"Kitahara, you're amazing! I knew you'd figure out the secret behind this vacation." Hoshinomiya happily slung an arm around Kitahara's neck.
"And you know what? The students in Chabashira's class really do think this is a vacation. They were still questioning it when the announcement was made."
"Compared to them, we really are an excellent class, aren't we, everyone in Class B?"
"..."
"All right, Hoshinomiya-sensei, why don't we go over the rules first?" Seeing that the other homeroom teachers had started explaining things, Ichinose could only look at Hoshinomiya helplessly.
Who would have thought Hoshinomiya would still be so unserious at a time like this?
After the homeroom teacher from Class A finished speaking, the teachers from each class had led their students to the designated spots and begun explaining the rules.
But our class was the exception. As soon as we arrived, Hoshinomiya hugged Kitahara and kept chattering away, a smile never leaving her face.
Hearing Ichinose speak up, Hoshinomiya finally let go of Kitahara.
Kitahara let out a long breath once he was free. He hadn't expected Hoshinomiya to be so strong.
"Ahem, I'll get started..." Realizing she'd been out of line, Hoshinomiya turned apologetically to the Class B students who had been waiting beside her.
The students in Class B were probably already used to their teacher's antics. They simply urged her, "Please hurry up and tell us, Sensei."
"First, there's something I need to tell you." Hoshinomiya pulled out a watch and said:
"For this Special Exam, you'll need to hand in all your student IDs, and you must wear the watch I'm holding."
"Oh, and just so you know, anyone who takes off their watch without permission will be punished."
"But I trust that all of you in Class B are well-behaved students who follow the rules, so you don't need to worry too much about that."
"..."
"Sensei, are we really going to be surviving in the wilderness? Is there really not a single facility on this island?" one of the girls in Class B asked.
"That's right. Mashima-sensei explained it very clearly earlier. When he said that from today onward, you'd have to make all your own decisions, that included how to get food and where to sleep."
"So this really is a wilderness survival test."
"Speaking of which, there's one more thing I need to remind you about. You're not allowed to board the ship without a valid reason, so this island is the only place you're permitted to go."
Hoshinomiya glanced at the girl who had asked the question and continued, "You don't need to worry too much, though. The school has prepared some basic supplies for you."
After hearing Hoshinomiya's explanation, everyone felt a little more at ease. At least they wouldn't be stuck surviving like Bear Grylls.
Once everyone had calmed down a little, Hoshinomiya pressed on. "Besides, the school won't leave you in any real danger. You're all the school's precious treasures, after all."
"This watch has built-in GPS and can monitor your heart rate in real time, so if anything goes wrong, the school will immediately send someone to rescue you."
"..."
Seeing that everyone had relaxed, Hoshinomiya hurriedly continued, "The second thing is also the most important."
"For this Special Exam, the school will give each class 300 Class Points to use during the exam. You can spend them to get additional supplies."
With that, Hoshinomiya took a handbook from beside her and handed it to Ichinose. "It has a list of supplies you can exchange for and how many points each one costs."
Ichinose took the handbook and flipped through it briefly. "I had no idea we could exchange points for so many things."
"Mm. There's one more thing I need to emphasize. Once this Special Exam is over, any exam points your class has left will be added to your original Class Points."
"They'll be tallied after summer vacation. By then, the class rankings might change."
After Hoshinomiya's reminder, everyone understood how important this exam was. Kanzaki asked, "Hoshinomiya-sensei, is there any way to earn more points?"
"There is. The handbook has all the details, along with some very important information. You'll have to figure out what it means yourselves." Hoshinomiya smiled, looking pleased.
Looking at everyone, who had already fallen into thought, Hoshinomiya said, "All right, the rest is up to you. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Then, with everyone watching, Hoshinomiya left.
After their teacher had gone, Ichinose began organizing everyone to discuss how they would approach the Special Exam.
As they talked, though, everyone kept looking at Kitahara, hoping he'd say something. After all, he had been the first to realize this was a Special Exam.
Feeling their gazes, Kitahara pointed to the staff unloading supplies by the shore. "How about we start by taking stock of the basic supplies the school provided, then see what else we need before deciding on a plan?"
Following his gesture, everyone saw that the supplies were already being unloaded from the ship.
"Mm, that's a good idea," Ichinose agreed with a nod.
With everyone splitting up the work, it didn't take long to tally the supplies.
"There are two eight-person tents, two flashlights, a box of matches, and a backpack with toiletries for each person, plus sunscreen the school prepared with us girls in mind..." Ichinose reported to Kitahara.
After hearing the list, Kitahara furrowed his brow. "These supplies clearly aren't enough for forty-one of us to get through a week. It looks like the school wants us to use these points."
"Mm, that's right. If we're only thinking about accommodations, we're still short three tents," Kanzaki calmly analyzed.
"Ichinose, check how many points it costs to exchange for one tent," Kitahara asked, looking at the handbook she was holding.
"Okay... I'll check right away." Ichinose quickly searched through it.
A moment later, Ichinose said, "An eight-person tent costs 30 points."
After hearing her answer, Kanzaki and Kitahara replied, "Three tents would cost 90 points. That's almost a third of our points gone all at once."
"Looks like we'll need to earn more points." Kitahara fell into thought.
Then he asked, "Ichinose, what does the handbook say about ways to earn points?"
"Mm... Let me check." Ichinose quickly flipped through the handbook again and soon found the section.