Three People and Grades

“It was okay.”

At the mention of grades, Mana Ochi perked up.
Finally, a topic she understood.

“Really?”
Yamamoto Marina’s expression fell—obviously fake.
“The questions were tough. I’m guessing only 80-something.”

“You’re lucky—I won’t even hit 80,” Watanabe Akino said.

“You two are better than me, so I’ll barely scrape 70,” Shimoya Himeko sighed.

“Haha.”
Takuya Kanzaki couldn’t hold back a laugh.

This test wasn’t somewhat hard—it was very hard.
From what he knew, these three were top of the class.
They were “humble-bragging,” signaling their circle wasn’t for a delinquent like Yurina.

Too bad—they miscalculated.
The current Yurina wasn’t the old one.

“Kanzaki-kun, you got a perfect score, right?”
Shimoya assumed his smile was confidence.

“Wow, you’re all amazing.”
Mizushima Seiki sighed—he was a total slacker.
“Am I out of place here?”

“Mizushima, you better step it up, or you’ll fail make-ups. I’m not tutoring you again.”
Marina recalled first-year horrors.

She and Mizushima were childhood friends and former classmates.

Mizushima panicked: “No way! I rely on you to pass… Let me treat you to dinner?”

“That’s more like it… but I won’t go easy.”

“Please be gentle.”
Mizushima clasped his hands, pleading, making the trio laugh.

This atmosphere was also meant to push someone away.
Takuya glanced at Yurina—she was unexpectedly troubled.

Huh—was this Yurina worse at socializing than studying?

As he thought, Mana truly struggled with back-and-forth banter.
She’d never had a close friend.

What moved her most was Mizushima’s shameless reliance despite poor effort and grades.
Per her master’s teaching—“strict with self, lenient with others”—she warned herself never to become like that.

“If all else fails, Shizuki-san could tutor you,” Takuya teased.

“Eh, can I ask Shizuki?”
Mizushima had no issue with Yurina—he’d been subtly playing along with Takuya.

What was this guy doing, constantly pushing her forward?
Mana glared at Takuya, then faced the expectant Mizushima seriously:
“I can help after work, but fair warning—I’m strict.”

“Never mind then. Wait, Shizuki, you work?”
Mizushima asked curiously.

Mana paused, then nodded.
She realized how foolish her seriousness was—they were just making conversation.

“Shizuki-san’s helping ease her family’s burden, right?”
Takuya guided the group to learn about Yurina.

“Yes.”
Mana answered without thinking.
Working wasn’t banned, and she didn’t want her plans disrupted.
She saw Takuya was trying to include her to avoid sidelining his girlfriend, but her situation didn’t suit group outings.

“That’s tough.”
Shimoya nodded sympathetically, her gaze softening.

Her family was better off than average, but with many siblings and not the eldest or youngest, she worked for extras.
This meant missing outings with the other two.
Plus, the trio hadn’t been in the same class before…
Their only overlap was fangirling over Takuya.
She valued this circle’s stability, but a fellow part-timer like Yurina wouldn’t be awkward.

“Eh, really?”
Marina was confused.
As a former middle school classmate, she knew Yurina better—family conflicts, a public argument with her mom last year after a parent-teacher meeting.
Hard to imagine such a sudden change.

“Mhm, Yurina’s a good girl.”
Takuya said.

“Wow, Kanzaki, you said you weren’t into Shizuki?”
Mizushima’s curiosity flared.

“I never said that. And to me, you’re all great people.”
Takuya deftly deflected exposure.

“You’ve got good taste!”
Mizushima grinned.

Marina understood Takuya’s words were for her.
Early on, his fan club was huge but chaotic.
She joined for fun, only to be bullied by jealous, scheming girls.
At her lowest, she questioned life, regretting her impulse.

Until that day—
“Thank you. Having a good girl like you as a fan is my honor.”

After encouraging the framed Marina, Takuya distanced himself from the “rabid fans.”
Looks-wise, stylish Marina seemed more like a delinquent or party girl…
While many rabid fans were top students or green-tea types who’d cry to teachers.
But Takuya saw through it all.
His stunning looks and athletic prowess hid eyes that saw everything, deeply impressing Marina.

Of course, she knew he had no romantic interest—just a school idol meeting a fan’s expectations.
But it was enough.
Trusting her idol, she took a deep breath and accepted Yurina.

“Then, Shizuki-san, pleased to work with you.”

“Oh…”
Marina’s sudden formal handshake confused Mana.
Then came the fan club handbook.
Mana waved it off: “N-No, I’m not joining any fan club.”

“Just read it. Once you see Kanzaki-kun’s charm, you’ll join.”
Marina’s evangelist soul ignited, listing Takuya’s glorious deeds.

For intel, Mana listened patiently and accepted the handbook.
Soon, the homeroom teacher arrived; the five returned to their seats.

Rie Takashiro entered with the teacher—no chance to greet Mana.

Takuya tossed a note:
【They’re nice, right?】

【Don’t do unnecessary things.】
Even slow Mana now saw Takuya wanted her to ditch Rie and befriend the trio and Mizushima.

【Just expanding your circle. Or do you dislike one of them?】

【No… But don’t you get embarrassed being praised to your face?】

【Not at all. Kinda proud.】

As expected, his personality was one she couldn’t accept…
But Mana had decided to suppress her will and act as Yurina might.
She replied with what she imagined Yurina would say:
【True, Kanzaki-kun’s the best.】

Pfft.

Takuya laughed out loud at the reply.
Mana stared in shock, face flushing.
What? Was it that funny? Or too forward?

Aaaah, what had she done?

Watching Mana clutch her head in distress and waver, Takuya laughed harder.
He knew this Yurina didn’t like him—everything was an act.
But her earnest, clumsy effort was too amusing.

Yet thinking his future girlfriend was the barely-known real Yurina dampened his mood.
Avoiding harm was human nature.
For Takuya, it meant only befriending good people—girlfriends even more so.
The real Yurina was the type he somewhat disliked.
Of course, he wouldn’t be excessive; he’d help her a bit more than a normal classmate, but that was it.

Did she have hidden virtues that attracted him?
The real Yurina wasn’t here—pointless to ponder.
The teacher finished his routine lecture and began announcing yesterday’s test results.

“This exam tested your efforts over the past year. Honestly, I’m disappointed in many, but thankfully, the grade’s only two perfect scores are in our class. One failed last year’s final, so as I always say, only relentless effort can…”

Mana’s face shifted slightly.
Even she sensed something off.
She was one of the two perfect scores.
The other… she glanced at Takuya—he was looking back, full of confidence.

Of course—he was the school idol; excellence in studies was expected.
She’d seen his athletic prowess—top-tier for normals.

So the one who failed last year… was her?
No way—Yurina a slacker?
No, there must be a mistake—

“Shizuki-san, your improvement is astonishing. Any study tips to share?”
The teacher asked kindly.