'A journey'

Two months passed quietly, and the weather turned from hot to cold. The school held no special exams during those two months, only a midterm exam.

There were no major changes to each class's Class Points, either:

Class A: 1837

Class B: 620

Class C: 516

Class D: 100

But those peaceful days were soon disrupted.

Horikita Manabu called a meeting. It was also Horikita Suzune and Ichinose's first time attending one.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Horikita Suzune from Class 1-D. I look forward to working with you."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-C. I look forward to working with you."

At President Horikita's signal, the two gave brief introductions, after which the meeting moved on to its main subject.

"In three days, next Monday, the school will hold an off-campus special exam involving all three years."

"I finally get to face you, Horikita-senpai," Nagumo said languidly.

Lezheng's previous report had only gotten Nagumo suspended from his duties for a week, but Lezheng had achieved his goal.

"Nagumo, you and Asahina will tally the number of second-year participants. Lezheng, the three of you will handle the first-years." President Horikita did not respond to Nagumo's remark.

"Understood, President Horikita," Lezheng replied.

"One more thing. Following the school's investigation into Nagumo, it has decided to appoint another vice president to manage the Student Council alongside Vice President Nagumo going forward. The appointee is Lezheng," President Horikita announced calmly.

"I look forward to working with you, Nagumo-senpai." Lezheng stood up.

"Heh, I never imagined you were so well liked by the school, Lezheng." Nagumo dropped his languid manner and stared at Lezheng with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"No matter how much authority we have, it's all for serving the school, isn't it, Nagumo-senpai?"

"You're an interesting person. Then I'll look forward to seeing how you serve the school from now on, Lezheng."

They extended their hands and shook, smiling.

After leaving the Student Council Activity Room, Lezheng and the two girls headed toward the classroom building.

Horikita occasionally looked up at Lezheng, looking as though she wanted to ask something, but swallowed her words each time they reached her lips. Ichinose, meanwhile, kept asking Lezheng how he usually handled things as they walked.

Horikita was now very worried that her brother would suffer at Nagumo's hands. After all, she had already witnessed Nagumo's dirty tricks during the Sports Festival. On the other hand, she felt that someone as outstanding as her brother would probably find it humiliating to have someone from Class D like her worry about him.

"Are you sure your health won't be a problem?" Lezheng asked worriedly.

"I'm not that fragile. Besides, you've been hogging all the limelight lately," Sakayanagi answered with a smile.

"That does seem to be the case. It really is a little unfair. Then I'll leave this one to you and Katsuragi."

"I don't think we can be so hasty. This exam involves all three years," Katsuragi said with a serious expression.

"This time, I agree with Katsuragi."

"I'll now announce the rules for this special exam. Please listen carefully." Mashima took out a stack of booklets.

Although everyone wondered why he was announcing the rules before they had reached their destination, no one interrupted him.

The rules of the mixed training camp special exam were as follows: the mixed training camp special exam would last eight days and seven nights, with boys and girls kept completely separate. Students of the same year and gender would first divide themselves into six small groups, then join up with second-year and third-year groups to form large groups. Students would form their own groups.

The standard group size was 10-15 people. The more members a group had, the greater its subsequent rewards and penalties would be. Each group had to select a leader before the group formation deadline, or every member would be expelled. There would be four tests on the final day: seated meditation, a written test, a forest relay, and a speech.

Rewards included Class Points and Private Points. The more people in a small group, the higher the multiplier; the more classes represented, the higher the multiplier as well. Students from the same class as the leader would also receive double rewards.

As for the penalty, if the large group that placed last had an average score below the threshold set by the school, its leader would be expelled and could nominate one poorly performing student to be expelled alongside them.

Lezheng said, "I think we'll need to work together for this exam."

After considering it for a moment, Sakayanagi, Katsuragi, and Takimura all agreed.

"Our class has sixteen boys and fourteen girls. How should we divide them up?" Takimura asked.

"For the girls' group, I think we only need to recruit one person from another class." Sakayanagi opted for the group-size multiplier.

"I also think Sakayanagi's approach is safer," Katsuragi agreed.

"We're not going with the group arrangement that gives the highest multiplier?" Lezheng raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't that be risky?"

"Risk and reward are proportional. But there's no rush to decide now. Let's take a look once we get there."

The bus stopped after a two-hour drive. Their destination was a school in the woods, far from the city and surrounded by dense mountain forests. The temperature was also a little lower than at Advanced Nurturing.

"Hey, Lezheng!"

As soon as Lezheng stepped off the bus, Ryuuen walked over with both hands in his pockets.

"Want to work together?"

"Exactly what I had in mind."

"How are you dividing up your class?" Lezheng asked.

"I'm going with the arrangement that gives the highest multiplier." Ryuuen grinned.

"What a coincidence. So am I."

"Komiya, you'll join Lezheng's group in a bit," Ryuuen called out.

"Got it, Ryuen," Komiya replied.

Lezheng said nothing, merely turning to wink at Hashimoto. Resigned, Hashimoto walked over to the group behind Ryuuen.

Apart from Hashimoto, the other three all successfully joined Class C's groups. Lezheng and Ryuuen also formed groups with the highest multiplier.

Horikita and Nagumo made much the same choice, both going for the highest multiplier.

"Horikita-senpai, why don't we settle who's better in this exam?" Nagumo stopped Horikita Manabu.

"Nagumo, I can agree to your request, but you mustn't drag other students into it." Horikita Manabu sighed.

"In that case, let's make a bet."

"Interesting. If I accept, what are the stakes?"

"If the large boys' group you lead ranks higher than mine in the final day's tests, I'll acknowledge you as the strongest student in the school and won't bother you again."

"If you lose, you'll have to acknowledge that a new era has arrived, and acknowledge my abilities and ideals."

Nagumo stared sharply at Horikita Manabu.

"All right, I accept. But I have one firm condition: this bet mustn't involve anyone else." Horikita Manabu nodded in agreement.

"Am I late?" Lezheng walked over.

"Lezheng's here too. Perfect timing. Let's have him act as our witness." Nagumo was a little impatient to get started.

"Here's what happened..." Horikita Manabu explained the bet to Lezheng.

"President Horikita, have you considered what you'll do if Vice President Nagumo makes a move against the girls?"

Lezheng's words made Horikita Manabu pause, and he began to think.

"Don't worry, Horikita-senpai. I promise I won't make a move against them."

"If I remember correctly, Vice President Nagumo, you've been quite close with Ishikura-senpai lately."

Lezheng's remark made Nagumo choke on his words.

"Let's discuss the groups first. I need to reconsider the bet." Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses.

"Then let's do as Horikita-senpai says, Lezheng." There was a hint of anger in Nagumo's voice.