Chapter 38: Was All of This Within Your Calculations?
In the afternoon, students gradually returned to the classroom. Katsuragi Keima did not go directly to his seat; instead, he leaned against the corridor wall, his eyes fixed on his handheld console.
"Katsuragi-kun! Sorry to keep you waiting!"
At that moment, a vibrant voice rang out in his ear. Keima looked up at the person he had texted earlier: Kushida Kikyo.
Previously, Kushida had asked Keima for help, but he had refused her. That refusal had caused Kushida's internal affection level for Keima to drop into the negatives. However, despite that, Keima knew that if he asked for her help, she would definitely come. This was because Kushida cared deeply about maintaining her "perfect social butterfly" image. For a request like this, she would always say yes.
"Katsuragi-kun, are you really holding a study group?" Kushida looked up at him with a look of concerned warmth.
In reality, she was already quite annoyed with him.
'This guy wouldn't help me before, yet now he has the nerve to come to me for help?'
Of course, she would never let those emotions show. In front of anyone, she had to maintain a perfect facade.
"That's right. Because I made a bet with Horikita-san."
"A bet?" Kushida became curious; this involved Horikita Suzune, after all.
"Yeah." Keima explained the terms of the bet to her.
"I see! But both Horikita-san and you are doing this for the sake of the class, right?" Kushida clasped her hands over her chest with a worried expression. "But... Horikita-san's personality is indeed quite strange. I feel like if she hosts a study group, some unpleasant things might happen."
"You're right. That's why I'm starting my own. If I beat Horikita this time, she'll have to cooperate with my actions from now on. If I make her spend more time with you, it might actually be possible to bridge the gap."
At Keima's words, a flash of light seemed to spark in Kushida's eyes. "I understand! So, is there anything I need to do?"
"Nothing particularly difficult," Keima said in a flat tone. "I just need you to join my study group in name only."
"Eh? You don't need me to proactively ask other students?"
"That won't be necessary."
Keima's gaze lingered on the girl before him. Kushida had a cute face and a generous, enthusiastic personality. If she spoke up, others would likely flock to join his study group—and that would be a problem.
While Keima's agreement with Chabashira Sae included raising the class rank, he believed that too many people in a study group would destroy the efficiency of the tutoring.
He predicted that Horikita might seek help from others to host her group, with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who sat on her other side, being the most likely candidate. It was nearly impossible for Ayanokouji to invite people like Sudo Ken on his own, but if he went to Kushida for help, the result might be different.
Therefore, Keima had to cut off that possibility in advance. Furthermore, Kushida's own grades were decent, so her joining would help pull up the average score—especially since his side included a "legendary pitfall" like Elsie.
"Okay! I look forward to working with you!" Kushida nodded with a smile.
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After the first period of the afternoon, it was break time. Keima continued playing his game, his handheld not moving an inch. Horikita Suzune turned her head and said something to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"Got it." Ayanokouji simply nodded and left his seat.
After parting from Keima at noon, Horikita had quickly calmed down. She possessed an extremely strong competitive spirit and refused to let herself lose to Keima; moreover, she didn't believe her ideology was flawed. Thus, she employed the same method she used on Keima—"bribing" Ayanokouji with a meal to get him to assist her with the study group.
Ayanokouji soon sought out the bottom-ranking students from the last quiz: Sudo Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji... However, their answers were remarkably consistent. They refused without hesitation. Sudo even became angry at the invitation, feeling as though Ayanokouji was looking down on him.
There's no other way; I'll have to go to Kushida, Ayanokouji thought. He believed it would be more convenient for Kushida to handle this. However, he didn't expect Kushida to reject him directly.
"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. I heard about what's going on with Horikita and Katsuragi-kun. They're both doing this to improve the class... but Katsuragi-kun invited me first, so..." Kushida wore an apologetic expression.
"I see," Ayanokouji responded simply. He returned to his seat and informed Horikita of the results. "They all failed."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Keima, who was still gaming.
'Did Katsuragi calculate this step and contact Kushida in advance? But why did he make this bet with Horikita in the first place? He doesn't seem like someone who craves reaching Class A.'
Ayanokouji's curiosity regarding Katsuragi Keima grew deeper.
"Those guys!" Hearing the news, Horikita bit her lip in frustration and glared at Keima once more. Organizing a study group was proving much harder than she had imagined.
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School soon ended. Keima brought Elsie and Sakura Airi to the library and found an empty table to sit down. Even though Keima had only asked Kushida to join in name, she chose to follow them anyway.
"This is what the teacher talked about today, though at least half of it was worthless nonsense." Keima opened a notebook and, within a few minutes, wrote down all the core content of today's lessons.
"As expected of Katsuragi-kun... amazing..." Even Kushida couldn't help but marvel at his terrifying memory and learning ability.
Her own grades were good, ranking in the top ten of the class. Even so, it was impossible for her to fully digest a day's worth of content in such a short time; she would usually need to review it at least once.
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