Special Exams Linked Together

"Maki scraped her knee a little during the match, so she needs to take her younger sister to the infirmary first."

Unlike Chabashira Sae, who has no work today and is essentially on holiday, Hoshinomiya Chie of Class 2-A, also serves as the school nurse at the infirmary. Therefore, today she can only put on a white coat and start her shift at the infirmary to make the most of her time.

Kitagawa Ryo had no doubt that Chabashira Sae knew this, which was why she deliberately chose to bring him and Neko Hotaru here. After all, he had long since realized that he might also be part of the play between these two homeroom teachers who had been "plastic sisters" for more than ten years. So he just let them be and listened to their manzai in the infirmary with nothing to do.

"That's why I've already said I'm not a veterinarian, and ANHS's clinic isn't a pet hospital. Get your cat out of here right now!"

"It's just a basic check-up, and don't you think it's a very cute kitten?"

As Chabashira Sae spoke, she also specifically mentioned Kitagawa Ryo's name:

"Kitagawa thinks so too, right?"

"So why is Beichuan from our class here?"

"You should Chie, shouldn't you?"

Faced with Chabashira Sae, who appeared to be speaking in riddles but was actually practically taunting, Hoshinomiya Chie could only suppress her emotions and continue to mock him subtly:

"It's just a cat, Sae, that's all you're good for. The Akito is still here with me."

But Hoshinomiya Chie that it was precisely because Kitagawa Ryo was still her student in Class 2-A that she was unable to verify her guess, or rather, the fact that Chabashira Sae had already slapped it in her face.

After all, she couldn't very well publicly report her class's top fighter for blatantly violating Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School's rules by keeping a pet in the dormitory. Even if this matter dragged Chabashira Sae down with her, if it really escalated to the point where both of them were expelled, then there would be no point in her staying here.

"Check, check... Look at its fur and build, you'd never guess it's a stray cat that's been lost in the campus area for three months. Or is the environment at ANHS really that good for people—no, for cats?"

Hoshinomiya Chie glanced at Hotaru twice, then crossed her legs again and rolled her eyes at Chabashira Sae:

"Just take it back."

"Issuing health certificates."

"I already told you this isn't a veterinary clinic..."

Just as Hoshinomiya Chie and Chabashira Sae were about to start another round of bickering, the door to the infirmary was pushed open from the outside in once again.

Hoshinomiya Chie had initially intended to subconsciously put her legs down, but upon seeing that it was Ichinose Honami from her class who walked in, she simply left them there and casually greeted her:

"What's wrong?"

"Yes, my sister scraped her knee on the playground just now. She's already received some basic treatment on the sidelines. She'll come to the infirmary for a check-up and some rest."

As she spoke, Ichinose Honami leaned half her body out and carefully helped her younger sister, who was outside the door, into the room. Only then did she see Chabashira Sae and Kitagawa Ryo sitting inside, each holding a cat in their arms.

Before she could even ask a question, Kitagawa Ryo had already stood up to make room for the two of them. He took Ichinose Maki Ichinose Honami helped her to a seat. Then he squatted down to examine her exposed, bandaged knees.

"Long time no see, how did you manage to hurt yourself, Maki?"

Probably also surprised to see Kitagawa Ryo here, Ichinose Maki almost jumped up from her seat again, her voice stammering slightly:

"I... I'm fine. My brother's here too."

As Hotaru's best friend, whom she personally acknowledged as someone who could call Kitagawa Ryo "brother" since early elementary school, Ichinose Maki also calls Kitagawa Ryo the same way. After all, even disregarding her relationship with Hotaru, and only considering the relationship between Ichinose Honami and Kitagawa Ryo, this way of addressing him is just as appropriate as Hotaru calling her "Honami".

"Just happened to be here, hmm... it seems like nothing's wrong."

Having received over a decade of systematic medical education in Horikita Suzune's simulation and possessing related talents, Kitagawa Ryo quickly determined that Ichinose Maki's injury was indeed minor, and that it had already been properly treated by the medical team from ANHS who were specifically assigned to guard the scene before she arrived, so there was absolutely no problem.

"Uh-huh."

Seeing her younger sister, who just ten minutes ago said there was absolutely no need to come to the infirmary, now completely silent and only nodding repeatedly, Ichinose Honami shook her head helplessly. She temporarily set aside her suggestion to help her sister to the bed inside to rest, letting the two chat about everyday topics, and then turned her gaze to Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie.

Of course, there's also Hotaru.

"Did the Chabashira teacher bring the cat here for a checkup?"

Having learned about part of the incident through the hottest posts on the campus forum before coming, Ichinose Honami took the initiative to ask.

"Well, it's alright. Ichinose's sister seems to need a quiet place to rest, so I'll be leaving now."

