The Last Chance / Don't Think You're the Class Boss Just Because I'm Gone

"Yeah, I can't wait for her to call me Senior Amasawa."

"She is definitely a year older than you."

"There are younger seniors, aren't there? After all, Ryo is the same age as Yuki, but she still has to call you senior after she enrolled."

"Indeed, but it still feels a little strange. Compared to Yuki, I feel it's easier to imagine Ichika calling me senpai."

"I see... Don't worry, I understand. After all, you're a junior in the same department. If you like it, I'll arrange it for you next time."

Seeing that Amasawa Ichika's words were already heading in strange directions again, Kitagawa Ryo flicked her forehead with his finger. The girl cooperated by covering her forehead and showing a teary-eyed expression. Every time Kitagawa Ryo saw this, he couldn't help but sigh and wonder where this child had learned such amazing skills in pretending to be cute and acting silly. No wonder she was able to fool Yuki and Arisu for a whole round of simulations.

When Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika leisurely arrived near the turnaround point, there were no other students left. The teacher in charge of registration kindly reminded them:

"There is one hour left before the end of this field training exercise. If we cannot get back in time, our results will not be recorded."

"It's alright, we'll make it."

After casually replying, Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika started walking together. In a sense, the two, who were both from the White Room, were going all out. Since the second half of the road was all downhill, they reached the finish line in less than half the time, and the outline of the Forest School was already in sight.

Just when Kitagawa Ryo thought the field training was finally coming to an end, he suddenly heard the familiar sound of an ambulance coming from the road in the direction of the Forest School. After all, he had heard it just yesterday. Then a large group of school staff rushed over and were somewhat surprised to see Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika.

"You students haven't finished your field training yet. Hurry back to the Forest School; wild boar tracks have been spotted nearby again."

"Wild boar? Didn't the school send someone to drive it away?"

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo somewhat familiar, the school staff member suddenly remembered that he was the student who had bravely fought off the wild boar yesterday. His tone softened considerably, and he explained again:

"Yes, we had already driven everyone away from this area, but because we didn't have enough teachers to supervise the exam, we had to bring in some staff. As a result, there were two places where we didn't have enough staff, and a wild boar ran out in a panic. Actually, everything was fine until now. The school had already issued a notice in advance, telling students not to go into the forest anymore, and most of the students had already returned to the Forest School in groups according to their classes from the main road."

At this point, even the staff member was somewhat speechless.

"I don't know which idiot kept heading into the forest after hearing the school's announcement, and that's how they ended up running into it. Luckily, we arrived in time to chase the wild boar, otherwise they would have been more than just slightly injured."

As the staff member spoke, he pointed to the ambulance that had just passed by:

"The person is inside."

"Um, how are your injuries? You should be alright, right?"

"It's nothing serious, just a couple of grazes on his face. I just don't know if it'll leave a scar. Actually, this student is quite good-looking, so why isn't he very bright? He was just lying there, I don't know what he was thinking, and his hair was so conspicuous..."

Seeing the staff member mutter those two helpless words again, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly had a bold guess:

"Um, the student you're talking about who was attacked by a wild boar, isn't that Nagumo, the Student Council President of Class 2-A? He gave a speech when he took office as president at last year's Sports Festival."

"I haven't asked his name yet, since he's already passed out, but now that you mention it, it really does seem to be him."

After saying that, the staff member waved to the two of them again:

"Alright, alright, you two should hurry back to school too. The school will probably send us into the mountains again tomorrow, so we need to make sure there aren't any more mishaps Final Exam the day after tomorrow."

And so, after watching the staff and the ambulance drive away, Kitagawa Ryo stroked his chin and said uncertainly:

"Ichika, do you think he's still planning to ambush us?"

"Tch, he's lucky. Otherwise, I would have definitely hit him harder than the wild boar."

"... That's really true."

