Hiyori Shiina, the Bookworm

But it didn't take long for someone to contradict Shuichi Kanda.

"Then I'll be going." A cool voice came from behind Shuichi Kanda.

That's right, Horikita Suzune! You're really going to slap me in the face like that? I'll remember this grudge!

"Of course. That's your choice."

After that, Shuichi Kanda glanced at Horikita Suzune and fell silent.

"You come out with me too. I have something to ask you."

The beautiful Horikita Suzune's invitation to speak privately caught Shuichi Kanda off guard. But after remembering what she often did to her seatmate, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, Shuichi Kanda decided to refuse the tempting invitation.

"Sorry, I still have to attend the strategy meeting, so I can't go with you."

"If I'm satisfied with your answer, I can pay you 10,000 Private Points. You eat expensive meals every day to recuperate, so you must be running short on points."

Huh, so that's how other people see me?

Fine, fine. You win.

"Deal."

Shuichi Kanda stood up, nodded to Hirata, and followed Horikita Suzune.

"Whatever you want to say, say it here."

Once they were outside the classroom, the surveillance cameras lining the corridor gave Shuichi Kanda a sense of security.

"Then I'll get straight to the point. What else do you know about this school?"

Horikita Suzune turned around and fixed Shuichi Kanda with a sharp gaze.

Maybe the idiots in the class hadn't noticed, but she'd seen it from the start: both the morning homeroom and the strategy meeting after school.

It looked as though Hirata was giving the orders, but Shuichi Kanda was the one really controlling the pace.

Hirata Yosuke was nothing more than a puppet he'd put forward.

"That's a difficult question to answer. Isn't 10,000 Private Points a little too cheap for that kind of information?"

"Then let me ask it this way: is there any way to increase our Class Points?"

"Of course there is. The situation is already quite clear. Since the school has made Class Points the standard for evaluating students, that standard definitely won't remain unchanged.

"If the school really decided our fate three years from now after just one month, then its vaunted S System would be the most useless and laughable system in the world."

Shuichi Kanda answered with absolute certainty.

"Besides, I heard that the student council presidents from previous years helped establish most of the school's rules. Do you think the current Student Council President is an idiot?"

"Of course not! What kind of stupid thing is that to say?"

Horikita Suzune looked annoyed, as if he'd said something she didn't want to hear.

"Exactly. He's been hailed as the most outstanding Student Council President in the school's history. Even if the school's rules really were that warped, do you think he'd just turn a blind eye?"

"He wouldn't!"

Horikita Suzune seemed to have a blind faith in the Student Council President, so she answered with the same certainty.

"So there must be a way to increase Class Points, and it's simple."

"Simple? What kind of method is it?"

Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow, leaving Shuichi Kanda at a loss.

"Don't forget who we are."

"Who we are? You mean students?"

"Exactly." Seeing that Horikita Suzune seemed to have caught on, Shuichi Kanda nodded approvingly. "A student's duty is to study and take exams.

"Besides, Chabashira-sensei said she hoped we could get through this Midterm Exam, so the way to increase Class Points is through exams."

"It's that simple?"

Seeing Horikita Suzune's skeptical expression, Shuichi Kanda couldn't help but smile mockingly.

"Simple? If that's what you think, then sure." Shuichi Kanda didn't explain further. Exams could take many forms, and given the way this school operated, they'd most likely turn into a class competition.

"You can ask Chabashira-sensei to confirm it. You can transfer the 10,000 Private Points after you've checked."

"I'll confirm it."

After watching Horikita Suzune leave, Shuichi Kanda checked the 10,000 Private Points that had arrived on his phone and returned to the classroom.

Hirata's meeting had also ended. Everyone except Horikita Suzune and Ken Sudō had decided to take part in the study group.

Even Koenji and Yukimura, who were confident in their academic abilities, had joined.

Ten thousand points wasn't much, but it was free money. For him, it counted as extra pocket money, especially since all he had to do was spend an additional two hours a day.

Hirata had asked Yukimura to act as a tutor.

The study group would start next Monday, so after homeroom ended, Shuichi Kanda went with Miyake to their club activities.

In any case, he still had to let the club's upperclassmen know that he couldn't head straight to club activities after school.

"I see. Got it. Do your best!"

Sato Ken readily agreed when he heard about it.

"Huh? So Kanda and Miyake are bad students after all. You even need to join a study group just to make sure you pass. And that's not all—I heard your Class D blew through all its Class Points in just one month. Is that true?"

Hashikura-senpai, if you don't know how to talk to people, maybe you should sew your mouth shut.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

It was obvious that Shuichi Kanda and Akito Miyake were already used to their tactless senior's antics. They didn't bother responding.

But ignoring her wasn't going to solve anything. If they didn't answer, she'd keep pestering them and chattering away.

"That's right. Can you do anything to help us, senpai?"

"How could I help you? Zero points, huh? My class has never received a zero-point evaluation."

Seriously, if you don't know how to talk to people, sew your mouth shut!

"But about this exam, if you're still not confident two days before it, come find me. I'll help you."

At that, Shuichi Kanda reflexively looked toward their club president, Sato Ken.

