It's already been a week since then.
Fukami-san has invited me numerous times...
I finally caught you!
Why haven't you been coming here lately?
I've been waiting for you!
It felt great, didn't it?
Did you forget that already?
It was your first time, wasn't it?
Anyone would want to keep doing it more...
after getting a correct answer like that in quiz bowl!
It's not so much quiz bowl...
I haven't really given much thought to any clubs yet.
If you haven't picked one, that's perfect!
You can't just run away now! It's not fair!
Yeah, but...
Koshiyama-kun...
Listen to me, okay?
O-Okay...
Tomorrow is Saturday, and we don't have school.
Will you be free?
Huh? W-Well, if I had to say one way or the other...
I-I'm free, yes.
Then I'll be waiting tomorrow morning at ten,
at the Kawata Station ticket gates.
Huh?! Wh-Wh-Why?!
Fukami-san, you're proposing a date already?
With him?
Huh?
N-No, it's not like that!
There's a quiz meet tomorrow at Sekigaoka High School.
Our quiz bowl circle is going to watch!
Huh?
I want you to watch it with us, even if it's only as a provisional member.
O-Oh, a quiz thing?
I see... A quiz thing...
Um, Fukami-san...
Could I join you for that, too?
Really?
Yes! Please come along, Inoue-kun!
Koshiyama-kun, see you tomorrow!
Uh, yeah. Tomorrow.
Fastest Finger First
Question 2: "A Matter of 0.01 Seconds?!"
I let her talk me into coming,
but doesn't getting here first make me look like I'm trying too hard?
Koshiyama-kun!
I'm so glad! You really came!
I was kind of pushy about it, so I was worried you wouldn't.
Still twenty minutes to go...
Wait, am I alone with Fukami-san right now?
I'm alone with a girl, even though I'm not at school?
Wh-What do I talk about?
Okay, here's a question.
Huh?
Napoleon was famously born on what Mediterranean island in the French domain?
Corsica?
Bingo!
She's quizzing me here?
So you're good with history too, huh?
Y-Yeah, sort of...
Then... how about questions like this?
Here.
The area of exposed skin between the hem of a miniskirt
and the tops of knee-high socks is known by what name?
Th-There's a name for that?
As I suspected.
You like books, but you're not an otaku.
Wh-What's the answer?
Absolute territory.
Absolute... territory?
You know how guys like a teasing hint more than full nudity?
In certain circles, it's one of the most potent aspects of moe culture.
I had no idea...
Absolute territory...
You won't find it.
The way you crave more knowledge makes you even more suited for quiz bowl.
S-Straight to that topic again...
Exchanging quiz questions and answers with others is fun, isn't it?
I played with my friend that way in middle school all the time.
Your friend?
Yeah.
We ended up in different high schools, though.
I hope we can do quiz bowl together again someday.
A friend who shares the same hobby, huh?
Maybe I should've joined the literature club.
Wait!
Don't make that your answer yet!
At least not until after today's meet!
I'll try really hard today, so be sure to watch!
O-Okay.
Koshiyama!
Man, why did you have to get here so early?!
Damn it! I'm too late!
Morning, Inoue-kun.
Oh. He's from "certain circles."
Your skirt length, absolute territory,
and sock length have a ratio of 4 to 1 to 2.4.
That is imperfect, Fukami-kun.
Good morning, Sasajima-senpai.
Incidentally, why are there only two of you here?
I'm certain my speech was perfect.
U-Um...
Oh, you're here?
Um, where are the other circle members?
These are all the members.
The Buzou High School quiz circle only just started up.
If they don't have enough members,
it's no wonder she wants me to join.
Sekigawata Middle School Sekigawata High School
Today's event is a quiz meet hosted by
the Sekigawata quiz circle for new quiz bowl team members.
At other schools,
there may well be students who were interested in quiz bowl before the school year began.
Even if we can't act, you must stay focused.
Um, we're just here to observe, right?
