The bus exited the highway and slowly made its way onto a partially paved mountain road. It was easy to tell that they were getting close.
As expected, the feeling Kanda Shuichi had before coming here was right. Last time it was the sea, and now they were really in the mountains...
Sure enough, Chabashira-sensei announced that they were about to arrive and explained the day's schedule.
First, the group assignments would be done indoors. Then it would be lunchtime. The afternoon would be free time.
"Now, the students whose names I call will hand in their phones. Ayanokouji, Ike…"
The names were called in order, the same as the bus seating—front to back.
"So cold…"
The moment Kanda Shuichi stepped off the bus, a blast of cold air hit him, making him shiver.
No surprise there—it was January, and winter was still going strong in the Northern Hemisphere. On top of that, the occasional gust of wind in the mountains made it even colder.
"Don't stand around by the bus door after getting off. Boys, gather over here. Girls, gather over there."
A teacher Kanda Shuichi didn't recognize gave instructions to him, Karuizawa, and Kushida as they stepped off the bus.
"That's how it is. You two should do your best, especially you, Kei."
After giving them a few words of encouragement, Kanda Shuichi walked toward the boys' gathering spot. Karuizawa and Kushida responded before heading toward the girls' area, just a few meters away.
The bus had stopped in a large open plaza. As soon as they got off, two traditional-style buildings came into view.
Leaving aside what the inside was like, just from the outside, it was clear that these buildings were huge. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to accommodate students from three grade levels plus the teachers.
The moment they stepped inside, a familiar scent of wood filled the air. The temperature indoors was also much more comfortable than outside, not due to modern heating, but because of a large central fireplace.
Kanda Shuichi thought about these little details while also taking in the layout of the building.
Before long, he followed the group into a space that looked similar to a gymnasium.
No, rather than a gym, it felt more like a dojo.
By the time they arrived, the boys from Class A and Class B were already there. When Class C entered, the others turned to look.
Kanda Shuichi and Kanzaki Ryuji made brief eye contact, then nodded at each other as a greeting.
"The new class should split into two groups. Don't stand around randomly."
Following the teacher's instructions, the students of Class C lined up in two rows and quietly waited.
"Kanda, have you finished your group selection plan?"
After getting into formation, there was a long waiting period. Since there were still eight more classes to go, Hirata took the opportunity to start a conversation.
"Yeah. But if I have to pick 12 people from Class C, it'll be hard to maintain a good balance. So I plan to prioritize quality over numbers, even if that means choosing fewer people."
Hirata listened to Kanda Shuichi's explanation and nodded. However, his expression looked a little troubled.
"Something wrong?"
Seeing Hirata's reaction, Kanda Shuichi asked directly.
"Honestly, I'm still worried about the students left behind."
"So, you don't want to join the elite group and would rather stay back to take care of Ike or Yamauchi?" Kanda Shuichi instantly understood Hirata's reasoning.
That was just the kind of person Hirata was.
"Yeah… I'm really sorry. I know that doing this—"
Before Hirata could finish, Kanda Shuichi raised a hand to stop him.
"It's fine. I get where you're coming from. Just do what you think is right. If anyone gets expelled, our class loses 100 points, so making sure no one drops out is important too."
Hearing that, Hirata let out a breath of relief and gave Kanda Shuichi a grateful look.
While they were talking, the second and third-year boys had also started entering the gymnasium.
After all the students arrived, a teacher they had never seen before took the microphone and stepped forward.
"You should have already heard about the details of this exam on the bus, so I won't repeat them. From now on, each grade should split into six small groups through discussion. At 8 PM tonight, you'll have time and space to form larger groups. By the way, whether it's small groups or large ones, the decision is entirely up to you. As long as you follow the rules, the school won't interfere. That's all."
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the three grades naturally split into their own groups. Just as Kanda Shuichi was about to start organizing his classmates, he noticed that Class 1-A had already taken action.
The first-year students from Class A had openly formed a large group. Clearly, they had planned this in advance on the bus.
"As you can see, our Class A has gathered 14 students into a group. If we can add one more, we'll have the required number. So, we're now looking for one more student to join us."
