We had arrived at the outdoors school a bit later than A Class, B Class, and C Class. Everyone from those classes were already getting prepared for the special exam by heading inside the building to get changed into their jerseys.

As it was a compact facility which doubled as a living space and outdoors school, the size of the building was nearly as big as GEN Academy. You could easily tell where the division between genders was too, as the shape of the building was symmetrical.

Judging by the mildly cold air here, we weren't too far up the mountainside either. I suppose it was for health and safety reasons that the outdoors school was built on a lower level surrounded by lush greenery.

As everyone from D Class debarked, instead of going straight into the school and changing into my jersey, I loitered around by the bus exit, waiting for a certain someone to get off.

"Kawaguchi-san."

As Kawaguchi got off the bus, I called out to him. He was with Tadokoro and Kiba, but he told them to go ahead of him. The two girls wished him good luck before parting ways.

"Did you see my message?"

"Yeah. You said you wanted me to group with Kouji-san, right?"

"That's correct. He doesn't have any friends except me and Yukina, but since she's going to be on the girl's side and I'm going to be doing something on my own, I was a bit worried about him."

"Ah, no problem then. I'll take care of him. He's just a loner anyways, how hard could that be?"

Kawaguchi laughed like it was no trivial matter.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

As I waved goodbye to Kawaguchi, the next pair of people who I wanted to talk to appeared.

"Yukina. Kouji-san."

"Ah, Yuu!"

Yukina waved cheerfully at me and ran up to me. Kouji followed her, trailing behind with his earbuds in his ears.

"Hey. Could I have a quick word with both of you separately?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Yukina tilted her head cutely while Kouji nodded and looked away.

"There's two things I'd like you to do Yukina. First of all, I want you to help Ichinose-san and Kinoshita-san to form a group with people from all five classes in it. Second of all, I want you to add Kita-san to your group, and look after her no matter what."

"Eh? I understand the first bit, but... Kita-san? Why her?"

"Because Ayano-san's worried for her."

In the distance, I could see Ayano trying to convince Kita to go on her own without clinging to him.

"He's aware of how useless she is in social situations. As such, he's scared that if she joins the wrong group, everyone will cast "blame votes" for her, increasing the chance of her being sent to E Class. He wants to avoid that scenario if possible."

"...why not just let her sink."

Quietly, it was Kouji who said those words.

"Kouji-san!" Yukina chided him.

"What? It's true though... she's dead weight. Even more dead weight than I was..."

"You shouldn't speak ill of our classmates like that. For all we know, she could be in a similar situation like you."

"I doubt it. She's always clinging to that Ayano guy. Sure, she does stuff, but it's only if he orders her too... it's weird."

"Well, isn't that just more reason to keep her? Even if she doesn't do much on her own, at least with Ayano-san, she's willing to act."

"But that's what I'm saying. If we pawn her off to another class, they'll be burdened by her instead. And with no Ayano around, she'll be completely useless to them. It's a win-win for our class."

Kouji was surprisingly vocal about his opinion on Kita. Even though he used to be like her, he didn't feel any remorse suggesting that we let her drop to E Class.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Instead of thinking of Kita-san as a separate piece, think of her as part of Ayano-san."

"...what do you mean?"

"Ayano-san said that he'd go wherever Kita-san goes. If she drops to E Class, then he'll also transfer to E Class. Losing her means losing Ayano-san, and quite frankly, I'd like to keep him around."

Kouji pursed his lips.

"Is that so...? Man, they sure are attached to each other, huh?"

"Is that what Ayano-san said to you, Yuu?"

"...more or less. Even though he asked me for help protecting her, he did warn that if Kita-san did end up going to E Class over this ordeal, he'd also go with her. That could potentially be dangerous for the boys side."

"It is...?"

"Think about it. During our mealtimes, the boys and girls are allowed to mix. If Kita-san tells Ayano-san that her group is losing and she's most likely to be sent to E Class, he could self-destruct on the boy's side and tank his group on purpose so he'd also end up in E Class. That'd be losses for our class, since not only would we lose two classmates, but also a minimum of 40 Cl."

Essentially, I had to fulfil Ayano's request of preventing Kita from going to E Class in order to prevent D Class from taking heavy damage.

"I figured you'd be the perfect person for this, Yukina. You have experience talking to socially awkward loners, like me and Kouji-san, and if she's in your group, the payout will be increased for D Class."

"Ah... I get it. If that five class group wins, D Class will gain minimum 180 Cl from it because me and Kita-san would earn us 90 Cl each."

"That's right. And if you end up somehow being leader, it's 390 Cl instead. I can't imagine Kita-san being in any danger of dropping to 9th place either when your group will have you, Ichinose-san, and Kinoshita-san in it too. They're all very capable people, so the chances of you guys winning are fairly high."

