The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. The incident caused by Junko Enoshima that spread despair across the world.
This event greatly changed the face of the world.
The once blue sky was now red like blood, and the prosperous buildings had collapsed. Hellfire spread from various locations, and human corpses were scattered everywhere.
In the end, bizarre individuals wearing plush bear heads divided black and white along the midline roamed freely in this broken world.
Among them were those who formed groups wearing suits.
I was observing such a boring world.
"Everyone, let's spread despair."
Naturally, the group had a leader at the top.
The leader of the suited oddities was a woman with porcelain-like pure white skin, jewel-like red eyes, and strikingly vibrant blonde hair.
Her graceful appearance possessed a "charisma" that made one want to kneel before her involuntarily, much like a genuine princess.
She issued instructions like a speech from a high vantage point to the suited weirdos, then separated from the group along with a red-haired woman with short hair carrying a camera.
The two made their way to the top floor of a building that hadn't fully collapsed yet, where I was located, and viewed the ruined world.
"What a beautiful view. The sky is red, smoke is rising. It's truly a scene of despair."
With an eerie smile, the red-haired woman snapped the camera shutter.
Satisfied, she reviewed the photos and indulged in self-praise like a delirious murmur.
That "overconfidence" stemmed from her talent, so it wasn't mere vanity. Even so, an abnormal desire peeked through, but that was what it meant to be an Ultimate Despair.
"By the way, Koizumi-san, how are the Future Foundation's movements progressing?"
The blonde woman asked the red-haired woman, Mahiru Koizumi.
She, the Ultimate Photographer, was also carrying out her duties as a remnant of despair.
"Everyone was shocked that Junko Enoshima had died. At this rate, aren't they going all out to recover the Ultimate Hope?"
"I see. Then it seems they'll have their hands full with that. Moreover, with her death, the momentum of despair appears to be diminishing. Ah, how truly despairing."
A few days ago, Junko Enoshima had been defeated by the Ultimate Hope.
As soon as that fact spread, the world began to stir with activity.
If things continued this way, the despair spread across the world might end up infecting hope.
That was why the masterminds known as the remnants of despair were frantically trying to spread even greater despair.
And the blonde girl was one of those masterminds, just like Koizumi.
Sonia Nevermind, a talented woman born to stand above others with the talent of the Ultimate Princess.
Using her own "charisma," she drove people to despair as if recruiting "believers."
There was no "promise" or "trust" involved; she scattered despair without any gain.
"Ah, I need to make them despair even more."
"Yeah. …Hey, look at this. These are portraits I took the other day. Don't they turn out pretty nice?"
Mahiru Koizumi pulled out several photos from her bag.
The photos had a narrative quality, capturing how a single young woman was pinned down by a group of women before transforming into a gruesome corpse.
"My, how wonderful. I just want to stomp and crush these eyeballs."
The two of them chatted with smiles on their faces as if enjoying a girls' get-together.
They spoke gleefully over the human corpses after torture.
"How boring."
While the two were laughing and talking, I unintentionally let out a complaint.
This daily life where even despair had become boring.
Ah, how boring.
"My my, who might you be?"
"Whoever is fine."
"…You're not one of my 'believers.' And that elegant suit. Could you perhaps be someone from the Future Foundation? If so, you absolutely must experience despair!"
I ignored Sonia Nevermind's words filled with doubt.
It was all irrelevant.
In any case, in a few days, I would erase my own memories.
Memories wouldn't remain. The obvious subsequent developments were also meaningless.
Ah, how boring.
…
The sleeping consciousness awakened.
The harmonious yet noisy voices of my classmates reached my ears.
Upon checking my surroundings, the sight of each person freely chatting, using their phones, playing games, and so on came into view.
(…What a horrible awakening. My head hurts. It feels like the despair disease virus is lurking inside.)
The current location was inside a bus.
We had gathered in the morning at the start of the third semester and were moving in accordance with the school's instructions.
With one bus per class per grade forming a convoy of 12 buses traveling on the highway, the large-scale relocation of all grades was quite an elaborate affair.
