At the end of November, Advanced Nurturing High School welcomed the preliminary briefing for the second semester's final special exam amid the thin mist of early winter. When Chabashira entered the classroom, she was not carrying her usual coffee cup, only a slim folder. She placed it on the podium without opening it, braced both hands against the edge, and spoke in the same flat tone as always.
"The topic of this final special exam was sent to your terminals this morning. The exam is called the 'Class Joint Debate Tournament.' The four classes will be paired off, with each class sending three debaters for a three-on-three debate on a topic designated by the school. Pairings and assigned positions will be decided by lottery. The outcome will be determined by scores from five judges: three teachers and two student representatives. The winning class will receive class point rewards, while the losing class will lose the corresponding number of points. In addition, each debate will have one asymmetric observer, responsible for independently evaluating the rigor of the arguments and adherence to the rules during the debate. The observer's evaluation report will directly affect the validity of the judges' scores."
The classroom fell silent for several seconds before erupting into commotion. Sudo Ken was the first to shout, while Ike Kanji beside him started counting on his fingers to calculate where he ranked in the class for speaking ability. Horikita Suzune stood and called for silence, then opened her terminal to review the formal notice Chabashira had just sent out. As she read through the details one by one, her brow shifted slightly. The pairings were not random; they would be determined by the class point rankings this semester. Class D was currently only two points behind Class B, and according to