Ichinose's Request

"Just as you'd expect from Class A."

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

"Class A's average is 131, Class B's is 120, Class C's is 60, and Class D's is 71."

You En glanced at the individual rankings. Only three students in the entire year had gotten perfect scores: him, Ichinose Honami from Class B, and Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A.

"Are the classes ranked by academic ability?"

Horikita Suzune cupped her chin in her right hand, puzzled.

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

You En spoke up. "Academic ability is one of the criteria for class assignments, but it's not the most important one. Wasn't the way we first met a clue to how they assign students?"

Horikita Suzune looked bewildered at first. Then she thought about what You En had said and about their classmates, and understood immediately. She was quite shocked.

"You mean the students'... willingness to obey?! But how can you tell? How can you be so sure?"

You En casually replied, "It's hard to see clearly from an individual perspective. You have to look at it in terms of the system and its management..."

Horikita looked at You En, puzzled.

"You... don't happen to manage some kind of organization outside school, do you?"

"No."

You En had done some management work in his previous life, but he hadn't been willing to flatter people because of his personality. He'd only liked those he genuinely got along with and wanted to do what he enjoyed, so he hadn't climbed very high in the end. He'd also made a few enemies.

His phone vibrated. A message in the Class D group chat said the boys and girls would each get together at lunchtime.

"Are you going?"

You En turned his phone around to show her.

Horikita Suzune shook her head.

"I'd rather go back to my dorm and rest for a while, then get ready for this afternoon's classes."

"Fair enough."

You En walked back to the student dorm with her.

They both knew why he wasn't going. Maybe he simply didn't feel like it, but more importantly... he had no points.

He'd spent all 500 points he'd gotten from Ayanokoji on borrowing books, and his balance was back to zero.

"Hi!"

Ichinose Honami was waiting at the entrance to the student dorm, apparently for someone. When she spotted You En and Horikita, she greeted them at once.

"Looks like I was right. If I didn't go to your classroom during lunch, the only way I could run into the two of you was to try my luck here at the dorm."

You En smiled at the pink-haired angel. "You got pretty lucky, then."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Ichinose smiled politely.

"The thing is, I wanted to ask you two for help."

Horikita Suzune asked, "With what?"

"I was hoping you could tutor some of my classmates," Ichinose Honami said. "We don't have that many students with good grades, and if each of them had to tutor a group, they might not be able to manage. So I wanted to ask if you could help us out."

Horikita Suzune didn't mind. Compared to Kushida, Ichinose Honami had made a much better first impression on her—at least when compared with a stranger.

"What do we get out of it?"

Ichinose Honami had anticipated the question and answered at once. "This might sound a bit rude, but what if we paid you in points?"

At the mention of points, You En immediately agreed.

"Sure!"

Ichinose Honami smiled. She simply thought You En was interesting and easy to get along with; she hadn't meant to offend him.

The girls in her class had been right. You En was really short on points.

She added, "How about 1,000 points per hour on regular days, and 1,500 points per hour after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays? On weekends, it'd be 1,500 points per hour, for either the morning or the afternoon. We can work out the details later. Sound good?"

You En nodded. For a student job, the hourly rate was pretty good.

Still, the person they'd asked was probably just him, with Horikita Suzune included as an afterthought.

Hoshinomiya-sensei had probably suggested it. He didn't know what her purpose was, but it seemed like kindness with an ulterior motive.

Seeing that You En had no objections,

Horikita Suzune accepted as well. Before this weekend, she probably wouldn't have agreed so quickly.

But the day before, You En had told her that learning was a process of reviewing and organizing what you knew. Teaching someone else was really a way to organize your own understanding; it wasn't just a waste of time.

That was only true, though, if the person being taught genuinely wanted to think and learn, rather than having other motives.

"Since you both agree, that's great. I'm sure everyone in my class will be happy."

Ichinose Honami said happily, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. It was her first time arranging something like this, and she was glad it had worked out.

You En noticed how nervous she was and offered a small compliment. "Yeah. Your classmates are lucky to have you as their class leader, Ichinose."

"Not at all. My classmates are the ones who trust me."

Ichinose touched the back of her head shyly, then asked,

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Horikita Suzune looked at You En, then at Ichinose.

"By the way, doesn't Class A have someone who could help? Why don't you ask her?"

"You mean Sakayanagi? Kanzaki told me there was no point even trying—she'd definitely turn me down. So I wasn't planning to ask her."

"Okay."

Ichinose spoke up. "Then I won't keep you."

"Sure. Bye."

You En waved to her. Horikita Suzune also gave her a small nod, which was rather unusual.