Amidst that, since the morning assembly had been early, I had taken a nap inside the bus.
"Good morning, Kamukura-shi."
Kaneda-kun, who was reading a book in the adjacent seat, gave me a bow.
After returning the greeting, I stretched my stiff body to loosen it up.
The horrible sensation hadn't fully recovered yet, but it was only a few more minutes of endurance. My hyper-analysis indicated that the body could operate without issues.
"…Has it been about two hours since I fell asleep?"
"Yes, around that much."
Kaneda-kun checked his watch and informed me.
The bus trip was said to take three hours in advance, so I had used two of them for napping.
However, I had received almost no other explanations from the school side.
The only explanation received before boarding the bus was to wear jerseys and prepare multiple spare jerseys along with change of underwear.
As always, it was the school's typical response to have us figure out everything else ourselves.
And the students weren't idiots.
Most students had realized that this large-scale movement wasn't merely a trip, but the preliminary stage of a special exam.
"It looked like you were having a nightmare. Are you alright?"
"No problem. My physical senses have returned."
It seemed I had been having a nightmare.
It was a terrible joke that I, who could control my dreams if I wanted, would suffer from nightmares.
Since starting to live in this world, my mind has definitely deteriorated.
"…'And Then There Were None,' huh?"
To change the subject, I looked at the book Kaneda-kun was holding and guessed the title.
By the way, the reason he was sitting next to me was because the seating order was decided in gojūon order.
"Yes. Shiina-san recommended it to me. It's really interesting."
Kaneda-kun explained with a smile, but he was probably reading it because he had received a salesman's pitch-like enthusiastic recommendation from Shiina-san.
And it turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.
"Sorry to interrupt while you're all excited, but please quiet down."
After passing through the tunnel and the outside scenery brightening up, Sakagami-sensei, holding a microphone, addressed the classmates.
"I will now begin the explanation of the 'Special Exam.' First, we will distribute the materials.
These materials will be collected upon disembarking, so please make sure to fully grasp the rules."
Once Sakagami-sensei announced that, the voices of the previously noisy students fell completely silent, with not even a whisper to be heard.
As the distributed materials were quickly passed around, they listened attentively to Sakagami-sensei's talk while looking at them.
Kaneda-kun, in particular, took out a notebook and began noting down what was needed for the exam.
"In about one hour from now, you will all be guided to a forest lodge camp deep in the mountains.
I'll mention in advance that the shorter the time spent on the explanation, the larger the 'grace period' will be."
In short, there was one hour remaining until the start of the special exam.
And that one hour was divided into "explanation" and "preparation," with the preparation time referred to as the grace period.
"The name of the exam is the 'Mixed Camp.' Please understand this special exam as a 7 nights 8 days forest school involving all school years."
Flipping through the roughly 20-page material, it included detailed information such as photos of the camp site, the rooms for lodging, the large public bath, the cafeteria, and so on.
Looking at just this gave the sensation of reading a travel brochure, but with explanations of the special exam noted in key places, it didn't put me in a completely cheerful mood.
The previous Paper Shuffle had been explained orally, but this time materials were being provided.
One could infer that this special exam was quite complex.
"This special exam is a camp with the main objective of mental growth. Therefore, it will verify whether you can build smooth relationships even with people you don't normally interact with, starting from the basics of living in society, and each of you will learn from that."
A camp involving all school years, huh.
Interactions with upperclassmen are practically nonexistent for students not involved in club activities.
From the school's perspective, it would be ideal for students to proactively engage with their seniors, but for the majority, without specific opportunities for contact, it doesn't go that smoothly.
That's precisely why they've set up a venue for interaction in the form of a special exam.
The crucial part is exactly how the rules are laid out.
No matter how much emphasis is placed on interaction, since it's labeled a special exam, something has to be compared.
For high school students, a one-year difference creates a significant gap in both physical and mental growth, making equal competition difficult.
Therefore, rules need to be skillfully created so that interaction is possible while major disparities in the special exam are eliminated.
"First, once you arrive at the destination, you will be divided by gender.
Then the entire grade will hold discussions and form six groups.
