The "execution" Hiyori had been waiting for never came.
Instead, what arrived first was the announcement of the midterm exam results.
Asakusa Tōru couldn't help it.
He was helpless too.
He couldn't exactly burn through his inspiration just to write elaborate diary entries while staring at that pitiful E-level index, could he?
Sure, now that Mashiro Shiina had been added to the scoring audience, there was technically one more person.
But…
Getting a visible emotional reaction out of her was honestly very difficult.
That was the problem with expressionless girls.
You couldn't tease them.
Even adding her score probably wouldn't raise the evaluation much.
So for the time being, Asakusa kept writing his diary the same way he always had.
Padding.
Pretending to write sweet couple moments.
Pretending to copy some romantic "perfect wife" literature.
In two words: bullshitting.
If he didn't bullshit, he'd end up chewing on a lighter out of desperation.
The diary continued as usual.
As for the other things he had to do…
He had already taken out the Spotlight Lamp, and the E-rank reward "Baumkuchen" he got yesterday had passed the 24-hour storage period and automatically appeared in his hand.
It tasted alright.
At least he didn't dislike it.
Though he still didn't understand why someone could be so obsessed with it.
The three item storage slots provided by the diary weren't really necessary, but he filled them anyway.
One slot held the room key card.
One slot held the cold medicine.
And the last slot contained the Spotlight Lamp.
A crowd-control tool that worked with just two clicks definitely deserved storage.
It even saved him the effort of yelling, "Everyone, look over here!"
Besides the diary and items, although the past two days had been short, they weren't without productivity.
Oh, not visiting Mommy Kikyo.
She needed a few days to recover.
Instead—
He went to play with little sister Amasawa.
Ever since the diary revealed that it had secretly been distributing copies to random people, Asakusa had developed a faint sense of unease.
His power…
Was still too limited.
Sure, Advanced Nurturing High School was a protective shield.
But what if this damn vocational school couldn't withstand outside pressure someday?
His Stand power still hadn't awakened.
His invincible Star Platinum had yet to appear.
The only thing he could rely on was the physical ability gained from the White Gym.
Yes.
He couldn't keep slacking off like this.
He had to rise again.
His determination ignited.
The headband was tied on.
With 365× time acceleration and the proficiency bonus from the S-rank item, his physical abilities—already near their limit—were pushed even further.
He had no interest in fighting Smaragdine or whatever his name was.
But still—
Just beat him first.
Defeat.
Reset.
Determination ignited again.
Rise again.
The cycle repeated.
Silently, his combat ability increased.
From struggling…
To balance…
And before long, the headband tied around his forehead slipped loose.
When his burning determination finally ran out, the middle-aged man had also become another defeated opponent.
…Now only the final masterpiece remained.
But not today.
His determination was exhausted.
The headband loosened itself.
The rare spark of motivation faded again.
Asakusa returned to his usual "can't be bothered" state.
"Alright everyone—time to announce the scores!"
Soon, the cheerful Chie Hoshinomiya walked into the classroom.
The students' already tense anticipation rose even higher.
Although most people weren't too worried about failing and getting expelled, high school students naturally felt nervous about exam results.
"…It's finally here."
"What's coming has come."
"Our first real high school exam… kinda nerve-wracking."
Whispers spread throughout the classroom.
At times like this, strict classroom order didn't matter much.
"Don't worry, everyone. You're all good kids—no one failed~"
Smiling brightly, Hoshinomiya unfolded the large score sheet and slapped it onto the blackboard.
The long sheet rolled downward.
One by one, students' names and scores appeared clearly before the entire class.
At the top were, of course, the students who had achieved perfect scores.
After all, this was just a first-year midterm—anyone with decent ability and a bit of review could score full marks in several subjects.
Below them, the scores gradually decreased.
Skipping past Honami Ichinose and his own name, Asakusa quickly found Shiranami Chihiro and Shibata Hayato.
Both were roughly in the middle.
Looks like their studying had paid off.
"Phew—"
Some students clearly sighed in relief.
Others sighed in disappointment.
But just as Hoshinomiya had said—
Not a single student failed.
A bright passing line stretched beneath every name.
There wasn't a single student below the passing mark.
First-Year Class A: All survived.
However…
If you looked at Class D, the situation was a bit different.
First-Year Class D.
"Forty… thirty-five… thirty-three… thirty-one… twenty-nine…"
Ken Sudō stared nervously at the five scores next to his name on the sheet posted by Saé Chabashira.
Although he had changed his attitude and studied as hard as possible, someone with little academic talent like him reaching this level in less than a month was already remarkable.
At least in this class, his score had climbed out of the absolute bottom.
His efforts hadn't been wasted.
But…
If he remembered correctly, the passing mark for English in the last quiz had been 32.
And this time—
He scored 29.
Yes, he knew he was bad at English.
No matter how hard he tried, it was difficult to improve quickly.
That was why he had focused on reviewing other dangerous subjects first.
But it still wasn't enough?
Sudō felt a little dazed.
Yet someone even more devastated was sitting right in front of him.
"Twenty-five… twenty-eight… twenty-two… twenty-one… twenty-four…"
Every subject in the 20s, and his name clearly sitting at the very bottom.
Kanji Ike grabbed his head with a twisted expression.
"—We're screwed!!!"
Not a single subject had reached the previous quiz's passing mark.
"Haruki, Haruki, we're finished!!!"
He grabbed the shoulders of the student sitting in front of him—Haruki Yamauchi—and wailed loudly.
"We're getting expelled together!"
His emotions were painfully sincere.
It seemed he truly believed that he and Yamauchi, the pair of unfortunate brothers, were about to see their rose-colored high school life end before it even began.
However—
Yamauchi turned around.
His expression was strangely complicated.
"Kanji…"
"…Take care."
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