3.2

September 17th.

After lunch break. Less than three weeks after the summer break, the next special exam arrived.

When I came back to the classroom about five minutes before the exam started, there was already one adult waiting in the classroom. He was quietly watching the students from the back of the classroom. What surprised me a little was that I was instructed to sit not in my seat, but in a seat that was designated only for this exam. I wondered if they were trying to be more strict with the rules. Interestingly enough, I was seated at the very back of the class, near the window, where I had sat in my first year. The rest of the students were randomly assigned to seats regardless of their placement last year or this year. I just happened to be in similar seats it seems.

Satō sat down to my right. The students began to arrive one after another.

The test we are going to take is the "Unanimous Voting Special Test".

It's a simple test, nothing more, nothing less, in which you have to choose from multiple options, five questions given by the school and repeat them until you reach unanimous agreement. There are not many things worth mentioning about this special exam, but there are also few countermeasures that can be taken in advance. Regardless of the content of the question , there is no communication during the first round of voting, so there is a promise to spread out the votes to avoid unexpected unanimity. Be aware of the time limit for voting. Decide in advance who you will follow in the event of a dispute over which option to choose. This is the only thing that any class can do.

This is why there is almost no heavy atmosphere in the class.

The fact that this exam is easily achievable for all participants, ultimately "all you have to do is choose an option and press the vote button,"

is another reason why it is so loosely regarded.

There is some tension, of course, because it is a special exam. The tablet had a film firmly attached to it to prevent prying eyes. Even if you peeked in from the seat next to you, you wouldn't be able to steal a look at the screen. Since you can't leave your seat while voting, it's impossible to narrow down where others are voting by sight.

Even if they could see the results of a third party's vote by some means or accident, whether they would believe it is another story. In the first place, it is impossible to make a fuss about who voted for whom, since snooping is forbidden.

We had to face this special test head on.

Also, the tablets on the desk seemed to be turned off, and it was forbidden to even turn on the main power without permission.

"Hey, hey, hey... if we clear it in an hour or two, let's go to the Keyaki Mall."

"Yeah, I'd love to, but I'm pretty sure I have to study in the dorm. So can we go in the evening?"

Ike and Shinohara, who have become a close couple, discuss what to do after school.

Is it a special exam that can be easily cleared? It's questionable how many students understand that it can turn into a difficult question depending on the conditions. The problem is that the voting is anonymous. It is impossible to know who voted for which option, not only during the exam, but forever.

Total anonymity. It's all about how big of an impact this factor will have on this special exam.

Anyway, the time limit for the special exam is five hours, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., a very long time. If you think about it simply, you are allowed to spend one hour per question. It would not be surprising if the special exam was completed in one or two hours as Ike said. And if you complete it within the time limit, you can easily get 50 class points. On the other hand, if you fail to complete the exam within five hours, you will lose 300 class points, so making all five questions unanimous is an absolute must.

Looking back on the content of the exam, I can say that the small rewards and heavy penalties are understandable. I sat down at my seat in the corner of the classroom, where half of the students were seated. On the side of the podium, the facilitator of this special exam, Chabashira-sensei, and the teacher in charge of monitoring, are stationed at the back of the classroom.

"As I told you beforehand, all communication devices will be collected."

Restrictions on what luggage can be brought in, monitoring from the front and back to prevent peeking at the tablets. They're being more thorough than they need to be. That's how much they want to prevent people from knowing who voted for which side.

It may sound harsh, but it's the right thing to do. In order to reflect the genuine feelings of the students in the multiple choices, the anonymity must be 100%. If there is a chance to spy on them, the probability that they will succumb to peer pressure increases. There will naturally be betas and alphas.

This could work to the advantage of students who are looking to get ahead.

However, this is not a good thing for the school, because they want everyone to be unanimous, regardless of whether it is peer pressure or not.

Anyway, there is no room for cheating. No matter what the question is, it must be unanimous.

"Look, Airi. You need to go say it properly, okay?"

Hmm? When I returned my gaze from looking out the window to the inside of the classroom, I saw Airi being pushed around by Haruka.

"Ah, Kiyotaka-kun! If you're interested in coming with us, you have some time after school, right?" She appealed with her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about the cultural festival."

"I see. I thought we should talk in person, too, and I don't mind."

"Oh, thank you! I'll see you later, then."

After running away, Airi took a seat in the far seat and turned her back.