I'll explain the group details, so please look at page 5."
The explanation was paced slowly to match everyone, so I had already finished reading all the materials beforehand.
To double-check, I flipped back to the section Sakagami-sensei was talking about while listening.
At the same time, I organized the rules of this special exam in my head.
(1) Groups have upper and lower limits based on total numbers, calculated from the total number of people after separation by gender.
・60 or more people: 8–13 people.
・70 or more people: 9–14 people.
・80 or more people: 10–15 people.
(2) Each group must contain students from at least two different classes.
(3) The larger the total number of people in the group and the more classes it consists of, the greater the impact on the 'reward'.
That was the content of page 5.
Each class has 40 students with a 1:1 gender ratio, so the first-year's four classes mean 80 boys and 80 girls respectively.
In other words, the applicable rule is to form six groups of 10 to 15 people each.
The reason the rules specify the number of people in such detail is probably to account for expulsions.
"You've probably already understood, but these groups will be formed by mixing students from other classes.
Throughout the forest school, you will overcome the special exam as these groups."
Dissatisfied voices arose from the students who had likely finished reading the materials.
This was somewhat unavoidable.
In previous exams there had been temporary cooperation, but now they suddenly needed cooperation that tore down class barriers.
And at the level of communal living, no less.
The materials stated that they would share daily life activities such as cooking, laundry, bathing, and sleeping together.
If it were with classes that had been allies until now, it might be one thing, but they would have to join hands even with classes that had been enemies.
Since they were human, everyone has their likes and dislikes, so it couldn't be helped.
"We'll move on to page 7. The exam contents are 'Morality,' 'Mental Training,' 'Discipline,' and 'Initiative.'
On the final day of the forest school, a comprehensive test will be conducted based on these categories. This comprehensive test is what will affect the 'results,' so please read through the materials carefully."
The materials described these four items abstractly.
Since there were no clear answers, it would be difficult to prepare countermeasures right now.
The schedule was written roughly as well, but it seemed the details would be announced once they arrived at the forest school.
"After the first-years finish forming their six groups, you will merge with the second-years and third-years who have formed their groups in the same way, creating six even larger groups."
To put it simply, there would be "small groups" formed within the same year, followed by "large groups" after merging with the second and third years.
In other words, the exam would ultimately be taken in six "large groups" combining students from the first to third years.
"Please turn to the next page. This page contains the crucial 'results' and 'rewards.'"
The next page had the core information of this exam spread across a two-page spread.
Evaluation will be based on the 'average score' calculated from the exam results of all members in each of the six large groups.
(1) All students in the large groups ranked 1st to 3rd in average score will receive Private Points (hereafter pp) and Class Points (hereafter cp).
1st: 10,000 pp, 3 cp
2nd: 5,000 pp, 1 cp
3rd: 3,000 pp
(2) All students in the large groups ranked 4th to 6th in average score will have pp and cp deducted.
4th: 5,000 pp deduction
5th: 10,000 pp, 3 cp deduction
6th: 20,000 pp, 5 cp deduction
(3) The reward multiplier changes depending on the number of classes within the small group. (This does not apply to 4th to 6th place.)
For a group composed of 2 classes: 1x multiplier for both points
For a group composed of 3 classes: 2x multiplier
For a group composed of 4 classes: 3x multiplier
(4) The reward multiplier changes depending on the total number of people in the small group. (This does not apply to 4th to 6th place.)
10 people: 1.0x for both points
11 people: 1.1x
12 people: 1.2x
13 people: 1.3x
14 people: 1.4x
15 people: 1.5x
(5) Within each small group, a 'leader' must be chosen.
・Students from the same class as the 'leader' will have their rewards doubled.
・If the small group's average score falls below the borderline average score prepared by the school, the 'leader' will be expelled.
・If the 'leader' is expelled, one person in the group can be designated for expulsion as joint responsibility. (However, only students recognized by the school as having contributed to the cause of falling below the borderline can be targeted.)
(6) For each expelled student, the class they belong to must pay −100 cp. (If cp reaches 0, it will remain as debt.)