For Chabashira Sae, Ichinose Honami's level of danger or trouble was only slightly less than Hoshinomiya Chie's, after all, the constant surveillance during last year's Cultural Festival was still fresh in her mind.

But Ichinose Honami clearly had no intention of letting her go, and immediately stood up to follow, saying, "Let me see you off," which made Hoshinomiya Chie was standing next to her, look at her with some surprise.

The two had only walked a short distance from the infirmary Ichinose Honami proactively extended her hand to Chabashira Sae:

"Give me Ying, this is Liang's cat."

"He didn't even ask me for it himself, or rather, it was originally something he left with me."

Chabashira Sae turned around, showing no intention of returning it. She even deliberately hugged the kitten in her arms tighter, once again exerting pressure on Hotaru, who was an adult.

"It's just nominal foster care, Hotaru, come back."

Ichinose Honami reached out and beckoned to Hotaru, but the little cat seemed to be asleep at the moment, showing no intention of looking up and responding.

Chabashira Sae also took this opportunity to declare once again:

"I'll return it to Kitagawa later, but not now. If you take the cat back now and people see it, it will cause unnecessary gossip."

"Besides, this was Kitagawa's idea in the first place. Otherwise, this cat wouldn't have jumped into my lap on its own today, even though it was nearby."

"Hotaru would have been in trouble if she had actually jumped into Ryo's arms back then. This was just a temporary measure. Hey, Hotaru, come back."

Ichinose Honami persevered and continued to call out to Hotaru.

She had raised this cat for a long time in the previous simulations, and in the second one, she had raised it from birth to its natural death. She should at least be closer to her and listen to her.

But Ying still didn't respond.

If Ichinose Honami could know what she was thinking right now, she'd probably roll her eyes at her, thinking, "I've been a wingman in that simulation for so long, and I haven't seen you actually win anything."

However, her actions today have not been instructed by Kitagawa Ryo at all, but rather entirely according to her own will.

After resolving her beloved younger sister Hotaru's issue, Hotaru once again took a comprehensive look at Kitagawa Ryo's interpersonal relationships, and immediately discovered the one most likely to cause problems in the sum of all the relationships her brother had built up in his life so far.

If Kitagawa Ryo intentionally guided and resolved the psychological issues of other girls to varying degrees, then Chabashira Sae was undoubtedly the only girl her brother indulged and even exploited to the end... a woman?

But in Neko Hotaru's eyes, this was bound to be a ticking time bomb that would explode in the future, while Kitagawa Ryo had shown no intention of taking it seriously so far. Ever since that fake missing cat notice on Valentine's Day, he had avoided communicating with the other party.

That's why, after meeting another firefly today, she chose to run away.

If Kitagawa Ryo has indeed figured out how to deal with Chabashira Sae, then she will naturally take the initiative to sneak back again.

But if her brother truly has no intention of doing this, then she'll have to put pressure on him.

Just as Hotaru was leaving with Chabashira Sae, the Student Council finally finished their morning exams.

Horikita Suzune frowned slightly, and almost as soon as she stepped out of the room, she immediately cast an inquiring glance at Yuki, wanting to discuss whether they were facing the same challenges.

She didn't encounter the content design for the Summer Large-Scale Special Exam she had initially anticipated, but rather a subject with completely different rules.

The name of the research project is --

The Unanimous Vote.

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Chapter 53: Special Exam with Interlocking Steps

Unanimous Special Exam.

Horikita Suzune had heard Kitagawa Ryo mention a similar name in the past. It is said that the Unanimous Special Exam was the reason why the relationship Hoshinomiya Chie teacher of Class 2-A, and Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher of Class 2-C, had deteriorated to this point.

Because within the rules of this Special Exam, any stubborn and domineering student in the class could potentially cause a devastating blow to the class as a whole. Chabashira Sae was the culprit who completely shattered Class 3-B's dream of becoming Class A back then, and also caused her then-classmate Hoshinomiya Chie, to hold a grudge to this day.

How's the situation on your end?

Horikita Suzune tried to ask Yuki a question, but what Yuki said was a completely different matter.

"I was directly asked about the Summer Special Exam, including details such as location, format, and assessment objectives. The example given was the Uninhabited Island Special Exam last year. I was asked to analyze its advantages and disadvantages and to explain that these experiences and lessons learned would be applied to this year's Summer Large-Scale Special Exam."

Having received so many questions and needed answers throughout the morning, Xue mentally organized them all, then extracted some of her own thoughts before continuing her explanation:

"The school seems to be still undecided about the location for this Summer Special Exam, and there appears to be a change in the format as well."

"Place?"

"Um."

Yuki nodded, then lowered her voice and whispered to Horikita Suzune:

"What I can confirm now is that this Summer Special Exam will likely be a cross-grade competition and cooperation format, involving not only first and second graders, but most likely all three grades."

"Three grades?"

