Chapter 152: The Gold Standard of Fast Answering, The Oppressive Aura of the King's Instrument
"Forty minutes!?"
Even Shinomiya Kaguya, who had always been plain and expressionless, couldn't help showing emotional fluctuation upon hearing such an astonishing statement.
Immediately after, she raised her right hand and gently stroked her left cheek.
In just an instant, Shinomiya Kaguya's surprised eyes and expression disappeared completely as if they had never appeared, returning to that tranquil and calm appearance.
"Yoru-kun, handing in the paper early... even arrogance should have a limit."
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't believe that the opponent could finish answering a high-difficulty test paper, which took her nearly three hours to complete, in just forty short minutes.
When she heard this number, she had already estimated in her heart.
Even if the answers were placed in front of her to copy, writing them all down would take at least about half an hour.
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't believe the gap between her and Yoru in front of her would be this huge.
"Arrogance?"
Yoru shook his head with a chuckle.
"I am not being arrogant."
He stared straight into Shinomiya Kaguya's waveless red eyes and spoke slowly.
"It's just that I know I can't lose, so I want to win by more, that's all."
"Win by more..."
Shinomiya Kaguya murmured these three words softly, her eyes flickering.
"That is to say, you feel victory is in your grasp, so by handing in the paper early, you want to surpass me in answering speed as well?"
Shinomiya Kaguya raised her head, also staring straight into Yoru's eyes, saying faintly.
"Sure enough, you are very arrogant."
Yoru put away his smile and replied in an equally plain tone.
"Whether it's arrogance or strength, you'll know when the exam results come out."
Just then.
"Kaguya~"
Fujiwara Chika also came out of the exam venue. Seeing Shinomiya Kaguya and Yoru conversing not far away, she hurriedly bounced over, smiling sweetly and greeting.
"Are you comparing answers? I want to join too~"
Fujiwara Chika had been good friends with Shinomiya Kaguya since junior high school, so her attitude towards this eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family wasn't respectful but distant like other students.
"We are not comparing answers."
Shinomiya Kaguya felt somewhat helpless inside.
As soon as Fujiwara Chika walked over, the atmosphere in the venue felt different.
From the tension and fateful feeling of the strongest geniuses of two high schools deciding victory or defeat at the end of the first semester, it directly turned into a comical atmosphere like a mixer (Goukon).
Shinomiya Kaguya could almost see bright flower petals floating around Fujiwara Chika.
Dazed (Adorkable) aura, terrifyingly so.
"So you're not comparing answers..."
Fujiwara Chika looked somewhat disappointed, but immediately looked at Yoru, asking curiously.
"By the way, Yoru-kun, can I ask you about something?"
Yoru's attitude towards Fujiwara Chika was obviously much better than towards Shinomiya Kaguya.
Not because of reasons like appearance or breast size.
His hostility towards Shinomiya Kaguya was solely because the opponent sent Hayasaka Ai beside her to follow him and the people around him.
"What is it, Fujiwara-san?"
"In the first grade of your school... there should be a girl surnamed Touma. Do you know her?"
"Touma?"
Yoru nodded slightly.
"She is in the same club as me."
Yoru had no reaction on the surface but thought secretly in his heart.
It seems although Shinomiya Kaguya sent Hayasaka Ai to follow me, she hasn't disclosed the obtained information to anyone.
Otherwise, as her good friend, Fujiwara Chika wouldn't use uncertain words like "should be" and "do you know".
"Really!?"
Fujiwara Chika looked excited and hurriedly spoke.
"Then can I ask you to introduce me to Touma-san? I am very curious about her!"
"Getting to know each other is no problem."
Yoru smiled casually.
"However, her attitude towards strangers can't be called friendly."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Fujiwara Chika looked full of confidence.
"I will definitely have common topics with her."
"Then let's go."
Meanwhile, on the other side, in a secluded corner.
Pant... pant...
Shirogane Miyuki leaned against the wall, not even caring about the neatness of his uniform, just sitting directly on the ground regardless of his image.
This exam....
His pressure was directly maxed out.
The moment he saw the test paper, Shirogane Miyuki knew he had lost the qualification to compete with Shinomiya Kaguya and Yoru.
He felt like a mortal caught in the battle between two gods.
Correct.
Shirogane Miyuki wasn't any genius.
If anything...
He could only be considered a genius of focus and perseverance.
That dedication to studying allowed Shirogane Miyuki to study twenty hours out of twenty-four every day.
Even when eating and going to the toilet, he wouldn't stop reading.
However, the limit of hard work stopped right here.
Under these completely different exam rules this time, only true geniuses like Shinomiya Kaguya could perform at the exact same level as usual without being affected.
No need to announce the scores.
Shirogane Miyuki already knew he couldn't get first place in this exam.
.....
Meanwhile, inside the Shuchiin teachers' office.
The middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses from before sat together with several carefully selected senior excellent teachers with rich grading experience.
Everyone looked at the test paper in front of them, falling into silence.
The atmosphere in the office was even oppressively deadly silent.
The middle-aged woman looked at the test paper in front of her and Yoru's name on it, pushed her glasses frame, and spoke slowly.
