With Mashima-sensei's announcement, the computer displayed the faces of all Class D students.
Excluding Hikigaya and Ayanokōji, the remaining 36 students were to be assigned to the drawn events and participate in the exam… Honestly speaking, it was hard to feel reassured with this level of fighting power.
The gap in ability among Class D students was massive, and the two most reliable individuals, Ayanokōji and Kōenji, couldn't be counted on.
But you could also think of it as if those two didn't exist from the start—at least emotionally, that made things easier.
It was like finding a winning lottery ticket, only to discover it was expired upon closer inspection—might as well have never picked it up at all.
…Yeah, let's go with that.
As those thoughts passed through his mind, the computer displayed the ten events submitted by Class D.
"First, please select five events and press the confirm button. Please be aware of the countdown timer."
That said, neither side spent too much time deciding.
Class D's core events had been proposed by Hikigaya, so there wasn't much hesitation… No, there was a slight bit of wavering.
[Basketball]
[Kyūdō]
[English Quiz]
[Shogi]
[Girls' Freestyle Swimming]
These five were the original picks.
However, based on the intel from Miyake that day, Hikigaya reconsidered and ultimately decided to give up on kyūdō, a rather niche event that they might have had a good chance of winning.
It was a shame, but if even the person involved didn't have the confidence to win, then it was better not to push it.
Besides, Miyake could also be useful in other events, so it wouldn't be a complete waste.
Next was shogi.
Even now, Hikigaya couldn't determine whether Class A was hiding a shogi expert.
Yes, specifically—Kanzaki.
After chatting with Miyake that day, Hikigaya had done some online searching and found a major company called Kanzaki Industry. The CEO's photo on their official website looked exactly like an older version of Kanzaki. There was no need for a DNA test to tell they were father and son.
Kids from that kind of wealthy family were typically well-versed in the cultural arts—just like Haruno-san.
If Hikigaya were personally competing as a player, he might be willing to take the gamble.
But he was the commander now, and his ability to intervene in the exam was extremely limited.
Even though Horikita said she'd been brushing up on her shogi…
Still, forget it. Betting on that would be far too foolish.
In the end, the five events were:
[Basketball]
[Typing Proficiency]
[English Quiz]
[Japanese Quiz]
[Girls' Freestyle Swimming]
Typing was Hideō Sotomura's specialty—he'd been involved in the hidden camera incident over summer break, or rather, he provided the equipment.
Probably as a form of atonement, the usually quiet Sotomura proactively volunteered this time.
Still, Hikigaya had been hesitant at first.
Typing proficiency… How should he put it, it was kind of a vague metric.
Unless someone knew you very well, nobody would have any intel on this sort of thing.
After all, it's not something people normally ask about.
And in this day and age, most people use phone apps to communicate, so you wouldn't notice whether someone is fast or slow on a keyboard.
Simply put, the opponent's intel in this area was completely blank.
Sotomura had demonstrated his typing speed to Horikita, and it was indeed very fast. As expected of a hardcore otaku who's been lurking on 2ch for years. But still, it's not like this was something with a high barrier—almost anyone could do it. [T/N: 2ch is also known as "2channel"]
If someone wanted to practice, they could just shut themselves in their room and grind.
Hikigaya wasn't keen on gambling on something so uncertain… But compared to Horikita's shogi skills, he'd rather put his faith in Sotomura's typing.
Put simply: treat the dying horse like a living one.
At the moment he pressed the confirm button, the large screen in the center of the room displayed the selected events for both classes.
Class A's selections were:
[Go]
[English Quiz]
[Math Quiz]
[Dodgeball]
[100-Meter Sprint]
…To be honest, not bad.
Aside from Go, the Math Quiz, and Dodgeball, Hikigaya thought Class D had a fair chance in the other two.
English seemed like a duplicate for both sides, but due to rule differences, the nature of the events was completely different.
Also worth celebrating—Class A had been successfully misled. They seemed to believe Ayanokōji was a chess expert and therefore avoided choosing the troublesome event of international chess.
Of course, Ayanokōji was indeed an expert.
He'd just been ganked by the school.
"Next, seven random events will be drawn. Please watch the center screen closely."
With Mashima-sensei's words, the massive display changed to a 3D animation showing the characters "Now Drawing."
…Seriously, was that necessary?
Hikigaya knew that a lot of apps show spinning loading icons to indicate progress during data loading.
In truth, that kind of thing only existed to ease user anxiety during waiting periods—it had no actual meaning.
Honestly, why does the school exam have to be so flashy?
Just a few seconds later, the screen shifted again.
The first randomly drawn event was—
[Basketball]
Required Participants: 3 people
Duration: 20 minutes (half-time break after 10 minutes).
Rules: Based on standard basketball rules, limited to half-court. Commander may substitute one player at any time.
A Class-D submitted event had been drawn—this was undeniably lucky.
The students waiting in the classroom were surely thrilled. After all, this was an event they had full confidence in winning.
