Just Want to Be a Slacker

Why make it public?

Could it be fake?

Probably not, because something like this could easily be verified by asking upperclassmen.

First-year students who participate in club activities can easily get in touch with upperclassmen, so confirming the truth of this post would be simple.

Since it's not fake, what's the purpose?

Though she couldn't guess Kamio Tatsuya's goal, Sakayanagi Arisu's intuition told her this might be a trap.

Never mind, she'd leave this to that guy in Class C to investigate; she'd already given him the intel he needed.

Almost simultaneously, Ichinose from Class B also saw the post.

Immediately, a Class B student looked at Ichinose and asked, "Ichinose, do you think this post is trustworthy?"

Ichinose shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I think whether it's true or false, we can't let up on our review progress."

"I think so too."

"Ichinose is right!"

"Yeah, I believe our Class B can definitely pass this exam smoothly."

Compared to Class B, Class C's reaction was much bigger. Many students secretly sighed in relief, feeling the exam was in the bag.

But Ryuen was different. After seeing the post, he immediately began to doubt the poster's true intentions.

No help for it—last time, that guy's post had directly screwed over the classes ahead. Now he was posting again, probably with another trap hidden inside.

Seeing the slack expressions on Class C's slackers, Ryuen understood.

This guy—could he have deliberately made up a test paper to throw us off?

Forget it. No matter what, they couldn't let their guard down. The study sessions couldn't stop!

Besides, even if this was true, if it blew up, the school would definitely step in.

After all, exams were meant to test students' abilities. If something like this happened, it'd be strange if the school didn't act.

Ryuen thought this over.

As for Class D...

When Kamio Tatsuya returned, he saw the failing group in the classroom looking absolutely thrilled.

"I don't know who that person is, but finding a way to dig up past exam questions for the midterms is seriously impressive."

"Now we don't have to worry about failing the midterms."

Not just Ike and Yamauchi, but many Class D students secretly breathed easier. Sudo immediately put on an air of importance.

Horikita, sitting at her desk, had a very pale face.

After school, Kamio Tatsuya went to the library as usual, but this time Horikita didn't come. She'd decided to focus all her energy on tutoring the Three Fools from today onward.

She'd even returned all the tuition Kamio Tatsuya had paid earlier. Though he thought it unnecessary, she insisted.

Kamio Tatsuya didn't try to persuade her further.

It wasn't like he couldn't study on his own. Since getting into the groove, his learning progress had been pretty good.

Besides, with the past exam questions made public, how much motivation did those three have left to study?

"Kamio, only you today?"

After sitting in the library for a while, Kamio Tatsuya was approached by someone.

It was Shiina Hiyori from Class C. She had her backpack on and was carrying something that looked like test papers in her arms.

"Shiina, have a seat. What's that..."

"I'm organizing knowledge points that might come up on the exam."

Shiina Hiyori sat directly across from Kamio Tatsuya and placed the things in her arms on the table.

What she was carrying were indeed test papers.

Kamio Tatsuya nodded. "Preparing to help your classmates review?"

"Yeah. Even though everyone's studying hard, there are still a few students whose grades worry me. I'm not sure if they'll pass smoothly."

Shiina's face showed a slightly worried expression, looking a bit uneasy.

Chapter 52: Let's Hurt Each Other!

In short, Shiina was doing the same work as Horikita, but the feeling the two gave off was worlds apart.

"That must be tough."

"Not at all. Working together with everyone is surprisingly fun."

Sigh, this was the difference between people. Not only was she better than Horikita Suzune, she was also kinder than Kamio Tatsuya. At least Kamio Tatsuya really didn't want to help those people in Class D right now.

So even though he knew Chabashira Sae had given a different exam scope, he didn't take the initiative to remind them.

He wondered if they'd even notice.

So the midterm exam papers have been handed out to them—they should figure it out soon.

Just then, Kamio Tatsuya's phone vibrated.

This only happened when someone messaged him privately or @'d him in a group, so he decided to check.

Private messages: none.

As for groups, in the class's main group, Hirata Yosuke had @'d everyone.

[@Everyone Regarding the midterm exam's past exam papers, I just looked them over. The history section's scope doesn't match the exam range Chabashira-sensei gave me at all, so I hope everyone won't blindly trust these papers.]

Kamio Tatsuya raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this to happen.

