It had been mentioned many times that there would be a test for the first-year students this week.
"Ishigami, did you study this weekend?" Shirogane Miyuki asked curiously."I remember you said last time you would review properly."
Shirogane had originally thought Ishigami wasn't lying—but then he looked at him. Ishigami Yu's expression seemed off.
"You didn't study?"
Ishigami covered his face and said sadly, "I wanted to review too! But the game… it's just too fun!""I couldn't help it—I played for a whole day straight! I'm already beyond saving!"
The other four people present all showed strange expressions.
"This kind of excuse... If you simply don't want to study, wouldn't it be better to just admit it frankly? Ishigami-kun, are you a tsundere?" Fujiwara Chika retorted.
Sakurai Saki turned to him. "The test is on Thursday, Ishigami. You still have three days to work hard. Most of the content is junior high-level material. As long as you haven't wasted too much time, you can still do well.
Although the junior high division can directly advance to the high school division, there's still an entrance exam—and its difficulty isn't low.The fact that you passed it means your foundation isn't bad."
"Logically speaking, if you'd been studying even a little since the start of the semester, your grades should've improved.""At the very least... shouldn't you have moved up from last place to, say, 160th?"
By the way, there are a total of 199 students in the first year.
Cold sweat seeped from Ishigami Yu's forehead.You think too highly of me, Senpai!
He stammered, "Um, Sakurai-senpai... I've pretty much forgotten everything."
From the start of the semester until now—or rather, since spring break—Ishigami hadn't touched a book.He had worked a bit too hard during the re-exam period for the entrance exam. Now, his burst period was over, and he was waiting for his skills to cool down.
Upon hearing this, Kaguya Shinomiya's expression turned serious.Could her junior—who was a total mess—really end up at the very bottom of the diagnostic test?
She couldn't allow that to happen.
"Ishigami-kun, your grades are already poor. If you don't work hard, you'll be held back."
Ishigami looked around.The top three students in the grade were all here, and besides them, there was also Fujiwara-senpai, who was mid-to-upper tier.
Working hard... It's not like effort always pays off.Many things, no matter how much you try, no matter how much you explain, will still be denied and misunderstood by others...
So—what's the point of trying at all?
"Sempais wouldn't understand."
Ishigami Yu's grades hadn't been particularly outstanding in junior high either.Three days wasn't enough to change much, no matter how he looked at it.
"No, I understand."
A voice reached his ears.
Ishigami turned his head—it was Shirogane Miyuki.
"I completely understand what you're thinking. Around this time last year, I was in a similar situation. I barely passed the re-exam to get a special admission spot, which let me enroll in this mixed-level school. My grades were even at the very bottom."
Shirogane had no intention of hiding his past. He felt Ishigami was a bit like his former self: self-abandoning and drifting through life.
Last April, if the former Student Council President hadn't pulled him in, he might have ended up the same.
Surrounded by rich young masters, Shirogane couldn't even afford food back then.And under that contrast, all he felt was inferiority—and anger.
"Effort is useful, Ishigami," he said, glancing at Kaguya Shinomiya."There were many factors that helped me surpass Shinomiya and become the top student—but the most important one was effort."
Although Kaguya Shinomiya was clearly displeased, she couldn't refute him.
In the final exam of the first semester last year, Shirogane had challenged her directly, saying he would defeat her and take the top spot.Kaguya hadn't taken it seriously at all.
And then she spectacularly failed.
That was the moment Kaguya Shinomiya started to remember Shirogane Miyuki—and also Sakurai Saki, who had been yawning beside him when he made the challenge.
"Shirogane, this girl is the one you admire? She looks like an ice sculpture—completely uninteresting. What's so good about her? After you defeat her, you'll probably find a better goal."
He'd said that at the time.
One could only say: Sakurai Saki's verbal attacks were powerful.Kaguya Shinomiya didn't remember the challenger, Shirogane Miyuki, first.
Instead, she remembered Sakurai Saki.
"I must get something on him and then get my revenge!"
At that time, for Kaguya, people fell into only two categories:Those who could be used as tools, and those who might become threats.
The former were easily manipulated.The latter—well, those required a bit of polishing.
However, when Kaguya Shinomiya tried investigating Sakurai Saki afterward, the only suspicious detail she uncovered was his junior high experience—it seemed fabricated. Beyond that, there was nothing.It was as if this man had appeared out of thin air.
"I was also at the bottom of the mixed-level school last year, similar to Shirogane's situation," Sakurai Saki suddenly chimed in.
He had run from Kyoto to Tokyo to gain permission to live alone.Living by himself made it easier to master his Superpower and use it in emergencies without the risk of being discovered.
Sakurai Saki was still trying to hide his identity as a Superpower user, though he was very casual about it.If someone did discover him... well, he'd just erase them when they became trouble.
"Sakurai-senpai is also from a mixed-level school?" Ishigami Yu asked, surprised. The semester had only just started two weeks ago—this was new information to him.
"My family runs a wagashi shop. Didn't I tell you about this?" Sakurai replied.
At the mention of wagashi, Fujiwara Chika suddenly recalled the birthday gift he had given her.
She regretted it now. Super regretted it.She should've saved those wagashi.
But... without realizing it, she'd eaten them all.They were truly delicious.
"Saki-kun's wagashi are super delicious," Fujiwara Chika praised.
Shirogane Miyuki listened enviously.He'd never tasted Sakurai's sweets before.
"If you like them, I'll bring some to the Student Council Room next time," Sakurai Saki offered casually.
Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly realized the conversation had veered completely off course.Weren't they just talking about Ishigami-kun's study problem?
Should she steer it back now?
…No. Let's put Ishigami-kun's issue aside for the time being.Hayasaka should be almost ready. It was time to guide Sakurai-kun over there.
"By the way, everyone, I just saw Hayasaka-san running out of the classroom. Did she have some urgent matter?"
Her attempt to change topics was… not exactly smooth.
Everyone present felt the shift was awkward—but still, they were intrigued by Kaguya's words.
Fujiwara Chika spoke up, pretending not to care, "Maybe she's going to her part-time job? Golden Week's coming soon. If you want to go out and have fun, it costs a lot of money."
She must be going to see the boy who confessed to her, right?
Shirogane Miyuki remained silent.
Ishigami Yu didn't know what was going on.His relationship with Hayasaka was nothing more than that of a leg and a leg accessory.
She was really good at games—beyond that, he knew almost nothing about Hayasaka Ai.
Sakurai Saki lowered his head, activated his x-ray vision, and scanned for her.
Hmm? Where is she?Could she still be in the changing room?
At the same time.
Hayasaka Ai looked at the incessantly chattering Iino Miko, her expression one of pure despair.
It was as if she wanted to die.
Was this karma?Retribution for teasing Miko all week?
'Sigh... how can I get out of here without revealing my true identity?'
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