Late at night, just like yesterday, Hifumi ca to my room and sat beside on the edge of the bed.
Perhaps because she had just taken a bath, the girl's hair was a bit fluffier than during the day, and she carried a fresher scent about her.
I felt an urge to pull her into my arms and take a deep breath, but the solemn expression on her face stripped the room of any atmosphere of a secret late night eting. Regretfully, I gave up on that thought, straightened my mindset, and prepared to hear what Hifumi wanted to say first.
"Sensei. It's about Hanako-chan…"
Hifumi paused briefly, as if organizing her thoughts.
"…While I was gathering reference answers, I don't know why, but I discovered they were neatly sorted and stored together. Maybe because they were sothing rare, so they were preserved? I'm not sure why… What was organized were last year's exams. From first year to third year, all the answer sheets were kept together. How should I put it, there was soone who solved all of those exam questions…"
By the ti she was halfway through, I had already guessed who she ant.
"It was Hanako-chan," Hifumi said. "After seeing the first year results yesterday, even though it was kind of peeking… Hanako-chan already got perfect scores on every exam back when she was a first year last year, including courses that even the elite third year class found difficult… You could say she was completely top tier…"
I had expected sothing along these lines, but even so, I had not imagined it would be this extre.
…So that's how it is. This is the level of a prodigy known throughout all of Trinity, seen from the perspective of the leader of the Sisterhood.
Co to think of it, rely being generally excellent would indeed not be enough to catch the attention of the school's upper ranks.
"When I saw the first year test results, I thought Hanako-chan must have 'suddenly had her grades drop this year.' But looking at this, that's not the case."
I reassured her. "It's not a big problem. Hanako deliberately failed back then, so there must have been so reason she couldn't talk about. And now she scored over sixty on the make up exam, didn't she? Plus, during these past few days of tutoring, she's been doing her best teaching Azusa and Koharu."
Hifumi showed a reserved smile. "Yes, that's all thanks to you, Sensei."
I shook my head. "Not at all. It must be Hifumi's efforts that reached Hanako."
Hearing that, Hifumi's eyebrows drooped slightly. "Ah wah wah… Sensei, you're doing it again… Clearly, it's because sothing happened between you and Hanako-chan in the days before the first evaluation exam, right?"
Was she guessing? Or was it really that obvious?
Or perhaps Hifumi's affection for far exceeded what I had imagined, and she had been quietly observing all this ti.
Being honest was not impossible, but it involved secrets Hanako did not want outsiders to know. I also did not want to say sothing vague that would only make Hifumi worry, so I decided to play dumb and see if I could slip past it.
"Uh, what are you talking about?"
After saying that, I could not help wanting to press my hand to my forehead and sigh. Even I felt my acting was far too clumsy when facing pure and kind Hifumi.
"Eh? Is that not it?" Hifumi asked doubtfully. "I rember there was a day when you and Hanako-chan seed really worrying… But after that, you suddenly beca closer, and it felt like you shared so little secret… Was that just my imagination…?"
She really had a sharp nose for these things.
I rubbed my nose and could only admit as vaguely as possible. "How should I say it, if you ask whether sothing happened, then yes, sothing did happen. But how should I put it…"
"Um… I'm sorry, did I put you in a difficult position, Sensei?"
Hifumi gave an apologetic smile. "You don't need to tell the details. I just wanted to say thank you, for always quietly doing so much for everyone."
Those words sent a warm current through my chest. Unable to suppress the impulse in my heart, I apologized once, then carefully pulled the angel like girl into my arms.
As for my forwardness, Hifumi, who had already experienced it once yesterday, did not resist.
Feeling the warmth of her body, I spoke sincerely.
"The one who should be thanking you is ."
"…Ehehe." Hifumi laughed foolishly, hugging back and burying her face in my chest. "Sensei, you're just like Peroro-sama…"
How am I anything like that?
Being told sothing so hurtful, even knowing it was ant as pure praise in her eyes, still left deeply wounded.
Especially since after she said that, her small hands seed to start wandering, as if she really had taken for a plush toy.
If I were not a gentleman who understood how to restrain his own anger, with Hifumi bullying and humiliating so brazenly, there might have been bloodshed today.
The key issue was that this place was also not very appropriate.
In any case, I once again tearfully let this deceptively dangerous girl take advantage of for quite a while, until she suddenly realized how late it was. After apologizing repeatedly, she returned to her room, leaving behind , still simring with stress and completely unable to sleep.
After washing up, I buried myself in paperwork, trying to distract myself and bring back my drowsiness.
But just as I was starting to feel it, my phone rang with a special notification tone.
It was a ssage from Himari.
She opened with a long, rambling preamble.
After quickly skimming past the parts where she bragged and fished for praise, I finally reached the main point I had been waiting for.
Himari: …So, you should be ntally prepared by now, right?
: Of course. Stop dragging it out.
Himari: Mm. Even after dozens of fund transfers, even a super genius beautiful girl hacker can't trace it back to the original source.
Himari: But within this chain of transfers, I noticed one anonymous account's past transaction records.
Himari: After investigating, it's not hard to infer what it was used for.
Himari: You can think of it as the dirty work of a certain foundation.
Himari: As for what cos after that…
Himari: Sensei.
: Yeah, I'm here.
Himari: In principle, even though I don't hold an official position,
Himari: soone like , who can more or less be considered part of Millennium's upper ranks, shouldn't interfere in other schools' internal struggles, you know?
Internal struggles… huh?
I frowned at first, then let out a relieved sigh.
I suppose that figures. If no one within Trinity had helped, given Azusa's academic situation, there was no way she could have passed the entrance exam.
But according to Himari, the person who helped Azusa transfer into Trinity likely held an even higher status than I had originally imagined, most likely the head of so faction.
Seia, Nagisa, Mine, Sakurako, and…
Just then, I received a new Momotalk ssage.
Mika: Do you rember?
: …What?
Mika: The ti for you to make good on your promise might be coming.
Mika: You owe a favor, you know.
: Yes. I rember it clearly.
Mika: Hehe, that's good. So then.
Mika: I want you to repay .
Staring at the ssage sent at this mont by the proud and willful girl, I fell into deep thought.
: I understand.
Mika: What the heck, you have a likable side too.
Mika: Then, see you tomorrow. I'll co to the annex to find you, so rember to get up early.
After that, thinking about the eting the next day, I lay awake for a long ti, unable to fall asleep.
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