Ultimately, the fate of that group would depend on the other three people who join. However, by stacking Kita's group with these three, it was almost guaranteed that she wouldn't drop below 7th place.

"Basically, there's almost no reason not to have her join. The tricky part is convincing everyone else to let her in, but I've informed Ichinose-san of the situation, and she said she was willing to help make Kita-san's case."

"Wow... when did you do all this? I'm surprised by how far you've thought through the special exam already, especially when it's not even started."

"During the rest of the bus trip here. It's better to prepare now than later, since I can't interfere on the girl's side... make sure to give me plenty of updates during dinnertime though."

"I will."

"Great. Your group's top priority is to win. Go out there and get 1st place for me, okay?"

"Of course! I'll make sure not to let you down, Yuu."

Yukina cheerfully smiled before leaving to talk with Ayano and Kita, waving goodbye to us.

"Oh, and good luck you two!"

"Thanks. Good luck to you too."

"Good luck, Kazuraba-san." Kouji said.

When she reached Ayano and Kita, it seems she was explaining the situation to Ayano, and he was explaining it back to Kita. After a bit of tussling, Yukina managed to convince Kita to let go of Ayano and join her in changing into their sports uniform.

Kita timidly exchanged goodbyes with Ayano, who was smiling at her. Seeing the girls leave, Ayano took a deep breath to compose himself and briefly locked eyes with me. He gave a nod of appreciation before going to change himself.

"What do you want me to do then, Takanori-san?"

Kouji sighed, taking off his earbuds.

"It's pretty simple. I want you to join Shimada-san's group."

Kouji's eyes widened. He stuck his pinky into his right ear and twisted it, cleaning out the earwax.

"...huh? Sorry, I think my ears were clogged up. Say that again?"

"You didn't mishear me. I want you to join Shimada-san's group."

"Oi... are you trying to kill me or something? Why would anyone want to join that maniac's group?"

"That's exactly the main benefit from joining his group."

"...huh?"

"Whichever group accepts Shimada-san is most likely going to be the strongest one, since no one who's weak willed or pathetic would so easily allow such a dangerous person on their team. In fact, the addition of someone as ruthless as him would make that group even more likely to win, so sneaking into that group would basically be securing D Class a spot on the podium."

"...oh, I get it. If I join a crazy strong group like that, then at the very least, our class will be able to siphon some class points off their success. Sneaky, I like it."

"The main thing you'll have to be careful about are the "blame votes". You'd be an easy target due to your reputation. Otherwise, that's the role I'd like you to play in this special exam."

"Sounds easy enough... aside from the part where I have to be in the same group as a psychopath. Couldn't you have gotten someone else to do it...?"

"I tried to ask Ayano-san to do it in exchange for me helping with Kita-san, but he has his own plans in this special exam. And since the majority of guys in our class are friends, they're likely to form "mostly D Class" groups. If possible, I'd like to take advantage of that."

"Eh... fine, I get it. I'll do it. Seriously though, the way you treat people sometimes are like investments..."

"Investments? What do you mean?"

"You're making a risky investment by putting Kita with Kazuraba in the hopes it'll pay out more. Meanwhile with me, you're making a safe investment in the hopes of gaining a small increase, like a government bond."

"Huh... I've never thought about it that way."

Did I really treat people like investments? I surely don't, do I? It was really hard for me to see it, but when Kouji puts it like that... I guess I could see what kind of analogy he's going for.

"What about you? How are you going to "invest" yourself?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure yet. I'll see how the groups shape up in the hall and make a decision from there."

"Huh, alright. Wanna join me in Shimada's group?"

"Don't even joke about that."

"What? I'm being serious. If we're likely to get a podium position, it's better if we had more D Class members in that group so we can siphon double the points."

"You're not wrong, but that won't be necessary."

"Huh?"

"Well, you'll see."

After leaving Kouji with those cryptic words, we went to go change into our sports uniform.

Since it was so hot outside, I decided to forgo the jersey and wear just my shirt and jogging bottoms. When I left the changing rooms, I didn't see Kouji waiting for me. I guess I changed faster than him.

In that case, I'll go ahead and join everyone else in the boy's hall to check out the situation. We can meet each other later if necessary.

The fact D Class arrived so later compared to the other classes put us at a severe disadvantage. Even though the time to form groups hasn't officially started yet, discussions on what our ideal groups would look like would have already begun.

For A Class, B Class, and C Class, who have been waiting in the hall the longest, they could have already made deals and strategies that counter us and E Class.

Also, some of the female leaders like Suzune and Ichinose may have done what I did and try to influence the formation of the male groups before the special exam really begins.

