Chapter 98: A Game Cleared with Cheats is Meaningless
After the results were out, the classroom was like a boiling pot.
Karuizawa Kei was still jumping up and down; Sakura Airi was surrounded by several girls asking about her study methods, her face flushing as she began to stammer; Kushida Kikyo maintained her persona with practiced ease; and Horikita Suzune was flipping through her textbook expressionlessly, though her peripheral vision was constantly observing.
Katsuragi Keima still had his head down, playing a game.
But just then, an incredibly grating voice rang through the classroom—
"My, my~ how did certain people do on their exams?"
Yamauchi Haruki swaggered into the classroom, his face written with a smug expression that practically screamed "come ask me about my grades."
His gaze swept the room, accurately locking onto the dejected Ike Kanji and Sudou Ken in the corner.
"Yo! Ike! Sudo! How'd you do?"
His voice was intentionally raised to ensure half the classroom could hear.
Ike Kanji looked up, his face ashen. "...39th."
"Hahahahahaha!" Yamauchi doubled over laughing. "39th! Isn't that second to last! Hahaha!"
He then turned to Sudou Ken. "What about Sudo? What did Sudou get?"
Sudou Ken's face looked even worse. "...40th."
"Dead last?! Hahahahahaha!" Yamauchi laughed even more theatrically, even clutching his stomach in an exaggerated manner. "Did you two plan to hit rock bottom together?!"
Ike Kanji gritted his teeth. "What the hell are you so smug about? Weren't you at the bottom last time too?"
"That was last time!" Yamauchi suddenly pulled his phone from his pocket and held it high. "Open your eyes and look closely—11th place! 11th!"
The classroom went silent for a second.
"What?!" "11th place?!" "Yamauchi?! That Yamauchi?!"
Several students crowded around to look at his phone screen, followed by a chorus of gasps. Until now, some people hadn't noticed Yamauchi Haruki's ranking.
"Holy crap, it really is 11th!" "Yamauchi, how did you take the test?!" "You cheated, didn't you?!"
"Bullshit!" Yamauchi jumped up immediately. "I relied on strength! Strength, do you understand?!"
He scanned the surroundings triumphantly, his gaze finally landing on Katsuragi Keima and Horikita Suzune.
"Some people, you know, spend every day acting all high and mighty organizing 'study groups,' and the result? Just so-so~ I studied alone and still scored better than you lot!"
Yamauchi's grades obviously couldn't be compared to Keima's or Horikita's, but back when the study groups started, he had found Horikita a bit hard to stomach. Seeing her join Keima's group had made him even more annoyed. He felt Horikita looked down on him, so he took this chance to mock everyone else in the study group.
Karuizawa Kei's face went dark instantly. "What did you say?"
"I said—" Yamauchi drawled his tone, "Your little study group is just 'meh'~ Kei, what did you get? 14th? Tsk tsk tsk, not even as good as me on my own~"
"You!" Kei was so angry she wanted to rush forward, but Sakura Airi held her back.
"Kei-chan, calm down, calm down..."
Yamauchi then looked at Airi. "Yo, Sakura? 20th? Big improvement~ but still not as good as me~ 11th place~ E-lev-enth place~" He started singing, his face becoming peak punchable.
Airi bit her lip and didn't speak. Kushida Kikyo stood by with a smile, but a flash of disgust crossed her eyes.
Horikita Suzune finally looked up, her gaze cold as it fell on Yamauchi.
"Yamauchi."
"What?"
"In your last class quiz, you were 39th. This time, 11th. An improvement of 28 places in one month."
"Of course! I'm naturally gifted!"
"Naturally gifted people usually don't make bragging their first priority after improving by 28 places." Horikita's tone was as calm as if she were stating a fact. "They would keep a low profile and prepare for the next exam."
Yamauchi's smile froze for a moment. "Wh-what do you mean?!"
"Nothing special." Horikita retracted her gaze and went back to her book. "Just stating facts."
Yamauchi's face turned bright red. "You—you're just jealous! Jealous that I did better than you!"
