"Good morning."
Kaoru greeted Masumi Kamuro before taking his seat.
"You're almost late."
Kamuro initially wanted to tease him, but noticing what appeared to be dark circles under his eyes, her heart softened.
"Who were you with last night?"
Though she tried to question whether he had been up all night partying, Kamuro could sense his listlessness.
Normally he would sneak glances at her thighs, but now he didn't even look - quite unlike his usual self.
"Ran into some trouble." Kaoru replied.
Kamuro thought about the incident where shizaki had drugged someone.
Could that be what was bothering him?
"Where's Sakayanagi?"
"She already went to the special teaching building earlier. The exam will begin soon."
"...Destiny is about to unfold."
"What?"
Kamuro Masumi looked puzzled at Kaoru, who offered no explanation, leaving her to assume he was having another chuunibyou episode.
Ding—
The bell signaling the final Special Exam of the year rang out, marking the official start of the Selection Project Exam.
Instantly, the classroom fell into complete silence.
Everyone waited for the broadcast announcement, through which the school would communicate the exam subjects, participant names, and Command Tower assignments.
Kaoru had no insight into the other side's situation and could only speculate that exam subjects and participants were currently being assigned.
Although he hadn't participated in the exam discussions, Katsuragi Kohei had briefed him on the specifics.
Sakayanagi Arisu had selected Chess, Mental Arithmetic, Modern Literature Exam, Memory Cards, and volleyball as the chosen subjects.
Written exams were undoubtedly Class A's forte, but Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't entirely confident about defeating the opposing class's model students, so she cautiously included the Modern Literature Exam.
Notably, the Memory Cards subject required memorizing one hundred irregular numbers within 30 seconds, with victory going to whoever recalled the most digits.
Kaoru didn't know who in the class had the best memory, but considering Sakayanagi Arisu was the Command Tower, she likely intended to participate herself.
Surprisingly, the Command Tower's intervention method allowed them to assist with memorization before the countdown ended.
It seemed somewhat unreasonable, but the school deemed the Command Tower's intervention fair, as it applied equally to both sides.
"Please note, the draw results are out. The first subject for Class A and Class B is—Mental Arithmetic."
Simultaneously, the rules corresponding to the subject surfaced in Kaoru Tōru's mind.
Mental Arithmetic: Each side would send two students, with a time limit of 30 minutes.
The specific rules involved competing in accuracy and speed using Abacus Mental Calculation, with the winning class determined by the top performer.
Additionally, the Command Tower could alter the answer to any question at any time.
…
Seeing the first subject displayed on the screen before her, Sakayanagi Arisu allowed a faint smile to curve her lips.
"It's finally beginning, Ichinose-san."
Ichinose Honami was pondering whom to send when she heard the voice and turned her gaze to the girl opposite her, who wore a white hat today.
"Hmm, were you too nervous to sleep last night, Sakayanagi-san?"
"For me, this is the moment I've been most anticipating all year, though it was quite unexpected at first."
"Unexpected?"
"What was your reason for nominating Class A?"
Chabashira Sae, overseeing and proctoring the exam, didn't interrupt their conversation.
This was the room for Class A and Class B, with the other two classes in adjacent rooms.
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed indifferent to whatever answer Ichinose Honami might give and simply stated, "If you believe having him here means you can easily defeat me, you might be in for a disappointment."
In her view, Kaoru had already informed Ichinose Honami about their wager, and perhaps this nomination was orchestrated by Kaoruhimself.
With Kaoru manipulating Ichinose Honami, a direct confrontation was entirely possible—exactly what she had been anticipating all along.
However, Ichinose Honami refuted Sakayanagi Arisu's words.
"He didn't help me, and I didn't ask for his help."
The girl spoke frankly, but Sakayanagi Arisu didn't believe a single word of it.
They were often seen together in places she didn't know about—would Kaoru really not care about this exam?
"Are you saying this nomination was entirely your decision, with no involvement from him at all? You only want to defeat me?"
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled faintly.
She wasn't looking down on Ichinose Honami; she just found it utterly absurd.
Because if Ichinose Honami defeated her, Kaoruwould gain another little maid.
As his girlfriend, would Ichinose Honami really be so proactive and enthusiastic about this?
Even if Ichinose Honami could accept Kaoru's Harem, she wasn't originally part of it.
Who would willingly help their boyfriend expand his Harem?
Therefore, Sakayanagi Arisu was more inclined to believe that Kaoruwas manipulating Ichinose Honami.
He had always held strange intentions toward her.
"Yes, that's exactly it."
Ichinose Honami met Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze. "The bet between you and him is your own affair. I only want to defeat you and your Class A."
Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly tightened her grip on her cane. She saw Ichinose Honami flash a radiant smile.
"It's not just me. Everyone wants to work hard to rise to Class A and show the school, which arbitrarily assigned these rankings, what we're capable of. That's a feeling you probably can't understand, right?"
Chabashira Sae glanced over.
She noticed the tension between the two—what she initially thought was just rivalry now seemed to conceal an unusual relationship.
"Everyone?"
Sakayanagi Arisu sounded as if she'd heard something amusing. "You're quite optimistic, Ichinose-san. I truly can't understand your feelings. Right now, I just want to quickly wrap up today's events."
It was utterly absurd.
Not only could she accept her boyfriend's Harem, but she remained completely unchanged, brimming with optimism that she would continue leading her class toward the goal of Class A.
The most ridiculous part was that Sakayanagi Arisu had already revealed part of the truth to her.
Yet she showed no reaction at all.
Sakayanagi Arisu only felt a tightness in her chest. Why didn't she care?
Had Kaoru used hypnosis on her?
"I'll give it my all today."
Ichinose Honami smiled apologetically. "I hope you'll do the same, Sakayanagi-san. It would be a shame if you lost like this."
"Heh, with you saying that, how could I possibly hold back?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's tone was slightly sarcastic, perhaps interpreting Ichinose Honami's words as a provocation.
Ichinose Honami had already selected her participants.
Seeing this, Sakayanagi Arisu finally sent out Katsuragi Kohei and Tamiya Emi.
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