"I don't believe it. Pull up the surveillance video. Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"
As the first candidate to hand in the paper early, and the only one to do so in this joint exam held by Sobu High and Private Shuchiin Academy, the answer sheet given by Yoru had already been sent to the desk.
It was just that the Shuchiin teachers found it hard to believe the facts before their eyes.
Not only did Yoru complete all questions in just forty minutes.
Moreover...
The quality of this test paper was so high that it was unbelievable.
If having to describe it in words...
It meant that the moment this test paper was placed in front of their eyes, the Shuchiin teachers no longer needed to look at the answer sheets of other candidates.
The first place had already appeared.
The Shuchiin authorities completely didn't believe such a thing would happen.
After Shinomiya Kaguya handed in her paper, the Shuchiin teachers responsible for grading put the two test papers together and made a comparison.
Good news:
Shinomiya Kaguya's score was very good, close to a perfect score.
Bad news:
The perfection level of Yoru's test paper was no longer a matter of being a perfect score or not.
But even if the Shuchiin teachers racked their brains trying to pick out a place to deduct points, they couldn't find any.
This was a perfect test paper without any flaws.
After pulling up the surveillance video, the middle-aged woman sat in front of the computer and enlarged the captured footage.
The eyes of everyone in the office were focused on the video before them.
And what they all didn't notice, or rather, couldn't notice was...
A woman wearing a kimono with a ribbon tied over her eyes was standing quietly behind them, watching everyone's every move.
"This is..."
The moment the surveillance video started playing, the teachers in Shuchiin were stunned by Yoru's actions.
They saw him first unhurriedly write his name at the top of the test paper.
Just this action took more than five seconds, forming a sharp contrast with those other candidates who started answering in a panic upon hearing the bell ring.
Immediately after...
"Holy crap!?"
Seeing the movement of Yoru's right hand holding the ballpoint pen answering on the test paper, which even showed afterimages, the middle-aged female teacher in Shuchiin watching the surveillance video was so shocked that she cursed.
What is this situation?
Can a normal person write this fast?
Even if copying from answers, you at least have to look up, right?
But Yoru's movements had almost no pauses.
Only when finishing one question and moving to the next would he pause slightly for about 0.2 to 0.3 seconds; if not played in slow motion, it couldn't even be seen.
Moreover, he didn't answer according to the order of the three subjects like most candidates chose to do.
But answered directly according to the distribution of questions on the test paper, from the first question all the way down.
What did this mean?
One second, he was still doing a math short-answer question.
The next second, he seamlessly switched to a humanities reading comprehension.
And then, English grammar and sentence structure.
This switching of thinking, combined with reading and deriving answers.
The entire process took only about 0.3 seconds.
"Th... this guy... is too exaggerated..."
Looking at the footage in the surveillance video, the Shuchiin teachers were all dumbfounded.
Simply exaggerated to the point of being outrageous.
At this moment, the Shuchiin teachers finally understood how foolish the decision made by the school authorities to hold a joint exam to compete with Sobu High was.
Even the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Group, the genius Shinomiya Kaguya...
In front of the opponent, was just vulnerable.
One of the teachers opened his mouth, murmuring in disbelief.
"Now... wh... what should we do?"
For a moment, the office fell silent.
Only the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing across the test paper from the computer screen rang continuously.
After a long time, the middle-aged female teacher wearing gold-rimmed glasses sighed slightly, showing a heavy expression.
"What else can we do? Grade the papers, and then..."
Under everyone's surprised gazes, the middle-aged female teacher spoke slowly.
"Announce the results truthfully."
"Announce the results truthfully?"
A male teacher's face changed, hesitating.
"But, in that case, it means our Shuchiin..."
Before he finished, the middle-aged female teacher interrupted directly, chill flashing in her eyes, saying coldly.
"Then do you mean to let us intentionally lower this Yoru's score during the grading process?"
The middle-aged female teacher scanned everyone and spoke slowly.
"Leaving aside whether there are any flaws to deduct points from in this test paper, you must be clear about one point."
"We are the best high school in Sakura Prefecture, the most important cradle of talents in Sakura Prefecture."
"Our Shuchiin students, after graduation in the future, will appear in politics, business, and various industries, and become pivotal figures."
"Using such despicable methods laughed at by others for temporary face is not the style our Shuchiin should have."
"If we cannot accept the fact of defeat willingly, that is truly smashing the signboard of Private Shuchiin Academy."
Speaking of this, the middle-aged female teacher paused, her tone serious.
"If you understand, start grading truthfully. Before school ends today, I want to see the results of all candidates."
"Yes, understood."
Obviously, the middle-aged female teacher wasn't an ordinary teacher, but belonged to the management level of Shuchiin authorities.
No one dared to disobey her opinion, immediately returning to their seats and starting to grade the test papers.
.....
On the other side, in the rest room prepared by Shuchiin for Sobu High students.
"Touma-san! Touma-san!"
When Fujiwara Chika entered the door, she happened to see Kazusa sitting there and immediately ran up with an excited face.
"Touma-san, I finally meet you!"
"Hmm?"
