As Uesugi Gen observed Chabashira Sae, the D-Css homeroom teacher was also silently assessing him.

  Uesugi Gen—Vice President of the Student Council, the biggest winner of the uninhabited isnd exam, and the primary reason for D-Css’s current miserable standing.

  After learning that Hoshinomiya Chie’s css had a student who not only entered the Student Council but became Vice President, Chabashira had conducted a thorough investigation on him.

  Her conclusion?

  This student possessed a level of talent unmatched by anyone else in Advanced Nurturing High School.

  That realization filled her with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

  She had once believed that this year’s D-Css had several exceptional students, giving them hope of reaching A-Css.

  Yet, against all odds, the grand prize had been snatched away by her longtime rival.

  Chabashira let out a quiet sigh.

  Regardless of her personal frustrations, she still had a duty to fulfill—the announcement of the special exam rules.

  Composing herself, she began in a calm, indifferent tone.

  "Before we proceed, I need to confirm your identities. You are Ichinose Honami, Uesugi Gen, and Tsube Hitomi from B-Css, correct?"

  "Yes, that’s right."

  After receiving their confirmation, Chabashira nodded and continued.

  "Once I start expining the exam rules, I will not be accepting any questions. You are to remain silent and listen until I finish the expnation. If you have any doubts, hold your questions until the end. I will answer them at my discretion."

  Uesugi’s brows furrowed slightly at that statement.

  No questions allowed?

  That was not how Advanced Nurturing High School usually operated.

  During the uninhabited isnd exam, even when D-Css asked some ridiculously dumb questions, the teachers still did their best to crify the rules, ensuring every student understood the exam properly.

  But now?

  The rules would only be stated once, and understanding them was entirely up to the students.

  The school was deliberately keeping them in the dark.

  Uesugi rubbed his chin.

  So that means… The key to this special exam lies in fully understanding the rules?

  If I can figure them out completely, clearing the exam should be simple…

  Beside him, Ichinose had also noticed the oddity in the instructions and instinctively opened her mouth to ask a question.

  Before she could speak, Uesugi gently grabbed her hand, signaling her to stay silent.

  Ichinose blinked in surprise but obeyed his silent command.

  Chabashira, confirming that the three students remained seated and quiet, proceeded with the announcement.

  "This special exam divides all first-year students into twelve groups, corresponding to the zodiac signs.

  The exam will be conducted within these groups.

  Its purpose is to assess your thinking ability."

  Thinking ability?

  So, analytical and situational assessment skills?

  This aligned with part of Uesugi’s earlier hypothesis, fitting with the school’s continuous emphasis on strategy-based exams.

  If there were twelve groups, and considering the number of students in this room alone…

  Does that mean each css is divided into twelve groups, and then all four csses are merged together?

  "The essential skills required in society can generally be categorized into three types…"

  Bh, bh, bh.

  Uesugi mentally filtered out the useless fluff.

  Skipping past the excessive expnations, he focused on the crucial points.

  "Thus, this exam will be conducted in twelve groups."

  Bingo.

  That confirmed it.

  But if that were the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to expin the rules to all group members at once?

  There was no reason to separate the expnations unless…

  Unless they were trying to hide something.

  After an extended lecture, Chabashira finally paused.

  She picked up a gss of water, took a sip, and let out a small breath.

  Uesugi and the others remained seated, watching her intently.

  Not bad…

  Chabashira mentally noted.

  No wonder they’re B-Css—no, A-Css now.

  Even in this situation, they calmly absorbed every detail of the rules without panic.

  Her students, on the other hand…

  Just thinking about them gave her a headache.

  "You have been assigned to the Dragon Group."

  "This is the list of group members."

  "While the school does not permit students to take the list with them, considering the notorious habits of your css, I assume you’ll find a way around that rule anyway."

  Her voice carried a trace of resignation—a clear sign that B-Css’s past antics had left an impression on her.

  Then, she took out a postcard-sized sheet of paper, pcing it on the table for them to see.

  It dispyed the group name and the names of its members.

  Dragon Group

  A-Css: Katsuragi Kōhei, Nishikawa Ryōko, Baba Shinji, Yano Koharu.B-Css: Ichinose Honami, Uesugi Gen, Tsube Hitomi.C-Css: Oda Takumi, Suzuki Hidetoshi, Sonoda Masashi, Ryūen Kakeru.D-Css: Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yōsuke, Horikita Suzune.

  This…

  This is the key to solving the puzzle.

  Uesugi’s gaze honed in on the card.

  The more something is restricted, the more important it is.

  There had to be more to this list than just the student names.

  After all, group members would eventually learn each other’s identities anyway.

  So why limit their access to this list?

  There had to be something else hidden within it.

  Besides the names, what other information could be extracted?

  …Was it the order?

  "Honami, Honami! Take a picture, take a picture!"

  Tsube Hitomi tugged at Ichinose’s sleeve, whispering urgently.

  Unfortunately, Ichinose wasn’t paying attention.

  She simply rested her chin on her palm, smiling softly as she watched Uesugi lost in thought.

  "...Welp. She’s done for."

  Tsube Hitomi sighed, facepalming.

  Giving up on Ichinose, she grabbed the camera herself and snapped a photo of the paper.

  Chabashira, already used to this kind of thing, didn’t bother stopping her.

  She simply crossed her arms and watched in silence.

  After Tsube finished taking the picture, Chabashira spoke in an offhanded tone.

  "One st thing."

  "For this exam, it would be best if you forgot about your css divisions.

  Doing so may help you achieve better results."

  Uesugi almost burst out ughing.

  The forced way she said it—it was clear that the school had required her to give this hint.

  But deep down, she probably didn’t want to.

  Too bad for you, Chabashira-sensei.

  No matter how unwilling you are, this hint was practically a direct solution to the exam.

  Forget about css divisions…

  Meaning, if they removed the css bels from the list…

  And rearranged the names based on some other rule…

  That’s it.

  Uesugi rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowing.

  He was one step away from solving the puzzle.