I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 39

Chapter 39: Test Results

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

《Sora Mukei’s POV》

After-school homeroom. Our homeroom teacher, Akai-sensei, came in holding two thick envelopes. The atmosphere in the classroom tightened just a little.

“Alright, I’m handing back your tests. Everything’s grouped by subject. Check your scores on your own. I’ll call your names, but I won’t say the scores, so don’t worry. Now, I’m only announcing the top three in total class ranking this time. You three worked really hard.”

A small ripple of murmurs spread. I straightened my pencil case.

“First place, Mizuki Kiritani.”

Applause. Mizuki-san stood calmly from her seat.

“Thank you very much.”

She said that as she walked to the front. Her being in first place was the usual, and everyone accepted it with their applause. Akai-sensei handed her the envelope and whispered something short to her. Mizuki-san nodded slightly and returned to her seat. Her posture didn’t break, very much like her.

“Second place, Sora Mukei.”

When my name was called, my heart thumped once, strongly. As I stood, Akira, who was sitting in the front row gave me a thumbs up. Miura-san quietly laughed “Amazing~” and lightly tapped her desk. I walked to the front. When I received the envelope, Akai-sensei softened his eyes.

“Solid work, Mukei. Your English improved, and your score overall is better than last time.”

“Thank you.”

“Keep it up.”

On my way back to my seat, my gaze naturally slid toward the window. My eyes met with Anno-san’s. She made a small fist in front of her chest and silently shaped “congratulations” with her mouth. I nodded back.

“Third place, Hiroko Anno.”

Another round of applause. After a small, surprised inhale, Anno-san quietly stood. Her back was straight as always. Her steps to the front were calm. As Akai-sensei handed her the envelope, he said clearly:

“You worked hard. Perfect score in Japanese. Your English and math improved, putting you in the top ranks.”

“…Thank you very much.”

Her short voice still carried all the way to the back of the classroom. The slightest blush touched her cheeks as she returned to her seat. Miura-san gave her a thumbs up, saying “Nice one!”, and Anno-san returned a small bow.

“That’s all. You top three, keep working at this pace. Everyone else, review your tests and use them for next time. It’s not just about the score, okay? Now, come up in order. Okabe, help organize the line.”

“Roger! Hey, don’t bunch up from the back!”

While Okabe managed the line, he leaned over my desk.

“Second place, not bad, Sora! But damn, Kiritani-san’s still crazy amazing. She got the first place again!”

“Yeah, she is.”

Akira kept praising me until his own name was called. When I happened to look toward Anno-san, maybe because her name had been announced, she was looking down with her face red.

“Anno-san’s amazing too, third place!”

“Yeah, she must’ve worked hard.”

Akira’s honest praise made me oddly happy, like it was my own achievement. I opened my envelope. The English reading section, the sentence rearrangement—perfect score. The major math question—the inequality with substitution—was correct. The summary in Japanese also benefited directly from the red-mark corrections Anno-san had taught me. I had used the same correction method I’d secretly nicknamed “Anno-sensei” in my mind.

In the row in front of me, Anno-san was checking her test papers one by one. Her fingers paused, and she exhaled softly. Our eyes met. I formed an “O” with my index finger. She returned a small “O.”

“Alright, once we finish passing everything out, we’ll close the homeroom session. The culture festival groups will start working from tomorrow, so we’ve got meetings. Help out with preparations. And check the bulletin board yourselves.”

Akai-sensei moved into the closing remarks. The line dissolved, and the classroom noise returned.

“Sora! I got above the average!”

Akira showed me his test with a big smile. He usually barely avoided failing, so anything above fifty seemed exciting for him.

“Good job. Next is English, huh.”

“Ugh… My ears hurt!”

When I suddenly felt someone’s gaze, I turned and saw Miura-san showing me her test.

“Mukei-kun, really, congrats! Also, thanks for teaching me English.”

Her English score had improved too.

“Congrats to you, too.”

As we exchanged that, Anno-san stood from her seat. Holding her envelope carefully, she stepped toward me.

“…Mukei-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you… For working with me in the library.”

“Same to you. Your perfect score in Japanese is amazing.”

“Ehe… Yes. It makes me very happy.”

Hearing Anno-san speak to me like this in the classroom made me happy. Her smile and soft voice of gratitude warmed my chest.

♢♢♢

Test return was finished, and homeroom ended early. Culture festival role assignments started tomorrow. For today, we were dismissed.

“Sora, wanna stop by the arcade?”

“Sure, but you’re losing again today.”

“Hey! Last time was just a fluke!”

Pulled along by Akira, we headed to the arcade near the station. The afternoon floor wasn’t crowded yet. In the back past the crane games, even the fighting game line was short.

“Come on, let’s play. Today I’m winning.”

“Alright.”

We exchanged a thousand yen and lined up. Akira was the type to charge in from the start, while I tended to defend. As expected, I won. Akira threw his arms wide and looked up at the ceiling.

“What is that wall of defense!? That’s cheating!”

“It’s normal.”

As we walked through the arcade laughing, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze. Near the entrance. A tall blond guy was standing there.

“…Ah, that’s Kiritani-san’s older brother.”

“Huh?! Kiritani-san’s older brother!? Where?!”

Akira reacted immediately. Gray jacket, white shirt, collar slightly open—he had a mature vibe. But his gaze was sharp, naturally pressing the air around him down. He soon noticed us and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Yo… Mukei, huh.”

“Eh!?”

Akira straightened his back at the intimidating appearance. I had been briefly introduced to him once when I was with Mizuki Kiritani-san.

“It’s been a while.”

“Are you here hanging out with your friend?”

“Yes. Today we only got our tests back.”

“I see, I see.”

Tall, handsome, smiling. Even as a guy, it was refreshing to look at someone that cool. There was pressure, but I didn’t dislike him. Beside me, Akira’s eyes were wide.

“Wait, Sora, you know him? And that’s Kiritani-san’s brother?! …No way, he looks like a celebrity!”

“And you are?”

“M-me? I’m Akira Takatou. I’m Mukei’s friend!”

Akira’s voice cracked. Kiritani’s older brother gave a short laugh at that.

“…I see. Take care of Mizuki. And don’t you dare think anything weird!”

“—Hiii?!”

The intensity made Akira squeak.

“Yes.”

I answered simply.

“Well, see ya. I’ve got work today, so I’m heading out. I just dropped by to kill some time.”

Raising his hand lightly, the older Kiritani left the arcade. Left behind, Akira and I looked at each other in silence for a moment.

“Sora… Dude, he’s insane. Kiritani’s brother is a total boss character.”

“…Yeah. But he’s a good guy.”

“Really?”

I nodded at Akira’s words, but something else lingered in my chest. That look—was the look of someone protecting his little sister. I thought of Anno-san, Miura-san, and Hino-san. 

I want to be someone who could protect others just as much.

As I looked up at the rabbit plush in the crane game, I found myself thinking that.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー