Before long, Saiki Kusuo returned to the classroom. As soon as he entered, he saw several classmates gathered together, seemingly discussing something.
Kushida Kikyō stood right in the middle of them.
"Kushida, is what you're saying true?"
Hirata Yōsuke's face showed a hint of surprise as he asked,
"Is there really a surprise exam next week?"
"During lunch, I overheard some upperclassmen talking about it. Apparently, every year, not long after freshmen enroll, there's a surprise exam. It's even tied to the class points!"
Kushida Kikyō nodded seriously, then shared the information she'd gathered from the upperclassmen with everyone.
'As expected of Kushida. Theoretically, upperclassmen aren't supposed to reveal such information to freshmen, yet she managed to get all these details out of them.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, slowly approaching the group.
'Though I already knew about this, standing alone would be too noticeable. Better to blend in with the crowd.'
He quietly slipped into the group, unnoticed by the others.
"Is this for real?"
"A surprise exam so soon after school started?"
"And the scores affect our class points? Will it impact our regular points too? Why didn't the teachers tell us earlier?"
Everyone's thoughts varied—some were shocked, others panicked.
Saiki Kusuo glanced toward the corner of the classroom, where Horikita Suzune sat at her desk, showing no interest in joining the conversation. Clearly, though, she'd heard everything.
'All this panic over a single surprise exam. As a government-funded high school, it's obvious they wouldn't give students 100,000 yen every month with no strings attached. To be so rattled by one exam—they're beyond help.'
Horikita Suzune's disdain was evident in both her thoughts and demeanor.
"Looks like we'll have to cram hard for this…"
After hearing Kushida's words, Ike Kanji's face showed a troubled expression.
"We've only been in school for a few days, and I skipped the first few lessons… I hope there's still time to catch up…"
"It's just an exam. We've barely started school—they can't expect us to tackle hard questions already!"
Sudō Ken, standing nearby, seemed completely unfazed.
'Though I've heard there'll be quite a few questions beyond the syllabus.'
Saiki Kusuo had already learned more about the first exam from upperclassmen. He knew it included many advanced questions, some so difficult that even diligent students might struggle. Worse, these questions carried significant weight.
Without exceptional academic ability, scoring high was nearly impossible—unless you knew the exam questions in advance.
'According to what I heard, underclassmen can buy past exam papers from upperclassmen. The questions seem to be the same every year. If we could buy last year's paper and study it specifically, we could probably score very high.'
Saiki Kusuo thought, with no intention of sharing this information with others.
Just then, Kushida Kikyō spoke up again:
"Also, I heard this exam has a lot of advanced questions—really tough to solve. But the upperclassmen said we can buy last year's exam paper! The questions are basically the same every year!"
"You can do that?"
Hirata Yōsuke looked surprised, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Teacher Chabashira mentioned that everything in this school can be bought… And buying last year's paper isn't even cheating."
"But do you think it's worth buying?"
Another girl asked.
Her honey-colored hair cascaded to her waist, her skin slightly tanned, yet her legs beneath her skirt were pale and smooth. Her features were delicate, her clear eyes radiating energy.
Saiki Kusuo remembered her name: Karuizawa Kei.
Karuizawa Kei was one of the most active students in Class D since the start of school. She had a hint of a delinquent vibe but was well-liked, quickly befriending almost all the girls.
"Even if the questions are the same every year, we can't be sure about this year's exam!"
Karuizawa Kei said seriously,
"And how many points does buying the paper cost?"
"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to ask,"
Kushida Kikyō replied immediately.
'The second-year guy said it's 50,000 points, but I don't think it's worth that much. And I'm not paying for it alone!'
Saiki Kusuo could hear Kushida's thoughts. She wasn't acting for the class's sake but for her own.
Her motives were simple: she didn't want her points affected by others and aimed to maximize her own score. At the same time, she had no intention of using her points to buy the paper in this situation. Ideally, the whole class would split the cost.
"To be safe, we should buy last year's paper. If grades really affect our points, we need to score as high as possible… Kushida, can you still contact that upperclassman? Could you ask how much the paper costs?"
"Sure, I kept his contact info."
Kushida Kikyō smiled and nodded, then touched her lips with a slender finger.
"But I don't think I should go alone. I'm not good at negotiating… Could a boy come with me?"
At Kushida's words, most of the boys in the room instantly perked up.
"Pick me!"
'Do heart voices echo in unison?'
Saiki Kusuo quipped.