As long as they deployed Sudō, there was no suspense.
That said, while Hikigaya also felt fortunate, his focus wasn't on the guaranteed win for basketball.
He was looking at the pressure this event would place on Class A—or rather, on Ichinose.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this could determine the entire exam.
As he considered how Ichinose might respond, Hikigaya used the mouse to drag the selected students' photos into the event slot.
The three were: Makita Susumu, Miyake Akito, and Hondō Ryōtarō.
According to Sudō, Makita liked to shoot hoops during his breaks and could handle himself decently with a bit of training—he was the team's center. Miyake, who had diligently practiced kyūdō, was also physically fit and familiar with basketball.
Only Hondō was just there to fill the numbers.
After finishing the selection, Hikigaya, bored, turned to observe the two homeroom teachers.
Mashima-sensei wore his usual stern expression—no reading him. Sakagami-sensei, on the other hand, looked a bit puzzled.
He probably couldn't understand why Sudō, who everyone thought would be in the lineup for basketball, wasn't playing.
But the reason was simple.
For Class A, basketball had to be a headache. If they went head-to-head against a Sudō-led Class D team, their chances of winning would drop dramatically.
In that case, Class A might just throw the match and send in random people.
If so, that would mean Class D wasted Sudō's powerful presence for nothing.
But on the flip side, there was no guarantee Class A would give up.
So Hikigaya chose to send in the second-tier players first—to test the waters.
Even so, this was scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to talent in Class D.
Good thing he had suggested changing it to a 3v3 half-court game.
If it were 5v5, they would've had to play all their cards, meaning Sudō would've been necessary.
Now, at least, they had the breathing room to observe the opponent's movements.
Ichinose's side sent out three athletic-looking boys, clearly good at sports.
This lineup showed they were aiming for a win.
Even knowing Sudō was likely to be involved in basketball, Class A didn't seem inclined to forfeit.
That said, neither Shibata nor Kanzaki appeared.
It seemed Ichinose didn't want to send out her trump cards so early either.
On the other side of the massive display, the chosen students quickly began their pre-match preparations.
Before long, the whistle blew, and the basketball match began.
During this time, there wasn't much a commander could do—only substitute one player according to the situation.
That might seem simple, but if done well, it could drastically influence the outcome.
Now then… it was a matter of who could stay calm under pressure.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya's mysterious calm was shattered a few minutes later.
Class A's three boys weren't particularly skilled, but their coordination was excellent, constantly putting pressure on Class D.
Makita and Miyake kept looking for scoring opportunities, performing reasonably, nothing to criticize.
The problem was Hondō… Honestly, he was just dead weight.
By halftime, the score was 18 to 14—Class A led by 4 points.
While not a huge gap—still within the range of a comeback—there was this nagging sense that no miracle was coming.
…Man, if only we were the ones in the lead.
Hikigaya sighed inwardly. That way, he could take the initiative and respond according to Ichinose's moves.
Still… it wasn't over yet.
After a four-minute break, the second half began.
Class D made a substitution—Hondō was pulled off the court.
"Eh?"
Upon seeing the player who had appeared, Ichinose let out a small sound of confusion.
The teachers, too, looked at the screen with puzzled expressions.
After all, the one who showed up wasn't the expected Sudo—but Hirata.
Still, this choice turned out to be far from bad.
What Class D lacked wasn't technique, but teamwork—and that just happened to be Hirata's forte.
He was the ace of the soccer team, and all the boys in class were used to following his lead. Within just three minutes of entering the match, he had already evened the score.
If they kept up the momentum, a comeback was definitely within reach.
Now the pressure had shifted to Class A—and that was exactly Hikigaya's intention.
If it had been Sudo, Ichinose might have just given up, choosing not to waste any more of her team's energy.
But with Hirata showing up instead, Class A still had a chance to win.
That is, if they sent out the most athletic student in their class: Shibata.
Even so, it was just a chance—not a guarantee.
Shibata wasn't on the basketball team. His skills might not be bad, but it was hard to imagine they'd be exceptional either.
If they sent him in and still lost, it would affect the following events as well—a classic case of losing the battle and the war.
Right now, this was the dilemma laid out before Ichinose.
Should she gamble or not?
In the blink of an eye, another three minutes had passed on the court, and the score now stood at 22 to 24.
Just as expected, Class D had begun to pull ahead.
Even though the Class A students were doing their best to resist, the gap between the scores continued to widen under Hirata's leadership.
Throughout all this, Ichinose hesitated, unable to make a move.
Only four minutes left… It was too late for a substitution now.
Thinking this, Hikigaya stopped watching the game altogether and stared blankly at the screen.
To be honest, he wanted to ask if he could play a quick round of Spider Solitaire. It should be on all the computers, right?
Unfortunately, the look on Mashima-sensei's face was way too serious, so he didn't dare bring it up.
Sure enough, the referee's whistle signaled the end of the match, and Ichinose hadn't made any substitutions.
