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Volume 8, Chapter 1: A New Special Exam - Mixed Training Camp. Part 2

The boys from across all school years assembled in the gymnasium. Feeling uncomfortable, the 1st years immediately assembled and awaited further instructions without making a fuss.

Not too long afterwards, someone who looked like the teacher of a different school year stood up on a stage with a microphone in hand and spoke to the students.

"I\'ll assume you\'ve all received prior explanation in the bus regarding the contents of this exam and that you\'ve digested it. As such, there will be no further explanation of it here. Now then, we\'ll be forming our small groups here so I\'ll have you set aside time for this. Each school year will hold a discussion in order to create six small groups. Furthermore, as for the formation of the large groups, it\'ll take place at 8 pm today. That\'s all. This is supplementary information but when it comes to partitioning the groups, irrespective of size, the school will not interfere. And we will not act as arbitrators either".

Instructions for the boys to do as they wish were conveyed. Before we form the large groups, we\'ll need to start with the small groups.

Alright then, I wonder what sort of the strategy the other classes will go with and what objectives will they be aiming for. They should have, to a certain extent, already come up with a strategy on the bus but let\'s see.

Each school year took their distance and inside the gymnasium, we began to partition ourselves into groups. I\'m curious about the movements of the other school years but from this distance I won\'t be able to ascertain the finer details.

As I casually observed the senior students like that, the partitioning of groups commenced and before even a few seconds had passed, there was movement from within the 1st year classes.

I thought we\'d be sounding each other out for a while longer but Class A blatantly started forming a massive group.

A most conspicuous action considering the stalemate we\'re locked in. Inevitably, they drew attention from their surroundings.

Eventually, Class A formed a single group consisting of 14 people. And then they made this declaration to Class B and below, that is to say, us.

"As you can see, we Class A intend on forming a group with these members. And as you can see, right now we number 14. If one more person were to join us, we\'d meet the prerequisite number. Now then, we\'re looking for people willing to join us".

The one who said that was a student from Class A named Matoba.

Katsuragi was also among the 14 that had gathered but the one leading them was the boy named Matoba.

So does this mean Katsuragi isn\'t the group\'s leader? Either way, from the start, Class A played the hand of forming a group made up of their own as much as possible.

"Oi, oi. Why the hell are you guys getting ahead of yourselves? It\'s unfair if you\'re the only ones in it".

Sudou angrily glares at Matoba.

"Is it really that selfish of us? If we go with our proposal, each group will be composed of, at most, students from two classes. Even if we\'re 1st place, the bonus we\'ll get won\'t be that significant either. I don\'t feel like this is a greedy proposal that favors only Class A".

"N-No but I mean, it\'s unfair that there\'s 14 of you".

"That\'s not true. On the contrary, it\'s fair. The remaining three classes can create three groups consisting of 15. In other words, wouldn\'t it be fine if you form groups just like ours?".

"Is that so?".

Sudou, who didn\'t quite understand what Matoba is saying, turned around and looked at Hirata.

"That would be the case, yes".

"If you understand then this makes things go quicker. By the way, the remaining 6 from Class A are willing to join your groups in whatever form you see fit".

How does that sound? Matoba smiled as he looked at Hirata.

He looked at Class B\'s Kanzaki and Shibata the same way as well.

"Umm---.....let\'s see, I do believe this isn\'t a bad deal. What about you, Kanzaki?".

"Sorry but I can\'t give an immediate reply".

"Of course---. I don\'t believe the remaining six from Class A will go as far as to pull the legs of the other groups on purpose though. But I guess we\'d be cautious after all".

Class A tried to decide on the groups right away. However, Kanzaki did not make an immediate decision but rather, tried to put their proposal on hold.

However, in response to that, Matoba fiercely cut in.

"In that case I\'ll give you 5 minutes. Please make your decision by then".

"A time limit, huh? The group partitioning\'s only just begun. This is only Class A\'s personal opinion, it\'s no good if you onesidedly decide on this. Don\'t you think it\'s outrageous that you\'d only postpone it by 5 minutes?".

