This Dumpling Was Made Just to Go with This Vinegar (5k)

"Class C has changed their lineup at the last minute? Was this part of their plan? But Ayanokoji has also been banned from participating in this exam in any way?"

As they walked side by side into the multimedia classroom, Kitagawa Ryo heard Horikita Suzune ask him a somewhat surprised question.

"I'm not sure. Judging from Katsuragi's expression, it seems like even Class C themselves didn't know things would turn out this way beforehand."

After this brief exchange, Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune each took their seats, put on the headsets used to transmit commands from the Commander, and displayed photos of all the members of Class B on their computer screens.

Besides him, there were a total of forty people, who would then be assigned to selected projects and fight under his command.

With the arrival of proctors Sakagami Kazuma and Chabashira Sae, the Special Exam for the end of this school year officially began.

Soon, the ten projects that the two classes had submitted in advance were displayed on the computer screens of Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune.

"I am Sakagami, in charge of administering the Special Exam. Now, we will begin the final Special Exam of the year. Please select five items from each class and press the confirmation button."

Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune didn't hesitate much, and just a few seconds later, the ten items that the two classes ultimately chose were all confirmed.

The activities chosen by Class 1-A are [Singing], [Chess], [Basketball], [Group Jump Rope], and [Judo].

The events chosen by Class 1-B were: [Mixed Gender Three-Legged Relay team race], [Soccer (dribbling through obstacles speed race)], [Mixed-Gender Back-to-Back Ball Carrying Team Competition], [Charades Team Competition], and [Drama Trivia Quiz].

It can only be said that things went as Kitagawa Ryo had predicted, but now it's all down to luck.

"Next, a completely random draw will be conducted, with the school selecting seven items from these ten projects in turn."

"The giant screen in the center of the classroom will display the results of the draw. Please look over there."

As Chabashira Sae explained, Horikita Suzune and Kitagawa Ryo also turned their gazes to that spot. The previously blank screen began to display images, showing the words 'Drawing lots'.

A few seconds later, the results of the first project were released:

[Singing]:

Three people are required, and the time limit is one song of any length, not exceeding five minutes. The song will be randomly selected by the school from the karaoke song library at the Keyaki Mall.

Rules: Contestants take turns singing, and the side with the higher total karaoke score wins. If both sides have the same score, the side with the highest score wins. If the highest scores are also the same, the side with the lowest score loses. If the lowest scores are also the same, a new song will be drawn and the contestants will start again.

Commander Intervention Authority: Allows any member of your team to restart the performance at any time.

The first project selected was submitted by Class 1-A. Horikita Suzune breathed a sigh of relief, as this was definitely a great start.

Of course, on the other hand, this is also a game that Class A absolutely cannot lose, otherwise the subsequent matches will be even more difficult.

"Teacher Sakagami, are there any restrictions on us students talking in private?"

After selecting the three students he had chosen, Kitagawa Ryo raised his hand with great interest and asked the proctor Sakagami Kazuma, a question.

"No special rules apply, please feel free to proceed."

"That's good. Let's chat, Suzune. Don't be so nervous."

Since he wouldn't need the headphones for a while, Kitagawa Ryo simply took them off his head and waved to Horikita Suzune sitting opposite him:

"I thought you would wear the ring today, since it's just the two of us here all day."

Completely ignoring the two proctors sitting on the sidelines, Kitagawa Ryo's tone was quite leisurely, as if he were chatting with someone in his dormitory rather than being at the End-of-Year Special Exam.

"... While I don't Arisu's strong competitive spirit, this is my first Special Exam since becoming a class Leader, and I still want to win."

Although she said that, Horikita Suzune also took off her headphones. After all, the first event she drew was Singing, which she was sure to win, so there was no need for her, the Commander, to worry about it. She could indeed chat with Kitagawa Ryo for a while.

"There's nothing we can do. Class D chose Class C as our opponent, so there can only be one winner between the two classes."

"I have a feeling that Liang hasn't been preparing for this Special Exam very seriously."

"In my opinion, this Special Exam is a test of the class's overall quality. There's nothing special that needs to be prepared for; it's just a matter of playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo shrugged:

"Does Suzune think it's normal for a class to need its Leader to micromanage every single detail in every Special Exam in order to win?"

Horikita Suzune didn't reply because she knew that Kitagawa Ryo was referring to Class A during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam. Back then, the students who were still in Class D were indeed directed by Kitagawa Ryo throughout the entire process, even in the latter half, including the daily movement of tiles and assignments.

Judging solely from the results of that Special Exam, it was indeed a good result, a huge turnaround for Class D at the time. However, looking back from this point in time, it seems that the outcome is not necessarily the same.

Although most of Horikita Suzune's memories of that Uninhabited Island Special Exam are limited to the two weeks of camping with Kitagawa Ryo.

