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Chapter 506: Y2V12 Trail

FOR ME, SAE-CHAN is my best friend.

For me, Sae-chan is also a rival.

It might seem contradictory, but surprisingly, it works.

And having these two feelings coexist isn\'t so unusual, I think.

Despite my appearances, I have quite a few friends.

Friends from elementary and middle school, ANHS, friends I met in college, and friends I made after becoming a working adult.

But the relationship where I could really share my true feelings continued only with Sae-chan.

I don\'t know what she thought about it.

Even if I were to lose to anyone else, I just can\'t lose to Sae-chan.

We were in the same class, and the days we spent together aiming for Class A instilled such feelings in me.

Originally, Sae-chan didn\'t want to become a teacher.

But on that day, the day she understood that she couldn\'t graduate from Class A, I realized that Sae-chan wanted to become a teacher and aim for Class A again.

That was why I decided to become a teacher too.

Honestly, it\'s a profession far from what I want to do.

Every day, I\'m disrespected by cheeky students, and I can\'t expect much in terms of salary.

Yet, I became a teacher.

There was just one purpose.

To eliminate all hopes from Sae-chan\'s dream, her goal of graduating from Class A.

It makes sense, right?

That day, because of Sae-chan\'s worthless feelings of love, I couldn\'t graduate from Class A.

Otherwise, I wouldn\'t have become a teacher and could\'ve had a more glamorous life.

Yet, only Sae-chan gets to graduate her students from Class A?

And she feels satisfied with herself, settling her past?

I can\'t allow that.

I\'m still trapped by the past.

So as long as I can breathe, I absolutely wouldn\'t let her win.

(TL NOTE: Literally "So as long as I can see")

If my class loses in the year-end special exam...

If Sae-chan\'s class becomes Class A—

At worst, I would have to stop it by any means necessary.

I don\'t care if I\'m branded a failure as a teacher.

I\'m fine with being driven out of this profession.

Even if it means dragging others down, I absolutely have to stop it.

I swore that in my heart.

The end-of-year special exam for the second years is about to begin.

Depending on the outcome of this exam, the fate of my class, which has been pushed to the brink, would be decided.

For me and my students, an important battle that we absolutely can\'t lose is about to begin.

Chapter 1:

Unusual End-of-Year Special Exam

IT WAS THE second week of March, Thursday. Our second year of school life was finally reaching its climax.

This year, like last year or even more so, was filled with unforgettable days.

There might\'ve been many good and bad moments, but for those enrolled in this school, the answer would drastically change depending on whether they could successfully overcome the next challenge.

The end-of-year special exam was given a role that distinguished itself from the other special exams.

I want you to remember the special exam conducted during the first year.

A one-on-one class battle in selected subjects.

A seven-match contest, where each victory would steal 30 class points from the opponent.

In the end, it was a close match, but if we had won seven games in a row, we would\'ve gained 210 class points.

Moreover, the winning class received a reward of 100 class points.

In other words, there could\'ve been a maximum difference of 520 points between the winner and the loser.

That alone showed how significant the end-of-year special exam was.

"Good morning."

Chabashira-sensei appeared in the classroom with a calm demeanor. The morning greetings from the students were sparse. For the past few days, the students had been paying attention to what Chabashira-sensei was saying after her greetings.

Although it hadn\'t been anything important before, today, it seemed like the time had finally come.

"I will now announce the end-of-year special exam and its contents. But before that, I would like to share a little personal story."

Chabashira-sensei, our homeroom teacher, had told us numerous things about special exams.

However, this time, the introduction was clearly different.

"This is my eighth year as a teacher at the Advanced Nurturing High School. For six years, I had been in charge of two classes. But during those six years, I had never managed to move up from Class D. Looking back at my behavior when I first joined, it\'s not particularly surprising."

It was quite hard to imagine now, but at the time, Chabashira-sensei used to respond quite coldly.

For me, who knew a bit more about the circumstances than other students, it wasn\'t a story that required much thought.

"When I was in charge of the two classes, I had only one thought in mind—that I wouldn\'t get emotionally involved and would continue to observe from a fair and calm standpoint. I believed that maintaining a distance as a teacher, whether in good times or bad, was the right thing to do. Of course, this aligned with the school\'s educational philosophy, and it wasn\'t wrong. But now, I feel that this was also my way of escaping due to my immaturity as a teacher."

The students listened silently to Chabashira-sensei\'s words.

"Fairness is important. As a teacher, I must not intervene in class competition and skew the results. However, overlooking opportunities for students to grow is something that shouldn\'t be done as a homeroom teacher, as an adult, and as a working professional. I\'ve only recently come to realize this."

It was a statement of self-reflection.

"The ones who made me realize this were none other than the students of this class. You might\'ve heard about it when you first enrolled—that it was taken for granted that Class D would never rise and would just continue staying at the bottom. Rumors spread, and students assigned to Class D were increasingly ridiculed as \'defective goods.\'"

Chabashira-sensei paused for a moment before speaking again.