Even if you could say every class would be able to make up a group consisting of 14 of their own, it would be a lie to say that it\'s a fair proposal for all classes.

The only ones who can afford to think they wouldn\'t mind even if the bonus points happened to be on the low side would be Class A, who\'s currently in 1st place and maintaining the lead.

"I suppose so. It may not be good for us to decide that on our own. However, please don\'t misunderstand, we\'re not saying we won\'t negotiate after 5 minutes have passed. At most, we\'re only saying that these 5 minutes will offer special treatment".

"Special treatment?".

Matoba\'s just taking the lead and continuing the conversation. It\'s precisely because the other classes have yet to form their opinions and make their move that he\'s able to propose whatever he wants.

Truly what you\'d call a preemptive strike.

"We Class A will form a group with the 14 of us and welcome just one person from another class. Leaving aside whether or not this is the optimal strategy, it is true that we\'re selfishly forcing this on you. As such, the one person we\'ll be welcoming, in other words, if it\'s now that person will receive special treatment from us".

Matoba smoothly conveys the strategy they must have come up with in advance on the bus.

"If you\'ll join our group, we will ensure there\'s no risk to that student. Katsuragi-kun will be this group\'s leader but even if, by any chance, we\'re last place then Katsuragi-kun will be the only one to bear the responsibility for it. I promise that we won\'t drag you down through joint responsibility. Ahh, of course, that\'s only if you won\'t intentionally lower our scores or deliberately hurt our allies though. If your exam scores are legitimately bad then we\'ll pardon it all".

So that\'s the special treatment he referred to.

"Are you serious......?".

Some students saw some value in that proposal of special treatment. Taking the class into account and forming a group geared towards obtaining the most bonus points in case of victory and assembling group members in order to do so. Such acts are also necessary but the ones who\'d think that are the individuals who make up the core of the class.

For your average student, afraid of expulsion, the \'special treatment\' proposal that\'d allow them to clear this exam with a 100% guarantee of safety isn\'t such a bad proposal.

Even though Katsuragi ended up as the leader, the one in charge here is the boy named Matoba. Judging from his tone of voice, I could tell he\'s a relatively capable student.

It probably means that Class A still possesses talented individuals who have not yet revealed themselves.

However, I wonder exactly why Katsuragi did not come forward. Having lost his status within his class, is he being made to bear the responsibility for that?

"Since the 14 of us intend on being first place, there\'s a good chance that person will also be rewarded with private points. In each class, in regards to this exam, shouldn\'t there be those without much confidence in themselves?".

Saying that, he looked around at all the students. Now Matoba\'s words resounded especially in the students who didn\'t feel like passing up on his offer of special treatment.

"However, if you cannot decide within 5 minutes, we will withdraw our offer of special treatment. If, by any chance, our class receives a penalty, then we won\'t hesitate to drag you down with us".

"I think this is certainly an interesting proposition but in that case, the benefits of joining your group after 5 minutes would plummet. There isn\'t a single student who\'d want to join when the possibility of being dragged down is high".

There\'s no need to even say it, Kanzaki added.

"That\'s right. Nobody\'s going to join a group knowing they\'re going to do something like that".

The students who, for a brief moment, considered the special treatment said so in response.

"I don\'t care how you think of us but we definitely won\'t break".

Saying that, Matoba dragged his group off and retreated.

It\'s a way of saying they have no intention of participating in the discussion.

"It\'s fine if they ignore us. If 5 minutes pass, there\'d be no one willing to join that group. Given time, they\'ll be the ones to return for discussion".

"Suppose so".

Kanzaki and Shibata said so and decided to keep their distance and calm. I couldn\'t see any strange movements from Kaneda and the others of Class D.

However, Hirata, who received that offer from Class A, appeared to slightly differ in his train of thought. Approaching me, Keisei and Akito, he called out in a soft voice as though asking for our opinions.

"...what do you guys think?".

"Do you mean about Class A\'s strategy?".

Keisei took the initiative and asked Hirata.

