NOVEL NEXT Chwa-rak—
The curtains that had been drawn to keep out the sunlight were pulled back. This must be Nagisa’s doing.
“What’s the reason for turning off all the lights and drawing the curtains, Mika-san?”
The examination is over.
…I’ll emphasize it again.
The exam is over.
The struggles of the past three weeks flash before my eyes like a whirlwind. But all the torment I faced during that time can now say goodbye. I no longer have to tremble in anxiety over failing. I don’t have to endure the dreadful studying anymore. After all, I’m done!
“Aha ha. Thank you for everything, Nagisa-chan! But no matter how I think about it, I feel like this is it for me… So can you help me shred my exam paper before it gets engraved in the history of Trinity? I really have no choice but to transfer. Or maybe I could just take Trinity down myself…”
“…What are you talking about? Why are you panicking again? With Mika-san’s skills, the exam was definitely within passing range. Unless you made an absurd mistake—”
Nagisa’s expression hardens. It can’t be true. It can’t be, right? She looks at me with eyes full of that thought, and I slightly shake my head.
I didn’t make a mistake.
…Did I?
I’m not sure. If there had been a noticeable mistake, I think I would have noticed it first. But the exam went by so quickly that I can’t be certain.
Honestly, whether I made a mistake or not seems to hold little significance.
After all, I feel that this exam was just a complete disaster. Even subjects I thought I’d easily pass had strangely difficult questions, and I felt my head cracking open in the subjects I lacked confidence in. Ballistics naturally rained down, and in history, questions I had absolutely no idea about showed up.
My karma… what kind of karma is that? Who asks to be possessed by a student just three weeks before an exam? Plus, I lived like a hermit focusing only on studying and work since I hadn’t even been to the shooting range after the second day. It was so tough that even Nagisa, who was helping me, complained that she might not do well on the exam herself! So isn’t this the fault of the one who sent me here?
“Ha… it’s really not something to worry about, Mika-san. There’s still an opportunity—”
“I’ve failed, Nagisa-chan. Totally failed! Ah ha! At this rate, I’m bound to become just another discarded student strewn across Kivotos. I’m nothing but a delinquent worse than those punks at Trinity who just want to leech off of us!”
“Um, Mika-san… could we calm down just a little—”
“Aha ha, it’s all over now… If an adult with the intent to assassinate me walks through that door, they’d hesitate for a whole second before putting a bullet in my face. What should I do, Nagisa-chan?! I absolutely don’t want to die in an assassination ending! Dying would be better than that!”
“…Please be quiet! I’m trying to talk here?!”
“Wow—oh…?”
Nagisa activated her special skill, ‘Go!!!’ The effect was astounding.
“Why do you keep interrupting me? When do you plan to shut that tiny mouth of yours? Should I sew it up for you? You mentioned you didn’t want to stuff roll cake in it. So, how about cooperating so I won’t feel the urge to do that!!!”
…Yes, I’m sorry. My bad.
Receiving Nagisa’s exploded anger directly, my body trembled. Although Nagisa’s combat prowess is on par with Seiya’s, her current intensity would certainly make even the strongest in the academy shrink back in fear.
“Failing doesn’t mean it’s the end! Of course, an opportunity for a retest will be given! If you pass there, you won’t even have to worry about expulsion! The whole idea of expulsion after failing was just a joke between Seiya-chan and me to tease you! Do you get it? Now, snap out of it and let’s do some score estimation!”
“…A joke?”
…That’s right. No matter what complications exist, being expelled for a single failure doesn’t make sense. It was the supplementary classes that Nagisa set up, claiming she’d send those suspicious individuals away all at once.
And there’s no way the T-party host would announce that someone failed. They’d keep it confidential and arrange for a retest, hoping to ensure the passing of students, as it directly relates to the school’s prestige.
In summary, I just naively believed what these two said and thought in a one-dimensional manner.
“Aha ha, a joke? Well, that makes sense. I can’t complain considering the karma I’ve built up.”
Honestly, I was freaked out to a ridiculous degree. I talked about transferring to Gehenna or becoming a washed-up upperclassman like Hoshino in Abydos quite easily.
I think I was slightly scared of having to be forcibly separated from Nagisa and Seiya. Was it a fragment of feelings Mika originally held? Or perhaps it simply meant that I had grown attached to these two?
