That was exactly why she was hesitating.
She was wondering whether she should drop out now and return to idol activities.
She had finally made friends at school, and she didn't want to leave Hasebe and the others so easily. With her career on one side and her friends on the other, she didn't know what to do.
Besides, voluntarily dropping out would cost the class 300 Class Points, which would make her feel even more guilty toward Class D.
"I know, I know. That's why I was thinking..."
She trailed off again. The others watched Sakura Airi hesitate, unsure what she was going to say next.
"Airi, are you... thinking of dropping out?"
The one who saw through Sakura's thoughts was none other than Yukimura, who was determined to get into Todai University.
"Huh? Why? Ah, no... Is that true?"
With Yukimura putting it into words, Hasebe could barely speak, her voice growing halting and uncertain.
"Yukimura, why would you say that?"
Yukimura looked somewhat helpless in the face of Hasebe's question.
"Because I've thought about doing the same thing." Seeing their confusion, Yukimura continued, "My decision to aim for Todai University wasn't something I made on a whim.
I started thinking about it after I signed that Contract with Kamio."
Under their questioning gazes, Yukimura spoke aloud about his own thoughts.
"Because if you want to get into Todai University, the best option is to attend a prep school that specializes in getting students into Todai. This school doesn't have anything like that.
So I had the same idea back then. I even went to see Chabashira-sensei about it.
What changed my mind was a third-year student. I heard from Chabashira-sensei that a third-year student had gotten into Todai this year—and that he was from Class D, too."