"Yeah. Surprisingly enough, I don\'t think their proposal is that bad. The one, absolute condition of this exam is that we, Class C, all overcome it safely. Because we\'ve risen to Class C after all. I don\'t want to ruin this good mood and I don\'t wish for the expulsion of a student from the same class. However, the group in last place carries the risk of expulsion. If we have Class A protect the students without confidence in themselves then for one we could rest easy is what I think".

Certainly, if we\'re going for defense then Class A\'s proposal has its merits.

"However, it\'s just whether or not there\'s any guarantee that Class A will uphold their promise of special treatment to the end. If they happen to be in last place, there\'s the possibility they\'d forcibly go for the joint responsibility. A verbal promise may yet be broken".

Hirata\'s anxiety over that is understandable.

Essentially speaking, a verbal promise too, can be binding. However, even if we shout that at them they can simply turn it into a pointless argument.

If Class A denies all knowlege of what we\'re talking about then it\'ll just muddy the waters and most importantly, their promise to not drag us down is based on the assumption that we won\'t \'intentionally\' sabotage their group.

Even if a student\'s exam scores happened to be on the low side, it\'s difficult to distinguish between an intentional act and a non-intentional one.

Still, in a place like this without any pen or papers, we can\'t leave it in writing either. Even if we attempt to rely on the teachers, they\'ve already stated that they won\'t be involved in the partitioning of the groups.

It\'d be meaningless to ask them to remember this verbal promise. But still, Matoba\'s promise of special treatment is something that\'s reached the ears of all 1st years.

To ignore this and go with the dragging down approach would be a huge disadvantage for them too. In theory, it should be fine to trust them.

".....it might be possible to have them shelter one".

I got in on Keisei and Hirata\'s conversation.

"That\'s right. If we make our move then the rest is how Class B and Class D choose to act".

If we accept their special treatment, it could be seen as siding with Class A, after they used a brute force method.

Even though it was only a short time, Hirata seemed to want to persistently think about it until the very last moment. Roughly three minutes have passed since the sudden proposal.

I don\'t know whether or not they\'re faithfully counting down each second but Matoba and the others are leisurely standing by.

Perhaps they\'ve assumed someone would raise their hand. Or perhaps they\'re thinking up a different strategy. We watchfully waited down the remaining two minutes to see whether or not we should wait for Matoba and his group to make their move. That depends on the leaders of classes B and under.

"Kanzaki-shi. I have an idea, may I?".

Class D\'s Kaneda approached Class B\'s Kanzaki. Rather than whispering in a soft voice, it was a bold approach that everyone around could hear. Kaneda beckoned Hirata over too and in response, Hirata went over to him.

"I\'ve determined that this could be considered an opportunity. Thanks to Class A assembling together, even if their class is to win, they\'ll only be able to gain two classes worth of bonus points. On top of that, considering the conditions they\'ve laid out, we\'d be able to position the Class A students however we want. In other words, it means we can form the remaining groups out of all four classes. Can\'t it be said that the higher our rank, the closer we\'ll be to Class A and this is the chance to do just that?".

"That\'s if we can beat the Class A group".

I don\'t know the exact scores but during Paper Shuffle, Class A destroyed Class B. If this exam is a showdown of academic abilities then we\'d be at a disadvantage.

"Sure there are risks. However, this isn\'t a simple showdown of academic abilities. How about it? I think it\'s best if we take action to overthrow Class A here. I believe it\'s not a bad idea".

Kaneda said. To lay siege to Class A through the cooperation of three classes B, C and D is the objective here.

"Well, in order for our three classes to cooperate, we\'d have to acknowledge Class A\'s group of 14 though. But, considering the four classes worth of bonus points we\'d get, wouldn\'t that be nothing much? Furthermore, they\'re even offering special treatment so everything works out perfectly".

"That\'s right. I think Kaneda-kun\'s strategy is sound".

Hirata gave his support. Kanzaki must have been more cautious, since he didn\'t give an immediate reply. He seems to be thoroughly mulling over the advantages of having four classes.

"But who are we going to place in that group? At the very least, I doubt there are any students in Class B willing to volunteer for a group that\'s made up chiefly of Class A. That includes me too".

Even if we\'ll be protected by their special treatment, that person will have to spend a week with that Class A group. One thing\'s certain and that\'s that it won\'t be comfortable.

