At the start of the first round, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce assault, and the fight looked almost completely one-sided. (Continued)

Hasegawa Izumi answered without hesitation.

Takanashi Rikka looked close to tears and muttered, "But the laws of physics in this world are still too difficult for me to fully comprehend."

In the blink of an eye, the weekend passed.

The day of the exams arrived.

"I'm so nervous. I wonder what rank I'll get this time. Izumi-chan, Takanashi-san, aren't you nervous at all?"

Fujiwara Chika came over to the two of them, holding the notebook where she'd taken her notes, and sought some reassurance.

"Of course not. How could an exam from the mere Human World possibly pose a challenge to me?"

Hasegawa Izumi looked disdainful and said breezily.

Such an exam might have been difficult for him in the past, but now...

All he could say was that he had already grasped the secrets of the runes.

"I-I just need the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King to unleash its power..."

Takanashi Rikka covered one eye with her hand, looking a little embarrassed.

Then, when the proctor entered the exam room and everyone began their tests...

"The answer to this one should be... Let's see, if three options are long and one is short, pick the shortest; if three are short and one is long, pick the longest. If the lengths are mixed, choose B; if they're uneven, choose D."

Before long, he heard Rikka muttering to herself beside him.

He glanced down at the multiple-choice questions, then fell silent for a long while.

It seemed Rikka had forgotten to cast a luck spell on herself.

Thursday.

"The grades are posted! Everyone, hurry down and take a look!"

Someone shouted from outside, drawing everyone's attention.

At Shuchiin, academic performance was also a measure of a person's status, so plenty of people cared deeply about their results. Soon, the corridor by the bulletin board was packed shoulder to shoulder.

"Could everyone make way, please?"

Hasegawa Izumi and Rikka arrived together. When the crowd heard his voice, people politely stepped aside.

At the same time, Shinomiya Kaguya arrived from the other side, and their gazes met in midair.

Everyone, hear me out. I'm sure this is a trap!

Almost at the same time, they both looked up at the bulletin board.

Since Shuchiin placed great importance on grades, the rankings showed every student in their year.

First, Hasegawa Izumi.

Second, Shinomiya Kaguya.

Third, Shijo Mako.

Fourth, Natsukawa Masuzu.

There was no need to search through a long list of names. His was right there at the top.

"Shinomiya, you're pretty impressive. You only fell a little short of me."

Hasegawa Izumi turned to Shinomiya Kaguya and complimented her.

After all, at his current level, he could practically score whatever he wanted. He had everything under control.

Once he decided to take first place, no one else could surpass him.

"I've lost to you again. Whether it's archery or academics, you've beaten me so thoroughly that I can't even complain."

Shinomiya Kaguya kept a smile on her face, but she was so frustrated inside that she could have thrown up blood.

Damn genius!

For the first time, she understood how devastating it was to be utterly outclassed by someone's talent.

"Now that I know my rank, I'll take my leave."

The moment she turned away from the crowd, the girl's composed expression fell apart. She even stumbled, nearly taking a spectacular spill on flat ground.

"Rikka, did you find your rank?"

Hasegawa Izumi's attention shifted to his ally, who had already scanned the list back and forth.

"Mm. I found it."

Takanashi Rikka looked off to the side and nodded.

Her expression made it clear that things hadn't gone well.

So, what rank had she gotten?

He looked through the rankings himself and finally spotted Rikka's name among the last few.

There was something even more terrifying: several students with the surname Nakano appeared below her. They looked like quintuplets, and one of them was a classmate he'd spoken to before.

Good grief. I could only marvel at it.

They really were a family through and through.

On the way back to the classroom.

"Rikka, you'll need to focus on your studies for a while. If you fail the final exams, you'll be in trouble."

Hasegawa Izumi walked ahead with his hands in his pockets.

At Shuchiin, anything below half the average score counted as a failing grade, and there were no remedial lessons or other ways to make up for it. Two failing grades in any subject meant you didn't earn credits. If you didn't earn credits in a required subject, you were guaranteed to repeat the year.

"Don't worry, Lord Sage. The Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King User will never fall here. I'll definitely reach that place!"