"I managed to calm that girl down. It doesn't mean her heart is healed, but she's trying to move forward." She didn't even try to mention it in front of me, trying her best to make eye contact. "But it remains to be seen whether or not she'll really take it on. It's up to Kiyopon, do your best."

"I'll try to negotiate as hard as I can."

"Yeah. I'll see you after school."

They're really good at taking care of each other, or rather, they've been together a lot lately, those two.

Two minutes before the start, the homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, begins to explain.

"Well... It's about time. We will now move on to the special exam, but since today is a long day, we will have up to four-bathroom breaks. Basically, we can only take a break before we get unanimous consent to take on the next question. This means that we can't take a break in the middle of the day when we haven't reached unanimous agreement. Also, each break is a maximum of 10 minutes, but the test time continues to be counted. It will be important to skip breaks if you deem them unnecessary."

All of us had already gone to the bathroom as announced, so there would be no problems for a while.

There didn't seem to be any students in the class who had stomach-aches or other unexpected health problems.

Now it was time for the special exam to begin.

I thought so, but Chabashira-sensei just stood there and stared at the students absentmindedly.

The students didn't care at first but then started to look at each other noticing something was off. The teacher standing at the back of the classroom also seemed to have noticed something strange.

"Chabashira-sensei. It's time for you to go."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. We will now begin the unanimous special examination. From here on out, we will proceed according to the rules, so if you leave your seats outside of the interval, or if you chat during forbidden times, you will be warned without mercy. Be mindful of this."

The countdown starts at twenty-six seconds, probably due to a slight delay in the start signal, but I'm sure it won't affect the students.

When the count reaches zero, the text switches to show the first question.

[QUESTION ONE:]

Choose which class you want to face in the final exam in the third semester.

Even if there is a change in class rank, this choice will take precedence. The numbers in parentheses indicate the additional class points you can earn by winning the match.

[Choices:]

Class A (100)

Class B (50)

Class D (0)

"This is the last trimester of the second year, and the choices are used to determine the opponents for the special exam at the end of that school year. As mentioned above, if you unanimously choose Class A, your opponent will be the Class A and additional class points at the time of this choice, even if the current Class A falls to Class B by the end of the school year. Also, if the combination of the desired options was a disagreement between all classes, the school will decide randomly."

In simple terms, the choice of who would you rather fight; Sakayanagi, Ryūen, or Ichinose. The opponent chosen here will not be changed.

"It's important to figure out which class we can fight and win. Of course, we won't necessarily be able to fight the class we want, but..."

If Horikita and the others nominate Sakayanagi's class, and Ichinose also nominates Sakayanagi's class at the same time, does that mean that Sakayanagi's class is left to choose between Horikita's class and Ichinose's class? And if Sakayanagi's class chose Ryūen's class and not either of them, then it would be left to Ryūen's class to confirm their choice. If Ryūen's class avoided Sakayanagi's class, then the result would be a random combination.

Normally, you would want to choose a lower class with lower strength.

However, as you can see from the choices, the treatment of the higher classes seems to be a little different. If you are able to defeat a higher class, you will be rewarded with extra class points. If you fight a lower class, you will not get any additional rewards.

Normally, we would want to avoid fighting Class A, but if these advantages exist, there will be enough room for consideration.

"Then we'll move on to the first round of voting. The time limit is sixty seconds."

If these sixty seconds are exceeded, it will go into penalty time. Of course, Horikita had informed us beforehand so that we wouldn't have to deal with that kind of trouble the first time around, the classmates voted for their favorite options as they saw fit.

I had agreed with Horikita that I would always vote for the first choice, so without hesitation, I chose Class A, the first choice. Horikita probably chose class B, the second choice.

At this point, it's never going to be unanimous, but the other 37 votes are purely to see which class they want to face.

"Now that everyone has voted, I will now announce the results of the voting."

[Results of the first round of voting:]

Class A: 5 votes

Class B: 21 votes

Class D: 13 votes

The votes were concentrated on Class B, to which Ichinose belongs, instead of Class D, the lowest class.

"Since the vote was not unanimous, we will now set an interval."

From this point on, the students were allowed to leave their seats freely for ten minutes to contact the students or have a conversation. It doesn't matter if you raise your voice a little, or if you only give an earful to certain students.

"So that we don't waste time from the first question, let me make a suggestion first."

Raising her hand, Horikita, who was sitting in front of the Chabashira-sensei, stood up and then turned around. Since she was to be the leader of this special exam as well, she would take the initiative to show her actions.