"I\'d like to ask Class B and Class D. Are there any candidates?".

In response to Hirata\'s words, the students from those two classes look at one another. However, nobody quite raised their hands.

"Then, I\'d like to ask everyone from Class C as well. Do you have any candidates?".

This time he asks his own class. However, the reaction was the same as Class B and Class D\'s. There are probably a few students who\'re considering the special treatment but being concerned about everyone\'s gazes as well as the uncomfortableness, no volunteer came forward.

"This is just my onesided guess but you\'re all thinking that Class A might just keep their promise".

"How can you tell?".

"Because they\'re Class A, I suppose. Despite having declared they won\'t drag anyone down, if they still forcibly drag us students from the lower classes into it, then in the future they wouldn\'t be able to make deals like this anymore. We\'re still in the 3rd semester of the 1st year, so if they lose trust from us going forward, it would be a huge loss for them, I think".

Hirata\'s opinion makes sense. If this is the final, decisive fight then Class A won\'t care. However, there\'s still more than two years left to go.

If they keep their promises to a certain degree here then they\'d be able to use a similar strategy in other exams as well. In time, wouldn\'t they do something absurd like that, is what Hirata is thinking.

"I don\'t want to praise the enemy but they are Class A. Their grades are simply better than ours. In other words, I don\'t think they\'d be last place or fall below the borderline by a large margin. That\'s why I\'d like you all to be aware that you are not being assigned to a losing group".

What Hirata is trying to say is something Ike and the others understand well too.

"Fortunately, Class B and Class D don\'t seem to have any candidates so I\'d like to pick someone from Class C to join the Class A group. Even if they win, our class will still receive a reward and we\'d be able to avoid an expulsion on the off-chance it should occur. How does that sound?".

He said so and looked at Ike and Yamauchi in particular.

He probably wants to protect the students who feel unsure about their own capability, even if he can only do so for one. Hirata makes one, final push.

"Even if the student receiving special treatment falls below the borderline score, can you promise me that you won\'t blame them for it?".

Hirata confirms it with Matoba.

"Of course. From the start, we\'re not expecting anything. If you can uphold the condition we set first then I guarantee it".

"...I suppose I\'ll go".

The one who whispered that was Ike.

Hearing that, Yamauchi also said the same thing.

"I might also want to go".

On top of that, the Professor also volunteered. A total of three named themselves.

"Then, in the spirit of fairness, let\'s go with rock-paper-scissors. I\'ll have the winning one join the group".

Hirata\'s also guiding them and just like that, the three of them played rock-paper-scissors.

As a result, Yamauchi became the one to join the Class A group.

And just like that, a group with Class A in charge was successfully formed and leaving behind six students from Class A they headed off towards Mashima-sensei.

It was only for a few minutes.

"Now we can form the groups however we like but what to do? We could do it like Class A and form three groups of 14. Just like Class A, we could go with the strategy of not dragging the leftover one down and cooperate with each other. That\'s also one option. However, as for me, just as I said earlier, I\'d like to propose that the four classes join up".

"That\'s right. Now that we\'ve humored Class A\'s proposal, we should go with a four class composite".

"No objections, then. What about Class C?".

Kanzaki and Kaneda presented a strategy that would offer the highest bonus points.

"If we\'re aiming to win then this is necessary. I won\'t object".

"Hold on, Hirata. Is it really ok to agree just like that? I don\'t feel like going at it in a group with guys like Ishizaki in it".

Sudou interrupted.

That\'s not just Sudou\'s opinion but Keisei, and a lot of other students from Class C, share that opinion as well. And also, I could hear a few complaints coming from Class B and Class D too. The four class composite offers high bonus points as its advantage but in exchange, it\'s also easy for problems to arise. If students in a cat-and-dog relationship with one another join hands, it would even have an effect on our scores.

"I get it. I don\'t think this is something we can decide on right away either. Class A seems to have formed a group of 14 based on some criteria but things probably won\'t be that easy for us".

Judging from how satisfied all the Class A students seemed to be about it, they\'re probably going to split up the rewards evenly amongst themselves.