"You did better than me?" Horikita didn't even look up. "I am 2nd. You are 11th. Who did better than who?"
Yamauchi was choked. Several snickers rang out around them.
But he quickly regrouped. "So-so what! Anyway, I'm stronger than them!" He pointed at Kei and Airi. "Don't you guys attend that crappy study group every day? The result? Still not as good as me by myself!"
Yamauchi immediately looked at Katsuragi Keima. Yet, even after hearing the scores, Keima hadn't even lifted his head; he was still playing his game. This made Yamauchi even more frustrated.
"Katsuragi!"
"What is it?" Keima finally lifted his head from his handheld.
"Did you see my score this time?"
Keima's gaze calmly swept over Yamauchi, and then—
"11th place," he spoke.
Yamauchi blinked. "Right! 11th! What about it!"
"Nothing much."
"...Huh?"
Keima pushed up his glasses. "In the final big question of the math exam, your steps used a calculus formula that isn't taught until the second year. We haven't been taught that formula yet."
Yamauchi's face went white instantly. "Wha-what nonsense are you talking?!"
"I'm not talking nonsense." Keima's tone was still calm, even carrying a hint of routine boredom. "What was your logic for solving that problem?"
He didn't finish. But the meaning was already clear.
The classroom fell silent again. A deathly silence. Everyone's eyes were on Yamauchi.
Sweat began to bead on Yamauchi's forehead, large drops sliding down his cheeks. His lips were trembling, and his legs were shaking too.
Solving logic? Yamauchi had no idea.
Previously, Arisu Sakayanagi had sent him the previous years' monthly exam papers, telling him the questions were fixed every year and he only needed to memorize the answers. Yamauchi had relied on this method to get such a grade. But even so, he had no idea about the logic; it was all rote memorization.
"I—I self-studied that! Right! Self-studied! I'm a genius, is it a crime to self-study second-year content?!" His voice was so high-pitched it cracked.
"It's fine," Keima nodded. "Then please explain right now: what is the fundamental principle of calculus? What are the contents of the Newton-Leibniz formula? What is the relationship between derivatives and integrals?"
Yamauchi's face turned from white to red, red to purple, and finally to the color of a pig's liver. His mouth opened and closed, closed and opened, like a fish tossed onto the shore.
The snickering around them grew louder.
"Yamauchi, didn't you self-study??"
"Exactly~"
"Could he really have cheated?"
"I heard he's been getting close to Arisu Sakayanagi from Class A lately..."
"Sakayanagi? That super amazing girl?"
Unlike the others' mockery, Keima only looked at Yamauchi with a cold expression.
"Clearing a game requires one's own strength. If you use cheats or hacks, it becomes meaningless."
"Bullshit!" Yamauchi jumped up, his voice piercingly sharp. "I didn't cheat! I just got 11th place! Believe it or not!"
He pushed through the crowd and stumbled out of the classroom. Louder laughter followed him.
"Take care~ Mr. 11th Place~"
"Remember to memorize the formulas before you brag next time~"
Keima watched his back disappear at the door and pushed up his glasses. Then he lowered his head and continued playing.
Horikita Suzune glanced at him but didn't speak. However, she noticed that the corner of Keima's mouth seemed to turn up slightly.
In the hallway outside, Yamauchi leaned against a corner, panting heavily. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would pop out of his throat.
"That damn Katsuragi! Acting all arrogant in front of me just because he got first! If there was more time for me to memorize the questions, I—I could have gotten a perfect score too!"
"Yamauchi-kun."
A gentle voice suddenly rang out. Yamauchi snapped his head up. Sakayanagi Arisu appeared at the end of the hallway at some point, leaning on her signature cane with a gentle smile on her face. The sunlight spilled in from the window, forming a halo behind her that made her look like an angel.
"It's Sakayanagi-chan!"
"You did quite well~ 11th place~" Sakayanagi walked closer slowly, her cane tapping the floor with a rhythmic thud, thud.
