“Damn it.”
A curse escapes my lips.
If it weren’t for the setting that the member selection for the exchange event is based on midterm exam scores, I wouldn’t have had to dedicate myself to studying like this.
No, wait.
Considering the insane level of national pride I’ve reached, perhaps high scores are indeed essential.
It seems like studying is a fate I must accept regardless of the situation.
Seriously, I really want a Status Window right about now.
“Hey, Junior. Why does your face look like that? Did something bad happen? I’m actually happy to see you again after so long. Even if you took my purity and then left me hanging without a word. Hmph. Bad boy, Junior.”
Hoshino Kasumi puffs out her cheeks.
Her dizzying way of speaking is still the same, but now it’s somewhat bearable.
At least she’s better than the Chairperson, who pretends to be all important.
“Junior. I heard the rumor that you’ve even gotten close to the transfer student, Kamiya. They say you even live together and do all sorts of things? Every time more girls gather around you, my heart aches. You’re the Black Beast who doesn’t understand a woman’s purity!”
Forget what I just said.
My head is throbbing.
What am I doing with Makoto?
I point to the mountain of study materials piled up before me, pressing on my temples.
“Enough nonsense. Is this really something I can finish in a day?”
There’s no way this can be done in a day.
Kasumi nods.
“Yeah. To reach the scores you’re aiming for, you need to study this much. But Junior, why are you suddenly so passionate about studies?”
Kasumi tilts her head, confused.
“Because I have to go to the exchange event.”
The regular exchange event with Meijin Hero Academy in Kyoto.
I have to participate in that event, which is held once a year.
“Speaking of the exchange event, it seems the first years still haven’t finished selecting their members. The second years are already done. I want to be in the exchange event······. Wait, don’t tell me you······.”
Kasumi’s eyes narrow in on me.
Her face turns red.
“Are you, are you studying for me? You want to go to the exchange event with me······ Is that it? Junior, you’re so bad yet kind. I think I might be a little touched?”
Kasumi hurriedly opens her notebook and hides her face.
It’s true I want to go to the exchange event with her, but that’s not the reason.
What sort of useless delusions are swirling around in her head?
“Alright. If that’s your resolve, I’ll forgive you for leaving me hanging and for not visiting the club room until now. I’m a big-hearted senpai, after all.”
Kasumi, hiding her face behind the notebook, smiles.
Yeah, let her misunderstand all she wants.
Either way, it’s true that I need her help to get good grades, so her misunderstanding benefits me.
The dialogue might be a bit chaotic, but it’s unavoidable.
Rustle.
She pulls out a paper bag and places it on the table.
“Today, I specially bought you the cafeteria’s special Neapolitan bread. Let’s eat and study together, Junior.”
Kasumi presents the Neapolitan bread close to my mouth.
Neapolitan bread.
It’s not as notorious as Yaki Soba bread, but it’s a type of bread that often appears in Japanese school stories.
Just like it’s depicted in manga, it looks like a hot dog bun stuffed with Neapolitan spaghetti.
I’m a little curious about how it tastes.
“I’ll eat it, senpai.”
I snatch the Neapolitan bread from her hand and take a bite.
It’s delicious.
Better than I expected.
This combination of carbs on carbs might be bad for the body, but it sure tastes good.
“Seems like even bad things can taste good.”
“How’s it? Is it delicious?”
“This is better than yakisoba bread.”
“Hehe. It was worth standing in line at the snack shop to get this for you. I’m glad to see you enjoying it, Junior!”
Kasumi-senpai smiles.
As I stuff the remaining bread into my mouth…
Creeeak.
The clubroom door swings open.
What’s going on?
Only Kasumi-senpai and I are in the literature club.
Besides, the clubroom is situated in a pretty remote spot, so other students seldom drop by.
But who could it be?
As the thought crossed my mind, I turned my gaze.
“You! I searched for you everywhere, and you were here all along…! You made such an absurd request of me…!”
There stood Olivia, the platinum-haired beauty, pouting with her arms crossed.
“Master. Enjoying a secret rendezvous with your senpai while leaving Eri behind? How mean.”
Nishizawa suddenly appears beside Olivia.
“I thought I was pretty good at studies, not just girlish charm… But, of course, if you want the girlish side too, I can offer that!”
Next to her, Shinozaki Rin reveals herself.
What are they even offering?!
“S-Sorry, Master… It seems everyone was curious about your whereabouts… So I ended up saying it…”
Finally, Makoto appears, returning to her female form after removing her disguise, fiddling with her skirt and looking down shyly.
Oh right.
Now I remember.
Before heading off to study, I had casually mentioned to Makoto that I’d be studying with Kasumi-senpai in the literature club.
Then I told Olivia to get along well with Makoto when I saw her later.
So somehow, they all gathered here.
Thud.
Kasumi-senpai places down the notebook she was covering her face with.
She smiles.