Or perhaps, they\'ve even promised the remaining six greater rewards since they\'d be bearing more risk by not joining their group.

This may be a strategy they\'re able to take precisely because they\'re in a position of safety know as Class A.

"How about forming a temporary group for now while taking everyone\'s opinions into account. If we run into problems, we can just disband immediately".

"That\'s right. I agree with that too. Even if we keep sounding each other out here, we\'d only be wasting precious time without coming to a consensus. Class A\'s already resolved the matter of the groups and have moved onto the next phase".

They\'ve concluded that they wouldn\'t get anywhere by squabbling with each other. The other students are also leaving it up to their leaders, it seems, since almost no one objected.

"No objections here either".

Kaneda also accepted it without any objections. The group partitioning proceeded without a hitch. However, the students observing this, despite not voicing their objections, had skeptical looks on their faces.

The one who originally led Class D wasn\'t Kaneda but rather, Ryuuen. And that\'s something they understand as a matter of fact.

However Ryuuen, who they saw as their leader, did not join in on our conversation but instead kept his distance from everyone and doesn\'t even seem to be paying attention.

The 3rd semester\'s already begun and it\'s common knowledge that Ryuuen\'s stepped down. Of course, among the students who don\'t know the details behind it, there are more than a few who suspect him of faking it.

"I\'d like to ask you something. Did Ryuuen put you up to it?".

Since even Hirata and Kanzaki hesitated to ask that question, Shibata went straight to the point and did so.

Kaneda took off his glasses and blew away what seemed like accumulated dust on them.

"No, this is my idea. His opinions are irrelevant. Even if, by any chance, we\'re in cahoots behind the scenes it\'s still me talking to you right now. Do you have a problem with that?".

Shibata approached and apologized to Kaneda, whose expression had now turned grim.

"I just wanted to confirm that with you. Sorry if I offended you".

"No such thing. More importantly, let\'s continue our dialogue. If we screw up the group partitioning, it will take up quite a bit of time. We can\'t afford to spend time on idle talk".

Group partitioning is indeed a difficult matter. And each person in the group, in spite of acting for the common good of the group, will still look out for themselves so they don\'t end up expelled and they must take action to ensure their class receives the rewards as well.

It sounds easy but it can be unbelievably difficult. And more than anything, when it comes to forming groups, the real struggle is to not nab the big names but to make sure you don\'t end up drawing the short straw.

The focus should be on how best to push the students likely to slow you down to another group.

In order to proceed with the group formation, Hirata from Class C, Kanzaki from Class B and Kaneda from Class D each raised their voices as the first of their groups of 15.

They seem like they\'re putting aside the matter of the minority groups for now. Work began on selecting eleven suitable people from the ranks of the classes.

The few students who immediately volunteered to join the group went over to Hirata. If one of your own is in charge of your group then it means you avoid being dragged down and you\'d be familiar with them as well.

Intervention from the other classes can also be minimized that way. As though it\'s the obvious choice of action, they gathered. Class B also showed a similar trend and they reached their quota faster than expected.

And as for Class D, they had begun slowly forming their group.

I\'m probably not the only one keeping an eye on Class D. Leaving aside prominent students like Kanzaki and Shibata, a lot of the other students are also observing them. Because they wanted to know what exactly Ryuuen Kakeru is to that class now. Neither Class B nor Class C trusts Class D yet at this stage. It\'s because the man known as Ryuuen had set traps far too many times until now. Understandable.

"What are you going to do, Kiyotaka?".

Keisei and Akito came over to check with me.

"What about the two of you?".

Putting on a contemplative face, I returned the question.

"I\'m thinking of sticking with Keisei. Using your head and thinking things over isn\'t really my forte you see".

".....a group made up chiefly of Class C has its draw. It\'s just, to be honest, I\'m not really down with Hirata\'s way of doing things".

"And that means?".

Not understanding, Akito asked.

"Rather than prioritizing victory, Hirata is focusing on protecting his comrades. I won\'t say that\'s a bad thing but ultimately it means our chances of winning would decrease as a result. As a matter of fact, Ike and Onizuka as well as Sotomura are hoping to join Hirata\'s group. Whether or not they\'ll be useful, of course, depends on the contents of the exam. They may yet be able to score better than I can. But, it\'s far likelier that they won\'t be given what I think the exam contents will be".