Yamauchi immediately squeezed out a smile. "Th-thanks, Sakayanagi-chan! It's all because the questions you gave were good!"
"Shh—" Sakayanagi put a finger to her lips in a silencing gesture, tilting her head as she looked at him. Her eyes were as clear as if they held no impurities. "Things like this shouldn't be known by others~"
"I know, I know! I didn't say anything!"
Sakayanagi smiled at him, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze in March. "I'll help with the next exam too! I also hope Yamauchi-kun gets a good grade in the midterms."
"Of course!"
The thud, thud of the cane tapping the floor faded at the end of the hallway. Yamauchi stood there, his expression shifting before he smiled again.
"That's right. As long as Sakayanagi-chan gives me the questions, I might even do better than Katsuragi and Horikita in the midterms!" He shook his head and strode away.
But he didn't notice that at the other end of the hallway, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had appeared at some point, watching his back with a cold gaze. He said nothing, turned, and went back to the classroom.
And even more so, no one noticed that after leaving, the smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy coldness. "What a piece of trash. Even with the questions, he could only manage 11th place?"
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Inside the classroom, the liveliness continued. After Yamauchi's farce ended, the atmosphere became even more active.
"That Yamauchi, he deserved it!" Kei was still indignant. "Let him be smug! Let him brag! Now he's completely humiliated himself!"
"Kei-chan, don't be angry anymore..." Airi tried to soothe her.
"I'm not angry! I'm delighted! Hahahahahaha!" Kei laughed loudly. "You didn't see his face just now—it was like a chameleon!"
Airi couldn't help but purse her lips. Kushida Kikyo watched with a smile, but her mind was on other things.
Yamauchi's grades were indeed too abnormal. And those things Keima said just now...
She looked at Keima in the corner. He was still playing games as if nothing had happened. But he had indeed pointed out Yamauchi's flaw. Using that flat, emotionless tone. Just like how he pointed out her history weakness. Just like that warm cup of milk he handed her. Just like those nights when he quietly listened to her complain and then said, "If you're tired, take a rest."
"Kikyo?" Kei's voice pulled her back.
"What's wrong?"
"What are you dazing out for? Let's go! Let's go to the convenience store and get something to eat! To celebrate our good grades!"
"S-sure~" Kushida stood up and followed them out of the classroom.
At the door, she looked back once. Keima was still sitting there, the glow of the handheld screen reflecting on his face. That person seemed like he was always there. Always playing games. But also always... watching them.
Kushida retracted her gaze and left with Kei and the others. The tangled mess in her heart seemed to have gained one more thread. A thread named "Katsuragi Keima."
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At the convenience store, Karuizawa Kei made a grand gesture and bought a huge pile of snacks. "My treat today! Take whatever you want!"
"Kei-chan is so generous~" Kushida said with a smile.
"Of course! I'm 14th! 14th! That's enough to brag about for a month! And Kikyo, you helped me a lot too!"
Sakura Airi carefully took a bag of small cookies from the shelf, the kind she had been researching lately.
"Airi, why do you always buy cookies lately?" Kei asked curiously.
"Ah, that... I'm... practicing..."
"Practicing what?"
"Practicing... making cookies..."
Kei froze for a moment, then revealed a meaningful smile. "Oh~ making them for a certain someone?"
Airi's face turned bright red instantly. "I-I... that..."
"Fine, fine, no need to explain~" Kei put an arm around her shoulder. "Good luck, I'm rooting for you!"
Kushida stood to the side, watching this scene with complex emotions. When did the relationship between Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi become so good? Was it because of the study group? Or was it... Katsuragi Keima?
She picked up a carton of strawberry milk, the kind always stocked in Keima's room. That guy, even though he didn't like sweets himself, always kept these things. He said they were "for guests." But Kushida knew that most of those snacks and drinks ended up in her stomach.
"Kikyo?" Kei's voice came over. "Why are you holding that? You actually like this? I couldn't tell!"
"...I want to change my taste occasionally." She nonchalantly put the milk into the shopping basket.
When they walked out of the convenience store, the sky had already started to dim.
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