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

You En looked away. "Nothing."

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

Horikita Suzune sighed. "I just don't want to talk to people when there's no need. I can still handle normal social interactions."

You En didn't comment, only gave a dismissive "Mm." "I'm going back for a nap. Then I'll get back to studying this afternoon."

Horikita Suzune could tell he didn't believe her. "Hey, what's with that expression?"

"Nothing. I'm going to sleep."

You En walked ahead, then looked back.

"Or do you want to come with me?"

Horikita Suzune could only scoff. "Hmph. Go ahead and sleep. I..."

You En teased her, "Sneaking off to study, huh? You're such a naughty girl~"

"Who studies as much as you do? Give it a rest."

Horikita Suzune followed him into the elevator.

You En protested,

"I just study for fun because I have nothing else to do. That doesn't count as overdoing it. You're the one who does."

Horikita Suzune stopped smiling and took a deep breath.

"People like you are the ones who make others want to strangle them."

You En looked innocent.

"I'm telling the truth."

Horikita Suzune felt like she was about to bristle with anger.

"You En, do you have some kind of skill that makes people angry?"

You En shook his head.

"No. Maybe you just get angry easily."

"Fine. I'm not talking to you anymore."

The elevator chimed and the 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, since he'd been doing it on purpose.

Horikita Suzune was the kind of girl who could go her whole life without saying a word to you if you didn't speak to her first. The only way to get through to her was to tease her gently.

Downstairs,

"Did they agree?"

Kanzaki Ryuji asked.

Ichinose nodded.

"Yeah, they were easy to talk to."

The girls beside her let out a few quiet cheers.

Tsube Hitomi, who had once fed You En, looked rather pleased with herself.

"I told you You En had potential."

Ando Sayo disagreed. "What potential? He already got perfect scores. How could he possibly improve?"

Amikura Mako giggled.

"Hehe, do you think we should bring some snacks?"

Tsube Hitomi gave her friend a thumbs-up.

"Good idea, Mako. You're a genius."

The cheerful mood was contagious, and Ichinose smiled brightly.

"Just don't get so caught up in feeding You En that you forget about studying... Oh, wait. You should call him 'teacher' then."

Amikura Mako gave a mischievous laugh.

"A teenage boy teacher? That sounds like fun. Ooh, I like that, too."

Ando Sayo imagined it.

"Hm? That actually does sound nice."

Kobashi Yume asked timidly,

"Aren't you worried about it?"

Tsube Hitomi turned to her. "Worried about what? If you've ever talked to him, you'll know he's a really handsome guy. He's easygoing, and his reactions when you feed him are cute, just like my cat back home."

"Oh." Kobashi Yume's sweet, round face lit up with anticipation.

Kanzaki Ryuji wasn't jealous, nor did he feel anything else about it. Just as boys liked beautiful girls, girls liked handsome boys. It was perfectly normal, and You En really was outstanding in every way. It wasn't strange that he was attractive.

But he did have one question.

"Why hasn't anyone in Class D invited him? With a classmate who gets such good grades, you'd think they'd ask him for help.

And their grades are so bad... Er, so unsatisfactory. Shouldn't they have asked him to join a study group?"

Tsube Hitomi vaguely knew the girls in Class D, mostly through clubs. She thought for a moment, then said what was on her mind.

"Most of them spend all day talking about how to spend points and find boyfriends. Otherwise, they're chatting about clothes and makeup. So, how should I put it...

They just don't care much about studying."

"They don't care?"

Kanzaki Ryuji furrowed his brow, then smoothed it out with a hand.

If that was the case, then his guess was wrong. If Classes A through D were ranked by academic ability, how could someone like You En or Horikita Suzune have ended up in Class D?

Nor were the classes ranked according to how seriously students took their studies. Leaving You En aside, only a few students in Class B, like Ichinose, could match Horikita Suzune's dedication.

So what was the real reason for the arrangement of Classes A through D?

There seemed to be something strange about this school.

But Kanzaki Ryuji didn't dwell on it. After all, it was a high school established with the government's approval. It might be a little unusual, but surely nothing completely defied common sense.

"Kanzaki, don't overthink it. I know you care a lot about our class, but sometimes you shouldn't push yourself too hard."

As she did with all her classmates, Ichinose spoke to Kanzaki Ryuji with concern.

Kanzaki Ryuji shook his head. He wasn't tired; he just liked to think. And he felt a vague unease, though it was the kind of thing a student could hardly notice.

He looked up at the school's sky, and a wildly absurd thought suddenly came to him.

Was this sky

the same one as outside?