The sudden harmonic lunchtime came in just as the clock swing hit the mark of 1 pm.

Apart from the absence of Akihiko, Arkalee, and Ikkiri, everyone else was present in this semi-chilly classroom.

Not in my black jersey any longer, I was able to completely have back the lost sensation of being in my usual school uniform, as I adjusted my tie before taking a seat in my usual seat.

Beside me stood an irritating creature whose facial expression was beyond smug at this point yet I refused to make eye contact and only looked at Yuka-sensei who was on her desk still writing some things on her ever common sheets.

That's right. For us, the students of this class, to be present right here and now, it means that the exam has come to an end. Which means, every respective pair did their respective performance and will receive their respective result.

Some pairs even pulled out extremely respectable results despite the odds...

"So, I must ask you. How are you feeling right now? Feeling pathetic yet?"

Ignore. Ignore. Ignore and ignore.

She can talk all alone by herself for all I care. If I show that I'm visibly flustered even by a single margin, then this is all in vain.

"You're not going to answer? Ara, are you sure? Weren't you the one who said that I was going to lose? Because I was paired up with Tsudo? What happened to that confidence of yours? Did the cat get your tongue? How laughable."

Why is this bitch suddenly so fucking talkative? Go back to your cold attitude already. Fucking annoying.

Oh, I know why she's suddenly this talkative BUT you don't have to be like this.

I can't even look at her yet I can already imagine her smug smile as I sunk into my arms in despair.

How the hell did she....

"Hmmm, attention please. I'll be announcing the results now. I'll additionally give my reasoning and opinion about the overall result, so without further ado, let's get started."

Finally, onto what actually matters. I think I've grown so tired of this exam that I feel like suiciding. It's not a joke, I swear. It's starting to drive me insane how I had to do a plethora of unnecessary things just to potentially achieve a positive result here.

Sure, it's not unnecessary, but it feels like it is, if this completely fails.

My angst is rising.

"Tatsu and Ikkiri, but since Ikkiri is absent, I'll just direct these words to you, Tatsu. You have failed the exam due to your partner's absence. Therefore, you two get a grand score of zero. Understand that I'm not doing any biases here and that this is all apart of the same chain of coherence."

Tatsu looked a bit devasted. He additionally looked so hopeless as he scratched the back of his head constantly.

It's unfortunate for him. There was nothing he could have done. Ikkiri's absence is not his fault, so he shouldn't blame himself.

Yuka-sensei, after saying those words to Tatsu, moved on to the next pair, which was coincidentally suffering the same case as the previous one.

"Hyunda..."

"Yes? That's my name. How can I help you?"

That cracked me an immediate swift smile but it didn't last long.

It was good to break the ice though.

Hyunda, the individual who I made certain bets on which pairs would win, is seating quite lax on his chair, with a questionable posture.

"I've heard from Olivia, you went to check on Arkalee. I hope that's seriously the only thing you did."

"For the last time --- Bah, forget it. I didn't do anything. I just went to check on her as I said. Olivia confirmed you that, right?"

I'll have to ask him later about that. Even if it's Hyunda, it's unacceptable for him to cross that line just yet.

Wait, aren't all the signals there though? There's no denying it, he must've... Ahhh, so that's why he was smiling.

Bastard, you went on ahead without waiting for me?!

"Yes, that is true. Thank you. As for your result, you get a zero, just like Tatsu, by default. Arkalee was absent and therefore, you could not do anything about it."

"Alright, thank you so much. I wholeheartedly appreciate the valiant effort in sticking out with me."

That was sarcasm 100%. No denying it. After Hyunda received her words of confirmation, Hyunda went back to eyesight beyond the window per usual.

His attitude never changes, does it? He's always looking at things that I can't perceive. I've wondered just what is the meaning of constantly looking outside, but I haven't been able to grasp a single conclusion.

The only hypothesis that I've drawn is that he is bored and that's it. But I feel like there's something more to it.

"Next up... Hinagiku, you already know, don't you?"

Why is she showing mercy to a girl by not savagely telling her that she lost due to his partner's absence when she did exactly that to the previous two boys? I'm feeling biased siding here...

"Yes! I understand my situation... I got unlucky, but it's my fault for not being in contact with my partner..."

"N-No, it's not--- Gahhh!!! That hurts..."

