When she first entered school, Suzune looked down on everyone around her, but now she had changed a little compared to before.
Ever since a certain day in May of last semester, such a change had happened. Ayanokoji himself didn't know the reason, but without a doubt, it must have something to do with Saiki.
"...In this sports festival, I even saw the change in Sudo. From once being a troublemaker, he's become someone who now shows a bit of responsibility..."
Hearing Suzune's words, Sudo's cheeks flushed slightly, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.
"...For the upcoming quiz and the final exam, I want to give it my all. I believe if the whole class doesn't unite and fight together, we won't get through this. Right now we are just one step away from Class A. I want to work hard together with everyone!"
"I get that, but do we actually have countermeasures or solutions? Like, for example, the way partners are decided, we don't know that kind of thing, right?!"
From below, Yamauchi Haruki shouted loudly, voicing his doubts.
[This guy absolutely already knows. He's probably still pretending right now.]
Saiki turned his head slightly toward the source of the voice in his mind, it was Kushida.
[You really hide yourself well. In this class there probably aren't many who know your true face, right? I'm going to make you, along with Suzune, drop out!]
Although Kushida seemed to be watching Suzune intently, inside she was practically screaming.
Saiki pretended as if he hadn't heard anything and shifted his gaze elsewhere.
"No, we've basically figured out the rules for partners. If things go smoothly, it's even possible for every student here to end up with an ideal match, Hirata, if you would."
"Yeah."
Hirata Yosuke nodded, then walked up to the podium and wrote the pairing rules on the blackboard. After yesterday's meeting ended, he had gone to his soccer club and asked his seniors about the situation, confirming their earlier guesses.
Looking at the whole class, the highest scorer and the lowest scorer would form a pair.
Next would be the second-highest with the second-lowest, the third with the third-lowest... and so on, continuing by this rule.
For example, a student who scored 100 would pair with one who got 0, and the student with 99 would pair with the one who got 1.
"That's the meaning behind the quiz and the rule for pairing. It's actually simple."
Suzune pointed toward the blackboard as she spoke.
"Whoa! So that's the rule for pairing! Trust you to find that out, Horikita! You're amazing!"
Many in the class voiced admiration for Suzune, with Yamauchi Haruki being the loudest.
[Tch, this is the kind of thing anyone can figure out with a bit of thought, and yet they're praising her this much?]
Kushida's annoyance inside her grew even stronger.
"Because of these rules, the strong and weak are allocated in order, but accidents could still happen. So we have to set tactics to make sure the distribution works out precisely. Next, I'll talk about the countermeasures I've prepared."
"Considering the exam results so far, I want to give focused support to the students who are worried about their scores, while having higher-scoring students plan together with them as partners."
"Even though there may be other students who feel uneasy, we can't take care of everyone, so the priority will be helping those at the bottom."
"For those in the bottom ten in the midterm exam, on the quiz you just need to write your name. Since it won't affect your points, getting zero won't hurt you at all, on the other hand, those in the top ten, please make sure to score at least 85 or higher."
Suzune addressed everyone.
"Wha... what do you mean?"
Yamauchi Haruki still hadn't quite understood, so Ike Kanji next to him had to explain. Only after hearing it did Yamauchi finally nod in sudden realization.
[Kushida's in the top ten... that means, don't I have a chance to be partnered with her?!]
As soon as he thought that, Yamauchi's lips curved upward.
'Hey, hey, hey, she's dying to get you expelled, you know. And you're actually feeling smug about being one of the lowest scorers...'
Saiki sighed helplessly. In a situation like this, only Yamauchi Haruki could truly feel happy from the bottom of his heart.
This guy really had a big heart.
Saiki also started thinking about how he himself should handle this exam.
This time his rank in the class was right in the middle, and Ayanokoji's was the same. The two of them had almost identical total scores.
If it went by Suzune's ordering method, Saiki would be paired with Ayanokoji...
'Absolutely not!'
Saiki thought to himself. He knew that if he was with Ayanokoji, he'd be forced into who-knows-how-many troublesome events.
"...The remaining twenty students in the middle will also be split in two groups of ten. The upper half should aim for at most 80 points."
"And the lower half should aim for 1 point. By doing this, in principle the optimal balance for the final exam pairings will be achieved automatically. Afterward, I'll carefully check the details."
At this point, Suzune continued.
Saiki was ranked 20th in the class, while Ayanokoji was 21st...
Right there, a dividing line.
But since the lowest possible scores were only 0 and 1, the groupings for the final exam would contain some randomness, and the chance of Saiki being with Ayanokoji shrank to one in ten.
If Saiki could control how the randomization worked, he could change his partner however he wanted, but he still didn't know what method the school would use.
As long as it wasn't Ayanokoji, he'd manage.
"Do you have any objections?"
Horikita turned her eyes to Koenji Rokusuke.
"I have no objections. Such Nonsense. Of course I've mastered the exam material as well."