The one making this announcement wasn't Katsuragi, but a student named Shinji Matoba. He was someone Kanda Shuichi and Ryuen had tricked back on the deserted island. Matoba was part of Sakayanagi's faction.
Now that Katsuragi had lost his position, Matoba had taken over as Sakayanagi's enforcer, organizing the boys in Class A. As for Katsuragi, he just stood quietly among the 14 students without saying a word.
"Hah. You just got back into Class A, and now you're already acting so high and mighty, making decisions on your own?"
Kanda Shuichi couldn't help but mock him.
Even though their strategies were similar, he still found Matoba's behavior irritating. A total double standard.
"Our proposal allows a group to have students from up to two different classes, and the reward for first place is quite low. For your class, securing a guaranteed pass for one person should be a good deal, don't you think?"
That was outright condescension.
Matoba wasn't wrong. Class C did have weaker students, like Yamauchi, who might struggle in this kind of exam.
But that didn't make Kanda Shuichi any less annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. But do you really think anyone from our class would actually want to join your group?"
"This isn't a bad deal for you. And I'm sure there are students in your class who aren't confident about passing this exam, right?" Matoba sounded completely sure of himself. He believed there would always be people afraid of getting expelled who would choose the safest option.
But today, Kanda Shuichi was going to teach him a lesson—one he wouldn't forget.
"Kanzaki, did Ichinose tell you anything?"
Kanda Shuichi ignored Matoba. There was no point in wasting words on him. Instead, he was ready to finally give Class A a proper lesson.
Since Katsuragi wasn't in charge this time, their relationship wouldn't be affected. But even if it had been Katsuragi making this move, Kanda Shuichi wouldn't have held back.
Seeing Kanda Shuichi walk over to Kanzaki, Katsuragi immediately sensed trouble.
"Wait, Kanda! We can negotiate!"
"What?! Katsuragi, do you even know what you're saying?"
Katsuragi's sudden offer made Matoba's expression darken. To him, Katsuragi backing down was a humiliation—an outright betrayal of Class A.
"Of course, I know what I'm saying. And I have a bad feeling that if we don't compromise here, something irreversible might happen."
Katsuragi stood firm in the face of Matoba's anger.
"Shut up, you pathetic loser! Or are you planning to betray Class A right now?"
"You—!"
Katsuragi's face turned pale with anger, but in the end, he clenched his jaw and stepped back into the group without another word.
As for Kanda Shuichi, he didn't even bother paying attention to their argument. Even Katsuragi couldn't talk him out of this.
After watching the little drama unfold, Kanzaki gave a slight nod. "Ichinose told me she has already made a deal with you."
"That's right. So, would you be willing to work with Class C for this exam? I promise you won't regret it."
Kanda Shuichi had built a solid reputation, and after a brief hesitation, Kanzaki agreed.
Part of it was because Kanda Shuichi had proven trustworthy—during the VIP exam, Ichinose had worked with him and earned 10 million private points.
The other reason was simple: Kanzaki trusted Ichinose.
"Good."
Kanda Shuichi nodded, then turned his gaze to Class D.
"Who's in charge of Class D right now?"
His blunt question made the Class D students look at each other, some even showing signs of displeasure.
But his words weren't pointless. Not long after he spoke, a bespectacled student, Kaneda Satoru, stepped forward from the group.
"I'm temporarily in charge of the Class D boys."
"Can you speak for all of Class D?"
"Everyone except Ryuen."
Hearing Kaneda's response, Kanda Shuichi nodded in satisfaction.
As for Ryuen, with his love for stirring up chaos, he definitely wouldn't object to what was coming. In fact, he might even help persuade the hesitant members of Class D.
"In that case, I have a proposal." Kanda Shuichi turned to look at Class A's Kanzaki, a cruel smile forming on his lips. "You all know that the group size must be between ten and fifteen people, and it has to include members from at least two different classes, right?"
"Of course. That's why we need to work together, isn't it?"
"Exactly. But I'm curious—what happens if someone fails to form a group?"
Kanda Shuichi's words made both Kanzaki and Kaneda tense up. Fail to form a group? What did he mean by that?
"There are sixty of us across our three classes. So let's do this—we'll form six groups, each with the minimum required ten people, and leave Class A out completely. What do you think?"
The first-years at the scene were left standing in stunned silence.