Chapter 419: The Last Chance (4k5)

And so, after this little incident with Miyabi Nagumo, Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika returned to the finish line at the Forest School just before the end of the field training exercise. Although, if you don't count Nagumo, the unlucky guy who was forced to withdraw from the exam, the two of them would be last and second to last in this course, they still managed to complete the course within the allotted time and thus obtained the minimum guaranteed score, so the trip wasn't a complete waste.

It has to be said that Kitagawa Ryo's score accumulated in the first four days was indeed solid. Even though he lost a lot of points during this field training exercise, he still maintained his first place in the whole school. After all, not every student can be like him, maintaining near-perfect scores in every course while also being willing to get up early every day to make breakfast as an extra point. Even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't do that.

Of course, even though he failed to overtake everyone else in the rankings through this field training exercise, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still jumped to second place in the whole school with his first-place score, which was far ahead of everyone else in this course. After all, if all twelve classes in the three grades were in complete chaos this morning, he was the only one who was catching up, which earned him a considerable number of points.

After registering the course grades, Kitagawa Ryo waved goodbye to Amasawa Ichika and went back to their respective dormitories. Since there were no classes scheduled for the afternoon, the school was considerate of the students who had participated in the field training in the morning and specially postponed the lunch time a little to give the students enough rest time.

"I'm back."

Kitagawa Ryo had just pushed open the door to the Third Group's dormitory room when he said this as usual. However, the atmosphere in the dormitory was different from the previous few days. It was as if they were arguing about something. It wasn't until he walked into the dormitory that everyone reluctantly stopped talking and turned their eyes to him at the same time.

"Are you alright?"

"Did those people come after you?"

The first to express their concern for Kitagawa Ryo were his classmates Watanabe Norihito and Hamaguchi Tetsuya. They didn't even ask about his final grades in the course, but instead went straight to his side and scrutinized Kitagawa Ryo for a while, as if checking for any injuries.

"I'm fine here. I'll just hide in the forest until I feel like it's about time before coming out. What about you guys? Is everyone else in the class alright?"

"Fortunately, Ichinose and Karuizawa gathered the class together quite early. Apart from Himeno and Amikura being harassed by upperclassmen at the beginning, things got much better after everyone was there."

Just as Watanabe Norihito was explaining to Kitagawa Ryo, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, standing next to Hashimoto Masayoshi, also glanced in their direction. He had returned earlier and already knew the details of the field training from Katsuragi Kohei and Ishikura. He also knew that the other party had not 'hidden in the forest until the time was almost up' as they had said, but had instead violently completed a one-against-ten battle.

Of course, for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had single-handedly defeated ten elite instructors during his childhood, this was not particularly surprising. Just like yesterday's wild boar incident, it was something he was capable of doing as well.

"Okay, that's good."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo nodded with satisfaction, Hamaguchi Tetsuya turned his anger towards the other members of the dormitory:

"So, now that the person involved is back and all the group members are present, let's talk about this Special Exam. When we were first formed, didn't Kitagawa say that we were the Third Group and that we shouldn't worry about the class when we acted? Well, what happened this morning? Didn't you enjoy watching three classes—no, three grades—gang up on one class?"

Knowing they were in the wrong, even after being subjected to such a sweeping generalization by Hamaguchi Tetsuya, the other students in the dormitory didn't immediately retort. It took a while before Ishizaki Daichi managed a dry laugh.

"So our Class D ended up switching sides again later."

"Tch, if our class hadn't promised to help you pay off the debt you owe Ryuen Kakeru, would you have suddenly had such a change of heart?"

"That's not very interesting. Special Exam are meant to be a competition between classes. It's normal to join the side that offers the most benefits. If your Class B is generous and doesn't want to compete, you can just do nothing and drop to Class D. Then no one will bother you."

Having been publicly rebuked by Hamaguchi Tetsuya, Komiya Yogo from Class D was somewhat embarrassed and decided to change the subject, then shifted the focus to Masayoshi Hashimoto Masayoshi's group:

"And to be honest, weren't the ones who were picked out from the crowd in this Special Exam the Class 1-C? Didn't you see Ayanokoji while we were all fighting, Ayanokouji secretly ran away and got first place, and now he's second in the whole school in total score?"

