The Study Session Falls Apart; Tatsuya Sakuya: No Problem

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Just sitting there laughing at us! What kind of leader are you? I may not be able to take you on, but I can sure as hell leave!"

Sudo Ken shot to his feet with an angry shout, snatched his bag from the back of his chair, and headed for the exit.

"Sudo, please calm down."

Hirata Yousuke, who had been coordinating the session, hurriedly caught Sudo by the arm and tried to reason with him.

"Horikita's just a little blunt. We're all trying to pass..."

"Get off me! Don't touch me!"

Sudo Ken wrenched free of Hirata Yousuke's grip and stormed out of Palette Cafe without looking back.

Seeing this, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki hurriedly packed their things to make their escape too.

"Uh... now that Sudo's gone, there's no point in us staying, right?"

With that, the two rushed off. Clearly, they had long since had enough of Horikita Suzune's cutting attitude.

Only Horikita Suzune and a few others remained by the long table that had been crowded moments before, standing there in a daze.

"Horikita..."

Hirata Yousuke sighed, ready to salvage what he could.

"Sudo's very proud. Maybe we could try a gentler approach..."

"No approach, however gentle, can improve intelligence that was never there."

Horikita Suzune cut Hirata Yousuke off.

"They won't even try to understand the basics. If fools that oblivious get expelled, they'll have no one to blame but themselves."

The girls' group nearby stopped talking too.

Karuizawa Kei came over and glanced at the empty seats with distaste.

"Huh? Those idiots actually ran off? They have no sense of responsibility. And here we are, taking the trouble to organize this."

Kushida Kikyou frowned, her face full of worry.

"This is bad. If Sudo and the others keep refusing to cooperate, they'll never reach the average score on the midterm. They'll be..."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had been standing to one side, quietly watched it all.

Tatsuya Sakuya had personally pushed Horikita Suzune into the role of leader. Naturally, the class secretary should handle the situation now. Surely it wouldn't be left to him.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walked over to them and spoke.

"Given what's happened, we should let Tatsuya know so he understands the situation."

"Agreed," the four others said in unison.

All four nodded at once.

Central Library, Advanced Nurturing University. Third floor.

Compared with the bustle of the shopping district, the place was steeped in silence.

Tall, dark walnut bookshelves stood in neat rows, and the air carried the scents of ink on paper and wood.

It was quiet. Only the faint hum of the central air conditioning and the occasional rustle of a turning page could be heard.

Tatsuya Sakuya stood by the glass railing of the third-floor walkway, calmly looking down over the study hall below.

The scene confirmed something for him.

In the silent discussion area on the library's east side, Class 1-A had split into two groups.

One was Class 1-A's conservative faction, led by Katsuragi Kohei. The other was its reform faction, led by Sakayanagi Arisu.

The conservative faction clearly had more people. For now, the balance of power in Class 1-A still favored Katsuragi Kohei.

In the open area by the west windows, Class 1-B's students sat together, quietly helping one another with questions. Their strong sense of unity was no doubt thanks to Ichinose Honami.

Even the habitually overbearing Class 1-C had taken over a whole row of long tables in the south corner. Several troublemakers looked thoroughly fed up, but under Ryuen Kakeru's heavy-handed pressure, they stayed in their seats and studied.

Classes 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C had all independently chosen the library as their exam-preparation base.

The library had never formally divided up its study areas, but in practice, each class had chosen to sit apart from the others.

Tatsuya Sakuya took a quick photo and weighed the situation in his mind.

Palette Cafe had a relaxed atmosphere, but its open layout made it easy to slack off, and there were plenty of social distractions.

The library, by contrast, had a strong academic atmosphere and study resources close at hand. More importantly, students from every class gathered here. Simply being among them created a quiet pressure to compete.

Without pressure, there was no motivation.

Moving those restless Class 1-D students out of the cafe and into the library was the right solution.

Tatsuya Sakuya put away his phone and headed into the sociology section behind him, intending to borrow a few books.

As he rounded a row of tall shelves, a familiar, delicate citrus scent drifted to him on a light breeze.

Ichinose Honami was standing on tiptoe, reaching for a book on the top shelf.

Her fingertips fell two centimeters short.

Tatsuya Sakuya stepped forward. His long arm reached easily over her head, and he took down the heavy hardcover.

"Here you go."

Ichinose Honami blinked in surprise, then took the book and held it against her chest. Her face lit up with her trademark sunny smile.

"Oh, Tatsuya! Thank you. I didn't expect to run into you here."

"It was nothing."

Tatsuya Sakuya's gaze fell on the specialized book in her arms.

"Class 1-B is making quick progress with its revision."

Ichinose pressed her lips together, a little embarrassed. Lowering her voice as though sharing a secret, she edged half a step closer.

"What about you, Tatsuya? Isn't Class 1-D holding a group study session at Palette Cafe today? What brought you all the way to the library?"

"I came to the library to relax."

Tatsuya Sakuya leaned against a bookshelf, his thoughtful gaze resting on the girl before him.

"I had a look around from upstairs. Class 1-B has a great study atmosphere. Then again, you're leading them. You were admitted with the highest overall entrance score, so that kind of leadership isn't surprising."

At the mention of her top entrance score, a faint blush rose to Ichinose Honami's fair cheeks. She waved a hand awkwardly.

"You're exaggerating... I just got lucky. The questions happened to cover subjects I'm good at."

Her eyes bright and clear, she steered the conversation to a more serious topic.

"Actually, while I was looking through some data on what this midterm might cover, I noticed a strange pattern. Tatsuya, would you like to go over it together..."

Before she could finish—

Buzz. Buzz.

The phone in Tatsuya Sakuya's pocket suddenly vibrated insistently.

He took it out. The screen lit up with a private message from Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: [The study session's gone wrong. Horikita made Sudo angry, and he stormed off to the basketball gym. Ike and Yamauchi slipped away too.]

He tapped the screen dark, then looked up at Ichinose Honami, who was watching him with a puzzled expression. He gave her a polite nod.

"Sorry, Ichinose. We'll have to save that discussion for another time."

Ichinose Honami blinked understandingly and asked in a worried whisper,

"Did something urgent happen with your class?"

"No problem. I just need to leave for now."