"As the votes are scattered, each of us must have something to think about. You can ask as many questions as you want, and don't hesitate to express your opinions to the whole class." With that, Horikita took a breath and began to state her preferred option. "My ideal opponent to fight at the end of the school year would be Class B. In other words, I figured it would be Ichinose-san. There are three reasons for this: one, unlike Sakayanagi-san, and Ryūen-kun, Ichinose-san is likely to be a fair fight, a clash of pure potential. Even if it's an irregular special exam, there's little worry that we'll be outsmarted. Secondly, they are currently in class B. We'll get class points in addition to our rewards, which will give us an edge over the other classes.

The third and final point is that the Class B title is a sham. We are already side by side with Ryūen-kun's Class D. At one time, she was far ahead in class points, but her class is now on a downward slope. I think that makes her an ideal opponent."

She spoke rather quickly, perhaps because she was concerned about time, but her reasoning was clear, and it seemed to have resonated with many of the students.

"If any students have any objections, I would like them to voice their opinions here and now. If, on the other hand, you think that Class B is okay, then you can vote for Class B as soon as possible and we can talk about it."

I would like to get a unanimous vote on this issue for the second time.

I can feel Horikita's intention. As if in response, Yōsuke stands up as well.

"I also agree with what you just said, Horikita-san. The additional reward for defeating Sakayanagi-san and the rest of Class A is huge, but there's no doubt that they are stronger enemies than anyone else. Of course, the strong bonds and solid fighting style of Ichinose-san and the others won't be easy to overcome, but I think they are the best opponents."

With the two of them pushing for B class, the direction of the classmates began to take shape. Then, as if to bring the flow of events to a head, one more person, still seated, offers an opinion to match.

"I think I'll go with Ichinose-san too. I don't think it's fair that we don't get any additional rewards for fighting Ryūen-kun's class, and it wouldn't be funny if we lost to Sakayanagi-san's class."

Before any opposition could be raised, Yōsuke and Kei quickly solidified their opinions by voting for Class B. It could be said that they went with the follow-up as planned, but it was probably safe to assume that the two of them also wanted to fight with Class B. The fact that Class B received the most votes in the first round of voting was a clear indication of this.

The interval, which lasted nearly six extra minutes, eventually passed without any dissenting opinions. While checking the time, Chabashira-sensei resumed the proceedings that had been halted.

"Then we will move on to the second vote as the time has expired. As soon as the tablet screen changes, you have 60 seconds to cast your vote. I explained to you beforehand, if you go past 60 seconds, the penalty time will accumulate. Be careful."

That caution was unnecessary, and in less than ten seconds, everyone had voted the second time. The results were immediately reflected and displayed on the monitor.

[Results of the second round of voting:]

Class A: 0 votes

Class B: 39 votes

Class D: 0 votes

Without Kōenji jokingly putting in a vote for another class, we succeeded in getting the first unanimous vote with a smooth start.

"By unanimous consent, the first question shall be finalized with the choice of Class B. I will inform you of the class you will face in the final exam as soon as it is officially decided, but that will be after tomorrow."

In just ten minutes or so, we had completed one of the five questions.

We were also able to vote for the Class B that Horikita and the others wanted to face.

For me personally, if I had to choose a partner to fight, I would have definitely chosen Ichinose's class.

Horikita had already said all the reasons for this, so there was nothing to add. All that was left was to hope that Sakayanagi and Ryūen's classes would match up, but since Ichinose's class was sometimes easy to target, there might be three classes competing for her. Let's hope it won't be too much trouble and Ichinose's class will choose our class in return.

"I don't think we need to take a break, but just to make sure, I'll ask.

You don't mind if we move on to the next question, do you?"

Of course, no one from the student body objected, so the second question began immediately.

"Now then, let's move on to the second question."

[QUESTION TWO:]

Choose a destination you would like to see for the school trip scheduled for late November.

[Choices:]

Hokkaido

Kyoto

Okinawa

"What is this?" I heard a voice leak out from one of the students.

Since private conversations were not allowed in the school, the voices were quickly drowned out by the sharp stares of Chabashira-sensei.

However, it is undeniable that many students were thinking, "What the hell is this? Even so, we can't even talk about it until we have voted first.

The only way to vote is to genuinely think about which option to choose for yourself.

"This vote is the same as the previous one, and this one is not final. The results may change depending on the situation of the remaining three classes, so be sure to understand that."

