Magician of Cote

Vol-1 Ch-16 The Prestige

But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".

- The Prestige

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"There are no absences today. It appears everyone is present."Chabashira-sensei strode through the classroom with a bold smile on her face.

"That's the first hurdle for you leftovers. Are there any questions?"

"We've studied diligently these past few weeks. I don't think that anyone will fail."

"Oh my. You sound quite confident, Hirata."

Everyone wore a confident look. The teacher promptly took up the test papers and passed them out. Our first period test was for social studies. Out of everything we'd studied, it was probably the easiest subject.

"If anyone stumbles here, the other tests will be an uphill battle, quite frankly. You'll take this midterm and the final exam in July. If no one fails either test, you'll be rewarded with a vacation during your summer break."

"A vacation?"

"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliantblue sea."

"Of course, the beach in summer meant we'd be able to see the girls intheir swimsuits..." Ike was daydreaming.

"Wh-what is this strange pressure..." Yamauchi muttered.

They still haven't understood that whatever the school does, it looks good on the surface but there is always a hidden trap. Maybe it will be one of our tests or even the first special test.

Chabashira-sensei stepped back from the obvious tension the students exuded... mostly the boys.

"Everyone. Let's do our best!"

"Yeah!" Ike howled along with our classmates.

Before long, everyone had their test papers. On the teacher's signal, everyone began. I held off on starting for a moment and looked around at the others. With everything they'd learned, could the Idiot company avoid failing?

First off, how many of this test's questions were the same as the ones from the old exam? I needed to check that first.

All right.I discreetly clenched my fist in triumph. The questions here were the same as the old ones. I hadn't looked them over in any detail, but I saw no great difference. If they have memorized what was on the old test, it was clear that they could get a near-perfect score. Glancing around the classroom for assurance, I didn't notice any students looking flustered or confused. I assumed that many of them had engaged in some last-minute studying. Slowly, I went through and answered all of the problems.

The second and third period exams were for Japanese and chemistry, respectively. Then came fourth period. Mathematics. All of the abnormally difficult questions that had been featured on the mock test also appeared here, but the content was the same as the old exams. Even if Sudou and the other guys couldn't understand the problems, they could still apply the answers if they'd memorized them.

Then came the break. The whole class gathered at the front.

"It's an easy victory. We've got this."

"I feel like I might get 120 points."

"Yeah, thank you so much Ayanokouji-kun. The questions were the same as the paper you gave us. Your prediction was totally correct."

"Yeah, I feel like we have a cheat code for victory. With Ayanokouji-kun leading us we will never lose."