When he saw the exchange between Airi and Haruna, Reiji remembered the other bet that needed to be concluded, one that he was even more glad to have won.
'Oof, I made that bet on a whim, but thank god it paid off!'
There was still a shred of reservation within when he was thinking of his chances of winning, only because he had replaced Hina as the tutor.
It was highly unlikely it would have affected Haruna negatively, but with the way things had gone out of control before, such as Yui meeting Riku despite his efforts, he wasn't 100% sure.
Now?
That seemed like a foolish thought.
Not only had Haruna made the Top 10, but she had also far surpassed that and entered the Top 5!
'Now that I think about it, I should be even more cocky, right?'
Reiji shook his head free of those thoughts when Riku arrived in front of the crowd.
"Ah?"
As if only now noticing the large number of people, he scratched his head in confusion.
"Oh, Hina. How'd you do?" he yawned, spotting his friend at the side.
".....I came second," she replied.
Riku looked stunned for a second, and then grinned widely.
"Haha, Little Miss Perfect didn't come first? That's new!"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Hina just smiled, not taking his words seriously.
But Riku continued, like he wasn't satisfied with her reaction.
"Now you can't nag me so much anymore, haha!!" he gloated.
Although his words carried a hint of teasing, the relief was just as obvious.
Hina's face contorted for a brief second, and then she nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. I won't nag you anymore."
"Huh? Uh..... Good!"
Riku's momentary surprise was replaced by a smirk, but when he took a step towards the ranking list out of curiosity, he saw Reiji standing by it.
After a brief hesitation, he turned around and started walking towards their classroom.
"Let's go, homeroom will start soon," he gestured to Hina.
"Aren't you going to check the rankings?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nah, there's no point. I know I didn't do well anyway!" he clicked his tongue, his feet not faltering.
But when he noticed Hina not following behind, he tilted his head with a puzzled look.
"What's wrong?"
"I think you should read the list. There's a surprise for you," Hina smiled sweetly, her hands clasped together.
Reiji's eyes flickered at that, and internally, he was laughing wryly.
'.....Huh? is this the Silent Savage route?!'
If it was, it was significantly ahead of schedule, but he didn't think much of it, just pitying Riku for a brief moment.
"Surprise?" Riku blinked. "No shot, I didn't somehow make the list, did I?"
"Why don't you check?"
Riku's initially indifferent mood did a 180, and there was a tinge of excitement mixed in with the doubt and uncertainty.
But his eyes met Reiji's again, and the hesitation reappeared.
'Ah..... Am I scaring him?'
Reiji moved out of the way and stood at the corner, his arms crossed with curiosity.
When Riku noticed, his confidence reappeared, and he slowly walked over to the bulletin board.
'How will he react? Ugh, I feel like a proper villain for looking forward to it, but can I really be blamed?'
Reiji scratched his chin awkwardly when he realized that his intentions definitely weren't pure, but he had no good feelings left for Riku anyway.
"Hehehehehehe, this is like a soap opera. The suspense is killing me," Airi whispered, tugging her pigtails with utter delight.
".....You're getting creepier by the day," Reiji muttered, but was promptly ignored by the crazy woman who had her eyes glued to the boy now in front of the board.
***
(Riku POV)
'Is it really possible? Am I somehow a hidden genius??'
I could feel the goosebumps on my forearms rise in real time, the suspense filling me with tension.
Studies were always my weakness, not because I was stupid, but because I didn't care enough to put the effort in.
Boring.
That's the best way to explain it.
And I don't like boring things.
But if I really did make the Top 50 with barely any studying?
That wouldn't be boring anymore.
I reeled in my excitement, understanding that it might not be the case, and yet I couldn't think of any other reason as to why Hina would ask me to check the list.
My gaze lifted to the bottom, intending to start from the 50th place since I knew that no matter how much of a genius I might be, the top ranks were extremely unlikely.
I scrolled up slowly, my previously intense look watering down as I still couldn't find my name even at the 30s.
Then in the 20s, my eagerness cooled down completely.
