Chapter 365 Hiyori's Sure-Win Method/Boxing List
On the other side, in the adjacent Command Tower booth, Ichinose Honami and Shiina Hiyori sat side-by-side in their command seats. Because Class B had mostly chosen projects centered on academic exams that tested learning ability—involving a large number of students—the school's grading process was relatively tedious, causing progress to be somewhat slow.
At this moment, they had just concluded the first four events.
The order was: Class B won the first-move draw (picking number 1), so their projects were held first.
Current Match Status
Wrestling Class D
Judo Class D
Modern Japanese Exam Class B
Mathematics Exam Class B
Current Score 2 : 2 (Tie)
It is worth mentioning that the seventh event for their group was a 2v2 Team Tennis match. Ichinose Honami still didn't quite understand why the school had selected tennis.
"It's actually quite simple, Ichinose-san," Shiina Hiyori whispered, as if seeing through her thoughts.
"Because between our two classes, one side focuses on direct physical confrontation, while the other emphasizes academic ability. To balance and comprehensively evaluate us, the school would naturally select one random item from common team sports like basketball, football, swimming, or tennis. It seems tennis was chosen this time."
"I see... Thank you, Hiyori," Ichinose revealed a smile.
As expected of Hiyori—quick-witted and analytical.
In that regard, she was quite similar to Honami's own boyfriend. However, considering the popularity of tennis in Japanese high school sports—thanks to the influence of works like The Prince of Tennis—Class B had no shortage of students skilled in the sport.
Honami wasn't too worried about the selection.
At the front of the room, Chabashira Sae announced coldly: "The fifth event is about to begin. The event is Class B's World History Exam. Both Command Towers may now begin selecting participants."
Since entering the booth, Chabashira-sensei had been exceptionally cold. Honami wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but particularly when looking at her, Chabashira's eyes held an indescribable indifference—as if Honami had stolen something precious from her.
'Is it because of Akira-kun? But even if we are dating, it shouldn't affect the competition between classes.'
Honami couldn't figure it out, but focusing on the exam was the priority. She took a soft breath and focused on the screen.
Project: World History Exam Participants Required: 8 people Rules: Standard written test. Total score of the 8 students determines the winner. Command Tower Privilege: May answer any one question on behalf of the students (submitted via device).
The rules were almost identical to the previous academic events—Class B's specialty.
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In the Class B classroom, the substitute teacher cleared their throat.
"According to the Command Tower's instructions, the following eight students please follow me to the World History Exam: Ishimaru Yuriko, Daiki Fusa, Yamagata Hina..."
The eight named students rose and left.
"Wait, these people... they don't seem to be the top students in our class, right?"
"It can't be helped. The first two academic exams already exhausted several top performers. Shiranami Chihiro, Hamaguchi Tetsuya, Amikura Mako, and Kobashi Minori have already played. These eight are still within the top 20% of the class."
"Besides, the opponent is just Class D! This isn't their strong suit. And their Command Tower isn't that Ryuen guy!"
Even if the students couldn't go to the multimedia room, the school wouldn't voluntarily announce the identity of the Command Towers.
However, Class B had clever students; some had used "bathroom breaks" to peek into the Class D classroom several times. Ryuen Kakeru was sitting right in his seat. Therefore, it was certain the Class D Command Tower was not him. As long as it wasn't Ryuen, everything seemed much easier.
Ten minutes later, the screen at the front of the classroom lit up, showing the exam room. The Class D lineup was revealed: Kaneda Satoru, Manabe Shiho, Yabu Nanami, Morofuji Rika, and four others.
"Kaneda is actually there! That guy is great at studying."
"But they have Manabe and those girls. It looks like we've got this World History win in the bag."
"Yeah! We definitely won't lose."
In the back row, Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki exchanged a look. A week ago, they had privately approached Class D's Shiho Manabe. For the price of 500,000 Private Points, they had secured her cooperation to sabotage Class D at a critical moment.
Now was the time for that pawn to move.
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The sixteen students from both classes sat in isolated seats and began answering. In the Class B room, everyone stared breathlessly at the screen. Ishimaru Yuriko was answering seriously; Daiki Fusa seemed composed. On the Class D side, Kaneda was writing furiously, while Manabe kept her head down, her expression unreadable.
Time ticked by. Inside the booth, Ichinose sat with her hands clasped on her knees, watching the monitors intently. Hiyori sat beside her, equally calm.
"Last five minutes," the proctor's voice came over the intercom.
Just then, on the monitor, Manabe Shiho's movements changed slightly. She hesitated, then picked up an eraser and began scrubbing out an answer on her paper. She erased forcefully, then rewrote something new.
"It's started..." Kanzaki Ryuji smiled in the Class B room, and Himeno Yuki nodded slightly. This had to be Manabe fulfilling the agreement—deliberately changing a correct answer to lower Class D's average.
"Time is up! Everyone stop writing and submit your papers!"
A long wait followed. The teachers gathered in the next room to grade and verify scores. The atmosphere in Class B shifted from confident to anxious. From the close-up shots during collection, Class D's papers didn't look as bad as they had imagined. Kaneda and several others seemed to have filled out every question.
"It's fine. Manabe definitely did her part," someone whispered.
Kanzaki and Himeno, though outwardly calm, felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread. Manabe's final action of "modifying" her answer felt different from the "deliberate mistake" they had expected.
Finally, the screen lit up. The proctor appeared with the final score sheet.
"Now announcing the results of the World History Exam."
Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats.
Class D Total Score: 660 points Class B Total Score: 648 points Result: Class D Wins.
"What?!"
"Impossible!!"
The Class B classroom exploded.
"How can we be down by 12 points?!"
"What was Manabe doing?!"