“Oh my, four cute juniors have come to the clubroom. This is supposed to be a space just for Junior and me, so what could you all be here for?”
Her usual soft tone.
But somehow, I sense a chilling edge to her words.
Hearing Kasumi’s words, Nishizawa takes a step forward.
With a fierce look, she glares at Kasumi.
“So you’re trying to monopolize Master? I won’t forgive you, senpai! Eri hasn’t even monopolized him yet! We haven’t even had a midnight walk in the park with a leash! A space just for you two? Absolutely not!”
What?
A walk with a leash?
Is she out of her mind?
Nishizawa is definitely the one who’s off her rocker.
“That’s right, Hoshino-senpai! Cutting in line is cheating!”
Rin chimes in behind her.
Cutting in line? Cheating?
What on earth are they talking about?
“It’s forbidden to approach him recklessly without my permission as his exclusive maid. Senpai, do you understand? This is a unique right of mine, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, his dedicated maid. And you! You initially asked me to teach you…!”
Olivia’s gaze turns to me.
Her face reddens.
Her blue eyes tremble.
“I-I even had seasoned chicken like gaga…! Ughhh… You… you made me… the noble French princess into your dedicated maid…!!”
Olivia pouts, trailing off.
Her shoulders slump.
No.
Seeing her suddenly like this makes me feel a bit sorry.
Unlike Rin and Nishizawa, who act freely and often make me want to strangle them, Olivia, despite her grumbling, executes my orders well as a top-tier assistant.
I’d prefer to help her requests within reason.
“So, seems like the knightly princess was hoping to study with Junior, huh?”
Kasumi-senpai remarks with a smile.
Olivia’s face turns bright red.
She raises her hand over her chest and yells, “Who, who would want to do such a bothersome thing?! This is merely my duty as a dedicated maid, something annoyingly unavoidable, okay?!”
“Really? If it’s such a hassle, would it be okay if I teach you instead? You see, I’m the top of the second year. Plus, this is my clubroom; I’m the president and you, Junior, are a member. According to the school rules, I could remove uninvited juniors based on my authority as president, don’t you think?”
“Wouldn’t it be hard to argue if I just kicked you out as the president?”
“Ughhhhhhh…”
Olivia groans at Hoshino Kasumi’s calm rebuttal.
“Ugh.”
“Tsk.”
Rin beside them bites her lip, and Nishizawa clicks her tongue.
“…That’s a point so valid it’s unpleasant.”
Makoto mutters in a small voice at the end.
Following that remark, a silence falls among the trio.
Kasumi flashes a relaxed smile.
“So, as much as I regret it, I’d like the cute juniors to leave. It might interfere with studying. What do you think, junior? I’m a kind president who listens to my members’ opinions, so I’ll respect your wishes.”
Before she’s even finished, everyone’s gaze turns toward me.
“I look forward to your wise decision, juniors.”
Kasumi whispers.
I look at Olivia.
As our eyes meet, she hurriedly turns her head away and pouts.
“Hmph. Fool, idiot, sea cucumber, sea squirt, anemone.”
Olivia mutters under her breath.
Her shoulders droop.
Such a tsundere, being unable to show her true feelings.
I sigh.
“…Let’s all study together.”
“After?”
Kasumi’s eyes widen.
She lets out a ridiculous light novel exclamation.
“I’d love it if we all studied together, Senpai.”
It’s not like I care for anything else, but I don’t want to see Olivia being serious like this, different from usual.
Anyway, she’s the one who listens to me best in this crazy world.
Studying together isn’t unreasonable.
I can manage that much.
“Y-You…”
Olivia’s face flushes.
Our eyes meet.
“Hmph. B-Baka…”
Olivia turns her head away.
I can see her earlobes and neck turning a bright red.
“Master, you wanted to see Eri too? Hehe. Eri is so happy!”
Uh, that’s not because of you!
“Hehe. So you finally noticed my charm. My efforts in girl power training have paid off…”
Rin beside me clenches her fists.
Girl power training? What on earth is she up to?
“…Those juniors who don’t know a girl’s pure heart are bad boys. You can’t be satisfied with just me and want to take the pure hearts of other girls too to build a harem. A black beast but weak to the princess knight, huh, juniors?”
Kasumi pouts.
Look at her overthinking everything, seriously.
I’m losing it.
“Nevertheless, I am a generous and broad-minded senior. That’s my fate, to be swept away by bad boys like you who aim to be harem kings. Fine. I’ll allow it. But if you want to study here, you have to join the reading club.”
Swish.
Kasumi puffs her cheeks and pulls out four membership applications to hand to them.
“Ugh, fine. This mysterious club activity shouldn’t even be worth joining, but… I’ll make an exception this time! Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte is joining, so be grateful! Got it?”
“Master, for you, Eri will join the club. Watch me. Eri will always be by your side.”
