"Rustle."
"Rustle."
The library at Advanced Nurturing High School was actually not very quiet.
Especially after the homeroom teachers announced to the first-years that failing important exams would result in expulsion, it became even noisier.
To survive the coming exams, students swarmed into the library—widely known as a place with a strong study atmosphere—and began chattering about things related to studying, and things not related at all.
Once the noisy sounds shattered the barrier of silence, it was hard for the library to return to its usual calm.
Even so, today, Asakusa Tetsu still arrived as promised…
And sat on the other side.
Shiina Hiyori was reading over there.
Asakusa Tetsu, on this side, opened his textbooks and workbooks.
"Where did Ichinose get to with you yesterday?" he asked softly to Shiranami Chihiro beside him.
"...Here." Shiranami flipped to the remembered page and pointed.
"The content after this was covered in class… Anyway, whether you understand it or not, let's just do some problems first," Asakusa said casually, circling several questions in the workbook.
The best way to test understanding was naturally to do exercises.
The 'sea of problems' strategy was something he was very familiar with.
High school first-year material was unexpectedly easy. Once he focused a little, the relevant knowledge surfaced on its own.
…After all, he had learned it before.
Although he'd forgotten most of it after graduating, once he got into the rhythm, he could recall it quickly.
Probably.
As they had discussed before, Asakusa's purpose in coming to the library this time was to tutor Shiranami Chihiro and Shibata Sō.
The reason it turned into something like a private "date" between two people was that the others had their own excuses for being late or absent.
Shibata Sō had soccer club activities. His schedule was already packed, and as a newcomer in a hierarchical club, he couldn't skip practice often.
Ichinose wasn't in any club and should've had time.
But she deliberately chose to be late.
As for "Prince" Kanzaki…
To be honest, Asakusa never really understood how his brain worked.
He had no club, no close friends, maintained polite relations with everyone…
And worked very hard at being Ichinose's follower.
Whatever Ichinose did, he did.
Whatever Ichinose said, he supported.
So when Ichinose intentionally arrived late, Kanzaki Ryūji naturally slowed down as well.
Asakusa didn't really mind.
After all, he was very free.
Even if he didn't tutor Chihiro, most of his time was spent completing daily "quests" with the library NPC who, though not at the same table, happened to sit back-to-back with him.
Asakusa didn't dislike reading.
Because he liked reading, he could recognize most characters in this world and remember most of their stories.
Even after more than ten years, he still hadn't finished all the interesting books.
But there was no rush.
"..."
Black and red ink alternated across the pages.
Under his gaze, Shiranami Chihiro obediently wracked her brain to answer each question he marked.
Then they were ruthlessly corrected in red.
Over and over again.
Unexpectedly, the nervousness she'd felt about being alone with him gradually faded.
She began to immerse herself in studying.
Unfortunately, that immersion didn't last long.
"Wouldn't memorizing before the exam be enough? Why do we even have to come to the library…"
The library door was pushed open casually, and noisy voices came in.
They were from Class D.
More precisely, the "failing-risk group" led by Hirata Yōsuke, including Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, and Sudō Ken.
"If you don't want to come, you can leave," Sudō said irritably.
With a complicated expression, Yamauchi sighed.
"If only not coming were really an option…"
"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Ike exclaimed in shock. "Were you really set up like this before?!"
He suddenly turned to Sudō.
"Ken, weren't you supposed to be the type who says, 'Studying is a waste of time, I'm gonna play basketball'?!"
Then he turned to Yamauchi.
"And Haruki, weren't you the type who says, 'Studying is unnecessary, a genius like me doesn't need it'?!"
"What's wrong with you two?!"
He couldn't understand.
Weren't they supposed to slack off and have fun together?
Didn't they agree to be useless together?
Why were these two suddenly becoming motivated?!
Faced with Ike's questioning, Sudō stayed silent.
Yamauchi secretly glanced at Hirata.
"Ike, be quiet," Hirata said calmly, in a tone that allowed no refusal.
Coldness crept up Ike's neck.
He shut up instantly.
Seeing this, Hirata put his gentle smile back on.
He looked around, found an empty table, and led the others to sit down.
"Alright, everyone. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me," he said softly.
Soon, the sound of turning pages filled the air.
Although unwilling, Ike obediently sat down.
Unlike the others, he hadn't brought anything.
"Ken, lend me a book," he said, dragging his chair over.
He grabbed a random textbook.
He didn't plan to read seriously—he just felt uncomfortable doing nothing while everyone else studied.
"..."
Sudō didn't respond.
Ike took it as agreement, opened the book, and used it to cover his face.
Then he leaned close again.
"Hey, Ken, we're friends, right?" he whispered, keeping an eye on Hirata. "If you still think of me as a friend, tell me—did you get possessed by something weird or dirty?"
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