Chapter 4 Part II

The quizzes ended smoothly without any problems. The results were announced after the 4th period the next day.

Class D had challenged all of their tests in the past without any form of unity.

Whereas this time, the quizzes had produced a sense of unity that was almost too well done.

Pairing system, problem creation, and inter-class competition aside, it may be a wonderful thing that the overall rule for this special examination is so simple. Just take a test and get good grades.

This is the same thing as what we have been forced to repeat over the past nine years or more since we had started in elementary school and all the way through high school.

"It's good that I didn't have to get involved with this time."

It's comforting to be able to say this from the bottom of my heart.

"Then, I will announce the pairings for this semester's final exams."

The results of yesterday's quiz were posted and it went as follows:

Horikita Suzune and Ken Sudō, Hirata Yōsuke and Yamauchi Haruki, Kushida Kikyō and Ike Kanji, Yukimura Teruhiko and Inogashira Kokoro.

The pairs were announced almost as we had expected. By the way, my results said:

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka... Satō Maya.

"The gods have a bad sense of humor…"

How did it come to this? It was the kind of outcome that would cause me to think like that.

Satō seemed to notice that we had been paired up together and looked back in my direction with a smile.

I raised my hand a little to let her know I had seen it too.

"Kōenji-kun also hasn't betrayed our expectations of him."

Kōenji was paired with Okitani. Based on the result, he seems to have gotten a solidly high score.

Well, he's gotten high scores on every exam that he takes so far, so it's more like he is just taking the exam as usual. He didn't pay attention to the result, crossed his arms with an incomprehensible smile, and laughed.

"Looking at the results, some of you seem to have understood the intent of the quiz. It then follows that this information was successfully shared with the rest of the class."

Chabashira-sensei looked at the pairing list and appeared to be very impressed.

"Pair the students with the highest and lowest scores. If the results are the same, the partners will be randomly selected. I probably don't need to explain it to you all, but I'll tell you this anyways."

There's no reason to be surprised at this point, but it was relieving for our rule to be validated.

"There doesn't seem to be any issues with the pairings."

"Yes. It's going so smooth that I'm a bit scared. But the real thing starts now. How to make exam problems and overcome the exams on our own. Your pairing is Satō-san, which should be fine."

I didn't select her deliberately, but with the upper and lower students combined, the other half of the students in the class are likely to score outside of the predicted strategy. A result like this can be said to be just right.

Satō is a candidate who could potentially fail the final. I have to keep my grades at a high level moving forward.

"In order to raise the classes average score, I will hold a study group until the final exam. Because I can cooperate with Hirata-kun and Kushida-san this time, I'll be able to hold two sessions per day. A two-hour session from 4 pm to 6 pm after school ends, and 2 hours from 8 pm to 10 pm for those with club activities. We need to decide who will take which session. What do you think, Hirata-kun?"

"Since I'm involved with club activities, I'll take over the second study session. Let's get through this and work hard."

Things were truly moving steadily. Because of the increase in the number of people who can teach, we can adopt a strategy like this.

After that, Horikita and Hirata discussed the details of the study sessions again and again, slowly ironing out the finer details.

The supervision of the first session was taken up by Horikita, while Hirata took over the second session. They decided to thoroughly guide the students who were struggling with their grades, while still supporting all of the students who attended the study groups. Kushida was a special force who would attend both sessions and focus on teaching the students who were anxious about reaching 50 points. There were a lot of girls sitting in this middle tier, such as Onodera and Ichihashi.

That said, this plan was not without problems.

Compared to the first semester, the number of students involved in the study group is pretty large. In contrast, there are only three people in charge of teaching.

It follows that the larger the student side of the teacher-student ratio gets, the poorer the quality the overall teaching will be.

At lunchtime, Hirata and Sudō met up with Horikita.

"Fuck, Suzune isn't leading the second session. That kills my motivation."

Since Sudō couldn't attend the first session due to his club activities, he couldn't be taught by Horikita this time.

Horikita worked as Sudō's motive to study, so he seemed pretty reluctant. In the past, he would have probably acted out here.

"No matter who is teaching, if you lack motivation, I will be troubled. Understand?"

"...I understand. I'll study, after all, we are a pair."

She had great control over the bulky Sudō. It was admirable.

"Your efforts will also be reflected in my own evaluation. It would be nice if you would understand that. On top of that, I will try to show up at the evening sessions, so come on."

