“Shiraishi-kun’s here too?” Inside the library, Class A’s study group spotted Shiraishi and raised their hands to wave him over.
“Yeah, I’m here to catch up on some studying too.” Since he’d been busy familiarizing himself with Student Council work and gathering intelligence, Shiraishi—along with Ichinose and others involved in club activities—hadn’t been able to attend the class’s study groups as often.
Kanzaki and other top students, however, came every day.
Classes B and C also had their own study groups, each occupying a section of the library.
The only exception was a silver-haired girl.
“Shiina-san seems to come to the library every day.
Students from Class C also go to her with questions.” Ichinose followed Shiraishi’s gaze and remarked.
“Yeah, I saw her here on the second day of school too.” Shiraishi smiled.
“Unlike us, she comes here to enjoy reading.” The Class A students continued studying, unaware that Shiina Hiyori’s ears had twitched slightly.
A short while later, another group of students arrived at the library—Class D.
“This is the first time we’ve seen these Class D students here.” Hamaguchi Tetsuya, sitting beside Shiraishi, whispered.
Exactly.
The very students who needed tutoring the most had only managed to form a study group a full week after the results were announced.
Hard to evaluate.
Shiraishi didn’t pay attention to Class D’s activities—his phone buzzed.
“They’re in the library.
I can’t really go inside.” It was Kamuro.
“I’m already in the library.
I’ll notify you if anything happens.” Shiraishi replied.
Before long, sounds from Class D’s corner that were distinctly not about studying arose.
“Shut up!
This has nothing to do with you!” Sudo Ken slammed his hand on the table.
“It does have nothing to do with me.
No matter how much you suffer, it won’t affect me at all.
I simply feel pity—that you’ve spent your whole lives running away from anything difficult.” Horikita Suzune’s expression was icy cold as she delivered her cutting words.
“You’ve got some nerve saying that.
Studying is useless for the future anyway.
I’m aiming to become a professional basketball player—instead of burying my nose in textbooks, I should be practicing my shots right now.” “Even in basketball, the same logic applies.
You run away from math problems you can’t solve.
When you play, do you only follow rules that benefit you?
When faced with skills that require hard work, do you turn and run just like you do with studying?
I don’t think you’d practice seriously at all.
More importantly, with that personality of yours that disrupts the harmony around you, if I were a team manager, I wouldn’t let you become a regular player.” “You—” Sudo’s rage hit its limit.
He stood up, ready to charge at Horikita.
“Sudo-kun!” Kushida Kikyō reacted quickly, grabbing Sudo’s arm.
“That’s enough.” Another person appeared beside Sudo.
“I’m Shiraishi Makoto from the Student Council.
Cease your violent behavior immediately, or you’ll face the maximum penalty of expulsion.” Shiraishi stood by the table and spoke.
“This is the library—please maintain basic quiet and order and don’t disturb other classes.” “It’s this bitch who—” Perhaps Shiraishi’s identity and words had an effect.
Sudo didn’t make any more aggressive moves, but he glared at Horikita as if his eyes could shoot fire.
“I’m simply stating my opinion truthfully.
Someone who gives up halfway like you—not only is becoming a famous basketball player out of the question, it’s doubtful you’ll even set foot on that professional path.” Horikita’s expression didn’t change.
“Ugh!” Sudo erupted again.
Even Ayanokōji, who had seemed content to stay out of it, had to step in and restrain Sudo.
“Please leave the library immediately and cool down.
Don’t disturb the other students’ studies.” Shiraishi placed his right hand on Sudo’s chest, stopping him from getting closer to Horikita.
Then he turned to Horikita: “And please, Horikita-san, stop provoking him.
Unless you want to escalate this to the Student Council.” At the mention of “Student Council,” Horikita fell silent.
“Seriously.
I even took time off from my club to come here—complete waste of time.” Sudo grabbed his books off the desk, stuffed them into his bag, and stormed out of the library.
“I’m done too.
Horikita-san might be smart, but if she’s going to look down on people like that, honestly, I’m pissed off too.” Ike Kanji started packing his things as well.
“If you don’t care about getting expelled, be my guest.” “I’ll cram on my own at night.
See you.” “If you could study on your own, you wouldn’t be here in the first place, would you?” Faced with Horikita’s sharp tongue, Yamauchi and the others couldn’t take it anymore either and started packing up.
Class D’s struggling students’ first tutoring session had come to an abrupt end.
Ike, Yamauchi, Okiya, and the others filed out one by one.
Kushida also left the library, leaving only Horikita and Ayanokōji in Class D’s corner.
Shiraishi stood nearby, fiddling with his phone until he confirmed there was no risk of further violence.
Then he walked over.
“I don’t really have standing to say this as a student from another class—but if Horikita-san wants to improve her class points, this isn’t the way to go about it.” “As you said, you don’t have standing.” Horikita showed no sign of heeding his advice.
“Then I’ll say no more.” Seeing Horikita packing up, Shiraishi discreetly placed a small slip of paper in front of Ayanokōji and gave his phone a slight gesture.
Ayanokōji’s face remained its usual expressionless mask, but his hands moved quickly—he slipped the note into his pocket before anyone noticed.
Having done all he could, Shiraishi returned to his seat and continued reviewing his weak subjects.
At 8 PM, today’s study session ended.
Shiraishi didn’t head back to the dorms with the others.
Instead, he went to the park near the dormitory.
“Where is it?” Seeing Kamuro, who had been waiting for a while, Shiraishi asked.
“Here.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this—I never imagined Kushida-san would be that kind of person.” Kamuro handed over the camera wrapped in a bag, her expression one of relief.
That’s right—Shiraishi had Kamuro film Kushida Kikyō kicking the railing on the rooftop and hurling abuse at her classmates.
“Sakayanagi-san must have kept a copy too.” Taking the camera, Shiraishi asked.
“Uh…
yeah, she did.” Kamuro nodded.
As her superior, Sakayanagi was fully aware of the entire operation and had asked for a copy as well.
“Pass this message to Sakayanagi-san: she can keep it if she wants.
But if she needs to use this evidence for anything, it should go through me.
And don’t spread it around—otherwise, news about a Class B student being a thief will spread across the entire campus.” “I…
of course I wouldn’t say anything.”