I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!?

Chapter 18: Let’s Take the Tests

The next day, the tests were just a few days away.

Thanks to Kanade and Makoto, I managed to prepare decently, but I couldn’t cover everything thoroughly enough to aim for top scores.

Well, considering I started late, I did pretty well…

But since they helped me so much, I also wanted to get some good results…

During lunch break, while thinking about this and returning to the classroom from the bathroom, I ran into a familiar person.

“Oh, Minase-kun.”

“Teacher Kotori, hello.”

I bumped into my homeroom teacher, Teacher Kotori, at the hallway corner.

“How’s test studying going~?”

“Uh, so-so, I guess…”

“That’s rare. Back in middle school, whenever I asked about tests, you always answered confidently~.”

“Yeah, starting late really hurt this time…”

“Oh, right. That happened, didn’t it…”

It’s true that in middle school, I studied consistently, so when Teacher Kotori asked, I’d just say, “All good!” But this time, I couldn’t say that.

“Well… it’s not really allowed, but~… okay, Minase-kun, can you come see me after school?”

“Huh? Is something up?”

“Hehe, it’s a surprise for later~.”

“…? Got it. Staff room after school, then?”

“Yes, that’s fine~.”

“Alright. See you then.”

“Okay~ See you after school~.”

What could Teacher Kotori want?

I don’t think I did anything to get in trouble…

Well, I’ll leave it to after-school me to figure out.

—

“Ryu-kun, you’re late.”

“I ran into Teacher Kotori. She asked me to come by after school, so can you wait a bit?”

“Oh, okay. Want us to go with you?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll be quick and come back.”

“Got it! We’ll wait in the classroom.”

“Thanks. By the way, where’s Kanade?”

“At the newspaper club room. She forgot something… oh, speak of the devil.”

Makoto glanced over, and Kanade walked into the classroom with a big paper bag.

“What’s with all that stuff?”

“Old newspapers we made. I thought they’d help with article ideas.”

“Working hard even during test period, huh?”

“Actually, it’s the only time I can look at them since there’s no club. It’s a break from studying too.”

“That’s impressive, Kanade.”

I said that and patted Kanade’s head.

Oops, I couldn’t help it after yesterday’s vibe.

Kanade’s hair is so smooth and feels amazing to touch.

Kanade herself blushed bright red and looked down.

“I told you not to do that out of nowhere…”

“Sorry… I couldn’t help it…”

Then, I felt a thud on my back.

I turned my head and saw Makoto hugging me.

“It’s not fair if it’s just Kanade!”

“Sorry, sorry. Here, Makoto.”

It’s unfair to only do one, so I patted Makoto’s head too.

Her hair is soft and fluffy, different from Kanade’s but just as interesting.

But we didn’t realize we were making a huge mistake.

We were chatting so relaxed, like we were at home.

But this was the classroom.

I repeat, the classroom.

“Wow…”

“So bold…”

Voices came from all over the classroom.

I looked around and saw almost every classmate staring at us.

“Oh…”

I felt eyes on us, but yeah, this is the classroom…

This is bad. I got too relaxed…

“…Pssshh.”

“Kanade’s overheating!?”

“…I’m really sorry.”

—

After school, I left Kanade and Makoto in the classroom and headed to the staff room alone.

“Excuse me. Is Teacher Kotori…?”

“Oh, Minase-kun~ Over here, over here~.”

Teacher Kotori was waiting at her desk for me.

I started walking toward her when I felt eyes from the corner of the staff room. Following the gaze, I saw a teacher looking at me.

That’s the classical literature teacher, I think.

He’s a rare young male teacher at this school, and I heard he’s popular with female students because he’s decently good-looking.

His name’s Teacher Takahashi, right? He mainly teaches second-years, so I’ve never interacted with him.

I haven’t done anything to feel guilty about, so he’s probably just curious about a student entering the staff room.

I didn’t think much of it and approached Teacher Kotori at her desk.

