Chapter 40: What score should I take?

The next morning, in the classroom.

Sudo sat at his desk, looking wilted and lifeless, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Sudo, why do you look so down?"

Ike Kanji noticed Sudo Ken's appearance and asked curiously. Sudo Ken usually appeared full of energy, but today he seemed completely different.

"I didn't sleep well last night..."

Sudo sighed helplessly.

"I had nightmares all night..."

"Nightmares?"

"It was full of mathematical formulas... I could barely sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, it felt like countless formulas were swirling in my mind... It was terrifying..."

As Sudou Ken spoke, his whole body trembled.

"You have thoughts every day and dreams every night. It shows you've been focusing on your studies recently."

"Don't tell me... Every time I do something, it feels like someone is forcing me to study. Whenever I pick up my phone, mathematical formulas flood my mind... Now I don't even dare to touch my phone..."

Sudo Ken complained to Ike Kanji, and Saiki Kusuo could clearly hear their conversation.

And all of this was orchestrated by Kusuo Saiki.

'You can't blame me for this, Sudou.'

'High school students should study hard.'

'Only with good grades can we avoid holding book clubs. You probably thought you might as well use these two hours to practice basketball, right? So I'll trouble you to endure a bit during this time.'

Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.

Last night, while Sudou Ken slept, Saiki Kusuo used telepathy to transmit various formulas into his mind. Even if Sudou Ken couldn't understand the principles behind the formulas, he could almost memorize them.

"Last night it was Sudou, tonight it's Ike and Yamauchi's turn..."

Saiki Kusuo's gaze shifted to the other two as if hunting for prey.

Presumably, once the three of them had learned enough, there would be no need to continue this study group.

Victory was within Saiki Kusuo's reach.

...

After school ended in the afternoon, Horikita Suzune led everyone to the library again and handed out a stack of papers to each of them.

"These are some questions I've prepared for you. Complete them within half an hour, and then I'll correct them."

These were specially crafted questions by Horikita Suzune based on the knowledge points she had explained the day before, designed to gauge everyone's understanding.

'These questions aren't too difficult. As long as you've mastered yesterday's knowledge points, you shouldn't have any major issues.'

Horikita Suzune thought to herself.

'But... I shouldn't hold out hope for those three. They probably failed to review.'

'Why should I have hope for them? They're just burdens...'

'No, I have to maintain the right mindset. Everything must contribute to our promotion to Class A.'

'It's really tough having to tutor these people.'

Saiki Kusuo now somewhat understood Horikita Suzune's struggle as he observed the others.

'This question Horikita talked about yesterday... but I don't remember it at all... What should I do? Horikita will definitely scold me later!'

Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki's inner thoughts mirrored each other. They hadn't started writing yet, which didn't surprise Saiki Kusuo.

'What's Sudou doing? Writing so fast?'

In contrast, Sudo filled in the answers quickly, as if he were on fire.

'Although I don't understand the principles, it's like most of the knowledge points I dreamed about yesterday! I can't forget those points at all.'

'Very good.'

Saiki Kusuo nodded inwardly.

'These questions are almost identical to yesterday's knowledge points. It seems that Horikita designed the questions carefully. The solution to this question is...'

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka knew the solutions to all the problems instantly but didn't rush to write them down.

'Do I aim for fifty points? That's about half right. But, considering these are the knowledge points Horikita talked about yesterday, I should get a relatively high score. However, something's off. Why does Sudou look so confident? Did he study last night? That doesn't seem like him. And what's the situation with Saiki?'

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka calmly shifted his attention to Saiki Kusuo, but Saiki had noticed his subtle movement.

'Are you still watching me? What a nuisance.'

Saiki Kusuo felt a bit helpless—

But at the same time, he realized he was in a dilemma.

What score should he aim for on Horikita Suzune's test paper?

Normally, Saiki Kusuo could adjust his score based on the psychological state of the students around him—

But at this moment, these people around him were no longer a reliable reference.

----------------------------------------------------

If you want to read more.

Visit my p@treon account.

There are 15 chapters ahead there~

P@treon.com/InstantDeath765