Ichinose's Request

"As expected of Class A."

Horikita Suzune looked at the large screen in the school hallway, which displayed each class's scores and individual rankings.

"Class A average 131, Class B average 120, Class C average 60, Class D average 71."

You En glanced at the individual rankings. There were only three perfect scores in the entire grade—besides himself, there was Ichinose Honami from Class B and Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A.

"Is class placement based on academic ability?"

Horikita Suzune rested her chin on her right hand, puzzled.

"Then why were we placed in Class D..."

You En spoke up. "Academic ability is one factor in class placement, but not the most important one. When I first met you, wasn't that the basis for class assignment?"

Horikita Suzune was momentarily confused by this statement. After recalling You En's words and the students in her class, she suddenly understood and was somewhat shocked.

"You mean the students'... obedience?! But how can you tell that so clearly? How can you be so sure?"

You En casually said a couple of things. "From the perspective of system and management, it's hard to see clearly from an individual standpoint..."

Horikita looked at You En, somewhat puzzled.

"You... aren't managing some kind of group outside, are you?"

"No."

You En said. In his past life, he had done some management, but because of his personality—unwilling to flatter others, only liking people he took a shine to, and doing things he enjoyed—he hadn't climbed very high in the end, and had even offended some people.

His phone vibrated. A message came from the Class D group chat, saying the boys and girls would each gather separately at noon.

"Are you going?"

You En turned his phone around to show her.

Horikita Suzune shook her head.

"With this time, I'd rather go back to my dorm to rest for a bit, then prepare for the afternoon classes."

"Fair enough."

You En followed her back to the student dormitory.

As for why he wasn't going, both of them understood. Maybe he didn't want to, but the most important reason was... he had no points left.

The 500 points he'd gotten from Ayanokoji-kun had all been used to borrow books. His personal balance had returned to zero.

"Hey!"

Ichinose Honami was at the entrance of the student dormitory, as if waiting for someone. When she spotted You En and the others, she immediately greeted them.

"It looks like my guess was right. If I don't go to your classroom during lunch break, the only way to run into you two is to try my luck here at the dorm."

Seeing the pink-haired little angel, You En smiled. "Then your luck is pretty good."

"You flatter me,"

Ichinose replied with a polite smile.

"It's like this—I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

Horikita Suzune picked up the conversation. "What is it?"

"Well, I'd like to ask you to help tutor some of the students in my class,"

Ichinose Honami said.

"There aren't that many students with good grades in our class. If each student takes charge of a group, we might not be able to cover everyone. So I wanted to ask if you two could help out. What do you think?"

Horikita Suzune wasn't opposed to it. Compared to Kushida, Ichinose Honami had a fairly high initial impression in her book—relatively speaking, for a stranger.

"What's in it for us?"

Ichinose Honami had thought about this question and immediately replied, "It might sound a bit rude, but how about we pay you some points?"

Hearing "points," You En agreed at once.

"Deal!"

Ichinose Honami smiled. She just found You En interesting and easy to get along with, with no offense intended.

It seemed the girls in her class were right—the You En in front of her was really short on points.

She continued, "So, 1,000 points per hour on regular days, after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On weekends, 1,500 points per hour, choosing only one morning or afternoon per day. We'll discuss the details later. How about it?"

You En nodded. For a student part-time job, this hourly wage was pretty decent.

But the fact that she was asking them—probably just him, with Horikita Suzune being an afterthought—

This was likely Hoshinomiya-sensei's suggestion behind the scenes. He didn't know what the purpose was, but it was probably just goodwill with an agenda.

Seeing that You En had no objections, Horikita Suzune silently acquiesced. Honestly, if this had been before the weekend, she wouldn't have agreed so quickly.

But You En had told her yesterday that learning itself was a process of summarizing and re-summarizing experience. Teaching others was actually organizing your own system, not a pure waste of time.

But that's only if the person being taught is genuinely willing to think and learn, rather than harboring other motives.

"Since everyone agrees, that's great. I'm sure our classmates will be very happy."

Ichinose Honami said cheerfully, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. This was her first time doing something like this, and she was glad it worked out.

You En noticed her nervousness and gave a slight compliment. "Mm, Ichinose. Having a class leader like you, your classmates are lucky."

"Not at all. It's just that my classmates trust me."

Ichinose rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, then asked, "Are there any other questions?"

Horikita Suzune glanced at You En, then at Ichinose.

"By the way, doesn't Class A have one too? Why didn't you go to her?"

"You mean Sakayanagi? Kanzaki told me there was no point trying—she'd definitely refuse. So I didn't plan on it."

"I see."

Ichinose spoke up. "Then I won't disturb you two anymore."

"Mm. Bye."

