Magic

The sense of liberation after exams, as expected, seems to fill the entire class.

The relaxed atmosphere carries a comfortable fatigue and sense of accomplishment, with everyone congratulating each other. It’s like a kind of festival, and this mood continues for a few days.

Since then, I’ve been in touch with Kinoshita on and off. Although I said we should make friends, it’s already May of our second year, so the timing is tricky.

Therefore, I decided to wait until after the exams.

If you’re wondering for what, it’s for the arrival of a certain person. He sees me as his nemesis and barges into my classroom every time the results of the regular exams are out.

He should be arriving soon.

“Godai!!!!!!”

His voice is as loud as ever… He’s a guy who always competes with me, named Oji. He calls me his rival and is loud. Usually, he’s annoying, but this time I’m grateful.

“Is it true you got a perfect score in all subjects!!!!!???”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh… ah… ugh…”

Don’t cry. Don’t cry, man.

“I scored my personal best!! 882 points across nine subjects!! I thought I finally won!! But still, standing in my way is you, my rival, Godai!!!”

That was close. I couldn’t afford to lose this time.

I took a deep breath to hide my agitation and responded as usual.

“I see. Let’s see about the finals.”

“!!! That’s my rival!!! I won’t lose next time!!”

He dashed down the hallway.

“…Hey, running in the hallway is not allowed!”

Even Kinoshita was momentarily taken aback by Oji’s appearance.

Seriously, don’t announce my scores so loudly… Normally, that’s what I’d think.

“Wow… Godai-kun… Perfect scores in all subjects, that’s amazing.”

The gentle voice came from the girl sitting next to me. This fluffy impression girl—Tachikawa, who sits next to me in class, was also today’s target.

If you’re wondering what I mean by target.

“Yeah. I worked hard this time and hit a lot of the key points.”

I smiled and raised one finger.

“Also, there was something else that helped.”

Tachikawa tilted her head, and her close group of friends gathered around.

“? What happened?”

“Oh, talking to Godai-kun.”

“Perfect scores in all subjects is kinda beyond amazing, almost creepy, Godai-kun.”

Creepy… Not the time to get hurt.

“I got some help with a subject I’m not good at from Kinoshita. It really helped.”

“Huh, Kinoshita-san…? The Kinoshita-san?”

“She’s the kind of person who would help with studying…?”

“Did she help you just because you’re Godai-kun?”

Seems like that’s the perception of Kinoshita. Always seen as putting up walls around herself.

If that’s the case, talking to this group is the right choice.

“She’s good at teaching. She said she’d help anyone who asks.”

“Really?”

They exchanged glances.

Just then, Kinoshita, who had gone to reprimand Oji, returned to the classroom.

The girl who called me creepy was the first to rush to her.

“Kinoshita-san!”

“Huh, um, yes?”

“Teach me to study!”

“Huh…?”

“Is it just Godai-kun?”

“N-no, it’s not… I mean, why are you talking about Godai-san…?”

As Kinoshita glanced at me, the other two girls also approached her.

“Um, if it’s okay, could you help me too…?”

“I didn’t think you were this smart to teach Godai-kun.”

“Huh? Huh?”

It was amusing to see Kinoshita flustered by the sudden friendly attention. The phrase “eyes spinning” seemed fitting.

…I hope it goes well.

As I felt a sense of peace, a shadow fell over me.

“Hmm… Seems like your relationships have changed quite a bit while I wasn’t here.”

Looking up, I saw Kisaragi with a difficult expression, arms crossed. She did come to school today.

“Hm? Oh. It’s just about to change.”

Looking back at Kinoshita, she was surrounded and being bombarded with questions.

According to my research, those girls are relatively kind and mild-mannered, so Kinoshita shouldn’t be treated like a gofer. Seeing Kinoshita’s expression becoming more natural, my plan has already achieved some success.

“Heh…”

I couldn’t help but smile, which seemed to annoy Kisaragi.

“Reeally???”

“What’s wrong?”

Kisaragi, with her characteristic pout when she’s displeased, clenched her fists.

“Hey, Ryoma.”

She suddenly smiled, but it was an aggressive one.

“I think watching me would be more enjoyable. I’m cuter.”

Huh? What?

With her hands behind her back, she leaned in close to me.

A pose only a beautiful girl could pull off, like a girl in a white dress by the sea.

“Look, the ultimate beautiful girl who makes everyone turn their heads. The charismatic Cinderella Airi, smiling just for you. Fufufu.”

…I Almost got mesmerized. What’s with this sudden cuteness?

My perfect demeanor almost crumbled.

Indeed, Kisaragi, with her strong and feminine charm, suits this kind of innocent and playful smile.

Being charmed by a girl and drooling isn’t something a perfect man does.

I bit my tongue secretly to avoid looking like a fool and searched for another topic.

Looking around, I saw the comforting sight of a flustered Kinoshita.

“Kinoshita, she’s doing her best.”

“Why do you say that!!!!”

Bang!!

“Isn’t it weird!? This was totally our moment just now!? Wasn’t it!? Why are you suddenly mentioning someone I don’t know!?”

“Of course you know her, she sits behind you.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!”

No, you definitely know her. And I’d like it if Kisaragi could get along with Kinoshita too. It’d make things easier later on… Though that might sound too calculating. I think they could relate to each other. Kisaragi faced a lot of adversity last year too.

“…Ugh, why doesn’t your expression change? I’m Airi, after all. Ugh.”

So, you were trying to make me react? That’s terrifying. Being charmed by a girl is the biggest threat to my perfect demeanor. You know my principles and goals, right?

As I was reflecting on Kisaragi’s sudden cuteness with trepidation.

“Hey, Airi, are you free later?”