Chapter 99: Kushida Kikyo's Hidden Thoughts
The evening sky had already turned a dusty amber.
Because of the celebration for the successful exam results, Katsuragi Keima had given them the day off—though in reality, he was just busy heading back to clear a new game.
"Today was seriously the best!"
Karuizawa Kei was still relishing the earlier farce. "Did you see Yamauchi's face? Hahahaha! It was like a color palette—one second white, then red, then purple!"
Sakura Airi whispered, "It really was..."
"He totally deserved it! Who told him to come over and brag like that!" Kei snorted, swinging her shopping bag over her shoulder. "Besides, Katsuragi is the real deal. Just a few words and he left that guy speechless. You should've seen Yamauchi's final expression—it was like he'd swallowed a fly!"
Airi couldn't help but purse her lips in a smile. It was true; Keima-kun's demeanor just then... was very cool. Even though he kept his head down playing games, the way he stood up to speak at the critical moment was completely different from his usual self.
"But it's really strange. This school has cameras everywhere during exams. How exactly did Yamauchi cheat?" Kei was utterly perplexed.
She didn't know that Yamauchi Haruki had obtained the previous exam questions in advance. Furthermore, out of pure selfishness, he hadn't even told his two friends, and had even gone out of his way to mock Ike Kanji and Sudou Ken after the results. That guy truly deserved what was coming to him.
Beside them, Kushida Kikyo didn't say a word. She walked quietly, carrying her carton of strawberry milk, seemingly lost in thought.
Kei suddenly leaned in, asking with a giggle, "Kikyo, you seem kind of out of it lately. Do you have something on your mind?"
"Not at all~" Kushida immediately donned her perfect smile. "I'm just thinking about the next exam."
"Liar~" Kei narrowed her eyes like a cunning fox. "Are you thinking about a certain someone?"
Kushida's smile stiffened for a fraction of a second. "Kei, what are you talking about..."
"Hahahaha! You're blushing! You're blushing!" Kei laughed loudly, then slung an arm around Airi's shoulder. "Airi, we have to be careful. Kikyo might be a rival in love~"
Airi's face turned scarlet instantly, the red spreading from her ears all the way down to her neck.
"R-rival?! What do you mean rival?!"
"You tell me?" Kei winked at her, wearing a "you know what I mean" expression.
"I... I, I, I..." Airi was completely speechless, steam practically rising from the top of her head. She hadn't expected Kei to say such a thing.
She had indeed told Kushida that they were rivals. But how did Karuizawa Kei know? No, no... she probably just said it as a joke.
"Airi, you like Katsuragi-kun, don't you?" Kei said with a smile.
For some reason, she felt an increasing urge to confirm exactly what kind of feelings her two companions harbored for Katsuragi Keima.
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I..." Airi's face looked like it was about to explode. She never expected her little secret to be seen through by Kei—though, in truth, everyone around them had seen through it long ago.
However, compared to Airi, Kei was more focused on Kushida Kikyo's expression.
'Does Kushida Kikyo like Katsuragi Keima?' She turned her head slightly to look at her.
As Kushida watched them, the knot in her heart tightened. A rival? She had never thought of it that way. But Kei's words were like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripple after ripple.
—Was she competing with Sakura Airi? Competing for what? Competing for that person's... attention?
"Kei, stop teasing." Kushida struggled to maintain her smile, but her voice lacked a bit of its usual syrupy sweetness.
"Katsuragi-kun and I are just ordinary friends."
"Oh~ 'ordinary friends'~" Kei drawled the words, her eyes full of meaning.
Although Kushida's expression appeared perfectly sincere, in that moment, Kei noticed a flash of hesitation in her eyes.
'Got her!'
Kei immediately realized that Kushida seemed to have unusual feelings for Keima.
"Alright, alright~" Seeing Airi's beet-red face, Kei waved her hand and laughed. "I was just joking. But—" She paused, looking up at the darkening sky, her tone turning somewhat serious. "That guy Katsuragi is indeed quite special."
Airi nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. Kushida remained silent. But she knew Kei was right. That person was indeed special.
Special enough to make someone like her, who lived behind a mask, start wanting to take off the disguise. Special enough that even though she vowed to make anyone who knew her secret drop out, she now pro-actively went to his room every night. Special enough that...
She looked down at the strawberry milk in her hand. Special enough that she had started looking forward to the arrival of each night. After all, only when facing Katsuragi Keima could she shed all the pressure.
Kushida herself didn't know why this was.
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The three arrived at the foot of the girls' dormitory.
"See you tomorrow then!" Kei waved. "See you at the study group!"
"Mhm!" Airi nodded.
"See you tomorrow~" Kushida smiled.
The two turned and entered the dorm. Kushida stood there, watching their figures disappear into the hallway. Kei had her arm around Airi's shoulder, the two of them chatting and laughing.
When did their relationship get so good? A month ago, they were practically strangers who barely spoke. Was it because of the study group? Or was it... because of that person?
She looked down at her shopping bag. The carton of strawberry milk lay there quietly, reflecting a soft glow in the twilight. She hesitated for a moment. Then she turned and walked in a different direction. Not toward her own room.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, in Katsuragi Keima's room.
Elsie was sprawled on the table, staring at a card in her hand with eyes as wide as saucers. "Kami-nii-sama, Kami-nii-sama, Kami-nii-sama! Look quickly!"
Keima was leaning against the headboard, handheld in his grip, not looking up. "Look at what?"
"Kushida's affection level! It went up again!"
Keima's movements paused. He put down the console and took the card.
[Name: Kushida Kikyo] [Current Affection: -52%]
"It went from -58% to -52%!" Elsie was dancing with excitement. "A 6% jump! In just one afternoon! Kami-nii-sama, what did you do?!"
