During the class just now, Sae Chabashira had been observing the students.
This pop quiz was another way to assess their academic abilities.
On the first day of school, Sae Chabashira wanted to see what level these Class D students were at—
Of course, she was only truly focused on two of them.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Keima Katsuragi.
Especially Keima Katsuragi.
Sae Chabashira had only decided to give this quiz yesterday.
She wanted to know whether Keima Katsuragi's ridiculously impressive academic ability was genuine.
And she had hidden a little "design" of her own in the test.
Sae Chabashira quickly handed out the tests. After taking hers, Suzune Horikita swiftly scanned the questions.
There weren't many, but, as expected, they all covered what Sae Chabashira had just taught.
Suzune Horikita had an excellent aptitude for studying. Even though the lesson had been fairly difficult to understand, she had still kept up with Sae Chabashira's pace, and she quickly finished the first few questions.
She was confident she hadn't made a single mistake on them.
But when she reached the final question, Suzune Horikita's brow furrowed slightly.
It was considerably harder than the ones before it.
"Is this something we covered in class...? Or did I start with the wrong approach?"
Suzune Horikita's mind raced, but she couldn't come up with an answer.
She looked up at Sae Chabashira, who was at the podium. The teacher was simply resting with her eyes closed, not paying any attention to the students.
Suzune Horikita found it strange. It was a test, yet Sae Chabashira didn't act like a proctor at all.
Did she trust that none of the students would cheat—
Or did Sae Chabashira think cheating would be pointless anyway?
Suzune Horikita glanced at the other students. Most looked troubled, and some still hadn't put pen to paper.
Yosuke Hirata was also staring at his test with a serious expression, as if he'd encountered a difficult question.
After all, not every student had paid attention throughout the lesson. And even those who had might not be able to absorb all the material in such a short time.
Suzune Horikita was fairly certain that Sae Chabashira had deliberately made this pop quiz difficult.
Was it meant to put the new students in their place?
No. She shouldn't overthink it. She needed to solve the last question first.
It was difficult, but if she spent enough time on it, she should be able to finish before the tests were collected...
"Excuse me, teacher. May I turn in my test early?"
Just then, that familiar voice rang through the classroom, drawing almost everyone's attention to its source.
Keima Katsuragi raised his hand and spoke to Sae Chabashira.
"Oh?"
Sae Chabashira's eyes immediately settled on Keima Katsuragi.
She walked over to his desk, glanced at his test, then looked back at his face.
"Are you sure? You don't need to check it again?"
Volume One, Chapter Eleven: A Demon Little Sister and a Fool
A normal student would surely have felt a little uncertain hearing a teacher say that. They might even have thought the teacher was hinting that they'd gotten something wrong.
But Keima Katsuragi didn't hesitate at all.
"No need. I want to turn it in now."
Looking at Keima Katsuragi's utterly resolute expression, Sae Chabashira narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled.
"All right. You may turn it in early. But there are only ten minutes left until the tests are collected anyway, so I'd like to hear why you're leaving early."
"The reason's simple. I want to turn it in early so I can go eat in the cafeteria and then play games to my heart's content. If I took out my handheld during the test, people might think I was cheating, so I figured I'd just turn it in early."
Keima Katsuragi answered Sae Chabashira with complete seriousness.
"?"
For the first time, Sae Chabashira looked utterly bewildered. She even took half a second to make sure she'd heard him correctly.
He'd chosen to turn in his test early so he could play games?
And he was saying that right in front of her, his teacher?
Keima Katsuragi had spent the entire class playing games, too.
Sae Chabashira had taught Class D before and had seen how those students gradually gave up. But on the first day, they would all hold back to some extent.
She'd never seen anyone as "brazen" as Keima Katsuragi.
Still, it didn't matter.
She'd see for herself just how capable Keima Katsuragi was.
"I'll grade the tests and post the results in the class group chat later. You can check them on your Student Terminal. Since you're turning yours in early, please leave the classroom."