"Well, I suppose that\'s also true.....".

"Class A isn\'t a disorderly mob after all. Even if Yamauchi pulls their leg, it\'s still skeptical whether or not Hirata\'s group can win. The only thing we can accomplish is to avoid being dragged down. In that case, I\'d much rather be a minority in another group. I think we should aim for victory with an elite few".

"If this is a showdown of average points then that\'d be a surefire way, huh?".

Out of all the 1st years, there are 80 boys.

20 in each class. If we\'re to properly divide them up then:

Class A (14 from A, 1 from C) = 15 people

Class B (12 from B, 1 from A, 1 from C, 1 from D) = 15 people

Class C (12 from C, 1 from A, 1 from B, 1 from D) = 15 people

Class D (12 from D, 1 from A, 1 from C, 1 from B) = 15 people

The remaining 20 (3 from Class A, 6 from Class B, 5 from Class C and 6 from Class D).

Those 20 will probably have to split up into and form two groups.

However, just as the majority of the students form teams according to the wishes of their class representatives, there are also students who aren\'t quite doing that. One of those is unmistakably Class D\'s Ryuuen Kakeru.

As though he had no interest in participating in this exam in the first place, he did not interact with anyone. Rather, he spent that time alone, waiting.

However, it\'s not like he\'s a mere loner. Nobody bothered with him but instead of spending that time wallowing in loneliness, he boldly persevered through the isolation.

However, now that not all groups have been decided on, we won\'t be able to move forward. Inevitably, one of the leftover groups must take Ryuuen in.

In a situation where even fellow classmates like Ishizaki won\'t talk to him, I can think of only one student who can make a move.

"Ryuuen-kun. If you don\'t mind, why don\'t you join our team?".

The one who called out to him was, of course, my classmate Hirata. Looking at it from Ryuuen\'s perspective, since he\'s already retired from the whole class conflict, an exam like this one that demands compulsory participation may be nothing more than an annoyance but he probably won\'t clumsily rebel against it either.

"Hold up, Hirata! This isn\'t funny, taking Ryuuen into our fold!".

All the students who have joined Hirata\'s group object.

Who\'d willingly want to carry around that ultimate bomb? In a strategy that\'s about climbing up to Class A, Ryuuen Kakeru is a most unnecessary person.

In this battle that revolves around the seat of Class A in this school, the students have attained a certain degree of understanding. However, at the same time, their doubts would also be wafting right up.

That is to say, a scenario where they graduate from a class that is \'not Class A\'.

Of course, then they wouldn\'t fall under that dreamlike system which guarantees you any sort of higher education or job. But in that case, just how high an evaluation they\'d get, is the point. Those doubts are everlasting for students who have enrolled here. It\'s like how good news and bad news intermingle all at once. As for the cons, it\'d be being labelled as a \'student who couldn\'t make the cut\'.

Whether or not universities and employers would deem them as such and refuse to admit or employ them.

However, on the other hand, there are also opinions that there isn\'t a shortage of people who have high opinions of the Advanced Nurturing High School\'s alumni.

The fact that they\'ve had three years worth of valuable experience in a meritocracy and the fact that it\'s a government-sponsored school should also lead to high evaluations.

In other words, you could say that even if you don\'t aim for the top and simply graduate that way, you\'d still have a lot going for you.

In other words, it doesn\'t matter if you\'re from Class D or from Class C and even if you can\'t climb all the way up to Class A, there\'s no need to be pessimistic.

As for the 2nd years, Nagumo already reigns over Class A with overwhelming might and support and he\'s already pulled apart classes B and under.

There\'s still one year left to go and a chance to turn it all around but it\'s tough for the lower classes to do so.

And also, the 3rd years are in a similar situation.

It\'s not as onesided as the 2nd years but the class the older Horikita belongs to has yet to give up their spot at the top even once and is still going strong.