Sato Ken nodded too.

"Hey! You don't trust me? You jerk, Kanda!"

It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was that the things she usually did made it hard for anyone to trust her.

After today's club activities ended, Kanda and Miyake went to the cafeteria together for dinner.

They couldn't help it. It was already too late, so there wasn't enough time to cook.

Back in his dorm room, Shuichi Kanda took out his diary and wrote down the day's events.

May 1, sunny, Friday:

Private Points haven't been issued. Class Points have dropped to zero. Interesting.

Earned 10,000 Private Points from Horikita.

Went to club activities. That unreliable Hashikura-senpai said she could help us get through the exam. How interesting.

Chapter 39: Hiyori Shiina, the Bookworm

On Saturday, since the students in Class D had received almost no points, most of them probably chose to stay in their dorm rooms or go to club activities.

Shuichi Kanda went to the library. The reason was simple: he was returning the middle school geography textbook he'd borrowed earlier.

Social studies covered subjects such as history, geography, and political economy. He'd only just finished catching up on the middle school geography material, so he still had quite a bit to study.

But these subjects did have one convenient feature: they didn't require much thought. All you had to do was memorize everything in the textbook.

Most of the exam questions could be answered by finding the exact wording in the textbook, so Horikita had been right: all you had to do was memorize the book.

It wasn't until Shuichi Kanda got to the library that he realized not every Class D student was holed up in their dorm. Some of them were already studying in the library, so it seemed they weren't all beyond help.

He couldn't remember a few of their names, but they were still in his class, so their faces looked familiar.

Hirata and Kushida were there too, helping the others.

"You came too, Kanda-kun."

Hirata Yosuke appeared out of nowhere and greeted Shuichi Kanda as he entered the library.

"I'm not very good at social studies, so I came to find a few books."

"I see. When I saw your quiz results, I thought you were good at studying too."

Don't be ridiculous. I'm more than good at it. I only struggle with social studies because I haven't studied it before.

"Speaking of which, doesn't the study group start on Monday?"

"A few of our classmates were really anxious, so they came to me privately and asked if they could start studying today."

I see. A few of the girls must have started it, and then Kushida heard about it and joined in, which drew in a few boys too.

So this was a trial run before the official launch?

Very clever, Hirata.

"I see. You go ahead, then. I'll borrow a few books and head back."

"Okay."

After saying goodbye to Hirata, Shuichi Kanda headed deeper into the library.

Since these were old textbooks, they were rather obscure, so they were kept in a remote spot. If he hadn't asked the librarian last time, Shuichi Kanda probably wouldn't have found them.

After returning the textbook to the librarian, Shuichi Kanda headed back to the spot where he'd found it before. Last time, he'd only borrowed the middle school geography textbook. This time, he'd take history and political economy too.

When he reached the spot where he'd found the middle school textbooks, Shuichi Kanda saw a white-haired girl standing there. She was on tiptoe, reaching for a book on the top shelf.

Unfortunately, from where Shuichi Kanda stood, her fingertips were still at least three to five centimeters short of the book.

And this was a library, so she couldn't jump. If she lost her balance and knocked over the shelf, hurting someone would be the least of her worries. Putting all the books back would be no easy task.

Well, since he'd seen her, he might as well help. Shuichi Kanda's body was weaker than average, but he was also taller than average. Even though he was only a first-year, he was already nearly 180 centimeters tall.

Of course, helping her just because he'd seen her wasn't the real reason. She looked good in profile, with curves in all the right places.

This really was a world that judged you by your looks. So dark.

Shuichi Kanda walked up to the white-haired student and reached out to take down the book she'd been trying to reach. It was a mystery novel by Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None.

"'And Then There Were None,' huh? I still prefer her Murder on the Orient Express." As he spoke, he handed the book to the white-haired girl in front of him.

But her reaction was completely unexpected. She didn't take the book from Shuichi's hand. Instead, she grabbed the hand he was holding it with.

"Found you! I'm Hiyori Shiina from Class 1-C. What about you?"

Shuichi Kanda stared at her, completely baffled.

What's going on? Mom, I've met a weirdo!

But at that moment, Shuichi Kanda got a clear look at her. Her features were delicate and well-defined, and her pale skin and long, silvery-white hair gave her a distinctive air.

But seeing the excitement in her eyes made Shuichi Kanda feel a little uneasy. Was she some kind of pervert?

Though, maybe a pervert like that wouldn't be so bad...

Hiyori Shiina wasn't a pervert, of course. She was a bookworm.

Ever since she'd come to this school, she'd treated the library as her second dorm room. Aside from classes, meals, and sleep, she spent all her time there.

People like her shared one trait: after discovering a good story, they wanted to share it with someone else. Unfortunately, in the month she'd been at this school, she hadn't found anyone like that.

She'd seen Shuichi Kanda in the library a few times before, but she'd never spoken to him. This time, she wasn't going to let the chance pass her by.

And anyone who could say something like that must have read both And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. Could the kindred spirit she'd been searching for be right in front of her?

"Ahem." Shuichi Kanda cleared his throat, then quietly pulled his hand free from hers and left the book in her hands.