The commotion surrounding us settled down within a few days, faster than I had anticipated. The primary reason was the looming specter of next week’s term-end exams. All clubs had entered their mandatory study hiatus, and a prickly, high-pressure atmosphere had descended upon the school as everyone shifted into exam mode.
Naturally, we spent our breaks diligently studying while squeezing in some small talk with friends. As my mother had warned, if my grades dropped and I started failing subjects because I was "too busy with the explorer profession," she would undoubtedly force me to quit being an explorer.
"Hey, Kokonoe? For this problem, I should use this formula to solve it, right?"
During a short break between classes, Shigemori scratched his head and grimaced, pointing at a question from a math mini-test we had just taken. Incidentally, the problem he was struggling with was a difficult one that less than half the class had answered correctly.
"Hmm? Which one? Oh, that one... Yeah, that's right. If you use that formula, you should be able to solve it without any issues."
"I see. Thanks."
Shigemori began re-solving the problem using the formula I had suggested. I watched him work in silence for a while. When he finished, he sat up straight with a much brighter expression, looking quite satisfied.
Taking the opportunity, I decided to ask him about something that had been on my mind.
"So, Shigemori? Think you’ll be okay for this exam? You bombed the midterms pretty spectacularly last time, didn't you?"
"Oh, definitely! I messed up the last test, but this time I’m going to strike a massive vein of gold!"
"A gold mine... You're spot-guessing again?"
"It'll be fine this time, I swear!"
I stared at him, dumbfounded. My cheek twitched. Has this guy learned absolutely nothing from his previous failure? And where on earth does he get this "this time for sure" confidence from?
"Hey now, Shigemori. Didn't you think about reflecting on what happened last time and trying to study the whole range thoroughly?"
"Impossible, impossible. There isn't enough time to cover everything. Besides, even if I tried, I'd end up knowing a mile wide and an inch deep, which won't lead to high marks anyway."
"I think if you did a little bit every day, the range wouldn't be that unreasonable..."
"I'm the type who manages tests with night-before cramming. I don't have a 'study every day' habit in my vocabulary."
"Is that something to say so proudly...?"
The guy was a gambler through and through. He lived for the high-risk, high-reward plays. Realizing there was no point in arguing further, I let out a small sigh.
"Well, forget about me. More importantly, Kokonoe, has the commotion from the sports festival finally died down?"
"Hmm? Oh, within the school, yeah. At least I don't get bombarded with questions just for walking down the hallway anymore."
"I see... That's a shame. Your short life as a celebrity is over."
"It's not a shame at all. If anything, I'm relieved the fuss quieted down so quickly. I have the fact that final exams follow right after the sports festival to thank for that."
If the exams hadn't been scheduled for the following week, the fervor likely would have lasted much longer. Truly, being interrogated by scores of people whose names I didn't even know was mentally taxing. I was just glad the storm had passed.
Seeing my relieved expression, Shigemori looked slightly annoyed that his teasing hadn't gotten a rise out of me.
"...You really don't seem disappointed."
"Of course not. Do you know what it's like to be questioned by random people every time you try to go to the bathroom? For the past few days, it's been beyond annoying..."
There were several instances where I was cornered on my way to the restroom and ended up being unable to actually go... it was infuriating. Thanks to that, I couldn't concentrate at all during the following classes. Moderation is a virtue for a reason.
"If you say so."
"I do."
Shigemori looked bored by my curt response, but he seemed to accept the logic. Our conversation ended when the teacher for the next period entered the room, and Shigemori returned to his seat.
The first half of the week had been a whirlwind of sports festival fallout, but we reached the weekend without further incident. Normally, we would head into a dungeon or focus on explorer training, but with final exams so close, we took a break from our usual duties.
Instead, we decided to hold a study session with the usual group, plus Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san.
"I'm so sorry. To think you'd invite us to study with you as well..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it."
I waved my hand dismissively at the apologetic Tatebayashi-san, telling her not to give it a second thought. However, since it was their first time joining us, both she and Hino-san were fidgeting restlessly with nervous expressions—a sharp contrast to my casual attitude.
And I knew exactly why.
"Um, Hirose-senpai. Thank you so much for letting us use your home for the study session today."
"Th-thank you very much..."
"Don't mention it."
Yuji had provided an unused hall in his estate as our venue. We were already used to visiting his place, but for Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san, this was a mansion from a completely different world. It was only natural for them to be a little tense.
"Well then, shall we get started?"
"Yes! (Yeah) (Right)"
We spread our textbooks and notebooks across the table and began working through the exam material. For a while, the only sound was the rhythmic scratching of pens, but gradually, voices rose as people began asking for help.
"Hey, Asami-chan? How do I solve this one?"
"Let's see... this part? You solve this section first, then substitute the answer into this formula."
"Oh, I see! Thanks, Asami-chan!"
Hino-san, who was struggling with the problem, managed to work through it with Asami-chan's help. It seemed math wasn't her strong suit.
The next person to let out a cry of despair was Mika.
"Aaargh, enough! Why does history have so much to memorize!"
"Now, now, Mika-chan, calm down. No matter how much you complain, you have to learn it eventually, so let's just do our best, okay?"
"...Yeah. But when similar events keep happening for years in a row, I start losing track of everything."
"It's because you're trying to memorize individual words. If you look at related events as a single narrative flow, it's actually much easier to remember."
