One week had passed since Shiina Hiyori transferred into Class 1-B.
Since the day twenty million points had changed hands, the atmosphere in class had completely settled on one conclusion:
Sousuke Aizen = a demon who would erase anyone that defied him.
However, through the "study sessions for the midterms" afterward, the students of Class B had gradually begun changing the way they viewed him in a rather strange direction.
---
"U-Um… Aizen-kun. About this English reading passage… I don't really understand how I'm supposed to translate it…"
"—To decipher the code woven by the world, you must first elevate your own perspective. If you fail to notice the truth guided by this relative pronoun, your words will never reach anyone."
As I coldly explained it
(while internally thinking, 'You just need to follow what the relative pronoun modifies!'),
the girl asking the question—Class B's secretary, Shiranami Chihiro—flinched with a tiny "Eek."
Imdiately, the silver-haired angel sitting beside smiled gently.
"Sousuke-kun is saying, 'If you pay attention to what this relative pronoun refers to, you can translate it cleanly.' Shiranami-san, from this word to here forms one complete phrase."
"Ah, I see! You're right, now the sentence makes sense! T-Thank you, Aizen-kun, Shiina-san!"
"…It was nothing."
(You're welco! Good luck studying, Shiranami-san!! And thanks for translating again, Hiyori!!)
---
As always, direct communication between and anyone besides Hiyori remained impossible.
Still, the fact that I "never taught anything incorrectly," and that I "always answered people seriously in the end," had slowly begun spreading through the class.
> "At first I thought he'd kill … but once Shiina translates, his explanations are insanely accurate."
> "It's like… he only talks like a Demon King, but he's actually pretty considerate?"
> "More importantly, doesn't Aizen-kun's aura get a little softer whenever Shiina-san is beside him?"
Thanks to Aizen's absurdly sharp hearing, every whisper reached perfectly.
Compared to my forr status as the isolated "Demon King loner," I was now gradually shifting into:
"An absurdly competent Demon King who requires a translator."
A slightly milder position.
Internally, I was shedding tears of relief.
---
Then ca May 8th.
During morning horoom, horoom teacher Hoshinomiya Chie stood at the podium with her usual fluffy smile and casually dropped another bombshell.
"Okay everyone, good morning~! I've got a tiny bit of unfortunate news first thing today~! About the midterms at the end of the month… the test scope for all subjects has been significantly changed~!"
The instant she posted the revised exam ranges on the blackboard, near-screams erupted across the classroom.
"Whaaat!? S-Sensei, what do you an all subjects!?"
"No way… this includes material we weren't supposed to learn until next month!"
"If failing even one subject ans expulsion, changing the entire scope three weeks before the test is insane!"
The class was drowning in despair.
Even capable students like Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuuji looked visibly shaken.
Which was only natural.
This was already their first high-pressure exam, and now every subject suddenly contained massive amounts of unfamiliar material. Panic was inevitable.
Yet despite the students' cries, Hoshinomiya showed no guilt whatsoever.
Instead, she smiled mysteriously.
"It's fiiine, it's fiiine! I strongly believe that everyone in Class B can overco this trial without a single person failing! Alright then, do your best today~!"
With that, she swept out of the classroom like a storm.
Leaving behind only despair and confusion.
---
But in my seat at the very back by the window, the gears in my mind were already spinning at incredible speed.
(…A drastic scope change for every subject? And she says she's confident? I see.)
I recalled the contents of every quiz we'd taken over the past month.
Most questions were middle-school-level basics.
However, the final three questions of every quiz had always been abnormally difficult—sotis even beyond the scope of the lessons themselves.
With Aizen-level specs, they were effortless for .
But for ordinary high school students, they'd naturally be impossible.
(The test range has changed drastically across all subjects. Yet the teacher is still certain everyone can pass. That ans there's a clear loophole unrelated to pure academic ability.)
This school operated on the principle that:
"Anything can be bought with points."
Then what was the loophole?
