Days spent in the company of beautiful girls always passed by quickly. Soon enough, the day of the midterm exams arrived.
Shikime Natsu adjusted his clothes as usual, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed out. The early morning air carried a hint of chilliness; breathing it into his lungs felt incredibly refreshing.
However...
Just as he stepped out of the stairwell, a familiar figure entered his line of sight.
This guy was indeed quite familiar to Shikime Natsu. The Vice President of the Student Council and the leader of Class 2-A, Nagumo Miyabi.
At this moment, Nagumo Miyabi was leaning against a decorative tree with his arms crossed. From that posture, he clearly wasn't admiring the scenery, but was intentionally waiting for someone.
Seeing this, Shikime Natsu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Running into this guy first thing in the morning... It seems today's almanac should read, 'Inauspicious for all activities'.
This guy... couldn't possibly be waiting specifically for him, right?
At the thought of this possibility, Shikime Natsu couldn't help but feel a sudden chill.
Being blocked downstairs at the dormitory first thing in the morning by a grown man—especially a guy with a personality like Nagumo Miyabi's—was a feeling that absolutely couldn't be called pleasant.
"Morning, Shikime-kouhai."
Seeing Shikime Natsu approach, Nagumo Miyabi straightened up. The corners of his mouth curled into his signature mocking arc as he spoke unhurriedly.
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you this early."
"It is indeed a coincidence, Vice President Nagumo."
Shikime Natsu stopped in his tracks, his face wearing that usual unhurried smile.
"If I didn't know that Vice President Nagumo is a busy man, I would've suspected you were waiting here specifically for me."
Hearing Shikime Natsu's words, and especially seeing that annoying smile on his face as if everything were entirely within his grasp, the trace of hypocritical amusement at the corner of Nagumo Miyabi's eyes vanished instantly.
"Hmph, indeed."
He snorted coldly and stopped beating around the bush, speaking straightforwardly.
"I just wanted to remind you of one thing. I hope you've made ample preparations."
"After all, today is the day we see who the real deal is. Don't lose too horribly, or you'll embarrass yourself in front of the whole school."
"Oh?"
Shikime Natsu raised an eyebrow, looking at him with feigned surprise.
"Did Vice President Nagumo come all the way over here early in the morning just to spout this unnutritious nonsense at me?"
"If that's the case..."
He tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of banter.
"Then this 'busy man', Vice President Nagumo, is a bit too free, isn't he?"
"What did you say?!"
Hearing this, Nagumo Miyabi's face instantly darkened, the veins on his forehead throbbing faintly.
He, the dignified Vice President of the Student Council, had specially sacrificed his precious sleep time and stood here in the cold morning wind just for this duel, to put psychological pressure on this arrogant first-year.
Yet, from this guy's mouth, it actually became 'too free'?
This is simply outrageous!
"Hmph!"
Nagumo Miyabi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, and spoke coldly.
"Shikime, just keep enjoying your verbal victories."
"You can only act so smug right now."
"Once the exam results are out, you'll know what a gap in strength truly means."
"I hope you can still laugh like this when that time comes."
Facing Nagumo Miyabi's threat, Shikime Natsu merely shrugged nonchalantly.
"Since the results aren't out yet, please stop blocking the way here, Vice President Nagumo."
"After all, I need to hurry to the exam hall. I don't want to lose the competition just because I was late. Or is Nagumo-senpai planning to block me here from taking the exam, while having someone else write yours, intending to defeat me straight up like this?"
Hearing these words, the veins on Nagumo Miyabi's forehead popped again. This guy's lip service was truly impressive, casually throwing dirty water on him just like that.
After saying this, Shikime Natsu didn't even spare Nagumo Miyabi another glance. He simply turned sideways, bypassed him, and walked toward the academic building with unhurried steps.
"You..."
Looking at Shikime Natsu's receding figure—a figure that seemed to completely dismiss him—Nagumo Miyabi gritted his teeth in sheer anger.
This feeling...
It felt just like gathering all his strength for a punch, only for it to land on a ball of cotton. Not only did it deal zero damage to the enemy, but it also left him feeling a surge of suffocation and powerlessness.
This made it seem like he was the only one who cared about this duel!
"Hmph, nothing but a bluff."
Watching Shikime Natsu's gradually distancing back, Nagumo Miyabi snorted coldly in his heart, trying to calm his emotions in this manner.