"Do you really think so...?"
"I do."
Mika continued to wrestle with history, relying heavily on Saori-chan's advice.
Meanwhile, I had my own hurdles.
"Do you have a moment, Hiiragi-san? Does this translation for the classical Japanese text look right?"
"Let me see. Hmm... oh, this part? Yes, I think that's fine. It shouldn't be a problem. But... hey, Hirose-kun? Do you think this translation works?"
"Let's have a look... Ah, this one. Well, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with it, but this version might be better received by the teacher."
As he spoke, Yuji began writing a revised translation into my notebook. Among us, Yuji was the undisputed master of classical Japanese. According to him, having been exposed to ancient family documents since childhood had served him well.
I had seen those documents once out of curiosity, but they looked like squirming earthworms to me; I couldn't even recognize them as characters, let alone translate them. I remember being deeply impressed that Yuji could actually read the things.
"Ah, I see. This version definitely makes the content easier to grasp."
"I think the one Daiki did was fine, but it felt a bit clunky... or something like that."
"It's true, the flow in Hirose-kun’s version is much smoother."
It was a subtle difference in nuance, but Yuji’s modern translation allowed the meaning to sink in naturally. It was truly amazing how he could do this without even touching a dictionary.
"Thanks, Yuji, Hiiragi-san. I'll go with this one."
"Sure."
"Of course."
We continued our studies like that, teaching and learning from one another. The exam range was fairly broad, but since everyone in our group tended to study a little bit every day, we didn't run into any major roadblocks. We should be able to avoid failing grades... probably.
As the exams drew nearer, the number of people asking about the sports festival demonstration dwindled to nothing. We finally regained our peaceful school life just in time for the first day of testing.
Though, to be fair, the scouting offers didn't exactly stop. For the time being, I simply refused any company that was pushy enough to ignore a student's circumstances—like being in the middle of final exams. I hoped that once word got around about my stance, the scouts would start to thin out.
"So, Shigemori? Are you really gambling on spot-guessing again?"
"You bet! I’ve got a good feeling about this one!"
"...I see. Well, good luck."
"Thanks!"
I looked at the beaming Shigemori with half-lidded eyes, feeling as though he belonged to another species entirely. As he’d said, he was tackling the final exams with the same "spot-guess and cram" style that had failed him during midterms. To use the exact same strategy after a total disaster... the only word for it was "reckless," though "idiotic" came to mind as well.
"...Is he going to be okay?"
"Well, it's the path he chose," Yuji replied. "Let's just watch over him from a safe distance... we don't have much of a choice, anyway."
"...True."
While everyone else was glued to their textbooks until the very last second, Yuji and I watched Shigemori—who was merely skimming his notes—and briefly wondered how we should comfort him after the results came out. Of course, since we had our own tests to take, we only worried for a second. The real worrying would wait until after the exams.
Finally, the teacher entered the room carrying the envelope of test papers.
"Good luck."
"Same to you."
Yuji and I wished each other the best and took our seats for the first subject.
The chime rang out, echoing through the silent classroom where only the scratching of pens could be heard.
"Alright, time's up. Everyone put down your pens and pass your answer sheets to the front."
With the proctor's declaration, the final subject of the term-end exams was over. The moment I handed my paper forward, I was washed over by an indescribable sense of liberation. Aside from a select few, I’m sure every one of my classmates felt the same.
I happened to glance at one of those "select few" and blinked in surprise.
"Hey, Kokonoe! How was it? How'd you do!?"
"Eh? Oh, I think I did well enough...?"
"That's great to hear!"
"Uh, yeah."
I was caught off guard by Shigemori’s high energy. He was in an exceptionally good mood, grinning from ear to ear. Wait, could it be...?
"H-hey, Shigemori? Don't tell me, on this test..."
"Yeah! I struck a massive gold mine!"
"...Are you serious?"
Apparently, the reason for his high spirits was that his gamble had paid off. A total jackpot.
"It was a total bullseye! I’m guaranteed to get at least an eighty!"
"...Are you just talking about this last test?"
"No way! I nailed every single subject!"
"...Wait, every subject?"
It seemed Shigemori had struck a massive vein of gold across the board this time. Considering how badly he’d missed during the midterms, it was almost hard to believe. Still, aiming for eighty points by guessing... this guy was still living on the edge. He clearly hadn't considered what would happen if he’d been wrong.
"More importantly, Kokonoe, do you want to go grab some food to celebrate finishing the tests?"
"Oh, sorry. The club is meeting up after this... I appreciate the invite, though."
"Oh, you have plans? Well, that's too bad. Guess I can't invite Hirose either, then."
"Yeah, sorry. We were going to have a welcome party for the new members, but we couldn't really do it earlier because of all that commotion, and then the exams started. So we decided to combine the welcome party with a post-exam celebration."
"I see. So your club actually got new members, huh..."
"Yeah, my sister's classmates were interested."
I told Shigemori a bit about the newcomers and mentioned that we were working toward getting some qualifications.
"Heh, getting qualifications as a club activity. Interesting."
"It's mostly to build up the club's record, but it's not like the qualifications are useless."
"Fair point..."
While I was chatting with Shigemori, it was suddenly time for the end-of-day homeroom. After ten minutes of announcements from our teacher, we were finally dismissed.
The term-end exams were officially over. Now... we just had to wait for the results next week.