Summarizing alongside Sakagami-sensei's explanation, it looked something like this.
There were various points that caught my attention, but first I focused on the maximum reward.
If the group consisted of 12 students from Class C with one student each from other classes for a total of 15, the reward multiplier would be 1.5x × 3x = 4.5x.
Additionally, if a student from Class C became the leader, the multiplier would become 4.5x × 2x = 9x.
And if this group took 1st place, they would obtain 10,000 pp × 9 × 12 (number of people) = 1,080,000 pp and 3 cp × 9 × 12 = 336 cp.
"…Kamukura-shi, about this exam's rewards…"
Kaneda-kun asked me as if seeking confirmation, so I told him my current calculation results.
His eyes widened greatly.
It was only natural for him to react that way—this reward was extraordinary.
While there was risk involved, if they obtained the highest reward, Class C had a very high chance of rising to Class B.
Of course, it would also depend on the number of students in 4th to 6th place.
"This exam has me quite concerned about the existence of the 'leader.'"
Kaneda-kun said while looking at his notebook.
A good observation. He possesses the necessary qualities for a staff officer.
I also had some doubts about that point, so I would need to confirm it later.
"That concludes the explanation. Are there any questions?"
Shiina-san immediately raised her hand.
"If an expulsion ends up happening, is there any means of salvation?"
"There is. The cancellation of expulsion… in other words, 'salvation' is uniform across all school years as a general rule.
For each person, you must pay 20 million pp, and for this exam only, 300 cp. Since this is a salvation measure, please note that the penalties received at the time of expulsion will not disappear."
How one feels about valuing a human life at 20 million points varies from person to person.
However, it truly befits a class treated as part of society.
It doesn't seem like half-hearted resolve would be enough to achieve salvation.
"Sensei, I have a question as well."
When I raised my hand, Sakagami-sensei and my classmates suddenly showed tense expressions.
Sakagami-sensei even began to show a smile as if saying he would answer any question.
I didn't intend to ask anything major, so I thought his enthusiasm was wasted.
"You mentioned separation by gender, but does that mean there will be no opportunities for boys and girls to meet during this one week?"
"There will be opportunities. The forest school has two buildings; the main building will be used by the boys, and the annex by the girls.
The two buildings are next to each other, but basically you will spend the week separately. You are not allowed to go outside during breaks or after school without permission.
However, once a day for one hour in the main building's cafeteria, boys and girls will take their meals at the same time. That is the only time you can meet."
"Is that the same for Sunday as well?"
This was something written in the schedule section of the materials.
This forest school was 7 nights and 8 days. The special exam would start today, Thursday, and continue through Friday and Saturday, but the fourth day, Sunday, was designated as a holiday.
I asked this question because I was curious whether contact would still be impossible even during that period.
"Yes, you are not allowed to go outside even on the holiday."
In other words, during this exam, boys and girls would have no opportunities to make contact except during dinner time.
On top of that, since phones would be confiscated for this exam, it was clear that once separated by gender, giving instructions would
become difficult.
It seemed the only way to manage that was limited to one hour per day during dinner time.
"Any other questions?"
"…One more thing. Regarding the rule that if the 'leader' is 'expelled,' they can order one person in the group to be 'expelled' as joint responsibility."
"Who adopted this rule?"
"…Who adopted it? I cannot answer that. After all, that information is subject to confidentiality obligations. If I answered now, you would learn who created the special exam, and you might make some kind of contact with them in the future. That would not be fair."
"Well, I suppose that's true."
I had asked on a long shot, but as expected, I couldn't draw out any information.
This way of handling the 'leader' really had some worrying aspects.
Something had been bothering me, so I sent an email to the former student council president, Horikita Manabu.
Since there was also class strategy to consider, I judged that a reply wouldn't come right away and darkened my phone screen.
"Any more questions? …Lastly, phones will be collected when you disembark the bus, so they will be prohibited for one week. Bringing daily necessities and entertainment items is permitted, but food products and the like cannot be brought into this special exam, so please dispose of them later."
Clear groans could be heard at the confiscation of phones.
