However, that chance to confess would be the locus if the traitor was brought into a dialogue. If they denied it and the representative declared them to be a traitor, they’d face expulsion. It could be said that there were several skills that this special exam required. It was essential to know not only your own classmates, but also to be familiar with your opponent’s classmates. Therefore, the degree of difficulty would vary greatly depending on how well you know the way each student spoke, behaved, and otherwise presented themselves in everyday life. Also, the greater your level of insight and the stronger your observational skills, the better, so as not to overlook even the smallest of details. In addition, since the representatives were in a position to be able to talk with each other, it was better to have the mental fortitude not to be misled by careless guidance.
On the other hand, you could say that this proved physical ability wasn’t necessary and that the exam had little to do with academic ability either, just like Chabashira-sensei said. The fact that no one seemed to be absent due to illness also suggested that Ryuuen’s deliberate choice to not make Hiyori a representative for his class might not have been a bad decision. She was a valuable asset for Class C, since there were few people in that class capable of smoothly facilitating discussion. Although it was impossible to determine everything at this stage, it could be said that the fact that this wasn’t a contest centered on academic ability and the fact that Hiyori wasn’t chosen as a representative seemed to have given Ryuuen a bit of a tailwind.
4.1
AS THINGS GOT STARTED, the twelve of us headed to the classroom, where we would wait on standby and rest. Along the way, the conversation inevitably turned to the topic of the special exam. Horikita and Yousuke were discussing the rules for the participants.
“Although we won’t be directly affected until after the exam, the burden is greater than I imagined, and even the students who aren’t representatives have been given an important job,” said Horikita.
“Yeah. Actually, it’s safe to say that even we, the representatives, won’t be able to win without the cooperation of our class participants,” replied Yousuke.
If a participant engaged in the discussion without thinking, and easily fell for attempts from the opposing class to lead them around by the nose, then it was possible that their role would be detected by the opposing representative, and your Life Points would be reduced. I could envision cases where the information on the participants that was needed couldn’t be obtained due them making light of or having a disdain for discussion, and thus you wouldn’t get an opportunity to reduce the opponent’s Life Points because you wouldn’t be able to nominate anyone. Or there could be times when there just weren’t any clues at all, and the winner was determined entirely by chance alone. It was safe to say this was a turn of events no one wanted, save for the classes who weren’t confident that they could win on their own power.
“I’m anxious about how much of this Ike-kun and his group will understand, though,” said Horikita.
Apparently, Horikita was unsure whether Ike and his friends would be able to properly fulfill their duties as participants. I’m sure that if she could, Horikita would have given Ike a direct explanation right now, in plain terms, to make him understand. That was the thing she’d normally do, but it wasn’t allowed here, on this big stage.
“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t anxious, but I’m sure the other classes are too,” muttered Yousuke, walking at the tail end of the line, looking at the nine students in front of us.
“Right. The conditions are exactly the same. This discussion task is a first-time experience for everyone,” said Horikita.
“We’ll probably have a bumpy start. Since it’s a showdown between classes, normally, you would think of it like a seven-on-seven format. But in reality, it’s entirely possible that students cast into the same roles will be allies. The idea of working with another class in the end-of-year exam must have come as a sudden shock to everyone,” I reasoned.
Even if people were directly asked to join hands and work together, it was something easier said than done.
“Honestly, I can’t even imagine how things are going to go,” said Yousuke.
Yousuke tried to envision what the situation would be like, but he soon gave up, perhaps because he couldn’t form a definite image of it in his mind. We continued our conversation in the short time until we arrived at our destination. Unlike the classroom we had just been in, the waiting room that we entered only had two monitors, and its only other feature was an array of twelve sterile, empty seats.
“Students waiting on standby will be able to see the status of the exam on these monitors in real time. However, they can only check the changes in representatives’ Life Point values and who wins or loses. As I explained earlier, they cannot see what is happening in the exam directly,” said Mashima-sensei.
Text that looked like a sample was displayed on the left side of the two monitors.
Results
Class 2-B Vanguard
Representative Name: OO – Remaining Life Points: 0
Class 2-D Center
Representative Name: OO – Remaining Life Points: 4
Class 2-B Center
Representative Name OO, please begin your turn promptly.
Interval – Time Remaining: 10:00
“This is an example of what would be shown on the monitor when a winner is decided between representatives. During the actual exam, the student’s name will be shown where it says ‘OO’ by representative name. On the other monitor, only the results for classes A and C will be shown,” announced Mashima-sensei. There was little to be learned from this monitor, and certainly no clues to utilize in exam strategies. “Also, representatives are forbidden to leave this floor until the exam is over. You are free to use the washroom only while you are on standby. Note that you will be given a separate penalty if you exceed the allotted time provided to you when you are moving about between turns. Keep that in mind.”
That was probably a measure to keep the representatives and participants isolated from each other, so that they only stayed within their groups. Confiscating our phones and conducting a body search, along with forbidding us from leaving this floor, were also part of those measures to prevent us from exchanging information with the participants. Even if we tried to find a way to contact them, we were most certainly being observed very closely, and it would probably be best not to do anything suspicious if we didn’t really need to.
“Now, I would like to have the three representatives from each class discuss and select thirty-five people and divide them into five groups. You have one hour,” said Mashima-sensei.
Upon receiving Mashima-sensei’s orders, Yousuke and I walked over to Horikita. At the same time, I noticed that the representatives from Ichinose’s class had also formed a small circle of three. However, as for Sakayanagi and Ryuuen’s respective groups, although they were standing close to each other, they didn’t appear to be talking among themselves.
“It seems like those two are going to make all of their groups just by themselves,” murmured Horikita, not sounding particularly surprised.
“I guess they didn’t intend to listen to their classmates’ opinions from the start, huh?” replied Yousuke, responding to her comment to show he was paying attention.
Though she seemed somewhat taken aback, he didn’t let the warm smile on his face fade.