about getting your shoes and trousers dirty.

It must be said that compared to the Uninhabited Island I visited during the summer vacation, the forest here is indeed more pristine and natural. Even though it is still winter, Kitagawa Ryo can clearly feel the pulse of various lives. Although he has not yet found any traces of large animals such as wild boars, the sounds of other small animals have not escaped his Hawkeye at all.

After tiptoeing through the woods for a while, Kitagawa Ryo finally found his target: Mizowaki and Tonokawa from Class 2-A.

During the journey, Kitagawa Ryo ran at full speed without stopping to talk to anyone. However, thanks to his Eidetic Memory, he easily recalled all the faces he had seen. After noticing that Miyabi Nagumo's two right-hand men had disappeared, he guessed that they must have also gone into the nearby forest.

As for what they were going to talk about in such a remote place, Kitagawa Ryo already had a pretty good idea.

"Hey, Nagumo called again last night to urge us, what should we do?"

"What can we do? They're willing to come and cook every morning at four o'clock. How would we have a chance to tamper with things? Besides, you know that even if we faked food poisoning, the two of us and even the whole group would have to get infected. Otherwise, it would be too fake, and if we were found out, we'd definitely be expelled."

"We can't keep putting it off. It's already the fourth day of this Special Exam. Tomorrow is Saturday, so we only have half a day of classes. The day after tomorrow is Sunday, so we have a day off. The Final Exam are the day after that. If we don't act now, we'll really miss our chance. If we can't do it with academics, how about we try something more physical?"

Faced with Mizowaki's suggestion, Tonokawa rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Come on, martial arts? The two of us combined wouldn't even be a match for Kitagawa's one-handed attack. You saw his performance at the Sports Festival, didn't you? And Mizowaki, haven't you noticed? Most of the guys in our group have already been won over by his sweet talk. You should only say this to me; if you say another word to them, it might get back to Kitagawa in no time."

"What about the third grade? Isn't Ishikura also trying to target Kitagawa? He even specifically asked us to cooperate on the first day."

"Who knows what he's thinking? Besides, I always feel like there's someone else directing him. After all, he's not in his own bed two out of three nights a year. Who knows who he's meeting with in the middle of the night?"

As he spoke, Mizowaki spat out the blade of grass that he had been holding in his mouth with a smacking sound.

"I don't know what Nagumo is thinking, he's so obsessed with that First Year Kitagawa Ryo, it's like he's possessed. It's making me think that Kiriyama's constant ' Nagumo, you'll regret this' is right."

"But at least you can't see any sign of regret from him now. We've already been labeled by him, so we can only believe him and go down this dark path."

Tonokawa gave a helpless bitter laugh. Just half a year ago, Class 2-A was the undisputed leader of the second year, with unlimited advantages and almost complete control of the Student Council. But after only one semester, the huge Class A always gave people a sense of being on the verge of collapse due to internal and external troubles. What's even more frightening is that Nagumo himself doesn't even seem to have any intention of intervening.

"Yeah, let's stop thinking about these things and keep figuring out how to trap Kitagawa. If the second and third year students aren't working, how about we go after the First Year? They have more ways to contact Kitagawa."

"Oh my god, you're not really planning to let them have sex with Kitagawa in the bathhouse, are you? That's no joke. If they hit a sensitive spot, it'd be better to just take some laxatives. I'll get up early tomorrow and find an opportunity. Could you cover for me a little then... Wait, did you hear anything?"

"What the hell? Holy crap, what the hell is that?"

"... Is it possible that we saw a 'Wild Boar Sightseeing, Beware' sign before we came in?"

Upon noticing the approach of a behemoth, the two who had been loudly plotting just moments before instantly transformed into trembling little quails, shrinking into themselves and lying on the ground to minimize their presence. It wasn't that they didn't want to run away, but their legs were just too weak, and they felt that running would only provoke the other party.

However, it turns out that high school students born and raised in big cities generally find it difficult to remain completely calm when suddenly encountering such large and ferocious-looking wild animals. Just because the other animal took a couple of extra steps toward them, Mizowaki and Tonokawa were already somewhat out of control, thinking they had been discovered. They hurriedly got up from the ground and prepared to run out of the area, only to be spotted by the wild boar with its snout raised.

As a wild animal with considerable attack power, this boar didn't seem to be in a good mood today. It quickly Mizowaki towards Gou Xie, who was already crying out for help, on its hind legs. Dian He, who was also fleeing nearby, felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of its Tonokawa, but he had no courage to stop it. He could only close his eyes and pray for his friend while running wildly to notify the school.

"Bang--"

But the next second, he heard another loud noise, followed by the wild boar's grunting and groaning in pain. Turning around, he saw that the wild boar that had been charging had stopped, somewhat dazed. Standing beside him was another boy holding a thick, broken wooden stick. Judging from the fresh break on the stick, it was this thing that had just dealt a hard blow to the wild boar on the ground.

The person who made the move was none other than Kitagawa Ryo, who had been observing the two from the sidelines. He himself hadn't expected these two students from Class 2-A to be so lucky; the wild boar that he had been deliberately searching for all along the way had actually been bumped into by them.

Although Kitagawa Ryo and these two were complete strangers, and even had different stances due to his relationship with Miyabi Nagumo, he naturally chose to prioritize saving lives in this situation.

After noticing that the stick he had picked up had broken in two from the previous blow, Kitagawa Ryo decisively threw away the remaining half in his hand. He then reached out and firmly grasped the two most lethal fangs on the opponent's body. Only then did he shout a few words to the completely dumbfounded Tonokawa and the sweating Mizowaki, signaling them to quickly notify the school.