Although Komiya Yogo called him out so directly, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still didn't offer any explanation or defense. His deep eyes stared intently at Kitagawa Ryo, as if he were pondering something. In the end, Hashimoto Masayoshi things over.

"There's no need to make such a fuss about this. You say your Class B was besieged this time, but I can also say that our Class C was outmaneuvered by the three of you classes on the Uninhabited Island last year, and we were demoted from Class A to Class D. We're not freshmen who don't know anything anymore, we'll all be second-year students in two months. Saying those things is a bit of an overreaction, isn't it?"

After Hashimoto Masayoshi finished speaking, Yukimura Teruhiko from Class 1-A also adjusted his glasses with a somewhat helpless expression.

"Actually, from the perspective of the class, none of us are wrong, and none of us need to apologize. After all, as a student of Class A, I can't just stand by and watch Kitagawa lead Class B through this Special Exam and easily overtake Class A."

Sitting next to him, Miyake Akito nodded with a complicated expression. Indeed, as Yukimura Teruhiko said, even though he himself felt that his private relationship with Kitagawa Ryo was not bad, when Sakayanagi Arisu gathered them to make this decision that morning, even Ken Sudō couldn't refute it. This was because class promotion was the most basic and fundamental rule in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. Moreover, not everyone was like Kiryuin Fuka, who could disregard these rules and simply enjoy everything about the school.

"If it were just normal class competition, who would care about you? But this behavior has escalated to intentional injury, hasn't it? Or do you think that as long as you can get Class Points or something, it doesn't matter if you hit other students in the same grade?"

After being lectured by Hamaguchi Tetsuya, the students in Class 1-A were somewhat confused. After all, the orders they received from Sakayanagi Arisu did not include this. Only some students from the second and third years and Class 1-C were actually carrying out the plan. Although Class 1-D knew about it, they did not participate from beginning to end, because Ishizaki Daichi and the others knew their own limitations.

Just as Hamaguchi Tetsuya finished speaking, Watanabe Norihito added with a cold laugh:

"According to you, Kitagawa shouldn't have gone to save those two second-year students yesterday. After all, they were both students in Class 2-A and were still taking Special Exam. How could they possibly take such a big risk to save their rivals?"

Faced with his two classmates speaking up for him, Kitagawa Ryo did not stop them. After all, it was all out of good intentions, and the relationship between the group and the individual is not something that can be explained in a few words. Among the students present, most of them still felt guilty towards him, but they were just too embarrassed to speak up because of the occasion.

"Regardless, excluding this afternoon and tomorrow's full day off, this Special Exam is only up until the final Final Exam. Even if everyone feels that this Third Group is truly defunct, please do your best until the very end for the sake of your class and your own interests."

After saying those words with mixed feelings, Kitagawa Ryo had no intention of resting. He shook his head slightly and left the room, intending to go outside for a walk and then head to the restaurant when it was time for dinner.

Before he could even take a step out, the shared tablet in the dormitory suddenly vibrated loudly. Ishizaki Daichi, who happened to be next to him, reached out to grab it, glanced at it absentmindedly, and then exclaimed in surprise:

"Holy crap, how did Nagumo end up in the hospital after being attacked by a wild boar?"

"Huh? That Nagumo from the second year?"

"Didn't he come back with the second-graders?"

"Where did this wild boar come from? Didn't the school send people to chase it away?"

As soon as Ishizaki Daichi finished reading, the other students around him also gathered around with interest. They were all students who had returned earlier, so they didn't linger until the last minute like Kitagawa Ryo. On the way, they encountered the ambulance transporting Miyabi Nagumo. Upon hearing that the Student Council President of ANHS had been attacked by a wild boar and was hospitalized, they rushed over with varying emotions to read the announcement that the school had just issued.

"Attention all students... We reiterate... Do not violate school regulations by entering dangerous areas such as forests without permission."

"What is Nagumo thinking? Didn't the school already report that there are wild boars nearby? Why did he still go in? Is he deliberately trying to stage an accident?"