Rayazaki tried to counter her opinion by perhaps saying that Hinagiku wasn't truly at fault, which honestly, is true, but Hinagiku seems to have firmer beliefs regarding that. To ensure that Rayazaki would get her message, she even stepped on his shoes powerfully, hence Rayazaki's reaction.

"Don't interrupt me, please. As you can see, sensei, it is my fault, which is why I'll gladly accept the result! Furthermore, I'll reflect on my mistakes!"

I'm starting to think that Hinagiku was put here by accident. Thus far, at least a few individuals in our class have shown psychotic ideas, but mostly not behaviors.

For example, Kawahara's bipolar attitude sometimes forces him to commit physical aggression without caring for any consequences. Although, I feel like there's way more to that.

Hyunda's a manipulative trickster that I just can't perceive no matter how much I try. Rayazaki has this abysmal superiority complex. Sagasuga hates to lose and has shown to possess the necessary methods to truly achieve victory on command.

I could go on, but my point is that you have to be incredibly skillful to hide the amount of clusterfucking that goes through your head, such as your psychotic ideas. I know that because I constantly do that.

Yet as I look at Hinagiku, the only thing I see is a jewel that should be protected. Something so innocent that you would hold your breath on claiming that she's a criminal.

Another enigma? Or just here on accident?

I don't know.

On a side note, something to keep in mind is that there are already 6 people subjected to the supply exam. 3 failed pairs equal that. Since there are 24 of us, that's already 18 left.

"I'm truly glad you think that way. I pray for your luck in the next exam, since you'll need it."

What was that? Is this bitch seriously throwing salt right now?

"Either way, finally, next up, Kan and Kawanari! At last, a pair that doesn't have to suffer from absences."

"Hiii! I'm super duper excited for the results! I can't wait!"

Per usual, Kanawari starts off with an eccentric introduction. By contrast, Kan simply remained silent with a bored expression.

They aren't even paired up together, table-wise, yet their reactions are so different. It's as if Kan isn't even looking forward to this.

Well, he shouldn't be.

"I appreciate your caring, Kanawari. However, someone smokes a little bit too much. Kan, why do you smoke? For confidence? For a sense of importance?"

He's a living chimney, therefore his lungs most likely failed to produce something that could be qualified as favorable to him.

"None of your fucking business, woman. The results. On with it!"

Kan's aggression is typical of him and normally, if this was Basara-sensei, he would retort aggressively by throwing chalk at him or something like that, but this time...

Ahh... Kan doesn't realize it. The poor soul.

There's a reason why you don't retort back to this bitch.

"Aaa-ahh... I see! Well, then!"

I can't believe she faked an orgasm!

This woman is mad!

"E-Erm, as you can see, here on the board, I'll write down the results of both you and Kanawari, so wait a little bit."

Eventually, after quickly writing them down, everyone could witness the difference between Kanawari's ability and Kan's.

It was crushing, so to speak. Kan was a bit mad about it, but Kanawari just kept on smiling as usual.

"First off, Kan, you started off with the 5-kilometer run and did a grand total of 1 kilometer and 213 meters. Kanawari, on the other hand, Kanawari did 2 kilometers and 34 meters."

Yuka-sensei knows the exact timings because the pedometers recorded it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible.

Nevertheless, the gap is visible and apparent.

"Your score aside, something I mentioned was that the weakest element, which is, by the way, you, had to do at least 51% of the task. You did not do that at all. And thus, I'll be discounting 25% of the overall score thanks to the performance. This applies to all the tasks, ultimately."

"Great. Just great..."

Kan's sarcastic reply to Yuka-sensei's explanation is understandable. After all, you didn't know that you are about to be even more screwed.

Kanawari, though, did not blink in spite of the bad news. Her smile kept shining even brighter.

She even looked at me, since I was looking at her firmly and decided to wave, but I did not respond and looked in Yuka-sensei's direction instead.

"Moving on, you two opted to choose squats next and Kan did 7 while Kanawari, you did 5. Needless to say, this contradicts my former saying because Kan surely filled the 51%. However, it doesn't matter since the score is too negative."

It seems as if she's only going to tell the overall score after explaining why they failed. She's giving them their results firstly to make them understand.