The final score: 26 to 31.
Under Hirata's command, Class D had taken the first victory in style.
Class A may have lost, but Ichinose's decision to conserve her team's strength wasn't necessarily wrong.
It's just that… if it were Hikigaya, he absolutely would've taken the gamble.
After all, this was only the first event. No need to be that cautious.
Sending out Hirata had been a gamble in itself. If Shibata had gone up against him, the result would've been a toss-up.
Even so, it was a bet worth making.
Even if it meant burning through a valuable asset like Hirata, it was worth it.
While Hirata was the jack-of-all-trades who could handle almost any event, Sudo was undeniably a top-tier athlete.
In Hikigaya's view, the latter held even more value in this exam.
And as it turned out, he won that bet.
But that's just hindsight. It doesn't prove anything.
There was no time for rest. The second event was drawn immediately.
The screen displayed—
[100-Meter Dash]
Required participants: 2
Rules: Based on standard 100-meter dash regulations. Commander can allow one student to run again; the faster time will be taken as the final result.
This time, it was Class A's turn.
Hmm… this might be a bit tricky.
Since the basketball game hadn't forced Shibata to reveal himself, there was little doubt about who Ichinose would send now.
That said, Hikigaya still had Sudo up his sleeve.
Now was the perfect time to play that card.
Without hesitation, he dragged Sudo's photo into position, while Ichinose selected Shibata and another male student from her class.
Seriously, that was such a waste.
Even though the match was technically 2v2, it came down to which of the four could run the fastest—not exactly a team effort.
Put simply, once Shibata was in, the second runner could just be a placeholder.
Even so, the boy Ichinose picked didn't look like some athletic klutz.
The reason was simple—if a bit ridiculous.
It was because the guy was too kind.
See, even if the placeholder didn't have to win, both classes would be watching the race during the exam.
Imagine this: Sudo and Shibata shooting off like rockets, while the placeholder—say, someone like Sakura—barely made it halfway to the finish by the time they crossed the line.
How humiliating would that be?
Attentive as she was, Ichinose wouldn't overlook such a thing. To protect her classmates' pride, she couldn't just throw someone out there thoughtlessly.
Luckily, Class A had plenty of capable students. They could afford to burn one or two.
But Class D? Their manpower was stretched thin. Hikigaya couldn't afford to be picky, so he sent in—
"Hey! Are you kidding me?!"
—he sent in Shinohara.
"W-Why me?! I'm not even fast! Quit joking around!"
Shinohara shouted at the screen, clearly not happy about it.
Well, it couldn't be helped. Sakura at least had decent grades—couldn't waste her.
Helpless, Hikigaya had to make a random choice… and Shinohara it was. Truly random.
A moment later, all four participants lined up at the starting blocks.
Sudo and Shibata looked fired up and ready to go—quite the contrast to Shinohara's sour expression.
Bang!
At the sound of the starter pistol, three of the runners shot forward like arrows.
Yeah, don't ask why only three.
Sudo and Shibata both got off to great starts, but Sudo still had the edge and took the lead.
Shibata chased after him with everything he had, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't catch up.
All he could do was watch as Sudo crossed the finish line first.
To be fair, the difference in their speed wasn't huge. Just like at the sports festival, Shibata was always just that tiny bit behind.
But only by a fraction of a second.
If they ran again, the outcome might be different.
That was probably why Class A included the Commander mechanic this time—to account for just that.
So Shibata wasn't discouraged. Still brimming with fighting spirit, he clenched his fists and headed back to the track, ready for another round.
Sudo, too, wasn't celebrating prematurely and walked calmly back to the starting line.
Both of them assumed the commander would choose them.
However, the referee said something unexpected.
"Second round of the race: Class A selects Shibata Sō, and Class D selects Shinohara Satsuki. Please take your positions."
"...Haaaaaah?!"
As Shinohara's screams echoed from the screen, Hikigaya couldn't help but feel… yeah, maybe he was kind of a jerk.
But really, it couldn't be helped.
According to Horikita's notes, Sudo's last run had been his best in the past two weeks.
Even if he ran again, chances were slim that he'd beat that time.
So they might as well send Shinohara out as a decoy.
After all… the kind-hearted Shibata, facing off against an athletic no-hoper of a girl—might just mess up.
If nothing else, they couldn't risk motivating him further.
The way he looked at Sudo screamed rivalry, like an unkillable cockroach or something.
This setup was purely to avoid giving the opponent a buff. It wasn't personal, okay?
In the end, everything played out just as Hikigaya expected.
Shibata, dumbfounded, looked at the furious Shinohara beside him and couldn't summon the will to fight seriously. In the end, he ran even slower than before.
And just like that, Class D scored another win.
Though… watching Shinohara still throwing a tantrum on the screen, Hikigaya suddenly wasn't so eager to return to the classroom.
Come to think of it—once the exam ends, we get dismissed, right?
We do get dismissed… right?!