In fact, after getting started, Kitagawa Ryo already knew what to expect. If he used all his strength, it wouldn't be impossible for him to kill this wild boar with his bare hands right here. However, such behavior was indeed beyond the scope of a high school student. Therefore, he deliberately held back and pretended to be struggling with the boar.

"Okay, okay!"

Mizowaki and Tonokawa, who only reacted after being called out by Kitagawa Ryo, hurriedly responded. Knowing that they couldn't help if they stayed, they quickly ran out of the forest to find reinforcements.

The ANHS authorities acted efficiently, especially in a situation involving the safety of students. Although they didn't equip any student with a wristwatch with full GPS tracking like they did on the Uninhabited Island, they still arrived quickly. A few minutes later, they arrived with professionals armed with tranquilizer guns and successfully dealt with the wild boar, which had been almost completely exhausted by Kitagawa Ryo.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Immediately after the wild boar collapsed, school staff rushed over and asked him questions with some concern. Medical personnel behind them had prepared a stretcher and, ignoring his wishes, forcibly pulled him into the ambulance for an emergency examination. Only after confirming that there were no obvious external or internal injuries were Kitagawa Ryo finally released.

"You're First Year student, right? Here's what we'll do: we'll drive you home now so you can rest in the car for a bit, and then come back here to explain the situation. The school will definitely provide a solution as soon as possible."

Upon seeing that Kitagawa Ryo was alright, the school staff member breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um... I'm still taking Special Exam."

"All missed lessons will be graded as full marks."

"That's all."

"Don't worry, the school will definitely not let you miss your exam because of this. In fact, according to those two second-year students, they will even commend you for your act of bravery."

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo seemed preoccupied with the Special Exam, the staff member offered another word of comfort.

"Of course, next time you encounter such an emergency, your first priority should still be to ensure your own safety as much as possible..."

Although he wanted to say a few more educational words as a matter of routine, the staff member seemed to have a hard time continuing after seeing the wild boar with half of its tusk broken off on its face as it was being carried onto the car by others, and the unharmed boy in front of him. He could only wave his hand to indicate that Kitagawa Ryo should get into the car and go back to the Forest School with them first.

And so, on the fourth day of the Mixed Training Camp Special Exam, Kitagawa Ryo missed lunch for the first time. The other members of the Third Group were questioned by girls from all classes and even all grades, and could only helplessly say that they did not know anything either. They only knew that Kitagawa Ryo had mysteriously disappeared after the field training in the morning. For a time, the entire Student Cafeteria was discussing this topic.

However, the students' doubts were quickly answered. After understanding the specific situation, the school quickly issued an announcement through the tablets available to each group. They specifically praised Kitagawa Ryo from Class 1-A for remaining calm and bravely rescuing two second-year students from the same group when faced with wild boars. They also announced that the school would focus on wild boar expulsion efforts over the next two days. After that, they temporarily revised the rules for this Special Exam.

To ensure the safety of students, all field training courses, including those for Final Exam, will be arranged so that male and female students in all groups will travel together.

To be honest, when Kitagawa Ryo saw this new regulation, his first reaction was that he finally didn't have to use the "adding rice" tactic anymore.

If magpies formed the Magpie Bridge, enabling the annual reunion of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the Qixi Festival, then the bridge that now forms between him and the girls is that wild boar that he nearly beat to death with his bare hands.

Hmm... Wild Boar Bridge.

I imagined that scene.

Okay, Kitagawa Ryo admits that his threshold for laughter is indeed very low.

Chapter 408: Night Raid on the Girls' Dormitory

On the fourth day of the Mixed Training Camp Special Exam, Kitagawa Ryo, who had leisurely spent half the afternoon lounging in his dormitory but automatically earned a perfect score in the corresponding subject, finally experienced the joy of a paid vacation. However, this happy time of stealing a moment of leisure did not last long. As the afternoon classes ended, boys from all grades, including the members of the Third Group, immediately crowded into their dormitory, all eager to catch a glimpse of their fellow student who had wrestled with a wild boar.

"Holy crap, Kitagawa, you really went to fight wild boar?"

"... I just went to stop them for a moment."

"I heard that you, Kitagawa, beat that wild boar to death with your bare hands?"

"Don't believe or spread rumors. In the end, the school used a tranquilizer gun to resolve the situation."

"Was that a boar or a sow?"

"Who asked such a bizarre question?"

Kitagawa Ryo forced a weak smile, then heard a casual remark drifting from somewhere in the crowd. "Because I wanted to know if it was a male, its thing was still as big as yours." He felt this joke was destined to get back at him; the two or three thousand Private Points he got from Ryuen Kakeru were still too little as compensation for his emotional distress.

The school administration of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School seemed to have anticipated this Matoba, so teachers quickly stepped forward to disperse the crowd and told the students in other groups to go back to their dormitories. This finally made the dormitory of the Third Group much quieter, and the natives who had been pushed to who-knows-where were finally able to return with difficulty.

"Our captain really stole the show this time."

Ishizaki Daichi wiped the sweat from his brow, chuckled, and his face already showed an expression of pride.

"Speaking of which, did the school give you any benefits for this incident, Captain? After all, if it weren't for your help, Kitagawa, and a real emergency had occurred, the school would have been in big trouble."

Compared to Ishizaki Daichi, Hashimoto Masayoshi was more concerned about the aftermath of the wild boar incident, so he immediately leaned over and spoke to him warmly.

"The current information is that it's still under discussion, and I'm told to wait for further instructions. It should be officially confirmed after this Special Exam."

"I see."