What's he pretending to be so calm for? Right now, he must be panicking like crazy on the inside, right?
Just wait until the exams are over. The moment the scores are published, this fake mask of his will be thoroughly torn apart. When that time comes, I'll be able to see the ugly sight of him kneeling on the ground, crying bitterly!
Thinking of this, Nagumo Miyabi's mood improved slightly.
In his eyes, Shikime Natsu was nothing more than a stepping stone for him to reach greater heights.
As long as he defeated Shikime Natsu, he could ruthlessly slap the face of Horikita Manabu, who had always valued Shikime Natsu.
He could also conveniently prove his strength to that arrogant woman, Kiryuuin Fuuka.
He could even... make this eyesore of a guy, Shikime Natsu, completely disappear from Asahina Nazuna's sight!
Killing multiple birds with one stone. No matter how you looked at it, this was a worthwhile deal.
Shikime Natsu was nothing but a minor boss from the beginner's village. He could crush him with ease.
How could he possibly lose to a guy like this?
Carrying this enigmatic confidence of certain victory, Nagumo Miyabi adjusted his collar and turned around, walking toward the second-year academic building.
Shikime Natsu continued toward the first-year academic building.
As if to compensate for the terrible mood brought about by encountering an unlucky guy like Nagumo Miyabi early in the morning, his luck seemed to become surprisingly good for the rest of the journey.
"Yo, Shikime-kouhai!"
Just as he passed a corner, he ran into Asahina Nazuna standing by the side of the road.
Upon seeing Shikime Natsu, this upperclassman with long orange-red hair immediately waved enthusiastically.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning, Asahina-senpai."
Shikime Natsu responded with a smile.
"Umm..."
Asahina Nazuna looked at him with some expectation and pointed at his pocket.
"That study charm I gave you before, are you carrying it properly?"
"Of course."
Shikime Natsu patted his chest pocket.
"I've been keeping it close to me the whole time."
"That's good!"
Asahina Nazuna nodded in satisfaction, a radiant smile appearing on her face.
"Then there will definitely be no problem! Good luck, Shikime-kouhai! Make sure you win and show that arrogant guy!"
"Yeah, I will."
Bidding farewell to Asahina Nazuna, Shikime Natsu hadn't gone far before he encountered another familiar figure.
"Good morning, Natsu."
Shiina Hiyori was standing under the shade of a tree, hugging a few books. Her light purple eyes instantly lit up when she saw Shikime Natsu walking over.
"Good morning, Hiyori."
"Um... good luck on your exams."
The girl's voice was soft, carrying a trace of her unique gentleness.
"Thank you."
Shikime Natsu's heart warmed.
Walking further ahead, he met Amikura Mako and Ichinose Honami walking together.
"Ah! Shikime-san! Good morning!"
Amikura Mako greeted energetically.
"Good morning, Shikime-san."
Ichinose Honami also smiled and nodded.
"Do your best... on today's exams!"
"We all believe that Shikime-san will definitely get good grades!"
"Thank you. I'll take your auspicious words."
Walking along the way and receiving encouragement from several beautiful girls consecutively, Shikime Natsu felt as if he had been layered with a powerful buff called the 'Blessing of Beautiful Girls'.
If this road were a little longer, would he be able to gather the blessings of all the beautiful girls and directly summon Shenron to make a wish?
Soon, Shikime Natsu arrived inside his classroom. The classroom wasn't any different from other times. Not to mention that they were Class A to begin with, so their academic grades wouldn't be so bad as to fail. Besides, they had all been tutored by Shikime Natsu, so their overall strength had also improved. Most importantly, it was just memorizing answers; could they possibly fail to even memorize them?
Shikime Natsu walked to his seat and found that his cute deskmate was already sitting there.
Kamuro Masumi was looking down at a book, but when she felt Shikime Natsu approaching, her body noticeably stiffened for a moment.
Subsequently.
As if she had made some sort of resolution, she quickly took out a carton of milk from her desk cubby and placed it rather stiffly onto Shikime Natsu's desk.
"For you."
She turned her head away and looked out the window, leaving Shikime Natsu with only an exquisite side profile and slightly reddened ear tips.
Although her tone was as cold as ever, even carrying a hint of tsundere, Shikime Natsu could hear the shyness hidden within.
"This is... breakfast."
"Umm... good luck."
By the end, her voice was so small it was almost inaudible.
