As expected, news also came from Hirata Yosuke's side in the afternoon.
As the leader of the boys in Class D, Hirata was in charge of the largest study group, often conducting tutoring in the Library or the corridor rest areas.
Today, as soon as Hirata's group appeared, the people from Class C would swarm over like sharks smelling blood.
They would deliberately make loud noises, play piercing music, or snatch up the surrounding seats.
Although Hirata worked hard to maintain a gentle attitude and tried to resolve the issues through communication, the other side was completely unreasonable; they were clearly out to disgust you.
"It seems this is Ryuuen's total war."
Natsukawa thought to himself.
This wasn't just to win the Paper Shuffle; it was also to flush out the so-called Mastermind. Ryuuen wanted to use this indiscriminate pressure to observe everyone's reaction in Class D and find the hidden operator.
However, the reactions of the Class D students were still fairly normal for now.
Everyone was mostly angry and annoyed; after all, in their eyes, this was just a slightly over-the-top psychological war before the exams.
In this increasingly noisy atmosphere, the only place that could be considered peaceful was probably their group.
After school, Library.
This place was located in a blind spot of the bookshelves, where few people usually passed by.
Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses and wrote a series of physics formulas on his scratch paper.
"Those guys from Class C seem to be looking for trouble everywhere."
During a break, Miyake Akito said with some concern, "I heard Hirata's side almost got into a fight today."
"Hmph, a bunch of uneducated monkeys." Hasebe Haruka rolled her eyes with a look of disdain. "They only know how to use these underhanded tactics. But fortunately, we're in a more remote spot, so those flies haven't flown over yet."
"Don't let your guard down."
Natsukawa Sosuke sat on a nearby chair, holding a book, his tone flat.
"Ryuuen's strategy is a scorched-earth policy. He won't let any corner of Class D off. It's only a matter of time before we're discovered."
"Eh? Then what should we do?" Sakura Airi shrank her neck a bit fearfully, instinctively looking at Natsukawa. "If they come here to make trouble too..."
What she feared most were those fierce-looking delinquents.
"Don't worry."
Natsukawa closed his book and gave her a reassuring look.
"This is the Library; there are librarians around, so they won't dare go too far."
"Besides..."
He touched his ribs, which were still throbbing with a faint pain.
"If some blind fool really comes knocking on our door, I don't mind teaching them what 'Library Etiquette' is."
Although he wanted to slack off, if someone insisted on walking into his line of fire to help him grind his combat proficiency, it wouldn't be bad.
However, this calm before the storm did not last long.
In the following days, although the people from Class C didn't directly charge into the Library to take action, that constant gaze and the escalating harassment against other Class D groups still hung over everyone's hearts like a dark cloud. To change their mood and avoid the increasingly oppressive atmosphere of the Library, the group decided to move their subsequent revision location.
A few days later, in the evening.
A corner of the Pallet Cafe.
Even though it was after-school relaxation time and the surrounding tables were filled with students chatting and laughing, the table where the Airi Group was sitting seemed to be shrouded in an invisible haze, completely out of place with the cheerful atmosphere around them.
Because Natsukawa had some "private business" to handle temporarily, he wasn't in his seat, making the already dull atmosphere feel even more oppressive.
"The solution to this problem... is still wrong. Miyake, this is already the third time you've gotten it wrong."
Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses, his brow furrowed, and he drew a heavy circle on Miyake Akito's paper with a red pen. Although he tried his best to maintain his usual rigor and calmness, the hint of hidden irritability in his tone exposed his current state of mind.
"Sorry, Yukimura." Miyake Akito sighed and scratched his hair in frustration. "I'm having a bit of trouble... concentrating."
"Me too..."
Sakura Airi shrank into the innermost part of her seat, her eyes wandering.
Hasebe Haruka rested her chin on one hand while using a stirrer in her other hand to unconsciously draw circles in her iced coffee, which had already melted into water.
Although they hadn't faced a direct assault from Class C in the Library or the cafe during their after-school tutoring sessions over the past few days, Class C's harassment during lunch breaks was like a maggot in the bone, pervasive. Even though they had reported it to Chabashira-sensei, she said there was nothing she could do because those people were always just active in public areas.
(Those bastards... they're really as disgusting as flies.)
Hasebe Haruka cursed fiercely in her heart.
Just in this gloomy moment.
"Ding-ling-ling—"
The wind chime at the door rang.
Immediately after, a familiar figure walked over with brisk steps, carrying two bulging shopping bags.
"Yo, everyone. You're all here?"
Natsukawa Sosuke placed the shopping bags on the table, making a heavy thud.
"Seeing you all with such long faces, is it because the problems are too hard, or are you just hungry from not eating dinner?"
As he spoke, he naturally pulled out the chair next to Sakura and sat down.
"Natsukawa..." Yukimura put down his pen and gave him a somewhat helpless look. "You're late."
"Sorry, sorry. I went to line up for some things and got a bit delayed."
Natsukawa Sosuke waved his hand dismissively and began pulling things out of the bags.
"Come on, the care package is here. When it comes to studying, you need to replenish some sugar."
First was a piece of strawberry cake, which he accurately stuffed into Sakura Airi's hand.
"Here, Airi. This is the one you wanted."
"Ah... Th-thank you, Sōsuke-kun."
Next, an exquisitely packaged cake was pushed in front of Hasebe Haruka.
"Here, this is for you."
Hasebe was stunned for a moment.
She looked down; it was a seasonal limited-edition Mont Blanc cake.
This shop's Mont Blanc was very famous but also hard to buy, often selling out shortly after school ended. Moreover, she had only mentioned it once in passing while chatting with Airi a long time ago, saying she wanted to try it but never had the chance.
"...Why?"
She looked up at Natsukawa in surprise.
"Why what?" Natsukawa said casually as he distributed drinks to Miyake and Yukimura. "I heard from Airi last time that you like chestnut-flavored desserts, so I bought it while I was at it. What, you don't like it?"
"No... it's not that."
Hasebe Haruka's voice was a bit dry.
She looked at the exquisite dessert in front of her, then at Airi next to her, who was eating her cake in small, happy bites. The defensive line in her heart called "prejudice" couldn't help but loosen a bit.
'He found out through Airi...'
'This guy, even though he's a playboy normie who leaves a trail of broken hearts everywhere... he's surprisingly attentive?'
Generally speaking, don't these kinds of playboys only care about their own happiness or only show kindness to the "prey" they're interested in?
He actually remembered a preference about a friend that Airi had mentioned in passing and even went to wait in line to buy it.
'Tch, no wonder he can trick so many girls.'
Hasebe hummed tsundere-ishly in her heart, but her hand picking up the fork was very honest. She took a small bite of the cake, and the sweet taste indeed made her mood improve slightly.
"Thanks," she muttered softly, turning her face away.
"You're welcome."
Natsukawa Sosuke smiled, turned around, took his notebook out of his bag, and leaned closer to Sakura Airi.
"Airi, did you memorize that chemical equation from yesterday? Come, I'll help you organize today's key points."
"Um! I memorized it!"
The two of them huddled together; Natsukawa held a pen and skillfully marked the key points in Sakura's textbook, occasionally explaining a few words in a low voice.
Hasebe Haruka watched this scene silently from the side.
Although she still felt Natsukawa's character was questionable, she had to admit that he was indeed impeccable when it came to taking care of Airi.
'Fine, for the sake of this Mont Blanc, I won't pick a fight with you today.'
Under the sugar and comfort brought by Natsukawa, the originally dull group atmosphere finally livened up a bit, and everyone threw themselves back into their revision.