"Push-ups, Kan did 6 while Kanawari did 5. Horrible, so to say. Next, planking. Kan, you did 40 seconds. That's impressive. Not in a good way, of course. Kanawari, on the other hand, did 2 minutes and 12 seconds, which far outgrows Kan's timing. Finally, Kan did 12 sit-ups, while Kanawari did 23 by contrast. And the final result is..."

Although Kan managed to get the best out of two situations, Kanawari managed to do that thrice.

However, even then, their scores in each task are either so different or so equal that it doesn't make this less bad. They won't pass this, for sure.

"34%. Which is negative, in case you haven't noticed. I expected more. And now, I'll give my personal opinion about the score and the pair and hopefully, some words of advice that they should take into consideration."

Here comes the sass...

"Kan, you need to stop smoking and have a more realistic approach towards this. I recall when you pointed out that you'd do 2,6 kilometers but your final score was definitely not that. Overall, you are not physically prepared or motivated. Work on both of those components, please."

"Whatever."

"It's not 'Whatever', I mean it. Take this seriously, please. Kanawari, you are... pretty good, but still, you have to improve in certain departments too. Those that you have failed. Also, you should not have let Kan take the lead with his unrealistic approaches. Next time, make sure you speak up too."

So, Kanawari allowed Kan to blindly take the lead and that affected them somehow? Nonetheless, if this was a demonstration of actual physical prowess, they would've lost either way, since Kan was technically inferior to Kanawari.

Essentially, what happened was completely natural. Kanawari suffered from a bad partner and met her downfall like that. Yet she just smiles like she doesn't mind...

"Oki! Kan tried hard though! Didn't you, Kan?"

"Who tried? I didn't. Could've done more for sure."

"Oh, is that so? My bad then, hahaha."

Now that felt fake. Kan's arrogance cost her this exam and furthermore, the fact that she was paired up with a smoker should have ignited a raging flame inside her, but she refuses to show any signs of anger.

"In conclusion, you two need to set up realistic standards about each other. Hence, you'll have the rest of the year to do that!"

By that, Yuka-sensei meant how they will be paired up together.

Which meant that Kuzan's right seat would be lonely from now on. Same with Yukishiro's.

"And next, Sagasuga and Shizuku! Congratulations! I'm not going to bother with the details since you two are surely aware that you have passed the exam! Although it wasn't a perfect score, it was still 94% which is quite high!"

Yuka-sensei started to clap in response yet she was the only one who did that since no one else bothered to continue.

As expected of Sagasuga, I guess? There's nothing surprising here. I know that Sagasuga can essentially do anything once he puts his mind to it. However, Sagasuga is focused on winning the majority of the time, hence his success.

"Still, I must ask, Sagasuga, did you know that I was going with the method of matching contrasts? I'm asking you this because you clearly ran slower in the first run, meanwhile, in the exam, you ran a full 2,6 kilometers without breaking a sweat. I feel like that was hardly a coincidence."

Sagasuga, the man in the question, despite being asked such a serious question, looked phased for some reason. He was constantly looking down right now.

His dark hair has gotten a bit long though? How do I describe it...?

Give it a few weeks and he will have the rapist hentai haircut.

Yup, that sums it up perfectly actually.

"It was a coincidence. I just developed more speed while training. That's what those training sections were for, correct? To develop overall physical prowess. That's my explanation. There's just no way that I could see that far ahead."

I don't buy it. He's lying for sure. You can't develop such speed in just less than a week. It does not work like that, Sagasuga.

Only fools will eat your lie.

"Ara, really? Mhm, I thought for sure that your keen insight could see through my intentions, but it appears not."

"There's no way I could... I obviously can't..."

"Eh? I see..."

Why is Sagasuga speaking in such a depressed tone? I don't get it. He's usually lively, but he seems like a corpse right now.

Tateyana isn't batting an eye to him and is, instead, facing the opposite direction of him seemingly mad at the same time.

I see. Something happened.

Their relationship is confusing. I remember Sagasuga saying that he was going to break up with her but I never heard anything new about it ever since. That's also because Sagasuga grew distant and hasn't really talked.

Shizuku didn't say a single word and just calmly accepted her victory.

And now...

"....Daniel and Yulia... Do I even need to say anything?"

Our time to speak was nigh, however, our exam truly wasn't over yet.

If our spirit wavered here, then unknown consequences could rise to the surface.

"Please. We don't mind harsh criticism."

"That's right. We will gladly accept any opinion regarding our performance!"