(Past exam papers.)
I reached my conclusion and slightly curled my lips into a smile.
If the school intentionally recycled old tests, then the unnatural difficulty spikes and the teacher's confidence made perfect sense.
As long as you obtained past exams from upperclassn, no one would fail regardless of how the scope changed.
(So this school, despite preaching ritocracy, is actually testing information-gathering and negotiation skills too. Interesting. But before Aizen specs, the board is far too transparent.)
---
After school that day.
I, along with Hiyori, had been called to a special classroom by the Class B committee mbers:
Ichinose, Kanzaki, Shiranami, Shibata Hayato, and Amikura.
"Sorry for gathering everyone like this, Aizen-kun, Shiina-san."
Ichinose spoke with a serious expression after everyone gathered around the desks.
"About the changes to the test scope this morning… honestly, I think students at the lower end of the class might fail at this rate. Even with study sessions, there just isn't enough ti to cover every subject…"
Kanzaki crossed his arms and nodded.
"Yeah. The school clearly has so kind of intention behind this. Hoshinomiya-sensei was far too relaxed considering how unreasonable the changes were."
(Oh? Kanzaki's pretty sharp. Alright, this is where I dramatically reveal the existence of past exams and save the class with so ultra-cool advice!)
I inhaled deeply and looked at everyone.
"—There is no need to grieve. The reason you believe the stars' trajectories have suddenly fallen into chaos is because you only stare at your own feet. Follow the footprints left behind by the ghosts of the past. Within the ashes of their journey sleeps the 'truth' that will shatter this false trial."
"""""...Uh?"""""
Ichinose, Kanzaki, Shiranami, Shibata, and Amikura all froze in perfect unison.
I could practically see giant question marks floating over their heads.
(AAAAAAAAH!! NOT AGAIN!! I JUST WANTED TO SAY 'GET OLD TESTS FROM UPPERCLASSN'!! What do you an "ghosts of the past"!? Is this a zombie movie!?)
As I internally spiraled into panic, Hiyori clapped her hands lightly.
"I see! As expected of Sousuke-kun!"
At her brightened voice, everyone jerked in surprise.
"S-Shiina-san…? You understood that… poem?"
"Yes! Sousuke-kun is saying:
'There's no need to panic. Since the teacher seed so confident, there's a high possibility the exams are recycled from previous years. If we negotiate with upperclassn and obtain past exam papers for every subject, everyone should be able to avoid failing.'"
"""""...!!"""""
Everyone was struck speechless by Hiyori's flawless translation
(or perhaps psychic-level interpretation).
"P-Past exams…! Right! At this school, buying old test data from upperclassn with points wouldn't even break any rules!"
"So that's it… The absurd quiz difficulty and impossible scope changes were all aptitude tests for whether students could obtain past exams… Aizen, you saw through all of that?"
Kanzaki looked at with deep awe, as though staring at sothing unbelievable.
Outwardly, I rely smiled coldly.
"…It was trivial."
(HIYORIIIIII!! THANK YOUUUUU!! YOU'RE THE BEST FRIEND EVER!!)
---
"Amazing, Aizen-kun! Let's go with that strategy!"
Ichinose leapt to her feet, eyes sparkling.
"I'll contact so upperclassn I know! We can use the class savings for negotiations!"
Her decisiveness was genuine.
She imdiately pulled out her phone and rapidly began sending ssages.
A few minutes later, her phone vibrated.
The mont she checked it, her face lit up.
"Everyone! I got all-subject past exam data from a senpai for twenty thousand points!"
She showed the data images sent to her device.
"YESSS!! As expected of Ichinose! Midterms are gonna be easy now!"
Shibata pumped his fist excitedly.
Amikura and Shiranami also sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness… now we won't get expelled…"
(…No. Wait.)
Watching them celebrate, warning bells rang in my head.
(We can definitely survive this ti with past exams. But if everyone starts depending entirely on them, their actual academic ability won't improve at all. What if the school changes the exam style completely for finals? Then anyone who only morized past questions will all fail together.)