[Results of the first round of voting:]

17 votes for Hokkaido

3 votes for Kyoto

19 votes for Okinawa

With the exception of Kyoto, the voting results were shown to be much closer than before.

"Since the vote was not unanimous, we will now have an interval."

"Hey, hey, can we call this a special test? I mean, it's a piece of cake."

When the interval came, Hondō said with a laugh as if he was out of sync. It's true that the first and second questions don't need to be asked in such an ostentatious manner. They could be summarized in the course of homeroom.

It's only been two questions. After this, two-fifths of the special exam would be over. The content is too easy. Many of the students were probably starting to relax more than they were nervous.

However, it is interesting to note that there are some students who become more anxious as the situation increases. Typical of these are the cautious and thoughtful students like Horikita and Yōsuke. While everyone is laughing and discussing which way to go, they are looking at the question seriously.

I guess maybe they have a valid reason not to be worried. It was hard to believe that such a question that was going to be taken seriously. However, the easier the first part is, the more pressure there will be on the second half.

With this premonition in mind, I quietly watched the flow of the interval.

"I'm sure we all have our own thoughts. But let's focus on this question first." Wary of getting distracted, Yōsuke pulls the entire class back together.

"The first time, it was more or less a split between Hokkaido and Okinawa, so what are we going to do now?"

It is definitely an important vote to decide the school trip destination.

"Horikita-san, it looks like we're divided in our opinions, do you have any advice for us?"

Kushida was worried about Horikita, who didn't speak up right away unlike before. However, Horikita didn't reply immediately, and for a moment, the room went silent.

"Horikita-san?" Kushida called out her name again with a bit of concern, and Horikita hurriedly answered.

"I'm sorry. I've been thinking about it for a bit. It's not a complicated choice, but I thought it might be surprisingly hard to make it unanimous. The school trip is an important event for us students, and of course I can't summarize its destination in a single word."

I promised to follow the leader if things went wrong, but that still didn't mean that Horikita alone could decide the destination of the school trip. It's a tough choice, considering it's a matter of preference, not merit or demerit.

"Anyway, I guess we'll just have to start by asking you to give us your opinion on your preferred travel destination."

As if he had been waiting for that, Sudō raised his hand.

"Okay, I'll start. I want to go to Okinawa. Okinawa is the most popular school trip because of the ocean, right? It's got the most votes, so I guess it's settled, right?"

"Wait a minute. I'll admit that Okinawa is one of the standard places, but if you say that, then so is the North Coast Highway. It's not even a close call in terms of votes. Don't you want to go skiing or something?" Maezono, who seemed to have voted for Hokkaido, said in opposition to Sudō.

"I'd like to go to Okinawa. I want to go snorkeling!"

"I've been to Okinawa a few times, so Hokkaido is my choice..."

The two travel destinations with close vote counts start to disagree head on. Since they both chose the destination they thought was best for them, it's not surprising that they are critical of the other options.

"In the first place, there's only snow in Hokkaido, right? It's definitely boring."

"Well, if you put it that way, Okinawa is nothing but ocean, isn't it?"

They argued for a few minutes, with no end in sight, until Yōsuke intervened.

"Hokkaido and Okinawa are both equally popular destinations for school trips, so I guess it's not unreasonable to get into trouble, but you might want to be a little more considerate of the others."

Yōsuke appealed to her to stop speaking out of turn. The first part of the conversation had been about how wonderful their chosen destination was, but now it was turning into a discussion of how to humiliate the other person's choice.

"Hirata-kun picked Hokkaido, right?"

"Hey Hirata, you chose Okinawa, didn't you?"

"W-Well, I mean..." Sandwiched between both groups, Yōsuke gives a troubled look. "That's a bit... secret... isn't it?"

In this situation, it's hard to answer which one he put in. In a way, this is the moment when the anonymous name comes alive.

"The only place you can swim in November is Okinawa, right? Don't you want to go to the beach?"

"I don't want to go to the ocean anymore. I've had enough after the island. Hokkaido for sure!"

The discussion was interrupted once, but it soon became heated again.

The exchange between Sudō and Maezono could probably be seen as a microcosm of the entire class' opinions.

"Oh my... what should we do, Horikita-san?" With a troubled look on her face, Kushida asks Horikita for help.

"We're in a tough spot I suppose."

The difficulty of unanimity. Maybe they've been given a problem that will bring it to the surface sooner rather than later. There was no easy way to wrap up the conversation, and the ten-minute interval was coming to an end.

