Chapter 107

"Could everyone space their desks out a bit?"

At Miyuki's request from the front podium, the students shifted their desks apart.

Everyone was already drained from it being exam day, and the sight of them sluggishly dragging their desks and chairs across the floor was somehow funny.

Beside me, Tetsuya was staring a hole through his study notebook.

I gave the leg of his battered desk a light kick.

"Study hard?"

"Yeah. I studied a lot while Miyuki tutored me during the week."

Miyuki had mentioned that.

After tutoring me, she'd squeeze out some time to meet Tetsuya at a cafe to study together.

If they hadn't known each other for so long, Miyuki never would have bothered looking after him. That whole childhood friend thing... it's practically a shackle.

"You sound confident."

"Well... I think I'll do a lot better than on last semester's finals. I still remember everything we crammed at your place over the break. What about you?"

"I'm probably going to bomb it again. That's why I'm planning to cheat."

"Cheat...?"

"Off Miyuki."

Tetsuya's mouth fell open.

He seemed dumbfounded by my bold declaration that I was going to copy Miyuki's answers.

I chuckled at his expression, only to flinch at Miyuki's voice right behind me.

"In your dreams. What do you mean, cheating?"

"Ah... you heard? Then I'm counting on you."

"Counting on me for what...! Sometimes I honestly can't tell if you're being serious or just joking, Matsuda-kun."

"I'm dead serious today."

"Is that so? That's a shame, then. The moment you try to cheat, Matsuda-kun, I'm telling the proctor. So you'd better solve it with your own skills."

"And if I get stuck, can I at least peek at the Vice Representative's?"

"You're being awfully shameless, aren't you...? Doesn't it feel like a waste of all the studying you've done so far...?"

"Somebody told me that one little slip-up and I'd be expelled. Doesn't that mean I should do whatever it takes?"

"I told you I was exaggerating about that."

Miyuki put her hands on her hips, a cute crease forming between her brows.

She looked like she was ready to scold me.

I waved her off with a nonchalant look.

"I was kidding."

"You just said you were serious."

"I made the joke sound serious."

"It didn't sound like it at all... I'll be watching you."

Cheating would be an insult after you worked so hard to tutor me.

I swallowed those words and just shrugged in response.

Not long after Miyuki returned to her seat with an uneasy gaze, the classroom door opened, and a proctor with a bushy beard walked in.

"Take your seats, everyone."

His voice carried a stern weight.

The students in the classroom all tensed up and clamped their mouths shut.

Satisfied that everyone was sitting quietly, he paced around the entire room, checking that the students' desk drawers were empty and that their tabletops were clear of unnecessary items.

He then returned to the podium and spoke.

"Keep in mind that if you are caught cheating, you will be immediately expelled from the room. You may write your calculations on the exam paper, but the answer sheet must contain only your answers. Even with this warning, there's always one or two people who insist on doodling on the answer sheet."

Had the tension lifted because he added a slightly warmer joke at the end?

The heavy atmosphere in the classroom lightened up a bit.

The teacher instructed the students in the front row to pass the exam papers to the back.

Checking that everyone had received two thick sheets of paper, the proctor looked at his watch.

"Five minutes left. The exam time is fifty minutes. Those who finish early are to sit quietly and wait."

I spent the remaining time exchanging glances with Miyuki and watching Tetsuya take deep breaths.

After those five minutes passed,

"The Modern Literature exam begins now."

The proctor straightened his posture and announced the start.

The students flipped their exam papers over in unison.

Miyuki... wore a relaxed expression.

It didn't mean she was underestimating the test; it meant she was in complete control of herself.

She'd probably take first place again, right?

Opening my exam, I felt my nerves instantly settle—the very first question was something I had studied with Miyuki.

Watching Miyuki already scribbling down her answers on the sheet, I picked up my pen.

Estimating your score was a mandatory post-exam ritual for students.

The students of Yeboni Academy were no exception.

"Miyuki! What did you get for question eight?"

"Miyuki, was the answer to question twenty 'a refreshing poetic style'?"

The vast majority of students in Class 1-A had swarmed around Miyuki and the Vice Representative.

Whenever an exam for a subject finished, more than half the class would gather around Miyuki's desk in small groups, and lunchtime was no different.

And Miyuki, kind as always, calmed the excited students down while going over the answers.

I lay sprawled out, face-planted on my desk.

It was the first time I had ever properly focused during an exam, and forcing my rusty brain to work had taken a massive toll on my stamina.

Still, wasn't it a relief that I actually recognized a lot of the questions? Miyuki's crash course had been a tremendous help.

"Matsuda, aren't you checking your answers?"

Tetsuya tapped my motionless back as he asked.

I waved a hand lazily as if shooing a bothersome fly and replied.

"I'll just wait for the results."

"Why? Did you bomb it even worse than you expected?"

This punk was just automatically assuming I did poorly.

If he kept running his mouth like that, I might just actually move into his house.

I slowly pushed myself up and shot back a question.

