After the special exam rules were explained and school was dismissed, Matsushita and Horikita headed to Gym #1. Ichinose was there with her classmates, gently and thoughtfully reassuring the junior students.
Whether she was explaining some of the school's rules or sharing examples from her own experience, it all left the first-years deeply impressed, and they became even more eager to talk with Ichinose's class.
In that pleasant atmosphere, Ichinose's classmate Shiranami was holding one of their old first-year test papers and actually started testing some of the freshmen on the spot, checking their level. Once their ability was confirmed, she immediately wrapped up a bunch of team formations right there.
In terms of teaming-up speed and efficiency, Ichinose's class was far ahead of the other second-years.
Matsushita couldn't help letting out a sigh.
"Ichinose-san really is amazing… Just a few days ago, when we were eating sweets and watching the cherry blossoms, she seemed so soft and approachable, and now that it's exam time she's all business."
"We're already way behind."
There was a trace of anxiety in her voice. Precisely because they'd just been sitting together under the cherry blossoms, Matsushita had gotten a clear look at the relationships between Yukio, Sakayanagi, and Ichinose.
In that situation, she really didn't want to lose to Ichinose. So when she saw how far along Ichinose's class already was, she inevitably started to panic a little.
"Matsushita, don't you think something feels off?" Horikita scanned the area sharply. She'd had a sense of wrongness from the start but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
"Eh?" Matsushita followed along, glancing left and right where Horikita was looking and also didn't see anything obviously strange.
"What do you mean, what's off?"
"The people," Horikita answered. "Or more precisely, the freshmen teaming up with Ichinose's class. They're what's off."
"Look closely at the first-years who just successfully formed teams. They're all cheering and ecstatic—boys and girls both."
"It's like they just got some kind of guarantee."
The old Horikita would never have picked up on that, but after Yukio's coaching and that heart-to-heart farewell with her brother at the end of March, she'd genuinely matured.
She'd realized just how important this sort of thing was. And since she used to blindly imitate Horikita Manabu and ignore people's emotions, once she woke up from that, she naturally started filling in the gaps. That's how she noticed something was wrong from the freshmen's reactions.
When she heard that, Matsushita finally caught on too.
"You mean… Ichinose is actually unconditionally helping the underachievers among the first-years?"
"So we're not behind at all? We're actually slightly ahead?" As soon as she said it, the rest clicked into place for Matsushita. "No wonder… no wonder Yukio-kun and Sakayanagi-san didn't come here."
"It's because they're sure that most of the freshmen willing to team up just for a bit of info like this are going to be below-average students."
"There's no point coming here. Yukio's class won't be able to pick up any top students to carry their underachievers, and Sakayanagi's class won't find any partners to help them push for the prize rankings."
"Because the students who are really strong academically have definitely already realized how valuable they are from the info Ichinose gave them at this exchange meeting. They're just sitting tight right now, waiting to see who offers the highest price!"
"Even if some of those top students did come to the meeting to get intel because they didn't understand ANHS yet, they're not necessarily going to team up with Ichinose's class right away."
"After all, this exam gives five full weeks to form a team. And the first-years don't even have a risk of expulsion—just three months without private point income. They're bound to be more patient than we are, and wait for better offers!"
"Exactly." Horikita nodded firmly. "For this exam, Ichinose's class probably isn't aiming for any rewards at all—neither class nor individual."
"They've made their main goal helping the underachievers among the first-years. That'll only drag down their class average, and it won't make them a real threat to any of us second-year classes."
"In that case, there's no point in us staying here," Matsushita said, and immediately turned to leave, wanting to see if they still had a chance to snag any top students.
If all the underachievers were gathering at the gym, then the students still left in the first-year classrooms at this time should mostly be the high-achievers.
It was a good thought, but when Matsushita and Horikita went to check, they came up empty. The first-year classrooms were already completely deserted.
Which, when you thought about it, made sense.
Even after being warned about the dangers of the exam and the harshness of this school, plenty of first-years would still choose to spend their after-school time hanging out, rather than frantically looking for teammates.
After all, what they'd been given so far was just information. Unlike last year's Class D, they hadn't yet experienced what it felt like to be strapped for points.
At least here on day two, the vast majority of new students still had a comfortable amount of private points. They could gorge themselves at Keyaki Center and do all sorts of fun things.
And now, seeing so many freshmen strolling and having fun instead of joining the exchange meeting… didn't that mean… that at this time, in this place…
Most of the students out and about here were freshmen who were pretty confident in their own grades?
So Matsushita and Horikita hurried to start scouting around.
They discovered that outside one of the cafés, there was a line of first-years. At first, they assumed it was for that popular café, Palette, but when Matsushita took a good look, it turned out to be a no-name coffee shop.
So why were there so many first-years queued up here? Did this place launch some new seasonal dessert for the new school year?
No, no. Food could wait. Matsushita slapped her own cheeks to clear her head a bit, then walked up with Horikita at her side. She approached a first-year girl who was playing on her phone.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
"Eh? Oh, you're second-year senpai?"
The junior blinked, then, when she saw Matsushita and Horikita clearly, something seemed to click for her and she grew more enthusiastic.
"Are you senpai here to invite people to form teams?
"And, and, how are your grades, senpai?"
"Hmm?"
Horikita and Matsushita glanced at each other. Since when… are freshmen this proactive?!
....
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