Stepping on Two Boats Is Too Dangerous

"So you actually work out too? Why didn't you invite your upperclassman along? I work out as well, you know."

"That won't be necessary, I don't want to trouble you." Yagami Shizuka only wanted to decline.

"What kind of trouble could it possibly be? It's not like it's anything difficult. You aren't afraid of your little girlfriend, Sakayanagi Arisu, getting jealous, are you?"

"Yeah." Yagami Shizuka nodded, not denying it.

"Hehe, underclassman, how can you give up the whole forest just for one willow tree? It's quite embarrassing for a man. If you're already afraid of your wife now, what will you do in the future?

You need to learn to resist; marriage should be about freedom.

This forest doesn't just have weeping willows; it also has me, Fuka." She pointed at herself with a smile.

She's referring to herself, right?

[Wow! Love! It's love! Young man, congratulations on capturing the heart of your upperclassman, Kiryuin! How joyous! How celebratory! Hurry and take her hand! That way, you can reap a poignant and beautiful love hint.]

[1, Take Kiryuin Fuka's hand and spend the day happily.

Afterward, she will tell you she was just joking and only sees you as a little brother.

What you don't know is that 120 meters away, a telescope is currently trained on you. If you dare to make any move, that girl will dare to shoot you with the bow she borrowed from the Archery Club.

If you choose Kiryuin, you will definitely be shot to death in the future.]

[2, Playing the field is too dangerous, caw caw caw caw. Just stick to one boat and be done with it.]

Looking at the information before him, Yagami Shizuka broke into a cold sweat. Did Sakayanagi Arisu really borrow a bow from the Archery Club?

Why does such a dangerous thing exist in this school?

Upperclassman, you aren't joking at all; you're clearly playing with my life.

I suppose I was overthinking it; Kiryuin wouldn't be that easy to conquer.

"Upperclassman, let's get going. It's almost dark." Yagami Shizuka ran off first.

"Hey, don't change the subject, underclassman. It took me so long to learn that line."

"Hurry up, upperclassman." Yagami Shizuka, already far ahead, waved his hand.

"Fine, just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll make you a subject under my skirt." Kiryuin Fuka chased after him.

"Ah! Don't run!"

Yagami Shizuka ran in front with Kiryuin in pursuit, and they soon arrived at the Keyaki Mall.

They strolled around, chatting and laughing, before entering a karaoke room.

After picking a few songs, they began to sing.

Once they had their fill of fun, Kiryuin brought up the matter from last month, "I borrowed 2,300 points from you last time. I can pay you back now."

She had been afraid that if she didn't give them to Yagami Shizuka soon, she would end up spending them, and she had been meaning to bring it up.

"Upperclassman, there's no rush to pay me back." Yagami Shizuka refused, "It's not many points. Just consider it a welcome gift for getting to know you; it's fine if you don't pay it back."

"How can that be? Business is business. If I don't pay it back, I won't be able to sleep soundly." On the matter of repaying the debt, Kiryuin's attitude was quite firm.

There are some people whose money she borrows and simply doesn't intend to return; if they want money, she has none, and if they want her life, she only has one.

But some people are different.

After spending this time together, she had come to regard Yagami Shizuka as her only friend in this school.

A friend's money must be repaid.

Yagami Shizuka took a sip of his drink and waved his hand, "No, upperclassman, do you recognize me as a friend? If you do, then don't mention money. Friends help each other when they're in trouble, right? Mentioning money makes it feel so distant."

Friends—Yagami Shizuka had had them before.

He used to love making friends and understood the principle that one is influenced by their surroundings.

But with some friends, you treat them as friends, but they don't necessarily treat you as a human being.

As time went on, he saw many people for who they really were.

In the end, he remained alone.

Later, he understood one principle: friends shouldn't borrow money. In any case, if you lend it, you have to be prepared to never see a single cent back.

That would only tear the friendship apart.

Since that's the case, depending on the situation, you either give it freely or don't lend a single cent.

Only in this way can you reap true friendship.

Facing someone like Kiryuin who truly treated him as a friend, Yagami Shizuka naturally wouldn't be stingy with such a small amount of money.

Kiryuin looked at Yagami Shizuka in silence for a long time before nodding, "Alright. But if you ever run into trouble, you can tell me. If I can help, I definitely will."

"That's more like it. Actually, I do have something I'd like to ask of you, upperclassman."

"Oh? So that's where you were leading me." Kiryuin smiled and set down her glass; she had long guessed that Yagami Shizuka would have a request for her.

"State your business. Go ahead, what do you want your upperclassman to do for you?" If it were too difficult, she would consider refusing; she wasn't about to have her head turned by a few words from an underclassman.

"I see," Yagami Shizuka said hesitatingly, "I would like all of your exam papers from last year's midterms and finals. If that's inconvenient, photos will suffice."

Kiryuin took a sip of her drink, set the glass down, and pondered, "You must think this year's midterm will be the same as last year's, right? I encountered the same thing when I took the exams last year, but the questions were too simple. Even if they had the answers in hand, they still couldn't outperform me."

"You're amazing, Senpai!" Yagami Shizuka said, deeply impressed. "You guessed right. I could have bought them from someone else, but I felt it was better to come to you. Since your grades are excellent, what you filled out is the standard answer. Most importantly, it's because we're friends."

"Hmm, you're right about that. You came to the right person. So, how many points do you intend to offer for the purchase?" Kiryuin shifted the tone of the conversation.

"Why don't you name your price, Senpai? I don't want you to feel shortchanged."

Kiryuin hesitated for a moment. "Logically speaking, your class has no use for these exam papers. What do you intend to do with them?"

"I..."

"If you tell me your plan, I won't charge you. I'll give them to you for free."

"This..." Yagami Shizuka thought for a moment. He had considered that Kiryuin might not charge him, but he hadn't expected her to want to know his plan.

He scanned his surroundings, confirmed there was no surveillance, turned up the volume of the music, and began to explain his plan to Kiryuin.

"It's like this: I've consolidated all the points from my class, and I've established an R System where the top scorers on the exam will receive point rewards.

The top spots have already been predetermined, and then..."

The more Kiryuin listened, the more bewildered she became. "Predetermined top spots? Are you sure? How can you be certain you'll take first place? Even with past exam papers, that shouldn't be guaranteed, right?"

"I don't think I need to explain that part. Either way, that's how it is."

"Wait, let me process this. You intend to give the exam papers to the whole class, letting them mistakenly believe they can definitely take first place, but you've already predetermined the winner—is that what you mean?

Shouldn't you be using them yourself to ensure you can predetermine the outcome?"

"You heard me right, Senpai. First, second, and third place are already predetermined. Even if I give them the past papers, it won't change anything."

"But how could you possibly pull that off? You..." Kiryuin Fuka thought of herself, "Are you trying to say you're as capable as I am?"