Regular exams were generally held two to three times per semester, with the specific schedule depending on the local school. Their function was similar to the midterm and final exams in the Celestial Empire.
Generally speaking, public high schools had fewer exams than private ones, and schools in the Kansai region had fewer exams than those in the Kanto region.
The Sobu High School that Mori Shinra attended, full name Chiba Municipal Sobu High School, was a public Kanto region high school. It was also the key school with the highest deviation value in Chiba City, so both the frequency and difficulty of its exams were higher than that of an average school.
Nearly a month had passed since the start of the first semester, and it was indeed time to prepare for the regular exams.
When Hikigaya brought up the topic, the other three people in the classroom had varying reactions.
First, Yukinoshita Yukino fully displayed the composure of the grade's top student. She didn't care about the so-called regular exams at all, projecting an attitude of "it doesn't matter if I take it or not, I'll be number one anyway."
Next was Yuigahama Yui. Unlike Yukinoshita's 'composure of the strong,' her grades were not so ideal. For her, the regular exams were a considerably difficult challenge.
Finally, there was Mori Shinra. Although his science scores were excellent, his liberal arts scores, in contrast, couldn't be described as anything but a complete mess. Yet, he had chosen the liberal arts track for his second year.
Although the liberal arts regular exams also tested on science subjects, the focus was still on liberal arts. If his liberal arts scores were poor, his final grade would still look terrible.
However, Shinra himself wasn't concerned about this at all. Previously, he didn't care because he didn't need to rely on exams to secure his future. Now, he didn't care because he had a new cheat ability—Photographic Memory.
Just from the name, one could tell how devastating this ability was for liberal arts subjects.
Worldwide, almost all liberal arts subjects could be mastered to a relatively high degree through rote memorization. Reaching the very top might require some talent, but achieving an upper-middle score was no problem at all.
Furthermore, the usefulness of Photographic Memory was definitely not limited to academics. In fact, Shinra was already planning to find some time to properly enrich his knowledge.
Previously, he hadn't studied hard because he felt the efficiency was too low. Plus, he had already graduated from university before transmigrating; high school knowledge wasn't that useful to him, so the cost-benefit ratio was low.
Now, with Photographic Memory, his learning efficiency had taken a quantum leap, drastically increasing the cost-benefit ratio of studying. Naturally, he would change his ways because of this.
Before, he had no choice. Now, he wanted to dominate all subjects.
He wouldn't just study science; he would study liberal arts too. He wouldn't just study high school material; he would study university-level and even more advanced topics!
If he didn't understand something, it didn't matter. He would memorize it first. Sooner or later, he would be able to understand it.
Just as Mori Shinra was planning his future study schedule, he saw the usually lively Yuigahama slumped over the table as if her spine had been removed.
"The regular exams... I have absolutely no confidence..."
"Are your grades not ideal, Yuigahama-san?" Yukinoshita asked curiously.
Yuigahama nodded embarrassedly. "Very not ideal."
Yukinoshita glanced at Mori Shinra, who was sitting across from her. "In that regard, you're quite similar to Mori Shinra."
Hearing that she had a partner in misery, Yuigahama's spirits immediately lifted.
Sometimes, that's just how it is. When you're the only one doing poorly, you feel extremely anxious. But if you have a partner, that anxiety is greatly relieved.
However, before Yuigahama could be happy for long, Hikigaya exposed the truth. "I don't know much about Yuigahama's grades, but Mori Shinra is probably only bad at liberal arts, right?"
"Eh?" Yuigahama let out a cute, confused sound.
Seeing this, Hikigaya added, "You might not know, but this guy was always first in science during our first year."
"EHH!!!"
Yuigahama's eyes widened. For real? Didn't that mean she was the dumbest one in the Service Club?
As if seeing through her thoughts, Yukinoshita offered a word of comfort. "Don't worry. The dumbest one here is the guy who chose his weakness instead of playing to his strengths."
She was a master of indirect insults.
Shinra wasn't annoyed. He said with a faint smile, "In that case, why don't we make a bet?"
"A bet?" Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow.
"Let's bet on the results of this regular exam. The loser has to grant the winner one request."
"How do we determine the winner and loser?"
Yukinoshita didn't refuse, but instead asked about the specific rules.
"Since it's an exam, we'll naturally be judged by our scores. Whoever gets the higher score wins!"
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Seeing that Mori Shinra didn't look like he was joking, Yukinoshita confirmed once more, "You mean to say that you, who is in the lower-middle tier of liberal arts, want to challenge me, who is at the very top?"
"No one stays at the bottom forever. Whether I can get first place depends entirely on whether I feel like trying, not whether I can do it," Shinra said, just short of standing up, clasping his hands behind his back, and singing a song about the loneliness of being invincible.
Yukinoshita didn't indulge him. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. "Confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is arrogance."
"Just tell me if you're in or not."
"Fine. But the condition must be within a reasonable scope that the other person can accept."
"Naturally."
It wasn't that Yukinoshita was boasting, but when it came to academic performance, she never feared any opponent. If Shinra were to compete with her only in science, the outcome would be uncertain. But he had insisted on competing in liberal arts, an area where she was extremely skilled.
This was like someone challenging her professional domain with their amateur hobby. She had no reason to refuse this bet.
Of course, Yukinoshita was a fair person. She didn't plan to take advantage of him, so she took the initiative to propose forming a study group, which could also help salvage Yuigahama's grades.
The Service Club didn't have many requests anyway; they were mostly idle. It was a good idea to make use of the time.
At the side, Hikigaya was a little dumbfounded. He had only wanted to use the regular exams as an opportunity to tutor Shinra in liberal arts to repay his favor. How did it suddenly turn into a bet?
And wasn't this Mori Shinra guy a bit too bold?
Hikigaya considered his own liberal arts scores to be good, but he was still far behind Yukinoshita. This was a gap that only those who were good at liberal arts could truly appreciate.
Before entering the liberal arts track, seeing Yukinoshita was like a frog in a well looking up at the moon. After entering the liberal arts track, seeing Yukinoshita was like a mayfly gazing at the vast heavens!
In short, Hikigaya had absolutely no faith in Shinra winning this bet. Even if he could gain some ground on her in math and other subjects, that gap would be completely insufficient to cover the chasm in their liberal arts scores.
Unless this guy's liberal arts scores could suddenly reach a level similar to his own. But the question was, could he do it?