"I... will do my best too."
Looking at the milk on his desk, and then looking at his deskmate's tsundere appearance—clearly caring a lot but stubbornly pretending not to care—Shikime Natsu couldn't help but chuckle softly. She was so honest when she was sick, after all.
"Thank you."
He picked up the milk, feeling the slight coolness coming from his fingertips, and looked at Kamuro Masumi as he spoke.
"I will do my absolute best."
"Of course, I also believe that you definitely won't have any problems, Masumi."
...
"Ring, ring—"
With the urgent ringing of the bell, the midterm exams officially began.
The proctor walked into the classroom carrying a thick stack of exam papers, their stern gaze sweeping across the entire room.
"We will now begin distributing the test papers. After receiving the paper, first check if there are any missing pages or printing errors. You may only begin answering after hearing the command..."
At the same time.
In the exam hall for Class 2-A.
After receiving his test paper, Nagumo Miyabi merely gave it a cursory glance, and a confident arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
Questions of this level... to him, were simply as easy as a child's scribbles.
He picked up his pen and began to write rapidly on the answer sheet.
For this duel, he had made ample preparations.
Nagumo Miyabi was very clear about his own strengths and weaknesses.
The second-year questions posed no difficulty to him. He could rely on his solid foundation and talent to complete the answers in an extremely short time while guaranteeing an extremely high accuracy rate.
As for the third-year questions, although they possessed some difficulty, they were not entirely impossible to conquer.
Especially for the subjects he wasn't good at, even though they would take quite a bit of time, as long as his strategy was sound, he could still get a good score.
His strategy was very clear: prioritize securing a high score on the second-year paper, and then go on to conquer the third-year paper.
After all... if he only crushed that guy Shikime Natsu with high scores from the second-year paper, it would be letting him off too easy. He wanted to win in the third-year paper scores as well. He wanted a total victory!
Time passed by, minute by minute, second by second.
Nagumo Miyabi quickly finished answering the second-year paper.
He checked it over once, and after confirming there were no omissions, he set the second-year paper aside and began to conquer that third-year paper.
This was the true battlefield.
However...
Nagumo Miyabi glanced at the clock on the wall. There was less than half an hour left until the exam ended.
If it were an ordinary student, they would definitely be starting to panic by now.
After all, having to finish two test papers in such a short amount of time was an almost impossible task.
But...
A smile of a successful scheme appeared on Nagumo Miyabi's face.
He didn't rush to speed up, but instead continued to maintain his own pace, steadily and surely solving each question.
Soon, the bell signaling the end of the exam rang.
"Stop answering. Stand up and hand in your papers."
The proctor's voice rang out.
The surrounding students stopped writing one after another.
Nagumo Miyabi also stopped his pen.
But he didn't hand in his paper and leave right away like the others.
He merely handed in the completed second-year paper, while that third-year paper which was only half done remained on his desk.
The proctor walked up to him. They were just about to say something, but after seeing a special permission certificate presented by Nagumo Miyabi, they nodded and tacitly approved of his behavior.
This was Nagumo Miyabi's trump card—[Extra Answering Time].
In this school where everything could be bought with points, as long as one had enough points, even exam time could be purchased.
Of course, if one wanted to buy answering time for the official second-year exam paper, that price would simply be an astronomical figure. Even Nagumo Miyabi couldn't afford it.
But... if it was merely buying answering time for the privately agreed-upon duel portion with Shikime Natsu, the price would be much cheaper.
After all, this didn't involve the school's formal rankings or class points; it was just a private wager between two students.
Regarding this point, the school didn't have overly strict restrictions.
This was a loophole in the rules!
It was also Nagumo Miyabi's meticulously planned ultimate move!
Hehehe...
Watching the surrounding classmates leave the exam hall one after another, leaving only himself continuing to answer questions, Nagumo Miyabi's heart was filled with smug satisfaction.
[Just as planned.jpg]
Shikime Natsu, I'm afraid you couldn't have even dreamed of this, right?
Not only do I possess a richer reserve of knowledge than you, but I also have more answering time than you!
I now have a double buff applied to me. What are you going to use to beat me?
You'd better obediently prepare to kneel down and admit defeat!
Nagumo Miyabi gripped the pen in his hand tightly, a light of certain victory flashing in his eyes, and continued to conquer the remaining half of the test paper.
This round... is in the bag!
____
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