"I'm back~"
"Ah, welcome back. It's just finished, so come sit down."
When I returned to my room after buying mechanical pencil leads and an eraser, Hiyori was busy bringing over the food, wearing an apron.
"Need any help?"
"No. Taking care of you is my job, Hachiman."
Hiyori firmly turned down my offer, so I had no choice but to sit and wait for her to set the table.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's eat."
"Yeah. Though this pork cutlet is huge."
Tonight's dinner was an extra-large fried pork cutlet.
Hiyori made a different dish every day, but she rarely prepared anything high in fat, so I was a little surprised to see a pork cutlet.
"Since midterms are tomorrow, I wanted to give you a good-luck meal, Hachiman."
"I see. Thanks."
In that case, I'd dig in.
Besides, there was no way I could turn down a meal Hiyori had made.
The moment I bit into the pork cutlet, its delicious flavor spread through my mouth.
Feeling that incredible impact, I had to admit it was the perfect good-luck meal.
In the end, I wolfed down every last bite of the food Hiyori had made.
Though I always ate with that much enthusiasm.
"You're welcome. Ah, there's some sauce at the corner of your mouth."
As she spoke, Hiyori wiped the corner of my mouth with a tissue.
Sakanayanagi had done the same thing to me before, and it was incredibly embarrassing.
But seeing how completely unembarrassed Hiyori was, I somehow managed to keep my composure.
After thanking her, I continued eating, only to realize I couldn't stop.
It felt like she'd put even more heart into today's meal than usual.
Could this be the legendary killer dish...!
Though I was thinking something stupid, eating together was undoubtedly a happy time.
Three hours later...
"Hiyori, tomorrow's the big day. Shouldn't we wrap up our review and head back soon?"
Around eleven at night, I suggested this to Hiyori.
We'd both prepared thoroughly, so there was no need to stay up late before the exam.
If anything, it'd be awful if staying up all night affected our performance. Getting a good rest before the exam was the best option.
In the end, although I hadn't memorized the past exam questions Kushida had prepared, the questions seemed manageable enough that I could answer them normally. There was no need to cram.
As long as you studied seriously, you'd be fine.
When I explained my conclusion to Hiyori...
"Hachiman, if you don't mind... could I stay in your room?"
"What brought this on all of a sudden?"
Hiyori sometimes came over early in the morning, but this was the first time she'd asked to stay the night in advance.
The last time I stayed over with Sakanayanagi and the others, it had just happened naturally.
But this time, she was clearly asking to spend the night.
It was completely unexpected, and I couldn't help asking her about it.
"Yes. I want to be spoiled by you, Hachiman... Is that not okay?"
She looked at me anxiously as she finished. Seeing that expression, refusing her would make me seem like a terrible person.
Besides, she wanted to be spoiled by me? That made me so happy and so embarrassed I could die.
"...All right. Go back to your room, pack your things for tomorrow, and bring your bag over."
I sighed as I agreed to Hiyori's request.
It was embarrassing, but after all the ways she'd looked after me, I couldn't refuse.
"Thank you so much. I'm so happy... See you in a bit~"
Hiyori beamed when she heard my answer and left the room. Thank goodness—I wouldn't have to see her looking sad.
An expression like the one she'd worn during that incident with Ryuen was enough for me to see once.
(For now, Hiyori will get her things ready for tomorrow and take a bath. That'll probably take about half an hour, so I'll look over the math questions again while I wait.)
I'd gone over the questions for every subject, but at this level, I could get full marks in English, Japanese, and social studies without memorizing them.
I was only worried about math and science, so I'd review math until Hiyori came back.
I'd look at science tomorrow morning and during the breaks.
As I was reviewing the questions, the door clicked open.
I hurriedly stuffed the questions into my bag. A moment later, Hiyori walked in wearing her pajamas and carrying her bag and uniform. She'd come prepared.
"I've got everything ready, so... shall we sleep together?"
As she spoke, Hiyori set down her things and gently tugged on the hem of my shirt.
That little gesture was too unfair.
"...Okay."
In the end, I couldn't resist. I lay down on the bed, and Hiyori snuggled under the covers and hugged me. Then...
"Good night... Hachiman."
Mwah.
She planted a gentle kiss on my cheek.
I was so embarrassed that I tossed and turned until one in the morning without being able to fall asleep.
The next day...
"No one's absent today. Having everyone here is more important than anything."
I'd barely slept the night before because of Hiyori's kiss, and as I yawned, Chabashira-sensei spoke with a pleased smile.
Today, at last, the first major hurdle for the bottom-of-the-class students—the midterm exams—was here.
