The time came for them to choose the second event. The result of the drawing was...
Typing
Required Participants: 1
Time: 30 Minutes
Rules: This is a competition of speed and accuracy in three different formats of typing skills: vocabulary, Short Passages, and Essays.
Commander Intervention: The commander may notify the participant of one mistake they made during the test.
Once again, Class C devised a one-on-one competition. Fortunately, luck was on our side with the draw. The Professor proposed the event and was the most proficient person in our Class regarding anything related to computers.
His typing speed was second to none among everyone in Class C and even faster than the national average. However, we had no way of knowing how many students in Class A were proficient at typing and how skilled they were.
We had to rely solely on The Professor's skills, and that's why he was chosen for this project. Nonetheless, there was still a good reason why he was selected for this task.
"Class C's gone and chosen another interesting event. Although it may look like a game at first glance, typing is one of the most fundamental skills in information technology. You could even go so far as to call it essential. I suppose it's only natural that the school would accept it as an event."
When it comes to academics, Class A was at a significant advantage.
Horikita probably wanted to choose skill-based competitions that things like that wouldn't influence.
"Everyone has one or two things that they're good at. However, when it comes to competing over such things, it's hard for anyone to say whether or not they're better at them than somebody else. It seems like someone in your Class has quite a lot of confidence in their typing skills."
In general, students possessing special skills that can help them win a one-on-one competition have the potential to succeed in other events as well. This is why we chose to include Onodera, who specializes in swimming, in the basketball match.
However, allocating a student like The Professor, who is only good at doing one thing, to the one-on-one match would give us an advantage in the following events.
Therefore, I chose Professor Sotomura Hideo for the one-on-one match, while Sakayanagi selected Yoshida Kenta, a student I knew practically nothing about.
We tried to limit the commander's ability to intervene as much as possible for this event. Our strategy was to allow The Professor to do his thing without giving Sakayanagi much chance to get involved.
The school provided a pre-prepared computer application to judge the event's outcome. Finally, the results were...
"Class C, Sotomura Hideo: 90 Points. Class A, Yoshida Kenta, 83 Points. Class C wins."
After the test had ended, Sakagami-sensei declared their scores. The gap between their scores was only 7 points. Although the results were terrifyingly close, even being ahead by a single moment was a triumph.
"While it's only a bit, we still fell short. Things aren't going to be that simple, are they?"
Losing two events in a row was unexpected for Class A, but it was inevitable as both events were proposed by Class C.
As a result, Class C had won the first two events. So far, luck had been on our side, and all of Horikita's plans were coming together beautifully.
Eight events were left for the drawing to choose from. It would've been great if it had kept selecting events that Class C had suggested, but...
English Test
Required Participants: 8
Time: 50 Minutes
Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year English curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the highest overall score.
Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of one of the participants.
The third event was a written test - something we all expected to happen sooner or later. The key to this exam was determining how to win in the events suggested by the opponent. Winning this event would give us an advantage far more significant than just a victory.
I created a team of students skilled in English, starting with Mii-chan. However, it was frustrating that I couldn't use strong players like Horikita and Keisei yet.
Class A suggested three different written tests - English, Math, and Modern Literature - making it challenging to distribute students with better academic abilities evenly.
Horikita had planned two strategies in case two written test events were chosen. The first was to aim for both wins by evenly distributing the capable students between the two events.
The second was to deliberately lose one of them and focus on winning the other. Sakayanagi quickly decided on her eight participants, but I took a moment longer to consider my options.
"This is the first time you've had to take time to think. It seems that Horikita-san left you with more than one option."
I am faced with a dilemma. There is no guarantee that another test will get chosen later, and there is also no guarantee that we will be able to win now. The most frustrating part is that Class C tends to perform worse in English.
I have to choose between two strategies. Should I balance the two teams and go for both wins or give up our chances to win this one?
"Will you give up on the English event? Or... maybe you'll choose to fight and use up all your strength here?"
Sakayanagi prompted me with a question, struggling to contain her excitement.
However, I was not afraid of losing her.
"I can tell what you're thinking, Ayanokouji-kun. You're afraid that we anticipated the fact that you might choose to give up on the English test and, as a result, preserve our better students for the later tests, aren't you? After all, if we were to compete with a suboptimal team, it would give you a chance at winning. It's not easy to give up on this event, right?"
