Chapter 35: So You're Saying... My Spending Was Meaningless?!
Horikita Suzune froze, her gaze toward Katsuragi Keima filled with doubt and confusion.
What did he mean by... I planned to do this from the start? What did he mean by signing a contract with Chabashira-sensei?
"You... what exactly did you say to Chabashira-sensei?" Horikita pressed immediately.
"From now on, I can freely play games in class. It won't be treated as a violation that docks Class Points," Keima said nonchalantly. "In exchange, besides handing over a certain amount of points every month, no student in the class is allowed to be expelled during future formal exams. Furthermore, with each passing school year, the class rank must rise by at least one position."
However, Keima did not voice his true thoughts. This deal was merely a stalling tactic to allow himself to play games temporarily without worry. Later on, he would naturally find a way to invalidate it.
Reality, Class D, Class A—Keima didn't care.
However, Keima was actually a bit concerned about Chabashira Sae's specific wording at the time: "Formal exams." It sounded as if "Special Exams" also existed. But that wasn't the key issue right now, so Keima didn't delve deeper.
"What?!" Horikita was dumbfounded.
To think such a contract existed between Katsuragi Keima and Chabashira-sensei. So, he was going to take action regarding this anyway...
Does that mean the points she spent today were entirely meaningless? Not only did she treat three people to a meal for nothing, but she also had to give Keima a game?!
"I—"
"I rejected you earlier, but you insisted on giving me a game and treating me to lunch. You aren't going to go back on your word, are you?"
"Since I've made a promise, I will absolutely not go back on it." Horikita let out a helpless sigh. Since the start of school, not a single thing had gone smoothly... At least her current points were relatively abundant.
"It seems you have a second merit, Horikita: being trustworthy," Keima said as he popped a fried shrimp into his mouth.
"Hearing that makes me quite annoyed. But why the second?"
"I told you your first merit when we first met." Keima looked up at Horikita.
The question marks on Horikita's face multiplied.
'Told me when we first met?'
She struggled to recall the conversation they had during their first encounter. Back then, she seemed to be questioning him about why he had looked at her on the bus.
His answer was— 'I'm sorry, it's just because you're so beautiful, I looked a bit longer subconsciously.'
The moment she recalled that sentence, Horikita's breathing became erratic.
"You... can't you be a bit more normal?!" Horikita said with a hint of agitation.
Beside them, Sakura Airi only slightly raised her head, cautiously stealing a glance at Horikita.
'Did Horikita-san's cheeks... turn a little red?'
It was the first time she had seen Horikita react like that... What exactly did they say when they first met? Airi was intensely curious, but fearing Horikita would notice her staring, she lowered her head again.
"Is there a problem with what I said?"
"Now is not the time for that!" Horikita was already feeling helpless, but she quickly realized her loss of composure. She coughed lightly and forced the topic back.
"So, Katsuragi, what are your plans for later?"
"Nothing special. Just tutoring the classmates. If we want to improve everyone's grades, that's really the only way, isn't it? The 'study group' you mentioned."
"Mm. I plan to gather them for tutoring in reverse order of their scores on the last quiz. That's the most efficient way. So, I want to ask a favor: help me invite those students to the study group. People like Yamauchi and Sudo."
Horikita's expression was incredibly serious. Meanwhile, Sakura Airi's head dropped even lower, almost burying itself in her bowl. Airi's academic ability wasn't outstanding, and she hadn't done well on the quiz. While she wasn't as abysmal as the bottom few, she was still in the lower tier. Hearing Horikita's words made her feel increasingly embarrassed and slightly self-reproachful.
Horikita, however, failed to notice the change in Airi's expression. She only cared about how Keima would respond.
"Wait a second. I have a question. Why isn't Elsie included?" Keima asked, puzzled.
Elsie was the true dead last, after all. And she had achieved that first place from the bottom with an absolute, crushing dominance.
"Elsie? Although she placed last, it's obvious she didn't take it seriously on purpose." Horikita glanced at Elsie, who looked back blankly while chewing on a piece of meat.
"...&% (I was super serious though!)" Elsie spoke with her mouth full, making it muffled.
"Even if those questions weren't simple, one could get at least ten points just by guessing. Besides, when I turned in my paper, I happened to see Elsie-san's sheet. It was basically random scribbles. Not only that, but for the multiple-choice options A through D, she actually wrote an 'E'."
"?" Keima turned his head and stared dead at Elsie.
"So I guessed it. You two siblings were doing it on purpose, right? One takes first place, the other takes last, just to test the rules of the quiz—or rather, you already guessed that the quiz doesn't really matter, didn't you?"
Horikita lifted her head slightly, a trace of smugness hidden in her expression. She believed she had figured out the true intentions of Keima and Elsie. In her eyes, since Keima possessed such a brilliant mind, his sister Elsie certainly wouldn't be far behind.
Elsie completely failed to understand what Horikita was talking about.
'Is the study pressure too much for her?'
"..." Keima could only respond with silence.
"Therefore, I'll have to trouble you to help me find those students."
"No." Without a moment's hesitation, Keima rejected Horikita's request.
"What? Don't you want to improve Class D's grades too?"
"I do, but there's a problem with your method."
"My method is flawed? This was Hirata's idea, and you just said you wanted a study group—"
"I'm not talking about the study group itself, but about inviting the people with the lowest quiz scores." Keima set down his chopsticks. "First, using a single test as a sample size is too small; it's impossible to determine everyone's true academic ability. Second, by inviting people with that reason, you're essentially telling them to their faces, 'Your grades are terrible, don't hold us back.' If you encounter someone with strong self-esteem, it will only have the opposite effect."
Keima spoke slowly, rationally analyzing the various scenarios.
"What does that matter? I'm just stating facts."
"Horikita-san, perhaps you haven't noticed, but you've subconsciously labeled all your other classmates as dead weight."
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