The promised day of the exam finally arrived.
I was walking to the exam hall with Nagisa and Nakamura. The hall was located in the school's Main Building, and as usual, it felt like we were entering territory entirely hostile to Class E. Because news of our wager with Class A had spread, curious and mocking stares followed us from every direction.
"Good heavens, the fools who dared challenge Class A to a losing bet have actually arrived."
"I wonder what kind of humiliating orders will be forced upon you after your crushing defeat?"
Two students from Class D spoke to us; I didn't remember their names, but they were always together, exuding an annoying air of arrogance.
Before I could think of a suitable retort, Nakamura moved faster. She expertly jammed a pencil into one of their noses and shoved it upward as she walked past. The strike was so forceful the pencil nearly snapped.
I felt relieved by this swift retaliation, though her ruthlessness also inspired a bit of dread. Finally, we reached our battlefield: the examination hall.
I sensed someone's presence, and looking inside, I found someone sitting in the seat next to mine. That spot was reserved for Ritsu, the fixed artillery AI, but the person sitting there was—
"Who are you...?"
It was a strange girl we knew nothing about, save for her hairstyle, which mimicked Ritsu's. In truth, this was no place for a human girl. While I struggled to suppress my urge to protest, Karasuma-sensei arrived looking utterly exhausted and explained the situation.
"She is a substitute to play the role of Ritsu."
"Ritsu's role...?"
"Yes. As expected, the Principal would not allow an AI to participate in the exams. Consequently, we agreed on a human substitute whom Ritsu trained through online lessons to take the exam in her stead. Since Ritsu is officially registered as a student, she has the right to utilize the opportunities the Principal provides, and we cannot let that go to waste."
Karasuma-sensei finished his explanation with a deep sigh, his face looking paler than usual. He seemed truly drained, not just physically, but mentally as well. The poor man.
"Do you realize how I felt when the Principal looked at me with pity and said, 'You poor man, suffering with these students as well'?"
"We appreciate your great efforts, and we are truly sorry for the trouble we've caused you!"
We all bowed to him with deep respect.
It was truly difficult for us to grasp the scale of Karasuma-sensei's suffering. Every time, he faced troubles beyond imagination coming from the most unexpected directions. Worse yet, his opponents and the circumstances he was placed in were always so bizarre they defied commentary. If it were Koro-sensei or Bitch-sensei, it would be easy to mock or respond, but dealing with the Principal and official matters made everything complicated.
"I'll say this on behalf of myself and Ritsu: give it your absolute best."
"Yes, sir!"
It was strange how no words could touch the heart more than his encouragement. If Takaoka were the one standing before us, we wouldn't have gained a shred of motivation or courage from his words.
And so, the final exam began.
Our confrontation was against the "Mon-stars"—questions so massive and difficult they seemed to exceed human capability—and against Class A. Everyone watched us; Ritsu, Karasuma-sensei, and the rest of the teachers cheered us on, while students from other classes jeered like a crowd in an arena. In the middle of it all, we were the warriors.
Each of us faced the questions set before us. Some faced the same problems, while others faced different ones at different times. Despite the timing, targeting the same enemy—perfect scores—and honing our skills was no different from our usual assassination training.
Finally, I began to understand the hidden meaning behind Karasuma-sensei's words when he was first appointed: "Assassination and study are two sides of the same coin."
It was truly amazing; when I remembered my classmates' efforts and the actions of the Big Five, I could visualize the struggle everyone was waging against those beast-like questions.
However, I didn't care how others solved the exam. My only concern was reviewing my lessons and taking revenge on those dwelling in the Main Building.
I entered a state of "Absolute Focus" (The Zone) as usual. I no longer felt this was cheating; rather, it was my undeniable talent.
I continued solving questions while my mind worked at maximum capacity. I extracted ideal solutions from the massive pile of information I had crammed into my head, noting them down with precision. I dodged every attack from the "Mon-stars" and stabbed them in their weak points, finishing off the problems one by one until those monsters breathed their last.
By the time the exam ended, I had exhausted my energy to the point of a mental fever. I spent the next two days with my mind in a state of total blankness until the curtain fell on the testing period.
●○●○●
After two days of back-and-forth, the battle ended completely.
Our superiority in assassination or winning the wager with our peers now depended entirely on the number of red circles—the marks of correct answers—we would receive.
Three days later.
"Now then, students, the graded results for all subjects have arrived."
Koro-sensei's words triggered a wave of tension among the students, and I was no exception. I had given my all and had confidence in my work. I had done everything I could since midterms. Now, I had nothing to do but wait for the results calmly.