"For you underachievers, this is your first trial. How did it go? Did you all study properly?"
"We've been preparing seriously for the past few weeks. No one in this class will fail."
Actually, if someone managed to fail after getting their hands on past exam questions, they'd be too stupid to save.
"Hirata, you sound pretty confident. Let's see whether that's just bluffing or if you can back it up."
Chabashira-sensei began handing out the papers as she surveyed the classroom.
The first period was social studies, my best subject.
On top of that, I'd studied like crazy during exam prep to earn reward points, so even without the past exam questions, I was confident I could place in the top ten in the year.
"If no one drops out during these midterms or the final exams in July, I'll take all of you on a summer vacation."
"A vacation?"
"That's right. The deep-blue sea, the white sandy beaches, and the brilliant sunshine. I'll give you a taste of a dreamlike life."
Yeah, right.
It'd definitely be some kind of vacation with a catch.
I wasn't falling for it.
But the boys in the class seemed to take her seriously and let out an excited roar in unison.
Even Chabashira-sensei was startled enough to take half a step back.
"Let's do our best, everyone!"
"Uwoooooo!"
At Ike's shout, the boys burst into cheers.
The girls, on the other hand, cast them icy looks.
As everyone stood there dumbfounded, the school bell rang.
The noise from a moment ago died away at once, and everyone gripped their pens.
First, I wrote my name in the name field on the answer sheet.
It wouldn't be funny if I got a zero because I'd left it blank.
Once I started solving the questions, things went surprisingly smoothly.
I wrote down my answers while scanning the questions, and at this rate, I'd easily get full marks.
The only thing to worry about was filling in the wrong answer fields, but I could check everything carefully once I was done.
I casually glanced around the classroom and didn't see anyone putting down their pen.
Even the class's three idiots were answering smoothly. It looked like Hirata had been right; no one would fail.
Thinking that, I finished every question and began checking the answer fields.
Three hours later...
"That was super easy!"
"I might even get 120 points!"
During the break, the class's two idiots, Ike and Yamauchi, excitedly held up the past exam questions.
Just looking at them, it was obvious they wouldn't fail.
By then, the second period, Japanese, the third period, science, and the fourth period, math, were all over.
I'd probably gotten full marks in social studies and Japanese.
I hadn't finished the final proof question in math, but I'd solved everything else, so I'd probably get around 95.
When I looked over the past questions for science that morning, I found a few things I'd mixed up. I'd probably get around 90.
That meant my total score probably wouldn't place in the top three in the year.
It looked like even placing in the top five overall was a long shot, so I shouldn't get my hopes up for the reward points for science or my total score.
I'd be lucky if I placed in the top three for math.
But English was my strong suit, so I should be able to rack up plenty of points there.
While I was thinking this over and making my final preparations, I suddenly noticed Sudo reviewing the past exam questions with a miserable look on his face.
Ayanokoji spoke to him, and that was how I found out the guy had actually fallen asleep while reviewing English.
He was hopelessly stupid...
But whatever happened to him was none of my concern.
He was at risk of dropping out, yet hadn't even properly reviewed the past questions that could save him. He had it coming.
I had my own problem to deal with.
I had to get full marks and earn thirty thousand points.
Ten minutes later...
"We'll now begin the English exam. You all know this, but I'll say it anyway—whispering will be considered cheating."
The teacher began handing out answer sheets and exam papers, reciting the usual instructions.
Since it was the last subject, everyone seemed at least a little nervous.
Koenji was probably the only one who wasn't. That guy was way too bold.
I started answering as soon as I got the paper. It went as smoothly as Japanese and social studies.
I had Sakanayanagi, Ichinose, and Hiyori to thank for that... Crap, just thinking about Hiyori made me feel embarrassed.
----Good night... Hachiman----
Remembering Hiyori's kiss made my cheeks start burning again.
No, no, that hadn't been a real kiss. It was just a peck on the cheek, so it didn't count! She'd probably done it out of friendship, not romantic feelings.
Still, her lips had been so soft. I wanted her to kiss me again.
Could she kiss me one more time?
...What was I even thinking about during an exam?!
I had to focus on the test now!
As I came to my senses and glanced at my answer sheet—
(What the heck?! Why did I write my thoughts about kissing in the English-to-Japanese translation section?!)
The space for the English translation answer had a whole passage about kissing Hiyori.
I must have written it without realizing.
As I frantically tried to erase it, the teacher proctoring the exam happened to glance at my answer and let out a laugh without a word.
(I've created another embarrassing memory...)
I'd probably still get full marks in English, but the mental exhaustion was obvious.
Before you continue