You En waved at her, and noticed Horikita Suzune also gave a slight nod in acknowledgment—which was somewhat rare.

Horikita Suzune glared at him. "What's that look supposed to mean?"

You En averted his gaze. "Nothing."

"Don't think I don't know. You think it's strange that I'd say goodbye to someone, don't you? What do you take me for?"

Horikita Suzune sighed. "I just don't want to talk to people I don't need to. I still know how to handle normal relationships."

You En was noncommittal, giving a perfunctory "Mm." "Mm. I'm going back for a nap. I'll keep cramming this afternoon."

Horikita Suzune sensed he didn't believe her. "Hey. What's with that expression?"

"Nothing. I'm going to sleep."

You En walked forward, then turned back.

"Or do you want to come with me?"

Horikita Suzune was at a loss. "Hmph. Go ahead and sleep. I..."

You En teased, "Secretly cramming, huh? You're so sneaky~"

"Who's as bad as you? Cut it out."

Horikita Suzune followed him into the elevator.

You En retorted, "I'm just bored, studying for fun. That doesn't count as cramming. You're the real one."

Horikita Suzune stopped smiling. She took a deep breath.

"Someone like you is way more infuriating, you know."

You En looked innocent.

"I'm telling the truth."

Horikita Suzune felt like she was about to snap.

"You En. Do you have a skill that makes people angry?"

You En shook his head.

"No. It's probably because you get angry easily."

"Fine then. I'm ignoring you."

The elevator chime rang, and the automatic doors opened. Horikita Suzune walked out without looking back.

"Bye. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me."

You En didn't mind, because he did it on purpose.

With someone like Horikita Suzune—if you never spoke to her, she'd go her whole life without saying a word to you. The key was to provoke her with gentle methods.

Downstairs, "They agreed?"

Kanzaki Ryuji asked.

Ichinose nodded.

"Mm. They were easy to talk to."

The girls nearby let out a small, happy cheer.

Tsube Hitomi, who had once fed You En, looked rather proud.

"I told you You En was a good investment."

Ando Sayo retorted, "What do you mean, 'potential'? If he already got full marks, can he go any higher?"

Amikura Mako chuckled, "Hehe, do you think we should bring some snacks when we go?"

Tsube Hitomi backed her friend up, "Great idea, Mako. You're a genius."

Ichinose, caught up in the cheerful mood, beamed, "Don't just focus on feeding You En-kun snacks, though. Don't forget about studying... Oh, wait, you should probably call him 'teacher' by then."

Amikura Mako let out a weird laugh, "A young teacher like that? That's got some charm to it, eheh. Not a bad trait either."

Ando Sayo imagined it, "Hmm? Not bad at all."

Kobashi Yume asked weakly, "Are you guys really not scared?"

Tsube Hitomi turned to her, "Scared of what? If you've talked to him, you'd know—he's a great-looking guy, easygoing, and his reactions when you feed him are cute, just like my cat back home."

"Oh." A look of anticipation appeared on Kobashi Yume's cute round face.

Kanzaki Ryuji felt no jealousy or any other emotion. After all, just as boys liked pretty girls, girls liked handsome boys—it was perfectly normal. And You En was outstanding in every way, so it wasn't strange that he attracted attention.

But he had one question, "Why hasn't anyone from Class D invited him? With a classmate who has such excellent grades, shouldn't they be asking him for advice? And their class's grades are so poor... well, so unsatisfactory—shouldn't they be dragging him to a study session?"

Tsube Hitomi had some impression of the girls in Class D, mainly from club activities. She thought for a moment and spoke her mind directly, "Most of them spend all day talking about spending points and finding boyfriends, or swapping tips on clothes and makeup. Anyway, how should I put it... they just don't care about studying."

"Don't care?" Kanzaki Ryuji frowned slightly, then smoothed his brow with his hand. If that was the case, his hypothesis was wrong. If Classes A through D were ranked by academic ability, then how could someone like You En and Horikita Suzune exist? It also wasn't ranked by passion for learning. Setting You En aside, Horikita Suzune's seriousness toward studying could only be matched by a few in Class B, like Ichinose.

So what was really going on with Classes A through D? This school seemed to have something off about it.

But Kanzaki Ryuji didn't dwell on it. After all, no matter how you looked at it, a high school approved by the government, though a bit strange, shouldn't defy common sense.

"Kanzaki-kun, don't overthink it. I know you care a lot about the class, but sometimes you shouldn't push yourself too hard." Ichinose spoke to Kanzaki Ryuji with the same concern she showed all her classmates.

Kanzaki Ryuji shook his head. He wasn't tired; he just liked to think. Still, he felt a vague unease, one that a student simply couldn't pinpoint. He looked up at the school's sky and suddenly had an absurd thought: Was this sky the same one as outside?