Friday had finally arrived, and it was time for the midterm exams. Class C (Ju Ji) had been preparing for this day for a long time, so the classroom was already full of students early in the morning.
"Good morning, Shinomiya."
"Thanks to those old exam papers you gave us, I'm really confident about this test."
"Save the big talk for after the exam."
Just a week earlier, Teacher Chabashira had announced that the exam scope had changed. But the exam questions were almost identical to the ones Ju Ji had asked the students in Class C to memorize. So, unlike before, the students in Class C had started going out of their way to greet him. It was an experience he never would have had before.
The reason was that every student in Class C now had a favorable impression of Ju Ji, with their approval rating above 50. They were somewhere between friends and acquaintances, but it also meant he could no longer reap Friendship Points from his classmates.
That wasn't a big deal, though. He already had the enormous sum of fifteen thousand Friendship Points, and there was nowhere to spend them yet. So he had no intention of continuing to collect more.
"Good morning, Ju Ji!"
"Who's that cute girl? She looks kind of familiar."
"She seems pretty close with Shinomiya."
"Airi, the midterm exams are about to start. You're almost late, you know? But you finally decided to change your look?"
Just then, a lively, radiant beauty walked into the classroom, drawing the attention of most of the students. Her wine-red hair fell to her waist beneath her uniform, with a small lock tied up on either side with ribbons, forming little ponytails. It made her look even cuter.
It was none other than the gravure idol Shizuku they had seen online, now brought perfectly to life by Sakura. In fact, ever since what happened a week ago, Sakura and Shinomiya hadn't spoken again. He hadn't expected her to be thinking about changing her appearance.
Ju Ji had felt down for a while, thinking he'd lost a friend he'd only just managed to make. But her approval rating hadn't changed, and he'd even wondered if the Make Friends System had malfunctioned. Now it seemed he'd worried for nothing.
"Sorry, Kikyo. It took me a little longer to do my makeup. I'm sure Ju Ji can understand, right?"
For some reason, the conversation had turned to Ju Ji. Sakura pressed her well-developed figure against his right arm, a teasing smile on her face. She seemed eager to see how he would react.
The atmosphere in the classroom immediately exploded.
"No way. That's the country bumpkin?"
"Damn, I should've confessed to her back then."
"Even if you had, you wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Isn't that Shizuku, the gravure idol from online? I can't believe she and Sakura are the same person."
After changing her appearance, Sakura's charm was overwhelming. She'd even made someone who used to insist Horikita was the best change his mind.
"Sakura, the exam is about to start. Please go back to your seat and stop clinging to Ju Ji, okay?"
A vein seemed to bulge on Kikyo's forehead, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Sorry, Kikyo. I was joking around too much. Please don't be mad. I'll go back now."
At some point during the time Sakura had spent with them, she'd suddenly become very obedient to Kikyo. Now that she could tell Kikyo was getting angry, Sakura naturally didn't want to provoke her further. Ju Ji breathed a sigh of relief, too. Sakura's sudden change still took some getting used to.
Suzune, Kikyo, Sakura, Ike, and Sudo. Before he knew it, he had more than five friends. Was he really living some kind of dream life now? He never would have imagined this before, but it had all come true. He had the Make Friends System to thank for it. Things were sure to get even better from here.
"Hey, Horikita, your pencil broke. Are you sure you'll be okay for the exam?"
"Don't worry about me, Ayanokoji. I have a spare."
At some point, the pencil in Suzune's hand had snapped. She hadn't even noticed it herself. Only after Ayanokoji pointed it out did she realize what had happened, and she quickly took out a spare.
Then the bell rang, and Teacher Chabashira walked into the classroom with a fearless smile.
"This is the first hurdle for a bunch of underachievers like you. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"
"We've all been studying hard since the start of the term. I don't think anyone in this class will fail!"
"Hirata, you sure sound confident."
"No, that's all thanks to Shinomiya."
The other students looked confident, too. Seeing them, Teacher Chabashira wore a rare, satisfied smile. She then tapped the stack of exam papers on her desk to straighten them before handing them out.
The first exam was social studies. It was one of the easier subjects, since all you had to do was memorize the material.
"If nobody fails this exam or the final exam under the contract, I'll take you all on vacation over the summer."
"A vacation?"
"That's right... I'll let you spend a dreamlike holiday on an island surrounded by blue seas."
A summer beach... The first things that came to mind were girls and swimsuits. Maybe all the boys were thinking along the same lines, because the guys in Class C (Ju Ji) visibly grew more excited.
But if Ju Ji remembered correctly, this so-called trip was the special exam where they had to survive in the wilderness. It was clearly a school event, yet Teacher Chabashira was taking all the credit for it. He had to admit, she was shameless.
"W-what's with all this pressure?"
Teacher Chabashira took a step back under the force of the students' enthusiasm, especially the boys'. The power of a bunch of horny guys was boundless.
"Everyone... let's give it our all!"
"Yeahhh!" n
He didn't actually want to join in, but he still shouted along with his classmates to fit in. Just then, he noticed Ayanokoji looking just as exasperated. So even Ayanokoji was paying attention to this kind of thing. Though he was probably just trying not to stand out too much.
"That idiot..."
For some reason, Suzune suddenly pressed her right hand to her forehead. She looked like she was in pain. Could it be a headache from not getting enough rest last night because of the midterm exams? That wouldn't do. You had to get enough rest before an exam, Suzune.
Before long, everyone had received their exam papers. Ju Ji didn't start answering right away. Instead, he looked through the questions first. Most of them were similar to the ones from the old exam papers he'd found. A small portion had changed, but they were still within the scope of what the class had studied, so there was no need to worry.
As long as they'd memorized the material carefully, they could get close to a perfect score. Next came Japanese, chemistry, math, English...
And so the midterm exams came to a smooth end, with the students in Class C (Ju Ji) brimming with confidence. It was certainly cause for celebration. If nothing unexpected happened, they should earn a considerable number of points. Their Private Points might even exceed the amount they'd had at the start of the term...
Before you continue