Early the next morning, in Class A's classroom.
Once all the Class A students had arrived, Katsuragi Kohei had Totsuka Yahiko stand guard at the classroom door to make sure no passing students overheard them.
Katsuragi then announced the answers and relevant information for the upcoming midterm exam to the class.
Being an upright person, Katsuragi naturally didn't take credit away from Kamuro. He made it clear that Kamuro had been the one to discover the information.
For a moment, the praise from those around her actually made Kamuro Masumi feel uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the many Class A students were astonished and speechless at the news.
So they'd been working hard every day, only to find out that they could buy the exam answers from upperclassmen?!
That was bound to discourage the students who'd been studying honestly and diligently.
Katsuragi Kohei's next move also went just as Chihaya Rei had expected.
Katsuragi suggested that the Class A students keep up their regular study habits and simply memorize the answers as a safety net.
But he also insisted that everyone keep the news confidential and not let the other three classes find out, especially Class C and Class D.
The Class A students naturally had no objections and all supported the idea.
Katsuragi Kohei also used this opportunity to earn the trust of many classmates, further boosting his support in Class A.
The Class A students who supported Katsuragi as their class leader thought:
Katsuragi is just as dependable as he looks. Choosing him as our class leader was much better than choosing Sakayanagi.
Katsuragi Kohei was the clear choice.
Just look at what Sakayanagi Arisu had done over the past month. Nothing.
Hearing these comments, Sakayanagi Arisu was rather displeased. She thought they were just a bunch of people who judged others by their looks.
Yes, Sakayanagi Arisu's petite stature and limited mobility led some Class A students to believe she wasn't suited to be their class leader.
Still, a small group recognized Sakayanagi Arisu's intelligence and chose to support her.
Katsuragi Kohei's actions today had also come as quite a surprise to Sakayanagi Arisu.
She had also discovered that they could buy exam answers from upperclassmen, but whether Class A had the answers or not didn't matter.
So Sakayanagi Arisu had planned to ignore it and not bother getting involved.
She'd simply bring it up at the right time to show off her abilities a little.
That way, the whole class wouldn't end up siding with Katsuragi. It would be troublesome to have no one she could rely on when she needed help.
As an excellent leader, Sakayanagi Arisu made sure she always had pieces she could put into play.
She just hadn't expected Katsuragi, that big bald guy, to beat her to the punch and announce the news...
And according to Katsuragi, the information had been discovered by Kamuro Masumi, whom she'd originally intended to recruit as her errand runner...
Was Kamuro Masumi really that clever?
Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head.
It wasn't that she looked down on Kamuro Masumi. She genuinely didn't think Kamuro's powers of observation were sharp enough to catch something like this.
And Kamuro had chosen to tell Katsuragi instead of her?
Interesting.
So if Kamuro hadn't discovered it herself, who around her had the ability to do so?
Sakayanagi Arisu quickly analyzed the situation in her mind.
Ever since enrolling, Kamuro Masumi had always acted alone and never made friends. There were only a handful of people she could even talk to.
Sakayanagi herself and Chihaya Rei.
Naturally, she could rule herself out, leaving only one possibility.
Chihaya Rei's handsome face, wearing a provocative smile yesterday, appeared before Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.
Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head and studied Kamuro Masumi, who sat several seats away. She planned to sound her out after they were dismissed.
But even before getting an answer from Kamuro Masumi, Sakayanagi Arisu had already unilaterally "decided" that Chihaya Rei was behind it.
She thought it over and concluded that Chihaya Rei was trying to prop up Katsuragi Kohei to undermine her control over Class A.
Honestly! He might not say it out loud, but Chihaya clearly cared about her a lot, judging by his actions. It was recognition of Sakayanagi Arisu's abilities!
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled with delight, taking it as a declaration of war from Chihaya Rei.
In that case, she'd strike back twice as hard!
Over the next few days, all four first-year classes held study sessions, at least on the surface.
Even Class C, which already had the answers, put on a show for the other classes under Ryuen Kakeru's orders.
There were only a few places at school where students could study: classrooms, cafés, and the library.
The library, as a result, became lively.
The four classes tacitly divided the space into four study areas, keeping some distance from one another and staying out of each other's way.
