Chapter 13: She's Appeared—The Literary Girl!
Meanwhile, in the faculty office.
Chabashira Sae was staring fixedly at Katsuragi Keima's test paper. All the answers could be described as absolutely perfect. Furthermore, the time he spent completing it was even shorter than she had anticipated.
"Did this guy master this knowledge beforehand, or... did he memorize my entire lecture while playing games?" Chabashira Sae couldn't help but mutter to herself in curiosity.
If it were a matter of advance preparation, Chabashira Sae wouldn't have bothered with such a test. Only the exams arranged by the school truly impact these students. Chabashira Sae was already utterly disappointed with the students of Class D; she was fully prepared to watch them slowly fall into ruin with her own eyes.
But in this year's batch, there were exceptions. Three students had been specially assigned to Class D, and their backgrounds were difficult to investigate.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka... and this Katsuragi Keima, whose academic ability reached A+. His intelligence and judgment had both reached the highest possible levels. That alone should have been enough to qualify him for Class A.
'Why did he come to Class D? Could it be related to his self-centered nature and his almost fanatical love for games?'
Additionally, what was the deal with Katsuragi Keima's sister, Katsuragi Elsie?
Chabashira Sae frowned as she looked at Elsie's test paper. Was what was written on it... truly human script? The characters were squiggly and distorted, with only a few words being recognizable. It looked almost like a curse from Hell. And she chose to hand it in early?
A theory couldn't help but form in Chabashira Sae's mind.
'Could it be—she failed the test on purpose?'
As Katsuragi Keima's sister, she must possess a decent level of ability. Did she know this test wasn't an official exam and held no meaning, so she deliberately scribbled nonsense?
Interesting. Perhaps this pair of siblings has already grasped the secret of the school's S-System. They, along with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, might become the secret weapons that change Class D.
"Sae-chan, what are you doing~?"
A voice as soft as a feather rang out behind Chabashira Sae. A woman with a face that belied her age wore a friendly smile, gently resting her hand on Chabashira's shoulder. She had amber hair and eyes, along with an incredibly cute baby face; her beauty was in no way inferior to Chabashira Sae's.
Hoshinomiya Chie. The homeroom teacher of Class 1-B, and also Chabashira Sae's former classmate.
"Nothing."
As she spoke, Chabashira Sae calmly put down the test paper and pushed it aside.
Hoshinomiya Chie tilted her head slightly, glancing at the papers before looking back at Chabashira: "Oh, I heard Sae-chan arranged a pop quiz for her students today~"
"It was just a symbolic gesture for the start of the term," Chabashira Sae replied expressionlessly.
"Really? Even though you, Sae-chan, usually act indifferent toward your previous students? Could it be that you're very interested in a certain student? I did hear that your Class D has a student with quite impressive evaluation values~"
At that exact moment, the smile on Hoshinomiya Chie's face vanished without a trace, and her gaze became incredibly cold. It was as if she wanted to peel back Chabashira Sae's layers and dig out her heart.
"—Or is it that you, Sae-chan, have developed the delusion of wanting to lead Class D to Class A?"
"That has nothing to do with you. And as I said, this was just a routine test," Chabashira Sae responded coldly. She then packed her things and left the office.
Watching Chabashira Sae's departing back, the meaningful smile returned to Hoshinomiya Chie's face.
"What was that student's name again? To stay in Class D with such a high evaluation score... how truly pitiable.
I think it was... Katsuragi Keima, wasn't it~?"
.
.
.
On the other side, Katsuragi Keima had already dragged Elsie to the school library. The scale of the place was massive, rivaling that of a city-level library, with all sorts of books collected within. Even rare books not in the collection could be ordered through the school by spending points. It was, quite literally, a paradise for those who love to read.
"Go find a few books on general common sense first, do you hear me!"
Keima dragged Elsie to the reference section, which was full of various common sense guides. "If you don't finish reading this row of books today, you aren't allowed to go back and eat."
"Ah! So many books! How can I finish them all! Kami-nii-sama, you aren't just looking for a reason to brush me off, are you?"
"How could I! You were the one who asked me to find a way for you, weren't you? First of all, you need to understand the most basic common sense. This will also be good practice for your reading level."
Keima spoke emphatically. "If the world is destroyed because you get expelled..."
"I understand, Kami-nii-sama! I'll work hard!" Elsie nodded vigorously and immediately ran to the side to start reading seriously.
Keima intended to find a vacant spot to quietly play his games. As he walked past a certain bookshelf, he saw a girl standing on her tiptoes, trying her best to reach a book on the top shelf. Because of her petite stature, she couldn't quite reach it no matter how hard she tried.
She had long, silvery-white hair. Beneath the hair was a quiet and sweet face, with purple eyes as bright as crystals. Under her uniform skirt, grey over-the-knee socks outlined her slender legs.
However, Keima's attention didn't linger on her for even a moment. He quickly looked back down at his handheld console, intending to walk straight past.
But at that moment, Elsie, clutching several books, hurried up from behind and caught up with him: "Kami-nii-sama, are these the right books!"
As she ran over, Elsie's gaze happened to fall on the silver-haired girl nearby, and she suddenly remembered something.
'This person—she's one of the mission targets!'
The girl was still struggling to touch the book on the top shelf.
"Ah! Hey there, let me help you!"
Elsie hurried forward to help, but her height was almost the same as the girl's. With her arms full of books, she also couldn't reach the top shelf. She could only turn her head and look at Keima with pleading eyes.
"Kam—Nii-sama!"
Keima let out a sigh in his heart. He had intended to ignore her and walk past, but Elsie's sudden appearance had forced him into a triggered event; there was no helping it now.
He stepped forward and took down the book for the girl—helping the girl known as Shiina Hiyori.