Ten minutes later. The library.
Katsuragi Keima cast his gaze upon the desk in front of him. This table was very large, but at this mont, it was completely packed.
"I didn't expect Horikita-san to co here," Kushida Kikyo's gaze focused on Horikita Suzune, a curious smile on her face. "Weren't you running another study group, Horikita-san?"
"It's simply for the sake of efficiency. Improving class grades is the top priority right now—and the mbers of my original group aren't particularly interested in things like studying, so I won't force them anymore," Horikita said expressionlessly.
"Wow, I didn't expect Kita-kita to be easier to talk to than I thought," Hasabe Haruka said from the side, looking at her with surprise and speaking her mind quite bluntly.
Horikita didn't deny Haruka's words, but one term made her take notice: "Kita-kita? What is that?"
"If you want to be friends, you have to start with a nickna," Haruka said, raising a finger with utmost seriousness.
"Is there such a thing?" Horikita was a bit taken aback, then turned her head to look at Keima beside her.
"Hasabe-san... indeed likes giving nicknas to people she's on good terms with," Keima nodded, attempting to brush the topic aside lightly. He only wanted to finish the study group as quickly as possible so he could go ho and play gas intensely.
However, the smile on Kushida Kikyo's face seed to grow even brighter. She pressed her hands together and said in her signature sweet voice: "Then can I call Suzune-san 'Kita-kita' too? It sounds so cute~ It's really wonderful to be able to study with Kita-kita!"
Her words sounded full of sincere kindness, as if she were truly happy about Horikita's joining. "At first, I always felt Kita-kita was a student drifting outside the class; now we can really be friends!"
Keima could sense the hidden aning in Kushida's words. He had determined previously that Kushida definitely didn't have that much goodwill toward Horikita. Keima speculated that Kushida must believe Horikita holds so kind of leverage over her.
But judging from Horikita's reaction... it seed she had no such awareness.
"What you call is your freedom, but I am here to study, not to participate in so 'playing house' ga," Horikita said with a stern expression.
"Aww, Kita-kita, you really are a bit boring! Don't you get tired living like that every day?" Haruka said, propping her cheeks with her hands and pouting.
"Sorry, I don't consider myself an interesting person—"
"Isn't that just right?" At that mont, Keima spoke up. "After all, except for Kushida, we're all used to being mavericks here."
Keima's gaze swept across everyone; almost most of them were the type who were either unskilled at or unwilling to socialize. Except—
"How am I a maverick too?" Karuizawa Kei said, sounding confused. But she quickly realized her words might be offensive, so she imdiately added, "I an, how am I 'special'?"
"Everyone has sothing special about them, and you're no exception, Karuizawa Kei."
"How about the nickna Kei-Kei?" Haruka's focus remained entirely on the forms of address.
"To be honest, it sounds like the na of a character from so ani," Keima deadpanned.
"Hey, hey, hey, none of you have asked for my opinion at all?" Karuizawa felt sowhat helpless. Strictly speaking, this was her first ti having so much contact with these classmates. Although Karuizawa had beco the center of the girls in class within two weeks of school starting due to her cheerful personality, she also had her own circle.
Among the many people present, she was only well-acquainted with Kushida Kikyo. Whether it was Horikita Suzune, Hasabe Haruka, or the others, she hadn't really spoken to them. Especially... there was one person she had never even seen before.
Shiina Hiyori, sitting diagonally across from Keima, was half-hiding her face with a book. Her pale purple eyes peered over the edge of the book, looking at everyone thoughtfully.
First Kiryuin Fuuka, then Sakayanagi Arisu, and now Shiina Hiyori. Why were people from other classes so focused on this group?
"Kei-chan, if you want to join our study group, you have to have this kind of resolve! Nicknas aren't a problem! Look, even Ai-chan can be called by a nickna!" Haruka led the topic toward Sakura Airi without warning. The latter was currently staring at Keima, looking a bit dazed.
"Ai-chan?"
"Oh, Haruka, yes!" Airi quickly responded, but soon lowered her head in embarrassnt.
"This is our tradition!" Haruka said with a smile.
"There's actually such a tradition?" Karuizawa looked at Keima with doubt, and the latter could only shrug his shoulders.
"Actually... I only found out about it a few days ago myself."
"..." Karuizawa didn't know what to say for a mont and could only nod. "Fine..."
"By the way, Karuizawa... Kei-chan."
"It feels weird, keep that na limited to this place!"
"Didn't you say you were coming with Sato-san? Where is Sato-san?"
Karuizawa froze. She had completely forgotten about Sato Maya. At the ti, to further investigate Keima, Karuizawa had used Sato Maya's worry about failing the exam as a shield. In reality, it was just Karuizawa herself who wanted to join the study group; Sato Maya didn't even know about Karuizawa's plan.
"That... Maya is usually very busy! So I ca ahead of ti to check things out!" Karuizawa replied imdiately.
"Let's stop the small talk here and start today's study session," Horikita urged.
"Mm, Kita-kita is right, we can't waste too much ti," Kushida followed up instantly.
Horikita still frowned slightly at the na "Kita-kita," but she didn't say anything, eventually just nodding in tacit consent. "The na isn't important; what's important is the study efficiency. Let's begin." She went straight to the point as usual, opening her notebook and textbook.
"You're right, Kita-kita is so serious." Kushida echoed with a smile and opened her book as well, but her peripheral vision swept over Horikita's serious side-profile and quickly flicked across Keima's face.