I've entered all of you.
What?!
Sorry!
Listen up!
All those here are both comrades and rivals!
Be especially attentive to the way they all play the game.
Our rivals' life bars seem to have dropped to zero.
Sasajima!
You got enough members. Congrats.
Niina-san.
Thanks for having us today.
Miyaura High School Third-year Ashiya Yousuke
Sekigawata High School Third-year Niina Takumi
Wow, I'm jealous. You have a girl member.
It makes no difference whether you're male or female in quiz bowl.
The reason there are so few girls in quiz bowl
is because most of the schools with strong quiz bowl teams are all boys' schools.
But our quiz bowl team is 100% female.
Asagaoka Girls' High School Third-year Sonohara Chiaki
Welcome, Chiaki-san.
An all-girls school quiz bowl team?
Yukicchi...
Maririn.
I haven't seen you since we graduated.
The Asagaoka uniform looks great on you.
Maririn...
I didn't know Buzou had a quiz bowl team.
That's great.
I'm so glad I get to play quiz bowl with you again.
Yeah. Good luck to us both.
Was that the friend from middle school?
Four Schools Quiz Meet
May the best team win.
It's starting.
Here's our program for today.
The buzzer battle will last three rounds.
Round 1
In round 1, the 16 participants will be split into two groups of eight.
Round 2
The three winners in each group will proceed to round 2.
In round 1, the first to score 5 points wins.
First to 5 Points Wins
There's no penalty for an incorrect answer.
Incorrect Answers: No Penalty
After buzzing in, you'll have five seconds to answer.
Time Limit
Seconds
We'll start with group 1.
Yukicchi...
First, we'll have a buzzer test.
A buzzer test?
Wow, that's kinda cool.
The buzzer test verifies that all the buzzers are working,
and gives the players a feel for the buzzers.
It's an indispensable ritual conducted before every match.
It can also be called the signal to begin the match.
W-Will I be doing that, too?
Question.
In soccer, games played on a team's own field are called "hom—
A few of them buzzed at once!
But...
Sasaki-kun.
Away.
Correct!
Fukami-san was beaten to the buzzer...
Sekigawata Middle School Sasaki
That Sekigawata Middle School first-year is good.
Middle school first-year?!
In combined middle and high schools,
many clubs include members from both school levels.
He has an advantage over people who start in high school.
1R First to 5 Points Group 1
Miyaura High School Mukai
Sekigawata High School Namiki
Sekigawata High School Taguchi
Miyaura High School Maruyama
Sekigawata Middle School Sasaki
Asagaoka Girls' High School Kouzuki
Buzou High School Fukami
Miyaura High School Hamada
Sasaki-kun of Sekigawata Middle School
passes the round with five points!
Fukami-san was buzzing in, but...
Fast buzzing can determine the winner by a margin of 0.01 seconds.
So this is what she meant by a margin of 0.01 seconds.
One of the techniques for buzzing in at least 0.01 seconds faster
is called "pushing in."
Pushing in?
Play
Conducting Part
In every buzzer is a contact point and a conducting part that makes the light go on,
and the slight gap between them is called the "play."
Pushing the button down in advance until just before it closes that gap
is "pushing in."
I bet I'd accidentally push it all the way down.
Me, too.
Fukami-san...
Question.
French for "hide the heart—
It turned on!
Cache-cœur.
Correct.
Sekigawata Middle School Sasaki
Asagaoka Girls' High School Kouzuki
Buzou High School Fukami
Question.
When, even in an economic slump, the cost of living continues to rise—
Stagflation.
Correct.
She's hanging in there, too!
Question.
"Oh! Susanna" and "Camptown Rac—
Foster.
"Oh! Susanna" and "Camptown Races" were written by which songwriter, known as the "father of American music"?
Correct.
Fukami-san of Buzou High School passes the round with five points!
Yukicchi...
I'll be waiting for you in round 2.
They're all amazing. Can I really do that, too?