Horikita put forward the final blow, as if Sudō was in the palm of her hand.

"Oh wow. I suddenly have the motivation again! Please treat me well, Hirata."

"Likewise. Let's do this together, Sudō-kun."

Because of his decision to become partners with Horikita, Sudō seems to be more driven.

But still, there were unexpected problems.

"...I need to talk to you for a minute, alright?"

The student who came up to Horikita was someone who I had never spoken to before.

He came over with a nervous, sorry-looking expression.

"Miyake-kun, what's wrong?"

He was a student of Class D, Miyake Akito, and he was with a girl whose beauty was a common topic among the boys of the class, Hasebe.

These two students were usually very quiet and rarely involved themselves with anyone. It was an unexpected visit from an unexpected combination.

"I remember you two, you guys are a team for the final exams, right?"

Hirata asked, looking for a common point to start with. Miyake began to talk about the situation.

"We are a pair for the upcoming exam, but based on the results we got on the quizzes and midterms, we are good and bad at the same subjects, so there's a bit of a problem. It's a little nerve-racking. We wanted to ask for advice."

After he finished, he handed their quiz results and midterm results to Hirata.

The pair had decided to compare the results of their quizzes with each other. Their average score was very different, with Miyake getting 79 points, and Hasebe getting a single point as intended. Horikita's plan worked smoothly to get good pairs for the students in the upper and lower parts of the class. But there was a miscalculation here. For the mid-term exams, their average scores were 65 points and 63 points, for Miyake and Hasebe respectively. They have almost no difference in their academic ability. They're two students who are in the very middle of the class but were split into the upper and lower sections. At first glance, the two of them would seem to be able to manage the final exams, but there's a catch.

The tendency for both of them to make the same mistake on a question was too similar. In other words, the subjects that they aren't good at are exactly the same. Sixty points in each subject will be required for the final exams. It will be a dangerous bridge to cross.

"Indeed, this is a bit unexpected. Let's make sure to check the other pairings later."

"I'm sorry to trouble you again, Hirata. Whether it's the cruise or the sports festival, I always seem to give you trouble."

"You don't need to apologize. You would do the same if I were the one who needed help."

Was that what happened? Miyake had withdrawn from the sports festival just before the final relay race due to an injured leg. He seems to have made a full recovery as there were no problems with his movement.

I happened to recall this kind of thing, but I don't know the specific details.

Miyake and Hasebe, the answers that they chose were very similar.

They were so similar that one might think the same person had taken both exams.

Even if it's possible to adjust someone's academic ability to some extent, it isn't possible to get every student into their ideal pairing. It's unavoidable that an incompatible match would be created.

"This will be hard. I don't want to complicate the plans we set up or disrupt the progression of the study groups."

It's not that they were too stupid to be able to study for the test. The problem was that the two of them had their weaknesses and strengths heavily skewed. It was a special type of situation that was somewhat different from Sudō's which was that he was simply not good at studying.

As a result, the quality of the teaching will become less and less adequate.

Originally it would be ideal to teach lessons one-on-one.

"Kushida-san, can I trouble you with some additional students? There will be a lot of people to tutor, but these two should have some foundation for studying. They shouldn't diminish the overall coordination of the study group."

"Yup. I don't mind, as long as Miyake-kun and Hasebe-san don't mind either?"

Kushida asked the two of them. Miyake didn't say anything, but Hasebe was different.

"I'll pass. I don't like being around Ichihashi-san."

She refused in response. Fortunately, Ichihashi had left the classroom, so the conversation wasn't overheard.

"It's also not comfortable for me to attend a study group with a lot of people."

It seems that Miyake had suggested to Haruka to for them to ask Hirata together.

I had thought she would be apathetic about it, but it seems that she ended up disagreeing with Miyake altogether.

"But, the two of you share the same weaknesses. Even if you are able to clear the overall score requirement, if you are to take the final exams like this, there is a real possibility that one of your subjects will be below the minimum requirement of 60 points."

"Yep, I know."

Hasebe gave off a look of dissatisfaction and took her gaze off Horikita. She then turned her back on us and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"Miyatchi. I'm sorry you took the time to invite me. I feel pretty embarrassed, but in the end, this is not something I'm cut out for."

Refusing once again, Hasebe left the classroom alone.

"Sorry, Horikita."