After some thought, I decided to give up on the English event.
"Based on recent global trends, it seems that girls tend to perform better in various subjects than boys and score higher than boys. And, as it turns out, English is one of those subjects. But of course, those are just trends. It's just a reference for you if you will."
As I was about to finalize my decision on who to include in the event, Sakayanagi spoke up one last time. She was giving me unnecessary information to put pressure on me. However, Class A couldn't afford to lose in the English test, so I knew she would choose several powerful contenders for the event.
After the participants were chosen, their names appeared on the larger monitor. The eight students selected for Class C were Okiya Kyousuke, Minami Hakuo, Karuizawa Kei, Satou Maya, Shinohara Satsuki, Inokashira Kokoro, Sonoda Chiyo, and Ichihashi Ruri.
They were all students who wouldn't be needed in any events that would come up later. The eight students selected for Class A were Satonaka Satoru, Sugio Hiroshi, Tsukaji Shihori, Tanihara Mao, Motodoi Chikako, Fukuyama Shinobu, Rokkaku Momoe, and Nakajima Riko.
They weren't the best options Sakayanagi had available, but they were still a solid group. Six of her eight selections were girls, which seemed to indicate that she had made use of the trend she had mentioned earlier.
"It seems like you've chosen to give up on English and focus on the future. An acceptable decision."
I noticed that she understood Class C's academic abilities well, just as expected. Although we had the power to intervene for one question, we mostly sat and watched the event unfold.
At one point, we were able to switch between the students' answer sheets in real-time. Using my intervention, I helped one of my classmates with a question that most students struggled with.
However, my assistance had minimal impact, and it would only improve our score by a few points at best. After the event, the school collected the answer sheets, and the grading began immediately. Soon after, the results were in.
The test outcome would be based on the cumulative scores of all eight participants.
"Class C scored 598 points, whereas Class A scored 651. Therefore, Class A wins."
"It was much closer than I anticipated, though I should avoid thinking of it as a missed victory. Sakayanagi's courage to hold onto her more capable students while at the risk of losing three events in a row was nothing but admirable.
Just as Class A celebrated their first win, the selection for the fourth event had already begun.
Math Test
Required Participants: 7
Time: 50 Minutes
Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year math curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the highest overall score.
Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of one of the participants.
An additional written test followed the English test.
"Looks like your choice paid off. You'll undoubtedly have to go all out this time. Or... perhaps you plan on waiting for the Modern Literature test?"
In this situation, it was best not to bet on the Modern Literature test. Instead, I chose to use all of Class C's academic ability.
"I said earlier that girls tend to score higher, but the opposite is true for math. Boys tend to do better than girls. Fascinating, isn't it?"
No matter what ideas she may try to ingrain within me, the choices I would make still wouldn't change.
I selected Hirata Yousuke, Yukimura Teruhiko, Ishikura Kayoko, Wang Mei-Yu, Azuma Sana, Kushida Kikyou, and Nishimura Ryuuko to form the most robust seven-man lineup from Class C.
On the other hand, Class A chose Matoba Shinji, Shimazaki Ikkei, Morishige Takurou, Tsukasaki Taiga, Ishida Yuusuke, Yamamura Miki, and Nishikawa Ryouko, a lineup mainly consisting of male students with equal or even higher academic ability than our team.
This would be a competitive event where we had put forth our best players, except for Horikita, Kouenji, and Kagurazaka.
The math test began, and this time, there were almost no errors. Yukimura Teruhiko, also known as Keisei, took the top spot. Even though I had Nishimura, who had the lowest overall scores in math, wear the headset, I could only help her with one question.
It was unlikely that this would significantly impact the test results, especially considering that Sakayanagi would undoubtedly be able to do the same. The commanders' intervention was just an essential requirement of the test.
After the written test, the teachers immediately started grading the answer sheets. Since this was an event proposed by Class A, if we won, our chances of winning the entire particular exam would increase dramatically. We could then challenge the fifth event with the possibility of taking home the prize.
"Well, then, I will announce the results of the Math Test event. Class C: 631 points."
