My Ex-Girlfriend Who Dumped Me, the Top Student, Is at Risk of Failing and Repeating a Year—but I’m Too Busy Tutoring a Former Shut-in Beauty To Get Back Together With Her - 35-36

Chapter 35: Each of Their Feelings

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The first Friday after summer vacation. Shuei High School was wrapped in a prickly tension as the exams loomed just ahead. The post-summer vacation tests were approaching. At our school, these exams were held ten days after the end of the summer break.

While they weren’t particularly heavy exams, the concept was to thoroughly wash through and review everything covered in the first semester. Since there aren’t any specific supplementary classes for it, it’s the kind of test where people who study, study, and those who don’t, don’t.

In the classroom after school. I, Minato Kashiwagi, was at my usual seat by the window, watching over the studies of the girl sitting next to me—my lover, Kotone Kisaragi.

“……Alright. This definition of differentiation here is perfect.”

“Ehehe. It’s because you’re a good teacher, Sensei.”

Kotone smiled happily at my words. During the summer vacation, we had thoroughly solidified her foundations again. On top of that base, her ability to apply knowledge was building up. Her current ability had reached a level that proved her previous ranking of 18th was no fluke.

“Sensei. For this exam, you see, I have a goal.”

Kisaragi put down her mechanical pencil and stared at me with serious eyes.

“A goal? Is it to be in the top ten?”

“No. ……It’s to narrow the point difference between me and Sensei to within ten points in total.”

I was a bit surprised. Within ten points. Considering that I usually score close to perfect out of a total of 500 points across five subjects, it meant she would have to maintain an average of 98 points in every subject. In the struggle among the top tier, this “wall” was incredibly high.

“You’re talking big.”

“Because I don’t want to be a student who is ‘just being taught’ forever. ……I want to be an equal partner who isn’t embarrassed to stand beside Sensei.”

In her eyes, there dwelt a flame of healthy rivalry, not just romantic affection. To me, that was dazzling, and it made me proud.

“……I understand. I accept your challenge. I won’t hold back either.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for. …Oh, and if I achieve it, I get a reward, right?”

“What is it? A kiss again?”

“Hmm, that would be nice too, but…… Next, I want a ‘One Day Date Voucher.’ One where I get to decide the destination and everything we do.”

Kisaragi stuck her tongue out mischievously. There was a certain fear of not knowing what she would make me do, but seeing how hard she was working now, I didn’t feel like refusing.

“……Alright, it’s a promise. In exchange, if you don’t achieve it, I get a ‘Sensei’s Absolute Command Voucher’ where you have to do whatever I say.”

“Wha!? S-Spartan…… But, now I’m fired up!”

We looked at each other and laughed. A relationship where we could improve each other. This was the form we had finally reached.

＊＊＊

Suddenly, I turned my gaze toward the front of the classroom. There, another “battle” was taking place.

“Argh, the grammar here is so confusing!”

“Calm down, Rina-chan. It’s easier if you memorize this as a set with this idiom.”

Near the very front row of the classroom, Rina Aikawa and the class prodigy who consistently ranked in the single digits, Tachibana-san, had their desks pushed together and were studying. With her hair dyed black and her appearance becoming plain, Rina had completely blended into the class. She no longer had her former flashiness or the aura that intimidated those around her.

However, the current her looked much more vibrant than when she was dating me.

“Ugh…… Yui, you’re so good at teaching. You’re a world apart from a certain someone from before.”

“Oh, really? I thought Kashiwagi-kun’s notes were very easy to understand, though.”

“Hmph, that guy is just overly logical. …Well, it’s not like I’m grateful or anything.”

While speaking spitefully, Rina flicked a glance over here. Our eyes met. Previously, her gaze would have held lingering affection, jealousy, or perhaps a hint of fawning. But now, she abruptly looked away and immediately turned back toward Tachibana-san.

(She has a good look on her face now.)

I muttered in my heart. She was no longer looking at me. She no longer needed me as a “convenient tool,” nor as a “the one who got away.” Beside her was a friend she could debate with as an equal and support. That was likely her own “correct answer” that she had found.

“Sensei? ……Are you looking away again?”

My cheek was poked. Kisaragi was puffing out her cheeks.

“Are you worried about her?”

“No. ……I just thought that she’s working hard too.”

“……Hmm. Well, if it’s the current Rina-san, I suppose I can acknowledge her as a rival.”

Kisaragi smiled with plenty of composure and clung tightly to my arm.

“But, Sensei’s number one disciple is me, right?”

“Yeah. You’re my number one disciple, and the cutest girlfriend in the world.”

“Fufu, you said it! I’ve got your word on that!”

While stroking the head of the happily frolicking Kisaragi, I looked out the window.

The high autumn sky. This classroom, which was once swirling with murky emotions, was now filled only with the heat of everyone heading toward their respective goals. Everyone was standing on their own two feet.

“……Now then, time for the final spurt.”

I gripped my pen again to continue being the wall for them as the absolute champion (1st place) and to see the best view together with Kisaragi.

Carrying each of their feelings, the fateful post-summer vacation exams were about to begin.

