Kazehara Tetsu was currently eating ice cream at a dessert shop.
He did like sweets, but he wasn't on a date with anyone.
At that moment, he was secretly observing someone.
Kushida Kikyo.
Ever since he and Ichinose Honami had pooled 15,000 points to buy the past papers, he had been looking for an opportunity.
The past papers had cost 15,000 points, but in return, he had secured insurance that would let every student in Class B sleep easy, as well as... a key that could pry open all of Class D.
No matter how you looked at it, the deal was incredibly worthwhile.
Ichinose Honami was a kind, idealistic leader.
Kazehara Tetsu knew perfectly well that once she got her hands on the exam questions, she would share them with everyone in Class B for free, strengthening the class's unity in the process.
That hadn't been part of his calculations, but it didn't matter. His attention had always been on Class D.
A class whose points had already been reduced to zero had no room for mistakes.
And just how tempting would a set of "past papers" that could save the fate of the whole class be to them?
Tempting enough to make them willingly hand over the last of their personal savings.
He needed a middleman.
Someone with enough prestige in Class D to persuade everyone to pool their money—a middleman who would be "useful."
Hirata Yosuke was a decent choice.
He was highly regarded in the class, an honest person with a strong sense of responsibility.
But when it came to handling certain matters, unnecessary suspicion might get in the way.
That left only one choice.
The girl who presented herself with an angel's face, longed to be loved and accepted by everyone, yet concealed another side within.
Kushida Kikyo.
The perfect candidate.
She was chatting and laughing with several girls from Class D, her face lit by a warm, sunny smile.
Her presence seemed to brighten the air around her.
They were sitting at a table not far from Kazehara Tetsu, discussing the various desserts on the menu.
"Ah, the Strawberry Parfait looks so delicious!"
"This Matcha Mille Crepe looks good, too..."
Kazehara Tetsu didn't approach them right away.
He simply ate his ice cream quietly, occasionally glancing over at them like an ordinary student killing time.
A few minutes later, when he had almost finished his ice cream, he stood up with his empty plate and headed toward the counter.
His route happened to take him past Kushida and the others' table.
"Oh, isn't that Kagihara from Class A?"
As he walked by, Kushida Kikyo greeted him as if she had only just noticed him.
"What a coincidence. You came here to eat, too."
"Kushida..."
Kazehara Tetsu stopped, a polite smile appearing on his face. "You know me?"
"Of course I know you, Kagihara!" Kushida replied with a nod.
One of the girls beside Kushida chimed in, "Kagihara's third on the school forum's 'Handsome Guy Ranking'!"
That topic immediately got the girls chattering among themselves.
Kushida Kikyo smiled. She knew everything about the information on the school forum. It was through channels like that that she had memorized the faces and names of nearly every student with even a little fame in their year.
A wry smile crossed Kazehara Tetsu's face. "I never thought someone like me would make it onto a ranking like that."
He didn't leave right away. Instead, he stayed where he was, as if waiting for their excited gossip to die down.
"Kagihara."
Seizing the moment, Kushida Kikyo spoke again, curiosity in her voice. "I heard you got the only perfect score on the quiz. That's amazing! Everyone in our class is still worrying about the Midterm Exam."
She had casually steered the conversation toward "exams" and cleverly revealed her class's "predicament," drawing closer to this "top student."
"Worrying?"
Kazehara Tetsu glanced at her, then at the girls beside her. "I have some news that might make things a little less worrying for you in Class D. I wonder... would you be interested in hearing it, Kushida?"
His words successfully piqued everyone's curiosity.
Kushida Kikyo's face lit up with anticipation. "Really? What is it? If it could help everyone, of course I'd like to hear!"
Kazehara Tetsu glanced around, then lowered his voice. "It's not very convenient to talk here. How about you all keep eating, and Kushida and I have a private chat first?"
"Sure, Kagihara. Let's go!"
Kushida Kikyo kept her smile in place as she reassured her equally curious companions, telling them she'd be right back.
Five minutes later, they found a quiet row of benches behind the shopping mall, where hardly anyone passed by.
"So, Kagihara, what's this news?"
Kazehara Tetsu didn't answer directly. He took out his phone, opened a file, then held it out to her.
The screen was filled with rows of questions and answers.
It was the previous year's Midterm Exam questions for every subject—the set he had just bought from a Senpai.
"What is this...?" Kushida Kikyo's pupils contracted slightly.
Kazehara Tetsu took back his phone. "Last year's Midterm Exam questions for every subject. I got them through a reliable source at a certain 'cost.'"
For an instant, Kushida Kikyo's breathing stopped. She immediately understood the value of what she had just seen.
"...Why are you showing me this?" For the first time, her voice held a trace of uncertainty.
Kazehara Tetsu turned his head and gazed into her eyes, his tone sincere. "I do have my own interests in mind, of course. But more than that, I feel sorry for what the students in Class D have been through. So I thought that if I entrusted this to you, it might be put to the best possible use."
"But... something this valuable, why would you..."
"Of course, it isn't free."
Kazehara Tetsu cut her off. "I sympathize with Class D's situation, but I'm not some selfless philanthropist. I paid a price, so naturally I need something in return. For the whole set... 50,000 points."
Kazehara Tetsu wasn't expecting to set the price too high.
First, Class D couldn't afford much right now. Second, Kushida Kikyo now knew these were last year's past papers, so she could always ask the upperclassmen if they had a cheaper set.
"Fifty thousand?!" Even so, Kushida Kikyo couldn't help raising her voice.
After receiving zero Personal Points following the first month, she had given most of her points to help her classmates. There was no way she could afford that amount.
"Kagihara... I can't come up with that many points..." Her face showed her distress.
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