It might look like a simple discussion period and joining with your friends on the outside, but on the inside, it was a mental war with numerous unsteady variables to consider.

Not only did you have to account for what you wanted, but you had to account for everyone else too. With sixty-two boys in our year, this wasn't going to be easy, especially since so many of them were competitive and the natural leader type.

If I'm not careful, even I could be sucked into the flow of someone stronger than me.

"Takanori-kun..."

As I was heading to the sports hall, someone gently tugged the back of my shirt. I looked over my shoulder and saw Nora, who was wearing a jersey and jogging bottoms.

"Hey. You nervous?"

"V-very... this special exam has my head spinning..."

"Well, it's way more intricate than the first one, that's for sure."

Even though I read through the detailed rulebook twice, I couldn't immediately find any loopholes we could exploit. However, there was one section regarding E Class students that I found interesting...

"It's also kind of scary... that we don't know what challenges are waiting for us."

"Yeah. If we knew what was going to happen, it'd make building the groups so much easier."

If you made a group primarily of athletic students, expecting the challenges to be mostly physical, you'd be put at a major disadvantage if the challenge was mental. Likewise, if you load up your group full of smart people, expecting lots of tests and puzzles, you'd be put at a major disadvantage if the challenge was physical.

I'm starting to understand what Chabashira-sensei meant by "balanced". It was dropping small hints like this that gave us a slight advantage going into the special exam. Of course, it's nothing compared to what A Class gets, but if we were still in E Class, I think she wouldn't be allowed to say anything like that at all.

I also noticed that Chabashira-sensei looked a lot happier talking to us. Even if it was only for a little bit, she could be less cold and belittling because she was now the homeroom teacher of D Class. In some aspects, she felt more like her true self.

"Um... speaking of groups... I was thinking..."

Nora looked away shyly and scratched the back of his head.

"C-could we... um... could we be in a group together...?"

My heart fluttered. It was like I was shot with Cupid's arrow.

"...Nora-san."

If I wasn't so stressed out juggling ten things at once, I think I would've caved in immediately and said yes. However, with what I was aiming for, this partnership could never work.

"I'm sorry... I have to decline."

"Eh...? H-how come...?"

"I already have another group in mind."

Nora frowned, but nodded in understanding. I'm sorry for betraying you, I really am...

"I-I see... it's because you're aiming for 1st place isn't it, Takanori-kun...? Y-you want to join a group with people from five different classes, don't you?"

To my surprise, Nora was able to exactly identify what I was aiming for in this special exam. Since he's most likely to form a group with Mikitaka, Yukimura, and the others, joining them would limit how much D Class could potentially get from winning.

"...more or less."

"Then... good luck, Takanori-kun! If it's you... I know you can win!"

For a moment, I forgot all about my problems. The stress I felt melted away seeing that adorable smile coupled with those encouraging words. However, this gentle and heartwarming scene was interrupted by a loud shouting coming down the hallway.

"Winning? Oi, these guys think they can win!"

Laughter surrounded me and Nora from all sides as a pack of E Class delinquents led by Shigeru Zenkichi approached us. However, the one who made that comment was Terasaka Souichirou, best known for being the second largest 1st Year after Albert.

"The only winner in the special exam will be us, assholes!"

Terasaka stared down at me and Nora with a fierce grin, showing his crooked white teeth. You know this guy is the real deal when he has a tooth missing.

"What, are all of you going to team up together?"

I sighed, pushing up my sunglasses. Nora backed off, hiding behind me.

"Huh? Are you dumb? You get more points by teaming up with the enemy! Oi, this guy didn't even know that!"

Terasaka pointed a finger at me, but it was really an excuse to push me in the forehead. The other delinquents laughed wildly, except for Shigeru, who watched our confrontation with an eye closed.

"T-Takanori-kun, are you okay...?"

Nora whispered, and I nodded my head.

"Of course I know that. But if you team up with the enemy, you'll also be giving them class points. In that sense, it's a waste because everyone is moving up equally. The only way you'll beat everyone else in this exam is if you form groups mostly made up of people from your class and take all four podium spots. Didn't you know that much?"

"Didn't ask, you talk too much. Go back to being a nobody loser, woman beater!"

Terasaka spat at me, but I stepped back just in time to dodge it. His saliva trickled down to my feet like a wad of snot.

"So the moment you run out of an argument, you resort to insults... is that it?"

"Who said we were arguing? I just came to say we were gonna win. Ain't that right?"

The delinquents laughed and nodded along with Terasaka. Shigeru sighed, elbowing Terasaka in the stomach.

"Guh? Oi, Zenkichi! What the hell was that for? You wanna die, dumbass?!"

Terasaka growled, ready to strike Shigeru with a raised fist. However, a simple glare from Shigeru was enough to make Terasaka back down.

