On the morning of the fourteenth day, Class D's public board had no new explanation added.
Yesterday's promise remained where it was.
Before formal notification: no additional personal time, no withdrawal of confirmed personal status
Class C, however, removed its own starting-point marker first.
Ishizaki posted a new record sheet beside the whiteboard.
It had no completion options for Class D, only two columns: before and after.
Wording changed: retain the initiative to question Wording unchanged: observations during this segment void
The first-row applicant glanced at it. "They're not watching the actions today."
"They're watching whether Horikita changes her tune," Kushida said.
Gu Heng did not respond to her. Instead, he looked toward Class C's preparation area.
Ryuuen was handing a stack of record sheets to Ishizaki and two others.
"Today's first self-preparation segment is canceled?" Ishizaki froze.
"Not canceled," Ryuuen said. "Changed to observation."
"What about our own preparation?"
"Move it to the next segment."
"What if the next segment gets occupied too?"
Ryuuen raised his eyes at him. "Then that's the cost of making the wrong bet today."
Those words did not carry over to Class D, but Ayanokoji heard them.
He stood at the edge of the stands, his gaze resting on Class C's empty starting point.
"They're betting Horikita will change her tune."
"More precisely, they're betting we'll change the schedule just to respond," Gu Heng said.
Horikita pressed the public board against the table. "Then we don't respond?"
"Not that we don't respond." Gu Heng looked at her. "We fix the timing of the response."
"Fix it until when?"
The third-row applicant looked up from beside the record board.
She did not head for the track, merely stared at the gap between the two boards.
"Before the internal training review, the