I could buzz in even faster.
I can't believe you're so surprised by weak buzz-ins like that.
Wha... Who are you?
Huh? Who are you?
What's with this guy?!
I'll wear this tomorrow... I guess...
We're the same height.
No, we're not!
Whoosh Whoosh
What middle school are you from, anyway?
Stop it, Mikuriya.
That's rude. Take a good look.
He's small, but he's in a Buzou uniform.
He's a first-year, like you.
Huh? Seriously?!
Uh, sorry.
It's okay...
Asagaoka Girls' High School Kouzuki
Correct!
Sekigawata Middle School Sasaki
Buzou High School Fukami
Asagaoka Girls' High School Kouzuki
Kouzuki-san of Asagaoka Girls' High School has passed the round!
That's the way, Yukicchi.
And now we have our three advancers.
That's the end of the first group.
Sasajima-senpai, how was my buzzing?
Not bad.
You seem to excel at classics, but that won't be enough.
The second round is sure to be harder.
Um... What are "classics"?
I want to know that, too.
They're also known as fundamental or tired questions.
They're questions that frequently appear in quiz meets and question collections.
Huh?
Oh, I get it.
No, you don't.
They may be common questions, but they'd be hard for you two.
The crux of fast buzzing is how quickly you can
narrow down an answer using every word of the question as hints.
Right... The marks she had made on her question sheet!
But the earlier in the meet you are,
The _____ of _____ is _____, but the _____ of _____ / is what?
the more likely you are to get classic questions with simple construction.
Which means the more possible patterns you know, the greater your advantage.
The _____ are _____, __ / ___ and what?
If you don't know the pattern,
From the _____ word for _____, / a _____ _____ is known by what name?
you can't choose the right point in the question to buzz in.
And all of the most common questions start out the same way.
H-Hang on!
This is way too much to take in so soon.
You're right. Sorry.
To summarize, the first thing to do in quiz bowl is memorize the classics.
We don't know the classics at all.
Aren't we at a huge disadvantage here?
Okay, let's do the buzzer test.
Here it comes!
You pressed it too soon.
There's no need to rush. Go ahead.
He sighed?!
Might as well get this over with fast.
Question.
When asked, "Why climb—
Mallory?
Correct.
That was fast! He almost got it just from "why"!
Wow, we started off with one of the most overused questions of all, huh?
When asked, "Why climb the mountain?",
which English mountaineer answered, "Because it's there"?
As soon as you hear "Why climb," you know it's George Mallory.
Remember that, everyone!
That's beyond overused. It's almost scripted.
What kind of quiz bowl insider info is that?
Still, he got the correct answer.
Question.
Miyaura High School Mikuriya
Officially known as the "Convention on Wetlands—
The Ramsar Convention.
Correct.
Question.
"The Congress Dances"—
The Vienna Congress.
Correct.
Question.
In jazz music, "doo-bee-doo-bee" and—
Scat?
Correct!
Question.
In euro, the currency of the European Union, the highest—
500 euro.
Correct!
Mikuriya-kun of Miyaura High School passes the first round after the first five questions!
He's so good, it's creepy.
The official name of the Ramsar Convention is
the "Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat."
He buzzed in after "Convention on Wetlands."
Were all those other questions classics like the "why climb" one, too?
If I know the answer, but can't buzz because I don't know the question...
He was pretty bold with his buzzer.
He buzzed slightly before the determining point.
It's a tactic worth using as long as there's no penalty.
With Mikuriya through, there are two spots left.
Question.
In the popular idol group, Planet, the oldest—
It lit up! Mirai-can!
C-Correct!
I-I don't know anything about that stuff!
Um, for what it's worth, the buttons are delicate,
so please use them carefully.
Question.
Italian for "in the manner of the chapel," music with no instrumental—
They got it.
A cappella.
Correct.
This is no good.
I have to be able to buzz at the start of the question.
Question.
