Chapter 200

"Line up somewhere else."

"Stop acting so childish. Are you a kid, President?"

"You stop acting childish first."

Hmm... Bickering like this and growing fond of each other... It isn't a bad sight.

I wondered if Renka felt the same way.

Judging by how often she talked to me these days, she probably did.

"Anyone caught cheating will be dismissed immediately."

The students tensed up at his stern voice.

Satisfied with the solemn atmosphere in the classroom, the proctor continued.

"Distribute the test papers."

The students in the front row took the stacks and began passing them back.

I sat in the very back. Once my test paper reached me, the proctor tapped his podium to signal for silence.

The unnecessarily authoritarian proctor had a ring on his left ring finger.

Why was I suddenly curious about what his wife looked like?

"Good luck, Matsuda-kun."

Miyuki offered a soft word of encouragement from two seats away.

I grinned at her. When the intercom announced the start of the exam, I flipped open the thin national language test paper.

The very first question required the reading comprehension method Miyuki had taught me.

The next problem was also right out of the material we'd covered.

Feeling good right out of the gate, I poured all my focus into the exam.

I didn't hit any real snags.

Math, which came right after English, tripped me up a little, but I figured it out after racking my brain for a bit. I breezed through the rest of the questions and filled out my scantron.

Having exhausted my brain to successfully finish the morning exams, I massaged my throbbing temples and looked between Miyuki and Tetsuya as they walked over to check their answers.

"Can't we do this later? My head is killing me."

"Let's just do a quick check. Just math."

"We can't even change our answers now, so what's the point? Let's just wait for the results."

"It's for peace of mind."

"If you bombed it, you'll just get even more anxious."

"Not at all. If that happens, it just fires up your competitive spirit to do better on the next one."

A very Miyuki-esque answer. She was always passionate when it came to academics.

Then again, she was full of passion in other areas, too.

"Hah... Fine."

"You both aimed for an 80 in math, right?"

"Right."

"Alright, let's start. First..."

Miyuki began to rattle off the answers like a machine gun.

She went from question to answer without a single pause. Had she memorized the entire test paper?

All I could think was how incredible she was.

Before long, a small crowd of studious classmates had gathered around our desks.

They wanted to hear Miyuki's answers, knowing full well she would never get them wrong.

Since things had turned out this way, I decided I would take Miyuki to the Rooftop during lunch if I got a good score.

Having made up my mind, I checked my answers to the sound of Miyuki's clear voice amid the noisy classroom.

I purposely hid the notebook where I had scribbled my answers.

I had nailed the first five questions, and sensing I was going to get a great score, I wanted to surprise her.

"...And the last answer is 13. That's it."

The moment Miyuki finished, a mix of relieved sighs and disappointed groans echoed around us.

Unable to focus solely on Tetsuya and me with the crowd around, Miyuki gently shooed the other students away before scooting closer to my desk.

"How did you both do? Tetsuya, you go first."

The corners of Tetsuya's mouth curled up as he set his messy notebook down on my desk.

"I think I got an 80...?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I wasn't too sure about a couple of them, but even if I got those wrong, it's still an 80."

"You did so well...! I knew you could do it!"

Miyuki beamed, thrilled as if it were her own score.

Grinning from ear to ear at her praise, Tetsuya scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

He had actually put in the effort. The guy was insufferable, but I had to admit he did well this time.

I shot Tetsuya a small thumbs-up, then quickly controlled my expression when Miyuki—who had been applauding and showering him with praise—finally turned her gaze to me.

"What about you, Matsuda-kun?"

"I don't know."

Seeing my darkened expression and somber tone, did she think I'd bombed it?

Miyuki gently placed a hand on my leg, giving it an encouraging pat.

"Look for yourself. I'm going to the restroom."

With an indifferent look, I shoved the notebook with my answers toward her, stood up, and walked out of the classroom.

On my way out, I texted her a quick message telling her to meet me on the Rooftop if she was satisfied with my score.

I had missed a few easy questions.

But other than the absolute hardest question on the exam, I'd gotten all the high-value problems right.

My final estimated score was an 86.

Honestly, even though Miyuki had set 80 as the goal, she probably hadn't expected me to actually hit it. I had always been much worse at math than Tetsuya.

But I had proudly smashed past the 80-point mark.

Right about now, Miyuki was probably staring at my notebook in absolute disbelief, seeing how many questions I'd gotten right.

And Tetsuya was probably seething with an inferiority complex, realizing he'd lost to me yet again.

I felt pretty damn good.

I couldn't help it. Ever since the Kendo tournament, my path forward had been lit with nothing but green lights.

Smooth sailing ahead, and not a cloud in sight.

Riding high on my protagonist buffs, I chuckled to myself as I sauntered up to the Rooftop.

The Rooftop, the site of a major incident earlier this semester, was no longer off-limits.

There were no warning signs, and the door was left unlocked.

I strolled confidently onto the Rooftop and let the cool winter breeze wash over me, waiting for Miyuki like I was the star of a drama.

It wasn't long before the door quietly opened, and Miyuki stepped out.

I flashed her a toothy grin.

"You came."

She nodded, her face exceptionally bright.

She seemed incredibly proud of my high score.

Smoothing out her uniform skirt, she walked over and stared up at me with her large eyes.

"Why did you ask me to come up to the Rooftop?"

"To claim my reward."

"A reward?"

"I beat my target score, so I deserve a reward. That's how you build up motivation."

"Wait... It's not like you took the test for anyone else's sake. I gave you a goal, sure, but it was so you could feel satisfied with yourself—"

"You talk too much. Lock the door."

Miyuki's eyes doubled in size.

Realizing what was about to happen, she took a half-step back.

"W-Wait, no... Not right now..."

"Why not?"

"We still have afternoon exams...!"