With the exam period being one week and no phone use allowed during that time, it would be painful for young people.
"That is all. Use the remaining time as you wish."
When Sakagami-sensei said that, the students fell completely silent.
Having heard the full picture of the exam, they would use the remaining 'grace period' to formulate strategies.
That was the shared understanding.
And who would be the one to compile those plans?
The students of Class C already knew the answer from experience.
However, that person wasn't giving instructions like usual.
Ryuuen Kakeru, the king of Class C, remained completely still.
Even as everyone kept glancing at him, he showed no sign of moving.
He simply continued staring at the materials.
"…Kamukura-shi, I'll take command here."
In the tense atmosphere inside the bus, Kaneda-kun spoke in a small voice.
That was the statement I wanted to hear.
With Ryuuen-kun absent now, who could serve as the strategist?
Kaneda-kun had that self-awareness.
Shiina-san might be capable of commanding as well.
But she disliked conflict and lacked the experience to lead a group.
That's why I wanted to see his current understanding of the situation—that he was the only one—and the initiative that followed from it.
If he was self-aware, then all that remained was to spur his growth.
I placed my left hand on Kaneda-kun's shoulder as he attempted to stand and kept him seated.
Then...
"...Pay attention, everyone."
I stood up and spoke so my voice would reach the entire bus.
Once all eyes gathered on me, I borrowed the microphone from Sakagami-sensei and began speaking.
"I will be taking command for this special exam. Any objections?"
While intentionally creating a sense of intimidation, I checked the face of each classmate one by one.
The emotion they displayed was confusion, a simple question showing on their faces as to why I, rather than Ryuuen, was taking command.
"…Wait."
The one who raised his voice was Tokito-kun.
The leading student opposing Ryuuen stood up and called for a halt.
"I have no objection to you taking command. But what about Ryuuen? In a situation like this, he's the one who always wants to step up and take charge first, right?"
Tokito-kun fearlessly stated what everyone wanted to know.
At least his courage deserved recognition.
"I temporarily removed him from the leader position. He still lacks quite a few qualities to be a proper leader. For now, I'm acting as proxy and taking over leadership so he can learn various things."
Tokito-kun frowned for a moment before immediately replying.
"Proxy? So you still think Ryuuen is suitable as this class's leader?"
"Yes. Rather, who else would be suitable?"
"…You. If it's you, I could accept it."
Tokito-kun said with clear frustration.
Since he hated Ryuuen-kun, this choice was inevitable, but it seemed he could bend his pride.
"However, I have no intention of being the leader. Please don't force it on me."
When I said I had no motivation, he—who was inferior in ability and unable to persuade me—could only fall silent.
Time was limited, so I couldn't afford to deal with him any longer.
"What you should remember for now is that I hold the highest position in this special exam."
"And... if you follow me, I will not abandon you."
Little by little, positive emotions began to form inside the bus.
They knew my talent.
Their memories affirmed how I had guided them during the sports festival and the Paper Shuffle.
"First, regarding the policy for this exam. Since we are separated by gender, we will each appoint our own leaders. I will lead the boys, but for the girls, I will make the appointment myself."
There was only one choice.
Excluding Ryuuen-kun and myself, the only humans in this class capable of commanding were Kaneda-kun and her.
"Shiina-san, you will serve as the girls' leader."
She wasn't reading a book as usual, unconcerned with the group's actions.
She had placed her closed book on her lap and had been watching me even before our eyes met.
It seemed she was self-aware as well.
"If you don't like it, you may refuse."
"No, since you've specially nominated me, I'll take it as an expectation and fulfill this major role."
As mentioned earlier, due to her personality issues and lack of experience, she fell short compared to Kaneda-kun.
That's precisely why I wanted her to gain experience here.
"Shiina-san, you may do things freely."
"It's fine to gather high-ability members to go after points, to divide members fairly so everyone gets a chance to earn pp, or to go for a guaranteed win with the minimum number of people. You can consult or decide unilaterally."
"However, act with confidence. Put in your full effort so that you have no regrets in your choices."
To gain experience and grow, she herself needed to think.
That's why I was entrusting this to her this time.
