Learning Group

As they entered the second month, the atmosphere in the classroom had clearly changed.

The midterm exam schedule had already been posted. It was only three weeks away. Although the school's examination system was similar to that of an ordinary high school, most of Class D had poor grades. After losing so many points in the first month, no one wanted to make things worse. Ike stared blankly at his textbooks every day, Yamauchi sighed over mathematical formulas, and even Sudo was much quieter than usual. Everyone was anxious; they were just too embarrassed to say it aloud.

During the break, Yuto noticed Kushida surrounded by several girls chatting in front of her desk. The topic was entirely about the exams. Matsushita asked Kushida whether she had any study methods, and the others chimed in as well. Kushida smiled and said they could study together. Yuto glanced over a few times before withdrawing his gaze and returning to his book.

He felt no pressure about the exams. His entrance exam scores spoke for themselves; as long as he performed normally, he would not do badly. The issue was not how many points he could score, but how well the whole class could do. If Class D's average was too low, their class points would fall again. At that point, even if he did exceptionally well on his own, it would be useless. Still, he did not want to concern himself with that. What came would come; he could figure something out when the time came.

The anxiety in the classroom grew thicker by the day, but Yamauchi and his two fellow clowns were even more amusing.

During class, Ike kept poking his textbook with his pen and muttering to himself. He looked like he was memorizing formulas, but he just repeated the same few lines over and over. When Yuto passed by his desk, he took a glance and found that Ike had drawn a mess of arrows and circles in the margins of his math textbook. Beside them were the words, "I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed," densely covering the entire page. Yamauchi was even worse. He had brought a thick stack of notebooks from home, claiming they were study materials he had organized himself. But when he opened them, they were full of doodles of manga characters, with only a few scattered lines of notes squeezed in between. When someone asked what he was drawing, he said, "It helps me remember better." No one knew whether he was serious or just being stubborn.

Sudo was the most normal of the three. He honestly flipped through his English textbook and memorized vocabulary. But Yuto noticed that after ten minutes, he was still stuck on the first word on the first page: "abandon." He kept repeating, "Abandon, abandon." After saying it more than a dozen times, he shut the book and declared, "Got it." Two minutes later, he opened it again and started from "abandon" all over again. Yuto nearly laughed when he saw it. If those three could pass on their own, that would be a genuine miracle.

Horikita Suzune came over during the break after second period.

She stopped beside Yuto's desk and waited until the people nearby had left before speaking. "Hayashi, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Yuto looked up at her. Horikita's expression was as cold as ever, but her tone was more serious than usual. She clearly was not here to make small talk. It was rare enough for her to approach him on her own. The last time had been when they discussed cooperating at the café in Chapter 8. That conversation had ended badly, and they had barely spoken seriously since then.

"What is it?"

"It's about the midterm exams," Horikita said. "You must have noticed that most of our class has a very low academic level. If we don't prepare in advance, our class points may fall again once the results come out."

Yuto closed his book and leaned back in his chair. "So what are you trying to say?"

"I want to organize a study group," Horikita said bluntly. "We'll gather after school to review, help each other, and improve our grades. I need you to join as well."

"Why me?"

"Because you ranked in the top thirty of the entire year on the entrance exam." Horikita stared at him, her tone certain. "You never show it in class, but numbers do not lie. You have the ability, and you have an obligation to help the class improve."

Yuto smiled. "An obligation? I never signed that kind of contract. You're right, my grades are decent, but that's my own business. I'm not interested in teaching other people."

Horikita frowned slightly. "Do you really not care at all about the class's situation?"

"I do care," Yuto said. "But not in the way you do. If you want to start a study group, that's your business. Don't drag me into it."

"You can clearly help everyone, so why insist on refusing?" Horikita lowered her voice, but the dissatisfaction in her tone was obvious. "You rejected my offer of cooperation last time, and now you won't even join a study group. What exactly are you thinking?"

Yuto looked at her, his tone unchanged. "What I'm thinking isn't important. What matters is that no one can force me to do something I don't want to do. If you think the study group will help, go organize it. You don't need to worry about me."

"You—"

Horikita was about to say more when Kushida walked over from nearby. She had probably been paying attention to what was happening, and when she saw Horikita's expression, she came over.

"Horikita, I heard you." Kushida's voice was as gentle and friendly as ever. "I think a study group is a great idea, and I'm willing to help. My grades aren't particularly outstanding, but I can at least help everyone organize notes and review materials."

She paused, glanced at Yuto, then continued. "If Yuto doesn't want to join, don't force him."

Horikita turned to Kushida, surprise flickering in her eyes. "You're willing to join?"

"Mhm." Kushida smiled and nodded. "Everyone is worried about the exams. It should help a lot if someone leads the review. And Hirata said just now that he's willing to help too, so we can do it together."

Horikita was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "All right. Then I'll be counting on you." She glanced at Yuto, said nothing further, and turned to leave.

After she left, Kushida sat in the empty seat beside Yuto and lowered her voice. "I couldn't refuse. You know that."

Yuto nodded. Of course he knew. She was still the angel trusted by the entire class. Refusing a request like that would only make people think something was strange. She had no choice but to agree.

"Go ahead," Yuto said. "Your grades aren't bad anyway. Teaching them a little won't hurt."

Kushida sighed. "That's easy to say, but I can already tell it's going to be exhausting. And do you know what the most troublesome part is?" She lowered her voice further. "I have to keep acting like that the whole time. An hour or two is fine, but if it's every day, it'll be really tiring. Smiling at them for an entire afternoon will leave my face stiff by the time I get home."

"Then go less often. Find an excuse and say you have something to do."