I do realize that I'm asking to be roasted, but I'm glad Yulia followed my words up last.

"Alright... Overall, you two failed horribly at every task. The 5-kilometer run was a disgrace. Both of you managed to take 8 mins to do so little! Don't even get me started on the other tasks. Sincerely, I'm massively disappointed. At least you two did better than the other pairs that had their partner absent, but that's it. You were only better than people who couldn't even partake in this exam! 8%!"

The part where she said 8% out loud stroke me really hard because if that was all there is, then we, without a doubt, failed.

All in all, a crushing defeat.

Nothing to be surprised here. Though, I wish Yulia would remove that smirk off her face. She's already accepting defeat.

We are not here for that.

"Thank you very much for your appreciated opinion."

"We appreciate it! And will reflect on it, together!"

Why did she have to say those unnecessary words? You're gonna give everyone the wrong idea...

But that's exactly what she wants though... Although you said that you wanted to keep this a secret, you deliberately fired a barrage like that.

Ultimately, there is nothing to reflect. Either Kawahara is right and something out of my expectations happens, or he is useless.

Instinctively, I traded glances with Kawahara who was highly composed, with his fingers spontaneously connected with one another.

Both of his palms weren't connected yet his fingertips were all connected, which created a certain gap in his palms.

His confident attitude had a meaning and I just had to wait until it unraveled itself soon enough.

"Following that up, Lus and Tsudo! Throughout all of your sections, you two did not demonstrate any teamwork whatsoever, so it surprised me that you two managed to firmly grasp unity this fast!"

Oh fuck off, you're not even paying attention to Yuka-sensei's words!? Stop looking at me like that! I already want to cave, stop!

"Lus, you did a grand total of 2,2 kilometers while Tsudo did 2,3 kilometers, surprisingly. Since Tsudo was the weakest element, he did a good thing by going above you in his own tasks!"

How the fuck did Tsudo do 2,3 kilometers... He never struck me as athletic...

Wait...

Why are you...? It's strange, I'm looking in his direction and Tsudo looks completely terrified out of existence. Eh, what? What is this?

I don't understand his attitude. Shouldn't he be celebrating now that he got a positive score and won't fail the exam? What gives...?

"It was nothing more than what I expected. I can only thank my partner for doing his best. Thank you, Tsudo."

With an eerie smile, she said those words of gratitude to the terrified Tsudo who refused to look anywhere else but the bottom of his table.

Not only that, but he did not reply.

"As for the other tasks, I'm severely impressed too. Push-ups, Tsudo did 21 while Lus did 19. Sit-ups, Tsudo got a total of 27 while Lus got 24. Furthermore, Tsudo got 31 squats while Lus got 29. Lastly, Tsudo did a grand total of 2 minutes and twelve seconds while Lus did two minutes and four seconds! Overall, very good! Though, not as good as Sagasuga and Shizuku. Nonetheless, impressive."

How could this happen to me...

I was so convinced that Tsudo was so physically weak and he should be, so how was he able to suddenly pull out this many repetitions?

It makes no sense. No, what doesn't make any damn sense is how they both won.

At this rate, I might as well completely cave once I hear the score.

"79%! Congratulations, you two pass!"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I want to scream.

Fuck this. I won't accept this defeat. I'll learn just how Tsudo and this convinced bitch managed to win together. How the hell do you win with this annoying bitch at your side? It should be thematically impossible!

"Why, thank you so much. I am just glad that I was able to overcome the odds and certain expectations!"

She's not looking at me, but it's as if she is. Those words, those crude and cold words could only be meant at me.

I absolutely refuse to make eye contact with this bitch.

"Now, on a note so-high note, another pairing that suffered a huge defeat was... Gale and Kawahara..."

"Hold on. Don't get it twisted. She lost, not I."

I understand what Kawahara is saying, but this is a paired exam. If your partner loses, then you lose.

But I guess he just can't abandon his selfish ego no matter the occasion.

"Kawahara, that excuse will not work just because you got every single score maximized. This was an exam that revolved around teamwork, not on solo experience."

The truth about this pair is that the difference is so colossal that Kawahara managed to perfectly ace every single task to the point of even going above and beyond, but Yuka-sensei did not count the additional repetition since they did not count.

Gale on the other hand just did a single exercise each one at the time, but no more than that.