"We shall start with English... The first place in Class E is... Nakamura Rio! And she is first in the entire grade! One hundred points! Your performance was perfect. I was worried because your enthusiasm fluctuates, but...!"
"Oh, of course! There's a ten-billion-yen wager on the line! Don't forget your promise of one tentacle, Koro-sensei."
"Nurfufufu, most certainly."
It seemed I had lost first place in English. While I was thinking about that, Koro-sensei distributed the papers. My score was 99, a frustrating number. It appeared I lost a point on the final question.
"Nozaki-kun, Nagisa-kun, you both did very well too. However, Nozaki-kun, you still lack precision when converting to colloquial forms, and Nagisa-kun, you haven't yet broken the habit of making spelling errors in critical spots."
I could only smile bitterly at the teacher's remarks. If my linguistic range had been slightly larger, perhaps I would have secured a perfect score. How disappointing.
As Koro-sensei stuck a small "Tentacle Reserved for Destruction" tag onto one of his appendages, he spoke with a confident tone.
"So far, you have only destroyed one tentacle by topping one subject. Since there is a five-subject competition with Class A, the true joy will not be complete until all results are out."
A temporary silence fell after everyone had celebrated Nakamura's result, but Koro-sensei quickly changed the atmosphere by distributing the next subject's results.
"The next subject is Japanese... First place in Class E is... Nozaki Kei-ichi! 99 points!"
"Again?!"
"It seems you lost a point on the final essay. Perhaps because you wrote 499 words out of the required 500. Essay evaluations sometimes depend on the teacher's taste."
"And what about my grade ranking?"
"Unfortunately! You are in second place! And Kanzaki-san is in third! You have both made massive progress! As for first place in the grade, it is Gakushu Asano from Class A!"
This meant that boy had achieved a perfect score. He was truly impressive.
"As expected of Asano, he leaves no openings."
"He's so strong... even in English, he was tied with Nozaki and only one point behind Nakamura."
"He's ranked first nationally. Even though the exam was much harder than last time, he remains flawless. Even if there are 'Big Five,' in the end, Asano is the one you must defeat to reach the top."
The students' morale dropped slightly, but Koro-sensei immediately distributed the next subject.
"Moving on. Social Studies, the first place in Class E is... Isogai Yuma with 98 points! And for the entire grade... Congratulations! You surpassed Asano-kun and took first place!"
"Awesome!"
"You excelled in this exam, which contained many precise and in-depth questions."
When I received my paper, I found the number 97 on it. A one-point difference from Isogai. I had missed one question. Perhaps we both missed a question, but the difference lay in the point distribution. I had missed first place again by a narrow margin.
"With this, we have two wins against one loss!"
"What about Science?!"
"The first place for Science in Class E is Okuda Manami! And... incredible! You took first place in the entire grade as well!"
My science score was 97, placing me second. Okuda must have gotten a perfect score or at least a 98. She was very strong. It seemed my true rivals in the next exam would be from within this very classroom.
"Three wins against one loss! We've secured the overall victory!"
"You did it, Okuda! One of the tentacles is yours!"
"Class E clinched the win over Class A even before the Math results appeared!"
"This means the prize we wagered on is ours."
"I'm so excited!"
While everyone celebrated, Koro-sensei tried to calm them down to continue the distribution. Right, there was still Math and the overall ranking.
"Next! Mathematics, first place in Class E is... Nozaki Kei-ichi! And once again, 99 points!"
".... Was it the proof question?"
"Yes. You seem somewhat weak in questions requiring complex structural phrasing. This is a point you must address in the future."
"I'll work on it..."
But wait, I'm first in Class E? What about Karma?
I looked toward Karma's seat, but he wasn't there.
"As for first place in the grade... unfortunately! Gakushu Asano-kun holds the perfect score!"
Asano was truly powerful. However, my total score so far was 491. There was still a possibility of taking first place in the overall rankings. What would the result be?
"And finally, across all five subjects, the overall first place for Class E is... Nozaki Kei-ichi! And at the grade level, you are tied for first place with Asano-kun!"
"Yes!"
"Congratulations, Kei-chan!"
Before I could celebrate myself, Isogai celebrated for me, and Kurahashi-san jumped for joy.
"Nurfufufu, congratulations, Nozaki-kun. You have made a truly massive leap; from last place in the level test to 51st in the midterms, and now first place in the finals! You have successfully honed your 'second blade' brilliantly. Accordingly, I grant you this tentacle."
"Hahaha, thank you, Koro-sensei."
Koro-sensei placed a reservation mark on one of his tentacles, which glowed with strange and distinct rainbow colors. Thus, the confrontation between us and Class A ended in our favor.