"That works." Kushida thought for a moment. "Then I'll go two or three times a week. Any more than that, and I won't be able to keep it up. But honestly, it's better if you don't come. If you were there, I'd have a harder time pretending. With you watching from the side, I'd keep wanting to talk to you. And once I start talking to you, I won't seem like myself anymore."

Yuto smiled but did not reply. Kushida stood, patted him on the shoulder, said, "Then I'll go prepare first," and returned to her seat.

Yuto had no mood for class, so he left the classroom during lunch break. He wandered through campus without any particular destination, thinking about what had just happened.

He had no intention of getting involved with the study group. He had his own plans and did not want to waste time teaching others how to solve problems. Besides, based on what he knew of Class D, the efforts of a few people could not change much at all. What could truly change the situation was doing the right thing at the right moment, not gathering every day after school to study.

He also did not want to get too close to Horikita. Since rejecting her offer of cooperation last time, their relationship had remained at an awkward distance. Getting too close would be troublesome, but keeping too far away would make it harder to observe her movements. Maintaining the current situation was best—not too near, not too far. Once someone like Horikita found an opening, she would keep pressing forward. He did not want to give her any reason to continue pestering him.

When he reached the area near the school gate, he ran into someone approaching from the opposite direction.

The man wore the school uniform, with the Student Council president's badge pinned to his chest. His appearance and presence were both steady and composed, and he walked at an unhurried pace. He was clearly the type who was accustomed to controlling the situation. Several students nearby unconsciously moved aside when they saw him. He did not look at anyone, his gaze fixed straight ahead as though nothing on this road was worth a second glance.

Yuto recognized him—Horikita Manabu.

The Student Council president from the original story, and Horikita Suzune's older brother. A man with immense authority and influence in the school, someone even the teachers treated with a measure of respect. Yuto had only seen him from a distance a few times before. He had never expected to encounter him face-to-face under these circumstances.

The distance between them steadily closed. Horikita Manabu seemed to be merely passing by and had no intention of stopping. But at the instant they passed each other, Yuto spoke.

"President."

Horikita Manabu stopped and turned his head toward him. His calm gaze carried a hint of scrutiny, as if he were examining something unusual. He did not speak, waiting for Yuto to continue. That silence alone carried pressure, but Yuto was not affected by it.

"Yuto Hayashi, Class 1-D." Yuto's tone was casual. "I was just talking to your younger sister and came out for a walk."

Horikita Manabu's eyes changed for an instant.

He had said it lightly, but the words "your younger sister" were enough to make the other man understand. Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu's relationship was not public at school, and very few people knew about it. Yet Yuto had pointed it out so casually, as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Horikita Manabu did not respond immediately. He looked at Yuto for several seconds, as if evaluating something, before slowly speaking. "You know Suzune?"

"Desk mates," Yuto said. "We're not particularly close. She tried to get me to join a study group just now. I refused."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

Yuto shrugged. "No particular reason. I just thought I should say hello. After all, you're the Student Council president. It might be convenient in the future if I can get some minor position in the Student Council."

He said it casually, as if joking, but Horikita Manabu clearly did not take it as a joke. He stared at Yuto for several more seconds, and his eyes gained a trace of deeper meaning. Then he said, "Yuto Hayashi, I'll remember you."

With that, he continued forward. His pace was as steady as before, as though their conversation had been nothing more than an insignificant interruption.

Yuto remained where he was, watching Horikita Manabu's back disappear around the corner. He had spoken casually just now, but he had actually considered it carefully. Letting Horikita Manabu know he existed, and know that he was aware of Suzune's identity, was itself a test. If Horikita Manabu became interested in him, he would naturally investigate him.

And someone noticed by the Student Council president would always gain a few unexpected opportunities in this school. Yuto knew that this move was somewhat risky, but if he did nothing, he would forever remain an ordinary student in Class D, forever unable to access information from a higher level. If he wanted to establish himself at this school, relying on his information business alone would not be enough. He needed more bargaining chips.

The Student Council was one such useful bargaining chip. If he could get his name attached to the Student Council, even as an ordinary member, the people and matters he could access would be far more numerous than they were now. And Horikita Manabu was the door leading to the Student Council.

Yuto continued walking, left the school grounds, and turned into the shopping street at Keyaki Mall.

Since he was already out, he decided to stop by the convenience store. He needed to buy something—a miniature video recorder. It did not need to be large, just small enough to hide in his pocket. There were surveillance cameras everywhere in this school, but there would always be corners they could not see. If something happened, having a recording meant having evidence. That was something he had known even before crossing over.

He had been debating whether to buy one. Spending 2,800 points on something he might not use seemed a little wasteful. But on second thought, 2,800 points were nothing to him. The points he earned from his information business were more than enough for him to spend freely. Rather than panic when he actually needed it, it was better to prepare in advance. With cash in his pocket, spending it did not hurt.

He found what he wanted on a convenience store shelf. It was a thumb-sized miniature video recorder with a matte black body. Its indicator light was well hidden, and once activated, it would barely attract notice. He picked it up, examined it, and tested the feel of the buttons. The operation was simple: only two buttons, one to record and one to stop.

He stood in front of the shelf for a while longer with the recorder in hand, then casually grabbed a bottle of water before heading to the register. He placed the recorder and water on the counter. The clerk glanced at them without asking anything and simply scanned the code for payment.

After leaving the convenience store, Yuto opened the packaging and tested the recorder. It began recording at the press of a button, making almost no sound. The lens was no bigger than a pinhole, and it would be completely unnoticeable if hidden in his clothes. He pressed the button again to stop recording, then replayed the footage. It was not high-definition, but it was clear enough to make out faces and movements.

He nodded in satisfaction.