Since the meeting place had been arranged in advance, Kaoru and the others quickly arrived at a classroom.
Classes at the school were organized by large groups, and everyone present belonged to Kaoru's group.
With fewer than forty students in the entire grade, the understaffed second-year group stood out the most.
Kaoru greeted Sato Keisaku and then quietly waited for the teacher.
After a few minutes, an unfamiliar teacher appeared before them.
He was the homeroom teacher for the second-year class.
After taking attendance for Kaoru's group, he announced the day's schedule.
"Starting today, you'll be cleaning designated outdoor areas. After that, you'll clean the school building. This will be your daily routine, except when it rains."
Cleaning duty—Kaoru hadn't heard that term in a while, though he did take turns with chores normally.
Perhaps because the teacher and upperclassmen were present, even Ishizaki Daichi and Kouenji Rosuke obediently followed the group to the outdoor cleaning area.
Though it was called cleaning, the task wasn't particularly heavy.
The school had already been maintaining the old building before their arrival, so their job was simply to keep it tidy.
After about ten minutes, the teacher inspected their work and then led them to the dojo.
"After cleaning, you'll meditate here every morning and evening."
Kaoru examined the dojo.
It seemed to be a shared space, as many other groups were already seated cross-legged inside.
"How long do we have to sit?" Hashimoto asked.
"You can leave at seven," the teacher replied. "But today, you'll probably spend a lot of time on explanations."
"Huh? Explanations?" Ishizaki didn't quite understand.
"Have you ever meditated before?" the teacher countered.
"No," Ishizaki Daichi admitted honestly.
The teacher nodded slightly and said, "Line up in a row and listen to my instructions now."
Kaoru had never meditated either and listened with interest as the teacher explained everything from posture to etiquette.
He hadn't realized there were so many details to sitting meditation.
"This posture is called the full lotus position. You'll be tested on it later, and you know the consequences if you fail to learn it." The homeroom teacher crossed their legs and demonstrated the posture for them.
The so-called full lotus position involved placing the right foot on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh.
It was said to be the most stable sitting posture for practitioners of Buddhism, as it helped settle both the body and the mind.
Kaoru tried a few times but failed—it seemed to require a certain degree of flexibility.
"What kind of torture is this? It hurts so much!"
Since it was everyone's first time attempting meditation, naturally, no one could succeed immediately.
The posture made Ishizaki grimace in discomfort, not to mention their group also included Albert.
Given his build, it was questionable whether he could even manage it.
However, Kaoru noticed that Ayanokoji and Kouenji had already begun meditating.
The full lotus position didn't seem to pose any difficulty for either of them.
"If you can't do it, there's also the half-lotus position, where you only place one foot. Start with this and practice gradually."
The homeroom teacher understood their struggles and didn't demand immediate success.
"This posture is so much easier!"
Ishizaki tried the half-lotus position and succeeded quickly, his face lighting up with joy—until he saw Ayanokoji and Kouenji's flawless full lotus poses.
His expression immediately fell. "What's up with these two? Seriously?"
"So jealous. They can do whatever they want with ease."
Hashimoto also took notice of this scene.
After a few more minutes of trying, Kaoru finally managed the full lotus position.
However, the meditation session didn't last long before the homeroom teacher called it off.
"Breakfast today will be provided by the school, but starting tomorrow, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
"W-Wait, we have to handle it ourselves?!"
"You won't need to prepare the ingredients—the school will provide those. Your job is to cook and feed yourselves. How you go about it is up to your group to decide."
Though the memory of the deserted island flashed through their minds for a moment, their expressions quickly relaxed. Having ingredients was enough—cooking was just a hassle.
The homeroom teacher led the group outside the school building, where cooking utensils had already been set up in designated areas.
The boundaries between the kitchen and dining spaces were clearly marked.
As the teacher had mentioned, a warm meal awaited them today.
"Ugh, I'm totally hopeless at cooking!"
"If we have to cook, doesn't that mean waking up early every day?"
"And we still have classes later, right?"
"Why do we even have to attend classes?"
"Because there are exams!"
Listening to the voices within the group, Kaoru stared at the simple, unremarkable breakfast before him and fell into brief contemplation.
"How about we take turns cooking?"
Hashimoto beside him blinked in surprise, while Ishizaki asked blankly.
"What do you mean, take turns?"
"Starting tomorrow, we'll have to make breakfast for six consecutive days. If that's the case, our larger group can rotate responsibilities—each grade only needs to wake up early twice."
Kaoru's suggestion was reasonable, leaving little room for objection.
"No way, I can't cook!"
Ishizaki resisted immediately. "If you want to wake up early and cook, go ahead—but count me out!"
"Fine. I'll wake up early, but I won't make a portion for you if you skip." Kaoru replied calmly.
Ishizaki was dumbfounded.
If he were starving, he'd probably be standing to the side, drooling while watching them eat, wouldn't he?
"I—I get it, I'll do it! But don't expect much from my skills!"
Since the core of this group was Kaoru, Ishizaki had no choice but to obediently back down.
Kaoru didn't spare him another glance and turned to the other side.
"Kouenji-kun, you should join us too."
"Ohohoho, do you have expectations for me as well?" Kouenji chuckled.
"We don't know what the exam scores will be yet. If even daily performance is being evaluated, then making breakfast might be a hidden subject," Kaoru said. "Either way, expulsion is a hassle. I doubt you'd want to end up in that situation."
Kouenji stroked his chin and laughed. "I can agree to that, but I'll say this upfront—filthy things disgust me."
It wasn't clear what exactly he meant by "filthy," but it probably wasn't the kitchen knives.
Kaoru then checked with Moriyama Akimi and the others to confirm there were no objections before heading toward the senior group.
The quickest to agree was Sato Keisaku, followed by the second-year group, led by Mutou Hiromichi from Class 2-C.
Even at first glance, Kaoru could tell Mutou's group was disorganized, their morale low.
Perhaps they were still under the psychological pressure of being exploited by Nagumo Miyabi, harboring both resentment and fear toward their fellow Class 2-A students.
"Starting from the lower grades, first-years go first, then second-years, and finally us third-years. Each grade will be responsible for cooking breakfast for two consecutive days. Does that work?"
Sato Keisaku proposed his idea—rotating daily would only breed complaints, so it was better to get it over with in one go.
"Fine. Tomorrow and the day after, we first-years will handle it," Kaoru agreed with a nod.
"We don't mind either way."
Mutou Hiromichi seemed indifferent, but the students around him were clearly very interested in Kaoru.
Kaoru could practically see the curiosity burning in their eyes.
Not just them—even the third-years were sizing him up with keen interest.
After all, he was now a shareholder in a super-conglomerate.
After answering some of their questions, Kaoru returned to his own group.
Once breakfast was over, their homeroom teacher informed them that classes would be held in the classrooms that morning—with each large group assigned a separate room.
The lessons were simple.
Kaoru had expected something more formal, but they turned out to be just general knowledge questions, most of which were related to the current training camp exam.
Still, noon break finally arrived.
Kaoru headed to the familiar cafeteria, but with so many people around, he couldn't immediately spot Ichinose.
Just as he was wondering what to do, someone across the room waved at him.
"Yahhooo, Mitoma-kun!"
Even in her gym clothes, Karuizawa gyaru aura remained undiminished—or perhaps that was just her current persona.