"Isn't it normal not to remember the exam questions? It's not like everyone has a habit of memorizing every question on a test..."
"That's not the point!" Just as Sogo Doma was helping Mashiro come up with excuses, Masuzu Natsukawa interrupted again. "The point is, Mashiro had barely encountered any of the questions on this final exam while reviewing..."
Before she could finish, the little white-haired girl seemed to recall something and suddenly coughed twice. "Ahem, ahem. The questions on this final exam might have been a little difficult for Mashiro."
"Hm?" Sogo Doma feigned confusion. "Were the questions on this final exam difficult? I didn't feel that way..."
Masuzu Natsukawa: "..."
Was that really the issue? The problem was that whenever Mashiro encountered a question she had never done before, she simply couldn't solve it! Unfortunately, Masuzu couldn't say that aloud. After all, she was the one who had been helping Mashiro study. Yet after all that reviewing, Mashiro was still the same as before—she could only do questions she had seen before—
W-Wouldn't she have managed that even without Masuzu's help?!
"I was the one helping Mashiro review, so I know her academic progress better than anyone..." But that didn't stump Masuzu Natsukawa. As long as she only said ninety percent of the truth and concealed the remaining ten percent, her embarrassing side wouldn't be exposed. "In my opinion, the chances of Mashiro passing this exam..." weren't high.
"Oh?" Before she could finish, Sogo Doma picked up the thread. "Then why didn't you say so before the exam?"
Masuzu Natsukawa: "..."
Could she say that she simply hadn't wanted to lose to Yukino Yukinoshita? The three people Yukino had helped review had all improved noticeably, while she...
"Sogo..." Just as the little white-haired girl was left speechless, Mashiro