The review session ended on an upbeat note. Only a few days remained before the official Midterm Exam.
After leaving the Class B Classroom, Toudou Shizuka walked along the Tree-lined Avenue leading to the dorms. The early autumn sun cast his shadow long behind him.
The urgent problems of Simulation Points and talent had been resolved, and the class's exam preparations were now on track. But another matter had quietly come to mind.
It was about Sakura Airi...
He knew all too well what Class D was currently up against. After the Yamauchi incident, Sakura had become even more withdrawn.
She was probably even more isolated in class. Although Kushida Kikyo was Class D's social glue, to Sakura she was only a classmate she got along well with—not a true friend.
The Midterm Exam would only add to her stress.
He thought of those uneasy eyes hidden behind enormous lenses, and the ease he'd felt at the class's smooth progress...
It was soon replaced by a complicated mix of emotions.
Her affection level was 65, and she'd already unlocked A-Rank Photography. But at that moment, he wasn't thinking about skills.
But he couldn't—and absolutely wouldn't—leak to anyone in Class D the core materials Miyazaki Miyabi had obtained at enormous risk, materials worth 300,000 Class Points.
That was a matter of principle, and a responsibility to Kanzaki, Ichinose, and all of Class B, who trusted him.
Under the school's rules, Class B and Class D were competitors.
But... what if he offered some study methods and key pointers he'd put together himself, nothing involving confidential information?
Simply as a friend, not as a member of Class B?
Once the thought occurred to him, it was hard to suppress.
When he returned to the dorm, he didn't rest right away. Instead, he