The "Cunning" Yasui Makoto

Such a secret thought was far too embarrassing to say aloud. Hokubu Genkoma had no idea how to put it into words, and could only press her lips together awkwardly.

Just then, Yamato Akagi, hands on the steering wheel, spoke up with a hint of reproach:

"Hayabusa-senpai, how could you say that about Xiao Bei? She's been working so hard this whole time! And you're still teasing her..."

She glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror, then shot Yasui Makoto a mildly reproachful look:

"And you too, Yasui. You threw all that technical information at Xiao Bei at once. How could she possibly learn it all in such a short time? You're asking way too much of her."

The conversation up front caught the attention of Anmokume and Chunqiu Fen in the back. They stopped their quiet chat and poked their little heads out on either side of the gap between the seats, their wide eyes sparkling with pure admiration.

Chunqiu Fen whispered to Anmokume, "Xiao Bei-senpai works so hard..."

Anmokume nodded emphatically, deeply in agreement. "Mm! Of course she does! She's Xiao Bei-senpai, after all!"

Feeling her companions' concern and admiration, Hokubu Genkoma's heart warmed, but she was still more troubled by the material itself.

"I did... work hard, but with some things, it feels like working hard just isn't enough..."

A little dejected, she tapped the tip of her pen against her notebook.

"I feel like... I'll need to spend a lot more time just to barely remember it..."

Alice Speed gave a lazy laugh, as if she were enjoying an interesting experiment.

"So what should we do? If you keep at it like this, your eyes won't have problems right away, but you're bound to end up tired and uncomfortable. But..."

She deliberately drew out