Late.
Two days had passed since his last meeting with Kushida Kikyo. Today, she suddenly sent him a message.
It turned out Ayanokouji had gotten hold of exams from previous years and asked her to pass them along to the rest of the class. She also took the opportunity to ask Uesugi Hara what he thought.
Uesugi Hara wasn't surprised when he saw the message. For Ayanokouji, this sort of thing was practically business as usual.
Uesugi Hara replied to Kushida directly. The upcoming exam really was based on past papers, so she should go ahead and use the materials to study. He also asked her to send him a copy.
Actually, he'd talked to Horikita Manabu about the exam before, even dropping a few hints that he already knew the questions would be the same as those from previous years.
But Horikita Manabu's reaction had been completely unruffled, as if he hadn't caught on at all.
He had no idea whether Manabu was pretending on purpose or keeping quiet for the sake of his sister, Horikita Suzune.
After all, Class D's Class Points had hit zero last month. If they couldn't earn any more, they'd be stuck eating vegetable platters for every meal.
Uesugi Hara lay sprawled on his bed, staring at the photos of the exam papers Kushida Kikyo had sent him. His fingers paused, then he forwarded them to the small group chat with the three Class A students, adding a note: These are the actual questions for the upcoming exam. I paid 30,000 points for them, so remember to reimburse me.
Before long, replies from Sakayanagi and Katsuragi popped up. Neither of them showed the slightest doubt about whether the papers were genuine.
Only the little girl sent him a private message dripping with provocation: "Uesugi, you really are impressive. You've got connections everywhere. You even managed to get your hands on questions that even I, the chairman's daughter, didn't know about. What a surprise~"
Uesugi Hara curled his lips at the screen and replied without batting an eye, "You flatter me, Miss Arisu. If you'd asked the chairman, surely he would've let something slip."
"Hehe~"
When Uesugi Hara saw Sakayanagi Arisu's reply, his temples throbbed twice.
Those two breezy little characters practically overflowed with teasing and understanding, like a feather lightly brushing his heart. The girl clearly knew the truth and was pretending otherwise.
His fingers hovered over the screen. In the end, he turned off his Terminal, too lazy to waste any more words on the sly little girl.
The next day, in Class A's classroom.
Katsuragi handed out the exam papers one by one. He didn't mention where they had come from, much less say outright that they were the questions for the upcoming exam. He simply reminded everyone, "These are actual exam papers from previous years. You can work through them. Don't pass them to the other classes."
Meanwhile, Uesugi Hara had just received 30,000 points from Morishita Ran. As she showed him the transfer on her phone, she couldn't help asking, "Uesugi Hara, did you get these papers?"
"More or less." He answered casually, sliding his finger across the screen to confirm the 30,000 points had arrived. Then he sent Kushida Kikyo 10,000 as a thank-you for her effort before putting away his Terminal.
"Impressive," Morishita Ran said, sounding a little impressed.
"Keep it quiet." Uesugi Hara curled his lips.
He didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about pocketing the remaining 20,000 points. He'd earned them fair and square, so what was there to agonize over?
As the saying went: There was nothing shameful about making money.
The three of them had already discussed the night before whether they should use the papers.
Sakayanagi Arisu had been firmly against it. In her view, Class A was strong enough that they had no need to rely on something like this.
Katsuragi Kohei, on the other hand, had held the opposite view. He thought that earning a few more points for the class was always a good thing and supported using the papers.
After several rounds of arguing, they'd each compromised, resulting in today's arrangement: the papers could be handed out, but no one could say they were the questions for the upcoming exam, and nobody had to work through them.
Uesugi Hara didn't mind the outcome. He'd done what he could; what came of it had nothing to do with him.
That was what he said, anyway, but he still reminded the three girls from Kamuro's group to work through the papers carefully.
At lunchtime, the cafeteria buzzed with noise.
"Fancy meeting you here, Uesugi."
Sakayanagi Arisu leaned on her cane and slipped up beside Uesugi Hara like a silent breeze. Behind her, Kamuro Masumi carried two trays, her steps a little awkward.
The moment Uesugi Hara glanced at Kamuro Masumi, she shot him a fierce glare. The look plainly said, "What are you looking at?" Her face held a trace of humiliation, while a faint blush rose to her cheeks at being caught by someone she knew. The strange combination made Uesugi Hara want to laugh.
