Chapter 58

"Aya, I've been thinking... I think it's strange to study right before a mock exam."

It had been an hour and a half since they started studying.

Suddenly, Aya began to speak.

"Hey, Aya. Who organized this meeting today?"

Soichiro asked Aya with a slightly exasperated voice.

Aya tilted her head.

"Me, but?"

"Then, what kind of meeting is this?"

"A study session, of course."

"Don't negate the purpose of the meeting you organized yourself."

Soichiro pointed out logically.

In response, Aya held up her hand to stop him.

"Come on, hear me out."

"Mock exams are meant to gauge your standing, right? So, the important thing is the daily studying. Even if you cram right before and manage to score a few more points, it's meaningless, I think."

"That's something a student who studies regularly would say. You, who do nothing most of the time... or even sleep during class, shouldn't be saying that."

Yukito said, and Aya smiled slyly.

"But, I was top in the last external mock exam, and in the school rankings too."

"…Well, I can't argue with that."

In fact, Yukito didn't study seriously either, only focusing on understanding the class content, so he couldn't criticize others.

"Of course, Aya! You're right. Struggling now is pointless! Let's just give up!"

"Chiharu, you should study. …Didn't your parents scold you?"

Soichiro grabbed Chiharu's shoulder as she stood up, agreeing with Aya, and made her sit down.

Arisa, who had been studying diligently until now, put down her pen, her concentration slightly broken.

"But, isn't this mock exam more important than the last one? It's called the 'High-Difficulty Mock Exam,' after all."

"The problems are supposed to be harder than the last one."

Yukito agreed with Arisa.

Continuing, Soichiro, who had sat back down next to Chiharu, added:

"It's also said to be harder to improve your score. The participants are of a higher caliber, so the differences are less noticeable."

At this, Tenka, who was drinking tea, raised an eyebrow.

"I think that depends on the questions. If the question setters make a mistake and set problems that no one can solve, some people's scores might actually improve, right?"

At that moment, someone sighed heavily.

It was Sei.

"You guys, talking about scores... Are you score-obsessed? How can you talk about such boring things at a time like this?"

"That's just you, Sei. I find it fun. My last mock exam went well. I feel sorry for you."

"Hey, Tenka. That's a critical hit for me too. Can you stop it?"

Sei, who was being provoked by Tenka, and Chiharu, who was caught in the crossfire, were both affected.

On the other hand, Sei retorted to Tenka.

"Shut up. Show some consideration. There are people who hate the word 'score' or are completely unrelated to it."

To this, Chiharu also agreed.

"That's true. Why are school life stories boring, but school romance stories interesting? Because the class scenes are cut out."

However, unfortunately, Chiharu and Sei were not people unrelated to the word 'score.'

Rather, considering the results of the last mock exam, they were people who needed to be more aware of it.

"Well, this meeting is a 'study session.' Especially you two, shouldn't you take it seriously?"

Yukito said, and the two sighed heavily, glaring at him with a glare.

"Speaking the truth too much will make you unpopular."

"Stop the logic harassment."

Then, Arisa tugged at Yukito's sleeve in a cute manner and leaned her alluring lips close to his ear.

"If you think it's the truth, why don't you do it?"

"It's more troublesome than that. …It's the same reason I don't clean my room."

Yukito himself thought, "I should clean my room…" but didn't put in the effort to avoid bothering Arisa.

In short, it was a matter of crisis awareness and motivation.

"Well, you'll get serious if you fail."

"…Isn't it too late by then?"

"But, more than half of the students in our school retake the year, apparently."

"Really?"

"Even if it's obvious they'll fail, the teachers don't stop them."

"Wow…"

"Well, at this rate, Sei and Chiharu will be on that path. We should take them as examples of what not to do…"

Sei and Chiharu, who were supposed to be meeting for the first time today, seemed to have become friends without realizing it.

Yukito shrugged.

"Anyway, the topic has drifted. What I'm trying to say is, I want to play. We're all here, after all!"

"Then, you should have called us after the mock exam…"

Yukito pointed out, and Aya blushed and fidgeted.

"Well, because Tenka and I don't have much in common? If I suddenly said I wanted to play, they might not come, right? Tenka, right?"

Aya leaned her head on Tenka's shoulder.

"Um, yes… I guess."

Tenka, who was being annoyed by Aya, looked confused.

Even the cool Tenka seemed to be somewhat flustered by Aya.

Yukito, while drinking tea, thought about the combination of people present.

There were a few people here who knew each other indirectly but didn't have much contact in daily life.