"However, no one calls you defective goods anymore. It\'s fair to say that this class has dispelled the negative images that had been built up over the years."

It was a compliment to the students.

Chabashira-sensei operated the tablet and turned on the monitor.

This displayed the rankings and situations of each class as of the first of March.

Class Points:

2nd Year Class A 1098 points

2nd Year Class B 983 points

2nd Year Class C 730 points

2nd Year Class D 654 points

To clarify, Class A was led by Sakayanagi, Class B by Horikita, Class C by Ryūen, and Class D by Ichinose.

Although class points would change significantly if a special exam were held, typically, in a month without any events, the number of class points would only decrease slightly.

Initially, points were often significantly reduced due to tardiness, absences, and unknown negative evaluations, but such changes were no longer expected.

Looking at the class point rankings anew, it was clear to see just how much this class was improving.

It wasn\'t just the students who felt this way.

"We have 983 class points. No matter how many times I look at it, it\'s an unbelievable number of points. It\'s hard to believe this is the same class that lost all its class points just one month after enrollment."

Chabashira-sensei also looked at the rankings with admiration and a hint of hesitation, reflecting a bit on the last two years.

"Above all, Class 2-B. Class B. No matter how many times I say it, there\'s a sense of incongruity that I can\'t completely shake off. But Class B isn\'t the goal. Depending on the results of this end-of-year special exam, this class could potentially become Class A."

At the moment, the lead held by Class A was about 100 points.

It was the path to Class A that Chabashira-sensei had dreamed of, or rather, hadn\'t even been allowed to dream of.

It was now within reach.

"However, I don\'t want you to become complacent. Now that it\'s within reach, you mustn\'t relax but continue to strive towards your goal. This is a request from an incompetent teacher."

Chabashira-sensei bowed to the students once.

Then, she slowly raised her face and took a deep breath before opening her eyes wide.

"I will now explain the overview of the end-of-year special exam."

With these words from our teacher, the students were surely prepared.

No one panicked, and they took her words head-on.

As the teacher operated the tablet, the details of the special exam appeared on the monitor.

[Overview of End-of-Year Special Exam]

Exam Venue: Special Building

Competing Classes:

2nd Year Class A vs. 2nd Year Class C

2nd Year Class B vs. 2nd Year Class D

Arrangements:

Each class must select three representatives by the deadline: vanguard, middle guard, and general.

(At least one representative from each gender is required)

It\'s possible to designate any number of substitutes in the case of absences on the day of the exam.

The school will randomly select representatives if there are less than three representatives on the day of the exam, including substitutes.

Exam Rules

Representative Overview:

Each class\'s representatives (vanguard → middle guard → general) will compete in a knockout format.

The vanguard will be given 5 lives, the middle guard 7 lives, and the general 10 lives.

The class whose general lost all their lives first will be defeated.

The matches will be one-on-one within the set rules.

There will be no draws; the exam will be extended as necessary until a conclusion is reached.

Only the classes that would be facing off (which we already knew in advance), the points under "preparations," and the unusually simple rules were shown on the monitor.

At this stage, the specific content of the matches remained completely unknown.

"We will need to make some arrangements before your end-of-year special exam. You should be able to understand this by looking at it, but I will explain it verbally just in case. After this explanation, you will need to discuss with your classmates and decide on the three representatives. These are very important roles in determining the outcome of the special exam, so discuss it thoroughly and make decisions you won\'t regret."

The defeat of the three representatives would spell the class\'s defeat. The importance of this was clear regardless of the exam content.

It seemed that anyone could be chosen, but we had to keep in mind the restriction on gender, so a team couldn\'t consist of three boys or three girls.

A substitute would be arranged just in case the representative was absent.

There would be no harm in nominating multiple candidates just in case.

"While selecting someone, you would also decide which of the battle positions they take—vanguard, middle guard, or general. The representatives\' battle will be in a knockout format. Initially, the vanguards from each class would compete, and the winning vanguard would continue with their current lives against the opposing class\'s middle guard and general until they lost all their lives. In theory, if a vanguard could defeat all three opponents including the general, their class would win at that point. If you think the most capable student should be the vanguard, such a possibility might seem feasible... but I wouldn\'t recommend it."

Chabashira-sensei described an intriguing, yet realistically difficult scenario.

Since the general was given more lives, a total of ten, than the vanguard and middle guard, it was clear that it was overwhelmingly more advantageous to place capable students later.

The likelihood of benefiting from bringing leaders like Sakayanagi, Ryūen, or Ichinose as a surprise vanguard was low compared to the definite benefits it would bring if they weren\'t in the role.

Of course, if it were an \'exam advantageous for the vanguard,\' it would be different, but the current exam rules didn\'t suggest that, and Chabashira-sensei\'s attitude made it seem like that slim chance could be ignored.

"There isn\'t much time left to decide on the representatives. The deadline is this Sunday. If the deadline passes, the school will randomly select three students."

That was a typical rule.

Naturally, no class would surpass the time limit.

"Are you saying that the outcome of the special exam is decided by just these three representatives?"

