In Class A, a gathering of elite students, Miki Yamamura was an inconspicuous presence.
The only impression anyone had of her was that she was one of Sakayanagi Arisu's followers, occasionally seen accompanying Sakayanagi.
However, she wasn't a core member of the Sakayanagi faction.
This was also Kaoru's impression of her.
"You better not do anything weird to Yamamura," Kamuro Masumi warned Kaoru out of nowhere, her eyes filled with distrust.
"What could I possibly do?" Kaoru glanced at her legs. "Honestly, you seem close to her. Why don't you tutor her yourself?"
He expected Masumi to refuse, but instead, she fell into deep thought, seriously considering the idea.
Truthfully, her grades had been much worse than Miki Yamamura's initially, but after receiving Kaoru's tutoring, she had climbed out of the bottom ranks of the class.
"Are you planning to tutor her in the library?" Masumi discreetly glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu, making sure she wasn't eavesdropping.
"Either the library or a café. I can't exactly bring her to my room," Kaoru paused. "Besides, she might not even accept my help."
"She will. Yamamura's timid—she doesn't want to drag anyone down," Masumi said dismissively.
"Sakayanagi's been acting weird lately, keeping me away from you. Might as well have you tutor Yamamura instead."
Kaoru found it odd but didn't dwell on it.
Right now, the affairs of several girls were already enough to keep him busy.
....
After class, Miki Yamamura approached Kaoru on her own.
"Um, p-please take care of me, Mitoma-kun," the girl bowed slightly, her small hands nervously clutching her skirt as she glanced up at him.
"It's not our first meeting, no need to be so formal." Kaoru caught Sakayanagi glance.
"I've seen your grades, Yamamura-san. You're quite good at modern literature and English."
Although the school doesn't publicly announce everyone's grades, each class knows their own situation since homeroom teachers bring their class's score reports to the classroom.
"Eh? M-Mitoma-kun has been paying attention to me?" Miki Yamamura seemed startled, her words stumbling slightly.
"Is that surprising?" Kaoru looked puzzled. "Since you're my partner, it's only natural I'd pay some attention."
"N-no, that's not..." Yamamura flushed slightly, realizing she might have said something awkward.
"I just didn't expect... anyone to notice my situation."
Kaoru's expression turned odd.
Wasn't it because she normally had no presence?
And didn't she herself think this arrangement was fine?
"But I'll be relying on you, Mitoma-kun," Yamamura said softly. "With my current grades, it's really difficult for me to contribute much alone."
"Studying with a beautiful girl already makes me happy, so don't worry about it." Kaoru said it casually.
Though the girl tried hard to conceal herself, her looks couldn't be completely hidden from others.
The real world wasn't a manga—not everyone could transform from a superhero into an ordinary reporter just by wearing black-framed glasses.
Similarly, Yamamura wasn't like Airi Sakura, who wore glasses and tied her hair in twin braids.
Yamamura's beauty stood out completely, impossible to ignore.
She wore a slightly long side ponytail, strands occasionally slipping down her shoulders.
Her cool, unwavering gaze—perhaps unsure what expression to make—gave her face an aloof charm.
[Can't take it anymore, this dense yet aloof Yamamura—I want to guide her right in front of her face]
[I want to hold Yamamura's little hand] / [Can Yamamura call me a pervert?]
[I want to keep a Yamamura as a pet]
[Yamamura Miki? lick lick lick]
[While Yamamura stalks someone, I'll stalk her]
[Cover my room with her photos, then invite her over]
...
"Cut it out, Yamamura. This guy's a bit lecherous—better not give him any openings." Kamuro Masumi couldn't take it anymore and warned the flustered Yamamura from the side.
Yamamura nodded awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
Was she really a beautiful girl? Probably not.
"Kamuro-san, who's your partner?" Kaoru hinted subtly.
"None of your business." Masumi saw right through him and had no intention of leaving.
Kaoru decided to ignore her and turned back to Yamamura.
"Yamamura-san, I'm not entirely clear about your study situation. When would be a good time for us to study together?"
Although Miki Yamamura was also one of his marked targets, due to her lack of presence, he realized he didn't know much about her at all.
Come to think of it, during the sports festival, Kaoru had almost no impression of her, only vaguely remembering that Miki Yamamura's ranking wasn't high.
As for her usual academic performance, Kaoru only knew her grades weren't among the top—probably around average.
Still, no matter how he looked at it, he shouldn't have been paired with Miki Yamamura.
It was a bit strange.
"I'm free every day," Miki Yamamura quickly replied, her expression slightly uncomfortable.
"How about studying at the library?" Kaoru Mitoma added. "If it's too crowded, we can go to a café instead."
Miki Yamamura nodded, appearing completely deferential to his arrangements.
'How odd,' Kaoru thought to himself.
....
Meanwhile, Class D had also received notifications from Chabashira Sae.
"Eh? My partner is Karuizawa-san? What a coincidence!" Chiaki Matsushita's voice came from behind, startling Karuizawa who had been looking at the list.
She quickly put on a smile.
"So it's Chiaki. I guess we're both lucky."
Though she said that, Kei would have preferred a different partner.
After all, having a high-achieving partner would make the exam much easier.
Still, being paired with Chiaki Matsushita wasn't the worst outcome.
Suzune Horikita and Sudou Ken, Yosuke Hirata and Haruki Yamauchi, Kikyo Kushida and Kanji Ike, Teruhiko Yukimura and Kokoro Inogashira, Rokusuke Kouenji and Kyosuke Okiya...
Looking at the list, Kei's expression turned complicated.
The results were exactly as Suzune Horikita had predicted—the school would pair high-ranking students with low-ranking ones.
Her grades weren't the worst, but they weren't above average either—not even at the average level.
So, Kei's desire for Kaoru to tutor her wasn't just about clinging to him; she also had some anxiety about expulsion.
Chiaki Matsushita was mid-tier in Class D, so pairing with her was indeed fortunate.
However, this was Suzune strategy for the special exam.
Unlike Mashima from Class A, Chabashira Sae seemed to have completely given up, not explaining the pairing system to Class D and leaving them to figure it out on their own.
In the end, Hirata had to confirm the details with upperclassmen, causing a significant delay before Class D understood how the pairings worked.
To ensure correct pairings, Suzune had the bottom ten students in the class submit blank tests, while those in the lower tier scored just one point.
This forced high-ranking students to pair with low-ranking ones, preventing mismatches where low-ranking students ended up together and avoiding confusion among mid-tier students.
But Kei didn't care about any of that—she was in a good mood.
Now that the quiz results were out, it was time to visit Kaoru Mitoma.
'His room was on the second floor, right?'
She wondered if the dorm manager would give her the key.
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