"And for Class A... 655 points. Class A wins."
Sakagami-sensei reported the two cumulative scores, revealing that we had lost the event by just 24 points.
"That was dangerously close. Everyone in Class C must have studied quite a lot. If you had chosen Horikita-san and Kouenji-kun, you might have won, don't you think?"
"...Maybe so."
Unfortunately, we couldn't win this time. We might have had a chance if I had included both Horikita and Kouenji, but there was no guarantee. Moreover, we now face the reality that if the Modern Literature Test were to be drawn next, we would most likely lose automatically.
Class C doesn't have anyone left whose academic abilities are good enough to surpass those of Class A. As a result, our lead is gone, and the score is once again evened out at two wins and two losses. The drawing for the fifth event has begun.
Flash Mental Arithmetic
Required Participants: 2
Time: 30 Minutes
Rules: Victory will be decided by the student who takes first place in speed and accuracy using abacus-style mental arithmetic.
Commander Intervention: The commander can change the answer to a single question of their choice.
It was Class A's third proposal in a row. Usually, this would be an unfavorable turn of events for us, but this particular event was a notable exception.
Keisei was probably feeling elated right about now, as this was the event that Katsuragi had promised to go easy on.
However, it was still too early to celebrate. If Katsuragi isn't chosen, our fleeting fantasies of winning would disappear.
"Another one of our events. We absolutely can't afford to lose this one."
I understood the strategy devised by Horikita, so I ignored Sakayanagi's chatter and selected Kouenji Rokusuke and Matsushita Chiaki to participate.
We decided to make Matsushita wear the headset, as there was no guarantee that Kouenji would listen to me. Horikita assigned Kouenji to participate in the Flash Mental Arithmetic event, which was a good decision.
The win would be given to the Class of the student who placed first instead of based on the overall score. We hoped that Kouenji would take the event seriously and win it, but if he didn't, Matsushita would be a backup.
Matsushita was quick with math, so we had planned to use her in either the Math Test or Flash Mental Arithmetic events.
Even if we had used Matsushita in the math exam, it didn't guarantee we would win. So, we were happy that we could still use her as a backup in case Kouenji failed to deliver.
Sakayanagi had selected Katsuragi Kouhei and Tamiya Emi for her team. According to the information Katsuragi leaked, Tamiya's abilities were not very impressive. To prove it, Katsuragi was wearing the headset for Class A.
"There will be ten questions in total. Although the questions will progressively get more difficult, the points awarded for correcting them will also rise. In the event of a tie for first place, the event will be extended until one party gets a question wrong."
Moving forward, the numbers for each question will be displayed on the monitor in the audiovisual room.
Since the commander could only ask one question, we would most likely wait until the end to intervene.
Even though the event was about to begin, Kouenji folded his arms before him and closed his eyes.
"...So it backfired, huh?"
He maintained the same attitude as when the particular exam started. The first question was of level 10 difficulty, the most accessible level, where single-digit numbers appeared considerably within five seconds on the screen.
6. 9. 1. The answer was 16.
After the numbers disappeared, the students were asked to write down their answers to the first question, a problem anyone could solve.
Matsushita quickly answered it, but Kouenji left his answer sheet blank. This was not surprising, as he hadn't bothered to look at the numbers when they were displayed on the screen.
We had no other option but to rely on Katsuragi making a mistake, as he had promised.
"Fufu. He is such a peculiar person."
Even though Sakayanagi couldn't see what he had responded with, she could tell from looking at him that he hadn't responded with anything.
"However, since Matsushita-san seems to be the one you're banking on, there aren't any problems, are there?"
As Sakayanagi spoke, the event continued to play out before us. By the time they reached the third and fourth questions, the number of digits had increased to two, and the number of rounds had gone up to six.
Matsushita remained unfazed and still managed to answer each question correctly. However, as they approached the fifth question, the overall difficulty increased yet again.
Question five required 3-digit numbers in 6 rounds over 5 seconds, and question six demanded even more with 3-digit numbers in 8 rounds over 5 seconds. Matsushita was at her wit's end as she tried to calculate the numbers in her head. The answers she had managed to squeeze out were correct until the sixth question, when she could barely keep up. But that was as far as she could go.
