Volume 11, The Sixth Question

Volume 11, The Sixth Question

Please answer the following question.

The picture below shows a slope, and a round cylinder, I, of mass m, radius r, in stationary position, moves from position O to A after n number of rounds. Please calculate the value of the potential energy E that the object I has. Also, take the standard gravity acceleration as g, circumference ratio as π.

Himeji Mizuki’s answer:

Difference in height between OA=n *2 π r*sin 30

As kinetic energy E is equivalent to the lost energy from O to A

E= m * g * (Difference in height between OA)

Thus,

E = π nmgr

Teacher’s Comment:

Correct. This is a question on conservation of energy.

Yoshii Akihisa’s Answer:

ｏ-ｎＥ-ｇａ-ｉ

m(_ _)m

Please don’t send me for remedials.

Teacher’s Comment:

No way.

Thanks to that weird upperclassman, I’m unable to finish my lunch probably. Shouko and I head over to the strategy meeting room, F class on the 3rd level of the old building.

“…Yuuji.”

“Hm? What’s with you, Shouko?”

“…Do you like me…Yuuji?”

“Wha…!? I say, what’s with you since just now?”

“”…Because I’ve been talking about ‘this and that’ with Yuuko just now.”

“Doesn’t that mean you can talk about that when no one’s around!?”

“…Yuuji, do you…hate me?”

What’s this girl saying!?

Just when I’m about to turn to Shouko and retort,

“…”

Upon seeing that serious expression on her face, I couldn’t help but swallow my words.

“…Well…let’s not talk about anything weird and focus on dealing with the summoning war.”

I don’t dare to look right at that face, and look in front as I said.

Shouko however ignores my response as she continues,

“…Why are you concerned about the summoning war, Yuuji?”

“What? Why’re you asking this now?”

“…Answer me.”

After that weird question, I again affirm the answer in my heart.

Right now, the reason why I’m concerned with the summoning war is—

“To beat your A class.”

I want to beat A class where Shouko is, not A class with anyone else, not D classroom where Shouko and the rest awaited. What I want to win is the A class led by Shouko, the second year valedictorian. After that…in that case, everything will be over.

Upon hearing my answer, Shouko asks with a soft voice.

“…Because if I win, you can disengage that promise we made?”

That promise definitely refers to the one we made during our first summong war.

“…Well, that’s one of the reasons.”

Or rather, that’s the biggest reason, rather than being one reason alone.

“…Yuuji, you’re now my lover.”

“UWAH!?”

Shouko’s sudden words cause me to bite my tongue in shock.

“Lo-lovers? I say.”

There has been a lot of ways she described this, but this is the first time I hear her call me lover. This unfamiliar term makes me a little fearful.

“…During our first summoning war, you promised to go out with me.”

“We-well, yeah, probably.”

“…That’s why, you mustn’t cheat me…you have to like me.”

“No, well.”

“…I know that you want to beat me in the summoning war and nullify that agreement, Yuuji.”

“…”

At this moment, I don’t know how to answer.

“…But now, you haven’t beaten me yet, Yuuji, and I haven’t beaten you. I’m still your love, Yuuji…!”

Shouko presses her face towards me as I’m at a loss of words, nagging away unlike her usual self. Oi, oi oi, what’s going on here?

“Wait, Shouko, calm down. Aren’t you mistaken about something?”

“—That’s why you mustn’t go out with anyone else…! Even if it’s a little, give me a little time—”

“Oi, what are you doing, Sakamoto?”

Nemoto appears just when I’m trying to calm down the distraught Shouko. Damn. I wanted to hear what she was thinking; this bastard appeared at the worst timing possible.

“Are you still thinking about other things during this decisive moment?”

“Impossible. And speaking of which, let alone me, how can this person here have the time to do so when she’s handling the scores and giving commands herself?”

It’s not a lie. Our conversation here does involve the summoning war somewhat.

“Hm. Since Kirishima-san doesn’t have time to waste, you should at least relent and don’t waste her time, Sakamoto.”

“What’re you trying to get at?”

“I’m trying to tell you not to brainwash Kirishima-san with some weird things.”

I wanted to send those words right back at him, but it’s not a good idea to quarrel before the meeting. Shouko barely managed to unite us all, and I don’t want this to collapse because of such a trivial thing.

“…It’s alright, he didn’t say anything.”

Shouko too realized this and declared that nothing happened. Since he’s being this leery about me being with Shouko, this will cause the situation to worsen. This guy seems to be looking for a chance to belittle me all this while.

“Kirishima-san. If he has anything to say, let’s talk it out with everyone. Sakamoto can’t be trusted. In the case, this guy—”

“…We won’t have time if we don’t hurry.”