The study session neared its end in an atmosphere that appeared focused on the surface but was actually filled with individual agendas. As the explanation of the final problem finished, everyone began packing their books and stationery, and their tense study nerves relaxed slightly.
Except for Keima. He was currently fully concentrated on playing a ga, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Having Horikita Suzune join the study group was truly fantastic! Her teaching was very responsible and saved him a lot of trouble. This gave Keima even more ti to play gas!
Haruka gave a big stretch and sighed with satisfaction: "Ah—it's finally over! But today's efficiency felt really good!" She turned her head to look at Horikita, who was ticulously aligning her notes and putting them into a folder, and grinned: "By the way, Kita-kita, you're much easier to get along with than I imagined! Your explanations are super organized and you don't hold anything back. I thought you'd be the type that... well, kept people more at a distance."
Horikita's movents paused, seemingly not expecting such an evaluation. She looked up, her expression still flat, but a flicker of unnoticeable emotion crossed her eyes.
"I am simply doing what I believe is correct and efficient. Helping classmates improve their grades is beneficial for the class as a whole." Her answer, as always, stayed close to "class interests" and "efficiency."
"That may be so," Karuizawa also closed her textbook, curling the end of her blonde hair with her fingertip. Her gaze stayed on Horikita's face for a mont, her tone carrying so inquiry and a bit of approval, "But it's true, Horikita-san is very calm when teaching, catches the key points well, and..." She paused, seemingly choosing her words, "Doesn't look quite that cold?"
She said this a bit awkwardly, but it was a genuine feeling after today's observation. Horikita's seriousness and directness felt reliable in a pure study environnt. Although they hadn't interacted much, Karuizawa had always thought Horikita was a very difficult person to get along with.
These two seemingly casual, even complintary remarks were like two small pebbles dropped into the seemingly calm lake of Kushida Kikyo's heart.
'Easy to get along with? Not that heartless?'
Kushida was putting her pens back into her pencil case one by one, her finger movents still gentle and elegant, and her face still wore that perfect, seemingly permanent sweet smile. But her heart felt a cold ripple because of these two comnts.
Why? Why could Horikita Suzune get the evaluation of being "easy to get along with" so easily just by joining the study group and explaining problems normally?
She had spent so much effort maintaining a friendly image and working hard to be on good terms with everyone. Although many people praised her at first, now it seed no one had ever evaluated her with that kind of "pleasant surprise" tone. It was as if her friendliness was taken for granted, while Horikita Suzune rely showing a bit of normal collaborative attitude was worth being specifically ntioned?
What made Kushida even more displeased was that the people saying this were Hasabe Haruka and Karuizawa Kei. Haruka had a straightforward personality; her evaluations often represented a direct perception. Karuizawa Kei had significant influence among the girls, and her approval carried a certain symbolic aning.
The subtle shift in these two's views of Horikita ant that Horikita was integrating into this already special circle in a way she hadn't anticipated, perhaps even... gaining so kind of recognition.
This made her feel that her position was faintly threatened. She had always made "being liked by everyone" her goal and protective coloring, and Horikita's model of being recognized for her ability, though different from hers, was similarly attracting the attention of those around them—including... Katsuragi Keima's attention.
During today's session, she hadn't missed the occasional look of approval Keima gave toward Horikita's problem-solving logic.
Kushida didn't care who else was recognized by others—but it absolutely could not be Horikita Suzune.
Displeasure grew like tiny vines in her heart, but Kushida would never let a sliver of it show. She finished packing her things, looked up, and her smile seed even brighter than before, even taking on a slightly coquettish tone: "Honestly, Haruka, Kei-chan, you say that as if my saying Kita-kita was hard to approach before was a lie~"
She skillfully categorized her previous possible evaluations of Horikita as "misunderstandings," her tone light and natural. "But it's true, Kita-kita is especially charming when she's studying, serious and reliable—it makes you really want to lean on her! Right, Katsuragi-kun?"
She threw the topic to Keima while looking at him with her large, expressive eyes, seeking both approval and reminding everyone that her relationship with Keima was also close enough to talk so naturally.
Keima, who was planning his gaming schedule for when he got ho, was suddenly called out by Kushida. He pushed his glasses up and responded objectively in his usual calm tone: "Suzune's learning ability and teaching logic are indeed excellent; it's helpful for improving the overall efficiency of the study group."
He avoided any subjective evaluation of "easy to get along with" or "charm," only affirming Horikita's role from the level of facts and results, while avoiding getting caught in any statent that might trigger comparisons. Keeping the bowl level was the only way to avoid events that lower favorability.
However, while speaking, Keima's gaze fell on Kushida Kikyo. Even if Kushida thought her disguise was seamless, Keima could capture the minute difference.
Keima letting Horikita join his study group wasn't just for the convenience of playing gas—though that was the primary reason. Another aspect was using Horikita Suzune to provoke Kushida Kikyo and dig out the true face of the person opposite him.
Today, Kushida Kikyo was clearly different from before. Others might not be able to perceive it—but a God can sense it.
Keima pushed up his glasses. The ending was almost in sight.
Horikita didn't seem to care much about this conversation. She had already packed everything and stood up: "If there's nothing else, I'll be going." Her goal was clear; once the study task was completed, she didn't intend to stay longer.
"Bye-bye, Kita-kita!"
"See you tomorrow, Horikita-san..."
Hasabe Haruka and Sakura Airi said their goodbyes.
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