Archaeology Volume Continued

Uesugi Hara received the test paper from Kushida Kikyo and immediately contacted Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Moshi moshi? Can you hear me?"

From the other end of the line came Sakayanagi Arisu's slightly languid voice, accompanied by the soft rustle of paper: "It's so late, Uesugi-kun, is there something you need?"

"Look at you, can't I just call to check in on you if there's nothing going on?" Uesugi Hara laughed, brushing it off.

"Hehe~" A soft chuckle came through the phone. "But in my impression, Uesugi-kun isn't the type to call just to check in on others."

"Haha, that's not important." Uesugi Hara coughed dryly, dropping the joking tone. "I really do have a reason for calling. I've managed to get my hands on what is likely the midterm exam paper."

"Why 'likely'?"

"Well, I can't be 100% certain, but there's a high probability."

"Is Uesugi-kun trying to make a contribution to the class?" Sakayanagi Arisu teased.

"As a member of Class A, it's only natural to contribute to the class." Uesugi Hara spoke with a straight face, though he was secretly calculating how to make her cough up some points.

"However, I paid a considerable price to get this paper." He intentionally dragged out his tone.

There was a two-second silence on the other end, followed by Sakayanagi Arisu's amused voice: "Uesugi-kun, you're asking if I can reimburse you in points, aren't you?"

"As expected of the brilliant Sakayanagi-san, you saw through my little scheme at a glance!" Uesugi Hara immediately went along with it, his tone eager. "Look, you've just taken command of Class A and need impressive results to win everyone over. This test paper is perfect for helping you consolidate support and gain the class's trust. Surely Sakayanagi-san wouldn't refuse, right?"

"That goes without saying." Sakayanagi Arisu's voice paused—there were indeed people in the class who didn't respect her, only keeping quiet due to the prevailing atmosphere. She changed the subject: "So, how many points did you spend, Uesugi-kun?"

"Not much, just 50,000 points for the paper. You can just throw in a little extra for my trouble." Uesugi Hara referenced the price Kushida Kikyo had quoted him.

"Let me ask, is the paper you're talking about from the previous year?" Sakayanagi Arisu ignored the price and instead questioned the source.

"I suppose so?" Uesugi Hara was vague.

Sakayanagi Arisu, on the other end, understood perfectly. She calmly stated her price: "30,000 points."

"30,000? You're way too stingy!" Uesugi Hara's volume spiked instantly.

"Uesugi-kun, if I went to contact the upperclassmen myself to buy the paper, the price would only be cheaper." Sakayanagi Arisu's tone suddenly turned plaintive. "Besides, you still have plenty left from the hundreds of thousands of points you earned from me last time. Do you really think I'm an ATM~"

Uesugi Hara shivered and quickly conceded: "Haha, how could I! 30,000 it is. I won't disturb your rest any further, goodnight!" He hung up with a "click," terrified she might change her mind.

He then sent the photos of the test paper to Sakayanagi Arisu and, after a moment's thought, added a "goodnight." A few seconds later, his terminal pinged with a transfer notification—30,000 points received. Looking at his balance, Uesugi Hara thought, At least it didn't get cut down to 20,000. A small profit.

As the midterm exams drew closer, the atmosphere in every class grew increasingly tense. In contrast, Class A remained relatively relaxed—most students had a solid foundation and weren't too worried about the exams. Uesugi Hara was even more so, continuing to slack off as usual, not taking the exams to heart at all.

Until two days before the exam, when this peace was completely shattered.

Sakayanagi Arisu walked onto the podium with her cane, followed by Kamuro Masumi and Hashimoto Masayoshi, each carrying a stack of papers. She cleared her throat, her voice ringing clearly throughout the classroom: "This is last year's midterm exam paper. The questions this year will likely be similar, so everyone can use this as a reference for your review."

"Everyone better remember this! Our beautiful and brilliant princess went to great lengths to get this for us! Hurry up and thank the princess!" Hashimoto Masayoshi immediately chimed in from the side, his tone full of flattery.

Sakayanagi Arisu accepted everyone's gaze calmly, offering no comment on Hashimoto's words, only instructing faintly: "Go ahead and pass them out."

The number of top-tier students in the class was small, and for those with average or lower grades, this paper was undoubtedly a "lifeline." The previously tense atmosphere instantly livened up, with cries of "Thank you, Sakayanagi-san" echoing throughout the room.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood on the podium, returning everyone's gaze with an elegant and appropriate smile.

"Uesugi, do you need one?"

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

"I don't need it." He waved his hand.

"Oh." Kamuro Masumi replied, turning to hand a paper to the next person.

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

"What's wrong?"

"Uesugi Hara, you weren't thinking about something weird again, were you?" The girl had noticed Uesugi Hara zoning out for a long time.

"I was just thinking about how many days you wear the same pair of stockings, Morishita-san. After all, you wear the same style every day." Uesugi Hara spoke nonsense with a straight face, his heart rate not even spiking.

Morishita Ai was stunned for a moment, then her eyes turned sharp. "While it's true that I'm charming, you really are a pervert, Uesugi Hara. I didn't expect you to be peeking at my legs every day. What, are you planning to go dig through the trash to find my stockings?"

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

"Asking about something like that casually makes it even more perverted." Morishita Ai turned away after saying this, ignoring him completely.

Uesugi Hara was left with black lines on his forehead, questioning his life choices.

"What's wrong?" Kamuro Masumi, having finished passing out the papers, returned to her seat and looked at the bewildered Uesugi Hara, asking with confusion.

"Nothing, Kamuro." Uesugi Hara sighed.

"What is it?" Seeing him hesitate, Kamuro Masumi pressed him again.

Uesugi Hara suddenly perked up, leaning in to suggest: "Do you want to bet on who gets the higher score this time?"

"No." Kamuro Masumi refused without a second thought.

"Why?"

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Kamuro Masumi rolled her eyes, her tone filled with disdain. "When you were tutoring me last time, I realized it! That last quiz was clearly a trap you set up to mess with me!"

"Hehe." Uesugi Hara didn't feel embarrassed at all despite being called out.

"Heh." Kamuro Masumi let out a cold snort, turned her head to focus on her test paper, and couldn't be bothered to pay him any more mind—she wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

Uesugi Hara saw that Kamuro wasn't falling for it at all, so he gave up.

Should he go try his luck with Sakayanagi?

Forget it, there would be no clear winner this time, and he might just end up getting pestered again later.

And so, Uesugi Hara began to space out aimlessly once more, his gaze drifting out the window as he waited for the class bell to ring...