Saturday—the first day of the holiday.
The Kendo Club had a rare day off today. Ohmonto Saburo, the instructor, said they would be going for a training camp tomorrow. The destination was naturally Fukuoka Prefecture. He'd found a kendo dojo there—which wasn't difficult, given that it's where the Tamaryokki Championship is held every year.
He mentioned that there might be people from other schools joining them, allowing for some early warm-up.
Every year, there are no fewer than 300 teams participating in the Tamaryokki Championship. After all, there are no thresholds or tryouts—anyone can participate by simply paying the registration fee—so the intensity of the competition is imaginable.
The Kendo Club would be sending over ten members this time, including a few substitutes.
Although Sakurai was invested in kendo competitions, he wasn't thinking about them every moment.
Because today—the final exam results were out.
Shuchiin Academy's grading speed was ridiculously fast. Exams finished yesterday—and results were out this afternoon, giving students no time to buffer.
"I shouldn't have lost to Kaguya Shinomiya, right?"
Sakurai sat in front of the computer, logged into the school's official website, glanced at the published information, and—ignoring the first item—directly clicked on the second item's grade ranking.
He only looked at the top four.
Why the top four? Because he was very concerned about Shijo Maki's grades—and it definitely wasn't because he wanted to see her make a face like a small fry.
Shijo Maki wasn't cute when she was being tsundere—but her cuteness would skyrocket by 300% when she was frustrated. This was very peculiar—so Sakurai always looked forward to her being frustrated.
"Let me see—Shijo Maki—fourth place."
Satisfying.
Seeing Maki in the top three was more upsetting than not being in the top three himself. Fourth place was quite good too. Sakurai thought with a very dark heart.
He glanced up again.
"...?" The smile on Sakurai Saki's face vanished instantly.
He quickly checked the results.
471 points.
The full score was only 500! How could he lose even with that?
Meanwhile—Lady Kaguya was instructing Hayasaka Ai.
"Hayasaka—quickly help me check."
She wasn't very good with computers—and she didn't have one in her room. She was currently in Hayasaka Ai's room.
Ai-chan perfunctorily said: "Yes, yes."
Hayasaka Ai glanced at the information on the computer.
"Notice: There was an error in grading. A multiple-choice question in the math exam was poorly phrased—so both options C and D are correct. The scores of affected students will be updated after tabulation."
"Lady Kaguya—what did you choose for question 4? Do you still remember?"
Kaguya recalled: "D."
"Oh—then it's fine." Hayasaka didn't pay much attention.
If she'd chosen C, her score would have increased by two points.
Immediately after—both of them checked their scores.
"472 points? A bit lower than I expected." However—Kaguya Shinomiya was still very satisfied with this.
She hadn't cheated for victory—she had achieved it through her own ability.
Hayasaka Ai looked at the ranking again.
"Lady Kaguya—you won. This time you're in second place."
Upon hearing this—Kaguya leaned forward and looked closely several times.
After confirming her victory—Lady Kaguya breathed a sigh of relief internally—but outwardly remained calm: "Isn't that obvious?"
She casually took out her phone.
And opened Sakurai Saki's Line account.
Sakurai was currently in a group chat with the Five Sisters.
Shijo Maki: Waaah~ I lost again! I don't want to live! Just let me die! Getting 470 points and only coming in fourth—why on earth!!! [Crying Cat Head.jpg] [Cat Pounding Ground.gif]
Ichika: Teacher-chan, Assistant-chan—I got 153rd place! I improved by 15 places!
Nino: 135th place—just average.
Miku: 144th place—all thanks to Saki-kun.
Yotsuba: ...156—why can you all score so well!? Does that mean I'm the only idiot left?
Sakurai Saki didn't type—he just sent a screenshot of his score to Maki.
A few seconds passed.
Shijo Maki: Saki-bao—where do you live? I'm coming to visit you right away. [Sinister Smile]
Sakurai Saki silently exited the group chat.
He hadn't expected that he would only be one point higher than Shijo Maki—almost falling out of the top three in his grade. Thankfully—thankfully.
The Five Sisters' rankings should all be passing. Sakurai Saki felt a bit helpless about this. He had originally planned for the Five Sisters to score around 130th place this semester—which was mid-tier—but it hadn't quite met expectations.
Although he had been mentally prepared—it seemed he would have to continue tutoring them next semester. Otherwise—they might revert to their original bottom-tier performance.
These five ships are the type that need to be constantly filled to move. 'Filled' here refers to fuel (tutoring)—not some strange things—don't misunderstand.
'What should I do about Kaguya Shinomiya next?' Sakurai sighed, leaning against the sofa.
Maybe I should just renege. But—is it really good for a Superpower user to break a contract? That's quite embarrassing.
Sakurai Saki didn't like to fail—but he disliked breaking his own promises even more.
After a while—Sakurai didn't send a message to her himself—but Kaguya sent one instead.
"I scored 472 points this time." Kaguya Shinomiya sent this message.
"Hayasaka—Sakurai-kun said he scored 471 points. Oh my—how unlucky." Kaguya Shinomiya couldn't hide the smile at the corner of her mouth.
She definitely had to schedule a time for him to come to her room and dance for her in a shrine maiden outfit.
And it couldn't be just any dance.
How about ballet?
"...Lady Kaguya—is there a possibility that Sakura-chan was one of the people whose questions were misgraded?" Hayasaka Ai proposed a bold idea.
"Hayasaka—although I know you're very confident in your boyfriend—he must have seen that message too."
...Actually—he hadn't.
"Never mind—I'll ask him anyway." Kaguya said indifferently.
After typing—a few seconds passed.
Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Hayasaka Ai with a frightened expression: "Hayasaka—he really doesn't seem to know. He said he felt both C and D were correct for that question—but he chose C."
It's over!!!
If the other party was also correct—then she was the one who lost!!
At this moment—both Kaguya and Sakurai Saki were a little flustered.
Sakurai was afraid of being called over to dance right now.
Kaguya was afraid he would settle scores later—and didn't dare to bring up the bet herself.
'What should I do?' Lady Kaguya covered her face and lay down on Hayasaka's bed.
If she didn't say it now—
Then tomorrow—or in a few hours—someone would definitely tell him the news!
"Hayasaka..."
Kaguya ultimately chose her long-time strategist and reliance.
"Tell him you're in a good mood this time and will let him off the hook. Lady Kaguya—what do you think?" Although Hayasaka Ai's action would render Sakurai Saki's victory fruitless—
She would not regret it.
Because—
If Sakurai won—he would have to wear a shrine maiden outfit and dance for Lady Kaguya!
'Sorry, Sakura-chan—this is the right of a legitimate girlfriend!'
I must prevent any possibility of you cheating!