The next question, question seven, had 3-digit numbers in 12 rounds over 4.5 seconds. Question eight had 3-digit numbers in 15 rounds over 3.5 seconds. By the time they had reached the ninth question, it was 3-digit numbers in 15 rounds over 2.5 seconds.
"T-this is way impossible!"
Just like the students, Hoshinomiya-sensei was understandably also at her wit's end upon seeing the questions the students were getting.
"The difficulty level may be a bit too high..."
Sakagami-sensei didn't know the answer to the question either, even though Matsushita had correctly answered the sixth question. However, he couldn't answer the seventh question from then on, and Kouenji hadn't answered any of the questions yet. Even if he answered the last question correctly, Kōenji had already passed the point of no return.
I had memorized the answers to all nine questions, and Sakayanagi probably did the same. The commander could only change the participant's answer to one of the questions.
So, the plan was that if I couldn't solve the tenth question, I'd go with the ninth. And if I couldn't solve the ninth, I'd go with the eighth.
The extent to which Katsuragi decided to help us would significantly influence the event's outcome. The tenth and final question in the Flash Mental Arithmetic event began. It consisted of fifteen rounds of three-digit numbers flashed on the screen in just 1.6 seconds.
Everyone fell silent as the numbers flashed rapidly on and off the screen. Even Katsuragi, Matsushita, and Tamiya couldn't pick up their pens, and they just sat there in mute amazement at the question that had just passed them by.
Sakayanagi signaled to the teachers that she wanted to use her intervention, and of course, I did the same.
"Eh...? Well then, would the commanders please provide an answer to one question? Remember: the later the question, the higher the score."
Naturally, the question I answered was the last one, question ten.
Matsushita obediently complied with my instructions and wrote down the answer I provided her with.
She didn't know the answer, so she had no reason to turn down the one I had given her.
[Fufufu. Flash Mental Arithmetic is quite an exciting game. I've never tried it before.]
Kouenji, the man whom Sakayanagi and I had already stopped paying attention to, had opened his eyes again at some point.
With an amused smile, Kouenji glanced at the surveillance camera through which we had been watching the event.
"Which question did you provide an answer for, Ayanokouji-kun? I chose the tenth with an answer of 7619."
The answer I had given Matsushita was...
"I did as well."
Sakayanagi managed to answer the last question as well.
"In terms of commander intervention, it seems we were evenly matched. In other words, this has come down to a face-off between Katsuragi-kun and Matsushita-san."
As the teachers collected everyone's answer sheets, the man who hadn't responded to a single question again opened his mouth.
[The answer for the last question was 7619, yes?]
"My my my─ how surprising. He's correct."
After hearing Kouenji's response, Sakayanagi applauded and praised him for his excellent performance. The teachers then quickly began to calculate the scores.
If Katsuragi had answered the seventh, eighth, or ninth question correctly, Class C would have lost.
However, if he had answered fewer than six questions correctly, we would have won instead.
"After totaling the results, Katsuragi Kouhei, who answered eight out of ten questions correctly, won first place. Class A won."
We had wanted to gain the upper hand by winning the fifth event, but victory smiled upon Katsuragi instead.
Sakagami-sensei's announcement marked the end of the fifth event.
"It's quite regrettable, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Was trying to persuade Katsuragi a mistake?"
"It was certainly safe to assume he holds a grudge against me. It wasn't wrong to try and take advantage of it, either. But, did you think I'd overlook a weakness like that so easily?"
Even though I couldn't see Sakayanagi, I knew she was smiling.
"I told him beforehand. That, if he were to betray me, I'd expel more of the earnest, hardworking students in our Class. Despite how he looks, he cares quite a lot about his friends. He's unwilling to sacrifice those around him because of some selfish grudge."
Sakayanagi had known him for much longer than I had.
She was very familiar with his strengths and weaknesses.
"Facing defeat after you thought you would win. This must have been quite a large blow to your morale. Are you worried about the final events?"
"Who knows."
"Katsuragi-kun wasn't on your side, but that's not the only thing that went wrong for you, now is it? If Kouenji-kun had taken the event seriously from the beginning, it's possible that he could've gotten a perfect score. That is, you could've been able to win the match, no?"
