The following morning.
A pink-haired figure appeared at the entrance of Rei Ao's classroom.
"Excuse , could you help call Rei Ao over?"
"Oh, sure."
"Rei Ao, soone's here for you."
"Hmm?"
Rei Ao looked toward the window.
The reflection of pink hair against the glass surprised him.
The person waiting for him was Chika Fujiwara.
Why is she looking for ? The two of them had hardly spoken before.
Curious, Rei Ao left the classroom.
Chika imdiately stepped forward, closing the gap between them in two brisk steps.
"Hi! I'm Chika Fujiwara from Class 3-4. Are you Rei Ao?"
"That's . What's this about, Fujiwara-san?"
"Hehe, great! I found the right person!"
Chika flashed a bright, adorable smile.
"So, Rei Ao-kun, I wanted to ask—how did you manage to suddenly skyrocket to the top of the rankings in the midterms?!"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitent.
"Are you one of those insanely smart geniuses from light novels who can control their scores at will?"
Rei Ao raised an eyebrow. "You an a 'score-controlling genius'?"
"Yes, exactly! That's it!"
Chika's eyes lit up with admiration, as if she'd found a kindred spirit.
Unfortunately, Rei Ao's answer dashed her expectations.
"I'm not so 'score-controlling genius.' I just improved a lot in that period, that's all."
"Ah… so that's all it was."
Chika didn't seem suspicious or rude, but she quickly returned to her original purpose for seeking him out.
"Then, Rei Ao-kun, since you improved so much, do you have any special techniques?"
"You want to learn them?"
"Hehe…"
Chika scratched her head sheepishly, looking both hopeful and frustrated.
"Honestly, my grades are always just a little shy of being good. I've been spending so much ti in tutoring sessions lately that I barely have any allowance left or ti to play!"
So that's what this is about—wanting more playti, huh?
Still, Rei Ao's response wasn't what she was hoping for.
"I don't really have any special techniques. It just ca naturally."
His improvent stemd from his enhanced cognitive abilities—a perk of his unique situation. It wasn't sothing Chika could emulate.
"Eh… is that so…"
Chika visibly deflated, her disappointnt evident.
However, she quickly composed herself and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry for bothering you with all these questions!"
"It's no bother." Rei Ao offered a piece of advice. "If you really want to improve, just focus on paying attention in class and studying diligently. There usually aren't any shortcuts."
Of course, Rei Ao privately admitted he did have so unconventional ways to improve, but they weren't exactly applicable to Chika.
"Uh…"
Chika nodded awkwardly. "I'll… try my best."
She walked away slowly, her head hanging low in disappointnt.
Rei Ao watched her retreating figure and chuckled softly.
Clearly, expecting her to study seriously was a bit of a stretch. Chika Fujiwara probably preferred board gas and gossip far more than cracking open a textbook.
…
Tomorrow was Saturday.
The student council office was scheduled for its regular cleaning.
"Kaguya-chan, life is so hard~"
Chika Fujiwara lanted dramatically as she wiped the tables.
Dragging a mop across the floor, Kaguya Shinomiya rolled her eyes.
"Let guess—your so-called hardship is just supplentary lessons because of your poor grades?"
"Boohoo, yes~"
"I have to attend an hour of extra classes every day! Kaguya-chan, you have no idea how precious my ti is to !"
Chika sniffled, looking as if she were on the verge of tears.
But her sadness was clearly superficial.
"Ti? For you, that just ans gossiping and playing board gas, doesn't it?"
Kaguya's cold words pierced through Chika's attempt to dramatize her trivial complaints.
She couldn't fathom how this "cancer of Earth" did anything but fool around.
"Uh…"
Chika froze, a faint "uhh" escaping her lips.
She looked pitifully at Kaguya and muttered, "You don't understand my pain, Kaguya-chan, since you're always first in class. I wish I could be first, too!"
"First…"
Hearing the word, Kaguya's gaze darkened.
Her grip on the mop tightened involuntarily.
"I'm not first right now."
"Oh, that's true. Rei Ao-kun was first this ti."
Chika finally rembered.
"Hmph."
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
"I even went to see Rei Ao-kun today, you know."
"Hmm?"
Kaguya raised an eyebrow.
Why would Chika have any interaction with him?
Chika quickly explained.
"I wanted to ask Rei Ao-kun if he had any special techniques to improve grades so quickly."
"There are no such shortcuts," Kaguya stated firmly.
"Exactly! That's what Rei Ao-kun said too. What a sha."
"I wish I could be a genius like you two."
Chika sighed, her face full of admiration and envy.
"A genius?"
Kaguya didn't consider herself a genius.
She simply studied hard and learned a lot.
Unbeknownst to others, she put in significant effort behind the scenes.
She was surprised Rei Ao had said sothing similar.
For so reason, she felt a sense of camaraderie.
He must've worked hard to improve his grades, just as she had.
'But I won't lose.'
A fiery determination to reclaim the top spot burned in Kaguya's eyes.
She firmly believed she'd be number one again next ti.
"Eh? What's this?"
Suddenly, Chika paused her cleaning.
She bent down and pulled an envelope out from between the desk crevices.
"It's…a complaint letter."
The words "Complaint Letter" written in bold on the envelope confused her.
"A complaint letter?"
Kaguya walked over. "Who's it addressed to?"
"Let see."
Chika turned the envelope over and looked at the sender's na.
The mont she saw it, she scread.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Chika threw the letter away like it was cursed.
"What's wrong?"
Kaguya couldn't understand Chika's sudden outburst.
"A ghost! It's a ghost, Kaguya-chan!"
Chika, trembling like a frightened bird, clung to Kaguya's back.
"A ghost? Ghosts don't exist."
Kaguya's expression was filled with disdain. "What exactly did you see?"
"Uuuu~"
Chika whimpered pitifully.
"The complaint letter—it's from Tomoya Aki!"
"Him?"
Kaguya's expression shifted.
Tomoya Aki —his na was infamous around the school.
He was the student who'd tragically passed away in an accident, leading to several days of canceled classes.
His complaint letter…
Looking at the desk crevice, Kaguya made a guess.
"It must've fallen in there and gone unnoticed before his death."
She bent down, picked up the letter, and checked the date.
Sure enough, it was dated before Tomoya Aki's untily death.
"Phew, that scared . I really thought it was a ghost," Chika muttered, patting her chest in relief.
Her dramatic gesture inadvertently set certain assets into motion.
'Cancer of the Earth.'
Kaguya did her best to ignore Chika's excessive energy.
She tore open the complaint letter and began reading.
Curious, Chika leaned in closer.
As they read the contents, both gasped softly.
"Eh?"
Chika's cherry-pink lips parted in surprise.
Kaguya's crimson eyes narrowed, filled with intrigue.
"This complaint letter… It needs to be investigated thoroughly."
~~~
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