Incidentally, I'm thinking of voting for Kyoto this second time. Kyoto has a deep history. I had a strong desire to see that scene.

"So, now that all the voting for the second round is complete, the results will be displayed."

[Results of the second round of voting:]

18 votes for Hokkaido

4 votes for Kyoto

17 votes for Okinawa

"Ah, Hokkaido did a reversal! We did it!"

"Damn, who switched from Okinawa to Hokkaido?"

It was almost a 50-50 split, although Hokkaido was slightly ahead with more votes than before. However, both the Hokkaido and Okinawa groups start arguing over the votes that were moved.

No matter how many times the voting is repeated, it will never be settled. The only sad thing is that it's not being talked about at all. It's just about the votes now...

Perhaps the votes of Horikita, who first chose option 2, Kyoto, did not move. Of course, it's possible that Horikita voted for Hokkaido or Okinawa and someone else voted for Kyoto, so we can't be sure, but there is a way to force the vote to go to the one with the most votes, but that is likely to leave a lasting grudge. If Hokkaido had won twice in a row, Okinawa would have won the first round of voting.

"It can't be helped. I guess we'll have to settle for a winner. There are three people who want Hokkaido, and three people who want Okinawa. We'll choose a representative for each and have them play rock-paper-scissors.

We'll choose the spearhead, the middleman, and the general, and play a winner-take-all game. However, Kyoto, with its low number of votes, will be left with only one representative. It's a tough fight, but we'll try to keep it as fair as possible."

It would certainly be unfair for the minority group of Kyoto to be able to fight on equal terms with the other two.

If we want to put it together without coercion and time, we should do it this way. It's inevitable that there will be some dissatisfaction, but if the rules are set at the beginning, there's no choice but to follow them. While there was some wrangling over who would be the representative of the rock-paper-scissors team, the contestants were soon chosen.

The Hokkaido team, spearheaded by Maezono, middleweight Ishikura, and general Shinohara. This is a women's team.

Okinawa team, spearhead, Onodera, middle, Hondō, general, Sudō, mixed gender team.

"Also, whoever voted for Kyoto, can you join us for rock-paper-scissors?"

Horikita hopes to have one representative. Then one man raises his hand in full.

"If no one else is willing to participate, I'll be the captain. I'll definitely bring everyone to Kyoto."

It was Keisei who expressed his strong will and threw himself into the fierce battle. He was the first student from the Kyoto selection to speak out.

Kyoto is also my preferred school trip destination. I'm counting on you to take care of me, Keisei. It's going to be a tough fight, but I hope you can pull it off...

In order to make it to the third round of voting, the rock-paper-scissors game was quickly started. The Okinawa team easily won the match. The Kyoto team's dream was shattered in an instant, and they left the battlefield with a broken heart.

It was a fleeting moment, less than ten seconds after Keisei had come forward.

I witnessed Horikita put her hand on her forehead and sigh, and I was convinced that she was one of those who wanted to go to Kyoto.

The game continued as if the Kyoto hopefuls had never existed in the first place. Onodera, who had defeated both of them in the first game, won two games in a row, defeating Ishikura in the middle game to take the lead.

However, there was an unexpected turn of events when Shinohara, who appeared as the general, defeated Onodera, who in turn faced Hondō.

The two sides glared at each other as they were locked in a battle between the two generals.

"Definitely Okinawa! Beaches and snorkelling"

"Definitely Hokkaido! Hot springs and Skiing!"

Each of them clenched their fists while chanting out random words that relate with each destination. When both of their raised fists were brought down, their hands were each at par It's a match. I'd like to say they're laugh it off, but they stop moving and take a break.

They're just deciding where to go on a school trip, but the tension is unbelievable.

"First, par! Then, rock, paper, scissors.

The second clash. Sudō made a powerful par.

Shinohara, on the other hand, threw a brilliant parfor the second time in a row.

"I got it! It's Hokkaido!"

The Hokkaido group shouted in unison.

"What are you doing, Sudō!"

"Damn you...!"

I don't want to get in the way, but the only vote in this class should be Hokkaido. Now if some votes were gathered for Okinawa or Kyoto, there would be trouble. Horikita understood that this was not the kind of atmosphere in which to say such a thing, and she looked somewhat dismayed.

The third round of voting was held, and everyone operated their tablets at once.

[Results of the third round of voting:]

39 votes for Hokkaido

0 votes for Kyoto

0 votes for Okinawa

"The third vote was unanimous, so the second question is clear."

While about half of the voters remain dissatisfied with the results, the third round of voting was successful in achieving unanimity through a fair fight according to the established rules. Although I couldn't get my heart's desire of Kyoto, I'm very much looking forward to Hokkaido, and depending on what happens in the other classes, Kyoto and Okinawa are still possible.

Anyway, no matter where we end up, it's a subject that makes me look forward to the school trip.

"Now, let me move on to the third question." Chabashira-sensei's demeanor hadn't changed since the beginning, but there was a slight change in the tone of her voice when she uttered the next question.

[QUESTION THREE:]

• Instead of the private points that are paid out according to class points each month being reduced to zero, three random students in the class will be given protection points.

• Alternatively, the number of private points awarded could be halved, and a specific student could be awarded a protection point.

• If neither of these options is desired, the bottom five students in the next written exam will receive zero private points.

No matter which option is chosen, the period of private point forfeiture will continue for six months.

Unlike the previous two questions, this one encompassed major advantages and disadvantages within the class. In option one, the payback is greater because of the larger number of private points you lose, but you also cannot overlook the fact that they are given to random students.

Protection points are a very powerful boon, but depending on your point of view, there are some students who will end up not needing them for three years. If they are given to such students, they may end up being a waste of private points.

Option two is also not cheap, as the amount of private points transferred is halved. Moreover, only one student will be granted protection.

However, being able to choose any student is an important factor.

Option three is to minimize the loss of private points as much as possible. This would be the option you would choose if you find the protection points too expensive or if you don't need them in the first place.

However, you should not forget that even though you have five players you still have to bear the disadvantages.

In addition to calculating the profit and loss, it is also necessary to consider the class situation. Some students may have a lot to say, but there is no other way but to vote first.

"Before we vote, let's talk about the case where there is unanimity on option two, the option to grant to a particular student. If the vote is unanimous on this choice, we will move on to the next option where we will continue to determine one person without clearing question three. You remember the example, don't you?"

The interval will be used to select one student and collect votes for or against granting it to that student. If the vote is unanimous in favour, the student will receive a protection point; if the vote is unanimous against, the student will no longer have a chance in that question. Then, the remaining 38 students will discuss and select one candidate. We will have to repeat the question in such a subdivision, taking the approval and disapproval again.

"Based on those results, we will announce the results of the first round of voting."

[Results of the first round of voting:]

12 votes to grant three random people

5 votes to select and grant one person

22 votes to not grant anyone

The results of the first round of voting seemed to indicate that the majority of people were willing to meditate on some of the inconveniences and give up their protection points. That may be so, since the five students who will lose their private points are already determined to be the bottom five in the written exam. For those students who don't fall into that category, it's risk-free. On the other hand, some of them might think that it's more beneficial to gain protection points if they know that they won't get private points for six months anyway.

"Hey, wait a minute! I don't understand something about this!"

"Me neither! If we don't get protection points, we'll only lose five people!"

Ike and Satō were the first to speak up, as they were students who seemed to fall into the bracket for lowest grades.

"Well, it can't be helped, can it? It's a bit like... not getting your private points transferred for six months. In addition, random is a low probability, and specific is unlikely to be given to me so please sacrifice yourself, Kanji."

Sudō can only confidently suggest that since he's already out of the bottom five in the class for academics.

"That's not fair! Even I need a lot of private points right now!"

"You're not going to tell me you need money to go on dates with Shinohara, are you?"

"I mean... well, what does it matter to you?!" He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that his use of the money was exposed, and it seemed to be a matter of life and death.

"It's settled, it's settled. It's unanimous that there will be no grant."

"I can't have that!"

"Then you should study. That'll solve it, right?"

"H-hey... I just can't agree with what Ken says! He's asking too much."

Of course it's important to study and break out of the lower ranks, but no matter how many points you get, you can't change the fact that five people will be sacrificed.

"I understand what you're saying, but it's too early to be pessimistic.

We just need to minimize the number of private points we lose and we can all make up for the burden. The remaining 34 students should be able to make up for the bottom five's private points that will be lost each month. This way, only certain students won't feel dissatisfied, right?"

In simple terms, if one student earns 50,000 points per month, then 250,000 points for five students will be lost. The remaining 34 students get 1.7 million points, which, if divided by 39 and rounded down to the nearest whole number, comes to 43589 points. The loss of points is unavoidable, but each person would only lose about 6500 points. Even if that lasted for six months, the stress on each student would be minimal.

"Well, that's fine then..."

"I don't really want to share... but I suppose I could help Kanji if he really needs it." Sudō seemed to be dissatisfied, but he was willing to help Ike in any way he could.

As many of the students wished to not be granted, they naturally began to agree on the direction to stick with option three. However, in the midst of all this, Yōsuke raised his voice.

"Horikita-san, do you think it's best to choose no grant?"

"That's a tough one. It's a pretty troubling option, to be honest.

Protection points can be a very powerful tool to prevent expulsion. But the same can be said for private points. I wonder if Hirata-kun thinks differently?"

"It's only one opinion, but I think I should get protection points for this question . For all three of us, of course."

"If you don't get any private points for six months, it's going to hurt a lot. Not only will it put a lot of stress on your daily life, but it could also affect your special exam if the situation warrants it."

The possibility that private points could make the difference between winning and losing cannot be denied.

"If something unforeseen happens, we can protect three people. The timing of when you can get protection points is quite limited, plus this is a valuable commodity that can't be taken lightly."

I couldn't help but understand why Yōsuke is somewhat passionate about this. The value of the protection points that can prevent expulsion is actually up to 20 million private points. It's not often that you get the chance to get them for three people. Especially for Yōsuke, who cares about his friends, it's a value that can't be replaced by money.

The destination of the school trip was a different story, one that was not easily agreed upon. It's hard to influence the outcome of the class in any destination, but this protection point choice is a problem for the whole class.

If we get it, it may save someone else's life.

"Sorry, but let me have my say." Keisei stood up and expressed his opinion. "For the next six months, we're going to increase our class points, right?"

"Of course. There's never a good time to stagnate in your quest for a higher class."

"Fifty for this special exam, and a hundred points if we place high in the cultural festival. Assuming the sports festival increases similar points, by the end of the semester, you might have more than 200 points, or even 300 points depending on the situation. Can I assume that?"

"I suppose we will."

If we increased the class points by 300 points by the end of the year, our class points would recover to the point where he could peek at 1000. If that happens, the total amount of private points given out in six months will be about fifty percent more than now, about twenty million points.

If you think about it, the maximum value of one protection point is equivalent to six months of class income. It's a beautiful figure that seems to have been calculated. However, if you choose 3 protection points here, you can get about 7 million private points per protection point.

It's a very fine line, isn't it?

And the most unlikely one, giving one instead of three looks like a good combination of advantages and disadvantages, but it is actually the least costly and hardest to choose. However, it is the only one that has the advantage of being able to be given to a specific student, which is probably an important factor. However, if you decide to give it to any one student, you will naturally have to follow up with a unanimous vote.

If this choice is bypassed and passed carelessly, there will be a possibility of a dispute over who to grant it to.

"So the idea of prioritizing private points is an offensive strategy, while the idea of prioritizing protection points is a defensive strategy, right?"

Kushida asks as she tries to sort out the situation, and the three people who are currently sitting in their seats nod almost simultaneously.

"But if we end up not using the protection points, then we risk that it was an expensive purchase, right? Of course, I'm fine with that..."

It would be inevitable to talk about it, too, to keep that fact known.

"Yeah. After all, if you never use it, it's equal to nothing. Of course, there will be a sense of security and peace of mind that comes with owning a protection point, but..."

"It may or may not be worthless. Even if it ends up being unnecessary in its original use, it can be used as a strategy to intentionally consume protection points to launch a surprise attack or to use it as a self-destruct mechanism. You might even be able to use them for offensive purposes, not simply for protection."

I can understand why Keisei pushes that there are many ways to use protection points. It's a great advantage to be able to avoid expulsion from the school. However, we won't know what the special exams will be until we have the full picture.

There is no guarantee that we will have the opportunity to use it effectively in the future. But this question, or rather the special exam, is deeper than I thought. Even though the content of the question is the same for all the classes, the depth of the question changes depending on the rank of the class and the situation. If the class points are equal to zero, then it is unanimous to choose to get three protection points without any trouble. It was a good opportunity for the other classes to follow suit. On the other hand, for Class A, which is in sole possession of first place, it would be a more expensive purchase than the other classes.

On the flip side, the first and third options can be seen as somewhat inconvenient choices for Class A.

"Then Yukimura-kun, you are saying that we should grant protection points to three students? Isn't there a risk with it being random?"

In order to make a final confirmation and narrow down the options, Horikita tries to get a word in edgewise.

"You misunderstand. The option I'm recommending is the second. The one that grants a protection point to one student."

Horikita shows surprise at the development of wanting option two, which was thought to be the least likely.

"Does that mean, for lack of a better word, that I should grant it to you?"

"I'd honestly be happy if you did. But that's not realistic. I think you'd want me to grant choose someone worthy of it, because that's basically what all of us would do."

If we asked for a show of hands, even a simple one, it wouldn't be surprising if the entire class raised their hands.

"It's hard to pick out a specific person. But no matter how much of a bargain it is, I don't know how well giving protection points to three random people will work."

"You seem to have a clear idea of who you should give them to. Who do you want to give them to?"

"If you want to make a strategic decision, Horikita-san, I'm thinking of no one but you."

"Me?"

"Correct. Right now, you're the leader of this class, and I have no complaints about your abilities in OAA. Obviously, you'd be targeted by Sakayanagi and Ryūen at the very least. It's not surprising to think that those two would try to expel you without mercy. It's best if we protect our leader first, then worry about the rest of us later."

Normally, there would be some animosity, but naturally the classmates listened.

Because he had a solid reason, not a random one.

"That's not the only reason. Normally, when you hold a protection point, there is a risk of loosening up. There is also the risk that you will not take it seriously, thinking that you are safe. I'm sure you're not that kind of person. I feel quite strongly about that."

It's not just a matter of giving it to someone who has the ability to do it, but someone who can do more for the class after being given it. That's what Horikita is, according to Keisei.

"I understand what you're saying, but... it's an expensive purchase."

This option will result in losing half of our private points for six months.

"They feel like they're losing money because they think they're just losing private points. This is an upfront investment. Horikita will turn it into more class points than you pay for with this option. It's easier to think that way, isn't it?"

"Even so... it could crash, you know?"

"I don't believe we can beat Class A without taking a risk. I've been fighting at this school for a year and a half myself."

"Hmph. That's valid, isn't it? I agree with your current proposal, Glasses-kun."

Kōenji, who we had thought would never be involved in this special exam, verbally showed his approval.

"For the amount of protection points we give up, we can have the Horikita girl work harder than anyone else."

"You have a protection point, but you don't seem to be working hard."

"Hard work is something ordinary people do, you know. I'd rather sit back and let you people handle it."

It's great that Kōenji took a passive approach to this exam. I assumed he was going to be the biggest hurdle. Personally, I was thinking of option one or three, but I agree with Keisei's presentation.

More importantly, if I'm going to voice my disagreement, I need to have a good reason. It's hard to say that it's for the good of the class if it's simply because it has to do with private points.

In the atmosphere created by Keisei, the next voting period arrives.

[Results of the second round of voting:]

0 votes to grant three random people

39 votes to select and grant one person

0 votes to not grant anyone

It turns out that Keisei's idea was adopted after successfully sewing through the gap. However, it's a little troublesome to choose a candidate right away, since there's a rule that there should be an interval between the choices.

This time, there were no students who objected to giving Horikita a protection point, so the students were free to speak and kill time during the interval. It was decided that Horikita would run as a candidate and become a specific person, without the need to hold a vote on who to recommend.

The vote was unanimous with 39 votes in favour of Horikita without any disturbance.

It was a challenge that I thought would be difficult, but the fact that it was passed more smoothly than I expected was significant.

"This concludes question three. From now on, for the next six months, all private point transfers will be half price equally for everyone, but a protection point for Horikita will be granted at this time."

Of course, she couldn't make use of it in this special test, but this succeeded in giving Horikita, the leader of the group, valuable protection.

It was not a cheap purchase, but it was not too expensive either.

[QUESTION FOUR:]

One of the following rules will be applied to the class in the written exam at the end of the second semester.

[Choices:]

Increased Difficulty

Increased Penalty

Decreased Reward

These are nasty choices. None of them are a advantage to the class. If it had been a time when private conversation was allowed, there would have been a lot of grumbling.

[Results of the first round of voting:]

6 votes for increased difficulty

18 votes for increased penalty

15 votes for decreased rewards

All of these are basically options you don't want to choose, and the votes are split. After that, there was a heated debate between the students who were confident and those who were not, and it seemed that the question would be prolonged, but in the second round of voting, the choice of

"Increase Penalty" led to a unanimous result.

Horikita's strong persuasion that it would not be difficult to avoid penalties if we worked diligently also seemed to have worked.