"You'll finalize your group assignments indoors. The school will assign rooms based on your groups, after which you can head to the cafeteria. The afternoon is free time."
After giving these instructions, Mashima split the class into two lines—the boys heading to the main building, while the girls went to the other dorm.
Kaoru watched as Ichinose was pulled back into formation.
She had been about to come greet him, but now they had to separate.
On the way, Katsuragi spoke up beside him, "I plan to form a group of fourteen students, plus one from any class. That way, there's no risk."
For Class A of the first year, there was no need to pursue maximum gains at this point—maintaining their position was victory enough.
Kaoru gave a slight nod, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his words.
"This group will consist entirely of our people. Even if Nagumo wants to do something to you, he won't be able to," Katsuragi added another reason.
"Moreover, if anyone is worried about us tampering with things, I can personally take charge as the leader and even offer some compensation if necessary."
A group composed of fourteen Class A students would essentially signal that Class A was voluntarily stepping back from pursuing further gains.
With Katsuragi as the leader, most concerns would be alleviated.
Even if Class A intended to manipulate things, they wouldn't go so far as to have their leader personally involved.
Rescuing Katsuragi would cost twenty million Personal Points and four hundred Class Points—far too steep a price.
"That makes sense," Kaoru paused, "but it's unnecessary."
Katsuragi was taken aback. "Do you plan to keep increasing our Class Points?"
"No, these points are enough for now. If we run short, we can always reclaim them later," Kaoru countered.
"The real question is, if you can think of protecting me, why wouldn't Nagumo think of it too?"
Katsuragi fell silent.
That did seem plausible.
"Dealing with me isn't just about forcing me to drop out. Even if Nagumo could have someone take me out in one move, do you really think I'd be expelled?" Kaoru could already see the school building ahead—an aged structure with the scent of wood, its roof dusted with snow, the dark floorboards worn by countless footsteps.
"Unless you and Sakayanagi-san both decide not to save me, I doubt Nagumo would be foolish enough to target me directly."
Listening to Kaoru's words, Katsuragi's expression turned pensive as he followed the group until they entered what looked like an indoor gymnasium.
Suddenly, it dawned on him.
"Nagumo plans to drain our points first, then go after you?"
Although Class A had never revealed that they pooled their Personal Points under Morishita Ai's management, their Class Points were simply too high.
Nagumo had to consider this—that Class A likely had enough Personal Points to protect someone.
Therefore, unless he could strip away Class A's safety net, expelling Kaoru would be difficult.
While everyone assumed he was fixated on Kaoru, his real target might actually be Class A itself, disrupting their rhythm entirely.
Someone like Katsuragi, if not for Kaoru's warning, might not have realized Nagumo's plan until it was too late.
Katsuragi's expression darkened.
If this were the case, every member of Class A could become Nagumo Miyabi's target—unless they were willing to abandon their classmates and focus solely on protecting Mitoma.
But that approach was clearly unworkable.
Since both Personal Points and Class Points belonged to the entire class, if students knew they might be sacrificed, they'd surely stop contributing points.
What should they do now?
Katsuragi was racking his brain for countermeasures when Kaoru noticed Kanzaki Ryuji leading the boys from Class 1-B into the gymnasium.
Before long, male students from Class 1-C and Class 1-D also arrived, finally bringing some noise to the previously quiet gym.
However, as soon as the upperclassmen appeared, the chatter gradually died down, and everyone waited silently for further instructions.
A teacher stepped onto the podium, microphone in hand, and addressed the assembled students.
"I assume you all understand the exam rules by now, so I won't go into detail. You may now form your own teams. Additionally, at 8 PM tonight, we'll allocate time and space for you to organize into larger groups. That's the basic arrangement."
Kaoru glanced around.
Several teachers stood silently on the sidelines, seemingly unwilling to intervene in the team-forming process—just like in previous exams.
Among the upperclassmen, he spotted Nagumo, whose face was cold and eyes shadowed with gloom.
Meanwhile, Tonokawa Sosuke and the others stood at a distance—not because they were avoiding Nagumo, but because Nagumo himself was pushing them away.
At this moment, Nagumo was surrounded only by a few die-hard loyalists—those he had secured through a mix of Personal Points and threats.
These were the only subordinates he could still rely on.
Kaoru's expression turned odd when he noticed that Iijima was now standing closer to Nagumo than Tonokawa and the others.