"That's just speculation. Having power, you can't control it, which is the same as not having power at all."
Just as students who lacked special skills, academic abilities, or physical prowess couldn't be relied on, students who weren't willing to take things seriously couldn't be either.
Even though they may seem different on the surface, they were essentially the same. This was especially true for the exam we were taking.
Unfortunately, we were unable to convince Kōenji to take action, which became a problem. As a result, our score was two wins and three losses, and Class C was now standing at the edge of a cliff.
"There are only two more events left, and the special exam will be over. It's such a shame."
I could hear Sakayanagi sigh, wanting to enjoy the moment for as long as possible.
"Now that it's come to this, wins, losses, all of it feels trivial."
"If that's the case, then it'd be great if you'd let us win."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that. This is a serious competition, after all."
Sakagami-sensei proceeded with the drawing for the sixth event as the exam progressed. If it drew another event suggested by Class A, it would have resulted in our specific loss.
However, the sixth event was Archery, Class C's two-on-two event, and we emerged victorious thanks to Akito's hard work.
As a result, the score was tied at three wins and three losses each. During the event, Sakayanagi remained quiet and observed from the sidelines.
It appeared that she intended for the score to tie at three to three. The seventh and final event was up next, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the drawing's results.
However, fate had a naughty twist in store for us.
Chess
Required Participants: 1
Initial Time Allotted Per Person: 1 Hour (Running out of Time will Result in a Loss)
Rules: Standard chess rules apply. However, your allotted time will not increase before each move, even after the 40th turn.
Commander Intervention: At any given time, the commander may instruct the participating player for 30 minutes. Any time spent giving instructions will also use the corresponding participant's allotted time.
There was no rule requiring that time be added at the start of each turn, like the Fischer Rule.
This was probably a countermeasure meant to reign in the overall match time. It's common for a typical chess match to take more than two hours, but they had probably set the time limit to one hour per person for the same reason.
"We'll be facing off in the seventh event with three wins, and I couldn't be happier. Furthermore, for this event to be our finale... It seems good things do come to those who wait after all."
Sakayanagi likely planned to intervene in the match at the most crucial moment and guide her partner.
It seemed that both of us would have to intervene around the same time. Due to the rules on commander intervention, I would have to take the match seriously if I wanted to beat Sakayanagi.
"For us to have driven Class A to the seventh event, isn't that a bit of a miscalculation on your part?"
"Yes. I must admit that you've pressured us quite well in the athletic events."
Sakayanagi spoke generally, reflecting on the six events that happened so far.
"Nevertheless, this seventh event is a little different. This battle will largely depend on the true abilities of the commander."
"I'm sorry, but I am very good at chess."
From this point onward, Sakagami-sensei and Hoshinomiya-sensei would be observing our battle.
It was probably best to take a few precautions, just in case.
"My goodness... what a coincidence! Then it seems that my choice of chess may have been a mistake."
Before the main event, there was a warm-up match in which each of us faced off against a student we had selected.
I chose Horikita Suzune, who had not yet participated in any of the events. However, Sakayanagi chose Hashimoto Masayoshi as her opponent.
"So Horikita-san takes the stage after all? Even though she's an honors student, you hadn't used her because you wanted to hold onto her until the final event, isn't that right?"
"There's no reason for me to hold onto my trump card anymore."
Our selections were communicated to each class, notifying them to get moving for the event's start.
"Would either of you like to get a drink of water?"
Hoshinomiya-sensei asked, worried about the two of us since we hadn't gotten up from our seats since the exam began.
"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need to worry."
"I'm fine as well." This chapter was first shared on the N0v3l-B1n platform.
"Is that so? Well, that's good, then..."
Hoshinomiya-sensei sighed in a way that highlighted her discomfort. She didn't seem to like the tense, strained atmosphere of the room.
"It seems that they're ready. So, we will now begin the seventh event."
At Sakagami-sensei's direction, Sakayanagi and I stopped our idle chatting.
The stage they had prepared seemed to be the corner of one of the lecture halls. There, a lone chessboard had been set up.
[Please, go ahead.]
Horikita and Hashimoto both slowly bowed to one another.
At last, the final battle began.