At the 10s, I started to get a little annoyed at why Hina would waste my time with this shit.
'Tch, is this revenge for that joke? Is it wrong to ask her to stop nagging me?'
There were still no surprises as I continued.
And then I froze.
At the 4th place.....
Was Yuzuki-san.
My breath hitched in my throat, the first reaction being confusion as I wondered if there was a mistake.
'Did they add an extra zero by mistake when they were grading?'
I felt indignant, my already irritated mood darkening further at that thought.
Here I was, hoping for a miracle, and that miracle somehow goes to someone else?
And when I looked even further up out of curiosity, I had the urge to punch something.
'Why is that fucker ranked first?? Where's the justice?'
There was no chance he didn't cheat, because that man barely listened in class anyway!
I had looked over many times during lessons and saw him just looking out the window, so the suspicion of foul play was not just a guess; it was almost a certainty!
'Why did Hina ask me to check this pile of crap?'
I looked back at her with a frown and saw her standing next to Yuzuki-san with no reaction.
"What the hell, Hina? Why'd you ask me to see this?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hina asked, not understanding my point.
"You made me think I was on there!"
"I never said that. What are you talking about?"
"You!"
I clenched my fists and forced myself to calm down.
The thought of pointing out Yuzuki-san and the Shithead's obviously incorrect ranking passed through my mind, but I dismissed it immediately.
I still wanted to get together with the former, and confronting the latter held no benefit.
I'd just get beaten up.
'I'll report it to the Student Council later on,' I decided, glaring at Yagami through the side of my eyes.
"Whatever, I'm going to class," I grumbled.
But someone stepped in front of me.
It was the purple-haired girl who had probably sold herself to that delinquent.
"Where are you going?" she asked with an eerie smile.
'.....She's cute, but more creepy than anything else.'
"What's it to you?" I replied.
"Aren't you going to fulfill your promise?"
"Promise?" I asked, baffled at the random question. "What promise?"
".....Seriously?"
"Can you be more specific? I have no idea what you're talking about."
The girl's lips started quivering, her face crinkling with amusement.
"Haruna-chan made the Top 10, you know?" she chuckled.
"What's that got to do wi-....."
My words stumbled, and I stiffened in place.
I glanced at Yuzuki-san and Hina, who were both looking at me with complicated expressions.
"Aha, it seems like you remember now!"
The girl clapped, her words loud for some reason.
"U-Uh....." I stammered.
"Since you lost the bet, claiming that Haruna-chan wouldn't make the Top 10, you need to lick your foot, and post the recorded video online, right?" she continued, her volume rising in a way that made it audible through the chattering crowd.
"Whoa, Mr. Poopy-Pants, you really made such a bet?"
I snapped my head towards the person who said that, and saw Morikawa standing there with his hands in his pockets.
We're friends, in a way.
But the type that enjoys seeing the other suffer.
So while I wasn't surprised, I scowled and kicked his shin.
"Shut the fuck up!" I hissed, trying to keep him quiet.
"Ow! So you really lost a bet like that? Damn, with the pants incident plus this..... RIP brother."
"That was mud!"
"Sure, sure."
I wanted to punch him, but the conversation around us had shifted, with everyone looking at me with full-on curiosity.
'.....This is bad!'
I really did not want to lick my foot!
They smell pretty bad, and I don't know why!
And posting it online?
That's nothing short of social death!
I tried to think of a way to get out of this bind, my mind racing with different possibilities.
Accusing foul play was an option, but not one I wanted to rely on right now.
But nothing else was coming to mind.
Just as the purple-haired girl looked like she was about to speak up again, Yagami walked out.
".....Let's just forget it. I don't really want to see something like that," he said with a sigh.
I wanted to let out a cry of freedom, breathe out with relief, but the purple-haired girl's response cut that joy short.
"Reiji-kun! What about my entertainment??" the girl wailed.
'ENTERTAINMENT??? MY SORROW IS YOUR ENTERTAINMENT?'
I started shaking with anger, furrowing my brows with unconcealed ferocity.
"What entertainment? They're fake results anyway!" I growled.