But still, Hirata-kun, I can't let you mess up my plans like this.

[I just talked with students from other classes, and it turns out our exam scopes are different. @Hirata Yosuke Could you please confirm this, Hirata-kun?]

Not long after Kamio Tatsuya sent his message, Hirata Yosuke replied.

[I understand. I'll check as soon as possible. Thank you, Kamio-kun.]

Seeing Hirata's response, a smile crept onto Kamio Tatsuya's lips.

Now those idiots in Class D should be absolutely convinced these past papers are the real midterm exam questions.

"By the way, Shiina, what do you think about these past exam papers?"

"I think they're probably real, but either way, we should still study hard. If the midterm exam doesn't actually match these papers, we won't fail."

Kamio Tatsuya nodded. That was the normal student's way of thinking.

Iron must be forged while hot—relying on shortcuts to pass exams was never the right path.

But how many clear-headed people were there in Class D?

The next day, as soon as Kamio Tatsuya walked into Class D, he felt something was off. A lot of people were staring at him.

Being watched like this—Kamio Tatsuya figured it was the first time since that opening-day self-introduction.

Hey hey hey, don't tell me my identity's been exposed?

You all know I'm the one who posted that anonymous message?

For a moment, Kamio Tatsuya was a bit panicked.

If that identity got out, he'd definitely be targeted by people from other classes.

He wasn't afraid of most of them, but that Ryuen guy—he clearly wasn't a good person.

It wasn't that he was scared of Ryuen causing trouble; it was that the guy might just charge over and beat him up without a word. That black guy always following him around—Kamio wasn't a match for him.

Yeah, this felt bad.

"Did something happen?"

As soon as he sat down, Kamio Tatsuya asked Horikita Suzune.

"Yesterday in the library, we saw you studying with a girl from Class C."

"Is there a problem with that?"

Kamio Tatsuya was completely baffled.

Not just yesterday—the day before and the day before that, I was studying with Kamuro too. I even touched her leg. Am I bragging about it?

Then Kamio Tatsuya looked around and noticed many people glaring at him with jealous eyes.

Ah, I see.

Kamio Tatsuya understood.

And immediately stopped caring.

What the hell? I just got a little close to a girl, that's all.

That Hirata guy started dating Karizawa from our class in less than a month, and I didn't see you all being this blatantly jealous.

Looking at their faces, Kamio Tatsuya could practically fill in what was going through their heads. They just thought someone as low-status as him getting a girl's attention was unfair.

"Why does that Kamio guy get to study with a cute girl?"

"Right? He's just a Kamio, and he's this arrogant."

"Damn it, I'm way better than Kamio. Why don't cute girls come to me?"

"This world is way too unfair!"

"Kamio must have used some dirty tricks."

This wasn't just imagination anymore—these guys were saying it out loud without a care.

You deserve to fail!

Kamio didn't care at all. The more jealous you are, the better. If you're too jealous to study, even better.

That way, we can say goodbye after the midterms.

When the hell is that exam with the huge Private Points payout coming? I'm so damn sick of this.

First period was history. Chabashira-sensei came right out and told the class she'd messed up the exam scope, then redrew the boundaries.

And she deliberately glanced at Kamio Tatsuya a few times.

What are you looking at? I'm not the one who posted that thread.

Some students were pissed, but most were pleasantly surprised.

Because the new exam scope matched the Midterm Exam Past Exam Papers exactly.

So that meant those past papers were basically the real test this time, right?

Kamio Tatsuya easily read what was going through those bastards' minds.

Heh heh. Study that Past Exam Papers all you want. I'll be watching how you die when the time comes.

After school, Kamio Tatsuya headed to the library again. This time, though, no pretty girl was studying with him.

But no pretty girl didn't mean no company at all.

Staring at the burly black man sitting across from him, Kamio Tatsuya's mouth twitched.

What the hell, did I commit some cardinal sin?

They send a ni**er to torture me?

The guy didn't do anything after he arrived—just sat across from Kamio Tatsuya and stared at him.

When Kamio Tatsuya switched seats, the guy followed right along like a sticky piece of candy, killing any mood he had to review.

"What do you want?"

Just as Kamio Tatsuya was about to switch to English, assuming the guy wouldn't understand, the man spoke: "Ryuen wants to see you."

"Lead the way."