Chapter 2 : The Exchange Training Camp

IT WAS 9:30 ON a Thursday morning. A flock of buses were parked.

While faintly smelling the exhaust gas from the engine's idling, the students boarded with light steps.

For many second-year students, except those who went on expeditions for club activities and competitions, this was the third outing of the year following the deserted island exam and the school trip; a training camp for all years.

However, it was announced in advance that this year's mixed training camp was very different, and its nature had completely changed, even though it was included in the 'camps' category in terms of format.

Therefore, the term 'special exam' wasn't used.

Before the trip started, what was concerning was the number of buses prepared for the students.

Usually, it was one bus per class. In other words, if all three years participated, it would be 12 buses.

However, there were only nine buses gathered this time.

But the mystery was immediately solved by looking at the boarding students.

There was only one bus prepared for the third-year students.

Apparently, the number of students gathered was very small, only about 20.

I couldn't say for sure because I didn't see everyone's faces, but as far as I could see, it seemed that five students from each of the four classes, A to D, were called from the third-year.

When instructed to board the bus, there was no specific seating assignment, and we were told we could sit wherever we wanted.

Upon hearing this, Kei immediately clung to my arm.

"I'll sit with Kiyotaka."

Despite receiving some cold stares from some of the boys, I agreed and boarded the bus, taking a seat by the window on the right side, three rows from the back. Kei sat next to me.

"Wouldn't it have been better to stick with the girls?"

"I'll do that on the way back. It's fine to be together on the way there, right?"

We spent most of our private time together, but she still wanted to be together on the bus.

I didn't know what was different, but she seemed happier than usual.

Once everyone had boarded, and the other buses were ready, Chabashira-sensei boarded.

"This reminds me of last year's training camp. We had a lot of exchanges with each other at that time too."

"That's right."

A year had passed since then.

At that time, neither of us thought our relationship would deepen this much.

Not only Kei, but the relationships with the people around us had also changed significantly.

"Oh, that's right. I found out yesterday that my favorite movie's going to be screened soon. Let's go see it together when it starts."

Kei showed me an image that looked like a movie poster, her eyes narrowing in delight.

To Kei, it was just one of the casual conversations she naturally brought up.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

"When is the movie scheduled to be released?"

"Um, when was it? The last time I saw the trailer, it seemed like it was going to be released in the spring."

"I want to know the exact date."

"Huh? Is there something wrong? Let's see... Oh, it's listed here."

The homepage that Kei showed me stated that the movie would start screening on March 26.

Fortunately, it was before the start of the new school term, during spring break.

"I see. Let's go see it."

"Yay! It's super interesting. I think you'll enjoy it too," Kei said with a smile, but her smile froze as she looked at my face.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Kei, who answered and took her eyes off me, started to prepare for the movie by looking at a page that seemed to be a character relationship chart while humming a song.

After that, the students each enjoyed the outside scenery while chatting casually.

About 20 minutes after the bus left the city, Chabashira-sensei held a microphone and looked at the students throughout the bus.

"I think it's about time to explain the details of the training camp. As I mentioned briefly at school, it has been decided to hold a three-night, four-day experiential learning exchange meeting for all years."

Normally, this would be a tense moment, but there was no sign of tension among the students on the bus.

While listening to Chabashira-sensei's words, they were enjoying the outside scenery or resting their bodies, creating a different mood than usual.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not a special exam, but a simple exchange meeting.

"Let me remind you not to take the exchange meeting as a special exam. There will be no change in class points this time. Unless you engage in behavior that deviates from student life, there's probably no risk of expulsion. You can get private points for participating in some games, but it's more of a voluntary participation than a mandatory one."

It was only natural that Chabashira-sensei was explaining this to emphasize it.

The students had become more cautious in their long life at ANHS.

They had a habit of suspecting that there might've been something behind the exchange meeting.

That was why she was announcing that it wasn't a special exam, that class points wouldn't change, and that there were no penalties like expulsion waiting for them.

This was what gave the students peace of mind.