Fujiwara Chika's inexplicable familiarity confused Kazusa.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Fujiwara Chika."
Fujiwara Chika looked at Kazusa sitting in front of her, eyes almost shining.
"Touma-san, I heard from my family that you will definitely become a world-class pianist like your mother in the future. I have always wanted to meet you!"
Don't look at Fujiwara Chika's dazed and cute appearance.
In fact, her identity and background were not simple.
The great-granddaughter of the former Prime Minister of Sakura Prefecture, her uncle was a current prefectural minister, and her mother was a diplomat.
Such a family background, even within Private Shuchiin Academy, was undoubtedly top-tier.
Moreover, Fujiwara Chika herself was also very good at playing the piano.
"Like my mother..."
Hearing this sentence, the look in Kazusa's eyes became somewhat complicated, finally just replying faintly with one word.
"Oh."
"Ara?"
Seeing Kazusa's response so cold, Fujiwara Chika felt somewhat at a loss.
Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit cold, Yui hurried to stand up, smiling to smooth things over.
"Um... Fujiwara-san, Touma's personality is like this; she is not targeting you."
Fujiwara Chika showed a silly smile and waved her hand.
"It's fine, it's fine, I don't mind."
"That's good."
After saying this, Yui noticed Yoru aside revealing a very weird look, couldn't help puffing up her cheeks.
"Hey, what does that look of yours mean?"
"Nothing."
Yoru shook his head, sighing with emotion.
"I just feel that this historic meeting of two natural airheads (Tennen Boke) is truly a memorable scene."
Fujiwara Chika scratched her head and smiled sillily.
"Hehe."
"Stop hehe-ing."
Yui sighed helplessly and patted Fujiwara Chika's shoulder.
"He is saying we are stupid."
"Eh? No way?"
Fujiwara Chika looked surprised.
"Yoru-kun is obviously very friendly."
The Super-Quant Club members in the rest room said in unison.
"That's because you don't know him yet."
Fujiwara Chika had a dazed expression.
"Then after knowing him?"
"After knowing him..."
Rio and Miko looked at each other, imagining the possible situation after Fujiwara Chika understood Yoru's true nature.
They simultaneously realized there seemed to be only one possibility.
That was falling in love with him.
"You better not know him."
"Oh..."
Fujiwara Chika nodded obediently, examining this somewhat empty rest room, asking curiously.
"Eh? By the way, why are there only you guys in this rest room? What about other Sobu High students?"
Yukino, who was holding a book and reading, didn't even raise her head, just saying faintly.
"They actively yielded the usage right of this rest room to us."
Rio pushed her glasses frame and added.
"Rather than actively yielding, it's better to say they left on their own after knowing Yoru would come too."
Shinomiya Kaguya, who had been silent all along, couldn't help frowning upon hearing this sentence.
Left... after hearing Yoru would come?
Does this mean they all dare not share a room with him?
What is this?
The Great Demon King of Sobu High?
"Touma-san, I have an unreasonable request~"
Facing the cute Fujiwara Chika, Kazusa's response was very simple, just plain.
"Since it's an unreasonable request, then don't request."
"Uh..."
Fujiwara Chika froze.
As the daughter of a diplomat, she was very good at dealing with various social occasions.
But someone like Kazusa... was really the first time she met.
This is not a normal person!
"Um... Touma-san."
Fujiwara Chika smiled awkwardly.
"I want to invite you to play the piano with me once, can I?"
"Play piano? I don't..."
Just as Kazusa wanted to refuse, she noticed Yoru watching the show aside, a wonderful idea suddenly arising in her heart, looking at him.
"The exam is over; you should be free now, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you accompany me, I will agree to this Fujiwara-san's request."
Yoru frowned and pouted.
"You using Fujiwara Chika to morally kidnap me, how could it have any effect? Play with her if you want, forget it if you don't; I don't care about her feelings."
Kazusa froze for a moment, thinking that seems to be the truth.
With Yoru's personality, if it was something he didn't want to do, no matter how others morally kidnapped him, it would have no effect.
Not to mention Fujiwara Chika, whom he was completely unfamiliar with and just met for the first time.
"However..."
Speaking of this, Yoru changed the subject, looking at Kazusa with a smile.
"Fujiwara Chika's feelings are not important to me, but since you want me to accompany you, of course I will agree."
Hearing this, Kazusa blushed slightly, pretending to be cold.
"E... everyone is here, don't say strange words, pervert."
Fujiwara Chika didn't understand the current situation, but it seemed Kazusa agreed to her request, immediately beaming with joy.
"Since that's the case, let's start right away!"
Can only say, Shuchiin is indeed Shuchiin.
In this rest room, there was a piano that looked expensive.
As expected of an aristocratic school.
"Wait a minute."
Under the puzzled gazes of Fujiwara Chika and Shinomiya Kaguya, Yoru slowly took out a pitch-black, light-absorbing, extremely oppressive-looking...
Suona.
"My hands are just itching to play; let's go!"
Yoru held the black Suona, looking at the bewildered Fujiwara Chika and Shinomiya Kaguya opposite, speaking slowly.
"Come challenge me, and my King's Instrument!"