The classroom stayed quiet while Mr. Kuroda finished reviewing the last few papers.
Students pretended to focus on their desks, but most of them were secretly watching the teacher's reactions.
Strategic evaluations were different from normal tests. You couldn't just memorize information—you had to think faster than everyone else.
And that meant every student in the room wanted to know the same thing:
Who solved it best?
Kuroda placed the stack of papers on his desk.
Then he leaned back slightly.
"Most of you approached the problem in predictable ways," he said.
A few students straightened in their seats.
"More police funding. Transportation reform. Budget redistribution."
He tapped the desk lightly.
"Those solutions are reasonable."
A pause followed.
"But they also fail."
Several students frowned.
Kuroda walked slowly between the rows of desks.
"The scenario limited the budget intentionally. Increasing spending in one department would collapse another."
He stopped beside a student in the second row.
"Short-term thinking," he said calmly.
The student lowered his eyes.
Kuroda returned to the front of the classroom.
"However," he continued, "a few answers demonstrated interesting approaches."
Now the room was completely silent.
He tapped his tablet, and the board behind him lit up again.
Three student numbers appeared.
Rank 5 — Daichi Mori
Rank 3 — Emilia Vance
And finally—
Rank 8 — Izuya Shoda
Ophelia immediately turned around.
"Of course," she whispered.
Sakura smiled quietly but didn't say anything.
Kuroda tapped the screen again.
"Daichi and Emilia suggested balanced economic redistribution strategies," he explained.
"Effective, but slow."
Then he looked toward the window side of the room.
"Rank 8 provided a different approach."
The board changed again.
Three short sentences appeared.
The entire class leaned forward.
Redirect transportation funding to automated infrastructure maintenance.
Announce a public transparency system for crime statistics to redirect protest energy into citizen reporting.
Temporarily legalize controlled private security contracts to stabilize crime zones without increasing police budgets.
The classroom went silent.
Students stared at the screen.
It wasn't a normal answer.
It was… strange.
Ophelia squinted at the board.
"…Wait," she murmured.
Kuroda folded his arms.
"This solution does not directly fix the budget crisis," he said.
"It changes citizen behavior instead."
He pointed at the first line.
"Automated infrastructure reduces long-term repair costs."
Then the second.
"Transparency transforms protesters into informants."
Then the third.
"And private security fills the enforcement gap temporarily."
Kuroda looked back at the class.
"The city stabilizes without increasing government spending."
Students began whispering.
"That's actually…"
"…kind of clever."
"Wait, would that even work?"
Ophelia looked back at Izuya.
"You wrote that in twenty seconds?"
Izuya blinked.
"More like fifteen."
She stared at him.
"You're joking."
"No."
Sakura tilted her head slightly.
"You changed the behavior of the system instead of fixing the system."
Izuya nodded.
"That's easier."
Kuroda watched the exchange quietly.
Then he spoke again.
"However," he said, "Rank 8's solution also contains a flaw."
Students immediately focused again.
Izuya raised an eyebrow.
Kuroda pointed to the third sentence.
"Private security contracts create long-term corruption risks."
He looked directly at Izuya.
"Within two years, those companies would likely control parts of the city."
The room went quiet again.
Ophelia turned slowly toward Izuya.
"…Did you think about that?"
Izuya shrugged slightly.
"Yes."
Kuroda narrowed his eyes.
"Then why include it?"
Izuya answered without hesitation.
"Because the scenario only required stabilization for six months."
Several students blinked.
Kuroda stared at him for a few seconds.
Then he nodded once.
"Correct."
A few students laughed nervously.
Ophelia dropped her head onto the desk again.
"You're insane."
Izuya leaned back in his chair.
"Probably."
Kuroda turned off the screen.
"The purpose of this exercise," he said, "was not morality."
"It was strategy."
He picked up his tablet again.
"The advanced evaluation will take place tomorrow."
A ripple of tension passed through the class.
Advanced evaluations were where rankings really moved.
Kuroda looked around the room.
"Top ten students will report to the Strategy Hall at 9:00 a.m."
He paused.
"And this time," he added calmly, "Rank 1 will be present."
Students immediately began whispering again.
Arthur Beaumont rarely participated directly.
When he did, it usually meant something interesting was about to happen.
Ophelia turned back toward Izuya slowly.
"Well," she said.
"Looks like you're fighting the king tomorrow."
Izuya rested his head against the window.
Outside, clouds drifted slowly across the bright spring sky.
"Sounds tiring."
Sakura watched him quietly.
"You're not curious?"
"A little."
"About what?"
Izuya closed his eyes.
"Why Rank 1 suddenly cares about a small test."
Across the school grounds, inside the main academic building, Arthur Beaumont stood alone near a large window overlooking the courtyard.
In his hand was a tablet displaying the strategy answers submitted earlier.
One page remained open.
Three sentences.
Arthur read them again.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting," he murmured.
For the first time in a while…
something in this school felt unpredictable.