"Wasn't she supposed to be a traitor?"
Kanzaki's expression soured, and Himeno's eyes widened.
Inside the booth, Ichinose's face went pale. They lost? In a strength-based project, by a margin of 12 points?
She turned to look at Shiina Hiyori.
Hiyori gave a soft sigh and said to Ichinose, "We turned your own plan against you. Manabe Shiho never intended to truly betray Class D from the start.
This is the first reason for your failure: trusting loyalty that can be bought with points.
Second, Class B exhausted too many elite students in the first two academic exams. This forced you to field a 'middle-to-upper' lineup in this crucial duel. Our strength rose while yours fell.
Third, World History is the subject that relies most on pure memorization and least on complex logic or improvisation. Thus, Class D could close the gap through short-term intensive cramming.
Fourth, I completely gave up on the first two academic projects, reserving all our best students to bet on this World History exam. That is the fundamental reason Class D could win in what appeared to be a Class B advantage."
Ichinose pursed her lips.
'She prepared that much?!'
No wonder Akira Shimizu told her to be careful of Hiyori. She had walked right into the trap. But fortunately, she was no longer the girl who would be broken by a single defeat.
The match wasn't over.
There were two events left.
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"Next is the sixth event: Riddle Quiz. Both Command Towers, please prepare to select your personnel," Chabashira said.
Ichinose quickly looked at the rules:
Project: Riddle Quiz Participants: 1 person Time Limit: 30 minutes Rules: Tests mental flexibility, association, and breadth of knowledge. Command Tower Privilege: May change up to five of the final answers.
This was a test of wit and perspective.
Ichinose thought for a moment and sent out Kanzaki Ryuji , who had strong overall capabilities.
Class D's choice was surprising: they sent Mio Ibuki.
Ichinose had been in the same group as Ibuki during the forest survival test; she knew Ibuki's strengths were physical stamina and combat.
Why would someone so action-oriented be assigned to a riddle quiz requiring divergent thinking?
'Does Hiyori have another motive?'
The proctor announced: "Total of ten questions, increasing in difficulty and value. In the event of a tie, extra rounds will be held."
The first few questions appeared:
"What action do you usually take when every morning starts?" (30s) o Ichinose realized the answer immediately: Open your eyes.
"In a race, if you pass the person in second place, what position are you in?" (30s) o Answer: Second.
"A green house is on the left of the road, a red house is on the right. Where is the White House?" (45s) o Answer: Washington.
Kanzaki looked relieved; Ibuki didn't seem to struggle much either. However, from the fourth question, the style changed abruptly.
"I have cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; rivers, but no water. What am I?" (60s) "Forward, I cannot move; backward, I cannot move; left or right, the same. But I can take you around the world. What am I?" (75s) o Answers: A map and a stamp.
Difficulty spiked. The questions became weirder, involving wordplay, puns, and logic traps.
Question 6: "What is something the maker doesn't use, the buyer doesn't use, and the user cannot see or feel?" (90s) (Answer: A coffin) Question 8: "I can be broken, yet never touched; I can be told, yet never lied; I can be filled, but not with hands. What am I?" (120s) (Answer: A promise) Question 10: "0, 1, 8, 11, 69, 88, 96, ?" (150s)
Ichinose's mind stalled. On the screen, Kanzaki's brow was furrowed.
He excelled at logic and calculation, but faced with these "leap of faith" associations, he couldn't find a breakthrough.
Conversely, Ibuki Mio acted differently. After looking at the questions for a few seconds, she pushed her paper and pen aside, leaned back, and simply closed her eyes to rest. This stark contrast made Ichinose's heart sink.
After 30 minutes, the proctor called for the Command Towers to use their privilege.
Ichinose saw Kanzaki's paper: the first six were correct, the last four were blank. She filled in two based on her intuition and left the others.
Hiyori, however, filled in the last five high-difficulty answers without a moment's hesitation.
Winner: Class D (Ibuki Mio, 9 correct answers). Current Score: Class D 4 : 2 Class B.
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"Boxing Group Match, best of three," Sensei announced.
"Each class sends three participants for one-on-one matches. The Command Tower has a privilege to personally enter the ring, but this must be decided before the final list is submitted. The order is Match 1 → 2 → 3."
The pressure focused on these final three selections.
Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane.
Class A had limited fighters, but luckily, they had preserved physical types like Kito Hayato. However, Shimizu Akira would definitely fight personally to guarantee at least one win.
The core strategy shouldn't be to beat him, but to avoid him.
Sakayanagi chuckled, "The rules for this boxing match seem a bit disadvantageous for us. Shimizu-kun, why don't you do me a favor and tell me your order? It would save me the trouble of guessing."
"Oh?" Akira laughed.
"What, it's okay when you have a Chess advantage, but it's 'disadvantageous' when it's my turn? You want intel from me?"
Sakayanagi didn't back down; she threw out a chip: "If you tell me the names and the order, I will pay you 3 million Private Points. With that information, Class A might still have a chance."
"3 million? Again?"
Akira looked at the proctor, Hoshinomiya Chie. "Is this allowed?"
"Of course," Hoshinomiya smiled. "It's part of your strategic game."
Akira looked back at Sakayanagi.
"5 million points. I'll tell you the list and the order. But I'm warning you: even if you know, you won't win. This is just giving me free money."
"Deal," Sakayanagi said instantly.
Akira didn't hesitate: "First match: Myself. Second match: Sudo Ken. Third match: Hirata Yosuke. Arrange yours as you wish."
Sakayanagi fell into thought. If she let Kito "eat" Sudo and won one other match, they could win 2:1 overall. But she paused when she heard the third name.
Hirata Yosuke? That gentle, smiling mediator?
...Can he even fight?