Apology

"Sudo will come apologize to you tomorrow. When he does, just give him a way out."

"Although Sudo is straightforward, he has no other bad habits and is loyal to his friends. Most importantly, winning him over will take almost no effort."

In fact, Sudo had regretted it before the study session had even ended.

Not long after leaving, he contacted Suzuki Tsubame on his phone to sound him out about Horikita's attitude.

Because of his family circumstances, he did not want to leave this place.

If he left now, his dream would be completely over.

"Win Sudo over?"

Horikita furrowed her brows.

That guy was simple-minded and physically strong.

Other than causing trouble, she could not figure out what use Sudo had.

That was exactly what Suzuki Tsubame had been worried about. He feared that she would find Sudo useless and deliberately make things difficult for him.

Sudo was already insecure. If she still did not treat him well at a time like this, he would definitely explode again. It would be hard to make up afterward.

"Suzune-chan, don't underestimate Sudo. His temper may be bad, and his intelligence may be rather low."

"But his physical fitness is enough to rank among the top five in the class."

"Last month's exam tested virtue, and this month's tests intelligence. So how long do you think it will be before a physical exam?"

A physical exam?

Horikita suddenly understood.

That was right. If there were already behavioral exams, how far away could physical exams be?

Horikita nodded, her cool voice sounding once more.

"I understand. I won't make things difficult for him."

A teachable child indeed.

Suzuki Tsubame stroked his nonexistent beard.

The sea breeze swayed, and the waves rolled over one another.

The early summer sea breeze still carried a touch of chill.

"Suzune, are you cold?"

Horikita was in good health, but she was extremely sensitive to the cold. That had been clear during the Uninhabited Island Exam.

Her earlobes were slightly red. She was probably cold.

"A little."

As expected, Suzune was especially sensitive to the cold.

Her physical fitness was not low either. Was it because she was a cool-toned beauty?

Suzuki Tsubame took off his school uniform jacket and draped it over Horikita.

His physical fitness had already reached the limits of the human body.

In the past, standing in the sea breeze for half an hour like this would have made him catch a cold for sure.

"I'll warm you up some more. Don't let yourself freeze."

This guy was quite the gentleman. Horikita's heart warmed.

Aside from her mother, not even her father or older brother had cared for her like this.

Just as Horikita reached her hands toward Suzuki Tsubame, he crouched down instead.

Mm... cool to the touch, firm and smooth in his hands, soft and elastic. What a fine pair of legs.

Speaking of which, Horikita had learned so many things that human aesthetics had surely been among them.

Suzuki Tsubame silently thanked his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Just as Suzuki Tsubame worked hard to warm Horikita up, the girl became displeased first.

Thud!

That was clearly the sound of a fine head.

"Ow!"

It did not actually hurt. He was pretending, naturally to help Horikita vent her anger.

Horikita was not angry either. She knew very well just how attractive she was. If her personality had been just a little better, Kushida would not have been the most popular girl in Class D.

Time quietly passed.

The next day.

Kushida moved quickly indeed. Curious gazes came from the front rows toward Horikita's seat.

It seemed everyone already knew what had happened yesterday.

Suzune herself appeared completely unconcerned, ignoring the looks around her.

It was not until class was about to begin that Sudo arrived alone, fashionably late.

After entering through the back door, he did not pause at his own seat at all. He walked straight to Horikita's desk.

His tall figure completely blocked Horikita from view, making the classmates sweat for her.

Hirata Yosuke had long been ready as well. If Sudo showed even the slightest sign of attacking, he would rush forward without hesitation to stop him.

As one of the central figures in this incident, Sudo looked incredibly nervous at the moment, his face flushed red.

He tried hard to regulate his breathing and calm himself down.

"Horikita, I didn't control my emotions yesterday. I'm sorry!"

Another classic perfect ninety-degree bow.

Whether thanking someone, apologizing, asking for help, or even confessing their feelings, people from the island nation were always keen on bowing and kneeling.

He spoke very quickly. It looked like Sudo had practiced for a long time last night.

Horikita reached out to help Sudo up and said sincerely,

"As for what happened yesterday afternoon, I was also in the wrong... I shouldn't have said those things to you. I hope you can forgive me."

Her expression was a little unnatural. She really was not suited to winning people over like this.

Fortunately, Sudo did not mind.

He scratched his head and said awkwardly,

"You were right yesterday. I really am not very smart."

Having self-awareness was a good thing. Compared to Yamaguchi, Sudo was much better.

With that in mind, Suzuki Tsubame chimed in from the side.

"Sudo, the knowledge in a person's brain isn't something they're born with."

"As long as you want to learn, becoming smarter is only a matter of time."

As he spoke, he gave Horikita a meaningful look.

Horikita understood and turned to Sudo.

"Suzuki is right. As long as you're willing to learn, you can ask me about anything you don't understand."

"Thank you, Horikita."

Sudo's eyes were full of gratitude. He then turned to Suzuki Tsubame and said earnestly,

"And Suzuki, thank you both."

"If there's ever anything you need me for, just say so. As long as I can do it, I definitely won't refuse."

Winning him over had gone especially smoothly.

In truth, as long as one understood Sudo well enough, it was easy to see why he acted this way.

Ring ring ring...

The class bell rang.

The classroom became quiet again, and Sudo returned to his seat.

Everyone in the classroom looked at one another.

No one could understand how Sudo, who had such a violent temper and exploded at the slightest provocation, could apologize to someone in public.

And the other person involved was Horikita Suzune, who always seemed so aloof and contemptuous of everyone else.

Of course, that was merely everyone's wild speculation. Only Suzuki Tsubame knew what those two were really like.

Suzuki Tsubame was currently observing Kushida Kikyo. She sat upright, wearing the same unchanging smile from beginning to end.

Yet he noticed that she had started exercising her jaw muscles the moment Sudo apologized.

She was working them quite diligently. Suzuki Tsubame could not help worrying about her oral health.

Class time was dull and tedious.

Finally, the morning classes ended.

At this time normally, the girls would invite one another to go to the cafeteria, while The Three Idiots and the rest of the class did more or less the same.

Suzuki Tsubame and Horikita usually returned to the Dormitory together to eat, leaving Sakura alone in the classroom.

But Suzuki Tsubame happened to want to visit Sakayanagi today, so he did not go with Horikita. That was when he happened to witness another good show.

"Kushida, could you lend me some money? I spent points too wildly last month. Just two thousand points will do, please."

Karuizawa pressed her palms together, hoping that Kushida Kikyo, one of the class's perennial good people, would give her a little aid in points.

As for whether she could return the points?

She had borrowed them fair and square with her own abilities, so why should she pay them back?

"Uh, mm... all right."

Kushida Kikyo did not disappoint her. If she refused, someone with Karuizawa's personality might spread who knew what rumors.

Her smile was somewhat forced, though. It seemed she was about to lose her composure again.

After borrowing the points, Karuizawa did not choose to catch up with her friends. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Sakura Airi in the corner.

Sakura sat alone at her desk, lowering her head as she nibbled on the small bread she had bought that morning.

Her mother's cooking must have been delicious. Sakura did not even dare go to the cafeteria, yet she had somehow grown this big.

The key was that she had not even become malnourished because of it. That was quite miraculous.