Newton's three laws are the law of inertia, the law of motion, and—
This is just like that question I had before about the Kyoto festivals.
The law of action and reaction.
Koshiyama
Correct.
Wow, nice going.
No, that's not enough!
The determining point where I buzzed was the first syllable of "law of motion."
I need to be faster.
Sekigawata High School Takamura
Sekigawata High School Tani
The swallow.
Correct.
In "CV," the abbreviation used for anime voice actors,
"C" stands for "character," and "V—
Voice!
Correct!
Wrap.
Correct!
Sekigawata High School Tani
Tani-kun of Sekigawata High School passes the round!
Only one left.
Even Inoue's been able to buzz in.
Maybe I really can't do this.
I couldn't even do the buzzer test right,
and I don't know what the classic questions are.
Don't give up!
Question.
The "Shiki" of "Masaoka Shiki" means "lesser cuckoo," and "Ishikawa—
Literature...
The only writer named Ishikawa who could compare to Masaoka Shiki is Ishikawa Takuboku.
If it's "Takuboku"...
Woodpecker.
Yes!
Correct!
Question.
"Man is a thinking reed" is a—
A quote!
Pascal!
Correct!
That's right! There are subjects I excel in, too!
The high-fat food known as "butter of the forest"—
Avocado.
Correct!
This is a close battle.
Both players are within one point of advancing,
and only one spot remains!
Question.
Hiraoka Kimitake is the real name of The Temple of the Golden—
Five, four, three, two, one.
The correct answer is Mishima Yukio.
Hiraoka Kimitake is the real name of The Temple of the Golden" author known by what pen name?
Looks like you're saved, Koshiyama.
That's as it should be.
We're the ones who were saved.
She didn't get the right answer, but she stopped him from answering,
so it worked out.
How was I beaten out on a literature question?
I knew that one, too!
If that was a classic...
No, classics mean nothing! Don't let classics beat me!
I can't win if I don't buzz!
Just one more point!
Question.
I just have to buzz in!
A miniskirt—
I pushed down too far!
What about a miniskirt? What am I supposed to get from that one word?
What are you doing, Koshiyama-kun?
Even if you don't know, just say something!
Minisk... Miniskirt...
Fukami-san... Mini...
It doesn't even matter!
Whether I answer or not, it'll end the same!
No, if I don't answer, I don't even have a chance!
Zero chance!
Absolute territory!
Yeah, right.
Correct!
Koshiyama-kun of Buzou High School passes the round!
A miniskirt, worn with knee-high socks,
leaves a patch of the thighs visible in a "moe" slang term known as what?
The answer is "absolute territory"!
Unbelievable...
Those happen sometimes.
Humorous questions that would only come up between students or insiders.
You drew the question itself toward you, Koshiyama-kun!
You're...
Quiz bowl is a lot more stressful than I thought...
Koshiyama?!
We will now take a lunch break.
Ladies' Restroom for Visitors
Maririn...
Do you enjoy quiz bowl, Yukicchi?
What do you mean?
I mean, you got into quiz bowl because of me, right?
I do enjoy it. Enough that I joined the team by myself.
Yukicchi...
I'm so glad!
You okay?
You were amazing, Koshiyama-kun.
There aren't many beginners who can stay that focused.
Y-Yeah...
Here. Have something sweet.
When your brain is fatigued, you need sugar.
Th-Tha... Thanks.
I got chocolate from a girl...
I was right. You're exactly what I thought you were.
I'm sure you'll be able to show that power even more in the next round.
The "determining point" is
the point in a question at which you can determine the answer,
which dictates when you should press the buzzer.
Determining Point
Got that?
Y-Yes!
It's hard when you're not used to it,
but it's an absolutely essential technique for fast buzz-ins!
Now, let's put it into practice.
Question.
After stripes, Fukami-kun's preferred—
Polka-dots
Polka-dots.
Correct! I knew you'd get it, Sasajima-kun!
Hey! What did you even determine from that?!
Polka-dots?