Takanashi Rikka clenched her fist and made her promise.

That evening.

Takanashi Rikka returned home. She'd been watching TV for a while when the sound of the door opening suddenly rang out.

"Who's there?"

She sat on the sofa, looking flustered as she waved her hands in a defensive stance.

"Who else? It's me, of course."

The speaker walked in.

She was a beautiful woman who looked somewhat like Rikka, with black hair and red eyes. The collar around her neck, combined with her utterly expressionless face, gave her a cool and elegant air. She also had a conspicuous stray hair sticking up from her head.

She was Takanashi Touka, Rikka's older sister. She was currently a chef at an upscale restaurant, and she usually made her younger sister's lunch.

"Holy Chef, why are you home so early today?"

Takanashi Rikka looked surprised.

Because of work, Touka usually came home quite late.

"Because of you, obviously."

Touka's icy gaze settled on her younger sister, whose expression gradually grew uneasy.

After dinner.

"Bring me your tests. I want to see them."

Touka urged her.

Under pressure to survive, Takanashi Rikka had no choice but to take the tests for each subject out of her schoolbag.

Touka flipped through them one page at a time. The scores in the other subjects were all right, until she reached the math test with its score of just two points. Then she finally lost her composure.

"How did you even manage this? Even guessing randomly on the multiple-choice questions shouldn't get you a score this low!"

She laughed in exasperation.

Takanashi Rikka could only stay silent.

It wasn't my fault!

I was just unlucky this time.

"Forget it."

Touka finally sighed. Then she changed the subject. "I've already heard from your teacher that you and that group of strange people have been stirring up all kinds of trouble at Shuchiin. You've made quite a commotion... Well, aren't you something?"

"It's all thanks to Lord Sage's brilliant leadership that our Far East Magic Society has overcome every obstacle and stood head and shoulders above the rest! We've now formed an unbreakable alliance!"

But her younger sister didn't catch the sarcasm. Instead, she perked right up.

Touka fell silent for a moment before her cool voice rang out again.

"This weekend, I'm planning to invite your friends over for a meal. Could you ask them what they think?"

Friday, the Far East Magic Society.

"...So, what does everyone think?"

Takanashi Rikka sat beside the square table and told them what had happened the previous evening.

After considering it, Hasegawa Izumi spoke up.

"Everyone, hear me out. After careful analysis, I've decided this is a 'Feast at Hongmen'!"

The girls all looked puzzled, seemingly waiting for him to explain.

They would study the Feast at Hongmen in classical Chinese eventually, but they hadn't reached that lesson yet, so they didn't know the story.

"Here's what happened in the original story..."

So, he took on the role of teacher and told them the tale.

"I see."

After hearing him out, everyone nodded thoughtfully.

"So, Holy Chef plans to invite us over, then catch us off guard and wipe us all out, death!"

Dekomori Sanae suddenly broke into a cold sweat at the thought.

"How truly sinister! Luckily, Lord Sage saw through the Management Bureau's conspiracy before it could unfold, death!"

Once again, she praised the greatness of Lord Sage.

"Then should we turn down the invitation?"

Takanashi Rikka asked, looking from side to side.

"This is obviously just an ordinary dinner. You're all being so dramatic."

Nibuya Morika had been speechless for quite some time, but finally spoke up.

"Of course we should accept! Since they're already plotting against us, we can't just let it go. We should take this opportunity to strike back...!"

Natsukawa Masuzu suddenly spoke, her expression fervent.

"Natsukawa, you..."

Nibuya Morika quickly swallowed the rest of what she'd been about to say.

"This is the perfect chance to foil the Management Bureau's scheme in one fell swoop! Haven't you all been saying that the Management Bureau might be behind everything? We should take the initiative this time and capture Holy Chef to use as a hostage!"

As Natsukawa Masuzu spoke, she enthusiastically threw a punch, her words quite rousing.

"Come to think of it, she's right."

"It's time to face Holy Chef head-on!"

"We can find out the Management Bureau's true nature through Holy Chef, death."

Everyone else seemed swayed by her words.

Seeing this, Nibuya Morika sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.

She finally understood. This woman just loved watching the world burn. She was wicked.