“Sorry for calling you out like this~.”

“No, it’s fine. So, what’s up?”

“Here, this is it.”

She handed me a notebook.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a summary I made of the material from the first week of school~. Use it for test studying if you want.”

“Huh!? Is that okay!?”

A notebook summarized by an active teacher? Who wouldn’t want that?

Did she make it between lunch and now?

“Given your situation this time, I thought I’d help a little.”

“Honestly, this is super helpful… but, is it okay?”

Teachers favoring specific students doesn’t seem like a good look… I don’t want Teacher Kotori to get in trouble because of me…

“Well, it’s not exactly great, but~ I’m not giving you answers or questions, so if it comes up, I’ll just apologize.”

“…Thank you so much. This helps a ton.”

“Good~ I want you to keep getting good grades this time too~.”

“I want to repay you somehow…”

“Normally I’d say don’t worry about it~, but… how about we grab a meal together after the tests?”

“I’m fine with it, but is that okay for you, Teacher Kotori?”

Teacher Kotori’s beauty makes her popular with students of both genders.

I heard some guys have serious crushes on her.

Is it okay for her to eat with a specific male student?

“Hehe, once is fine~. You get a notebook and a meal with a beautiful teacher—two birds with one stone, right?”

“I’m getting all the benefits here. It’s almost troubling.”

“Then let’s make you super troubled~.”

Teacher Kotori has been such a kind, student-focused teacher since middle school.

Studying under a teacher like her would make anyone’s grades soar.

“Well, I’ll head out then.”

“Okay, good luck on the tests~.”

“Thanks! I’ll make good use of the notebook.”

With that, I left the staff room.

I felt like Teacher Takahashi was glaring at me…

I thought back, but I’m sure I’ve never even talked to him. Did I do something without realizing…?

It’s probably just my imagination…?

—

Thanks to Teacher Kotori’s notebook and after-school study sessions with Shinya, Makoto, and the others, I managed to study much better than expected, even if it was close. I think I studied enough to be satisfied.

I should be able to handle the tests now.

And so, the day of my first high school regular tests arrived.

“Ryu-kun! How about a competition?”

“A competition? Like, for test scores?”

“Yeah! It’s cliché, but how about the one with the highest rank among us three gets to make a request of the other two?”

“That’s good. I’ve already thought of ten requests for you two.”

“You’re acting like you’ve already won.”

“Obviously. I trained for this.”

“This feels like a battle manga’s about to start.”

I was just hoping for decent scores, but now I have to take this seriously.

Might as well aim for my best score ever…!

—

Let’s cut to the results.

Aren’t they both too smart?

I felt better about my performance than expected, and when I checked the returned tests, I scored over 80 on all subjects—a great result. I even got a perfect score in social studies, my strong subject.

My rank was in the year’s top 10, so I thought I won the competition!

But…

“Ugh… English dragged me down…”

“Heh heh~ I put extra effort into math and science this time!”

“No way… you planned this!?”

“It’s about thinking two or three steps ahead… Kanade-kun…”

“Urgh… I got played…!”

…It’s like a historical drama’s happening here.

Should I jump in on this…?

At the staff room, a ranking list of the top 30 students was posted.

8th: Ryu Minase

…

2nd: Kanade Sumeragi

1st: Makoto Hiragi–

I got completely crushed.

Honestly, I’m impressed. They both got near-perfect scores in almost every subject, and it seems the difference came down to how few points they lost in their weaker subjects.

“So, as promised, I get to make a request of you two, right?”

“The loser doesn’t talk much… do whatever you want with us.”

“Within reason…”

I don’t think Makoto would make crazy demands, so it’s probably fine.

“Heh heh heh… my request is…!”

*Gulp*

“What’s with this weird tension…?”

We braced ourselves for her request, but…

“I haven’t decided yet! I’ll think about it later!”

*Zuko!*

Kanade and I couldn’t help but react like old-school comedians.

“You said it yourself and haven’t thought of anything…?”