"I don't care. Even if it's just you, would you mind working with Kushida-san?"

If Miyake was to work to compensate for his worst subjects, he could effectively cover for Hasebe.

"...I'll pass. I don't feel like I'd be able to study in a group full of women. I'll try to do it on my own."

Miyake gave his own response and withdrew as well after grabbing his bag off the seat. Horikita could not force them to study. If they didn't participate in the study session of their own will, it would be nearly impossible to get any results, and it would lower the moral of the students who were taking the studying seriously.

"What should we do? If we can, I think it would be better to provide some support for those two."

"That's right... If only there was someone else who could participate in teaching them."

I saw Horikita looking at me for an instant, so I declined her with my eyes. I don't believe that I can communicate with Miyake or Hasebe, not even considering whether or not I have any teaching skills.

My existence shouldn't be considered after that point.

"I'll try to adjust and see whether or not I can make time."

After some thought, Horikita concluded that she had no choice but to make a move herself, and attempted to sum things up.

"I'm against the idea. When I think of the long war that will be coming in the future, you will undoubtedly be overworking yourself. As a result, the overall efficiency of learning for everyone will drop. Horikita also has to work on creating problems for Class C as well."

"But if there're no other options, what choice do we have?"

Horikita's speech had become forceful since she had judged that there wasn't anyone else who could teach them.

Even though Hirata could advise her not to do this, he had no means available to stop her.

Horikita will look after Miyake. It was beginning to appear as though the matter was decided.

"Then I'll take care of it."

A student who hadn't been involved in the discussion so far approached the group.

The one who joined the discussion was Yukimura.

"Yukimura-kun, if you're willing to cooperate, I'd be glad to welcome you. You work hard in school and definitely have the appropriate academic ability. But are you fine with this? I thought that you didn't care for this kind of interaction."

"At least, if I don't cooperate, it doesn't seem like we will overcome this exam. Horikita, you're the same way, trying to take on everything by yourself."

It might be that Yukimura is choosing to act because he saw the changes that have happened with Horikita since the sports festival.

"But there's one other problem. I can teach, but I don't have any ties with Miyake or Hasebe. I think it would be tricky or impossible for me to try to convince the two of them. I want you to come up with a way to convince the two of them to come to my study session."

He attached the condition that we would have to bring the two of them with us.

Of course, there was no such thing as a condition. Thankfully, Horikita was delighted with the arrival of a helper.

He was like a movie companion, coming out of the sky in a helicopter to rescue the main character who had been driven into the corner by enemy soldiers.

"I understand. I will think about how to gather the two of them for you."

After Yukimura had made the minimum promise with Horikita, he left the classroom as if nothing had happened.

"Is it okay for me to think of things as okay for the time being?"

"Not necessarily. Think about it, none of us have any connections with either of the two of them."

I couldn't stop myself from pointing it out to her, so I did.

"...Hirata-kun, will they listen to Yukimura-kun?"

"I wonder... I think you know this already, but the three of them are the type of people who like solitude. It will have to do with whether or not they match with Yukimura's personality or way of thinking. They might end up being a little uneasy about it."

Horikita sat in thought considering what Hirata said, and after a bit, she eventually turned to me.

"Hey, Ayanokōji-kun. Would you mind if I left the management of Yukimura-kun to you?"

"Management?"

"You were in the same room as Yukimura-kun on the ship, so I thought you might be somewhat flexible. It may be difficult for you to communicate with Miyake-kun or Hasebe-san, but if you work as the middleman it should be easier for all of us to connect with them."

She said such a thing. Using the process of elimination, it was clearly the best plan available. None of the three of them appeared to be the type of person who would be able to stay in touch with Horikita.

Even so, why choose me of all people? I've entirely pleased with not getting any more involved with this than I already am.

"You appear to be rather unwilling. Are you not willing to help me? It's just management, I didn't say I wanted you to teach."

It's true that it's just management, but it will be a very difficult thing to manage.

"Can I ask this of you?"

I can only nod my head as the pressure from Horikita had begun to change into a threat.

Let's renew my mindset here.

Accepting this matter can help Horikita save face, and the backup plan isn't entirely useless.

The important thing is that I'm not made to do anything further than this. The most troublesome task here would be to teach others and thinking of problems for the final exams.

"I'll try my best."

I gave her my answer and sighed in a manner so as not to be seen by Horikita.