"Things are looking bad!"
When Asakura arrived at the activity room, Chihaya Anon was clutching her head and muttering to herself.
"What's wrong?" he asked the girl curiously.
"Because I've been so obsessed with finding a band to join lately, and throwing myself into school festival activities..." The pink-haired girl sighed, baring her cute little tiger teeth. "Anyway, I spent too much effort on other things. Now that I've snapped out of it, I'm suddenly facing the final boss, and I feel a bit out of my depth..."
"Oh, you mean the end-of-term academic proficiency test."
Asakura realized.
"Cramming at the last minute isn't a good habit. What matters is your usual accumulation."
Yanami, who had followed Asakura into the activity room, crossed her arms and spoke to Chihaya Anon with a grand air, as if she were a life senior.
"Of all the people in this room, you are the only one who has no right to say that..." Asakura complained with his eyes half-closed.
During the last midterm exam, he had even used "illegal detention" to make her study properly, yet in the end, this girl's grades had only barely hovered just above the average line...
"What nonsense are you talking about! Isn't Yuigahama my comrade too?" Yanami retorted.
"Eh? But my grades are actually quite good... I got into Sobu High with a high score back then."
Yuigahama said cautiously, having been turned into a "comrade" without her consent.
"You're lying, right! Even though you usually look so airheaded..." Yanami said in shock while looking for snacks in the cupboard.
One could tell her surprise was genuine by the fact that she didn't even notice the Umaibō stick dropping from her hand.
However, in a certain sense, this was clearly even more heart-piercing.
"What do you mean by airheaded!" Yuigahama said poutingly.
"Anna was blinded by appearances. Although Yuigahama-chan usually seems a bit ditzy, she's actually a quite shrewd girl."
Asagumo, who rarely appeared in the Service Club activity room, revealed a subtle smile with a hint of pressure: "She's a formidable foe."
"I suddenly became an enemy to Asagumo for no reason?!"
Yuigahama turned pale with fright, casting a pitiful gaze toward Asakura: "Takuma-tan..."
"Sorry, I'm the top of the year. From the perspective of the level of battle, we're not in the same league..." Asakura said, shrugging his shoulders.
No, no, no, the 'battle' Asagumo just mentioned definitely isn't at the level of an academic test!
Although Yuigahama complained like this in her heart, she couldn't say it under the pressure of Asagumo's powerful gaze.
In the end, she could only dash behind Yukino, hugging her tightly, pressing her chest against the other's back while resting her chin on her head: "My only comrade left is Yukinon!"
"Don't just hug me like that, it's hot, it's heavy..."
Yukino sighed. Perhaps because she was somewhat used to it, she didn't struggle much, merely speaking with a helpless look in her eyes.
"It's not that heavy, right? Well, because Takuma-tan always prepares so many delicious snacks in the activity room, lately it's been a bit... Anyway, anyway, I'm already dieting properly, so it's fine!"
Yuigahama said.
Although Yukino didn't speak, the expression on her face became unsightly.
After observing for a moment, Asakura came to a sudden realization.
"Yuigahama, if you keep saying that while puffing out your chest, maybe even Yukinoshita will become your enemy."
"Why?!"
"Because generally, when speaking of dieting, shouldn't you touch your stomach instead of puffing out your chest? Doing that is like provoking Yukinoshita... ah, and Anon too."
"You don't have to specifically include me when talking about this topic!"
Chihaya Anon, who was already distressed about her studies, suddenly became a bit exasperated, baring her tiger teeth and letting out a "Hah?"
"...I'm very sorry."
"If you don't talk back and just apologize so honestly, doesn't it make me look even more pathetic!" The plain Miss Anon was almost on the verge of tears.
"So Takuma-kun, do you plan to aim for the top of the year again this time?" Asagumo asked him after watching Asakura play around with Chihaya Anon and the others for a while.
"We'll see. If possible, I'll certainly try for it. After all, the status of being top of the year is quite useful."
Setting aside everything else, just the fact that teachers won't say much even if you skip class—as long as it's not too serious—was worth a little effort from Asakura.
"Then Yukinoshita-san... well, it seems I don't need to ask."
Asagumo looked toward Yukino again, only to find the girl's lips tightly pursed, her eyes revealing a sharp and fierce gaze, like that of a wolf on the snowy plains.
Clearly, during the last midterm proficiency test, her state of mind had been unstable due to sudden contact with the supernatural side of the world, leading to a significant drop in performance. Having suffered such an insulting defeat, she had long been looking forward to this chance to wash away the shame.
After all, with her sense of pride, she couldn't just watch herself lose to Asakura, then lose to Asagumo, then lose to Yuigahama, then lose to Anna... Eventually, there would be no one left to lose to, and she'd lose all her dignity.
"Oh, Yukinoshita, are you eyeing that position too? At this point, no matter how much you force yourself, it's useless."
"Thank you for your concern, Asakura-kun, but this is merely a scientific prediction based on my own learning ability. It's not a matter of forcing myself."
The two of them stared at each other tit-for-tat, both revealing eerie smiles in an attempt to put psychological pressure on the other.
Whether they felt the pressure or not is one thing, but at the very least, Asagumo felt it.
"Takuma-kun is unexpectedly competitive in some areas..." Asagumo said with a smile. Although it seemed to be within a safe range for now, letting the two of them stay alone together like this was still a bit delicate. Thus, she forcefully inserted herself between the two who were still in a standoff, breaking the strange atmosphere: "I'll also try to aim for a better ranking. If you're too confident, you might be sniped by someone like me instead."
"Um, wasn't the original topic about my grades?" Chihaya Anon whispered to herself. "I feel like in the end, it has nothing to do with me anymore..."
"In times like this, just give up gallantly." Yanami gave her a thumbs up and spoke brightly.
"Giving up too fast! I think my grades can still be saved!"
"In that case..." Asakura snapped back to his senses and asked her, "How about we hold a study session? Regardless of the others, at least for those first-year high school level problems of yours, there's no shortage of people to help you solve them."