Shikime Natsu and Kamuro Masumi appeared side-by-side at the examination location.
Sakayanagi Arisu had already been waiting there. When she saw the two of them walking over together, a flash of displeasure instantly crossed her pale purple eyes.
She had come all by herself while leaning on her cane, yet this girl Kamuro Masumi actually had that annoying guy Shikime Natsu accompanying her.
This sense of disparity made her feel slightly uncomfortable in her heart.
However, this displeasure quickly vanished into thin air.
Leaning on her cane, the corners of her mouth once again curled into a confident and elegant smile.
It didn't matter.
As long as she won this competition, Shikime Natsu would become her exclusive male servant.
When that time came, no matter where she went, he would have to obediently follow by her side, never leaving her by even a single step.
As for right now...
She cast a faint glance at Kamuro Masumi.
This girl who seemed quite attached to Shikime Natsu—although she could still stand beside him right now, very soon... she would completely snatch him away from her hands.
Although the wager was only for a period of one month...
Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled lightly in her heart.
But, she had more than enough confidence and means to extend this time limit.
"Good morning, Shiki-san, and... Kamuro-san."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded slightly, politely greeting them.
"Morning."
Shikime Natsu nodded, while Kamuro Masumi responded with a cold hum.
"Since everyone is here, let's not waste any time."
Sakayanagi Arisu looked toward Kamuro Masumi, a flash of fighting spirit passing through her eyes.
"Let's head inside and prepare."
For this showdown, both sides had selected three subjects for the examination.
The rules were very simple: they could turn in their papers early, and after turning them in early, there would be a certain amount of rest time.
This was primarily taking Sakayanagi Arisu's physical condition into consideration.
After all, with her inherently weak and sickly constitution, sitting for prolonged periods would place a massive burden on her body. She needed appropriate rest to adjust her condition.
Although it was a "showdown," to be perfectly honest, this format of taking an exam truly lacked any entertainment value whatsoever.
It was just two people sitting there, burying their heads in answering questions.
Moreover, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, Shikime Natsu couldn't even stand on the sidelines to watch.
Lest he end up being accused of helping Kamuro Masumi cheat when the time came.
Therefore, Shikime Natsu could only stand bored out of his mind in the hallway outside the classroom, admiring the campus scenery through the window.
Shikime Natsu casually opened Sakayanagi Arisu's 'Observer' logs. This girl Sakayanagi Arisu was still earnestly reviewing last night, not letting her guard down just because her opponent was Kamuro Masumi. It was evident that Sakayanagi Arisu genuinely wanted to win.
It was just that...
The result of this competition had already been set in stone from the very beginning.
If Sakayanagi Arisu wanted to force a tie in this competition, then she would have to at least score perfect marks across all three subjects. Even if these were Sakayanagi Arisu's strongest subjects, it would be impossible for her to simply and easily achieve perfect scores.
Furthermore... Kamuro Masumi had the backing of his cheat ability. Trying to win simply by relying on the title of a genius beautiful girl, one could only say the odds of victory were not great.
Time ticked by, minute by minute, second by second.
Finally, the bell signaling the end of the exam rang.
Shikime Natsu walked into the classroom at the very first moment.
"How was it?"
He walked over to Kamuro Masumi's desk and asked softly.
Kamuro Masumi was currently packing up her stationery. Hearing his voice, she raised her head, a confident light flashing in those purple eyes.
"I was able to answer basically everything."
She thought for a moment, then added another sentence.
"I didn't feel like there were any particularly tricky questions... It was quite a bit easier than the ones you gave me yesterday."
"That's good."
Shikime Natsu nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
On the other side.
Sakayanagi Arisu was standing quietly beside the podium, leaning on her cane, her gaze fixed tightly on the few teachers who were currently grading the exam papers.
She didn't say a word, the expression on her face still maintaining that elegance and composure.
But...
If one observed closely, they would discover that the fingers gripping her cane were slightly pale.
Her inner heart was actually not as calm as it appeared on the surface.
One could even say she was somewhat panicked.
Shikime Natsu had defeated Nagumo Miyabi...
Next up, could it be that a scene of Kamuro Masumi defeating her was also about to play out?
Once this thought popped up, she couldn't suppress it no matter what.
The few teachers graded at a very fast pace.
Sakayanagi Arisu stared unblinkingly at the red ink.
Shikime Natsu stood to the side watching this scene, unable to help but laugh aloud in his heart.
He never expected...
That Sakayanagi Arisu, who was always acting high and mighty as if everything was within her grasp, would actually have such nervous moments.
Wasn't she acting quite arrogant just before the exam started? How is it that after only a few hours, she has already lowered that proud head of hers?
Sakayanagi Arisu forcefully suppressed the unease in her heart.
It wouldn't happen... it absolutely wouldn't.
That was Kamuro Masumi, after all!