"I take it you did well, then?"

"I... think I did better than last time."

"Congratulations. I'm heading to the School Store. You want anything?"

At that, Miyuki snapped her head around from where she was grading exams.

"Matsuda-kun! Strawberry Milk for me!"

It was so noisy over there, yet she still managed to hear that. Ridiculous.

Tetsuya chimed in saying he wanted Strawberry Milk too. Giving him a half-hearted nod, I tore my exam paper into pieces, tossed it in the trash, and walked out of the classroom.

I was strolling lazily down the quiet hallway on my way to the School Store when—

"Junior! Junior!"

Chinami's distinctively cute voice rang out from behind me.

Chinami was walking over with Renka, wearing her usual carefree expression.

I flashed a grin at her and offered a greeting.

"Hello, Master. How did your exams go?"

"Mine went great! What about yours, Junior?"

Come to think of it, I was actually curious about Chinami's grades.

Renka was somewhere in the upper-middle ranks... but what about Chinami?

Given how clumsy and airheaded she usually acted, she might say she did well, but I had a feeling she was firmly in the bottom tier.

"I think I did alright. Where are you two heading?"

"I was planning to drop by the Club Room for a bit to clean up."

"Clean...? There aren't any club activities today, though. You should just take it easy, why bother..."

"Cleaning is essential if we want to keep the Club Room spotless. I'm doing it now so I can head straight home after the afternoon exams."

"Then I'll help out. I'll head over right after stopping by the School Store."

"No, it's fine. My close friend Renka offered to help, and it's only a quick cleanup, so it won't take long."

I slowly nodded and looked over at Renka.

"Did you do well on your exams, President?"

"Me? I guess... I did alright. You're still coming to the training camp, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. You'd better come prepared."

She was already trying to assert dominance.

She'd be shocked if she knew just how relentlessly I'd been training lately.

Juggling that along with my studies had left me feeling like two bodies wouldn't be enough.

You are so dead.

"Junior, I'll message you the list of things you need to bring for the training camp today, so make sure you pack properly. Got it?"

Chinami stretched her arm out and gave my back a couple of firm pats.

Flashing her a bright smile, I answered.

"Understood. Are you sure you don't need any help with the cleaning, though?"

"Positive. Don't worry about a thing, Junior. Just focus on your exams and getting some rest."

Our Chinami... looking out for her disciple like that... she's too kind.

She seemed to be hinting that she wanted a massage lately, so I'll have to set aside some time to give her another one.

Or maybe I'll just give her one during the training camp.

"They're up!!"

At a male student's booming shout, every single student in the classroom jumped out of their seats and bolted out the door.

They were rushing to see the exam results posted on the bulletin board, which had been released today, the very day after the midterms had finished.

This was one of the things I never quite understood whenever I read school-life stories.

Publicly posting the rankings for everyone to see.

Doing this completely crushed the self-esteem of anyone at the bottom... It really was a cruel genre.

Sure, it provided a convenient way to gauge the main and supporting characters at a glance, and readers wouldn't care about an extra's grades anyway, but still...

A competitive society really is terrifying.

"Great job, Matsuda-kun. I'm incredibly proud of you."

The classroom had emptied out in an instant, leaving it completely deserted.

Miyuki came up beside me and gave my rear an encouraging pat.

She seemed pleased after watching me diligently work through my exams over the two-day testing period.

I snagged Miyuki's wrist just as she was about to head outside. She looked up at me as if to ask what was wrong, and I flashed her a grin.

"Where do you think I placed?"

"Well... you didn't check your answers, so it's hard to tell... Do you want me to be completely honest?"

"Hit me."

"Even factoring in how hard you studied, somewhere around twentieth place."

Lower-middle tier. That was actually a pretty generous guess.

I nodded and headed out of the classroom with Miyuki.

A massive crowd of students was huddled around the bulletin board.

The murmuring chatter was quite loud, and all the heads in the way made it hard to see the lower rankings, but in any case, the names visible at the very top were as follows:

[Class 1-A Rankings]

[1st Place, Hanazawa Miyuki]

[2nd Place, Natsume Honoka]

First and second place went to Miyuki and the Vice Representative. Just as expected.

Bread Girl is in sixth place? She does pretty well.

Tetsuya's name appeared in the middle ranks.

[16th Place, Miura Tetsuya]

The guy who claimed he did better this time was sitting dead average.

Looking at his face as he stood on his tiptoes to check his rank, it was slightly scrunched up.

So much for doing better than last time... This is why you shouldn't get ahead of yourself.

I was silently snickering at his expression when—

"Huh...? Matsuda-kun...!"

I furrowed my brow at the shocked voice of Miyuki, who had squeezed her way through the crowd of students.

"What is it?"

"Look at this!"

Making a fuss, Miyuki pointed a finger slightly above the center of the list.

Following the tip of her finger with my eyes,

[14th Place, Matsuda Ken]

my name was planted right there in 14th place.

'Huh...?'