"How's it going, everyone."
[Akihisa hasn't looked yet. Everyone else's is done.]
Sakamoto Yuuji pressed two fingers against his chin. "Hold on, Akihisa. Let me check for you first. I'll start from the back. Let's see, 300..."
Akihisa immediately panicked. "Wait, wait, why start from the back?"
"Sigh, shouldn't we start from the back?"
Tsuchiya Kouta: "Agreed. Starting from the back really does make more sense."
Kinoshita Hideyoshi: "This old one thinks so too."
Akihisa looked like he was about to cry. "Saiki, you're not going to side with them too, right? ꒦ິ^꒦ິ"
(Yare yare. Even though I actually agree, whatever.)
After finding up to 200th place and still not seeing Akihisa's name, everyone found it unbelievable.
"No way. Akihisa actually scored higher?"
Akihisa: What does that mean?
[Found it.]
Akihisa excitedly said, "What? Where?"
[Right below the secretly perverted lecher, 150th place.]
"What the heck? It's literally right next to the secretly perverted lecher. Why didn't you just tell me earlier?"
Tsuchiya Kouta was greatly shocked and put on an incredulous face. "Shocked. This, this is impossible (=°Д°=)"
Sakamoto Yuuji put on a serious expression. "Akihisa, you didn't cheat, did you?"
"Possible. I think so too."
[Anyway, don't jump to conclusions so fast. Let's go talk to the teacher first.]
"What do you guys mean? You don't believe me?"
Kinoshita Hideyoshi patted Akihisa on the shoulder.
Akihisa put on a touched expression. "Hideyoshi, you're the only one who believes me. I really..."
"This old one believes you too, Akihisa. You didn't do it on purpose. Alright, let's go find the teacher."
(He doesn't believe it at all.)
"Why won't any of you believe me? Seriously."
Sakamoto Yuuji spread his hands. "Can't be helped. This is way too big a jump from your usual scores. How exactly did you pull it off?"
Yoshii Akihisa looked full of confidence and proudly pointed at his own head. "Hmph! Isn't it simple? I mainly relied on this."
Sakamoto Yuuji understood. "I see. So you banged your head right before the exam. No wonder. Yeah, that checks out."
[Yare yare. Thinking about it carefully, that actually makes sense. Don't forget that pencil full of options he pulled out earlier. He got this rank purely on luck. But it doesn't matter. The real scores will come out next exam anyway. This was just a fluke transition.]
Saiki ignored them and silently left the classroom.
The hallway was still very quiet now. Exams were over for the day, so club activities weren't really happening. Pretty much everyone had gone home to their respective moms and houses.
"I like you. Please go out with me."
Saiki was walking along, staring blankly, when he heard a voice at the stairwell.
(Looks like someone is confessing. Better not interrupt. I'll take a detour.)
"Sorry, I can't go out with you."
A familiar voice rang out. Saiki could tell it was Shiina Mahiru.
Saiki unconsciously felt a bit interested. He took one step forward, then stopped. (Wait, this isn't right. I shouldn't do this. Seriously, I should just go straight home...)
(Alright! Time to peep!)
Saiki concealed his presence, lightened his footsteps, approached the stairwell, and peeked out his head to see...
(It's definitely Shiina-san!)
Shiina Mahiru had no idea someone was peeping. She was just normally rejecting the confession.
"Why? Can you tell me the reason? Is it because I'm not good-looking enough, my grades aren't great, my voice isn't good, or my family background is bad? But aside from that, there's nothing else wrong with me."
(That's already enough. You don't need to say more.)
Shiina Mahiru shook her head. "No, none of those things matter. What's important is that I don't know you at all. I can't suddenly date a complete stranger. I'm sorry."
The boy was very dissatisfied with that answer. "Then we can get to know each other after we start dating. It's no big deal. Most people do it that way, Shiina-san."
"That won't do!"
"I can't do that. For me, only a boy and girl who like each other mutually have the conditions to date. And at the very least, it has to be built on a foundation of trust. Only when both sides agree can it be happy. That's what real romance is. I can't accept that kind of view on romance. It doesn't match my own values."
Saiki leaned against the wall.
(That's a really familiar answer. Alright, nothing else to see. Time to head back.)
"Approaching it with a 'let's just try it' attitude isn't okay. It won't benefit either of us. Please don't do this again in the future."
Shiina Mahiru had never liked dating people she didn't know or wasn't familiar with. That was normal. Thinking about her parents made her even more certain. Plus, after hearing Saiki explain it correctly the other day, it matched her values perfectly and made her even more resolute. She couldn't do it that way.
Just as Shiina Mahiru turned to leave, the boy blocked her path.
"You're causing me trouble like this. Please leave." Shiina Mahiru was starting to get impatient and spoke up.
The boy panicked and grabbed Shiina Mahiru's wrist, stepping closer. "No. I'm not satisfied with that answer. I won't accept it. If you don't agree, I won't let go. We can really try it. My voice is actually really good. Everyone says it sounds like Kamiya Hiroshi."
"Let go of me!" Shiina Mahiru struggled.
The boy leaned in closer, but suddenly noticed the figure at the top of the stairs. It was Saiki. He had come back.
Saiki's expression was dark. (Yare yare. No matter how much you confess, you can't force someone against their will. And your earlier view? I don't really agree with it. As for the Kamiya Hiroshi thing, there's no comparison at all. Completely different.)
When the boy saw Saiki's grim face, it was like he saw a demon. After feeling that seiyuu-like glare, he let go of Shiina Mahiru's hand. "Sorry!" Then he ran off.
Shiina Mahiru puzzledly rubbed her wrist, turned back, and saw Saiki. She realized he must have helped with what just happened.
[He didn't hear what I said earlier, did he?]
Shiina Mahiru shyly spoke up. "Saiki..."
Saiki walked straight past.
[I didn't do anything. I was just passing by on my way home.]
Shiina Mahiru looked at Saiki's back and murmured the words she hadn't finished earlier. "Th... thank you."
After school, Saiki still got caught by Ki, who dragged him to the arcade by force. After getting thoroughly wrecked a few times, Saiki was finally let go, and Ki left "fully satisfied."
...
Saiki drank the milk he bought from the convenience store, held up an umbrella, and walked toward the apartment. As he passed the park, he heard a familiar inner voice.
[As expected... still no good.]