●○●○●
"Karma."
"What is it, Nozaki-kun?"
I had gone to look for Karma, who had left the classroom alone. He was holding his exam paper with a frozen expression. I had only one sentence to say to him.
"You thought winning without having to exert grueling effort like the rest of us was cool, didn't you?"
"....!"
Karma's face flushed deeply at my mocking words. It seemed I had hit the nail on the head, as he was trembling with rage.
"I understand that feeling—the desire to believe you can do anything if you just try. I was exactly like you."
".... Really?"
"And the result was my crushing defeat last time. It was a bitter feeling."
I remembered that frustration and directed my words to Karma, who pretended not to care but was listening intently.
"Now it's your turn. Try to take back first place in Class E from me."
I said what I wanted to say and left, passing Koro-sensei who was on his way. I'm not very good at teaching others. So, that was all I could say. This brief motivation was my way of repaying him for not forcing me to bow and apologize during the midterm exams.
Do your best, Karma.
●○●○●
"Now then, students. Your results were magnificent. Out of six top spots—the five subjects and the overall ranking—you managed to snatch four. Let us begin the assassination immediately. Let the four winners step forward to destroy four tentacles as they please."
Koro-sensei said this, his face colored with green stripes—a sign of mockery and arrogance—as if saying "losing four tentacles is fine."
As I was thinking about that, the Terasaka group—Hazama, Yoshida, and Muramatsu—stood up and approached the desk. The three of them wore mischievous grins, while their leader, Terasaka, stepped forward with a serious expression, holding his exam paper.
"Wait a minute, you octopus. The top scorers in the 'five subjects' aren't just three people."
"Nyu? The top scorers are three, Terasaka-kun. In Japanese, English, Social Studies, Science, and Math..."
"Huh? Don't be stupid. When we say 'five subjects,' we mean Japanese, English, Social Studies, Science... and Home Economics."
With that, the four of them placed their exam papers on the desk. All of them bore a perfect score of 100 in Home Economics, without a shred of shame.
"Home Economics!!? Wait a moment! The Home Economics exam is just a minor subject! Why did you put all this effort into getting a hundred points in this specific subject!!?"
"No one specified which five subjects they were, right?"
"Heh, we should have had the whole class join in on this plan."
Hazama let out a creepy laugh while Koro-sensei protested desperately. In the middle of this, Chiba encouraged his quiet classmate, saying, "Tell him, Karma."
"Isn't it an insult to Home Economics to call it minor, Koro-sensei? You've insulted the strongest of the five subjects."
Everyone joined in on Karma's words.
"That's right! Fulfill your promise, Koro-sensei!"
"Four students topped the most important subject: Home Economics!"
"The total number of tentacles is eight, adding our four subjects to the core subjects and the overall ranking!"
"E-Eight tentacles... Hiiiiiii!!?"
Koro-sensei trembled in fear. While he was in that state, Isogai spoke.
"Also, Koro-sensei, we've all consulted and decided to use the right to destroy these tentacles along with the 'spoils' of the recent wager."
Indeed, as soon as the wager was settled, everyone agreed on a plan: to use the tentacle destruction rights we earned from the exam during our summer training camp at that southern island resort in Okinawa. Everyone agreed that an assassination on an island surrounded by water—Koro-sensei's weakness—would be much more likely to succeed.
".... Nurofufufu, you've planned this well."
Koro-sensei clasped his tentacles while nodding in approval. The green stripes vanished from his face entirely, showing he was proud of us from the bottom of his heart. That feeling alone made all the exhaustion of studying worth it.
"I have much to say, but first we must attend the closing ceremony for the semester. Let's go, everyone."
"Yes, sir!"
".... I'm sorry to spoil the mood, but you must stay here with Irina."
"Nyuyaaaa?!"
At Karasuma-sensei's harsh words, Koro-sensei lost his enthusiasm and began weakly hitting the walls with his tentacles, while we moved to attend the ceremony.
Our conversation along the way naturally revolved around the exam results and the assassination plans for the southern island. As we descended the mountain, I thought about how this was the first time we were all going down together as a single class. The path was very pleasant as we chatted.
While I was joking with the members of my group from the previous school trip, I suddenly felt a wave of severe dizziness. A strange sensation took over, as if the world had turned completely white before my eyes. Blood seemed to drain from my head, and a chill ran through my body. I stumbled unintentionally.
"Easy there. Are you okay, Nozaki?"
"Ah, yeah. I'm fine, thank you, Kimura."
Thanks to Kimura, who was beside me and caught me, I didn't fall. I calmed down slightly and began moving again. What was that? Was it just a temporary bout of anemia?
