COTE : Is Talent Everything? (Rewrite)-Chapter 135 - 130: Signs Of Trouble

"Exercising? Until late at night?"

"Yeah, something like that."

I'm not lying. Last night, I was up until the early hours with Amasawa, so I'm completely sleep-deprived. As someone who usually prioritizes an early bedtime, this is tough. Amasawa, with her rare physical abilities, has stamina far beyond the average person, which inevitably prolongs things. By the way, she didn't wake up no matter how much I tried, so I had no choice but to leave her behind. She's probably still fast asleep in my bed right now.

"You seem like someone who keeps a strict daily routine. Do you ever stay up late?"

"Not really. If you maintain a proper lifestyle from the start, there's no need for it."

"Impressive. I could never do that."

As we exchange these words, the elevator arrives at the first floor, and we step out. Walking to school together with Horikita, I receive a message on my phone.

『Come to the student council room after school.』

The message, phrased with just enough leeway to not sound like an outright order, is from Nagumo.

"The student council room, huh?"

"What about the student council room?"

Horikita, who had no connection to the word, tilts her head curiously.

"Nagumo-senpai just messaged me to come to the student council room after school today."

I show her the message, and after staring at it for a moment, she lets out a small sigh.

"...I was called to the student council room after school too."

"...This sounds like trouble."

If it were just me, it might be manageable, but if Horikita is also being called, it must be something significant. I'm not thrilled, but considering the future, it's not something I can easily refuse.

"I had plans with Hiyori today, but I guess I'll have to cancel."

If Nagumo's going to summon us after school, he should at least give us advance notice. And he calls himself the student council president.

"You had plans with Shiina-san?"

"Yeah, a new mystery novel was supposed to come in today, so we were going to check it out together after school."

"...I see."

She's the one who asked, but after I answer, Horikita mutters softly and turns away. We continue our casual conversation until we part ways in the hallway leading to our respective classrooms.

"See you later. Well, we're heading to the same place after school, so we'll meet again."

"Yes... Wait, can I ask you something?"

Just as I'm about to head to my classroom, Horikita unexpectedly calls out to me.

"What's up?"

"Are you free this weekend?"

"No plans, really."

"I see."

....

Wait, that's it? I thought she was going to invite me somewhere or ask about Horikita Manabu again, but she just looks down and doesn't say anything else.

As the silence stretches between us, Horikita takes a small breath and straightens up to face me. Unconsciously, I also straighten my posture.

"If you're free... would you like to—"

"Good morning, Horikita-san! Hikigaya-kun!"

Suddenly, Kushida Kikyou appears between us, cutting off Horikita mid-sentence. Horikita falters slightly, her unfinished words swallowed back.

"Oh? Were you two in the middle of something? Did I interrupt?"

Seeing this, Kushida puts on an apologetic expression, but for just a moment, the corners of her mouth curl up in amusement. Horikita doesn't miss it.

"...No, Kushida-san. It's nothing important."

"Great! Then no harm done!"

Kushida smiles brightly, while Horikita glares at her. The tension between them is almost palpable—or is that just my imagination?

"Well, see you after school."

"Yeah."

I didn't get to hear what Horikita was about to say, but since we're heading to the same place later, I can ask then. I start walking toward my classroom, but on the way, I feel Kushida's suspicious gaze piercing through me. I decide to pretend I didn't notice.

.....

"...Huh."

As I watch Hikigaya's retreating figure, I realize my lips have curled into a smirk. This isn't an expression I can let others see, so I quickly school my features back to normal.

Today, I happened to wake up late. Normally, I'd avoid running into Horikita by adjusting my schedule, but today, I felt a strange irritation at the thought of possibly seeing her.

"See you later, Kushida-chan!"

"Yep!"

Putting on my usual friendly act is exhausting, but it's a necessary part of my arsenal. Resigned, I part ways with the girls I walked to school with and change my shoes at the entrance.

"...Huh?"

Spotting Horikita further down the hallway puts me in a bad mood, but seeing Hikigaya behind her raises questions.

...What's this? Why are Horikita and Hikigaya together? Did they come to school together? Horikita, with a guy—and a guy from another class at that? Could it be...?