"Pipe down. You're being too noisy."

This air that surrounds him right now... it's completely different to the Shigeru I knew back in May. It startled me a little to see him act so differently.

Usually, it was Zyriot who kept the delinquents in line, but for some reason, it was Shigeru regulating their behaviour now. What gives? Did something happen? Was there a change in leadership in E Class?

"Making an enemy out of Takanori-san is stupid."

"I'm not making an enemy out of him, I'm taking that woman beater down a peg. Ever since he started wearing sunglasses, that guy's sense of ego has been royally inflated. It pisses me off!"

"Ah, yeah, it pisses me off too. I hate when guys who are below me get cocky."

Shigeru turned to look at me and grinned.

"After all, you were manipulated by me."

I clenched my fists.

"That was just by chance. Your plan was flimsy from the start. It relied on luck and opportunity, two random factors."

"Yet both are essential to consider when forming a plan? I wasn't planning on getting injured before the war, but by adapting to my circumstances, I was able to make my surprise introduction even better."

"Then what about the person Satou-san was talking to? There's no way you could've ensured someone would be there to bump into him. And even if you could, it's impossible to make them inform everyone else about your absence. It's all up to them."

"Your way of making plans is too boring, Takanori-san. You want every last detail to be safe and secure. You end up wasting time on setting up things instead of leaving it to this thing called "probability"."

"...what?"

"In this world, nothing is guaranteed. Life is a constant gamble, but that's why you've got to roll the dice and bet on the stuff that's most likely to win. I figured you guys would go running to get extra cards because when I visited your class with Ishigami-san and Mikitaka-san, I saw you guys playing without a Ride Deck set up."

He noticed that much from a single glance...?

"I figured you guys weren't told about it yet, since E Class gets omitted information all the time. Unfortunately for you, Mikazuchi-sensei told us about it the moment it was announced we were going to war with you. Oh, and coincidentally, didn't you find out about the war last minute as well? That's how I figured the chance of you guys finding about the Ride Deck last minute was "very likely". In other words, it was high probability!"

I will admit, Shigeru gave his plan more thought than I had initially assessed. But to rely so much on luck... I just couldn't agree with it. One wrong bet, and everything crumbles apart. Even if the probability is high, it's not guaranteed. It's reckless.

"Then what about someone telling everyone else you were absent? How do you explain that?"

"Again, it was "very likely". In war, the number of students on each side matter a lot. If you found out that we were down a member, why wouldn't you tell your classmates? Keeping that information for yourself benefits no one. In fact, telling them that there's one less person to worry about would raise their spirits, right? Like a small victory before the actual war begins. Regardless if it was you, or somebody else, there's nothing but benefits to telling them I'm gone. That's why I knew it'd work."

Shigeru stepped up to me with a wide grin.

"Face it, Takanori-san. The one thing you hate, "probability", was also the one thing that let you get manipulated by me. Don't look so mad. You were just the unlucky fool who played into my hand."

"T-Takanori-kun..."

Nora uttered my name, looking worried for me.

"It's an impressive scheme, I'll admit. But it was all just to fight Kawaguchi-san, was it not?"

"Yeah? And?"

"It's a load of elaborate bull then. What you've done hasn't actually contributed to your class one bit. It was all for you, and your selfish reasons, yet you're acting high and mighty over one instance where luck bailed you out? Before you start bragging that you're better than me, go execute a plan that's better than the one I did for the Test Shuffle. At least with that one, I can say that it didn't rely on probability, and that it singlehandedly crushed you guys and got us to Zoa Green."

Shigeru's eyebrow twitched, but he continued grinning.

"You might have manipulated me once, but that was back when I was a loser. That's nothing to be proud of. Don't puff your chest out over that. Know your place and go get some actual feats before flexing. Or better yet, try manipulating me now that I'm the leader of D Class."

"Ka ha... ka ha ha ha! God damn, I never knew you were such a trash talker. This is even better than I expected."

Shigeru laughed excitedly before extending his hand out to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Takanori-san. I'd like you to join my group."

"Eh... what's this?"

"You want to win this special exam. I want to win this special exam. If we combine your planning with my gambling, we'd be unstoppable. No one would be able to step up to our group!"

"Sorry, but I refuse."

"What? How come?"

"I don't feel like losing this special exam. That's all."

"You think my group is gonna lose? Is that it? What makes you so sure about that, huh?"

"Because you're the type to take revenge under the pretence it's for the greater good. I simply don't want to get caught up in your selfish schemes."

Shigeru's hand flopped down to his side.

"C'mon, Nora-san. We're leaving."

"A-alright..."

I turned around and walked away, with Nora hurriedly in tow. In the distance, I could hear Shigeru click his tongue frustratedly.