There was not much time during the morning meeting. Usually, Okabe would go over a few simple matters and then leave. The only time he stayed late, sometimes even taking up part of the first period, was when a special exam had to be announced.
Today was February 28, which meant March would begin tomorrow. Judging by how often the previous special exams had been held, there would probably be another one at the end of March, around the time their first year came to an end.
So the students were not surprised. If anything, they seemed eager to take it on.
After winning several exams in a row, the students of Class C had gained more confidence than they really should have.
However, when faced with their eager looks, Okabe fell unusually silent.
"Following the usual schedule, the school will announce the content of your final first-year special exam next week, on March 7."
Hearing this, the students of Class C finally relaxed.
"We've been preparing for that already. Don't worry, Mr. Okabe. As long as Big Brother Ryuen and Kamio are here, we'll find a way to win!"
No one knew where Ishizaki had gotten his confidence, but he immediately promised on behalf of Kamio Tatsuya and Ryuen that they would take responsibility for the special exam.
"Perhaps. I believe in you too." Okabe nodded. "However, today's situation is a little different. Before the final special exam, there will be another one…"
After the classroom fell silent for a moment, someone stammered, "D-does that mean we have to face two special exams back-to-back?"
"That's right." Okabe's expression became serious. He glanced toward Kamio Tatsuya and Ryuen. "This additional exam is called the Class Vote."
Even with the confidence they had gained, the students could not help feeling shaken by the thought of facing two special exams within the next month.
"Compared with previous years, this year's first-year students are much more capable. Not only did every group achieve first place in the VIP test, which has never happened before, but you have also performed extremely well in the exams that followed."
"Isn't that a good thing?" the students replied instinctively.
"Yes, the school agrees. Under normal circumstances, this would certainly be something to celebrate."
"The entire first year has performed better than previous classes. As the school, we would like as many students as possible to graduate as well…"
He paused.
"However, the current situation is different from what we expected, and that has created some problems.
"Because of this, the school has arranged a new special exam for you."
As he spoke, Okabe turned around and wrote several large words on the blackboard:
Class Vote
"Class Vote…"
Some of the students repeated the words without thinking.
"You may not know this, but over the past ten years, about three percent of first-year students have dropped out after the final exams.
"There were 160 first-year students at the start of the school year. In other words, under normal circumstances, around five students would have dropped out by this point."
Hearing this, Kamio Tatsuya suddenly had a bad feeling.
No way. Does this messed-up school actually keep the dropout rate fixed?
"D-don't tell me they have to make five of us drop out before this is over?"
Some of the other students also understood what Okabe was implying, and they became worried and tense.
"It isn't quite that strict, but it is more or less the same."
Okabe took a deep breath and began explaining the contents of the exam.
"This special exam is extremely simple. It does not test your physical strength or intelligence, and it has nothing to do with teamwork. It is something anyone can do easily, such as writing their own name on a piece of paper.
"Now I will explain the rules. From today until Friday, you will evaluate your classmates.
"Then you will choose three students in the class who deserve praise and three students who deserve criticism. You will cast your votes on Saturday, the day of the exam. Those are the rules."
The rules were easy enough to understand, but that was not what mattered. What mattered was the result.
"Stop wasting time, Okabe. Just tell us the result."
Ryuen also understood that the result was the important part of this exam. According to the rules, one person in the class would inevitably become the most popular, while another would become the most disliked.
The results for those two people were what mattered most.
"Before I explain the result, there is something else you need to know."
Okabe then wrote another term on the blackboard:
Protection Points
"This exam introduces a new concept called protection points. The student who receives the most praise votes will receive a special reward called protection points."
"Mr. Okabe, what can these protection points be used for?"
The students had never heard of this new term before, so they were all very interested.
"A student who has protection points can avoid being expelled once for failing an exam. Protection points can be accumulated, but they cannot be transferred to another person."
Amazing!
That was what nearly everyone was thinking. They were also filled with desire for these protection points. After all, no one could guarantee that they would never be expelled.
No one knew whether an accident or tomorrow would come first.
And Okabe had just said that protection points could be accumulated. That meant the school had probably considered introducing the system into future exams as well.
Could this have been caused by Nagumo's reforms?
If used properly, protection points could have an extraordinary effect. Kamio Tatsuya's actions during the forest exam were a good example.
He had sacrificed protection points in order to gain benefits from another class.
"You've explained the reward for receiving the most praise votes. The person who gets the most criticism votes should receive some kind of punishment too, right?"
"That's correct. The student who receives the most criticism votes will be punished. After all, the subject of this additional special exam is to 'choose the first place and determine the last place.'"
"So when calculating the praise votes and criticism votes, one praise vote will cancel out one criticism vote. Then we will count the votes that remain.
"For example, if one praise vote gives you one point, then one criticism vote gives you negative one point. Your final score will be calculated from all the votes you receive.
"Let's say you receive ten criticism votes and thirty praise votes. After they cancel each other out, you would have twenty praise votes, giving you a score of twenty.
"Also, you cannot vote for yourself, whether it is a praise vote or a criticism vote, and you cannot vote for the same person more than once. Do you understand?"
"Then what happens to the student with the lowest score?"
"I think you already know." Okabe paused, then said two words:
"Expelled."
Everyone had already been mentally prepared for it after hearing the earlier explanation, but the classroom still fell silent when those words were spoken.