At the very least, it\'s borderline impossible for the 2nd and 3rd year classes that have fallen down to D to make a comeback.

Ultra C.....unless things are set up such that the points you\'ve gained up until now can all be overturned with the quiz show\'s final question, it\'s probably impossible.

Leaving aside the 1st years, who have yet to fully grasp the bigger picture, I can at least rule out any students being fine with expulsion.

I doubt any university or employer will consider a student who lost and got expelled.

The joint responsibility system that stems from the leader is mostly there as a deterrance.

It\'s a rule established to ensure no one tries to force an expulsion. However, wariness is still crucial.

There\'s a possibility that there may be a student who wouldn\'t mind being expelled and on the off-chance that the leader should be expelled, they probably won\'t hesitate to drag someone else down with them.

In other words, it\'s vital that students other than the leader get better scores than said leader, even if it\'s only by a single point. In order to ensure they aren\'t liable to be dragged down.

And also, it\'s important to not incur the resentment of the leader.

"Aren\'t you a big deal, Hirata? Taking me in and all. But it doesn\'t look like you\'ll be coming to a consensus".

That\'s right. As long as there are people objecting, we won\'t ever come together as a group.

Sudou and the others will never nod in consent just from Hirata\'s persuasions alone.

"Hey, Keisei. Isn\'t being part of the elite few also risky?".

Looking at the remaining people, Akito whispered.

"...more than I expected yes".

That\'s something Keisei\'s also caught onto, and he exasperatedly sighs.

The remaining five from Class C would be me, Keisei, Akito, the Professor, Onizuka and Kouenji.

The Professor and Onizuka seem to want to join Hirata\'s group but that group\'s simply overloaded and overflowing.

In regards to Kouenji, he always goes at his own pace and he\'s showing no sign of participating in our discussion.

You could lump these five together but that\'d leave two groups of 10 remaining. In other words, the other classes won\'t be able to do something similar either. Furthermore, since there aren\'t many students left actively trying to fill the role of leader, the students freeze up as though time had stopped flowing.

"I don\'t mind as long as I\'m not in a group with Ryuuen".

A student from Class B said so and insisted on that.

"I also want to steer clear of Ryuuen".

Beside me, Keisei also appears to share the same opinion and everyone seems to want to avoid having to team up with Ryuuen.

It\'s probably because there\'s no telling what he\'ll do next. The only ones who could have possibly formed a team with him, Ishizaki and the others, also now seem to be distancing themselves from Ryuuen.

The one person who wasn\'t involved in the rooftop fight and the one person who probably doesn\'t see Ryuuen in a bad light, Shiina Hiyori, also happens to be a girl and so she can\'t exert much influence here.

"Doesn\'t seem like we\'re going to be reaching a consensus easily".

"It\'s best to put him in Class D\'s group".

"It would be great if we can do that but right now we\'re in a difficult situation".

"...they had a falling out, is the rumor I heard. But there isn\'t enough evidence for us to take that at face value".

It\'s understandable for Kanzaki, no, almost all of the students here to suspect such.

They probably see it as a situation where Class D is deliberately distancing itself from Ryuuen to allow him to pull something off.

"Kanzaki-kun, I think we really should do something if Ryuuen-kun\'s actually troubled by this".

"Do something, by that do you mean Class B and Class C will lend Ryuuen a helping hand, is that it?".

"Yeah".

"Even if Class D\'s saved by that, it still means two classes could end up as sacrifices. Ultimately, if we weigh the risks on a scale, inviting him in isn\'t a good idea, right?".

Kanzaki is right. If accepting Ryuuen means there\'ll be some risk to bear, then that\'s something his class should bear.

There\'s no need for us to bear that burden. Even if Kaneda and Ishizaki don\'t want to, it\'s far more unreasonable to push this onto another class.

If this is a showdown between pairs then Hirata would probably team up with Ryuuen without any hesitation.

However, this time around, we\'re forming groups made up of 10 people or more. One person\'s goodwill cannot speak for everyone else.

The silence that followed afterwards seemed like it had prolonged the group partitioning. As a result, from the three groups that formed as a result of excluding Ryuuen, hair-raising suspicions arose.