He stretched his long legs up onto the desk, wearing an unconcerned expression.
Without doubt, Koenji had outstanding ability in both learning and judgment. He must have also figured out the real rules of the quiz, and his scores were quite good.
But Koenji was someone with a mindset different from normal people. Even Suzune couldn't predict what he might do.
"Then, can I expect you to definitely score over 80?"
"Who knows? Depends on the content of the test."
"If you deliberately scored zero and got paired with a high scorer, the balance could collapse. I hope you'll cooperate properly, Koenji."
"I'll think it over, Girl."
Koenji kept smiling, and it was still impossible to see his true thoughts.
———
A few days later, the quiz came as scheduled. Its content was very simple, even guys like Sudo or Yamauchi Haruki should be able to score decently.
But to ensure the final exam would go smoothly for everyone, all of them acted according to Suzune's instructions.
And Saiki, who normally scored in the middle, sighed. He could only follow Horikita's plan and score above 80.
The next day after the quiz, Chabashira Sae came into the classroom.
"Judging from the scores, it looks like you've already figured out the method for pairing in this final exam. Well done."
Chabashira nodded in satisfaction and smiled.
"Now then, I'll announce the partner assignments for the final exam..."
She then posted the pairing list on the blackboard.
Suzune with Sudo, Hirata with Ike Kanji, Kushida with Yamauchi Haruki.
Seeing Kushida and Yamauchi's names together, Saiki cast a sorrowful look at Yamauchi.
But Yamauchi didn't feel Saiki's gaze at all. Instead, his face beamed with joy.
[Awesome, I'm paired with Kushida! Not only does that guarantee my grade! But... but maybe I can even get closer to her!]
Yamauchi's heart overflowed with happiness.
Meanwhile, even Kushida, who was always pretending, had her smile stiffen.
[Yamauchi Haruki, did you do this on purpose to be partnered with me?]
[Could it be that this guy secretly understood the deeper pairing rules, and deliberately made it so he'd be with me?]
Though she kept smiling, Kushida was gritting her teeth inside, cursing Yamauchi nonstop.
'It's just coincidence...'
Saiki glanced at Kushida from the corner of his eye. For a moment he didn't know what to say, and could only sigh inwardly.
[With Yamauchi as my partner, my actions later will be limited. Practicing with Ryuen will also be more troublesome.]
[And in this exam, the two partners are practically bound together by fate, if one is expelled, the other is expelled too... Damn, that means I can't use other means to get Yamauchi expelled this time.]
[Was all this... calculated by this guy?]
'It really is just coincidence...'
"Kushida, we're in a pair! Let's do our best together!"
At that moment, Yamauchi, clueless, still wore a face full of excitement. He waved to Kushida loudly.
[Heavens are really on my side, for something this lucky to happen!]
Yamauchi's heart was filled with joy.
"Yes, let's do our best, Yamauchi..."
Kushida's smile had already become stiff.
[Is this guy mocking me?]
Her anger inside rose even higher.
'Good grief...'
Saiki knew very well, what awaited Yamauchi was definitely a rough road ahead. But that was his own fault.
Saiki was more concerned with who his own partner would be.
Saiki, Karuizawa Kei.
'Good grief, so it's Karuizawa, huh...'
Saiki felt a little exasperated. Although he had avoided the troublesome Ayanokoji, he still ended up with someone whose personality clashed with his.
[Not partnered with Saiki? So close... Instead, I got paired with Ayanokoji!]
A familiar voice rang in Saiki's mind nearby, Sato Maya.
[Not... not with Saiki-kun...]
Inside Sakura Airi's heart came the disappointed voice.
All of them had scores low enough to fit the range for pairing with Saiki, but in the end he was put together with Karuizawa.
"Saiki, looks like we're in a pair again!"
Karuizawa smiled brightly and waved at him. Nearly everyone's eyes fell on Saiki.
"Yeah."
Saiki disliked being the center of attention, but still nodded to Karuizawa.
Being partnered with her was something he could accept.
"The current results are basically the same as we expected."
After confirming all the pairings, Suzune continued, "From now until the final exam, in order to raise the class's average, we'll be holding study sessions."
"This time we can also cooperate with Hirata or Kushida, so I plan for two sessions a day. After school, the first one will be from 4 to 6 p.m. for two hours."
"The second one will be for those in clubs, from 8 to 10 p.m. Now we need to decide which one everyone will attend."
'Damn it, study sessions again?'
Saiki was exasperated inside. Study sessions meant his free time would definitely be cut down, yet he couldn't skip them. Truly troublesome.
Everyone began discussing the study groups. But just then, two students came forward to stand before Horikita and Hirata.
Miyake Akito, and Hasebe Haruka, students Saiki had barely interacted with.
They didn't stand out much in class. Saiki knew Miyake had decent athletic ability, but he knew little about Hasebe.
"Miyake, what is it?"
Hirata immediately turned to them. He remembered Miyake and Hasebe were partners.
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