This is exactly what happens when you match contrasts.

"Yet I still placed better than all of you, did I not?"

"You did not. You placed equal to the same as the others that aced all the tasks, Kawahara."

Akimiyashika spoke up. I thought she suddenly grew a fear of talking ever since Kawahara had slapped her on the face, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

She's not allowing herself to be brought down.

"Wrong! I did so much more than just the required tasks. Didn't you watch? I did 100 push-ups and more!"

"That doesn't count! The maximum amount of push-ups you could do was 30. It doesn't matter if you did 100, it doesn't count. The same goes for all of the other exercises!"

Her long bright red hair unleashed itself magnificently as soon as she argued back against Kawahara in a more fierce tone.

"Stupid. Your idea is flawed. Do you honestly think that I'm going to limit myself to some rules?! No way! I make the rules! These stupid limits can fuck off! I did more than it was required, which further approves of my greatness! Don't twist my argument with some random rules!"

In response to Kawahara's harsh words, Hinagiku got a bit helpless and formed a semi-angry expression, however, Akimiyashika was not wielding in this argument, at all.

"That's just in your imagination. You're delusional. Your view of reality is what is twisted. You can't even recognize what was asked of you and you decide to shape reality as you see fit. You're wrong about my idea being flawed because my idea is right."

"That's right! Aki is right! You're too arrogant, Kawahara!"

Hinagiku joined the fray for some reason. Well, if I had to guess a reason, then it would be because Hinagiku has a bond with Akimiyashika.

Akimiyashika, Ikkiri, and Hinagiku seem to share a bond, however, I have no clue how it was formed.

"Rayazaki, shut the bitch up before I rip her jaw off. This is a warning. Consider it the last."

"What did you just say!?"

Ah, this is bad. Rayazaki's protective nature immediately reacted to Kawahara's spiteful words and he looks ready to rumble since his fists are clinched right now.

"I said what I said. Oh, what is this? Why are you all looking at me like that? Can't you all take an opinion that differs yours? That's just sad. It just shows how close-minded you all are!"

Right now, almost everyone in this room, except Hyunda and Tsudo are glaring at Kawahara with hateful glares.

I'm not though since I can understand his point of view. But his point of view is far too unrealistic.

"Shut up, Kawahara. You're only talking shit. Just shut the fuck up already."

"Talking shit when you lost this badly, Kan? To a fucking girl? Holy shit, I can't possibly imagine what that feels like since I literally just fucking crushed one!"

Amidst this, Gale started crying and Ryoken attempted to immediately comfort her. However, it provoked an even further reaction in him.

Nevertheless, I massively wondered why Yuka-sensei wasn't intervening. Why was she just sitting there while doing absolutely nothing?

It's as if she wants this argument to escalate itself. Why though?

"The only good thing about you is your physique. You have no brain, Kawahara. Insult me all you like, it's not going to change that, you retard!"

To Kan, forming such a conclusion isn't abnormal, but I just can't see Kawahara the way Kan sees it.

"Why are you like this, Kawahara?! Yuka-sensei was just explaining why you lost yet you went and made the situation chaotic! Have you no shame!? Look what you have done!"

How surprising. Ryoken is at long last acting up. But you don't understand, Ryoken. Your emotional outburst will not work on someone who feeds on negative emotions.

"Oh?! The bitch's crying! Hahaha, this is fucking hilarious!! Hey, why don't you all start crying too?! What a fucking sight that would be!"

This was no longer about Akimiyashika, Hinagiku nor Ryoken. All of the girls were furiously staring at him. As a matter of fact, some even decided to take action against him immediately.

"That's it! No more of you! I'll give you five seconds to fuck off from my sight or I'll kill you here, right here!!"

"This is unforgivable, Kawahara. You've gone too far now. I understand that your hypocrisy is out of this world, but you've done it now. Leave!"

"Never come back either! Nobody wants you here!"

Firstly Sana, then Shizuku and ultimately Yulia.

Yulia seemed to be quite furious at Kawahara's remark. Rayazaki was trying to get up from his seat, but Hinagiku was keeping him there.

Ryoken wanted to burst at him, but even he knew that it wouldn't work to anything. Because, this morning, Kawahara beat Kan.

Essentially, you can't win against him in a physical fight.

With that said, she's burning with rage too... But she's not doing a single thing. It's a passive rage. Silent treatment so to say.