“I generally prefer not to join club activities. But fine, for you, Kim Deok-Sung…! I can even poison myself and lick the plate clean for you!”
Olivia, Rin, and Nishizawa igniting their unnecessary heroic resolve.
“C-Can I join too? My lord…”
Amidst it all, Makoto timidly throws out a plain comment.
That day, the reading club welcomed four new members.
By the way, the heroine quartet’s meeting with Kasumi happened much sooner than in the original.
But who cares?
To secure maximum strength for the interschool exchange event, they need to perform well too.
If Kasumi and the heroine quartet build rapport quickly, the story progression for the event might be smoother.
Even if the original seems pointless now, it’s still worth observing the impact.
With the heroine Makoto being introduced now, it’s risky to predict what will happen carelessly.
With midterms and the exchange event coming up soon, I’m on alert.
Today too, your name has been honored (Illustration available).
The study group formed with Kasumi, Kim Deok-Sung, and the four of us surprisingly went smoothly with little conflict.
The flow of time passed.
“This part is not on the exam, so it’s okay to skip it. You just need to memorize from here.”
Hoshino Kasumi.
As the top student of the second year, she had overwhelmed the other four heroines with her incredible academic performance.
Sure, the other three girls were skilled in both practical and written exams, but in the face of Hoshino Kasumi’s vast knowledge, they were barely at the level of writing characters in front of Confucius.
“Ugh… Is a new formidable foe appearing…?”
“I thought Eri-Ring was confident in her studies… But she was completely defeated.”
“Uuuu… I-I’ll definitely not lose next time!”
After their studies ended, the three heroines left the classroom, venting their frustration.
“Thank you for your help again, senpai.”
In contrast to the three girls, Makoto politely bid farewell.
“See you next time.”
Once Kim Deok-Sung finished his last goodbye, only Kasumi remained in the classroom.
Clunk.
The classroom door closed.
Kasumi’s gaze drifted toward the entrance where Deok-Sung had just vanished.
“That fool of a junior who doesn’t understand a woman’s heart…”
Kasumi puffed her cheeks.
The platinum knight princess, the samurai of the cold wind, the national beauty kunoichi… and the infamous transfer student, the assassin prince Kamiya Makoto, who was rumored to be skilled in the academy.
Each one was a beautiful girl who was no less than Kasumi herself in looks or abilities.
Ordinary humans, unlike her, who was neither a spy nor a monster.
“…I’m a monster.”
Kasumi bit her lip.
Her hands trembled.
Kasumi’s vision fell on the classroom’s interior, which still held warmth from moments ago.
Tables where not just Kim Deok-Sung but four other juniors had just gathered and talked.
For someone like Kasumi, who always felt out of place in her grade, it was the first time she had enjoyed lively conversation with several people.
“Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. A bustling classroom…”
No, in fact, it was enjoyable.
She felt happy.
Even though they were rivals, to Kasumi’s eyes, they were also cute juniors.
Olivia, Rin, Eri, Makoto.
Teaching those four cute junior girls was unexpectedly fun.
She enjoyed it so much that she wished time could stop like this, forgetting about her identity as a chimera and her spy status.
“Is it okay for me to be this happy? Rena?”
Calling out the name of her absent friend, Kasumi smiled with a bittersweet expression.
*
Time flowed on, and finally, the midterms approached.
“This is bad.”
The preliminary grading results of her written exam were barely middle-tier.
To earn a spot in the exchange competition, she had to make up for it in the practical test.
The midterm practical exam was a Ground Zero exercise.
An event where Nishizawa Eri and the protagonist Yuji discovered ruins and fought against the Mad Hatter, as seen in Volume 3 of the original work.
Now that the Mad Hatter was already defeated and the ruins were found, it was nothing more than just an exam.
“For the safety of the students, this Ground Zero exercise will be organized into teams of five!”
Just like in Imgan School, it was sudden team organization changes that ensured I wouldn’t end up in the same group as Olivia, Rin, Nishizawa, and Makoto.
The Ground Zero exercise that began was surprisingly manageable.
The competitive spirit among the girls in my group ignited, making them frantic to earn points.
“I, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, will properly show my might during this practical! You! Sit there and watch closely! See what kind of person the French knight princess you have as your attendant truly is!”
“There’s no one who thinks of my master as the first priority; only Eri-Ring exists. I’ll be taking first place in this exercise. I’ll earn enough points for my master as well. Master can sit and relax; I’ll handle everything. I am my master’s first-place slave!”
“Supporting my husband is a duty of a wife. Kim Deok-Sung, I will train to become the perfect first-place bride for you. Earning practical points is part of being a bride. So, watch closely the results of my womanly training!”
“My lord. I will also strive hard. I want to earn lots of points and be praised by you. Is that okay?”
The rules of the Ground Zero exercise were simple.
You earn points for every wild otherworldly species you defeat within the erosion zone.
