Ever since we’d agreed that I would be at the beck and call of the Beautiful Girl Trio during summer vacation if Airi and Yuria avoided failing grades, the two members of the reverse-flyer group—aside from Kuroki—had been hitting the books with a fervor that made them seem like completely different people.
(Do they really want to work me that hard over summer break?)
I watched the two of them study in silence even during our lunch break, lost in my own thoughts.
(I understand why Airi is so serious, given that her part-time job ban is also on the line, but Yuria has no real skin in the game. I didn't think she needed to be that earnest about this...)
Well, regardless of their reasons, being ordered around all summer was more of a reward than a punishment to me.
A normal person might hate having their precious summer vacation interrupted, but in my case, I was actually looking forward to the "penalty."
That was because I led a disgracefully lazy lifestyle every single summer.
I’d wake up at noon, spend the rest of the day scrolling through my phone in bed, eat whenever I felt like it, and then go back to my phone until it was time to sleep.
As a Gloomy Otaku with no club activities, I repeated that cycle almost every day for thirty days straight. I did it so consistently that I probably wouldn't even notice if a certain "Endless Eight" scenario was actually happening.
That was why I didn't mind being bossed around. If someone wanted to drag an idle guy like me along for the ride, I was more than happy to oblige. And since the ones doing the dragging were the Beautiful Girl Trio, it was basically just a treat for me.
"Ryouta, hey."
While I was zoning out, Yuria—who was sitting to my left—spoke up while poking me repeatedly in the shoulder.
I wondered what was up. Had she run into a problem she couldn't solve?
"What is it?"
"So, um... do you have time after school?"
"After school? I don't have any plans, but are we going somewhere?"
"No, the tests are only a week away, so I was thinking... maybe we could have a Study Session?"
I had expected her to suggest hitting the Neighboring Town's Arcade to blow off some steam, so the suggestion of "Study"—an option I hadn't even considered—took me by surprise.
"Oh, then Airi will come too! ...Wait, I can't. I have a—a date with my boyfriend today, so I'm busy!"
Airi, sitting in the seat in front of me, chimed in as she spun around to face us.
With her boyfriend... Right, so Airi had a shift at her job today.
She’d mentioned before that because she took so much time off during the Cultural Festival, she had to work at least once a week even during the exam period.
"Rui-chan said she has practice after school too. So it’s just going to be a Study Session for Yuria and Ryouta? I'm so jealous!"
Rui, who had been busy with Track and Field Club meetings even during lunch, apparently had practice after school today as well.
I suppose it couldn't be helped, seeing as the Inter-High was coming up at the end of the month.
"I mean, Airi had a Study Session with Ryouta the other day, right? Her math skills have shot up since then, so today, I’m going to suck every bit of academic knowledge out of Ryouta, too."
Yuria said it with a smirk, her eyes narrowing playfully.
Suck it out... That sounded way more suggestive than it needed to be.
"Don't go thinking about anything weird."
"Ow."
As if she’d read my mind, she gave me a light chop to the head.
As expected of my Understander. To think she could even sense when I was translating her words into something lewd... though, in my defense, Yuria’s phrasing was basically an invitation.
"I'm back. What are you all talking about so happily?"
Rui returned to the classroom just as we were finishing up, likely done with her meeting.
"Yuria said she's having a Study Session with Ryouta today!"
"Oh? A Study Session with just the two of them?"
"Yup. Rui is busy, and since Ryouta is smart and always seems idle, I figured I'd have him teach me a thing or two."
I felt like I was being insulted slightly, but since it was a well-known fact that I was a total layabout, I couldn't exactly argue.
(Yeah, yeah, I'm just an idle, Gloomy Otaku with a Lecherous Brat brain. Good grief.)
"Hmm... a Study Session for two. I see."
Rui let out a slow, deliberate hum, her eyes narrowing until they were little more than thin lines.
Wh-what was with that reaction?
"Ryouta-kun?"
"H-hyah, yes!"
"Please take good care of Yuria, okay? Everyone avoiding failing grades is the condition for our deal, after all. Please make sure to teach her properly in my place, okay?"
Rui said it with a smile... but was I the only one who felt a massive amount of weight behind those words?
(It's not like she's mad because she's the only one missing out on a Study Session, right? I mean, Rui doesn't even need one... so what's with this pressure?)
As usual, Rui's true feelings were completely impossible to read.