Next Term, the Forest Training Camp Exam Begins! (Continued)

This saddened some people who aspired to be in Class A.

But.

Now they've been relegated to Class B, but the scores for Classes A, B, and C haven't changed much, so the students are still very excited.

Only a few students who genuinely want to lead the group forward will feel regret.

For example, Yukimura. For example, Yukimura.

"Is that so? Hehe—" Kushida, who had no interest in Class A, happily greeted and chatted with her classmates.

For her, the most memorable thing about this holiday was that Hachiman Hikigaya somehow got hold of a marriage registration certificate.

When she was tricked by Sakayanagi, she sought help from Hachiman Hikigaya and wrote a guarantee.

That was just a stopgap measure at the time.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

It wasn't until Hachiman Hikigaya made her fill out the marriage registration form again that she realized she was paying the price for something very important.

But.

That's still a long way off.

Kushida continues to enjoy what she considers a good school life.

They arrived quite early and quickly gathered in several small groups to talk.

Kushida is undeniably the most popular girl, but when Hachiman arrived at the classroom, he found that the delinquent girls from Karuizawa were also quite lively.

They gathered together.

They're currently gossiping about relationships.

As expected, the girls' conversation revolved around this topic, Hachiman noticed that Hasebe had also joined the chat.

He sat down, resting his chin on his left hand, and resumed his old habit as a human observer, preparing to pay attention.

Suddenly.

I noticed that my line of sight and the object I was observing had met.

The other person was Airi Sakura, who had her hair tied in big pigtails and looked unfashionable with a low profile.

However, both Hachiman and Horikita knew very well that Sakura was actually very beautiful.

At the same time.

She's as timid as a small animal, making you want to protect her, but also want to tease and bully her.

This time, Sakura was different from before; she didn't stand the book up and then look at him shyly.

Rather, it is.

"Good morning, Hachiman." Sakura greeted him with all her might.

Then he raised his left hand and waved it.

Ah.

Sakura is so cute.

Hachiman waved to her as well.

"..." Kushida.

Kushida, who happened to be passing by, witnessed everything.

We also discovered the interaction Hachiman and Sakura.

That's not all.

Hachiman Hikigaya, Sakura, and Suzune Horikita are all in the same row.

Meanwhile, in class Hachiman Hikigaya still claims that he and Suzune Horikita are dating. Although Hachiman Hikigaya himself says they are not dating, Kushida also confirms that Suzune Horikita has no idea what love is.

However, they had previously eaten lunch together and had also had physical contact such as massaging each other's hands.

I just don't feel like this is right.

Kushida suddenly had a feeling that his choice might really be a bad thing.

Because of this guy, she felt that she couldn't be faithful even after marriage.

Certainly.

Although I think Hachiman Hikigaya a sense of responsibility, he's the kind of weirdo who takes responsibility, otherwise he wouldn't often help her vent her emotions or keep watch.

But.

The unease is real.

My feelings are complicated.

"Everyone, get back to your seats!"

But at that moment, the sound of high heels came from outside, Chabashira-sensei walked in from the main entrance.

As the class teacher, she was bound to give a speech on the first day of the new semester... and—the whole class watched as she wrote on the blackboard, "[First Exam of the Second Semester]".

Yes, that's it.

The exam will be scheduled for the 1st or 2nd of each month.

First of all, congratulations on having a great holiday.

"Then."

"Unfortunately, I now have to inform you of this month's Special Exam according to the rules. So I'll have to dampen your spirits," Chabashira said.

Although it was meant to be a damper, many students noticed that Chabashira-sensei's spirits seemed brighter.

Well, how should I put it?

She used to be the kind of person who seemed aloof and cold, but now she seems to have become more humane.

There's always a kind of...

It feels so real.

So some people immediately suspected that Chabashira-sensei might have encountered something good or fallen in love during this holiday.

"The results of this month's Special Exam are out," said Chabashira-sensei in a businesslike manner. "The exam consists of Forest Camp Exam that is open to the entire grade."

"The event will last for eight days and seven nights."

"The departure time is tight, it's 8:00 AM tomorrow. Line up at the school gate at 8:00 AM sharp. The place you're going to is the Forest School, which is named after the mountains."

"You will also need to bring a change of clean workout clothes and personal toiletries."

"The specific exam rules will be explained tomorrow."

"That's all." Chabashira-sensei said, tossing the chalk aside.

The students below were stunned.

Because.

It's absolutely outrageous.

Can't this school let people relax a little?

"After a summer break, I hope to see you all grow and improve." After announcing what could be said and allowing questions from students like Hirata, Chabashira-sensei ended the class meeting with these words, leaving most of the class time to them.

However, since the students were not informed of the exam rules, they didn't have many questions.

Lunch break.

Hachiman alone.

However, he didn't eat alone. Instead, he went to the third floor, ate the meal provided by Miss Sakayanagi, and then took an ice cream to go before leaving.

He went to the cafeteria on the first floor.

Horikita didn't pack a lunchbox today.

She was in the cafeteria.

"It's great that you haven't finished eating yet." In the student cafeteria, Hachiman spotted Suzune Horikita eating alone at a glance.

She ordered the regular shredded pork with garlic sauce set meal.

The side dish was pigeon soup.

Hachiman placed his cutlery aside, which made Horikita glance at him.

"If you're trying to curry favor with me, then I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Horikita is clearly beautiful, but her personality is still so unlovable.

I just felt that she was rich but ate so poorly.

Horikita came to this conclusion mainly because after Hachiman sat down, he blatantly pushed a box of ice cream toward her.

In other words, it was bought specifically for her.

This ice cream is a bit pricey, costing 2000 points.

Unlike ordinary girls, she has a resistance to sweets.

But.

She took it.

"This time, because the rules weren't explained, I had no clue where to start," Suzune Horikita said. "However, since it's a special exam for the entire grade..."

"Then the score might not be low."

Because Class A had already achieved that, and now the class has dropped in ranking. Two months have passed since then.

So Horikita wasn't in a state where she was afraid Kushida would cause trouble, and her class ranking dropped rapidly, causing her brother to lower his opinion of her.

Instead, we use rational analysis.

This analysis quickly revealed the areas that needed attention in this exam.

The score will be higher.

Since it involves the entire grade, is it possible that there will be cross-grade exams, unlike previous Sports Festival meets where we would directly encounter different grades?

However, due to insufficient known information, it was impossible to make a more plausible inference.

"You've changed a bit," Hachiman said.

Horikita has grown quite a bit.

"Although I don't want to admit it, if you can't change the world, you can only change yourself. No matter how unwilling you are, you have to adapt." Suzune said, "This is what I learned last semester."

Really? Even someone as straightforward as Horikita has learned to be flexible.

So, will anyone remain unchanged?

Some.

Hachiman's gaze shifted slightly.

From a diagonal angle, Hachiman spotted his classmate, a girl from his class, Kushida, the golden-haired angel, who seemed to have been watching him closely.

She appeared to be having dinner with her best friend Meiyu Wang. Meiyu Wang is petite and has two cute pigtails.

However, in terms of cuteness, Hachiman hasn't found anyone cuter than Sakayanagi Arisu in this school yet.

Although Kushida is talking to Meiyu Wang right now, she... no.

It is worth noting that she was holding a cell phone in her hand.

Hachiman had a bad feeling.

Because Kushida clearly took the opportunity to take a picture.

"..."

This made Hachiman feel inexplicably awkward.

Just as he was thinking this, Hachiman's phone vibrated, as if someone had sent him a message.