Neither of them showed the slightest formality. Before Uesugi Hara could speak, they sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"It is," Uesugi Hara replied perfunctorily, while inwardly grumbling, Yeah, right. I believe that for a second!
"Miss Arisu, what brings you to the cafeteria today?"
"Do you think I'm different from everyone else, Uesugi?" Sakayanagi Arisu put away her cane, her voice unhurried. "I'm just an ordinary student. It's perfectly normal for me to eat in the cafeteria."
"Oh?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "But I often see Kamuro running errands to buy food for you." As he spoke, he nodded toward Kamuro Masumi, his look plainly asking, "Isn't that right?"
Sakayanagi Arisu covered her mouth and giggled, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Kamuro noticed that I have trouble getting around and volunteered to help. I'm very grateful to her. Are you trying to drive a wedge between Kamuro and me, Uesugi?"
Kamuro Masumi's eyes widened as she stared at the black-hearted little girl, unable to believe she could say something so ridiculous with a straight face.
Uesugi Hara felt his heart give a twitch, but showed nothing on his face. He calmly played along. "I see. Kamuro really is beautiful and kind-hearted."
To anyone else, it sounded like an ordinary compliment. But Kamuro Masumi knew exactly what was going through both their minds.
The two of them had been at each other's throats just moments ago, but now they were harmonizing like they'd planned it, steering the conversation toward her. Alarm bells went off in her head. This is bad.
"Sakayanagi, didn't you say you had something to discuss with Uesugi?" she hurriedly cut in.
Seeing through Kamuro Masumi's intentions, Uesugi Hara followed her lead and asked, "Oh? What could possibly be important enough to bring Miss Arisu all this way?"
"Actually, it's nothing much." Sakayanagi Arisu lightly tapped her fingers on the table. "I'm just curious where you got your information about the exam papers."
"Oh, that?" Uesugi Hara spooned up some soup. "I have my sources."
"But from what I know, the Student Council has been responsible for the first midterm exam every year." Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, curiosity tucked behind her smile. "Your sources are quite impressive, Uesugi."
"I just have a few connections." Uesugi Hara held up his hand, leaving a tiny gap between his thumb and forefinger.
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze fell on the narrow space between his fingers. Her lashes fluttered, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "'A few,' you say? Getting the Student Council to let slip the midterm questions is no small connection."
Her fingers rubbed unconsciously against her cane, the cool metal seeping through her skin. "I'm sure you know how tightly the Student Council controls this kind of information, Uesugi. Especially the president, Horikita Manabu. He doesn't let anything slide."
Kamuro Masumi paused mid-bite and stole a glance at Uesugi Hara. He sounded utterly unconcerned, but when he'd deliberately steered the conversation toward her a moment ago, his knowing expression had clearly hinted at something else.
"Maybe I got lucky?" Uesugi Hara withdrew his hand and picked up his chopsticks to grab a piece of fried chicken. "There are always places the light of the rules can't reach."
"Luck?" Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, her voice carrying an indescribable note.
She suddenly leaned forward. As the distance between them closed, Uesugi Hara could even smell the faint scent of coffee on her. "Speaking of your 'connections,' Uesugi, could they have something to do with that girl Kushida from Class D?"
That little girl was so soaked in gossip, she might as well have been marinated in it.
Uesugi Hara didn't stop chewing. When he looked up, his gaze met hers, and a faintly amused smile tugged at his lips. "Miss Arisu, you've done your homework. Are you especially interested in me?"
"I'm just curious." Sakayanagi Arisu straightened and leaned back in her chair, her tone returning to its usual ease. "After all, it's rare for someone to attract Kamuro's attention."
Kamuro Masumi choked on her food, her face turning bright red as she mumbled a denial. "I-I'm not paying attention to him!"
Uesugi Hara glanced at her and drawled, "Oh? Then who was glaring at me so hard just now that her eyes nearly popped out?"
"Y-you!" Kamuro Masumi was so furious she couldn't get the words out, but Sakayanagi Arisu cut in lightly. "That's enough. Arguing over lunch is such a waste of the moment." She turned to Uesugi Hara, her smile gentle but edged with unmistakable pressure. "Still, Uesugi, if certain 'connections' get too tangled, you might end up burning yourself."
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. He simply picked up a piece of tamagoyaki and popped it into his mouth. Sunlight streamed through the cafeteria windows, warming the food with its golden glow.
"Maybe." He swallowed, his voice calm and even.