After going over the mistakes from their test papers, it was now free study time. The two girls worked on their own problems, and whenever they got stuck, they would come over to ask Hayakawa Shiro.
"Mm…"
Shiro was seriously studying a particularly difficult math problem when he suddenly noticed that Furuhashi Fumino, sitting beside him, was nodding off. Before he could react, her whole body tilted to the side, and her head fell directly onto his shoulder. A delicate, orchid-like fragrance drifted into the air around him.
Hayakawa Shiro: "…"
She actually dares to sleep during study?
Don't tell me she's trying to nap now so she'll have energy later at night to stay up with liberal arts?
"Staaare—"
Shiro's gaze slowly lost all warmth, turning cold and empty.
"Mm…"
Half-asleep, Furuhashi suddenly felt a chill run through her body. She opened her eyes—only to see Shiro's needle-sharp glare stabbing into her like knives. It was practically the gaze of death.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
Furuhashi let out a shriek, her soul nearly flying out of her body. She almost dropped to her knees right there on the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Whenever I look at formulas too long, I can't help but get sleepy!"
Shiro narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her carefully, as if judging whether she was lying. After a long pause, he finally said, "Wake up. Study properly."
"Yes, sir!!"
Furuhashi slapped her own cheeks hard, forcing herself back into focus, and returned to the notebook in front of her.
Shiro gave her one last sidelong glance to make sure she wasn't slacking off. Seeing that she really was concentrating, he withdrew his gaze in satisfaction.
Come to think of it…
This literature girl was stupid, sure. But her looks…
Shiro stole a quick glance at Furuhashi's side profile. Bright eyes and perfect teeth, skin like fine white jade, soft pink lips, a delicate nose, and that long, sky-blue hair flowing over her shoulders, tied at the forehead with her signature white headband. From this angle, her whole body looked soft and graceful, like a flower in bloom.
After a moment of observation, Shiro finally understood why the boys in class were always getting so worked up over her. And why she had earned the nickname "Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest."
Hmm… Sleeping, huh?
"You, get up!"
Shiro realized he had been spacing out for just a moment, and in that time Furuhashi had already closed her eyes again. His fury ignited instantly.
"Uhh…"
Startled, Furuhashi jolted awake, her pretty face flushed red. She opened her eyes wide and tried to look energetic, stammering, "I-I wasn't sleeping, Hayakawa-kun! My eyes just felt a little sore, so I closed them for a bit!"
"Do you think I believe that?"
Shiro's face darkened as he prepared to scold her further—
—but suddenly, Ogata Rizu's voice came from the side.
"Hayakawa-kun,"
Ogata leaned slightly closer. "Can you help me with this problem?"
"Where?"
Shiro turned toward her, scanning the question. But just then, he felt an overwhelming, soft pressure engulfing his arm.
"…"
Shiro looked down silently.
His arm was pressed tightly against Ogata Rizu's massive chest. The science prodigy was completely oblivious, still tilting her head up at him with earnest eyes, waiting for his explanation.
Shiro frowned slightly, staring at his poor arm being mercilessly squashed, and fell into deep thought.
Life was full of multiple-choice questions. Countless crossroads where every option would change your future. And right now, he faced such a choice.
A beautiful classmate, completely unaware, has pressed her chest against my arm. How do I escape this situation?
Option A: Casually pull my arm away.But she's totally unaware. If I move, there'll definitely be friction, and she'll notice. That'll be way too awkward.
Option B: Lean backward and slip my arm free.Good idea… except behind me is Furuhashi. There's no space to retreat.
Option C: Pretend I don't notice and just finish the explanation.Yes. That's the best choice.
"This problem works like this—"
Shiro glanced at the question, then carefully explained to Ogata: "The strange light in the fish's eyes, this represents…"
"Oh, ohh…"
Ogata nodded thoughtfully, though her face still showed confusion. "I think I get it a little. But I don't really understand the author's mindset. Why would they think that way?"
"You don't actually need to understand the author's real thoughts," Shiro replied calmly. "What matters is understanding the examiner's logic. High school literature questions are no different from science problems—they follow fixed templates. Picking out details in the text is just like spotting key info in a math problem. From those clues, you combine them into an answer that fits the exam's model solution. I call it the 'liberal arts formula.'"
"…"
Ogata tilted her head, her babyish face full of half-understanding. "Literature is so deep…"
"You probably won't grasp it yet," Shiro said with a small smile. "You'll need practice—lots of it. But you can start thinking about it on your own."
"I understand."
Ogata nodded and returned to her seat. Finally, Shiro's arm was freed.
The oppressive softness was gone, and just as he breathed a sigh of relief—suddenly, inspiration struck.
Force… applied force…
"Furuhashi, come here."
"Eh? What is it, Hayakawa-kun?"
Furuhashi blinked at him curiously.
Shiro raised his arm for her to see and said with dead seriousness, "This is a body under force. On its left side, it's experiencing a steady force to the right from a spherical object with a mass of 0.8 kilograms… then they separate, with a friction coefficient of 0.4. Question: How much work did this spherical object do on my arm during that time?"
"Ehh?? Hayakawa-kun, this question…"
Furuhashi's mind went blank. Her face twisted in confusion as she stammered, "It feels… kind of weird…"
"Answer it now," Shiro ordered, expressionless. "And draw the force diagram, too. It's simple, but you're the kind of person who'd mess it up."
"O-okay…"
Furuhashi didn't dare oppose the Emperor. She bent her head immediately and started struggling through it.
"Thirty-six joules."
Ogata, who had been listening, instantly jotted down the answer on scratch paper, her face calm with absolute confidence.
Shiro nodded silently, confirming her response.
Yes. Assuming no deformation, your chest just did 36 joules of work on my arm.
And no, don't you dare go solving physics problems for me—go analyze your creepy fish eyes instead.
Study time eventually came to an end.
The three of them left school together and headed toward the train station.
It was already September, and the sky darkened quickly. By the time they had walked halfway down the road from the school gates, the heavens were already blanketed with stars.