It would make sense to think so after hearing the explanation so far.

Yōsuke was concerned about this and asked Chabashira-sensei.

"Indeed, that\'s how it might seem from the arrangements and exam rules. However, of course, a significant role is also given to students other than the three representatives. All remaining students, other than the representatives, must fulfill their assigned roles diligently."

"A significant role...?"

Chabashira-sensei operated the tablet and switched the monitor\'s display.

Exam Rules

Participant Overview:

Students other than the representatives will participate in the exam as participants.

If the number of attendees falls below 35 due to illness or other reasons, a penalty will occur.

※Penalty: 5 class points per person.

※Classes with more than 36 participants will receive 5 class points for each person beyond the 35.

"All students other than the representatives will participate in the special exam as participants. As mentioned, there is a penalty, but our class has 38 people. Subtracting the three representatives leaves 35. This means if even one person is absent for any reason, a penalty will be incurred. Conversely, classes with extra students can handle unforeseen circumstances and receive some benefits."

Horikita\'s class had 38 people, and Sakayanagi\'s class had a total of 37, so there were no extra participants.

Ryūen and Ichinose\'s classes had 40 people, so they would gain an extra 10 points.

While it wasn\'t a significant amount of class points, it was still better to have them than to receive nothing.

That was a welcoming element regardless of the outcome.

It was impossible to complain about this point as being unfair.

Ichinose\'s class had fought continuously for two years without anyone being expelled.

Even if you considered this their reward for that, it wasn\'t sufficient.

After Manabe was expelled, Ryūen\'s class had invested heavily to bring in Katsuragi. Their situation wasn\'t simply beneficial either.

However, not only the representatives but also the role of participants was becoming less clear.

Still, it seemed certain that the representatives\' tasks and participants\' tasks were different.

Just when it appeared more details would be displayed, the screen suddenly blacked out.

It seemed to be a technical issue or an operational error, but apparently, it wasn\'t.

"Now, this is all I can tell you guys."

"What do you mean? Honestly, I don\'t understand anything about the content of the special exam."

Horikita, who had been silent until now, responded to Chabashira-sensei\'s unusual statement.

"That\'s right. But as I\'ve just told you, I can\'t tell you anything beyond what I\'ve explained. It\'s not that I\'m being mean and hiding it; I myself haven\'t been told the details by the school. Those details will be revealed on the day of the special exam."

The class atmosphere changed drastically upon hearing this unexpected statement.

It was clearly abnormal that even the homeroom teacher hadn\'t been informed of the details.

This was an unprecedented announcement that we hadn\'t seen in the past two years.

"The first task assigned to you is to select three representatives. There are no merits to becoming a representative, but at the same time, there are no demerits. Simply put, taking on the role won\'t earn you a large amount of private points, nor will you risk expulsion even if you lose."

All that was certain was that this was an important position.

"I understand that you don\'t know the rules, Chabashira-sensei, but currently, we have no measure to decide on the representatives. What should we base our selection on?"

"I wish I could tell you, but unfortunately, I don\'t know anything about the rules either."

As she wasn\'t even informed of the criteria for selection, she showed a troubled expression.

"I can\'t say for certain, but considering that the special building is the exam venue and that we will compete regardless of gender, it seems unlikely that it will involve competing in physical abilities."

She mentioned only what could be predicted.

It seemed she couldn\'t guarantee it, but given the location and rules, that guess seemed likely.

Then, should we perhaps take the opposite route and choose students who are good at studying as representatives?

The answer was probably no.

If it were a competition solely based on academic ability, it would be unlikely to keep the information hidden.

We would compete, one-on-one, in something that is neither studying nor sports.

Then what could it possibly be?

"...A battle through conversation... Could that be a possibility?"

Horikita, who had stood up from her chair, muttered almost to herself.

"That\'s quite possible."

It couldn\'t be said for certain, but the possibility of it being a dialogue or something similar couldn\'t be denied. If smooth communication skills were necessary, students like Yōsuke or Kushida might be the prime candidates for selection.

Even if the exam content had nothing to do with dialogue, both of them, being highly versatile, seemed capable of adapting flexibly. In essence, it was a situation where they should choose students who could compete in any context.

"And as for the crucial reward, the winning class will earn 200 points. If they lose, they simply won\'t receive any reward. However, this result will also reflect the choices made in the unanimous special exam, so in your case, if you win, you will earn 250 class points."

The first thing that became clear was that there were no class points to lose if we lost.

Not having to worry about losing points was one relief, but the difference in points would still be significant.

Considering the very large reward, the damage to the losing side would be considerable. For Ichinose\'s class, who were already in a desperate situation, it would be quite ominous how much they could recover even if they won all the special exams held over the next year, as the gap in class points with the top would widen further.

"That\'s all for the explanation. Once the representatives are decided, please contact me."

With that, Chabashira-sensei concluded her talk.

End of trial. Go to discord.gg/royalmtls for updates on Year 2 Volume 12 release.

Full translation will begin on August 1

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