Shirogane was thinking about the worst-case scenario where they might get reported.
This plan lowered the risk.
Because even if they got reported, they could just say they picked some past exam questions as study material, and it was just luck that the test had similar questions.
As for why the students' test papers looked so much like the past study materials, well, that was the school's problem.
"Suddenly, it feels like if our class climbs up, we might really settle as class A," said Shiina.
"Yeah," Kaneda agreed.
That's because Shirogane was so steady.
He got the test papers and didn't break his promise—he brought a pen and wrote the correct answers right on the papers.
He finished math, then handled physics, then moved on to English, and finally chemistry and biology.
Even though the school gave 120 minutes per subject, Shirogane finished all five tests in less than 120 minutes.
"Can answering questions really be this smooth?"
Ibuki was sitting nearby, spacing out.
"Don't ask me," Ryuen said.
If he had this level of skill, he wouldn't have to worry about leading the class up the ranks.
From that angle, it was actually risky. Usually, the lower-ranked classes try to get the school rewards—things like exam exemptions or easier admission to their desired universities—which are designed as shortcuts for students who normally wouldn't have that chance.
Students in class A generally have decent skills, but even if they take the exams normally, they just have an average advantage.
Getting into top universities like Tokyo University is super rare.
Probably only the student council president, Horikita Manabu, could manage that.
So most class A students can't meet that high bar and end up going to just well-known but not top-tier universities.
That's why the school's reward system was so attractive and all the students wanted it.
But Shirogane looked like he could just pass the written exams and get into Tokyo University directly.
This made Ryuen feel mixed emotions.
On one hand, having such a strong person in his class was a huge help.
But on the other hand, maybe this strong person didn't even need the class. Even if he left, he'd do just fine.
…
Though Ryuen's feelings were complicated, Shirogane worked fast, and he assigned Shiina and Kaneda to organize the test papers into study materials.
Finally, on the third day, the ten top students Ichinose had contacted arrived.
Both Ryuen's class and class D had trouble gathering ten top-level students with B rank or above, but class B was clearly different.
There were six boys and four girls.
The boys included Kanzaki Ryuji, who they'd met before, then Shibata, a guy named Watanabe, and some others without names.
The girls included a familiar face, Ichinose Raiho, and another with light green hair, Shiranami Chihiro.
"Hey, these ten students are probably the fixed group who'll be coming for extra lessons from our class."
Ichinose came to Ryuen's class and confidently introduced some of her classmates.
"This is Kanzaki Ryuji."
"And this is Shibata..."
"And then this is..."
And so on.
"But Shiranami is a bit shy and quiet, so I want her to be in charge of tutoring the girls," Ichinose said.
Shirogane, sitting below, focused his eyes on Ichinose, then looked at the girl with light green hair who looked a little nervous when Ichinose mentioned her.
That was the shy and quiet Shiranami.
But tutoring means teaching and answering questions.
So this isn't something a shy person can easily handle.
Or does Ichinose's class not have enough top students?
Obviously not—there are 16 students with B- grades or higher.
So choosing 10 for tutoring is more than possible.
That means picking Shiranami might be a way to help her change, to overcome her shyness.
Or maybe it was Shiranami's own request.
"I-I can work with Ichinose first, and if I can manage on my own later, I-I'll take charge of a group by myself," Shiranami said, clenching her left fist and trying her best.
It seemed like she was volunteering and hoping to improve.
In other words, Shiranami wanted to grow and overcome her weakness.
But let's ask just to be sure.
"Shiranami, did you join this tutoring program because you want to grow?"
Shirogane wrote in his small notebook.
It was only 7 p.m., still the time when the narration system was active.
[No, it's because she depends too much on Ichinose Honami.]
[She's very shy and worried about being bullied in the new class, but the class atmosphere is good, and she thinks Ichinose is a good person—like an older sister.]
Hmm.
That's not so bad, right?
Shirogane remembered Kushida saying that Shiranami looked up to Ichinose like an older sister.