I think if Kawahara were to come close to our location, his head might just be sent flying.

"Ho?! You're all so mad! What's wrong!? Wasn't my opinion so irrelevant?! What's matter suddenly!? Could it be that I've managed to tick you all off!? Imagine getting pissed off over a single person when you are all 19! Fucking laughable!"

Why is she not doing anything....

It's pissing me off. What? Why? You do realize if this escalates even further that it will get physical, right?

You must know this, but you are allowing this to escalate...

"Alright, I warned you."

Sana amidst this took ahold of her writing pen and clicked once, thus the edge of the pen was no longer plain and had a sharp edge now.

She, furthermore, looked exhausted yet haunting.

"Come at me, bitch. I'll make you join the crying line. Hear that? You got more coming. Now, come!"

Kawahara, as soon as he finished those words, issued a challenge to Sana by getting up from his seat and expanding his arms.

Sana, in response, started to get up from her seat with a dreadful expression.

For the record, I don't intend on doing anything. They can all die for all I care.

But why is this happening? I don't think Kawahara would act like this for no reason. He has demonstrated a degree of intelligence that transcends his current figure.

Could this be something that I just can't perceive? Am I supposed to perceive something here?

"You asked for it---"

Although Sana started to form a swift dash, her words were interrupted by a greater force.

"Sensei, just send him to the principal's office already. Why aren't you doing something about this?"

Hyunda spoke up. He spoke the truth. Why was she doing absolutely nothing?

I can't comprehend this inactivity coming from Yuka-sensei.

She's simply with her back against the board while not expressing herself.

"I was just observing. Kawahara, you... What was your childhood like?"

Sana had stopped her dash and was looking at Yuka-sensei who had just asked a puzzling question. Midst this chaotic situation, she asked such a question.

In addition to that, Kawahara started to form a psychotic facial expression in response to her sudden question.

"That's absolutely irrelevant!"

"Oh, is that so? Well, in my opinion, you suffer from an attention deficit. Henceforth, you'll always act like this. You even bothered to call out every person in this room, when you were solely arguing with Akimiyashika. Then you involved one person after another. Well, am I incorrect here? This is the typical behavior of someone who has a gigantic attention deficit."

In my opinion, that's just his bipolar attitude.

Though, I'll go ahead and form a further hypothesis that he might be acting up if there is something else to this exam. If so, then I will have reason to believe that Kawahara does possess a keen farsight.

"Hahaha, what is this shit? I say my opinion and you spew this non-sensical train of trash clusterfucked thoughts to your students? I argue because I'm right, not because I need attention. Don't confuse me for you, fucking whore!"

Sincerely, I thought that since Yuka-sensei is an M that she would take his words in a pleasurable way, but what happened next was beyond my expectations.

"Kawahara, you are suspended. Honestly, this event alone is enough to expel you from the program but I'll give you a chance to reflect on your stupidity. Your suspension will last one week. Additionally, this means you can't leave school at the end of this month. Unfortunate. Don't make me apply physical force to you or call Basara. Be a good boy and move along, please."

A one-week suspension? Now that I think about it, a suspension at the right time, if, for example, it is during a special exam, it means that you will lose the exam.

However, this means that Kawahara's day of freedom will be overlooked.

"Fucking fine. I refuse to let you all breathe the same air as I. I'll not go because you tell I, but because it's what my will tells I. I fucking hope you all die and eat shit!"

Slamming the door, after quickly packing his stuff inside his school bag, Kawahara left with haste.

That slam created a vast silence in the whole classroom immediately.

If it wasn't for Hyunda, then this would've escalated itself quite high. I'm also unaware of whether or not Kawahara knows that he loses to Yuka-sensei or Basara-sensei, since last time, Yuka-sensei performed an arm lock on him.

"Gale, I'm sorry for his attitude. He's a meanie, don't mind him. And since he is too violent with his words, I'll isolate him. I can't pair up people who can't behave with one another."

She's still crying. Why are you crying though?

It makes sense to cry if your aim was to win, but Kawahara is a force to be reckoned with. You can't possibly keep up with him, especially with a fragile body like that.

Overly emotional people are always so complicated. I feel useless since I can't relate.

"Sensei, about that! I think I have a method that can solve Kawahara's problem once and for all! We can discuss it after class though."

