Study Session

Akasaka was walking Kato back to the dormitory.

On the way, they chatted now and then about Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Can you figure out what Ayanokoji is thinking?"

In response to Akasaka's question, Kato Megumi shook her head.

"Ayanokoji is the hardest person I've ever met to read."

"He's like he's wearing all sorts of masks. None of them is the real him."

"Even if I managed to guess what he was thinking at the time, it probably wouldn't be what he really thought. He'd just be acting."

"He's such a strange person. I can't see through him..."

The two of them walked to the dormitory, their bags in hand.

Akasaka sighed.

"It's fine if you can't see through him. That guy's pretty complicated. I never expected to deal with him so easily."

Kato Megumi was a little curious.

"Is Ayanokoji really that important to you, Akasaka?"

Akasaka looked serious.

"More than important. I see him as the Final Boss."

"Isn't it a bit much to treat a classmate like the Final Boss, Akasaka?"

"I don't think it's too much. You have no idea how terrifying that guy is..."

I walked Kato Megumi to the entrance of the Girls' Dormitory. Once I'd indicated that we'd arrived, I continued.

"You can't imagine how terrifying he is."

"I really don't want to make an enemy of him unless I have no choice."

"But I want to earn points, and there's no way around that wall named Ayanokoji. It's only a matter of time before we become enemies."

Kato Megumi nodded, only partly understanding, then stepped into the elevator to the Girls' Dormitory.

"This is the boys-only area from here on, so I won't walk you any farther. Take the elevator to a floor in the middle and look for room 405."

Akasaka explained, also telling her how to use the key card.

"Just swipe the card against the doorframe. See you tomorrow, Kato."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Akasaka."

Kato Megumi stood by the elevator doors and waved goodbye.

After a while, Akasaka let out a sigh of relief and muttered under his breath,

"If I can help it, I really don't want to be your enemy, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka..."

"Being your enemy would be terrifying."

Early the next morning.

Chabashira announced that midterms would be held the following month.

She also explained that the students would receive some points after the exams. The students who had spent all their points and didn't know what to do were immediately excited.

After Chabashira finished the lesson, the students whispered among themselves, making plans to study in groups and improve their grades.

Hirata Yosuke, the most popular boy in class, and Kushida Kikyo organized a study session. The class's apparent leader, Horikita Suzune, was completely ignored. It was also possible that Kushida Kikyo had done it on purpose.

Clearly, nobody acknowledged Horikita as their leader.

But Horikita didn't care. She picked up her bag and started to leave.

Ayanokoji and Akasaka sighed at the same time.

"And she still wants to be the class leader. ×2"

"She has no sense of responsibility at all. ×2"

Ayanokoji stopped Horikita again and suggested that she join the study session.

Horikita looked confused.

"Why should I study with a bunch of losers who can't even score 70 on an exam? They'll drag down my grades."

Horikita said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, leaving Ayanokoji speechless. This girl really is hard to handle...

Akasaka stood to the side, holding back a laugh.

Ayanokoji glanced at Akasaka with a calm expression. "You're helping out too."

"Tch." Akasaka clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he had no choice but to agree. After all, he was the one who'd sold Ayanokoji out.

The study session was thus split into two groups.

The first group consisted of Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and 36 other students. As everyone knew, there were only 40 students in the class... The other group had taken 36 of them, so there was no need to explain who was left.

It was Akasaka, Horikita, Ayanokoji, and the practically invisible Kato Megumi. They were completely cut off from the rest of the class.

What on earth was Horikita thinking? What good could one person do by fighting alone? Could she take on all 40 students by herself?

What a joke.

Of course, if it were Ayanokoji, I'd take that back... He wasn't normal.

The group went to the library and split into two.

On one side was the study group of 36 led by Hirata and Kushida.

On the other was the pitiful group of four.

Akasaka lay on the desk, bored out of his mind. He hated studying most of all. He'd transmigrated and ended up a student again. It seemed he couldn't escape the misery of studying!

If he could, he'd turn into an adult right away and avoid the suffering of being a student.

Seeing how lazily Akasaka was slumped over, Kato Megumi helplessly patted him on the head, as if soothing a little child.

"Come on~. If you don't study, you might get expelled. Then you won't be able to earn money to pay off your debt..."

Kato Megumi knew exactly where Akasaka was vulnerable, and her words hit him right where it hurt.

Sure enough, when Akasaka heard that, he perked up at once, picked up his textbook, and began studying seriously.

Horikita and Ayanokoji, watching from the side, couldn't help exchanging a glance and marveling at it.

Horikita spoke coldly. "Kato really understands him. One sentence is all it takes to make him study seriously."

Kato, however, didn't think much of it. "I just know how to read people, that's all. It's nothing special."

Ayanokoji thought, You're already beyond reading people. This is a superpower. But outwardly, he simply gave a calm "Oh."

"Kato really is amazing. I wish I could learn to read minds too."

"I told you, I can't read minds, Ayanokoji."

Kato Megumi was rather exasperated. No matter how she explained it, Ayanokoji always thought she could read minds.

He also kept trying to get closer to her, intentionally or otherwise. Being noticed by someone did make her happy, but this wasn't the kind of attention she wanted.

Besides, she always felt that Ayanokoji was dangerous, and instinctively kept her distance from him.

That was what Kato Megumi was thinking.

Horikita, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about any of that. She only wanted to study seriously and wasn't considering the team's interests at all.

Even though Chabashira had told her that the entire class had to pass this exam to earn points, Horikita still did whatever she wanted, completely indifferent to what happened to her classmates.

Ayanokoji found this rather exasperating. He'd even considered finding another tool. This one really wasn't convenient to use, and she still needed to be trained. It was too time-consuming.

Ayanokoji glanced at Akasaka Ryunosuke, who was studying nearby, and his eyes lit up.

This tool... was much better than Horikita.

Akasaka, studying nearby, shuddered. He felt a strange chill and looked around. When he saw Ayanokoji staring at him, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Damn, that guy's watching me. He's definitely up to no good.