Methods for Getting Through the Exams

"Who am I? Where am I?" Looking around at everyone in the exam room, heads down and working on their tests, Hoshino felt completely out of place.

Though he was a little surprised, he could only steel himself and get to work. At least it was just the beginning of the new semester, and the questions weren't especially difficult. Thank goodness!

After skimming through the questions, Hoshino finally felt his nerves ease a little. He picked up his pen and got started...

"Phew—" In the end, he'd made it through without any trouble. Most of the questions hadn't been particularly hard, so he should pass with ease. Only then did Hoshino let out a long breath of relief.

By the time the exam ended, the sun was nearly setting, and its afterglow spilled across the classroom.

After Chabashira-sensei finished collecting the papers and left the room, the classroom grew noisy. Some students discussed where to go for fun, others talked about how difficult the questions had been, and some compared their answers...

In short, the classroom had returned to its usual clamor. But judging by the mood in class, it seemed no one was the least bit worried. Weren't they afraid of failing? Hoshino wondered, but didn't show it.

Gathering his thoughts, Hoshino pulled out his phone.

He'd originally planned to go to Class C and look for Ryuen and the others, but after checking the time, he decided against it. He was a little tired himself, after all.

Before long, most of the people in the classroom had left. Ayanokoji, however, still seemed to be discussing something with his deskmate, Horikita. This was a good chance to ask them.

"Ayanokoji, how many points are you aiming for this time?" Hoshino took advantage of a pause in their conversation to join in, dropping a "bombshell" without warning.

The three of them fell silent at once.

"...Hoshino, what are you talking about?" Ayanokoji asked after a moment, looking completely innocent.

Horikita wore a slightly puzzled expression too. She turned to study Ayanokoji, but soon seemed to relax.

Could this idiot still not have figured it out? Hoshino wondered, looking at Horikita's expression.

"...Let's not talk about that! Hoshino, did you need something?"

Ayanokoji seemed worried Horikita would notice something was off, and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Not... anything important. I just feel like... the atmosphere in class is a little strange..."

"Hmm?" Horikita looked puzzled too and raised her head to look at Hoshino, who was deep in thought.

"...It seems like no one's worried about failing! Even though just last month..."

Hoshino's concern wasn't unfounded. In last month's quiz, seven students in the class had failed! Everyone was acting far too calm today, well beyond what Hoshino had expected. He could barely even remember which students had failed last month.

"..."

"..."

Ayanokoji and Horikita both fell silent, staring straight into Hoshino's eyes. After a moment, Horikita looked at Ayanokoji again, puzzled.

"Ayanokoji, did you not tell him?..." Horikita's gaze sharpened. She took a compass out of her pencil case and examined it with ill intent, the threat in her gesture unmistakable. Hoshino was startled too.

"No! I did tell him. It's just that he seemed busy with something else at the time and didn't pay any attention to me..." Though he was being threatened, Ayanokoji's expression didn't waver at all, as if he weren't the one under threat.

"Oh, now I remember! Ayanokoji, that's what you came to see me about that day! Uh... what did you say?" Hoshino seemed to suddenly remember something, though apparently he hadn't remembered anything after all.

"...I came to see you that day to invite you to a study group... to see if you needed any help..." Ayanokoji paused in speechless resignation before explaining.

"Uh, okay. But what does that have to do with what we're talking about now?" Hoshino tilted his head, not quite understanding, and asked Ayanokoji.

"...Nothing. Horikita just seems to think I never told you, which is why you didn't know about the study group. As for the students in the class who'd failed, we already held a study group and tutored them. Kushida also got past exam papers from the upperclassmen before the test. The questions have been pretty much the same for the past few years. So..."

Hoshino more or less understood what was going on: Sudo and the others must have memorized the past exam papers.

He just hadn't known any of this was happening.

Well—when you were busy trying to make money, who had time to care about anything else?

"I'm a little worried... No! It's nothing!" Horikita looked concerned and stumbled over her words, as if she wanted to say something.

Everything seemed foolproof, but Horikita still looked worried. That probably meant something was about to go wrong!

Hoshino had noticed something seemed off too, but whatever happened next didn't have much to do with him. He'd only come over to ask out of curiosity and say hello.

The next day, since the exams had just ended and the papers hadn't been graded yet, classes went on as usual, continuing with the previous material.

Disruptions during class had decreased considerably by now. Even Sudo had started paying attention! Though most of the time he still stared at the blackboard with a baffled expression while copying something down, at least he was making an effort.

It seemed quite a few things had happened during the study group without Hoshino's knowledge. Sudo had grown, which was a good thing for the class. His athletic ability would definitely come in handy, and losing him early would be a huge blow to the class.

"Ryuen, help me think this through. Don't we still have a debt to settle?"

As soon as school let out, Hoshino hurried to Class C. A lot of people had already left, but luckily Ryuen and the others were still there, apparently discussing something.

"Tch. You've gone this long without coming to see me. I was about to forget about it." Ryuen's expression instantly turned sour when the annoying guy showed up.

Though he said that, Ryuen still gave Ishizaki a look.

Ishizaki looked thoroughly unwilling and seemed to mutter something under his breath, but he still followed Ryuen's instructions and transferred the points to Hoshino.

"Thanks, thanks!" Hoshino grinned like a shameless opportunist while checking his phone. "Hey, Ryuen, try to be more prompt next time! Honestly..."

"Take the points and get out of here, or do you want me to give you a proper welcome?" Ryuen's expression was full of menace. This guy was serious!

Still, if the "tyrant" ruled the class this way and failed to achieve anything, that failure would surely deal a blow to his position. Hoshino could understand what Ryuen was doing.

"Sure, sure, I'm going! I won't bother you any longer!" Hoshino left Class C at an unhurried pace, grinning from ear to ear.

Hoshino didn't notice the resentful gaze in the corner of Class C, fixed on him as he went...