Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji are essentially the second and third from the bottom in the class. Their minds are usually far from focused on studying.
[How do I even solve these problems? I can't understand them at all!]
[What should I eat later?]
[Wait, wait, I should focus on these problems now... But I still don't know how to solve them... Sudo, can you move your paper a bit to the side?]
'No surprise, these two are completely clueless...'
Saiki Kusuo felt a bit helpless as he shifted his gaze to the other side. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was also deep in thought, pondering what score he should aim for. In his eyes, the difficulty of these problems didn't make much difference...
The same went for Saiki Kusuo.
However, controlling his score was something Saiki took more seriously.
'If I score too high, it might attract attention, and Horikita might even ask me to tutor these guys... Just thinking about it is terrifying.'
'But if I score too low, Horikita might lump me together with these three, and then assign me extra study tasks, which would be even more troublesome.'
'I need to aim for a moderate score... But right now, there's no upper limit to reference...'
Normally, Saiki could compare the scores of the best and worst students to gauge the difficulty of the exam and aim for a moderate score.
But this time, there were no top students to reference.
Kushida Kikyo and Horikita Suzune weren't taking the exam, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't much of a reference either...
'Maybe I can read something from Horikita's thoughts.'
Saiki thought to himself, then focused on listening to Horikita Suzune's inner voice—
But at that moment, Horikita Suzune was completely absorbed in her self-study, and Saiki couldn't pick up any information related to the exam.
'Looks like... I have no choice...'
Saiki had no choice but to shift his attention to Sudo Ken.
He had drilled quite a bit of knowledge into Sudo yesterday, so Sudo should be able to score a bit better this time...
But Saiki wasn't entirely sure how effective Sudo's "review" had been.
'No choice, I'll just have to wing it.'
With that thought, Saiki quickly filled in some answers on his paper. Without a clear "upper and lower limit" to reference, he could only rely on his instincts.
Although Sudo's accuracy should be slightly better than before, he was still in the lower tier of the class. So, Saiki decided to aim for a score just slightly higher than Sudo's.
With a plan in mind, Saiki used his telepathy to confirm that Sudo still couldn't solve a few problems. As long as Saiki got one or two of those right, it would be enough!
...
Soon, the exam time was over. Saiki let out a long sigh and handed his paper to Horikita Suzune.
For Saiki, the little test Horikita had arranged felt more like a test for himself.
Horikita Suzune first glanced at Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki's papers, her brows furrowed, and then tossed their papers aside like garbage.
"Didn't you two review the material I went over with you yesterday?"
Horikita's eyes twitched slightly, and a hint of anger was clearly visible in her gaze.
"Well..."
Ike Kanji scratched his head awkwardly.
"Something came up last night, so I didn't have time to review... But today, I'll definitely review properly!"
"That's just an excuse."
Horikita's tone carried a hint of irritation.
[You guys have nothing to do every day, yet you still manage to drag the class down with your procrastination and laziness!]
Horikita mercilessly mocked them in her mind. Normally, she might have already spoken up—but today, she managed to hold back her impulse.
"Maybe Kanji and the others were really busy yesterday! They'll definitely review properly today!"
Kushida Kikyo quickly stepped in, playing the role of the peacemaker.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Kanji nodded eagerly, agreeing with her.
[Kushida is such an angel!]
'That's just your bias.'
Saiki thought to himself.
Horikita didn't press further and continued to look through the next paper.
[Sudo? His answers are probably even more ridiculous than the other two... Really, why did I even have hope for these guys?]
Horikita sighed, then glanced at Sudo Ken's paper.
But the next second, her eyes widened slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in her gaze.
Sudo Ken... actually did surprisingly well?
Although his overall score wasn't great, it was barely passing, far exceeding Horikita's expectations.
[Sudo is usually the consistent bottom of the class... How did he manage to score decently for a struggling student?]
"Sudo, did you review last night?"
"Ah, well... yeah, I did!"
Sudo hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
[Wow, it's all thanks to that dream! Was that divine intervention?]
'If you knew the "divine being" was sitting right next to you, you'd probably freak out.'
"It seems you're not entirely useless. You've surprised me."
Horikita nodded seriously at Sudo.
[Is she actually complimenting someone?]
Although Horikita's words weren't exactly a compliment, they were still different from her usual tone.
[Sudo actually reviewed? Was that dream about reviewing just a lie to cover up his actual studying?]
Ike Kanji frowned for a moment, but his expression quickly relaxed.
[No way! There's no way that guy actually studied! He must've just gotten lucky.]
'You really know your friend well.'
Saiki thought to himself, but this proved that his actions last night were meaningful. As long as things continued this way, the study group wouldn't be necessary anymore.