C66 The Academic Test Approaches
Several days had passed since the cultural festival concluded.
For students in other schools, these were ordinary days, but for Hoshimori Shion, they were a genuine, relentless torment.
Why such torment, one might ask? So many things plagued Shion. Firstly, there were the revelations about her and Ayane’s origins and identities, the memories and wishes that had manifested as vivid images just days prior. These were undeniably central to the story, an integral part of her life within this game, and something she absolutely had to confront. Of course, there was no immediate rush; after all, she had slacked off so much that she’d already coasted through the first stage.
Secondly, for two consecutive nights, warnings of surging malevolent spirits had appeared. On both nights, Hoshimori Shion had quietly taken her Spirit Cutter to the back mountain around midnight to exorcise them. Thanks to the reward of enhanced exorcism abilities gained from completing the first stage, these two nights of spirit-cleansing had gone quite smoothly; the only minor inconvenience was feeling a little tired upon waking the next morning.
Finally, and most importantly, there was her fundamental duty as a student: her studies at school. As an underperforming student, Hoshimori Shion regrettably hadn’t received any intelligence or learning ability boosts among her first-stage rewards, leaving her still the school’s quintessential struggling student. However, as long as there were no tests, her academic shortcomings weren’t a major issue.
But the problem was, a test was imminent!
While it wasn’t a major examination like a semester final, it was still a formal academic assessment. Failing it wouldn’t just mean being dragged out by the teacher for a scolding; it would also mean facing her younger sister’s cold shoulder or disdainful gaze.
Ayane, who barely batted an eye if Shion went out with other girls at night, harbored exceptionally, extraordinarily high expectations for Shion when it came to tests.
“If Big Sister’s grades are too poor, and we can’t get into the same university, and we end up separated, then I… I’ll never speak to Big Sister again!”
Ayane had declared this with utmost gravity. It was perhaps one of the most serious things Shion had ever heard Ayane say to her. As she spoke, Ayane stared intently into Shion’s eyes, making Shion feel a little intimidated.
Nevertheless, these were her sister’s words. Despite their frequent bickering, Shion secretly doted on her younger sister. Therefore, no matter what, Shion had to take this test seriously and achieve a score that would at least somewhat satisfy Ayane.
So now, Hoshimori Shion was in her room, diligently working on the homework assigned during class today. Ayane, instead of watching her favorite evening drama in the living room, sat on Shion’s bed, idly flipping through a practice workbook, page by page.
“Idiot Big Sister, aren’t you done yet? You have to complete the extra homework I assigned you today, you know. You absolutely must master the geometry problems today!” Ayane said to Shion, tapping the practice book in her hands.
“Ayane, why don’t you go watch TV! There’s an evening drama tonight, isn’t there! You don’t need to specifically sit here and watch me!” Shion exclaimed, tugging at her hair. Already frustrated by her homework, she now spoke with an even greater sense of exasperation, almost on the verge of tears.
Ayane slid off the bed, then directly pulled a small stool from outside the room and sat beside Shion. After her bath today, she had put on an incredibly cute bear-themed pajama set, with a rather wide neckline. As she put it, since she was only with her sister at home in the evenings, dressing casually was perfectly fine. Ayane’s small stool was considerably lower than Shion’s chair, so whenever Shion turned her head to look at Ayane, she could clearly see the alluring cleavage at Ayane’s collar.
‘It seems… the nutrition from all the hard work I put into cooking these past few days hasn’t been wasted at all.’
“Big Sister, where are you staring again? Are my breasts really that captivating to you?” Ayane looked up at Shion, who only then realized she had been lost in her gaze. She quickly averted her head, refocusing her attention on the problems before her.
However, the allure of these math problems certainly couldn’t compare to her sister’s breasts.
“Why would I look at yours! We’re sisters, twins even; I can look at myself whenever I shower,” Shion retorted stubbornly.
“Hmph?” Ayane’s tone rose a degree. “Big Sister, do you really have breasts as ample as mine to satisfy yourself?”
Ayane, completely unfazed, pulled her collar open a little further. Resting her head on her left hand, she looked at Shion. “I say, Big Sister, if you’re really that interested in your little sister’s breasts, then if you manage to rank in the top hundred in your year for this test, letting Big Sister have a little rub wouldn’t be out of the question, you know.”
As Ayane said this, her tone made Shion feel especially, incredibly… seductive.
‘When did my sister learn this trick of seduction? The crucial thing is, Ayane is indeed a particularly cute girl, and if I could actually touch them, it wouldn’t be a loss at all. Yes, absolutely no loss.’
‘No loss, my ass! She’s my blood sister, not an adopted one!’
Speaking of which, the school currently had five classes, each with around forty students, which was considered quite a large class size here. With two hundred students in the year, ranking in the top hundred essentially meant merely reaching the year-level average. While the only issue was that Shion, the underperforming student, had ranked in the top 10% in her entrance exam—the bottom 10%, that is. This meant that to get to touch Ayane’s breasts, Shion would have to surge forward by nearly a hundred ranks in this upcoming test… a monumental challenge for a struggling student.
At this thought, Shion already wanted to slap herself. ‘No, has the goal really become touching my sister’s breasts?! Even though this is a galgame, I’m not that desperate yet!’
“Then, Ayane, why don’t you go watch TV outside? My efficiency might be higher if I work alone,” Shion pleaded with Ayane, almost begging.
“Don’t think I don’t know, you know. Aren’t you asking Kujou Sakuya for answers to your problems right now? Class A and Class D share the same math teacher, so the problems are identical,” Ayane said, staring at her sister. Shion’s little schemes were utterly transparent to her younger sister.
‘Ah, or rather, could it be that Ayane found out using monitoring software…’
‘Damn it, which software is it? I need to find it and delete it!’ Shion was about to pull out her phone when she realized it was already in Ayane’s hand.
“Until Big Sister finishes her problems, I won’t give you back your phone. If Big Sister has any problems she doesn’t understand, you can ask me, but absolutely no copying!”
Ayane’s expression at that moment was like a little kitten baring its claws.