After the members of Group 1 finished eating, they began gathering in the classroom to wait. They could rest better by returning to the dorms, but it was better to come to the classroom early and wait in preparation for the exam.
"Looks like you're all quite punctual," Ryuen said.
Ryuen entered the classroom with Albert.
There had been four rounds of matches in the morning, and his Group 1 had received byes three times, but that was nothing significant.
Since every group was required to take part in eleven rounds of exams, there would still be byes later on. In fact, they had gained an advantage.
After all, people's energy was limited.
Some groups had tightly packed schedules early on, so the earlier matches would drain their energy. By the time they faced Ryuen's group, his side could wait refreshed for exhausted opponents.
"Still, we already lost one match this morning. I wonder how many rounds we'll have to face this afternoon," Ichinose said.
Though she was not the group leader, she was still a member of the group and hoped they could win the championship.
"The morning should have been when everyone had the most energy, but we were practically on standby," Hirata from Class D said as well.
"..."
Kushida had always been the type to keep the atmosphere lively. She would not take the initiative to join a topic that might offend people.
However.
She could still stir things up a little.
"Come to think of it, Classmate Sakayanagi hasn't arrived yet," Kushida said. "If we get a chess exam this afternoon, we'll have no choice but to rely on Classmate Sakayanagi."
"Sakayanagi, huh—"
Ryuen was smart and perceptive. He immediately noticed that Kushida seemed to be trying to fan the flames.
But he really did