Besides, she had specifically gone to reconnoiter her study progress before the exam.
At that time, she had stumbled over the questions, her train of thought was unclear, and it was simply impossible for her to advance by leaps and bounds to this extent in such a short period of time.
Not to mention...
In order to ensure absolutely nothing went wrong, Sakayanagi Arisu had even specifically had the teachers who created the questions increase the difficulty of this set of exams.
She was very clear that with this level of difficulty, even she herself would absolutely not be able to achieve a perfect score.
But...
Her floor was very high.
Even if she couldn't get a perfect score, she absolutely wouldn't have too many points deducted.
Thinking up to this point, she felt slightly more at ease, and then shifted her gaze toward that exam paper beside hers that belonged to Kamuro Masumi.
She had a good idea of how her own paper went, but she didn't know anything about Kamuro Masumi's.
When her gaze touched upon the neat and elegant handwriting on that paper, that perfect problem-solving process, and those terrifyingly clear logical trains of thought... those pale purple eyes instantly widened, filled with disbelief.
Th-This... how could this be possible?!
Was this really written by Kamuro Masumi?!
Clearly, just two days ago...
When she went to scout out the enemy situation, what she saw was entirely not at this level!
Whether it was the handwriting or the fluency of the problem-solving, it was a world of difference compared to now!
Suddenly, a terrifying thought exploded within Sakayanagi Arisu's mind.
Could it be... that this girl Kamuro Masumi was actually acting all along?!
Deliberately acting terrible in front of her to make her lower her guard?!
But...
This was far too unreasonable.
This was Kamuro Masumi, after all!
Sakayanagi Arisu had carefully analyzed her personality; she belonged to the type who wasn't adept at communicating with others, let alone lying and acting, and she even looked somewhat dense and clumsy.
No matter how one looked at it, this kind of profound scheming didn't seem like something she could possess.
Unless...
Sakayanagi Arisu abruptly turned her head, looking toward Shikime Natsu who was standing to the side with a calm and breezy expression.
Could it be... that this was Shikime Natsu's idea?!
The moment she thought of this, Sakayanagi Arisu's heart instantly went half cold.
So... from the very beginning, her opponent hadn't been Kamuro Masumi at all.
But rather, Shikime Natsu.
Kamuro Masumi was tutored one-on-one by him, and he had even meticulously designed this trap to mislead her...
Sakayanagi Arisu's delicate and cute little face became somewhat ugly to look at in this moment.
And it was right at this moment that the teachers put down the red pens in their hands.
"Grading is complete."
One of the teachers pushed up his glasses and announced the results.
"Sakayanagi-san, a total deduction across all three subjects of... 7 points."
"And as for Kamuro-san..."
The teacher paused for a moment, taking a glance at that near-perfect exam paper, a trace of admiration flashing through his eyes.
"A perfect score!"
Hearing this result, Sakayanagi Arisu's entire being was as if struck by lightning, freezing in place.
Even though she had already felt a trace of premonition in her heart, when this cruel fact was truly laid out before her, she still felt a wave of dizziness.
A perfect... score...
Kamuro Masumi actually achieved a perfect score?!
She had actually truly lost...
And it was in the aspect of academic ability, the domain she was most proud of and considered to be her absolute forte.
Lost to that Kamuro Masumi whom she had always somewhat looked down upon, considering her to be nothing more than an "ordinary person."
How could this be possible?!
Sakayanagi Arisu was quite clear that Shikime Natsu had not gotten his hands on the exam questions in advance.
Because in order to prevent this very point, she had specifically asked her father to strictly blockade any information regarding the exam questions.
No matter what methods were used, it would be impossible for Shikime Natsu to obtain this set of papers ahead of time.
Moreover...
It was also impossible for Shikime Natsu to have helped Kamuro Masumi cheat on the spot.
After all, Kamuro Masumi had been sitting right next to her. If there were any little tricks, it was absolutely impossible for her not to notice.
That was to say...
This was a solid, genuine crushing by strength.
Relying on sheer hard strength, Kamuro Masumi had fair and squarely defeated her on the frontal battlefield!
"Well then..."
Shikime Natsu chuckled lightly, breaking the deathly silence.
He walked up to Sakayanagi Arisu, looking down at her from above, his tone carrying a bit of playful teasing.
"Sakayanagi-san, the result... what did it turn out to be?"
Sakayanagi Arisu bit her lower lip tightly, her face pale.
After a long while, she finally managed to painfully squeeze a sentence out of her throat, every single word feeling as if it had been forced through her teeth.
"It's my... loss."
In this moment, she felt an unprecedented humiliation.
"Since you've lost, then please remember to fulfill our agreement, Sakayanagi-san."
Shikime Natsu reminded her with a smile, as if completely blind to her ugly expression.
Sakayanagi Arisu abruptly raised her head, those purple eyes dead set on Shikime Natsu, her gaze filled with indignation and confusion.