In this exam, as long as she didn't become the leader and simply carried out her own duties, the possibility of expulsion was almost zero.
If so, there was no better opportunity for growth than this one.
"Understood. There will surely be many shortcomings, but I will perform my duties to the best of my ability."
I could feel a dignified atmosphere.
Her motivation was more than sufficient. To make sure she didn't spin her wheels, I made eye contact with Ibuki-san.
"You watch over her. Even if this kind of thing isn't your forte."
"…Got it."
She affirmed while scratching her head.
Next, I called for Yajima-san.
"Yajima-san, I appoint you as vice-leader. The current Shiina-san lacks the power to fully unite the group. Please support her in the areas she falls short."
With the cooperation of Yajima-san, who stood high in the class caste, group activities would proceed much more smoothly.
She showed a confident expression and smiled.
"Got it! I'll give it my all too!"
Her voice was full of energy and spirit. No problem there.
Finally, I gave instructions to the other girls.
"Just because your name wasn't called doesn't mean the other female students can slack off, alright? While supporting those two, give everything you have in what you can do. If I were to give advice, move with the intention of helping students from other classes. That will be the shortcut to escaping expulsion. Also, there is no need to fear ending up in 4th to 6th place and losing points. I will cover all the deducted points myself."
Their expressions changed to brighter ones.
Their only concern was the points that would be lost if they ended up in 4th to 6th place.
However, Class C had accumulated a large amount of pp through monthly collections.
Those points originally belonged to them. Since we had promised to use them during special exams, they were valid in this case as well.
Because Sakagami-sensei was present, I couldn't express it directly, but by saying it this way, there was nothing for them to fear, and they could face the special exam with full effort.
"And naturally, we're also going after cp."
I looked at the boys' side and declared.
"I will now announce the boys' policy. The boys will form one 15-person group consisting of 12 from Class C and recruiting one member each from other classes. The remaining 8 people can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't harm Class C, except for becoming the 'leader.' Naturally, even if these 8 produce negative results, I will cover the points. And most importantly, we're taking it. ... 1,080,000 pp and 336 cp."
Cheers slowly began to rise.
This was a sight impossible in previous Class C. Because no matter how much Ryuuen-kun had grown, he had ultimately bound them with chains of fear.
That was why the group had no choice but to go all out.
But now, I had broken those chains.
Fear wasn't necessarily needed to make them go all out. I stimulated their motivation and prepared them to be sent forth in a fully motivated state.
The ability required for a commander standing at the front line. The talent to rule people and rule organizations—the talent of a king, not an Ultimate Princess.
When I directed my gaze at Ryuuen-kun, he showed me a smile.
Even after having the difference in ability shown to this extent, he didn't fall into despair.
Rather, climbing up from here was the true worth of Ryuuen Kakeru.
"I will choose the 12 members myself. Let me say this in advance: don't be shocked just because you weren't selected. The selection criteria are those who have shown high comprehensive growth after receiving my guidance over these past few months. Human growth speed varies greatly from person to person, so if you weren't selected this time, don't let it discourage you—keep working hard. I will not overlook that effort."
Since I am the Ultimate Scout with hyper-analysis, my eyes will not miss either effort or talent.
Because I can do all of this, I am the Ultimate Hope.
That's why the result of this special exam was already visible.
How boring. It would all end exactly as I intended.
However, if promoting the growth of Class C's students here created even the slightest possibility of the unknown appearing.
Even if it was an extremely tiny possibility like a grain of sand, since I had more than enough time to waste, I could at least test it.
Therefore, I would not hold back.
"Shiina-san, and... Manabe-san. There's something more I need to tell you, so come over here."
"M-Me?"
Manabe-san reacted with a start, her body jolting.
Her reaction like a borrowed cat was still as boring as ever.
"I have something I want you to do. Can I count on you?"
"Y-Yes! Of course I'll do it! I-I'll do my best!"
She answered in a trembling voice. There were various problems with her attitude, but this was a test run—an investment toward an unpredictable future.
I gave instructions to the two I called over, attaching advice and messages.
***
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