I hide behind a nearby pillar and eavesdrop on their conversation. What I hear is unbelievable.

"No way. Is Horikita trying to ask him out?"

The conversation is disjointed, but it's easy to piece together. I can't believe Horikita of all people is making a move on a guy.

——This is usable.

"Good morning, Horikita-san! Hikigaya-kun!"

Acting on instinct, I step out from my hiding spot. I flash a bright smile, and Horikita's face goes blank for a second before she glares at me. Ah, that face is priceless.

I knew it. This is definitely usable.

Horikita's weakness—no, her blind spot. Today's already a great morning. Seeing her frustrated face is satisfying, and I've gained a new card to play. A trump card, at that.

"What should I do~♪"

Horikita and Hikigaya. How can I mess with them to make Horikita the most miserable? I'll probably be thinking about that all day today.

......

Because of my conversation with Horikita, I arrive at the classroom slightly later than usual. Shortly after, the bell rings, and Sakagami-sensei enters.

"This might not be the best news for you, but before winter break begins, you'll be taking the last special exam of the second semester."

The sudden announcement causes a ripple of unease among my classmates. Most of us expected to coast into winter break without any major events, so this comes as a surprise.

"This special exam won't have any overly complicated rules. You'll be competing against another class in an academic battle."

An academic battle. As students—and especially as students of this school—this shouldn't be shocking. In fact, it's been a while since we've had something so straightforward.

"The winning class will take 50 class points from the losing class. Win, and you gain 50 points; lose, and you lose 50."

It's not a huge number—if anything, it's on the lower side.

"But hey, if we're up against a class like A-Class, won't we be at a huge disadvantage?"

"Ishizaki-kun isn't wrong. The matchups are based on the class rankings from the recent end-of-term exams. The first-place class faces the second-place, and the third faces the fourth. In other words, your opponents are D-Class."

In the recent exams, the rankings were:

1st - Sakayanagi's class

2nd - Horikita's class

3rd - Ichinose's class

4th - Ryuuen's class

Up until now, most of our exams haven't heavily relied on academics, so we've managed to keep winning. But against Ichinose's class, it won't be so easy.

"Of course, this won't be a simple written test. Let me explain the rules of the special exam."

The details appear on the monitor.

Overview:

The entire class will work together to solve 100 questions.

Rules:

- Students take turns solving questions in a predetermined order.

- Each student can answer up to 5 questions but must answer at least 2, regardless of success or failure.

- Each student has a maximum of 10 minutes (including entering and exiting the room).

- Students not currently taking the exam must wait in a separate room.

- Only the next student in line may wait near the entrance.

- If time runs out, the student is disqualified and earns no points.

- Bonus points are awarded based on remaining time.

Scoring:

Points are awarded based on the student's ability, not the question's difficulty.

- Academic Rank A: 1 point

- Academic Rank B: 2 points

- Academic Rank C: 3 points

- Academic Rank D: 4 points

- Academic Rank E: 5 points

This system means the exam isn't purely about academic ability—classes with lower-ranked students aren't necessarily at a disadvantage. Ryuuen's class has plenty of students with low academic ratings, which means there's room for strategy.

"If you win this exam, your path to A-Class will become even more solid. I'll be rooting for you in my own way, so do your best."

Sakagami-sensei's encouragement is motivating, for better or worse.

.....

After the exam explanation, Ryuuen stands up and perches on the teacher's desk. At this point, it's practically a tradition—though I'm not sure how I feel about that.

"An academic exam... If we play fair, we don't stand a chance."

"Then what's your plan?"

"Isn't it obvious? We don't play fair."

Ryuuen smirks at Katsuragi before addressing the class. If it's about underhanded tactics, Ryuuen has no shortage of ideas.

"Listen up. Ichinose's class is on its last legs. No matter how united they seem, they're a fallen class. Push them a little, and they'll crack."

He's not wrong. Ichinose's class was originally B-Class. But after repeated losses, they've fallen to D-Class. It's fair to assume morale is low.

"Specifically?"

"Keep the pressure on them until exam day. Disrupt their studying—crush them completely."

"Ohhh! Like what we did at the end of first year! Disrupt them, right?!"

Ishizaki jumps up, recalling their past success.