"Oh, it seems like it's officially started already."

It appears that the six students who were chosen to participate have been taken to the designated Matoba, namely the karaoke room. The large screen in the center of the multimedia classroom is also displaying relevant footage, allowing the Commander to monitor all aspects of the competition and intervene at any time.

The team sent by Class 1-A was unsurprisingly led by Sakura Airi herself; in fact, it's more accurate to say that this project was specifically for her.

"Airi is indeed a professional when it comes to singing and dancing."

"Yes, otherwise so many fans wouldn't still remember us even a year after graduation. By the way, how's the graduation performance preparation going for your Student Council? The preparation time just happened to clash with the preparation time for this Special Exam, it seems quite tough."

"Indeed, Arisu and I are almost overwhelmed with work. The main Ayanokoji is shirking his duties seven out of ten days. I feel like if we don't recruit new members next month, the Student Council's basic operations will be on the verge of collapse."

At this point, Horikita Suzune herself rubbed her forehead wearily:

"It's just that Ryo just organized a new event, and all the experience and models were left behind. Otherwise, if we really started from scratch, I feel like we definitely wouldn't be able to catch up with the third-year graduation. But now it's basically all done. Although the scale is not as big as the Valentine's Day event that Ryo organized, it shouldn't be too far off."

"That's good. It's been a while since I've seen Airi perform, and I'm really looking forward to it. Although I received photos of her stage outfit yesterday, it instantly brought back memories of my middle school days."

"Indeed, sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that the two of us came to ANHS for the Cultural Festival, and now my brother is about to graduate."

Seeing the duo, who were already reminiscing on the spot without any hint of tension, their proctors, Sakagami Kazuma and Chabashira Sae, were also somewhat speechless. Unable to find a reason to stop them, they could only offer a reminder as the Singing segment was nearing its end:

"This project is nearing its end. Please, both Commander, focus on selecting personnel for the next project."

At this moment, Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune turned their attention back to the big screen. It can be said that the score displayed was as they expected. With Sakura Airi, who was beyond the level of a high school student, leading the team, although the other two girls sent by Class A were much weaker, they were still able to maintain an advantage in the total score and ultimately win.

Neither Kitagawa Ryo nor Horikita Suzune chose to use the Commander's permissions, since there really wasn't any need for it.

Therefore, the second round of competition began to determine the events.

And the result of the lottery was one of the projects applied for by Class 1-A:

[Computer Typing Contest]:

One person is needed, and the time is thirty minutes.

Rules: Typing skills will be tested on speed and accuracy in three categories: single words, short articles, and long articles.

Commander: Can inform participants of a mistake discovered during the exam.

I drew Class A projects in the first two draws. Judging by luck alone, it seems that the god of luck is on the side of Class 1-A.

The student representing Class 1-A was Sotomura Hideo, nicknamed "Doctor." Although he lacked physical strength, he was very knowledgeable about computers and could be considered a tech geek. Kitagawa Ryo had been paying attention to this student when he was in Class A, and they were even grouped together in the Special Exam for the Mixed Training Camp.

That is why Kitagawa Ryo was also well aware of the extent to which Sotomura Hideo had mastered this skill.

If it were him playing, he should be able to win with his speed and reaction time, which are endowed with many talents. However, apart from him, Class 1-B really can't find another student who can face Sotomura Hideo.

After randomly selecting a student as planned, Kitagawa Ryo resumed his casual conversation with Horikita Suzune.

Even when he was about to fall behind 0-2, he still maintained a relaxed attitude. After all, just like the story of Tian Ji's horse race, there was really no way to counter the two superior horses from the opponent, so he could just use his own slightly weaker students to exchange pieces.

Unlike the atmosphere in Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune's room, which was almost like a chat room for a young couple, Katsuragi Kohei was already sweating profusely in another multimedia classroom just a wall away.

The score between Class 1-C and Class D in the first year is currently 1 to 1.

It seems quite tense, but considering that the first two projects drawn were all projects that Class D actively applied for, it could even be said that Class 1-C has already gained the upper hand.

But Katsuragi Kohei showed no joy on his face; even in the air-conditioned room, a fine layer of sweat had appeared on his shiny forehead.

Because after Class 1-D scored a point with Shiina Hiyori and the one-on-one 'Tea Ceremony' event, the second event drawn was one that he, or rather the students of Class A, had never imagined:

A Written Exam test of modern Chinese texts with 20 participants against 20 participants.

Unsurprisingly, Class 1-C easily defeated Class D in total score.

But this is not good news for Class 1-C.

First, they had already invested twenty students in this project, and before all the students were used up, there were only a dozen or so left with Katsuragi Kohei.

Secondly, the five items they ultimately confirmed in this Special Exam also included Written Exam in modern Chinese.