"It's unfortunate that Ichihashi had to stay home due to illness, but it was a blessing in disguise."[1]

[TL/N: Chabashira is thankful that it is only a small illness. This also allows for less students to work with which is the "blessing" she is referring to]

There was a surprising amount of students with poor health due to the prevalence of colds at this time of year.

"I think some of you may have already noticed, but even though it's for all years, this time, only five representatives from each class of the third-years are participating. This is taking into account various circumstances."

Chabashira-sensei briefly touched on it, but she didn't go into detail.

"Your main objective will be to interact with the first-year students, but it's not like you can get along with everyone just from our vague instructions. As soon as you arrive at the camp, all years will be divided into 20 groups. The 20 third-year students who will serve as representatives in each group have already finished organizing the members based on the full list of first and second-year students."

This meant that the groups were already decided, and we just weren't informed about which group we would be in.

"I will distribute the organization chart now, so remember which group you belong to. There may be some differences in the number of people and the gender ratio, but the balance of grades and classes has been adjusted as much as possible. The games will be conducted between groups to determine the winner."

Chabashira-sensei handed out printouts to the students sitting in front of her on both sides.

The students took the necessary printouts and passed them on to the students sitting behind them.

"This printout also includes some rewards you can get from the games and the conditions for obtaining them. You should read it carefully."

"It's not an exam, so I feel more comfortable, but I still want private points. The win rate seems to change a lot depending on whether you get into a good group or not, right?"

"Yeah."

It was natural to hope that you'd have as many excellent students in your group as possible.

Of course, it was unknown what skills would be required to determine the winner.

Hondō, who was sitting in front of us, stood up and handed us the remaining printouts. Kei took them and passed them further back.

"I hope I'm with you, Kiyotaka."

The printouts were clipped together in groups of five, with information about the group activities, rewards for the exchange meeting, and a list of students' names from the third page onwards.

I noticed that there was also a folded card in the size of a regular business card inserted.

Fortunately, the printouts were made just for us, so there were marks on the names of the students in this class. This made it easy to find my name.

The names of those who were absent were also listed. There were two second-year students, Ichihashi and Ichinose, but there were four first-year students, which seemed to be quite a lot. Among them was Ishigami's name.

It was probably a coincidence that they were in poor health. Because of that, I wouldn't get the opportunity to get involved with them.

"I'm in group seven with Tanaka-senpai. You're not there... but..."

Kei, who quickly found her name in the middle of the first page, looked disappointed but somewhat relieved. I wonder why.

"But what?"

"It seems that at the training camp, I'll be sharing a room with the girls in the same group, and there's someone I don't want to be with... I'm glad they aren't there," she said. At the beginning of the printout, it was written that in addition to the games, we would be living together in a room separated by gender. That must have been her reaction to noticing that.

She didn't specify who, but there was no doubt that she was referring to Ichinose.

In the last special exam, she was surprised to be consecutively nominated, even if it was part of their strategy.

"It's not that I hate Ichinose-san or anything, but, I don't know. I'm a little scared."

She muttered this and then glared at me.

"You're close with Ichinose-san, Kiyotaka. Sometimes, I have doubts about various things."

Kei whispered this to me in a voice that no one else could hear.

"So that's why you were feeling conflicted."

"There's a chance that you could end up with Ichinose, right?"

Surprisingly, Ichinose's presence seemed to have grown negatively in Kei's mind.

"I seem to be in group 20 with Kiryūin-senpai, at the end of the fifth page."

I quickly looked through the list of all 20 groups, and as Chabashira-sensei had previously announced, the gender ratio balance was as fair as possible, and the distribution of students by class was either a minimum of one or a maximum of three—basically, two each. It seemed to be as equal as possible.

However, I felt an eerie bias and inequality in some parts of each group.

Since the other students were still looking for their names, there were probably few who had noticed, but it was only a matter of time before questions would arise.

Kei, who hadn't noticed anything, was still looking at the list with a disappointed look on her face due to our separation.

I turned my attention back to the reward section at the top of the first page.