"You... exactly how did you do it?"
She took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly.
"How did you manage to nurture Kamuro-san... up to this level?"
"Why were you able to make her become so strong in such a short amount of time? Even surpassing me?"
Shikime Natsu didn't answer directly.
He just looked at her quietly, the smile on his lips gradually fading.
"Sakayanagi-san."
He spoke softly, his tone flat yet every word pierced the heart.
"Could it be... you still feel you are some so-called 'genius'?"
Sakayanagi Arisu froze for a moment.
"That feeling of being surpassed and crushed by an ordinary person in your eyes..."
Shikime Natsu leaned down slightly, moving a bit closer, looking directly into her eyes.
"Doesn't it feel terrible?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's pupils contracted slightly.
Indeed...
This was precisely the truest feeling in her heart at this moment.
She had always prided herself on being a "natural-born," "true" genius.
She firmly believed that her talents were an unbridgeable chasm that ordinary people could never hope to reach no matter how hard they worked.
Even after learning of the existence of the "artificial genius" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka after enrollment, her goal had only been to crush this fake in order to prove the superiority of her, the "genuine article."
Before meeting Shikime Natsu, she had always thought this way.
Even when she later lost to Shikime Natsu, she had given herself an excuse in her heart, which was that Shikime Natsu was similarly a "natural-born genius."
Whether it was chess or other domains, the dominance Shikime Natsu displayed made her feel that losing to her own kind wasn't anything to be ashamed of.
But...
Kamuro Masumi was different!
Kamuro Masumi was just an out-and-out ordinary person!
She was even somewhat clumsy in certain aspects!
On what grounds?!
On what grounds could she defeat her, a "natural-born genius," just by relying on a few weeks of studying?!
This completely subverted her worldview!
"You think too highly of yourself, Sakayanagi-san."
Shikime Natsu looked at her wavering gaze, mercilessly shattering her final bit of pride.
"You... are absolutely not some natural-born genius at all."
"No!"
Hearing these words, Sakayanagi Arisu subconsciously wanted to retort.
Those purple eyes flashed with intense dissatisfaction and anger.
She didn't want to accept Shikime Natsu's denial!
But...
Facing this man before her whom she couldn't defeat, facing the cruel fact of having just lost to Kamuro Masumi, all words of rebuttal got stuck in her throat, utterly unable to be spoken.
"What? Unconvinced?"
Shikime Natsu seemed to see through her thoughts and let out a light chuckle.
"The method to prove you aren't a natural-born genius is very simple."
He raised a single finger, stating a fact with a calm tone.
"Do you still remember the scores from the entrance exams?"
"If I'm not mistaken... your score, Sakayanagi, was ranked second in the entire school, right?"
"And first place... went to someone else."
Sakayanagi Arisu's shoulders trembled slightly.
It was true.
Because of her physical condition, she indeed possessed congenital defects in terms of physical stamina.
Therefore, her academic ability, judgment skills, and her ability to manipulate people's hearts had always been her capital to call herself a genius.
But... if she were a true genius, unless she was hiding her abilities, the first place in the entrance exams rightfully should have been hers. She had lost to that person named Ichinose Honami; from the very moment of enrollment, she had already lost.
The so-called "invincible genius" had been untenable from the very beginning.
"Also..."
Shikime Natsu didn't give her a chance to catch her breath and continued speaking.
"You've always treated me as your opponent, wanting to defeat me."
"But, Sakayanagi."
He shook his head.
"I have never treated you as my opponent."
"The current you... if you continue on like this."
"Let alone defeating me."
"I'm afraid even the other people in your class will outdo you one by one."
"Th-This... how could that be possible?!"
Hearing these words, Sakayanagi Arisu was entirely shaken.
If anyone else had said these words, she would absolutely sneer at them, not even batting an eyelid.
After all, between ordinary people and geniuses, there inherently existed an incomprehensible chasm.
But...
At this very moment, the person speaking was Shikime Natsu, and... Shikime Natsu had even allowed this ordinary person, Kamuro Masumi, to defeat her in the aspect she was most proud of.
These words fell quite heavily upon Sakayanagi Arisu's ears.
"Do you still remember the study sessions I organized?"
"You only went once, and then never appeared again."
"Because in your heart, you feel that this kind of 'tutoring' is only prepared for underachievers, and a genius like you doesn't need such simple things at all, right?"
"Also..."
"Because you decided you wanted to compete with Masumi, you possessed some inexplicable pride and didn't intend to borrow my strength."
"You felt that no matter how hard Masumi worked, or how much tutoring she received, she would absolutely never be able to compare to a genius like you."
"And what was the result?"
Shikime Natsu spread his hands.
"The result is... you lost."
"Therefore, Sakayanagi, you have never been a so-called natural-born genius. At most, you can only be considered an ordinary person with a little bit of cleverness."
____
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