Following the principle of avoiding similar projects, Hoshinomiya Chie announced some new information after the second project concluded:

"Since the modern Chinese text Written Exam item submitted by Class 1-D has been selected, the same item submitted by Class 1-C has been automatically removed from the selection pool. The next five items will be selected from the remaining seven items."

Katsuragi Kohei turned his gaze to the big screen, where two pairs of almost identical topics were placed among the remaining seven projects.

Speed Mental Arithmetic.

English Exam.

These projects, which Class 1-C had previously considered as a diversionary tactic by Class D to slack off, all appeared in the five official projects that Class D ultimately selected, directly clashing with Class 1-C.

According to the rules for avoiding and supplementing the same items in this Special Exam, if the final seven items cannot be selected from the ten items submitted by both parties, the school will randomly select them from the ten items reserved by both parties.

If you could see through Ryuen Kakeru's intentions, you wouldn't have chosen these academic-related projects as your main projects in the first place. Otherwise, you would have made the other side outsmart you, and you would have been giving Class C points in a roundabout way.

But unfortunately, all the students in Class 1-C were immersed in the fantasy that we could easily crush Class D simply by using academically relevant projects, including himself.

At this moment, Katsuragi Kohei even understood Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's intention in leaving everything to the others during this Special Exam. He probably wanted to make those students who still held onto the pride of the original Class A face reality once again.

However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was completely unaware of the idea that Katsuragi Kohei was conjuring up in his mind at this moment, because he was not present at the site of this Special Exam.

To be more precise, he is no longer even on the campus of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

Today is the End-of-Year Special Exam all three grades, and almost all the teachers and students in the school are busy with it.

This is precisely why this was the day when the entire Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was most lax in its defenses.

"I'll take you to meet a few people."

He heard Tsukishiro say this beside him, and then nodded in agreement expressionlessly.

Before leaving the high school again after a year, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't help but recall the words the man had said to him when he first arrived.

"Don't try to have any unnecessary thoughts. There's only one outcome when you draw your bow and shoot an arrow at me: no matter how confident you are in your physical abilities, one bullet can end it all."

He thought that statement was correct at the time.

Because there is no way to completely protect oneself every moment of every 24 hours or 365 days.

In fact, in the simulated battles in the White Room, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already failed many times and been 'killed' many times.

Even if mental and physical training can increase the survival rate to the limit, it cannot reach 100%.

But now, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has also come to a realization about something else.

That is--

These words, in turn, meant Ayanokoji Atsuomi...

Doesn't that apply equally?

Chapter 514: Dumplings Made Just for This Dish of Vinegar (5k)

In fact, upon seeing the five items that Ryuen Kakeru finally confirmed, Katsuragi Kohei realized that all the information about Class 1-C in this Special Exam had been leaked.

The five items finalized for Class 1-C are: [Modern Literature Exam], [Speed Mental Arithmetic], [English Exam], [Social Studies Exam], and [Group Dodgeball].

Looking back now, in hindsight, this list that was discussed undoubtedly had all sorts of problems.

First, if the initial decision was to use academic-based programs to exploit the opponent's weaknesses, then all five programs should be of this type.

However, the final selection consisted of four academic ability categories and one team sports category.

The reason behind this is actually quite simple.

Because Class 1-C never felt they would lose to Class D, and it wasn't even halfway through that they started clapping and laughing after the draw to determine their opponents. It's just fortunate that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't there most of the time, otherwise Katsuragi Kohei would have been able to put on a show of reading people's expressions and laughing twice.

This arrogant attitude quickly gave rise to similar remarks within the class:

It doesn't look very impressive to just crush them with five academic-related projects and still win. It's just messing around with the worst-performing Class D.

In terms of physical ability alone, those delinquents in Class D are only good at fighting; they didn't even beat us during the Sports Festival.

However, even at this stage, there isn't really any major problem.

How about adding a Group Dodgeball? That would help gather more participants. I don't want to take three or four exams a day; it's exhausting.

This leads to the second oversight: the number of participants.

Even in academically strong programs where they had an absolute advantage, Class 1-C respected the rules and did not choose small-scale methods such as one-on-one or two-on-two sessions to avoid being overshadowed by the two or three top students in Class D. However, they also did not choose large-scale programs with ten or even twenty students at once, because this would inevitably force students to participate in the Written Exam test a second or even third time.

To put it bluntly, Class 1-C, having already secured their victory, were already focused on how to win more easily.

These seemingly insignificant points at the time have become major challenges for the temporary commander, Katsuragi Yasuhira, as the special exam officially begins.

He looked up again at the five projects that Ryuen Kakeru had identified:

[Modern Literature Exam], [Speed Mental Arithmetic], [English Exam], [Tea Ceremony], and [Dodgeball].