"Hirata, Kanzaki, Katsuragi, Mitoma—let's discuss team formations."
At some point, Ryuuen had approached them, hands in his pockets, a slightly arrogant smile on his face as he eyed the other leaders.
Kanzaki Ryuji's eyes flashed with disdain, but Hirata Yosuke asked, "Do you have a team formation plan, Ryuuen?"
"Obviously," Ryuuen chuckled. "Everyone knows the exam rules. A fifteen-member team is ideal—twelve students from one class, plus three from other classes."
His meaning was clear: for example, Class 1-C could send twelve students and supplement them with one student each from Classes A, B, and D.
By the rules, such a team could maximize benefits if they secured first place.
"How do we know you won't maliciously target our people?" Kanzaki frowned. "If your class ends up last, won't you just nominate our students?"
Ryuuen looked at him like he was an idiot. "Do you really think I wouldn't worry about you using joint responsibility to expel my people?"
Kanzaki fell silent for a moment before retorting, "It's hard to trust someone like you. And even if each class sends twelve students, what happens to the rest?"
If each class formed a fifteen-member team centered around themselves, the total would only be sixty students—but there were eighty first-year boys.
"What else can we do?" Ryuuen spread his hands. "We just abandon them. Form two ten-member teams from the leftovers—problem solved."
Kanzaki froze.
Was he suggesting they dump their own class's deadweight to avoid dragging everyone down?
Ryuuen glanced at Kaoru and Katsuragi, who had yet to voice their opinions, then turned back to Hirata.
"Hirata, what do you think?"
Hirata Yosuke pondered for a moment. "I'll need to discuss this with my classmates first."
There was actually no need for discussion.
Ryuuen Kakeru openly addressed them with these words, loud enough for most students to hear.
"Hurry up then."
Ryuuen showed little interest in this D-class leader. "I don't see any issue with my suggestion. Don't you all want more rewards?"
"Compared to rewards, are we just going to abandon the remaining groups?"
"Who said anything about abandoning them? This is fair competition. Do you really think dividing into groups now will determine everyone's rankings?"
"..."
"Kanzaki, are you afraid I'll scheme against you?"
Ryuuen seemed to see through Kanzaki Ryuji's concerns—no, he noticed the hostility from the boys standing behind Kanzaki.
After all, Class 1-B had suffered numerous attacks from Ryuuen, so it was only natural they held resentment toward him and Class 1-C.
"Verbal promises mean nothing. Who knows what you're plotting this time?"
Kanzaki Ryuji couldn't deny it.
Deep down, he feared Class 1-B might end up with a dropout—because Ichinose Honami would undoubtedly go to any lengths to save them.
"Heh, of course I know that. So, as a guarantee to ease your worries, how about I join your Class B's group?"
A fearless smile spread across Ryuuen's face.
"If you sense anything suspicious, you can just name me as the one to be expelled alongside you."
In an instant, Kanzaki Ryuji and the boys behind him wore expressions of utter shock.
Joining Them Voluntarily?
Was this about placing one's safety in the hands of a rival with whom they had unresolved grievances?
At this point, Kaoru who had been observing silently, finally took action.
He turned to Katsuragi and said, "We'll agree to Ryuuen proposal as well. Our group leader will be Totsuka Yahiko. You stay in the group, and I'll join the remaining one."
"W-Wait, you're going to the remaining group?"
Katsuragi barely had time to process why Kaoru had specifically named Totsuka Yahiko.
"Ryuuen might be targeting you!"
"He's not targeting me—he's targeting Class A. His conditions are too reasonable to refuse. Both Class B and Class D will agree to them."
Kaoru added, "Oh, and pull Hashimoto out too. He'll have to come with me to the remaining group. I won't feel at ease without him around."
Katsuragi seemed to realize something—was Kaoru deliberately making himself the bait to draw Nagumo Miyabi's attention onto himself?
But… were he and Hashimoto really that close?
Kaoru had no idea what Katsuragi was thinking.
The reason he wanted Hashimoto with him wasn't just because he was Sakayanagi's subordinate, but also because the guy was a bit dangerous.
Previously, Hashimoto had shamelessly claimed he could pledge loyalty to two masters—as long as he graduated from Class A, he didn't care who the leader was.
That alone made Kaoru realize he needed to keep Hashimoto on a tight leash.
Otherwise, he was too flexible—who knew if he might suddenly swear allegiance to Nagumo Miyabi?
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