The one thing I’m sure of is that hearing the word ‘expulsion’ was enough to temporarily paralyze my reason, even making me forget the knowledge I had about the original work.
“Hey, Nagisa-chan. Did I completely mess up the exam…?”
“It’s okay, Mika-san. You just need to pass the retest.”
“Yeah, that should be fine…”
“As long as you keep going like this, you can definitely pass. You really tried hard, right? You just ran out of time, so there’s no need to be too disheartened.”
“Aha ha, thinking that I need to study again like this really kills my motivation. But since Nagisa-chan said she’d continue to help me, I’ll do my best.”
“…Huh?”
Erase that question mark quickly, Nagisa-chan. If it weren’t for you, I’d be toast in ballistics! Do you really want to see your childhood friend get expelled?
“You’ll help me… right?”
“…Huuu. What do I even do with you? Fine, I’ll help you, Mika-san. I’ll feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion helping you! But since you’re making such a desperate plea while gifting me those golden tips I’ve been eyeing lately, I really can’t refuse!”
“…Huh?”
Nagisa-chan, you receive a separate allowance… do you have to be so stingy?
“…I can’t refuse!”
“Hey, I think there’s no need to stress that much just because you want to give me a present, Nagisa-chan.”
Well… I am the urgent one, so I guess I can’t complain.
“Heh, that’s nice. Now, let’s do some estimating, so bring out the exam paper.”
Feeling somewhat foreboding in regard to the estimation discussion, I didn’t make the mistake of tossing away the exam paper. I had scribbled here and there, but it should be fine, right?
And thus began the estimation. The passing cutoff for all subjects except ballistics was 50 points, while for ballistics, it was a disastrous 30 points. If the passing score for ballistics had been higher, the students would have been dropping dead.
First up, Japanese was 84 points.
“…This was expected. If the others come out like this, passing will be a breeze.”
Knowing that was unlikely for the other subjects, is Nagisa just being nice…?
Next, math yielded 94 points.
“…What? How did you score better than me?”
I narrowly dodged the incredulous glare Nagisa shot my way.
But really, if I had been terrible at math originally, there’s no way—no matter how much Nagisa taught me—I would have succeeded in ballistics, right? Besides, while studying for ballistics, I must have regained some mathematical sense, resulting in a boost.
After that, comprehensive science and social studies/economics yielded mid-60s. Pretty decent given I half-gave up.
“Still, up to here, it’s passed without major issues. But the real trouble begins from here…”
Next was history, where I might have been able to pass on my own. My little sneaky trick of effectively utilizing the short preparation time to memorize specific portions of the exam scope, as expected, worked wonders.
“…52 points? If the estimation results are wrong, it’s a quick dive back to the failing scores.”
As Nagisa said, should the estimation results turn out wrong, I would instantly leap into failure territory—but for now, it was a passing score. Since it relied on short-term memory, if I had to take the retest, I’d definitely suffer much harder than before. Thank goodness I surpassed the passing threshold.
The trial of studying was pure torture, but I managed to scrape by with 58 points in theology, thanks to self-torture with audio scriptures and guessing from what looked plausible.
“Mika-san.”
“Yeah?”
“Why were you all alone here?! You’ve passed everything except ballistics!”
“But Nagisa-chan, ballistics is the biggest problem right now, isn’t it?”
“Well… that’s true…”
For the other subjects, I believe I achieved the results proportional to my effort, or even exceeded that. But I have no confidence in ballistics whatsoever. It’s almost as if the subject is just targeting me with spite!
“…Then, I’ll start grading.”
Gulp.
I thought it was the sound of me swallowing, but it turned out to be from Nagisa. Seeing her as tense as me made me feel a little guilty. I should have done better.
“Okay, so the first three problems are good answers. The fourth one had the x value set wrong, so that’s wrong, and then answers up to the sixth are correct… The seventh misinterpreted the context a little…”
As Nagisa continued grading, we were half-resigned, about to accept our fates. It was just before the last problem, and the estimation result stood at 28 points. Nagisa herself had given up on solving the last question, so the outcome was pretty clear.
