'Someone who isn’t Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandchild, huh...'

Ichika-chan was turning her thoughts over, trying to figure out which option was correct for the bonus question.

The fact that they didn’t include someone obvious like Tokugawa Iemitsu among the options just shows that whoever made this question isn’t very kind~

I did have opportunities to study Japanese history in the White Room, so I have some knowledge...

'For now... ① isn’t it...'

First of all, right? I’m pretty sure ① Hoshina Masayuki is indeed Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandchild. If I remember correctly... he was a half-brother of Tokugawa Iemitsu, right?

Then, when I glanced around at the other representative respondents... the other three were still hesitating, with no sign of having reached the correct answer...

Meanwhile, among the other respondents... it seems there are a few history enthusiasts, and those people looked like they knew the answer.

'If... those people had been chosen as the representative respondents, that might’ve been bad...'

The fact that Tsubasa-chan and Tsubaki-chan stepped forward as representatives in response to me volunteering could actually be considered a stroke of luck~

"Now then... we will determine the order in which the options are selected. Each representative, draw a lot."

And so... after we drew lots...

① → Class C

② → Class A

③ → Class D

④ → Class B

That’s the order it turned out to be.

"Then... I’ll go first..."

Tsubaki-chan, who obtained the first selection right, carefully tried to come up with her answer.

From Ichika-chan’s perspective, I want her to choose ①, which I already know is incorrect.

"Hey! Tsubaki! The answer is—"

Oh my?

It seems someone in Class C knew the answer... and almost blurted it out to Tsubaki-chan~

"No! Don’t say it! Did you forget the penalties for this exam?"

"Tch... sorry!"

'Ahh... it would’ve been better if you hadn’t stopped them~...'

This time, Tsubaki-chan quickly stopped it, so nothing happened, but... if someone other than the representative respondent tells the answer, it’s not just a prohibited action... it counts as a penalty violation.

And what happens if you commit a penalty violation? Well, you’re immediately expelled on the spot... a truly brutal rule.

There are several other penalty violations too, and one of them was committed by Hatano-kun after being set up by Takuya, which got him expelled...

Well... this time, since Takuya’s actions are different from the original world... there’s still a chance he might avoid expulsion...

"I will... choose ①, Hoshina Masayuki..."

'Yes! That’s it! So lucky!'

With this, Class C is guaranteed to gain no additional points.

That’s why... I absolutely have to get this right!

'Matsudaira was Tokugawa Ieyasu’s original surname... so maybe I can eliminate ②... and Okudaira is also a family Tokugawa Ieyasu married his daughter into... so maybe eliminate ③ too?'

If that’s the case, then naturally the only option left for me is ④...

"Alright! I’ll choose ④, Kyōgoku Tadataka!"

Half of it is just a guess... but all I can do is pray...

"Then, I will choose ③, Okudaira Iemasa."

"Ah... yes, I choose ②, Matsudaira Tadanaga..."

Following me... Tsubasa-chan and the girl from Class B also finished their selections, and all classes had now chosen.

Finally, the teacher announced the correct answer...

"The correct answer is..."

'God... God... please! Let the goddess of victory smile upon me!'

For Ichika-chan, who until now only cared about Kiyotaka-senpai, relying on God this much is probably a first…

* * *

Two hours later...

"Ichika-chan! Good work!"

"Ichika-chan, great job!"

"Seriously... this special exam was exhausting..."

This special exam among the first-years, called the Four-Choice Mismatch Exam...

For us, Class A...

"Once again, congratulations on first place!"

"““““Cheers!””””"

We successfully took first place.

Right now, all of us in the class are holding a celebratory party at a certain high-end restaurant.

"The way everything turned into a huge comeback after Ichika-chan got the correct answer... no one could’ve predicted that outcome~!"

"Ahaha... it was just luck..."

That’s right... as if the gods smiled upon me, the correct answer was ④, Kyōgoku Tadataka.

Then, we designated Class D as the bonus target and gained 60 points, which pushed Class A straight into first place~!

And then... the next question also turned out to be another bonus question, and the contents were...

① For this question only... regardless of which option is chosen, all classes gain 50 points.

② For this question only... task points for the [Choice Acquisition] group apply to both first and second place.

③ The class that selects the correct answer may designate a class and eliminate 15 members each from that class’s [Answering Questions] group and [Choice Acquisition] group.

Yeah... no matter which class was targeted, it would’ve put them on the brink, so I was seriously panicking~!

"Ishigami-kun and Takahashi-kun were amazing too! In that situation, getting first in the task and choosing the correct answer... such great teamwork!"

"No... it wasn’t really coordinated..."

In that decisive question... Takahashi-kun finally stepped up as a challenger and narrowly beat Takuya to take first place in the task~

Then... Ishigami-kun, who also stepped up as the representative respondent, chose the correct answer! And just like that, he designated Class C as the bonus target and ended the exam~

If we were greedy... there was also the option of targeting Class D or Class B and prolonging the exam to gain more points, but...

From Ishigami-kun’s perspective, if it turned into a long battle, Class B—with most of its [Choice Acquisition] group members’ stamina preserved except for Takuya—and Class D, which was close in points, might’ve made a comeback... so he wanted to avoid that.

And so... here are the final results!

1st Place: Class A — 140pt

2nd Place: Class D — 110pt

3rd Place: Class B — 100pt

4th Place: Class C — 0pt

Just like in the original world... it ended up being an extremely close match among all classes except Class C~

And as for the all-important Class Points?

Class A: 986cp

Class B: 726cp

Class C: 505cp

Class D: 253cp

After this special exam...

Class A: 1126cp'+140'

Class B: 826cp'+100'

Class C: 505cp'+0'

Class D: 363cp'+110'

That’s how it turned out.

By the way... if Takuya had set up Hatano-kun like in the original world... Hatano-kun would’ve been expelled, resulting in −100cp, and there was even a possibility of dropping to Class D...

"Ah! Ichika-chan! Want another serving~?"

"Yeah! I’m starving from the exhaustion of the special exam~!"

Well... for now, instead of thinking about difficult things, I’ll just enjoy this celebration!