Getting drunk on imdiate victory was dangerous.
I had to tighten this atmosphere imdiately.
(Everyone, listen. There's no guarantee this loophole will work every ti. Let's distribute the past exams only three days before the test. Until then, we continue our regular study sessions and build real fundantals. Alright, say it properly this ti.)
I stood up slowly and looked over everyone.
"—Foolish. A beast that clings to the illusion of a single victory and forgets to sharpen its fangs will never witness tomorrow's sunrise."
"""...Eek."""
The room instantly transford into frozen Siberian tundra.
Shibata's face stiffened while Shiranami nearly teared up and recoiled.
(NO!! THAT'S NOT IT!! I'M NOT ANGRY!!)
"...One should gorge upon the fruit granted by the gods only monts before ascending the executioner's scaffold. Until then, crawl through the mud by your own strength and build an unshakable fortress."
Faced with my overwhelming pressure and death-sentence-level poetry, everyone trembled silently.
Everyone—
Except the silver-haired angel beside .
"…Yes. Everyone understands now, right?"
Hiyori smiled gently as she looked around.
"Sousuke-kun is saying:
'There's no guarantee this loophole will work for future tests. If we beco dependent on past exams now, our basic academic ability will decline and eventually lead to irreversible consequences. So we should distribute the past exams three days before the test, and until then continue our study sessions as usual to strengthen our fundantals together.'"
"""""...!!"""""
Kanzaki inhaled sharply.
"…I see. Aizen is right. If we relax and beco dependent on past exams, we'll eventually be destroyed by it. Terrifying man… Aizen, you predicted even the possibility that we'd beco intoxicated by victory and accounted for the despair beyond it…"
Ichinose nodded deeply.
"Yeah, Aizen-kun's absolutely right. I almost got carried away by temporary relief. …Thank you, Aizen-kun. Your words were harsh, but you really were thinking about the class that deeply."
"Let's distribute the past exams three days before the test. Until then, we continue the study sessions with Aizen-kun as our teacher. Everyone okay with that?"
Even Shibata and the others looked at with a mixture of fear and trust.
"Aizen, seriously… thanks."
"Dude, I almost peed myself, but you're completely right."
(W-Whoa… sohow they respect a ton now!? I just wanted to say 'let's actually study properly'!! Thanks to Hiyori's translations, I sound like so genius strategist!!)
Outwardly, I rely sneered softly.
"…If you've avoided aningless deaths, then that is enough."
Internally:
(I SHALL FOLLOW YOU FOR LIFE, HIYORI!!)
---
After the strategy eting ended, we all moved to the library together.
Our usual peaceful two-person sanctuary now held a larger study circle with Ichinose and the others.
"Aizen-kun, how do you use this math formula…?"
"—Do not attempt to bind the world with formulas alone. If you understand the true aning contained within the equation, the answer shall naturally—"
"Sousuke-kun ans you shouldn't just morize the formula chanically, but understand why the equation becos that shape…"
"Ohhh!! That makes so much sense!!"
I spoke in poems.
Hiyori translated.
The classmates admired.
Such a bizarre, yet undeniably warm atmosphere spread through the sunset-lit library.
---
"…Sousuke-kun."
Beside , Hiyori quietly tugged on my sleeve where nobody could see.
When I looked at her, she smiled happily—almost proudly.
"Everyone is gradually starting to understand your true kindness now."
"…You overestimate , Hiyori. I rely prevented the pieces on the board from falling off on their own."
(It's all thanks to you. Seriously, thank you.)
At my words, Hiyori giggled softly and returned her gaze to her notebook.
The strongest specs.
A hopelessly cursed poetic speech pattern.
And the greatest best friend who gently unraveled all of it.
The days of the Demon King and the angel at the Advanced Nurturing High School were slowly, but surely, becoming sothing warm—drawing their classmates into that strange little world along the way.
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