Keima pushed up his glasses. "I didn't do anything."
"Nothing?! Then how did it go up?!"
"Probably because of the Yamauchi Haruki incident." Keima handed the card back to Elsie. "When I pointed out his cheating in front of the whole class, Kushida was there."
Elsie blinked, looking dazed. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"In games, this kind of 'showing off by taking down a villain' behavior is the easiest way to attract a girl's attention."
Elsie nodded as if she understood. "So what's next?"
"..." Keima looked out the window at the sky. "We wait."
"Wait for what?"
"Wait for her to come."
Elsie tilted her head. "Will she come?"
A glimmer reflected off Keima's lenses. "She will."
No sooner had the words left his mouth—
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking echoed. Elsie's eyes went wide, and she silently mouthed, "She... she really came?!"
Keima made a gesture to her. Elsie immediately understood, grabbed her broom, and activated her invisibility, her figure fading rapidly. Keima put down his handheld, walked to the door, and opened it.
The person standing outside was, as expected, Kushida Kikyo. She was in her school uniform, holding a shopping bag, her brown hair draped casually over her shoulders, but her face remained incredibly cute and full of youthful energy.
"..." Her voice was a bit lower than usual, lacking that sweet, professional "business" tone.
Keima stepped aside. "Come in."
Kushida entered the room and sat on her familiar chair. The room was quiet for a few seconds. She didn't know what to say. She just... wanted to come. Just like those other nights.
"For you." She handed over the shopping bag.
Keima took it and glanced inside. Strawberry milk. Again.
He put the milk in the small refrigerator nearby. The dorms provided by the school were fully furnished. Inside the fridge, there were already several cartons, all prepared by Keima in advance, neatly lined up on the first shelf. The second shelf was for storing any desserts Airi might bring over. The third shelf held ordinary snacks to be used for visitors at any time.
As for Elsie's stuff? She didn't have a designated shelf because she cleared the fridge out every time she came. As for the fridge in Elsie's own room, Keima would absolutely never open it. It was probably filled with tentacle monsters or self-destructing hell-beasts.
Watching his practiced movements, Kushida's lips unconsciously curved upward. "Your fridge... is so full."
"Mm. It's for guests."
"..." Kushida repeated the word in her mind, feeling a strange sense of loss.
'Just a guest?'
But she quickly suppressed the thought. "About today," she began. "Thank you."
Keima closed the fridge door and turned around. "For what?"
"For exposing Yamauchi." Kushida paused. "I hate people like him the most." Her tone held a hint of genuine disgust, not her usual sweet facade.
"You hate Yamauchi?"
"I want to throw up just looking at him." Kushida revealed a nauseated expression without any pretense. "Katsuragi."
"?"
"You said... I could treat you as my 'alt account.'"
"Mm."
"Then there's something I want to say right now."
Keima sat down across from her and looked at her seriously. "Go ahead. I'm listening."
Kushida took a deep breath. And then, she began to speak.
"That Yamauchi today really grossed me out." Her tone was filled with blatant loathing. "He got 11th place and became so smug he went to mock Ike and Sudo. Those two might not be great, but at least they earned their scores themselves."
She paused and looked at Keima. "And his face..." She shook her head. "It was honestly sickening. I've met a lot of annoying people, but he's in the top three. But how did you know he was cheating? Did you see his exam paper?"
Keima pushed up his glasses. "I didn't see it."
"Then..."
"I guessed."
Kushida was stunned. "Guessed?!"
"Mm." Keima's tone was flat. "His usual quiz scores are in the thirties; suddenly jumping to 11th is too low a probability. Furthermore, when he was bragging, all he said was 'what rank I got.' He never said 'I knew how to do this problem.'"
He continued slowly, "A person who truly scores well through their own effort will focus more on the questions themselves, not just the ranking."
Kushida fell silent.
'I'm stronger than who? Just based on that? Just based on his usual scores and the way he bragged? Just how much did this guy observe?'
"While the final question can indeed be solved with calculus, for us first-years, there are other methods—though they are very difficult. I didn't believe Yamauchi could do it. A slight bluff with related terminology was enough to determine he didn't rely on his own ability."
Keima continued, "It's impossible for him to have self-studied second-year content. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to use it skillfully during a monthly exam. So as long as I asked him about the fundamental principles, he definitely wouldn't be able to answer."
Kushida was completely speechless. In other words, Keima didn't actually know how Yamauchi cheated. He just threw out a question Yamauchi definitely couldn't answer. And Yamauchi really couldn't answer it. It was that simple.
"..." Kushida spoke with difficulty, "Weren't you afraid he might actually answer it?"
Keima pushed up his glasses. "The probability was too low. And even if he had answered, I could just have said 'It seems you really did self-study, congratulations.' No loss."
Kushida stared at him for several seconds. Then she laughed. Not her sweet, perfect, business smile. It was a genuine, slightly helpless bitter smile.
"You really are... a strange guy."
"Many people say that."
"I know. But it's really weird. How did Yamauchi cheat?"
"He likely obtained the test paper in advance."
"He got the test paper?!" Kushida was surprised.
"It's the only explanation, and someone must have helped him."
"Why do you conclude that?"
"If it were a coincidence or some other reason, Yamauchi would have immediately bragged to Sudo and Ike. While it would be for the purpose of showing off, it would undoubtedly have raised their scores as well, but that didn't happen." Keima pushed his glasses up again. "This means he likely couldn't share the paper with others. Thus, I judge someone provided it to him at the price of secrecy."
"But why would they do that?" Kushida couldn't understand why someone would help a guy like Yamauchi.
"I don't know." Keima shook his head. "But I am certain that the other party does not have good intentions."
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