Akimiyashika said those words boldly.

Lmao.

She actually thinks she can solve his problem. That's funny.

"Interesting. Thank you, Aki. Well, I'll continue. But since it's lunchtime, I'll just point out the results quickly, so listen up. Also, in case you are interested in my reasonings, ask me so on private."

Kawahara's whole drama managed to suck up for a grand ten minutes which means that our time was heavily reduced, thus Yuka-sensei quickly drew the results to the surface.

"Gale and Kawahara, 2%. Akimiyashika and Susaga, 8%. Rayazaki and Yukishiro, 1%. Kuzan and Sana, 61%. Lastly, Ryoken and Tateyana, 53%. In conclusion, this is very bad. Because only 4 pairs passed! 4 out of 12 pairs!! I can't possibly express my disappointment!"

A curious question rose to the surface immediately. However, it was inside my mind. What happens to an individual that was part of a successful pair? What I mean is, the seats should be swapped if the pair loses, but what if, for example, a pair wins while the other loses?

Kuzan's case is that. Kuzan has won, but Kanawari has lost. What will happen here?

Kuzan doesn't have to swap and neither does Sana. But Kanawari will have to and so will Kan.

This is confusing me deeply.

Nonetheless, the class was over. And that's when it came to me.

I truly had lost. I trusted the wrong person, it seems.

Yet, I might as well, see whether or not it's a facade. Why would Kawahara bother forming such a big lie?

Assuming it is a lie, of course. Kawahara doesn't strike me as someone who would just build up a lie for no reason.

Therefore, there is a degree of truth here. However, I'm perceiving this incorrectly.

"Too shocked to stand up? That's what you get."

Said my table partner as she left off to have lunch.

Although everyone else was leaving, Yuka-sensei stood on her desk.

Yulia was also here, looking at me with worry, but, I only looked in Yuka-sensei's direction.

To be honest, I couldn't care less about that bitch's retort just now, what actually mattered was knowing whether or not if Kawahara's information was legit.

Thus, I formed silence while doing absolutely nothing.

No further sounds were created in this hollow classroom. It had become a peaceful atmosphere filled with eternal silence.

Though, that was not going to be the case, of course.

"Daniel, Yulia, it's lunchtime. Go on and eat."

Yulia looked far too confused to speak, which was ideal just now since this solo lead belonged to me alone.

"We won, didn't we?"

"...Sorry?"

That attitude will not work.

I've noticed it. She always looks to her left side whenever something close to the second formula is mentioned.

Plus, she made that second option of giving your positive points to your partner even though the first option was obviously superior.

There is a reason.

"This exam is illogical. As you mentioned, only 4 pairs passed. It's ludicrous to even think about this exam as something 'logical'. How was an exam that required pairs to excel in physical tasks in one week suddenly acceptable? Is this some sort of unfair treatment?"

"N-"

"No, right? Yeah, I figured as much. Therefore, how was this accepted in the first place? A non-sensical criterion like this can't possibly be accepted. Unless... there is an acceptable criterion. A criterion that isn't as non-sensical as the first one."

"Are you saying that I've delivered an unreasonable criterion and therefore this exam should not have happened in the first place?"

In a sense, yes. But that would be disregarding the hidden second formula completely.

You can't simply deliver an unreasonable criterion. Plus, as soon as I mentioned unfair treatment, she immediately denied it.

That confirms it. She did not deliver an unfair criterion. It can't happen.

"Normally, an exam solely based on this first criterion should not be acceptable for the reasons I've explained. However, what if this isn't even the first criterion?"

"...What are you talking about?"

She looks fragile now. Her words are starting to become fragmented.

I can see it now, Kawahara. Your vision.

It's all clear now.

"Hypothetically speaking, filling two criteria isn't something that abnormal. It's just simply not common yet it's possible. In other words, what I'm trying to insinuate is, if there is an acceptable criterion as first, then the second criterion could be completely irrelevant since the first criterion is the main one. The second criterion will only be relevant if the first one isn't relevant. Now, how can someone make a hidden criterion suddenly relevant? If you swap the second unreasonable criterion with the first criterion during the exam, then that's acceptable. Because you ultimately presented the first criterion, which was reasonable yet you swapped with the second unreasonable criterion. Frankly, it baffles me that this is a possibility."

Yuka-sensei's expression started to become pale. It's normal. It means that I'm not that far from it.