"Sure."
Keima Katsuragi had already packed his stationery. He stood up and left the classroom.
Suzune Horikita stared in shock at his departing figure.
H-he finished?
He even finished the last question?
Suzune Horikita was starting to doubt herself.
She was fairly confident in her academic abilities.
But she had to admit that the last question on this quiz was genuinely difficult.
And yet Keima Katsuragi hadn't just finished it; he'd turned it in early?
Seriously?
Hadn't he been playing games from beginning to end?
No. She couldn't keep thinking about him. She couldn't let him distract her again.
Suzune Horikita hurriedly lowered her head and refocused on the test.
She had only just picked up her pen and sorted out her thoughts when another voice came from beside her.
"Teacher! I want to turn mine in, too!"
The speaker was Elsie.
What was going on with these siblings?!
About thirty minutes later, in the cafeteria.
"There are no classes this afternoon, so I can go back to my dorm and play games to my heart's content!"
Keima Katsuragi had nearly finished his meal and was getting ready to head back to his dorm to enjoy himself.
Before, Keima Katsuragi had been somewhat reluctant about attending this school, but in just one day, his attitude had changed completely.
This place was actually pretty great!
It had strange systems and rules, but in some ways, the students had a great deal of freedom, and the school had just about every facility and product you could ask for—
Of course, Keima Katsuragi only cared about games.
"God of Conquest! Pay a little attention to our mission!"
Elsie, walking beside him, tugged at Keima Katsuragi's arm and shook it repeatedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I know..."
Keima Katsuragi felt a little dizzy and hurriedly replied.
Just then, both their Student Terminals vibrated at almost the same time.
Keima Katsuragi took out his terminal and looked at the screen. The pop quiz results were displayed.
[First Place: Keima Katsuragi — 100 points]
Keima Katsuragi found his score right away—as if he'd known where he would appear.
After confirming his result, he put away his terminal without a care.
"No surprise there, God of Conquest! You got first place?!"
Elsie looked at Keima Katsuragi with utter admiration.
She hadn't expected him to score so well when he usually focused on nothing but games.
"That's what I was supposed to do."
Keima Katsuragi replied indifferently.
At his previous school, Keima Katsuragi had used his outstanding grades to earn the privilege of playing games freely during class.
This school emphasized the word "ability" in every way—
Academic performance should count as part of that ability, too.
If you were capable enough, you could do whatever you wanted. In some ways, this school was paradise for Keima Katsuragi.
As long as his grades were good enough, he'd have even more freedom to play games!
"Speaking of which, how did you do? You turned yours in right after me, didn't you?"
"Um, God of Conquest, heh... don't look!"
Elsie hurriedly reached out to stop Keima Katsuragi, but that only made him more curious. He picked up his terminal again.
He followed the rankings down, but couldn't find Elsie's name. A few seconds later, he finally spotted her score.
[Fortieth Place: Katsuragi Elsie — 8 points]
"?"
Keima Katsuragi froze, then rubbed his eyes.
"Did I miss a digit, or did you really get a single-digit score? Even Ken Sudō, the second-to-last, got twice as many points as you!"
"You can't blame me for that, God of Conquest! I've been trying hard to study, but there are some questions I just don't understand!"
Elsie pouted slightly as she answered.
"You sound pretty proud of yourself. You did this badly and still turned it in early?"
"Even if I'd stayed... I still wouldn't have been able to solve them."
"..."
Keima Katsuragi fell silent for a moment.
"Wait, God of Conquest! I've got an idea!"
Just then, Elsie seemed to think of something. She snatched Keima Katsuragi's terminal and pressed it against her Feather Haori.
A faint puff of smoke drifted past.
"What are you doing?"
"All done!"
Elsie handed the terminal back to Keima Katsuragi. He hurriedly checked what she'd done.
[Third Place: Katsuragi Elsie — 99 points]
"I changed my score, and now everything's fixed!"
Elsie proudly patted her chest. She'd just used her demonic powers.
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