What is the Weeding Certification Arc? Synopsis and Famous Scenes Summary | When and Which Manga Volume [Chiikawa]

Aware of the possibility of increasing their rewards through Weeding work, Chiikawa and Hachiware dive into study guides and practice questions for the certification. Hachiware finds a Weeding Certification study guide at a used book stall, and continues preparing for the exam by opening the book even when eating salt rice balls and preparing meals in the cave. Chiikawa also writes in the Level Five study guide, and after closing the book in frustration, imagines a scene where their passing is celebrated and returns to the desk.

At the exam venue, Chiikawa and Hachiware face their answer sheets in the same classroom, confronting difficult problems and the anxiety of waiting for the pass or fail results. In between, there is a scene of Usagi picking nuts while holding a Weeding Certification Level Three badge or certificate, and the two check their admission tickets against the posted list of passing examinee numbers. When Chiikawa sheds tears upon seeing the results, Hachiware comforts him and thinks about the next opportunity and going out for a meal together.

In their daily lives preparing for a retry, the two, who canceled a long trip due to rain, open the Weeding Certification book, and Hachiware asks the questions. After the exam, they draw pictures on the ground with stones and remember the food they ate together in between the tension of waiting for the results. On the night before the passing results are announced, Hachiware stays awake, facing the moon and wishing that they have passed.