Yet, I can't stop here. My reasoning is only halfway through.

Kawahara, you gave me your vision, however, the method that I must use in order to become successful; it's up to me.

"Furthermore, you mentioned how this exam is about unity, but what we have witnessed just now was pure chaos as a result. You did not supervise the exam, yet why? Why would you not? If your aim was to form a unity, which is the moral concept you are trying to reinforce, why would you not do such? That's when I realized. You aren't even going to attempt it. Physical prowess is all that mattered to this criterion. No teamwork will allow you to pull the impossible off. Unless, of course, cases like Sagasuga and Shizuku happen."

But that's because Sagasuga purposely set himself up.

"Teamwork. Unity. These two components don't add up. It makes no sense. How are they related when all you are doing is demanding physical tasks from all of us? If teamwork and unity could be formed from it, then the results would be harmonic yet they were chaotic by contrast. Which is why, the first criterion can't be something like teamwork or unity; it's physical prowess, isn't it?"

Which would mean...

"Therefore, the secondary criterion exists. However, you swapped them on purpose, because that was valid. You sneaky wretch. You actually screwed all of your students up, unreasonably."

"Ahh, but it wasn't 'unreasonably'. I was testing everyone's intelligence. Think of it as a sub-par element of fun to these exams."

That makes no fucking sense. Why would you sabotage your own students like this?

As I thought, there really is some biased treatment here. However, why? I don't think I can figure this out. What is the source of this biased treatment? Does this school have some sort of control over our exams?

"So you admit to using a secondary criterion?"

As soon as Yuka-sensei confirmed those words and said that it wasn't unreasonable to pull out a facade like this, she implied that I was telling the truth.

"You got me. I did use the second criterion. However, you must see something here. Only those who truly bothered enough to genuinely win would go to your length. Nobody else went through the same length as you. Or should I say, you both?"

Considering that I'm using someone else's information as a way to achieve victory, that doesn't exactly make me feel good about myself.

That question was aimed at Yulia too, who was observing me silently.

"Sensei... Does that mean that we... won?"

What I actually wanted to know. It's meaningless to completely nail all of these points if we don't win.

Useless knowledge, so to say.

Yet, to my surprise, a quick smile flashed on Yuka-sensei's face.

"Yes. I was secretly evaluating the teamwork of all pairs. And you two were the best out of all the pairs. I'm not sure if it was intended or not, but it was superb. You have my honest praise, you two."

Yulia's celebrating while looking at me with happy eyes and a jubilant smile, but that's still not it.

"What does it mean to win here? Do we get to pass the exam?"

She said 'Yes', but she wasn't specific about it, which made me skeptical.

"The first criterion, which is technically the teamwork and unity one, will always have priority over the second one. On the surface, it's the opposite, but in reality, the first criterion is, as you concluded, the teamwork and unity one while the second criterion is the physical prowess one. Therefore, if you pass on every single aspect of the first criterion, then you automatically win. I was sincerely going to tell the pairs that managed to win via teamwork/unity yet there was only one pair. You two being that pair."

I see. At long last, she gave me words of comfort.

Unintentionally, I leaned my back to my chair and relaxed swiftly for a short while.

"With that said, enjoy your win. You two earned it. There won't be more classes for the rest of the day. Bye-bye!"

That's actually perfect since I could use a good sleep.

Yuka-sensei grabbed her fashionable purse and left the classroom.

Slowly, I connected my forehead with my cold table and took a deep breath.

A breath so deep that would simply act as a way to eliminate all this anxiety that I've been accumulating.

All of this work; was worth it. Every single step, it paid off.

However...

It wasn't me....

I won due to my abilities but my abilities were only useful because I knew the truth about the situation. What if I never knew about it?

"Daniel! We won! We won! We really, really won!"

Since my eyes are currently closed, I can only feel Yulia's soft uniform hugging my back entirely from behind, but that's completely partial right now.

"I know, it's a great feeling..."

No, it's not...

"Yeah! I can't believe you managed to figure that out on your own! You're amazing!"

It wasn't me....

Yulia's squashing me at this point. Her hug is so comfortable yet powerful.

Truly, I just want to enjoy this moment of comfort, but a single thought will not vanish from my mind.

It wasn't me....

It... wasn't me.

Kawahara, you... are dangerous.