Volume 12, Chapter 3: The Problematic Group of First-Years Part 1

We made our way to the floor where the first-year classrooms were located, a place where we had spent our days not too long ago.

There didnt seem to be very many students lingering in the area, given that most of them had gone to the gymnasium.

We silently observed the students in the classrooms from Class 1-A through 1-C, but once they realized that a group of upperclassmen were watching them, they uncomfortably turned and looked away from us. The fact that they werent very receptive to our sudden intrusion wasnt all that surprising.

Those who didnt care were few in number, as most probably hated the uncomfortable atmosphere our presence had created.

This atmosphere would only get worse in the days to come as well. The second-year students would constantly reach out to the first-years at all times of the day, desperate to find themselves a partner as soon as possible. However, doing so would be a risky gamble that may end up backfiring on them.

But even so, within each of the classrooms we checked, we could see first-year students engaged in light-hearted conversations with each other.

They might have felt like there was no need to worry about the special exam, or perhaps they didnt think that the exam was a very big deal yet.

It seems like most of the students who stayed behind arent worried at all, just as expected.

Aint that nice. Even though Im freaking out over here.

Even if a pair were to score less than 500 points during the exam, the first-year student would just be cut off from earning private points for the next three months. While this would undoubtedly be a great loss for them, it probably didnt feel that critical since they shouldve gotten their first payment just after the entrance ceremony.

Kuku. Youre awfully late, eh Suzune?

Horikita was just about to finish up her inspection of Class 1-C when she was greeted by a familiar voice.

The voice belonged to none other than Class 2-Cs Ryen Kakeru, who had his eyes fixed on us daringly.

The door leading to Class 1-D was behind him, and it seemed as though he had just come out of it.

Ryen-kun, are you here to observe the first-years as well? I dont think I saw you at the meet-and-greet.

It was all just a buncha dipshits groupin up in the gym, right? Going thered be a waste of time.

Ryen had adopted the same strategy as Horikita. That is, to go after the students who didnt attend the meet and greet.

Based on his tone, it seemed reasonable to assume that he was aiming for the best students the first year had to offer.

He had gotten here a mere 20-30 minutes earlier than us, but

With that much time, it was possible that he had already successfully scouted several people.

Wed have to wait until 8:00 AM tomorrow morning to see what pairings he had made.

Chill out. I havent found anyone yet.

Horikita and Sud wouldnt trust his words very easily.

That is, at least until the app is updated with the pairings that had been finalized for Class 2-C.

Looks like you dont believe me.

At the very least, Im going to take everything you say with a grain of salt.

That so? Seems like Ive become quite the untrustworthy person!

Oh? But Ive never once treated you with anything resembling trust before, though?

Kukuku, aint that true.

Sud glared daggers at Ryen, seemingly displeased with the joking nature of his back-and-forth with Horikita.

The average person would probably shrink back in fear from the sharp look Sud was giving off, but it had no effect on somebody like Ryen.

I see you got yourself a bodyguard, but god did you choose a dumb one.

Whadja say!?

Horikita casually held out her hand to stop Sud, who was on the verge of losing his temper.

Oh my, does one need brains to be a bodyguard? Talk about a pot calling the kettle black.

With her hand still holding Sud back, Horikita stared straight back at Ryen, her gaze unfaltering.

Are you looking to scare the first-years? You do know that attitude of yours will end up backfiring on you, right?

The first-year students would probably shrink back upon seeing Ryen walk around as if he owned the place.

I thought that with a couple light threats theyd immediately agree to help. Somethin like that.

Horikita had responded to his provocations tit for tat, but this time, Ryen confirmed what she asked him instead.

Youre kidding. Do you really think thats an acceptable way of doing things?

Who gives a damn about whether its acceptable. Whats wrong with a couple of threats? We were told we couldnt threaten someone to get a lower score on the exams back when the rules were explained, but I dont remember being told we couldnt use some threats to help pair up with people.

Thats because it should be obvious without the rules even needing to say it! Youre the one in hot water if something goes wrong.

Then how bout you make somethin go wrong for me then? I aint dumb enough to get caught either way.

His words were as confident as ever.

Not only was it extremely likely that hed threaten the first-years, he even went so far as to declare that the truth about it wouldnt get out either.

Regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not, Horikita shouldve realized once again that Ryen would always toe the line.

Well, then do what you want. Just know that if I ever find any evidence, I wont think twice about reporting you.

She probably meant these words as some sort of deterrent, but it most likely didnt have any effect on Ryen.

Then what? Whore you gonna persuade?

Thinking there was no need to respond, Horikita kept her mouth shut.

You figured somethin out while you were at the meet-and-greet, didnt you? Then you came running over here to check out everyone else?