"Wait, are you sure? Your face doesn't look good, Nozaki."
"I'm fine. I probably overdid the studying lately."
I answered Okano, who was looking at me with concern, and tried to show strength, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief and accept my explanation.
"You really did put in a monumental effort, Nozaki."
"Yeah, it looks like the 'Silver Prodigy' has truly returned."
"Enough with the titles like Prodigy or Reaper, Isogai."
"Sorry, but teasing you lately has become far too much fun."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's true."
"Here go the Nozaki and Isogai comedy duo again."
While everyone laughed, Kurahashi-san approached me, looking uncomfortable. She was the only one who still showed clear concern.
"Are you really okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Kurahashi-san."
".... No, I can't help but worry."
I tried to smile, but she was persistent, which surprised the others.
"If you're that worried, do you want to hold my hand?"
I said it jokingly to prove I was fine, but Kurahashi-san actually gripped my hand firmly.
"This way, I'll know immediately if Kei-chan stops walking suddenly."
"Ah... eh... yes, okay."
I stammered slightly; I hadn't expected a reaction like that. I didn't know what to say. But the others didn't comment deeply, and so we walked toward the building with our hands held. The dizziness had been momentary and I felt fine now, but it was okay.
We reached the building and lined up as usual before the rest of the students arrived. Then, the Terasaka group—the heroes of this exam in the tentacle destruction department—provoked the Student Council members who had entered the gym early. It seemed everyone had decided to stand up to the Student Council, perhaps to prevent them from backing out of the wager.
Isogai spoke on behalf of us all.
"Asano, we made a bet: the class that tops more subjects can ask for anything. And we sent our request via email just a moment ago, didn't we?"
".... Yes. Fine. A promise is a promise."
Asano ignored Terasaka's provocations and walked directly toward me. His frozen expression vanished, replaced by a rare smile.
"Congratulations, Kei-ichi. I was looking forward to the day I could call you a rival again."
".... No, I lost to you this time. Even if we tied for first overall, you surpassed me in the number of subjects you topped."
"Keep that ambition. You'll be returning to Class A soon, won't you? I'll be waiting."
As usual, Asano said what he wanted and left quickly. Only then did it hit me: did this mean I could return to Class A if my previous homeroom teacher agreed? Well, I had no intention of returning for now anyway.
The assembly began and ended. For the first time, Karma attended the entire assembly, and I wasn't kicked out of the hall halfway through. The reason was simple: the students' mockery of Class E no longer found an audience. Among them had emerged those who competed for the top and led in subjects and overall rankings. Everyone stood with pride and dignity during the meeting.
After the assembly, it was time for the final period of the semester.
"One copy for each student."
With Koro-sensei's words, instructional handbooks—travel guides—were distributed. They were far more massive and packed than the ones given out for the previous school trip.
"Here it starts—the usual exaggerated guidebook."
"It's as long as an accordion."
I agreed with Okajima's comparison as I flipped the pages, but the handbook was so wide it wouldn't even fit on the desk. This was truly excessive.
"The main event of the summer vacation is the assassination on the southern island. Based on your wishes, we will use the tentacle destruction rights during this camp on that remote island."
Koro-sensei spoke while scratching his cheek.
"You weren't satisfied with the advantage of me losing eight tentacles; you also decided to exploit the island surrounded by water—my weakness—to target my life with such greed. I will admit the truth: you have become students who can never be underestimated. I have already handed out your grade reports, but this report is from the 'Target' to the 'Assassins'!"
With lightning speed, Koro-sensei wrote something with a red pen on many papers and scattered them throughout the classroom. I caught one paper flying in the air and found a "double circle" drawn on it—the mark of excellence and total satisfaction. The entire classroom was decorated with those red double circles.
"Utilize the basics you learned in the first semester! During summer vacation, learn a lot, play a lot, and then play some more!! The assassination classroom, the foundation stage of the first semester... ends here!!"
And so, the curtain fell on our first semester, filled with stormy events, without us knowing that the second semester hid even more turbulent days for us.
●○●○●
In the throne where the Dominator sits.
Gakuho Asano watched the closing ceremony from his perch. In this final exam, the academic awareness of all students had risen. This was natural; when they saw those they mocked as outcasts—the End Class—reach the top, their sense of humiliation and danger became powerful fuel to rise again.
Even in these abnormal circumstances threatening the Earth's survival, it could be said that his educational philosophy was working correctly. Except for one point: the occurrence of something exceptional, like Class E students topping the rankings.
── (I must make a move during the summer vacation) ──
Before him lay files containing the data of two students: Takebayashi and Nozaki.
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