"Even if you're trying to stage an accident, you shouldn't risk your life like that. Although the school's notice says it's a minor injury, these kinds of things aren't something a person can control. What if you've been hit in some vital area?"

"Could it be that he saw the announcement from Beichuan yesterday and wanted to go find a wild boar to challenge himself?"

"You might as well say he was hoping Beichuan would act heroically again, trying to lure the wild boar over to find Beichuan. After all, at that time, only Beichuan and Amasawa from Class A hadn't returned from the three grades of our school. He was definitely staying there for those two."

As a former star student at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, although Kitagawa Ryo has now stolen most of her thunder, she's still a force to be reckoned with. The moment they heard that Miyabi Nagumo was in trouble, everyone's enthusiasm for the discussion skyrocketed, sweeping away the gloomy atmosphere in the dormitory. Even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at the announcement and seemed somewhat speechless.

He probably understood Miyabi Nagumo's motives. After all, ever since he had recruited her, she had been shamelessly fawning over him. She was so enthusiastic about fawning over Sakayanagi Arisu and Amasawa Ichika, who either didn't react to him at all or were obviously just teasing him. So when she met Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had given him a proper response, she naturally took it to heart. She even called him "Young Master" in front of him, which made Ayanokoji Kiyotaka feel a little uncomfortable.

"Actually, on our way back, Ichika and I did see the school ambulance transporting Miyabi Nagumo away for further treatment."

Seeing everyone discussing so enthusiastically, Kitagawa Ryo stopped walking out, turned around, and said what information he had learned.

"Holy crap, really? Have you seen Nagumo? How badly is he injured?"

"Are you showing concern for their injuries? There's a hint of schadenfreude in your tone. You should have just asked, 'Is there any risk of them surviving?'"

"That's really true."

Thanks to Kitagawa Ryo and his friends' relentless exposure of Miyabi Nagumo's dirty secrets on the forum before the Sports Festival, even these First Year students who have little interaction with her now have a very poor impression of the Student Council President.

"The staff member I met said the injury wasn't serious, just a scratch on the face, and there's a risk of disfigurement."

"Holy shit."

Ishizaki Daichi had lost count of how many times he had exclaimed in such a short time; after all, his level of education was limited, and all he could manage was the phrase "Holy crap!"

"Disfigured?"

After hearing Kitagawa Ryo's words, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka frowned inwardly. It wasn't because he cared so much about Miyabi Nagumo, but because he knew very well that a large part of the other's dominance over the second-year students was based on his good-looking face. Otherwise, so many second-year girls wouldn't have been willing to risk dropping out to act for Miyabi Nagumo during the field training this morning.

"Well, not necessarily. Maybe nothing will happen in the end. And the fact that Nagumo withdrew from this Special Exam because of this is good news for our group and the larger group. It's like his group lost a key player. If we work hard in the Final Exam the day after tomorrow, we might be able to get first place in both categories."

Thanks to Miyabi Nagumo's injury, Kitagawa Ryo clearly felt the tense atmosphere in the dormitory subside considerably. He then went back to his bed, sat down again, and said with a smile:

"Since everyone's here now, let's assign the positions and corresponding distances for each leg of the Road Relay Race the day after tomorrow."

As soon as Kitagawa Ryo his mouth, Watanabe Norihito, a classmate, shook his head warily:

"I don't think now is the time. I've come to realize that our group's intelligence is practically leaked to the outside world. Let's leave these exam-related matters for the night before the exam starts."

"Too."

Seeing that Watanabe Norihito and Hamaguchi Tetsuya had this attitude, Kitagawa Ryo didn't want to refuse the kindness of these two classmates who had been speaking up for him.

"Then everyone should rest well these two days and save their best for the Final Exam the day after tomorrow. After all, the first and second place in the whole school are currently held by students in our group, which is very beneficial for us in the final competition for the group and the overall group rankings."

As he said those words, Kitagawa Ryo looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was standing next to Hashimoto Masayoshi, for the first time since he entered the school. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka looked up at Kitagawa Ryo because of his words about being "first or second in the whole school." Their eyes met briefly in the air before they looked away.

