Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kat
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 7
Author Note:
Arisu-chan is cute.
I just wanted to write my delusion as it was, but it was actually difficult.
It might not be the proper writing that everyone expected, but I hope everyone enjoyed it.
The midterm exam was approaching.
In Class A, Katsuragi hosted a study session almost every day, but naturally, Arisu-chan and I didn’t attend.
I thought participating would make things even more troublesome, so I decided not to attend.
Considering Arisu-chan’s physical condition, skipping was something unavoidable, so nobody complained about it. I guess it was because Mashima-sensei mentioned the special treatment at the beginning of the month.
Interestingly, only about 60% chose to attend the study group, so there were actually many people who skipped.
The most likely reason seemed to be their desire to rebel against Katsuragi’s control of the class. I guess they found it irritating that their respective study schedules would also be interrupted.
In addition, the students of Class A were people with high academic abilities to begin with, so perhaps many thought they were better off studying on their own.
Well, it didn’t matter to us either way.
Arisu-chan obtained a past exam a week before the exam.
Just studying it as a base should make it possible to avoid failing grades.
The source of the past exam was the senior we met in the drugstore on the day of the entrance ceremony.
She was exasperated as Arisu-chan requested to buy a past exam as if it were the most obvious thing to do, but it was true that she was short on points, so it was easily purchased with 50,000 points.
To be honest, 50,000 points was expensive. The purchased questions seemed more expensive than their actual worth.
That senior seemed to feel the same, so during the transaction, she explained that the first midterms always had the same questions last year and the year before that. Arisu-chan already expected that from the beginning, but that saved the trouble of proving her conjecture.
Arisu-chan said, “The amount I offer is the result of considering how much she will be willing to sell without negotiation,” so I think she made the correct choice.
Another movement took place three days before the exam.
After school, I was taken by Arisu-chan to visit Class B’s classroom.
“Ah, it’s Arisu-chan and Takashiro-kun!”
“You two haven’t visited recently. Did something happen?”
We were immediately surrounded by the girls from Class B.
We were popular among Class B for some reason. According to them, we were “the bishoujo with a weak body” and “the boy who protected her.” I didn’t know if that mattered, though.
“Is Honami-san here?”
“Ah, Ichinose-san left to pick flowers~”
In addition, thanks to Honami-san managing to foresee the class point system last month (at least that was how it appeared to Class B students), her class had turned into “Honami-san supremacy” to a greater degree than what Arisu-chan expected. If I had to make a comparison, Honami-san was now considered a living god for them.
“That’s nice, I also want to refer to Ichinose-san by name~”
“That’s too scary to do!”
Eugh, all of them were being noisy!
…Anyway, Honami-san was tremendously admired by the students of Class B.
Since we were recognized as Honami-san’s best friends, there was no way we would be treated badly here.
“Sorry, sorry!”
“Good afternoon, Honami-san.”
Honami-san returned while wiping her hands with a handkerchief.
I was at my limit dealing with the woman’s group, so her arrival really helped.
“Ah, Arisu-chan… what is it for today?”
“We were thinking of ‘studying’ with Honami-san today. Can we go to that café from the other day?”
Honami-san’s expression changed upon hearing Arisu-chan’s words. She seemed to realize something.
“Okay. I’ll get prepared.”
Pushing the crowd aside, Honami-san prepared her bag.
It felt like commoners respecting their king. Was she the king? But Honami-san seemed to feel awkward about it.
And now.
The three of us were at the same café as last time.
“…And so, here’s the past exam I mentioned.”
“Fue~”
Arisu-chan put her purchased past exam on the table… The copy of it, to be exact.
“I have explained how I procured and the benefit of the past exam earlier. I will give this to Honami-san.”
“Eehh?!”
Arisu-chan handed over the past exam as if it was the most obvious thing to do. Just like last month, it was provided without seeking any compensation. Of course, its existence was kept secret from Class A.
Honami-san was clearly panicking.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, but, this… you purchased it with 50,000 points, right?”
“Please don’t worry about it. Of course, you don’t need to pay for it. Please just receive it as it is.”
“But… isn’t this weird?!”
It was natural for her to think so.
If a person were suddenly given the solutions for an exam, it was natural to feel more panicked than happy. Moreover, unlike before, Arisu-chan spent quite a lot of points to acquire it. For anyone but Arisu-chan, it was a totally unreasonable action.
“Is that so?”
“It is! Geez, I will definitely pay points for this, okay?!”
Honami-san’s expression changed and tried to forcefully send her points.
However, Arisu-chan resolutely refused to accept it.
Just like last time, she insisted on giving it free of charge.
The unbelievable spectacle of forcing points onto each other continued for a while.
After repeatedly arguing for several minutes, Honami-san finally relented.
“Why? Why do you go this far?”
Honami-san, who should have greatly benefited, had an expression as if she got cornered for some reason.
Arisu-chan was drinking her coffee and showing off her composure, which was a contrast to Honami-san.
“Because we’re friends.”
“But we’re from different classes…”
“Honami-san, are you someone who prioritizes conflicts between classes over friendships?”
“There’s no way I am! I’m not such a person, but… okay, I understand.”
