Chapter 29

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

Time passed without anything noteworthy happening—

and before long, the first exam period of our second year finally arrived.

Until now, it had always been a meaningless stretch of time to me, but this time, I studied like my life depended on it.

Not only had I completely caught up on everything I'd missed, but I was in seriously good shape.

This time, I could definitely aim for the top ranks. I might even have a shot at first place.

…No, that's probably pushing it.

For a moment, I could actually picture myself pulling it off—but then I remembered someone.

Shizuno Soraoka, the girl who had taken first place all of last year.

Honestly, she was the kind of person who should've gone to a much more prestigious school. Tests at Shirosaki Academy were probably a joke to her.

Thinking that, I glanced over at her.

Even though the test was starting in five minutes, Shizuno was just sitting there, spacing out, doing nothing.

It had been four years since we were in the same class, so I didn't know if she was always this relaxed.

But in my mind, she was the type to give her all, no matter how easy the test was.

…Something was definitely still off about her.

What exactly was weighing her down?

What could possibly be more important to her than herself?

…No, I should stop worrying about others and focus on what I need to do.

Things might be going well now, but there's no telling when I could stumble.

Depending on the results, my motivation could drop in an instant.

If I fall apart, everything would be pointless.

So I shut out everything else and focused entirely on the exam.

---

Another week passed—

and the exam period finally came to an end.

If I do say so myself, I did incredibly well.

This time, I had definitely broken into the top ranks.

Though even so, I probably still couldn't beat Shizuno.

Last year, she practically got perfect scores in every subject, every time.

Even if I somehow scored full marks, at best we'd tie for first—and there's no way I actually got that high.

It was a little frustrating, but expecting someone who used to slack off to suddenly surpass someone who's always given their all was naive.

I just needed to use that frustration as fuel and keep going.

That's what I thought, but—

When I went to check the posted rankings, the hallway was filled with noise.

“Shizuno isn't first…!?”

“No way—she got perfect scores every time last year!”

“And first place is… Kawakami…?”

“Hey, that's gotta be a mistake, right?”

…Somehow, I had taken first place.

And not in a good way—I was standing out for all the wrong reasons.

People were already whispering about cheating.

I get that my past behavior makes me suspicious, but jumping straight to that conclusion is a bit much.

I wanted to complain—but more than that, something else bothered me.

Shizuno wasn't just not first.

She wasn't even second.

As I scanned down the list, I finally found her name… in 14th place.

…Is that even possible?

Maybe I've just been overestimating her.

But I couldn't help connecting it to how strange she'd been acting lately.

Is she really okay…?

---

Classes resumed as normal—

and then, as if it had been inevitable, it happened.

“—Alright, Soraoka, solve this problem.”

The math teacher called on Shizuno.

“Yes.”

She stood up from her seat—

and in that moment—

Thud.

With a loud noise, Shizuno collapsed right there.

“W-What happened, Soraoka!? Are you okay!?”

“Huh!? What's going on!?” “Shizuno collapsed!?”

The classroom erupted into chaos.

I couldn't hide my shock either.

At least as far as I knew, Shizuno had never once fallen ill like this.

She was the kind of person who managed herself perfectly.

For her to break down like this…

“Everyone, calm down.”

The teacher tried to settle the students and walked over to her.

“Soraoka, are you alright?”

“…Yes. I just felt a little dizzy.”

Thankfully, it didn't seem too serious.

“Is there a health committee member here?”

The teacher called for someone to accompany her.

Normally, a female committee member would take her, but before I knew it, I had already stood up.

The class stirred again at my actions, but I ignored them and walked over to Shizuno.

“Can you stand?”

“Reita… I'm fine.”

Even now, she tried to stand on her own, as if telling me not to worry.

Stubborn as ever.

But this time, I wasn't backing down.

“Just be quiet and lean on me.”

I supported her, a bit forcefully, and led her out of the classroom.

Rumors would definitely spread from this—

but at this point, that didn't matter anymore.

Whatever's going on with you…

you're going to tell me, whether you like it or not.