Ballistics had a difficulty level that was worlds apart between the early and late questions. It can be safely assumed that someone who missed the earlier problems would not have a chance with the later ones. Nagisa emphasized that one absolutely should not get the early problems wrong. Unfortunately, I had flubbed two problems in that crucial early part—my hopes appeared nonexistent.
“…It can’t be helped. Mika-san, let’s make sure we don’t make mistakes on the retest.”
“Aha ha, I’m sorry. Even though Nagisa-chan taught me so earnestly, I still made such mistakes. I guess it was too much for a fool like me to pass☆”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t put yourself down. It’s already incredibly impressive you got this far in such a short time! You just fell a little short on the last step, so you’ll be able to succeed next time…”
While comforting a noticeably more disappointed Nagisa, I try to coax her into going to the dessert cafe I had visited with Hifumi. I must absolutely pass the retest, but today, I’d much rather ditch ballistics entirely. Let’s take a break for a day. We’ll start again tomorrow.
…By the way, those golden tips are surprisingly a bit pricier. Am I really receiving help, or am I just paying for private tutoring?
*
A few days later.
With the exam finally over, I was able to roughly assess my current level. This sense of relief allowed me to relax as I finished my first mock combat training at the shooting range.
As I was drinking water and cleaning my firearm, I noticed Nagisa approaching quickly from a distance. I wonder if something good has happened, as her eyes seem to be sparkling oddly.
“Mika-san! Mika-san, what’s going on?!”
“Eh? What’s up, Nagisa-chan?”
“You passed!”
“…?”
“Mika-san! You passed! You don’t have to take the retest!”
For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard. To pass, in what world could I possibly have done that…
Wait, was today the day the exam results are announced? I had completely given up on that. This really feels like a haunting twist of fate.
“About the last question. How on earth did you get that answer? 7.04 is something I could never reach no matter how I tried…”
“Oh, I must’ve just guessed it. The answer was 7.04? Oh come on, Nagisa-chan, that’s just a bad joke! Of all things, getting an answer on a short-answer question by just guessing? That’s ludicrous!”
“No, seriously. You definitely got it right! Here’s Mika-san’s final score.”
Japanese: 82 points.
Math: 94 points.
Comprehensive Science: 66 points.
Social Studies/Economics: 62 points.
History: 52 points.
Theology: 54 points.
Overall, while my scores dipped slightly from the estimation, thankfully the most dangerous history remained true to the estimate.
And ballistics…
“33 points?”
“Congratulations, Mika-san! I’m so relieved…!”
“Oh. So, this means I don’t have to take the retest…?”
“I just told you, didn’t I? You don’t have to!”
“Then what about those golden tips that Nagisa-chan took from me?”
“…Huh?”
As Nagisa’s surprise at my unexpected words left her dumbfounded, I suddenly stood up and hugged her tightly. I couldn’t contain my grateful feelings. More than anything, I was utterly thrilled that I wouldn’t have to part ways with my dear friends.
“Aah, aah… Mika-san?!”
“Just kidding, just kidding☆ Think of it as a thank-you gift for the help you gave me! Ah ha! It’s hard to grasp the reality of passing since I only heard about it after I let it all go!”
“Uh, please let go…”
“Come to think of it, I wouldn’t have passed the exam if it wasn’t for you, Nagisa-chan. I guessed the last question based on your birthday, and it turned out right!”
“…Huh? Wh-What?!”
“Thank you, Nagisa-chan! From now on, I’ll call you my lucky goddess☆”
Surprisingly, it was true. I figured that having given up the early questions, I skipped the rest and when debating what to write in the short-answer question, Nagisa’s birthday just popped into my head.
July 4th. I removed the leading “0” from 0704, placed a dot, and submitted 7.04 as the answer, and it coincidentally was correct. This truly seems like divine intervention.
I didn’t let go of Nagisa for almost another minute, even though I thought I felt her grip on me meant she wasn’t planning to release me, but maybe that was just my imagination?
Eh, doesn’t matter. On a joyful day like this, shouldn’t we celebrate and have fun?
“Nagisa-chan, let’s go look for Seiya-chan! Yeah, today we’re going to have the time of our lives! Let’s drink until our noses crooked!”
“…What the hell are you going on about!”
…Right, I forgot we were students. This world truly is the worst.