Shouko cuts off Nemoto, who intends to blabber about how unreliable I am to fine details, and prompts us to move forward.

“Yeah. Alright, let’s go, Nemoto.”

“…Humph.”

Shouko, Nemoto and I never said another word while we’re on the way to the classroom.

☆

“…How is it?”

The first line from Shouko at the start of the meeting had neither subject nor objective.

“Kirishima-san, what do you mean by that?”

Of course, Koyama asks Shouko while not knowing what the latter’s asking. Goodness, if we’re not having a meeting with people we’re familiar with, we have to explain things clearly.

“She’s talking about the strength of the 3rd years, I guess. What ranks they were in during the morning battle, how strong they are, she wants to hear information about this.”

There’s no choice; I could only add on.

Us second years evened out our forces, and we can determine how strong the opponent is depending on which sides are stronger and which sides are weaker. This is the use of averaging out, besides not showing our weaknesses.

“I have it easy here. The attack strength’s not too strong, and with me leading, we sent the opponents to the brink of defeat.”

Nemoto emphasized on the ‘I’ and kept glancing at Koyama; I guess he’s trying his best to use this battle to change his view.

“…And the rank?”

Shouko asks Nemoto.

“Rank? We’re teams 1 and 2.”

“That’s not what she meant, Nemoto. She’s asking what’s the opposing main force comprised of?”

“…E class.”

“Oh. Then it’s to be expected of you to be winning, right, Nemoto-kun?”

Upon hearing that it’s E class, Koyama says to Nemoto in a mocking manner, and the latter glares at me vengefully. Good grief, it’s not like I did anything wrong here.

“…Then, teams 3 and 4?”

“I’m basically even here—I want to say this, but we’re only weakened slightly. I think the opponent’s mostly C class.”

Koyama, who has been leading teams 3 and 4, answers. Since the opposing C class is only weakened slightly, I suppose that’s good commanding skill.

“As expected of Yuu—Koyama-san. It’s amazing that you can match C class blow for blow.”

“I’m just following the instructions.”

Koyama merely turns Nemoto’s flattering to deaf ears.

But Koyama’s very reliable for being able to give instructions word for word completely, just like the battle before. She does give a little arrogant vibe, but this is surprising.

“Hm? What is it, Sakamoto-kun? You want to praise me?”

“Well, I admit I may have to change my view about you.”

“Thank you. I’m happy that you recognized me for my contribution here, Sakamoto-kun.”

But this doesn’t mean I’ll have feelings to you just like that.

“Our 5, 6 teams took B class, though to be honest, we were in quite the pinch.”

“Our 7, 8 teams drew even with the opponent, though they’re D class.”

Hiiraga and Nakabayashi then follow up with their reports.

Right, then, it’s time for me to report my side.

“Us 9 and 10 have enough fighting strength, but we can’t proceed smoothly even though we’re dealing with F class.”

Considering the scores on both sides, this can only be called a tough battle.

“Humph. You’re being arrogant after a few wins, but when everyone’s on an even playing field, is that all you have?”

At that moment, I had an impulse to really punch Nemoto.

And also, I don’t have any authority to give commands at all; on top of that, someone’s keeping an eye on me, and my movements are restricted. How can I get any results beyond score expectations if I can’t move freely?

“…”

I swallow this counterargument in and show no emotion.

We can’t waste time because of unnecessary discussion, and we can’t do anything that’ll divide us here. Nemoto may be satisfied and follow the plan thoroughly if I let him say a few words, so I better let him loose for now. Right now, the most important thing is to continue with the meeting.

“…The afternoon battles will continue in classes.”

After our reports, we begin talking about the strategy for the afternoon. If we’re moving by classes, it won’t be easy to have divisions amongst our teams like this morning, and the enemy won’t be able to use the same method again.

“Haa…so we’re finally breaking free from that volatile situation.”

Nakabayashi said in relief. It seems her side had the same situation as I did.

“Kirishima-san, if we’re sorting by class, that means we’ll attack based on the original strategy?”

“…Right.”

“By class…is that so…no, I’m not unhappy about this…”

Hiiraga shows a look of pity on his face, and looks like a salaryman who doesn’t want to remain home because of an abusive wife.

“Then, as for where we’re attacking—”

“Ah, before that, there’s something I want to say.”

I raise my hand to interrupt Nakabayashi’s explanation.

“What is it, Sakamoto? We don’t have time to hear your nonsense.”

And this alone causes Nemoto to glare at me with hatred.

“I have a proposal. It won’t take long.”

“A proposal now, you say? I refuse. Didn’t we already decide on what we have to do?”

