As the dismissal bell rang, Class D's classroom emptied as quickly as a beach after the tide went out.
Most of the students eagerly grabbed their precious "answers" and hurried back to the dorms, planning to use what little time remained for some last-minute cramming.
Soon, only a handful of students remained in the classroom.
Lin Mu watched Kikyo Kushida as she carefully organized her schoolbag with her head bowed. After a moment's thought, he called out to her.
"Kushida, wait a second."
"Hm? What is it, Lin Mu?"
Kikyo Kushida looked up. She still seemed a little tired from handing out the answers, but her smile was as bright as ever.
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you privately. Let's go somewhere else." Lin Mu got straight to the point and headed out of the classroom.
Kikyo Kushida looked a little puzzled, but followed him right away.
They walked one after the other through the gradually quieting halls and came to a secluded spot behind the school building, where a small, classical pavilion stood.
Aside from the occasional student passing by, few people ever stopped there. It was certainly a good place for a private conversation.
Lin Mu stopped beside the pavilion. He didn't go in or sit down, merely leaning against a dark red wooden pillar.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting shifting flecks of light over his white hair and stern profile.
A freshly unwrapped lemon-flavored lollipop dangled from his mouth. He gazed at the neatly trimmed lawn in the distance, his tone casual, though there was a note of seriousness that rarely surfaced:
"Kushida," he began, his voice especially clear in the quiet surroundings. "The Academy... would never tolerate such an obvious loophole in its rules.
"The fact that you managed to get the answers to this midterm probably has less to do with how impressive your 'connections' are and more to do with some kind of 'tacit approval' from the Academy... or, more accurately, from the people who made the rules."
The smile on Kikyo Kushida's face faded slightly.
Lin Mu didn't look at her. He continued in the same calm, blunt tone. "These answers might prove useful this time. They could keep most of Class D from being expelled immediately and give the class a chance to catch its breath.
"But next time, and the time after that, there's absolutely no chance we'll get the same kind of 'good luck.'
"The Academy can't—and absolutely won't—keep cleaning up after Class D forever."
He paused, then finally turned his head to look at Kikyo Kushida.
His eyes seemed especially deep and calm in the dappled light.
"If you come across another 'shortcut' or 'opportunity' like this, don't volunteer to take it on, and don't count on getting lucky.
"If the answers you bring back turn out to be wrong, how do you think the other students will react?
"This school... is far more 'fair' than you might think, and far more cruel.
"The 'loopholes' it shows you are often traps in their own right."
His words were like a cool breeze, scattering the lingering excitement and sense of accomplishment Kikyo Kushida had felt after getting the answers.
She lowered her head and looked at the paper in her hands, the one so many students regarded as a lifeline. Her fingertips lightly traced its edge.
Lin Mu's point wasn't hard to understand. Given the Academy's strict rules and Sae Chabashira's cold attitude, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made.
That was right. If the answers were really so easy to get, wouldn't the Academy's rules be meaningless?
At the time, she'd only thought about helping everyone get through the crisis. She hadn't considered this angle... or perhaps she hadn't wanted to think too deeply about it.
She looked up, her smile returning. This time, it was less excited than before and held a clearer, warmer gratitude.
She looked at Lin Mu, her eyes sparkling.
"I understand, Lin Mu. Thank you for taking the time to tell me all this."
Her voice was sincere, and her appreciation was genuine.
"I never would've guessed that, even though you always seem so lazy and indifferent to everything, you'd care so much about your classmates and the class... and think so far ahead!"
Her praise was direct and enthusiastic, with Kikyo Kushida's characteristic frankness. She seemed genuinely moved by Lin Mu's "kind reminder."
Lin Mu looked at her bright, smiling face, which practically said, "You're such a good person," and listened as she thanked him for something entirely different from what he'd meant. A trace of helplessness passed through him.
The main point of what he'd said was "the rules might be a trap" and "don't take similar risks again." Somehow, she'd interpreted it as "Lin Mu cares so much about everyone."
Whatever.
He'd never been particularly interested in correcting other people's misunderstandings, especially when they were this inconsequential.
A slacker's concern—assuming that was what it was—wasn't worth discussing at length.
He'd given her the warning. Whether she listened and understood was up to her.
So he merely nodded slightly, accepting her thanks—or, more accurately, bringing the conversation to an end.
Then he straightened up, brushed off a little dust that might have gotten on his clothes from leaning against the pillar, and turned toward the dorms. He didn't say another word.
Kikyo Kushida stood where she was, still clutching the answers, her smile lingering.
She watched Lin Mu's tall yet languid figure walk away along the gravel path, until he finally disappeared around the corner of the tree-lined road.
Only after Lin Mu was completely out of sight did her smile slowly, little by little, fade away.
(Her face changing like this doesn't cost her any points.)
The sunlight remained bright, but on her delicate profile, it made her usual sweet smile seem somewhat... peculiar.
She lowered her head. Deep in her eyes, a fleeting, faint curiosity—and something else, utterly unlike her usual sunny, cheerful demeanor...
A possessiveness bordering on obsession quietly passed through her, like an undercurrent flashing across the bottom of a lake.
A voice sounded softly in her heart, sweet and syrupy:
"Lin Mu... you really are kind. You're always saying things that seem indifferent, but actually serve as warnings to others, when they least expect it...
"You make me... want to uncover every thought you've hidden beneath that lazy exterior, bit by bit, and examine them all, very carefully."
Then Kikyo drew a soft breath. When she raised her head again, her flawless, energetic smile had returned.
She carefully put the answers away in her schoolbag, then patted her cheeks. All right, stop thinking about that.
She'd made plans to go to the Academy Shopping Mall with a few girls from her class after school, to shop for daily necessities and snacks.
After all, if the class managed to earn some points this time, they'd have a little more to spare next month.
Still, as she turned and left the pavilion, her steps seemed lighter than usual, with an extra hint of excitement that was hard to explain.
Meanwhile, as Lin Mu walked back to the dorms, a strange chill suddenly crept over his back for no apparent reason.
It felt as though some cold, clammy gaze had just licked across him.
He stopped and reached up to rub the back of his neck, puzzled.
Strange... The sun was shining, and the breeze was warm.
Could... someone be plotting to harm me? Several possibilities flashed through his mind. Could it be Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A, with her calculating mind?
But she didn't seem to have any reason to act now. Or was it someone else?
The keen senses granted by his supernatural abilities occasionally gave him this kind of "warning" intuition, but it was usually vague.
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