"I've heard you won using that method before. But I doubt the same trick will work multiple times."

Katsuragi, who transferred from another class, offers an objective opinion. No matter how much they underestimate Ichinose's class, he doubts they'll fall for the same trick again.

"Yeah, probably."

Ryuuen doesn't deny it and continues.

"Of course, that's not all. If we can get a traitor from Ichinose's class, that'll be the end of them."

"Ichinose's class is the most united of all the classes."

"On the surface, yeah. But who knows what's really going on? Dangle a fat reward in front of their top students, and they might flip in a heartbeat."

Ryuuen's plans all have low chances of success. Disruptions and intimidation might have a psychological effect, but they lack decisiveness. Maybe he's banking on the fact that it's only 50 class points at stake.

Is this usable?

"——No, it's not."

Just as the class finishes absorbing Ryuuen's strategy, I stand up and shut it down. Ryuuen looks momentarily surprised before grinning.

"You think your way's better?"

"Nah, I just have a complaint."

"Kuku, so you're speaking up just to whine?"

"It's not a complaint. Your methods only increase our chances slightly—they don't guarantee victory. Do you even want to win?"

"Hah?"

"Hey, hey, Hikigaya...! What are you saying? Sit down...!"

Komiya, sitting nearby, tugs at my sleeve nervously. But I keep my eyes locked on Ryuuen.

"You calling me weak?"

"——Who the hell said you were weak, trash?"

From behind the guy, a visibly furious Houzen looms like a demon. The guy, who had been shouting with his face red, suddenly pales.

"Listen up, trash. If you call Hikigaya weak, be prepared to get wrecked by me."

"W-why?!"

"Ask and I'll kill you. Get lost. Or do you need a punch to understand?"

Seeing Houzen raise his fist, the guy glares at me and Amasawa before scurrying away.

"Didn't expect you to help out."

"Don't spout nonsense. If you get bad-mouthed, my reputation takes a hit too. You should've crushed that trash yourself, senpai."

"I'm a pacifist."

Houzen clicks his tongue and leaves. He probably acted out of pride, but since it helped, I'll thank him.

"Senpai, um, thank you for standing up for me."

"Nah, I'm the one who dragged you into this. Besides, you stood up for me first, Nanase. I should be thanking you."

I pat Nanase's head as she bows deeply.

Her hair is smooth, kind of like Horikita's, I think absently.

"That's not the point!"

Amasawa pouts.

"I was supposed to be the one getting saved coolly by senpai! Now Nanase-chan's the only one benefiting!"

"So that's why you called me."

"Senpai, pat me too, not Nanase-chan~!"

"Ah, stop it, Amasawa-san!"

Amasawa pulls aggressively while Nanase tries to stop her.

I just came to get Amasawa, so how did things escalate like this?

.....

Side Story 1

After parting ways with Hikigaya, Amasawa informs Takuya about the incident, along with the guy's OAA rating.

"Huh, so that happened while I was busy with student council work."

Takuya listens expressionlessly. Though his face doesn't show it, he's already considering how to deal with the guy.

"Yeah, yeah. Senpai said he didn't care, but it still pisses me off, you know?"

"Aniki said no expulsions, but anything short of that is fair game."

"That's our Takuya. You're always serious when it comes to senpai."

Grinning, Amasawa shows no sympathy for the guy who stepped on their landmine. Mercy isn't in her vocabulary.

Side Story 2

"Hey, Hirata-kun, got a minute?"

"What's up?"

During a break between classes, Kushida deliberately approaches Hirata near Horikita.

"It's about Hikigaya-kun."

Horikita's reaction is subtle, but Kushida doesn't miss it.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

"Yeah! I've been kinda curious about him. Can you tell me what kind of guy he is?"

While talking to Hirata, Kushida's real focus is Horikita. Though Horikita pretends to read a book, her ears are clearly tuned in.

Unconsciously, when the topic turns to someone you're interested in, it's hard not to listen. Especially when words like "curious" are thrown around. And if it's Kushida, she'd be even more attentive.

Kushida knows this, which is why she smirks inwardly at Horikita's reaction.

"..."

Unnoticed by even Matsushita nearby, Horikita remains unaware that she's been caught eavesdropping.

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