Since Horikita Suzune had heard from her homeroom teacher at the beginning of the school year that the Special Exam would be conducted more across grade levels, she wasn't too surprised. She nodded and gestured for Yuki to continue.

"Then comes the location."

"The second-grade exams were held on Uninhabited Island last year, right? Apparently, there was even an incident that seemed to involve intentional assault."

"Hmm, Chairman Sakayanagi also temporarily stepped down because of this matter. Does that mean the exam won't be held on the Uninhabited Island this time? I thought the first Summer Special Exam for First Year students every year would definitely be held there, since that's what we second and third-year students do."

"It's not certain yet; there's always a possibility of change."

Xue recalled the complex, interview-like questions she had dealt with and answered that morning, and offered her own insights:

"I even suspect that this Summer Special Exam will be held in a city, the exact opposite of the previous Uninhabited Island."

"The city... sounds more like a school trip."

"That's right, it's a school trip. It does feel very strongly to me in that sense, but as I just said, it's just a vague guess. It feels like even the school itself hasn't reached a consensus."

Upon hearing Yuki mention the word 'unity,' Horikita Suzune's eyes flickered slightly, and she proactively shared the information she had gathered with her:

"The exam I'm handling is Special Exam called 'Unanimous Vote.' The general rules are simple: several topics are presented, and if Unanimous Vote can be reached, you pass; otherwise, you fail."

"Unanimous Vote... I think this is a preliminary test from the school to gauge our students' willingness to Summer Special Exam. Perhaps we will choose the format and location of this Summer Special Exam through this Unanimous Special Exam."

Horikita Suzune also agreed with Yuki's conjecture and added some of her own thoughts:

"It's the end of May now. The Summer Special Exam are usually held between the end of July and the beginning of August, which is plenty of time. They will most likely take place in June."

"Is the workload for this year's First Year really that high...? If that's the case, then on average there's one Special Exam per month since they started school in April."

"Because your class skipped the introductory tutorial, you received information a few days before the start of the semester that we only got a month later, and the two Special Exam in April and May weren't very intense."

After the two of them complained for a while, Horikita Suzune turned her gaze to the other First Year students who had come out of the room and were also huddled together. They were talking to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

However, just as she and Yuki wouldn't share information with them, it seems unrealistic to expect to obtain information from Ayanokoji's side at this stage.

"There's still a second half of the show this afternoon, let's eat first. I brought a bento box, and I made an extra one for you too."

"Thank you then. Ryoko told me long ago that besides him, Suzune's cooking skills are the best."

"It depends on whether it suits your taste. If there are any foods or seasonings you like or dislike, you can tell me this time. To be honest, the key reason why my dishes get such high ratings is that I try my best to consider everyone's specific ideas."

"I'm fine, I'm not a picky eater. If I had to say, I probably just don't like carrots, maybe because I've been eating too many in the White Room."

When it was time to eat, Horikita Suzune and Yuki naturally transitioned from the Special Exam to everyday life. Having worked together in the Student Council for over a month, their relationship could be described as quite good.

"I just checked the campus forum, and it seems that the results of many club competitions are already out. It looks like there are more losers than winners, and even the Drama Club, which was considered weak, lost."

"I remember Ryo was going to perform in person this time... But it's certainly possible in a drama. I only worked with Ryo for a short time when I was in junior high, but I've seen many scenes where pairing with Ryo turned into a disaster."

"Was Suzune a member of the Drama Club at Azabu Middle School when she was in junior high?"

"Yes, that's when I met Ryo, and so did Hui."

"Karuizawa?"

"Yes, but she wasn't in the same school as us back then. She only came occasionally when we had club activities."

"I see."

Xue put down her chopsticks, wiped the little bit of sauce off her lips with a tissue, and then asked another girl:

"Ichinose? How much does Suzune know about her?"

"Honami probably met Ryo around the same time as Hui, but I didn't have much contact with her back then. We only really got to know each other after I enrolled at ANHS. But to be honest, Honami has changed quite a bit in the year or so since she entered ANHS."

Recalling her encounter with Ichinose Honami on the Uninhabited Island last year, Horikita Suzune added:

"Although she's still very gentle, you can sense she's become more assertive in some areas."

"I don't know if she was gentle or not, but I definitely felt her domineering side. Although I do realize I was wrong in some ways now, locking someone to the door with a security chain is a bit too much."

Clearly, even after nearly two months and having been indoctrinated with Kitagawa Ryo's spirit, Yuki still harbored some resentment about what happened on the first day of school, and was determined to make Ichinose Honami experience what she had felt back then.

"Anti-theft chain? Locked at the door?"

Horikita Suzune was hearing about this for the first time. After listening to Yuki's rambling explanation, her expression and feelings became complicated. She didn't know whether to smile or frown, so she simply buried her head and took another big bite of rice, using the chewing motion to suppress her expression. After a while, she gave a brief comment: