The night sea breeze, slipping through the gap of a not-quite-closed porthole, crept quietly into the room.
Second floor of the cruise ship, Room 201.
Only a solitary desk lamp illuminated the space, its light carving out a limited bright area in the darkness while most corners of the room remained shrouded in dim shadows.
Chabashira Sae, the Class D homeroom teacher, sat upright beneath the lamp. She wore a fitted professional suit, black stockings encasing her slender calves. Her dark hair was tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, with a few loose strands falling by her ears.
Opposite her sat two students from Class A—Machida Koji and Takemoto Shigeru.
Both sat with perfectly straight backs, hands resting flat on their laps. Their faces bore no superfluous expression, only a nearly rigid seriousness. From the moment they entered, they had remained silent, like two stone statues.
Chabashira's gaze swept across these young yet overly composed faces.
So these are the Class A members who helped set a new school record.
A ripple of emotion stirred within her. This year's Class A, with its almost inhuman organizational and creative capabilities displayed on the uninhabited island, made her—the Class D homeroom teacher—feel an unprecedented pressure.
Could that guy in my own class, Ayanokoji... truly stand a chance against such opponents?
On the wall, the second hand ticked steadily, emitting a regular tick-tock that echoed with unnatural clarity in the silent room. Time slowly approached the agreed-upon six o'clock.
Chabashira had not yet begun the explanation, as not everyone had arrived. Three students from Class A were supposed to attend this briefing. She was waiting for the last one.
As the hand pointed precisely to 17:59—
Knock. Knock.
A crisp yet restrained knock sounded—neither early nor late.
Chabashira lifted her eyes. "Come in."
The door opened. Bright corridor light flooded in, casting an elongated shadow across the floor before quickly receding as the door closed.
Click.
The sound of the door lock engaging was faint but unmistakable.
Almost simultaneously, the clock's hand gently jumped, pointing precisely to six o'clock in the evening.
A tall figure stood in the shadows by the door. Only the lenses of his glasses reflected the desk lamp's light, cutting two points of brightness through the darkness.
Sakamoto.
His appearance caused Machida and Takemoto—sitting rigidly upright—to brighten almost imperceptibly. Since returning from the uninhabited island, Sakamoto had practically vanished aboard the cruise ship.
Cutting it close again, Chabashira thought. Just like when the exam results were announced.
Sakamoto walked toward the table. His steps were calm and elegant, without haste, yet he reached the empty seat in just a few paces and sat down gracefully.
So this is the legendary first-year student of Class A. Chabashira scrutinized him carefully. When she privately drank with Mashima Tomoya, the Class A homeroom teacher, she often heard him mention this name with complex emotions. Sakamoto's various deeds within the school were no longer a secret. He was, without question, the undisputed core and soul of Class A.
Upon seeing Sakamoto sit, Machida and Takemoto showed no excessive excitement. They merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then resumed their previous posture, refocusing their attention on Chabashira.
She collected her thoughts and spoke in her usual cool voice. "You are Sakamoto, Takemoto, and Machida from Class A, correct? Then I will now begin explaining the special exam rules."
The three sat even straighter, their gazes fixed on her.
"For this special exam, the school has likened all first-year students to the Chinese zodiac and divided them into twelve small groups. You will participate in an exam within those groups. The purpose of the exam is to test your... thinking ability."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sakamoto raised his hand—a precise, measured motion.
Chabashira was about to see how the Class A students, particularly this central figure, would react to the rules.
"Please proceed, Sakamoto-kun."
"Thank you, Chabashira-sensei." Sakamoto adjusted his glasses. "Since there are twelve groups and only three of us are present, I infer that this must be a mixed-class grouping. Based on the total number of students, each group should consist of three to five members from four different classes. Is my understanding correct?"
Indeed. Conversing with intelligent individuals saves effort. He had already grasped the exam's fundamental structure.
"That's right, just as you surmised." She nodded in confirmation, then added, "The group you are in is codenamed 'Rabbit'."
She pushed a printed list to the center of the table. "This is your group's member list. You will need to return it when you leave the room, but you may make notes if you deem it necessary."
Sakamoto, Machida, and Takemoto each took the list and examined it carefully.
Though Chabashira had said "Rabbit," the group name was also marked with "卯" (Rabbit) in parentheses—indicating they were the fourth group in the twelve-zodiac sequence.
Sakamoto's gaze moved slowly across the list:
Class A: Takemoto Shigeru, Machida Koji, Sakamoto (ink print)
Class B: Ichinose Honami, Hamaguchi Tetsuya, Beppu Ryota
Class C: Ibuki Mio, Shiho Manabe, Yabu Nanami, Yamashita Saki
Class D: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Karuizawa Kei, Sotomura Hideo, Yukimura Teruhiko
Chabashira added, "Sakamoto-kun, there's a printing error with your name on the list, but it refers to you." She seemed slightly puzzled by such a basic error, but Machida and Takemoto behaved as if this were entirely commonplace.
After they finished reading, Chabashira continued her explanation. "From now on, you will no longer act solely as members of Class A, but as members of the 'Rabbit Group.' The pass or fail results of the exam will be determined individually for each group."
She distributed several other slightly curled papers to the three of them. "These are the specific rules. The exam is designed to inevitably produce one of four outcomes, with no exceptions. You are prohibited from taking or photographing these materials. Please review them here."
The paper clearly stated:
Summer Group Special Exam Instructions
Core Mechanism: Based on the "beneficiary" of each group.
Notification Time: 8:00 AM on the first day of the exam, all students will receive an email notification simultaneously; the "beneficiary" will also be informed of their selection.
Exam Schedule: From tomorrow until 9:00 PM four days later (including one full free day).
Group Discussion: Group members must gather twice daily at designated times in a designated room for one hour of discussion each time. Content is self-determined.
Answering Method: After the exam ends, answers to "Who is the beneficiary?" will only be accepted between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM that evening. Each person may answer only once, sending it from their own phone to a designated email address. The beneficiary themselves is not permitted to answer.
Answering Scope: Only answers pertaining to one's own zodiac group are valid; cross-group answers are invalid.
Result Announcement: At 11:00 PM on the final day, all students will be notified of detailed results via email.
Result One: If all group members, excluding the beneficiary and their classmates, answer correctly, all group members receive personal points.
Result Two: If anyone in the group, excluding the beneficiary and their classmates, answers incorrectly or does not answer, the beneficiary receives 500,000 personal points.
Sakamoto flipped the paper and found additional content on the back:
Result Three: If someone other than the beneficiary answers correctly in advance, the answering person's class receives +50 class points, and the answering person receives 500,000 personal points. The beneficiary's class receives -50 class points. The exam ends immediately.
Result Four: If someone other than the beneficiary answers incorrectly in advance, the answering person's class receives -50 class points. The beneficiary receives 500,000 personal points, and their class receives +50 class points. The exam ends immediately.
The three Class A students read quickly, showing no signs of confusion or whispered consultation. The only sounds in the room were the faint rustling of paper and the distant murmur of waves beyond the porthole.
Chabashira observed their calm reactions with a touch of surprise. These rules were not simple. She had expected at least some questions.
"Are the rules clear? Do you have any questions?" She asked as a matter of routine.
"No questions. Thank you, sensei." Sakamoto answered on behalf of all three, his voice steady.
Machida and Takemoto nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Chabashira suppressed her surprise and routinely emphasized prohibited actions before signaling the end of the briefing and dismissing them.
She watched the three file out—Sakamoto's tall, composed posture leading the way—then leaned back in her chair and sighed softly.
An invisible pressure seemed to grow heavier.
Ayanokoji is in the same group as Sakamoto this time.
This is going to be trouble.
Outside the door, corridor lights blazed brightly. Takemoto Shigeru, who had maintained his silence throughout, finally couldn't resist asking Sakamoto in a low voice, "Sakamoto-kun, what do you think of this exam?"
Machida Koji also looked at him inquiringly.
Sakamoto didn't pause. He pushed up his glasses; the lenses reflected the corridor's fluorescent glow. "The rules are indeed ingeniously designed. They balance individual and class interests while introducing time variables and uncertainty."
He continued walking. "However, the specific strategy still needs to be discussed after reuniting with other Class A students from other groups and considering all grouping situations."
Having said that, he offered no further explanation. He simply walked straight ahead, leaving the two with a steady, mysterious back as he quickly disappeared around the corridor's corner.