The gymnasium

Students and teachers alike gathered together.

Everyone lined up, watching the ceremony enthusiastically. Other related people
we hadn’t seen before, were also present.

This was the moment when the 3rd year students took a big step forward into a
new beginning.

Whether they were the ones moving onto higher education, the ones who were
going straight into work, or the ones who had stopped, failing to find their way in
the road of life, they were all about to stop being part of the category known as a
child, galloping towards society at full speed.

I was thinking.

What would my position be on that stage 2 years later?

What would I be thinking of then?

I wanted to believe that even after deciding the route in life we would take, we
would still be able to paint various scenarios in our hearts.

I wanted to believe that what we learnt in this school would be as crucial to

survival as food is.

“Next, I want to invite the students who, after three years of hard work, have
graduated in Class A up to the stage.”

The host said this through a microphone.

The already quiet gymnasium was cloaked in an even deeper silence.

“Class A’s representative——”

If the name that was called out here wasn’t Horikita Manabu or one of his
classmates…
It would mean that the results of the final special exam had changed the rankings
of the classes in the third year.

Many of the remaining students were waiting for this moment, paying close
attention to the words of the host.

Because as long as you were enrolled in this school, graduating from Class A was
the most important goal there was.

“Horikita Manabu, please come up to the stage.”

After that name was called out, Horikita would probably be relieved from the
bottom of her heart.

Although I don’t know how much pressure Nagumo exerted on him, the elder
Horikita still graduated from Class A without a hitch.

Impressively, he stepped up to the stage, casting his eyes on the students and the
staff.

“Greetings. On this beautiful, blossoming spring day, I welcome you to this

graduation ceremony.”

The elder Horikita’s speech had started.

He first showed gratitude towards the grand graduation ceremony itself.

Then he talked about what had happened three years ago when he had first
entered the school.

“I still clearly remember the first day I set foot into the campus of the Advanced
Nurturing High School. I felt that there was a different atmosphere compared to
normal schools. As I was shouldering the burden of the future, I vowed to make
these three years a meaningful one.”

I felt some sort of warmth from the assertive and composed nature of his speech.

The elder Horikita felt like a different person from the one who presented on the
same stage as the student council president a year ago.
I felt this change as the speech advanced.

It wasn’t just him. The students of this school had also grown significantly over
this time.

“Although this was a personal matter, I spoke to the 1st year students last year as
the student council representative.”

As if he were thinking the same thing as I was, the elder Horikita said this.

“Compared to what you were like last year, I can see how much you’ve grown with
just a glance.”

A year ago, the elder Horikita’s silence changed the attitude of us fickle first
years.

That was something many of the students hadn’t experienced before.

And now at this graduation ceremony, not one student was whispering.

The elder Horikita’s warm eyes looked upon us, as a student who was going to
graduate.

“At the same time, I hope that the students who will soon be the new 3rd years to
lead the new 2nd years, and on the basis of complying with school regulations,
fully exerting your strength.

After a few minutes, the speech slowly came to a close

“I wanted to assure you that the things I have learnt in this school will not only
play a role in my future live but also become my most valuable asset.”

Horikita’s brother once again stared at the students before him.

“The person who will stand up here and speak to you next year, and the year after
that, will be able to understand what I’m feeling.

The person who gave the valedictory.

In other words, the leader of the graduating Class A.

Nagumo, who just read out the farewell address, was the most probable candidate
for that.

The students in the first year were still engaged in chaotic warfare. Who would
come out on top? Horikita? Ichinose? Ryuuen? Sakayanagi?

Or would it be another person replacing one of the current leaders of the classes?

But then again, only ⅓ of our time at the school had passed.

The classes would change in the future as more students dropped out.

But even so, only the leader of the class who won the final battle would have the
right to stand up on that stage.

The elder Horikita slowly continued. “Thank you, all of you, for the past three
years.”

Soon, it came to an end.

After the speech to the students, he then turned towards the teachers and
addressed them, and then finally to the school itself.

After the grand speech, the graduation ceremony moved onto the next stage.