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Chapter 36: Each of Their Stories

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The results of the post-summer vacation exam were announced. The hallway in the second semester was enveloped in a heat different from the previous time. The excitement and tension of the students seemed to resonate with the final heat of the season, which had yet to cool down, signaling the end of summer.

“……Let’s go, Kotone.”

“Yeah. ……My heart is pounding.”

Kotone and I stood at the back of the crowd. I could feel her nervousness through our joined hands. Our competition this time was not just about rankings. It was about the “score gap.”

The students cleared a path. At the very top of the bulletin board. There was an immovable sight.

1st Place: Minato Kashiwagi (498 points)

A score of 498 out of a total of 500 points across five subjects. It was nearly perfect. Voices of awe leaked out from the surroundings—”Whoa, Kashiwagi is a monster again,” and “He’s not human.” However, I was not the protagonist this time. It was the entry right below that.

2nd Place: Kotone Kisaragi (490 points)

A stir ran through the crowd. A phenomenal jump up from 18th place last time. And then there was the score. The difference between her and me was a mere 8 points. It was a range where a single careless mistake or two could flip the rankings—completely within striking distance.

“……An 8-point difference.”

Kotone stared at that number and muttered in a trembling voice.

“Within 10 points…… I cleared it, right?”

“Yeah. It’s a total defeat for me. I never thought you’d close the gap this much.”

I honestly surrendered and gave her head a gentle pat.

“You’re amazing, Kotone. You really worked hard.”

“……I did it. I did it……!”

Kisaragi clung to my arm as if overcome with emotion. Without caring about the gazes around us, she let her joy explode with teary eyes.

“This means I get the ‘One Day Date Voucher,’ right!?”

“Yeah. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“Ehehe…… Get ready, Sensei ♡”

Our victory was secured. However, the drama of this day did not end there.

＊＊＊

“……L-Let’s go, Rina-chan.”

“Y-Yeah……”

Two girls made their way through the crowd. There was Rina Aikawa, who was stiff with tension, and Yui Tachibana, who was pulling her by the hand.

Rina’s complexion was poor. The trauma of being in “268th place” last time was likely making her legs freeze up. However, Yui, who was beside her, gave a firm nod.

“It’s okay. You worked so hard.”

“But…… What if I’m out of the rankings again……”

“I guarantee it. You’re amazing, Rina-chan.”

Pushed forward by Yui’s words, Rina fearfully looked up at the bulletin board.

First, there was Yui’s name. 9th Place: Yui Tachibana A stable entry into the top ten. 

“As expected of Yui!” 

Rina cried out in a small voice. Then, Rina slid her trembling gaze further down. The first page of the list. The place for the chosen ones, where the top 50 names were listed.

To the Rina of the past, this was a sanctuary she would have given up on without even looking.

30th…… not there.

40th…… not there.

(Is it no good after all?)

Just as Rina was about to look away. Yui pointed to the very bottom of the list and shouted.

“Ah! It’s there! Rina-chan, right here!!”

Rina looked up as if snapped awake. At the very bottom of the list. In a precarious spot, that name was there.

48th Place: Rina Aikawa

Time stood still. A climb of 220 people from 268th place. A miraculous V-shaped recovery that even updated her personal best from when she was “fairly good.”

“……No way.”

Rina covered her mouth. The surrounding students also began to buzz.

“Hey, Aikawa is in the top 50.” 

“Seriously? She’s been studying for real ever since she dyed her hair black.” 

“That’s awesome……”

It wasn’t mockery or backbiting. These were voices of pure surprise and praise. It was an evaluation that Rina had won for the first time using only her own strength.

“Uu…… ugh……!”

Large tears began to overflow from Rina’s eyes. They weren’t tears of frustration. They weren’t miserable tears. They were tears of achievement and joy.

“I did it…… I really did it……!”

“Yes! You did it, Rina-chan!”

Rina hugged Yui right then and there. Yui was also rubbing Rina’s back with a face that looked like she was about to cry. It was a sight that looked far more radiant than when she used to flock with her flashy followers.

I watched that scene from a short distance away.

“……Not bad.”

I muttered under my breath. The ex-girlfriend who left my hands, fell to rock bottom, and yet crawled back up. She was no longer a “parasite clinging to a convenient tool.” She was a respectable “student” in her own right—no, an equal classmate.

“Sensei.”

Beside me, Kotone was looking up at me. She, too, had been quietly watching Rina and Yui.

“……I’ll have to update my rival certification.”

“Hmm?”

“That girl isn’t a ‘trash mob character’ anymore. ……If we let our guard down, we might get eaten one day.”

Kotone laughed happily. There was no cold hostility in her eyes like before. What was there was a light akin to respect, acknowledging a formidable foe.

“Well, I’m definitely never giving up the spot next to Sensei, though.”

“Yes, yes. ……Shall we go, Kotone?”

We left the bulletin board behind. From behind us, the joyful voices of Rina and Yui could still be heard.

Everyone was a winner. Each person had seized the best result in their own respective place. This day, which signaled the arrival of autumn, would surely become one of the most beautiful memories in our high school life.

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