Archaeology Exam Paper, Continued

After receiving the exam paper from Kushida Kikyo, Uesugi Hara immediately contacted Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Moshibushi? Can you hear me?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's slightly languid voice came through the phone, accompanied by the faint sound of pages turning. "It's so late. Is something the matter, Uesugi?"

"Come on, what's that supposed to mean? Can't I call just to check in on you?" Uesugi Hara said with a laugh.

"Hehe." A soft chuckle came through the phone. "But from what I know of you, Uesugi, you're not the type to call someone just to check in."

"Haha, that's beside the point." Uesugi Hara gave a dry cough and dropped the joking tone. "I really do have something to ask you about. I got my hands on what might be this midterm's exam paper."

"Why 'might be'?"

"Well, I can't be certain either. But there's a good chance it is."

"Are you planning to contribute to the class, Uesugi?" Sakayanagi Arisu teased.

"As a member of Class A, I naturally have to do my part for the class." Uesugi Hara sounded perfectly serious, though in his mind he was figuring out how to get her to cough up some points.

"But getting hold of this paper cost me quite a bit." He deliberately drew out the last few words.

There was a two-second silence on the other end, then Sakayanagi Arisu's amused voice came through. "You're asking whether I can reimburse you with some points, aren't you, Uesugi?"

"Unsurprisingly, the brilliant Sakayanagi saw right through my little scheme!" Uesugi Hara immediately played along, his tone ingratiating. "Look, you've only just taken charge of Class A, so you need some impressive results to win everyone's trust. This paper will help you rally the class and earn their confidence. Surely you won't turn me down, will you, Sakayanagi?"

"Of course not." Sakayanagi Arisu paused. There were still people in the class who didn't accept her, though they'd kept quiet because of the class's prevailing attitude. Then she changed the subject. "How many points did you spend, Uesugi?"

"Not much. Just fifty thousand for the paper, and you can throw in a little extra as thanks for my hard work." Uesugi Hara based his asking price on what Kushida Kikyo had quoted him.

"Let me ask you this. The paper you mentioned, Uesugi—it's from last year, right?" Sakayanagi Arisu didn't respond to his price and instead pressed him about where the paper had come from.

"Probably?" Uesugi Hara hedged.

Sakayanagi Arisu understood. Calmly, she named her price. "Thirty thousand points."

"Thirty thousand? That's way too stingy!" Uesugi Hara's voice shot up.

"Uesugi, I could contact the upperclassmen and buy the paper myself for less," Sakayanagi Arisu said, her tone suddenly turning plaintive. "Besides, you made several hundred thousand points off me last time. You must still have plenty left. Do you really think I'm an ATM?"

Uesugi Hara shivered at her words and hurriedly backed down. "Haha, of course not! Thirty thousand it is. I won't keep you, Sakayanagi. Good night!" He hung up with a click, afraid she might change her mind.

Then he sent Sakayanagi Arisu photos of the exam paper. After a moment's thought, he added, "Good night." A few seconds later, a transfer notification popped up on his Terminal—thirty thousand points received. Uesugi Hara looked at his balance. "At least she didn't bargain it down to twenty thousand. Not bad."

As the midterms drew closer, the atmosphere in every class grew increasingly tense. Class A, by comparison, remained fairly relaxed. Most of the students had a solid academic foundation and weren't too worried about the exams. Uesugi Hara was even less concerned. He kept slacking off as usual, not taking the exams seriously at all.

That calm was completely shattered two days before the exams.

Sakayanagi Arisu walked up to the lectern, leaning on her cane. Behind her, Kamuro Masumi and Hashimoto Masayoshi each carried a stack of exam papers. She cleared her throat, and her voice rang clearly through the classroom. "These are last year's midterm papers. This year's questions will very likely be similar, so you can use them to guide your revision."

"Everyone, make sure you remember this: our beautiful and brilliant Princess went to great lengths to get these for you! Hurry up and thank the Princess!" Hashimoto Masayoshi immediately chimed in, his tone full of flattery.

Sakayanagi Arisu accepted everyone's attention without comment on Hashimoto's words and simply instructed, "Go hand out the papers."

Only a handful of students in the class were at the very top academically. For those with average or below-average grades, these papers were undoubtedly a lifeline. The tense atmosphere immediately gave way to excitement, and waves of "Thank you, Classmate Sakayanagi" rang through the classroom.

Standing at the lectern, Sakayanagi Arisu returned their thanks with an elegant, gracious smile.

"Uesugi, do you need one?"

Kamuro Masumi's voice came from beside him, pulling Uesugi Hara out of his daze.

"I'm good." He waved a hand.

"Oh." Kamuro Masumi replied and turned to hand a paper to the next person.

Morishita Ai accepted the paper and thanked her, then turned to look at Uesugi Hara.

"What is it?"

"Uesugi Hara, were you thinking about something weird again just now?" The girl had noticed him spacing out for quite a while.

"I was wondering how many days you wear the same pair of stockings, Morishita. After all, you wear the same style every day." Uesugi Hara delivered his outrageous lie with a straight face.

Morishita Ai froze for a moment, then her gaze sharpened. "It's true I'm attractive, but you really are a pervert, Uesugi Hara. I can't believe you've been staring at my legs every day. What, are you planning to dig my stockings out of the trash?"

Uesugi Hara's mouth twitched. "I was just asking."

"Just asking something like that makes you even more of a pervert." Morishita Ai turned away and ignored him.

Uesugi Hara was left standing there, utterly baffled and questioning his life choices.

"What's wrong?" Kamuro Masumi, having finished handing out the papers, returned to her seat. She glanced at Uesugi Hara's dazed expression and asked in confusion.

"Nothing, Kamuro." Uesugi Hara sighed.

"What?" Kamuro Masumi pressed him again when he seemed to have something to say but stopped himself.

Uesugi Hara suddenly perked up and leaned over to suggest, "Want to have another contest and see whose score is higher this time?"

"No." Kamuro Masumi rejected him without a moment's hesitation.

"Why not?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Kamuro Masumi rolled her eyes, sounding a little exasperated. "When you tutored me last time, I figured it out. You deliberately set me up during that last quiz!"

"Hehe." Uesugi Hara didn't feel embarrassed at all, even after being found out.

"Hmph." Kamuro Masumi snorted and turned her attention to the exam paper, not bothering to engage with him any further. She wasn't falling for it a second time.

Seeing that Kamuro Masumi wasn't taking the bait, Uesugi Hara gave up.

Should he try asking Sakayanagi?

Never mind. There'd be no way to tell who was better this time, and she might keep pestering him afterward.

So Uesugi Hara went back to daydreaming aimlessly, his gaze drifting out the window as he waited for the bell to ring...