[Group Ranking Rewards]

● 1st place: 30,000 private points for each student

● 2nd place: 20,000 private points for each student

● 3rd place: 10,000 private points for each student

● 4th to 10th place: 5,000 private points for each student

● 11th to 15th place: 3,000 private points for each student

● 16th to 20th place: 1,000 private points for each student

*The private points obtained in this exchange meeting cannot be transferred

*Use is limited to shopping within Keyaki Mall

*To receive the reward, you must meet the conditions of the point card

Because this wasn't a special exam, we couldn't get as big of a reward. It also wasn't a system where only certain classes benefit.

Even for high school students, an extra 1000 or 2000 yen was not something we could ignore, so naturally, we would want to aim for the top. 

Although there were disadvantages such as the inability to transfer or the limited places where they could use it, it also meant that it was virtually impossible to use it strategically. The ability to use it freely without hesitation was an advantage. 

The students stared at the list for a while. 

"Um... Chabashira-sensei. May I ask a question?" 

Sonoda raised her hand after getting a rough idea of the groups. 

"You have something on your mind, don't you?" 

"Yes. If we're going to play games in separate groups, is this... fair? I mean, even if it's impossible to be perfectly fair, it seems a bit unbalanced... I feel that way about Nagumo-senpai's group, for example." 

"OAA standards of balance are not taken into account at all. It wouldn't be strange if there was a drastic bias." 

In response to the question, Chabashira-sensei gave a curt answer. 

"Wow, it's true. Isn't Nagumo-senpai's group quite dangerous?" 

While listening to the question and checking the list, Ike, who saw the group led by Nagumo, spoke. 

Nagumo was a well-known former student council president and a student who maintained all A's or above in the OAA. 

But what was astonishing was that the group had faces with outstanding ability. 

[First-year Students]

● Class A Takahashi Osamu, Toudou Rin, Amasawa Ichika 

● Class B Hagiwara Chihaya, Fukuchi Hinano 

● Class C Namekawa Azuki, Iguchi Yuri

● Class D Tatewaki Aoi, Osaki Noa 

[Second-year Students]

● Class A Sanada Kousei, Sawada Yasumi 

● Class B Horikita Suzune, Hirata Yosuke 

● Class C Kaneda Satoru, Katsuragi Kouhei 

● Class D Kanzaki Ryuji 

All of them were excellent in their studies, and they were either good at sports or able to follow instructions accurately. They didn't hesitate in selecting students who could bring the group together. 

If we talked about individual abilities, there were students with outstanding abilities such as Sakayanagi, Ryuuen, and Koenji, but it was unknown what kind of chemistry would occur when they were thrown in the mix together. 

Isn't this a well-rounded group formed to avoid that? 

After seeing this, many other groups would inevitably fade away. 

If you were in a group that had Sakayanagi or Ryuuen, students mentioned earlier as examples, they might be able to make a breakthrough and win against the strongest group, but for most other groups, defeat is inevitable. If there was a game that specialized only in academic ability, it would be almost impossible to win in terms of overall ability. 

"Some of you may think the group assignments are a bit unfair, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's only natural that excellent students are attracted to stable groups." 

Chabashira-sensei, holding a printout in one hand, answered with a stern look. 

Sonoda, who asked, shrank back at her expression. 

It was a reasonable argument that couldn't be refuted once said. 

Perhaps thinking that the warning had gone too far, the teacher softened her expression and showed a slight smile. 

"But just because they're excellent doesn't mean they'll always win. Especially in this case."

She told Sonoda that there was hope and continued her explanation. 

"This exchange meeting will be a round-robin game spanning three days. The groups will compete against each other, but it will be one group against another, and the order of the matches will not be disclosed. Also, the content of the games will be randomly selected from a list each time." 

Chabashira-sensei continued to verbally convey the detailed rules, but the rules of the exchange meeting can be summarized as follows.

[Exchange Meeting Experiential Learning Game Overview]

● Period: Conducted over three days 

● Day 1: 5 matches; Day 2: 7 matches; Day 3: 7 matches 

※30-minute interval between each game 

● Match method: Conducted as a round-robin match among all 20 groups. 

● The order of the matches is not disclosed. 