"What happens if, when the results are announced on the day of the exam, multiple students have the same score?"
"If that happens, the vote will be held again until one person is placed last." Mr. Okabe spoke calmly. "So don't think you can avoid the punishment by manipulating the vote.
"Besides, even if the entire class worked together, the chances of pulling off something like that would be almost zero."
No, no, no. Leaving Class C aside, Class A might actually be able to do it, right?
So what was the reason?
"The reason is… you must choose one student from one of the other three classes whom you believe deserves praise, and vote for that student.
"That vote will also be included in the results. In other words, even if someone is disliked within their own class, they still have a chance to receive praise votes from the other classes."
I see. No wonder he said it was almost impossible.
Once students from the other classes were included, there was no way to control the final scores. Even if everyone in the class ended up with a positive score, someone would still come in last.
"Then there must be a way to save them, right? There has to be a way to avoid expulsion. If we pay 300 class points and 20 million private points…"
"Exactly. We shouldn't have to worry about anyone being expelled, right?"
As the students spoke, they all looked toward Ryuen and Kamio Tatsuya. They did not know exactly how many points Ryuen currently had.
But they did know that during the forest exam, Kamio Tatsuya had taken 15 million private points from both Class A and Class B.
That meant Kamio Tatsuya had 20 million private points. As for class points, they currently had 501, which was more than enough.
"That's right. However, because this exam was added so suddenly, the school has decided that you do not need to pay any class points. You only need 20 million private points to avoid expulsion."
Only 20 million private points? Ryuen should be able to provide that by himself.
From September until tomorrow, when March began, seven months had passed. He could receive 2.8 million from Class A every month, which came to 19.6 million over seven months. Adding the 5 million he had previously collected from Class D, he had more than enough.
After hearing Okabe's words, the students of Class C all looked toward Ryuen, their eyes filled with hope.
"Heh. Don't worry. I've had more than 20 million private points for a long time. Whatever happens, it won't be a problem."
Hearing Ryuen's promise, the students of Class C all breathed a sigh of relief. They did not worry that Ryuen would go back on his word.
"However, there is one thing I want to make clear beforehand. You're not included in those 20 million, Tokito."
"What did you say?"
The tall student with slicked-back hair, Tokito Hiroya, stood up from his seat in shock and anger after Ryuen called him out.
"Did you forget? When I collected points from the class, you were the only one who refused to pay."
Tokito Hiroya was immediately left speechless.
"So you have no right to use those 20 million private points." Ryuen wore a malicious grin. "You'd better work hard and make sure you don't become the student your classmates dislike the most."
"You've got to be kidding. The most disliked person in Class C is obviously you!"
Tokito Hiroya pointed at Ryuen.
"Heh. Who knows? Just do your best."
Ryuen looked completely unconcerned.
Compared with the minor chaos in Class C, Class A and Class B remained mostly calm. Class A had decided from the beginning to use points to prevent anyone from being expelled.
Fortunately, Class A still had enough points.
Although Kamio Tatsuya had taken 15 million from them during the forest exam, the students of Class A had been saving money since the start of the school year. As a result, they still had roughly 20 million private points left.
As for Class B, Ryuen had been draining them heavily because of the two contracts, but they had not carelessly spent the points they received from the VIP test.
On top of that, Katsuragi had received 5 million private points from Nagumo during the forest exam. Gathering 20 million was more than easy.
Therefore, Class A and Class B faced only one problem:
Who should receive the protection points?
For Class A, there was no question. Ichinose's decision to reveal her own secret had raised her standing among the students even higher, so the protection points would definitely go to her.
Class B was the real question. Although they did not need to worry about anyone being expelled, who would receive the protection points?
If this had happened before, Sakayanagi would have received them without any argument. However, her major mistake during the forest exam had caused many students to lose some of their faith in her.
Instead, Katsuragi had returned to the students' attention.
Under these circumstances, it would be very difficult for Sakayanagi to secure the protection points.
There was another factor as well: students could receive praise votes from other classes.
If Ryuen called on the students in his class to give praise votes to a particular student from another class, that person could receive forty-one votes at once. It was very possible that they would end up with the highest score in their class.
That would allow them to control who received the protection points in the other class. Giving the points to someone useless and giving them to the class leader were two completely different things.
Compared with the ease of the higher-ranked classes, Class D was in a much more difficult situation. They could not gather 20 million private points at all.
It was true that Class D should have received 20 million private points during the VIP test, but they had owed money to Ryuen at the time.
After paying him back, they had only about 15 million left. Then, for nearly half a year, Class D had received no income at all.
As a result, they could only use the private points they had earned from the VIP test to cover their living expenses.
By now, Class D had less than 10 million private points left—just over 7 million, in fact. They were still short by 13 million.
That 13 million shortfall basically guaranteed that someone from Class D would be expelled in this exam.
"Wait, wasn't the 5 million we owed Class C because of Sudou?"
"Exactly. If it weren't for Sudou, we wouldn't be short by this much."
"You've forgotten already? Horikita said it during the sports festival, didn't she? That happened because he misjudged the situation, and someone used it against us."
"Now that you mention it, I guess that did happen."
…
As expected of Class D. When a crisis arrived, they did not think about how to overcome it. Instead, they shifted the blame and started turning against one another.
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