There were also people who had met but weren't particularly close.

For Yukito, it was Tenka.

For Arisa, it was Sei, Tenka, and Soichiro.

For Soichiro, it was Tenka and Arisa.

For Aya, it was Sei and Tenka.

For Chiharu, it was Sei.

For Sei, it was Aya, Chiharu, and Arisa.

For Tenka, it was Yukito, Arisa, Soichiro, and Aya.

So, playing to deepen their bonds wasn't a bad idea.

…But whether it was the right thing to do at this time was another matter.

"Whether we play or not, it's about lunchtime. How about taking a break?"

Arisa suggested.

Since everyone's concentration was waning, a lunch break at this point wasn't a bad idea.

"That's a good idea! How about we order something?"

With Aya's agreement, they decided to take a lunch break.

The question was what to order…

Due to Arisa's comment that she had never ordered pizza, they decided to order pizza.

"How is it, Arisa?"

Yukito asked Arisa, who was eating pizza carefully to avoid dripping cheese.

At first glance, she seemed to maintain her usual cool and calm attitude, making it hard to read her feelings.

"Mm… It's delicious."

Her voice sounded slightly melted.

Her usually lifeless emerald eyes, which seemed to spread darkness, were now lit up.

Arisa at such times… was a little, no, quite cute.

"…Arisa, you're so cute."

"Huh?"

Suddenly hearing this from Chiharu, Arisa looked confused.

Chiharu, who was sitting in front of Arisa, smiled dangerously and stared at her intently.

"You're usually so cool, but then you show a cute side. It's irresistible."

"R-really…? Thank you."

Not knowing how to respond, Arisa thanked Chiharu.

Then, Aya joined the conversation.

"Speaking of cool, Tenka is also cute!"

"Huh?"

Tenka, who was eating pizza indifferently, was surprised to hear her name mentioned.

Aya, sitting next to Tenka, closed the distance.

"Tenka, you're so tsundere, but you have moments of being soft. And you're shy. Oh, your face is red. So cute!"

"N-no… Stop it, Tachibana."

"Call me Aya, remember? Tenka."

Aya pressed closer, and Tenka, blushing and embarrassed, tried to keep her distance.

This attitude seemed to fuel Aya's sadistic tendencies.

She tried to get even closer, but…

"Stop it."

"Ow, ow! Soichiro-kun!!"

Soichiro grabbed Aya by the neck and pulled her away.

He then glared at Chiharu, who was trying to approach Arisa.

Chiharu, startled, sat back down on the sofa with a flustered expression.

"…What? Sei, that face?"

"Wow, even the formidable Tenka has her weaknesses. Cute, cute Tenka… Ow!! She kicked me, this woman!"

"Shut up, gangster."

"Ah!? I'll crush you, fraudster!"

Sei and Tenka started bickering.

The other five watched them with warm eyes.

A good couple.

"By the way, what do we do after eating?"

Aya, assuming they would play, continued the conversation.

Yukito, however, wasn't in the mood to study right now.

Considering he would get sleepy after eating, he wanted to play for a break.

"How about a big battle?"

Chiharu suggested, but Aya shook her head.

"I want to do that too, but we don't have seven controllers."

"Then, how about cards? Games like Old Maid or Big Two have simple rules that everyone knows."

Yukito suggested, but Aya frowned.

"Too safe and boring."

"Is it…?"

Indeed, playing Old Maid with seven people might be a bit boring.

It would be better to play a game that could utilize the number of people.

"How about King's Game?"

This was a reasonable suggestion.

It would deepen their bonds and make use of the large group.

"King's Game… Yeah, that's good."

"King's Game! That's a great idea!!"

Aya and Chiharu agreed with Soichiro… and then looked at Arisa and Tenka, who were confused.

"Listen, Aya, Chiharu. Keep in mind that you might be given orders too."

Yukito warned Aya and Chiharu not to give unreasonable commands.

On the other hand, Sei laughed happily.

"That's fine. The possibility of retaliation makes it even more fun."

Everyone seemed to be on board.

Aya immediately started making the slips of paper.

And then…

"Who's the King!!!"

A game that tests both common sense and enthusiasm, and reveals one's true nature, began.

So, next time, we'll play King's Game.

Of course, King's Game can involve romantic commands like "say who you like."

While I don't expect a command like "say the name of the person you like" to come up, something related might…

If you find it interesting, want to read more, or want to be commanded by Queen Arisa…

Arisa: "Bookmark this, and rate it (change the stars below the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★)!"

The next update will be in three days, on the 14th.