Regardless of what she said, Honami-san ended up accepting it.
She still didn’t look convinced, but it seemed she judged it would be useless to continue, so she quietly put the past exam in her bag.
“Please make good use of it, okay?”
“Of course, Arisu-chan. Thank you.”
Honami-san’s eyes were swimming.
Oi oi, was she really alright?
“Also, please keep it a secret that I’m the one who’s providing it this time as well. Please treat it as Honami-san managed to acquire it on her own.”
“Okay, uuuu…”
She seemed restless and her legs were shaky.
As expected, she couldn’t just consider she was fortunate to get it for free.
No, that wasn’t it. It was exactly because Arisu-chan knew Honami-san wasn’t a person like that that she chose to do this.
On her way back, Honami-san seemed absentminded.
The night of that day.
We were studying lightly after bath for the upcoming test.
In addition to making use of the past exam that Arisu-chan acquired, she also taught me general knowledge to improve my basic academic ability.
Although it was highly unlikely, I wanted some insurance in case the exam questions were different.
“Haruto-kun, let’s stop here today.”
“You’re right. I’m getting a little tired.”
After about an hour, we decided to conclude the study session and look back on what happened today.
“Come to think of it, Honami-san seemed panicked today.”
“Considering her personality, of course she was.”
We were talking about what happened at the café.
It was about how, weirdly enough, she gave the past exam for free.
“Can I know now why you’re pressuring Honami-san?” I asked Arisu-chan.
As a premise, Honami-san was undoubtedly a good person.
She, who also took care of someone without contributions like me, continued to receive something for free.
I had no idea how stressed she felt about that. Perhaps even Arisu-chan couldn’t guess correctly. It was hard to find another pure and good person like Honami-san even if we searched all over Japan.
After thinking for a while, Arisu-chan slowly began to speak.
“…My initial goal is to make sure she will never betray me. It is because I think her ability to draw people to her side could be useful.”
That was the first goal.
If that was all, I could also predict that.
And I think that goal was already achieved.
Would Honami-san betray Arisu-chan?
Would she turn hostile against the benefactor who gave her everything so far?
…It was definitely impossible. If she tried, she would be burdened by guilt and overwhelmed with regret.
Being able to play evil was also a talent.
People like Ayanokouji and Ryuen, who considered betrayal as one of their tactics, were few in number.
In that respect, Honami-san seemed to be a personification of kindness. Not only would she not think to betray, but she might also even hesitate to attack people who betrayed her.
That was why it was impossible. Unless we took the initiative to change the relationship, she would stay as Arisu-chan’s ally until graduation.
After confirming I understood, Arisu-chan continued.
“The second reason is that I’m curious. What will happen to Honami-san, whose personality is ill-suited for the competition for class points?”
The victory in the battle between classes. As expected, Arisu-chan intended to make Honami-san win.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Class B knocked out Class A. It seemed that was already an established fact for Arisu-chan.
Certainly, from the perspectives of the other classes, perhaps Honami-san was an opponent that could easily be defeated. Her personality was too gentle, and she seemed to be someone who easily fell into traps.
However, although I had no idea how long it would last, it seemed Arisu-chan intended to support Honami-san from behind. With this, Honami-san would seem easily deceivable to others, but would actually deceive others instead.
Even though she didn’t appear to be a schemer at all, she would seem to be someone who schemed a lot. If everyone had no idea of the circumstances behind the scene, Honami-san would seem to be a mysterious monster.
I understood the short-term goal.
And what will happen next?
After doing this much, what did Arisu-chan intend to achieve in the end?
What did those eyes see?
…No good, I had no idea. I couldn’t connect the dots together.
Arisu-chan looked at me with a smile as she saw my confusion.
“Haruto-kun, are you having fun?”
“Eh?”
It was a sudden question.
Was I having fun right now?
That was when I realized.
I found myself really looking forward to what Arisu-chan would do next.
Before I knew it, I no longer felt bored with school life.
…Perhaps.
“Arisu-chan, perhaps you are trying to entertain me?”
“Fufu, let’s see…”
She looked at my face and matched my gaze.
Being looked at like this still made my heart throb even though we’d known each other for a long time.
A moment passed.
She seemed to take her time to choose her words, which was unusual for her.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Arisu-chan whispered in my ear.
“If you ever think of me as a boring person, perhaps I might die. That is one answer.”
Then she smiled mischievously.
I picked up Arisu-chan, who was sitting down, and carried her to the bed.
I went next to her. Just as I was about to put on the futon, Arisu-chan’s terminal rang with an incoming message.
“What message came at this late at night?”
“Perhaps it’s…”
Arisu-chan’s expression showed that she seemed to realize something.
After entering the password and reading the content of the message, she turned to me.
“Haruto-kun. I want to go outside right now, but could you come with me?”
“Of course.”
Arisu-chan stood up, clearly in a hurry.
If she moved that fast, she might stumble.
I stood up and held Arisu-chan’s hand.
“I think we can see something interesting.”
“I see. I look forward to that.”
I put a jacket over her pajamas and left the room.
It seemed today wasn’t over just yet.
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