It’s already like this when I’m trying to talk about here. This bastard Nemoto, I’m not going to fight with you just because of this.

“You’re being annoying trying to follow up on every single sentence, Nemoto-kun. Shouldn’t you hear what he wants to say?”

“…Tch…If Yuu—Koyama-san says so, I’ll hear you out for now, Sakamoto.”

After being told off by Koyama, Nemoto unwillingly lets me continue. Now I can say what I wanted to tell them,

“It’s about Shouko bearing all the burden.”

“Kirishima-san bearing all the burden?”

“Looking at the situation this morning, the burden’s too great for one person to manage the scores, gather information and give instructions. There’ll be great changes in the war later, so at least someone can help—”

“Hah! Rejected!”

Nemoto immediately rejected my proposal before I can get to the end.

“And the reason?”

“This is something everyone discussed through. There’s no reason for things to change just because of a word you said.”

“That’s because we never experienced it for real. The situation’s different now.”

“Humph. Kirishima-san won’t give up just because of that, right? Do you need help?”

Nemoto directs the question to Shouko,

And Shouko answers,

“…No need. I’ll handle everything.”

She said as she shook her head slightly.

“See? She says so herself. Your proposal’s rejected.”

Nemoto said with a smug expression.

The others don’t look like they’ll agree with my proposal. I guess it’s something they’ll feel repulsed since it was something they decided on, and something that has been successful up till now.

“…Is that so? Sorry for wasting everyone’s time.”

My proposal never passed through. This is to be expected however, so I’ll fall back for now.

“Then, back on point. It seems the current situation is that the 3rd years have high ranked classes on both sides.

“Ahh. That’s how it is, Yuu—Koyama-san.”

Nemoto agrees with Koyama in a sleazy manner.

If the wings are strong, they can surround us if the middle’s broken through. This is a formation set up based on the situation.

“…Then, it’s decided. B class in the middle, C, D, E classes on the left, and F class on the right.”

Us second years plan is that first, we’ll check the enemy’s fighting rank, confirm the situation, and look for weaknesses. If the wings are weak, we’ll break through and surround them. If the middle’s weak, we’ll cut them off, and destroy the weaker part—that’s all.

The current situation is that we’ll break off the enemy and focus the attack on the weaker side. Our F class is in charge of holding off the separated 3-B class, and our allies will attack through to the remaining classes.

“Sakamoto, can you really use F class’ fighting strength to hold off 3-B?”

Hiiraga asked in a somewhat worried manner. Well, it’s obvious he’ll be worried since it’s F class holding off B class.

“It’s fine. We’re already used to such battles. Don’t worry.”

Unlike before, our ranks comprises of the F class guys we’re already familiar with. We’ll find a way.

“That’s right. There’s no doubt that F class’ important here. Be careful, Sakamoto-kun.”

After Hiiraga, Koyama says that in a worried manner. In that case, if our agreement’s made, that’s a little…Nemoto glares at me with hatred.

“That’s right. It’s true that Sakamoto’s actions are worrying.”

These words are obviously taunting me.

“What do you mean, Nemoto?”

This saying really annoys me, and I unintentionally answer him back.

“I heard that Sakamoto left his position before lunch.”

Nemoto shows a treacherous smirk that’s very matching for this tone.

What he’s saying is about me going to take down the enemy trying to cause divisions amongst us.

“That’s called following the frontlines. I didn’t do anything that the enemy can take advantage of.”

If we had let them do as they want, our forces would have been depleted somewhat, and this team has a lot more unique characters than the others. There’s no reason for me to be told off just for supporting that side.

Of course, Nemoto won’t accept such logic.

“You never did anything they can take advantage of? What’re you saying? If you’re defeated as a class rep, F class will be defeated. In that case, our strategy afterwards can’t be established.”

“I prepared beforehand to prevent such a thing.”

“That’s just what you think right? Everyone’s working together on the plan we agreed on, and you’re going to bring us trouble if you work on your own like that.”

“…”

“Especially since this is an operation when our B class have to show our backs to you unreliable guys.”

These overboard words cause my mind to heat up.

“Oi, Nemoto! Stop harassing Sakamoto—”

“……No, it’s fine, Hiiraga.”

I restrain my body that’s trembling with fear with all my strength. It’s very easy for me to let my emotions loose and beat Nemoto up.

“…”

And then, I’ll end up breaking the delicate unity between the second years completely—a very simple outcome.

“Sorry. I’ll be careful for that not to happen again.”

Anyway, I have to endure for now.

For the sake of winning this war.

To beat the 3rd years, and to beat the A class that person is in; this is all for the sake of my objective.