[But she has special feelings for Ichinose.]
The narration continued.
[She likes Ichinose Honami and has recently been trying to give her love letters.]
[Ichinose noticed this and wants to reject her, but she's afraid of hurting her feelings. So Ichinose feels troubled.]
[In the future, at Ichinose's wedding, Shiranami will attend but will be crying her eyes out.]
Uh.
Is that how it is? Or maybe it's just that surprising?
"So, since it's Ichinose's wedding, do you know what it looked like? Like how the wedding went?"
Even though he felt kind of bad for Ichinose being troubled right now, Shirogane clearly found the info interesting.
After all, Ichinose is really popular—she's pretty, kind, and both guys and girls like her a lot.
Yeah.
And while Shiranami's story was surprising, considering how popular Ichinose is, even someone of the same gender liking her doesn't sound impossible.
But even so, hearing that Ichinose is getting married someday is still shocking.
Or rather, it's just hard to imagine what Ichinose would even be like as a bride.
[No idea. I wasn't there. I wasn't even born yet. I just heard about it from Aunt Kikyo.]
Sometimes the narrator system drops bits of information—not just about character relationships, but even details about the school itself.
From this, it's clear the person talking has some kind of family connection with someone at the school.
Also...
What's with "Aunt Kikyo"?
Among all the students Shirogane has looked into, there's only one person named Kikyo.
And that's Kushida Kikyo.
But it probably isn't the same person, right?
Still, the narrator system said it couldn't show the wedding scene and that the info came from this "Aunt Kikyo," which means she was likely at Ichinose's wedding.
…
Meanwhile, over in the first-year Class D boys' dorm—
"I checked it out. You can buy the test papers, but it costs 50,000 points. I can't collect that much right now."
Hirata had come to Ayanokouji's room.
Hirata was super busy.
He was trying to talk with his classmates, hoping to collect any spare points they had and lend them to students who didn't have enough—but it wasn't going well.
Some students, even though they clearly still had points, were purposely transferring them to someone else and showing screenshots of their empty accounts as proof they had none.
And he couldn't really go checking through everyone's transfer history either.
So, for now, he had to give up on that plan.
But that meant more and more students who were short on money kept coming to him for help, and now Hirata's own account was completely empty too.
Right now, he didn't even have one personal point left.
Still, after hearing from Shirogane that the school gives rewards for reporting rule-breaking by shop staff, he saw a possible new path forward.
He had already told the class about this, and most of them were now actively looking.
After all, they were out of money.
Everyone was struggling just to get by.
But there was another big problem: this month's special exam—the usual written test.
There were already rumors that Ryuen's class had paid students from Ichinose's class to hold study sessions and help them review.
This is Ryuen class's plan.
But if we're just talking about top students, D class actually has some ideas too.
And surprisingly, Horikita, who was thought to be the hardest to deal with, actually agreed.
Though what she said could easily upset people.
"What? Study sessions? Why do we need extra classes after school? Isn't paying attention in class enough to solve the problems?"
But—
"I still think relying on yourself is better."
Yukimura, another top student, refused the idea of holding study sessions.
"I'm busy with student council work, but I'll try to make some time."
That was Kushida.
"Study sessions? You expect me to teach? Ohno, Hirata boy, I'm not doing that."
That was a complete rejection from Kouenji.
"Uh… well, I'm kind of shy."
That was Wang Miyu.
"Eh? Study sessions? But I'm already tutoring Karuizawa, Sato, Shinohara, and Onodera."
That was Matsushita Chiaki.
You could say the plan to hold study sessions wasn't going smoothly.
But that's only one problem.
Actually, it's not a big deal if they don't hold these sessions, because Ayanokouji came up with a unique plan.
He thought the "routine exam" Chabashira-sensei mentioned could be a way in.
What's a routine exam? Just like before.
The behavior exam they took when they first joined last month was also a routine exam.
So maybe they could think more creatively — like, what if the test papers themselves are routine?
So, he went to find out more.
And got some info from a poor senior in D class, third year.