The same as you then, perhaps?

Kuku. Maybe.

With that, Ryen continued to address Horikita, almost as if he was trying to spice things up.

If thats the case, Ill clue ya in on somethin since were on the same wavelength here. The first-years this time around only just enrolled here, and yet theyre awfully calm dontcha think? That is, theres a good chance that the people from the school told em how things work around here.

If what he was saying was true, it would be quite the unexpected piece of information. Back when we first came to the school last April, we had no idea how things worked and goofed off the whole time. Of course, Class A and Class B were far more composed than we were, but that could probably be attributed to the large difference in our perspective backgrounds.

But in this instance, Ryen wasnt just talking about a specific class, but the entire school year as a whole.

Did the school do this in order to have the first and second-year students partner up from the very beginning?

Or perhaps the school had another motive altogether?

Could it be that this batch of first-years just have things figured out and we were exceptionally dull in comparison?

Seems like some of em have already started up on bringing their classes together. Its too early.

Even if they began to take action the moment the special exam was announced, there was no way they wouldve been able to come together this quickly.

Ryen was saying that this wouldnt be the case unless something had happened beforehand, that is, right after they entered the school.

What kind of cowardly trick are you trying to pull by telling me all of this?

Its nothin like that. I cant just beat down my opponents in a special exam like this. But, Ill have to pull some strings in order to come out on top overall.

This wasnt an easy special exam to get students from the other classes expelled. After all, the strong anonymity of the partnering system made it difficult to know who people were partnered with. It would be extremely difficult to figure out who somebody paired up with the OAA app unless they went around telling everyone or you collected information. Even if you managed to get a student with a low Academic Ability rating to partner up with someone specific in a rival class, itd be virtually impossible to force them to throw the exam. If they were to score lower than their Academic Ability rating would suggest they were capable of, the school would deem it as intentional and theyd be expelled regardless of what school year theyre in.

In the end, the only thing that would influence the outcome of this exam was the raw ability of your own class and the first-year student you paired up with. In terms of strategy, you needed to focus on persuading as many high-performance first-years into joining your class as possible. Put all of this together, and it wouldnt be easy for Class 2-C to take the top spot in the exam, as their Overall Ability ratings didnt seem very good from an outsiders perspective.

There was no way that Class 2-C would come out on top if they decided to compete with Class 2-A from a financial standpoint, and their fundamental academic skills were off by miles as well. Things would be tough for them no matter how many private points they invested in trying to entice the first-years. With that being the case, they should give up on the top overall score and instead focus on getting their hands on the rewards given out to the pairs who score in the top 30% in the individual competition.

Of course, there was no way Horikita would mention all of this to Ryen. After all, if Class 2-C didnt compete with Class 2-A to take the top spot overall, wed be the ones put in a tough spot. Instead of letting Class 2-A effortlessly snatch up the win, Id like to see the two classes going at it in a large-scale tug-of-war and wear each other out, even if only a little.

Just try your best so you dont get left in the dust.

I could say the same to you. Your concern is completely unwarranted.

Kuku, my bad my bad.

With that, Ryen set off, leaving the first-year classrooms behind him.

The amount of time he had spent here had been far too short to get things done.

The first-year students might be more opposed to negotiating with us than I expected.

It made sense that theyd be hesitant if they really had been told about the true, desperate nature of the school.

Then shouldnt we negotiate with em as soon as possible or somethin?

Yes Of course we should, its just

Horikita turned and looked further on down the hallway.

Her eyes were fixated on the classroom of Class 1-D.

Lets get goin. Come on.

Sud urged us to keep moving forward to the classroom ahead of us.

Im afraid it may not be that simple.

It seemed Horikita had noticed it during the conversation earlier as well.

From the time Ryen walked out of the classroom to the time he left, not even a single student had come out into the hallway.

We couldnt hear a single sound coming from inside as we approached either.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we finally arrived at the classroom and opened up the door.

W-what the hells goin on here!?

Panicked, Sud scanned the room from one end to the other.

Negotiating with Class 1-D may be far, far more difficult than I expected.

The classroom was completely empty, not a single soul to be found.

It seemed as though the forty students who hadnt attended the meet-and-greet had vanished without a trace.

This class as a whole might be more troublesome than I thought.

However, we couldnt just stand around feeling anxious about it forever.

After all, we needed to take measures of our own before the other classes began moving in earnest.

Horikitas battle would start tomorrow, from the moment when she finally makes contact with the students from Class 1-D.

I also needed to go home and memorize the names and appearances of all the first-year students on the OAA app.

Horikita had her battle to fight, and I had mine.

And so, on the very day the special exam was first announced, a total of 22 sets of partners had been finalized.

(Part 1 End)