"And?"

"What do you mean, 'and'? At least until the exams are over..."

"You mean we have to focus?"

"...Exactly..."

It wasn't like the afterglow was going to last forever.

I firmly shook my head and closed the distance, stepping right up to Miyuki, who had backed herself against the door.

Reaching past her waist, I locked the Rooftop door.

Click!

Lifting one of her legs, I hiked up her uniform skirt.

"Ah...!"

Miyuki flinched and instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck.

The slipper on her raised foot pointed straight down, betraying how tense she was.

I gently stroked her fair, tense leg and pressed my body tight against hers.

"D-Do we have to do this right now...? Can't we do it in the afternoon...?"

I let out a chuckle at the trembling Miyuki's suggestion.

"No."

"But it's lunchtime... We have to eat..."

"I'll make it quick."

"Y-You always say that, Matsuda-kun, but you never actually finish quickly... Hah!"

Miyuki gasped, suddenly swallowing whatever else she was about to mumble.

The bulge in my uniform pants was pressing right against her crotch.

Her face turning instantly red, she bit her lower lip and mumbled.

"It's cold out here..."

"You'll warm up."

"...T-Then really make it short... Promise me..."

"I got it."

"A-And don't do it inside... Do it outside..."

The fact that she just assumed I was going to finish inside her turned me on even more.

Giving my word, I pressed my lips against her pale neck and cupped her breast, beginning to ravage her body.

"Did you shower, Miyuki?"

Tetsuya asked the question right before lunch ended as Miyuki walked back into the classroom. Her face still a bit flushed, she fanned herself with her hand.

"Yeah. Didn't you see my text?"

"I saw it... But why shower all of a sudden?"

"Ah... I was feeling a bit sleepy today, so I just wanted to wake myself up... Were you waiting for me by the cafeteria?"

"No, I saw your text and just grabbed lunch with a friend."

"That's good... Let's do our best on the next exams."

"Yeah..."

Tetsuya agreed, though his expression could hardly be called bright.

Losing to me in math had definitely tanked his mood.

He should have worked harder.

Even his position as her childhood friend was slipping away. It was his own fault for not fighting tooth and nail to keep it.

I scoffed at him internally, then shot an innocent smile toward Miyuki as she shyly took her seat, sneaking a glance in my direction.

Miyuki let out an exasperated scoff and turned her head away.

Unconsciously rubbing her own thighs in the process.

I smirked, seeing that she clearly hadn't recovered from the afterglow on the Rooftop. But as the proctor walked in, I stared up at the ceiling, squeezing my eyes shut and opening them again.

Why did I hate exams so much?

Exams were a classic youth-genre cliché, of course, and acing the math test gave me the confidence that I'd probably do fine on the rest, but it was still so damn annoying.

"Focus, you idiot..."

Miyuki gently scolded me.

I propped my elbow on my desk, turned to her, and quietly asked.

"Are you sleeping over at my place tonight?"

"...I don't know. Let me think about it."

Whenever we did something naughty at the Academy, Miyuki would act coy for a little while afterward.

It was always like this. She was mad at herself for breaking the rules, but it wasn't like she hated it, so she just felt a bit guilty...

That mixed reaction just slipped out unconsciously.

Chuckling at her cute behavior, I turned my attention back to my desk as the proctor tapped the podium a couple of times.

I needed to focus, just like Miyuki said. I had to finish strong on these last exams so I could confidently make my demand for the school trip.

Demanding that since I did so well, I'd get to sleep in the same room as her.

The moment the final exam ended, the dark expressions on the students' faces instantly brightened.

Feeling the same sense of liberation, I stretched with a similar expression on my face.

I turned to Tetsuya, who was letting out a long exhale, and asked.

"How did you do?"

"Me? Alright, I guess..."

His face was plastered with the same confidence he'd had before we checked our math scores.

Had he actually done well? Or was he deluding himself again?

It was probably the latter, but considering his blunder at lunch, maybe his confidence wasn't entirely baseless this time.

"What about you?"

I shrugged at his question and answered.

"I think I did alright, too."

"Yeah? I hope you did well."

He didn't mean a single word of it.

I ended the conversation with a quiet scoff. Just then, Miyuki, who had been talking with the proctor, asked for the class's attention, and I looked her way.

"Everyone knows we're leaving for our school trip to Hokkaido the day after tomorrow, right? You'll need to pack extra clothes and your own toiletries. I hear it's incredibly cold up there, so make sure to bring good winter gear. I'll give you more details tomorrow."

"Got it...!"

Satisfied with the chorus of responses, Miyuki thanked everyone for their hard work and returned to her seat.

Leaning her upper body toward me, she asked, "No club activities today, right?"

"Right."

"Then you and Tetsuya can hang out. I need to drop by the Student Council Room."

"What for?"

"Just the usual. Sorting out any issues around the Academy, having a meeting for next semester..."

"Issues around the Academy? Like what we did at lunch today?"

Miyuki flinched at that and frantically looked around the room.

Seeing that no one in the noisy classroom had noticed, she relaxed. Then she slapped my thigh with a loud smack and glared at me.

"Keep your voice down...!"

"I was speaking quietly."

"Just don't speak at all...!"

"Sorry, sorry. Call me when your meeting is over. Leave your bag here."

"...Okay."

Miyuki shoved a stack of books into her bag and set it down neatly on my desk.

Then, taking advantage of the moment when the other students' attention shifted elsewhere, she gently caressed the back of my neck with her slender fingers before slipping out of the classroom.

What a shame Tetsuya hadn't seen her being so affectionate with me.

He was too busy chatting with his friend. Too bad.

Oh well. I planned on openly showing off how close Miyuki and I were during the Hokkaido trip anyway, so I'd take comfort in that for now.