Kitagawa Ryo knew very well that this last day and a half of so-called rest time was less about recuperation and more about the opponent's last chance to make a move.

This gives them another chance to reverse the score between second and first place.

Chapter 420: Don't think you're the boss of the class just because I'm gone!

The boys in the Third Group chatted for a while about Miyabi Nagumo, a rare and interesting topic of conversation. It was lunchtime, but this time they didn't go to lunch together as before. Although they put it aside on the surface, each group member had already drawn an invisible barrier in their hearts, using the class as a barrier.

However, Kitagawa Ryo wasn't insistent on it. After greeting his two classmates from Class 1-B, Watanabe Norihito and Hamaguchi Tetsuya, he said he had something to discuss with other students during lunch and then quickened his pace to go ahead. Since he had been doing this for the past few days, the two didn't pay too much attention and went to find other students in the class, such as Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Sō, to have lunch with.

As it turns out, the Matoba inside the Third Group's dormitory was not limited to just one group. In the chaotic fight that morning, which almost turned everyone upside down, nearly all the groups completely collapsed. If they could still maintain a semblance of harmony and share a bed with different dreams before, they had now reached the point of betrayal among roommates, and it was unknown whether they would ultimately perish together.

Seeing the entire Student Cafeteria revert to its old pattern of students dining in groups according to their classes, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but have this thought pop into his head.

However, this made it easier for him to find people quickly. After confirming the location of Class 1-B, Kitagawa Ryo went to the window to get his food. Because the impression he had left over the past few days was too deep, and because he really had a face that was unforgettable at first glance, the auntie here already recognized him. As if afraid that he would not have enough to eat and would come back for more rice, she shoved a big spoonful into Kitagawa Ryo's bowl, and then said with concern, "Come and get more if you're not full."

Although Kitagawa Ryo wanted to say that he had another reason for asking for more rice, it was, after all, a kind gesture from the other party, so he could only smile and nod in agreement. Then, he carefully carried the lunch plate, which looked to be at least 1.5 times the size of the others', to Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei and gently placed it on the table.

Looking at the bowl of rice that was almost overflowing on Kitagawa Ryo's plate, Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei glanced at it, the former hesitatingly speaking:

"Is Liang hungry?"

"After all, we've been out and about for so long this morning. If you feel like you don't have enough cool food later, I can give you some of mine. I'm not really hungry myself."

Karuizawa Kei, biting her chopsticks, smiled and took over the conversation. Judging from her eager expression, if Kitagawa Ryo's bowl wasn't already full, she probably would have immediately used her chopsticks to scoop half of her rice into his bowl.

"I am indeed a bit hungry. I haven't been back for very long. I spent most of the morning in the forest. I was just about to hear from Honami and Hui about what happened this morning."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't offer much explanation. He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of rice, and casually changed the subject, bringing up the recent field training exercise.

"Speaking of which, have Honami and Hui ever encountered any provocation or danger?"

When Kitagawa Ryo asked him that question, Karuizawa Kei shook her head in confusion.

"No, not really. Actually, I thought they would do that. After all, I was used to kidnap the whole class on the Uninhabited Island. Theoretically speaking, if they wanted to kidnap Ryo, then Honami and I should be the best targets..."

Although according to what she said this morning, it would be more appropriate to add "one of" after "goal", Karuizawa Kei didn't want to add that suffix in front of Kitagawa Ryo, so she just said it out loud, which made Ichinose Honami glance at her a couple of times with some concern.

"The situation is different now, or rather, the timing is different."

After hearing Karuizawa Kei's slightly confused words, Kitagawa Ryo nodded, and unconsciously glanced at the direction of Class 1-D, which was some distance away, his gaze lingering on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's back for a moment.

Kitagawa Ryo knew very well that whether it was last year's Uninhabited Island Special Exam or the current Mixed Training Camp Special Exam, the actual commander of Class 1-C was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. However, after half a year, his style of doing things had actually changed quite a bit.