After school that day, Chihaya Rei strolled into the library.
The first thing he noticed when he entered was how strong the air conditioning was. It was almost too much.
Well... that matched his stereotypical image of a library.
Even though both places had the air conditioning on, he felt the library was several degrees colder than the classrooms.
No wonder the students who came here to study or read wore jackets. Otherwise, they'd really freeze.
He wondered if a bunny girl in a Santa outfit would spawn here.
Chihaya Rei let his thoughts wander as he headed over to a table for four where the Class D students were sitting.
At first, he hadn't planned to join a study group. Given his actual ability, passing the midterm with a high score wouldn't be difficult.
He'd been through three years of early mornings and late nights.
So dealing with the Advanced Nurturing High School curriculum was easy-peasy.
But then Chihaya Rei realized that torturing idiots who couldn't learn anything during study sessions was another way to earn Torture Points, wasn't it?
So he had to join the study session and come to the library.
He'd been assigned to a group with Matsushita Chiaki, Karuizawa Kei, and Sato Maya.
Hirata Yousuke had probably noticed that he and Karuizawa Kei often spent time together after school and deliberately put them in the same group.
Hirata, Hirata, you really knew how to make things happen.
Still, facing three fake gyarus wasn't a bad thing for Chihaya Rei. At least all three of them were very attractive.
On the surface, Matsushita Chiaki was supposed to tutor the other three.
Although Matsushita Chiaki had held back her score, she still had the best grades among them.
Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyo were also nearby, tutoring other students, so they could ask them directly if they ran into questions they couldn't answer.
But Chihaya Rei had already decided he'd show his true academic ability and torture the three fake gyarus.
So there was no chance he'd ask Hirata or Kushida for help.
Chihaya Rei and the trio of gyarus already knew each other well, so the study session got underway soon enough.
After a short while, Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya started running into questions they couldn't solve.
Since Matsushita Chiaki couldn't explain things to both of them at once, Chihaya Rei stepped in to help.
At first, the three of them thought it was just a coincidence that Chihaya Rei knew the answer.
But as time passed, they gradually realized something was off. It seemed there wasn't a single question that could stump him.
Without anyone noticing, Matsushita Chiaki's role had shifted to Chihaya Rei.
He was the one explaining the problems to Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya, while Matsushita Chiaki was left sitting to the side, watching with a startled expression.
Before long, things started sounding like this—
"This question is so easy. Don't bother Matsushita with it."
"You really can't solve a problem this simple?"
"I'm pretty sure I've explained this more than once already."
"You're the worst class I've ever taught."
After answering Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya's questions several times, Chihaya Rei dropped all pretenses and spoke in a tone of exasperated disappointment.
He applied pressure as he explained the problems.
[Torturing Karuizawa Kei, Torture Points +1352] [Torturing Sato Maya, Torture Points +1352]...
"Um, I thought Chihaya's exam results weren't that great. So why are you...?"
At last, during a lull, Matsushita Chiaki voiced her confusion.
She'd even deliberately picked a difficult problem, but Chihaya Rei had answered it with ease.
She even felt that Chihaya Rei's approach to solving problems was several levels above hers.
Matsushita Chiaki believed that if she gave it her all, she could rank in the top twenty in Class A.
"I've been wondering the same thing. Weren't you getting tutored along with us...? Why do you know all the answers?"
"Could it be that you're actually good at studying?"
Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya put down their pens and looked at him in confusion.
"I used to be in a band, so I didn't have time to study. Now I have time, so of course I've gotten a handle on the material."
Chihaya Rei gave a perfectly reasonable explanation.
He'd come up with the excuse long ago. A band really was useful for everything.
After hearing him, Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya looked envious and couldn't help complaining:
"I wish I had a brain like that."
"Give me your brain!"
Only Matsushita Chiaki said thoughtfully, "So Chihaya really is smart."
"Do more practice problems. The more you solve, the more you'll know," Chihaya Rei encouraged them with a serious expression. "And you need to work hard on your English, too."
Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya sighed.
What a pair of star-crossed lovers.
A little later, while the two of them buried their heads in their practice problems, Chihaya Rei turned his gaze to Matsushita Chiaki beside him.
Before you continue