● Rules: For every game, each group selects five players from the third-year's group.

● Only first and second-year students can be selected as participants in the game. 

● The fundamental idea is one-on-one matches, with victory awarded to the first group achieving three wins.

● Games will continue for all five players even if defeat is assured. 

● Unlimited participation, with no restrictions on the number of times one can participate.

● Game content: The school will randomly choose from a predetermined list, with game details announced periodically.

● Victory conditions: Rewards are distributed based on the highest number of victories.

※ In the case of a tie for third place or above, additional games will be conducted.

As expected from something labeled as a game, the content seemed to be really light. It was clear at a glance from the list prepared by the school, with unique activities like 'flower pressing' and 'pottery wheel making,'[2]

which seemed unique to a training camp.

[TL/N: "Pottery wheel making" is the act of shaping pottery while it spins on a wheel]

There were also game-based activities like 'playing cards' and 'UNO,' as well as sports-based ones like 'table tennis.' Of course, there were also some that required a bit of brainpower and involved academic skills, but they didn't seem to be the main focus.

There were also activities like flower arrangement and bonsai, and looking at them, it was a truly interesting lineup.

And all these listed games seemed to be available for experience at any time, not just during the matches.

It also seemed possible that the same game could be selected two or three times.

With the detailed explanation, it became clear. For the three nights and four days, the idea was to interact with the kōhais, make things, play games, compete for rankings, and deepen friendships.

It might be boring for students who weren't interested, but I was honestly looking forward to being able to experience creating things.

"Attached to the printouts distributed on the bus is a point card. You can collect stamps when you participate in various experiential learning activities at the camp. Filling this out is a condition for receiving rewards, so be mindful."

The point card seemed to be a method to encourage voluntary participation in experiential learning.

There were a few rules, like a limit on the number of stamps you can collect in a day and not being able to receive multiple stamps for the same game, but it didn't seem to be something to worry about.

Anyway, I wanted to try various things that I couldn't usually do at school.

With the content understood, it seemed that even groups with low overall OAA abilities could see plenty of opportunities.

With these rules, it seemed safe to say that there was a chance of winning against any group.

"I hope it's clear that there's no need to be too concerned about winning or losing this time. Of course, it's fine to aim for first place and work together for the sake of rewards, but as you can see from the list of various games, the main focus is on the interactions using experiential learning. It's perfectly fine to actively interact with other groups and focus on deepening friendships."

So far, we'd been given various tasks and their rules from the school, much like special exams.

For the first time, they acknowledged that we didn't have to win, and losing was okay as well.

"This trip really feels relaxed. Even if we're in last place, we'll still get 1,000 yen."

For now, many students, starting with Kei, were relieved by the contents of the trip.

"That's right. The fact that there's nothing wrong with losing this time is a big deal."

The classmates who received the explanation began to loosen up and spent their time relaxed.

Some even started singing in high spirits.

"Don't forget to follow the school's schedule, even though you're free to a certain extent."

That was a bit of a downer.

Kei and I checked the schedule written on the printout.

Wake up     Lights out    Lunch break

7 a.m.         10 p.m.       1 p.m.~2 p.m.

Breakfast         Lunch                Dinner

8 a.m.~9 a.m.  12 p.m.~1 p.m.  7 p.m.~8 p.m.

Large bath

6 a.m.~8 a.m. & 8 p.m.~10 p.m.

Exchange meeting

Morning session 9 a.m.~12 p.m.  Afternoon session 2 p.m.~6 p.m.

Other than the time spent on the games, we were basically free the whole time.

In extreme cases, whether to take a nap without having lunch, or to immerse oneself in making things, was left to the individual's discretion.

If the group leader ordered participation in the game, that wouldn't be the case, but it seemed that there were no penalties for refusing.

On the first day, it was announced that we'd arrive around noon, and from there, we would gather by group, have lunch, and then only the afternoon exchange meeting was scheduled.

"I hope you'll behave in a way that is not embarrassing to a senpai at the training camp."

With that, the explanation seemed to be over, and Chabashira-sensei turned off the microphone and sat down.