Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622172789075625/episodes/16818792436930292969
“……What?”
One afternoon after school, Takagi Rio stared in disbelief at the hallway.
He couldn’t comprehend the midterm exam results posted on the wall.
The other students around her held their breath and maintained an eerie silence.
Takagi rubbed his eyes and looked at the results again.
—Second place.
No matter how many times he looked, it was second place.
In first place was that hated name.
Takagi tilted his head even further.
His score on this midterm exam was 927 out of 1000 points.
He had lost a few points in his weak subjects, but considering the difficulty of this exam, it was still a high score that should have secured him first place.
In fact, for Takagi, this was his personal best in the school’s regular exams.
That’s why he had been confident of first place even before the results were announced.
Yet…
“This can’t be true. …Impossible.”
Takagi couldn’t accept the reality of why he was in second place.
He had maintained first place with scores around 90% all along.
He had finally shed the shackles of Kako and was able to concentrate on his preparations as usual.
In fact, he had devoted more time and effort than usual, approaching the test from every angle.
So Takagi thought,
This must be some kind of mistake, or…
As if losing interest in Takagi, the other students around him began to stir.
“Edano kun is too amazing !”
“This test was really difficult, wasn’t it?”
“Asano chan is in 10th place ! Congratulations !”
“As usual, the top three are in a league of their own.”
Most of the comments were expressions of surprise and praise for Edano.
Occasionally, there were expressions of joy for other students who made it into the top 10.
The usual post-test festivities were taking place.
Except for one person.
“Shut up…shut up, shut up ! What the hell is this !?”
Takagi’s loud voice caused everyone around him to fall silent.
“This is impossible !”
As everyone’s attention turned to him, Takagi shouted loudly.
“This is ridiculous ! The average score for this test was 429 points ! Even Asano, who ranked 10th, scored 787 points. Yet, this score…it’s abnormal !”
Takagi dismissed the possibility of a grading error and reached a conclusion.
Namely, it was cheating.
He acknowledged that Edano Tsukushi’s grades were good, but even considering that, the high score was incomprehensible, and Takagi smiled faintly.
Then, a boy from the same class interjected.
“No, you should admit defeat. It’s your ability, right?”
“Huh !? …No, I see. You guys don’t know, do you?”
“What?”
As everyone listened intently, Takagi spoke proudly, feeling that he had hit the nail on the head.
“He’s from a poor single-parent family. If he doesn’t get the recommendation slot by winning first place this time, his life is over. So it’s not surprising that he would resort to such extreme measures by fudging the scoring.”
Takagi had been told about Tsukushi’s circumstances by Kako back then, so he immediately came to that conclusion.
Besides.
“Being with Nanamura F. Reisa is another good example, right? He must have gotten close to that rich girl and used her money to buy a teacher. What do you think!?”
It’s no wonder he’s so smug.
For Takagi, who can’t admit defeat, this delusion is the only truth.
Some pitied the once-brilliant student’s pitiful state, while others were disgusted.
Some were so repulsed by his behavior that they gossiped behind his back, while others agreed with his words and began to suspect Tsukushi.
Takagi himself was unaware that he was being looked down upon by the crowd.
Just then,
“Ugh, I can’t watch this. How embarrassing.”
A girl came up to Takagi and laughed at him.
Takagi grimaced at her annoying twin tails.
“Kako…..”
“Don’t call me by my first name. You’re just a loser. Kyahaha, what a horrible face.”
“You !”
“Besides, Tsukushi wouldn’t do something so dirty, and he’s not that skilled anyway. He’s not the brightest and not very resourceful. …Besides, isn’t that why you lost? Kyahaha. You’re the one who’s weak-minded, aren’t you?”
The one who appeared was Kako, Takagi’s ex-girlfriend and Tsukushi’s childhood friend.
She suddenly appeared and mocked him more directly than ever before, leaving Takagi speechless.
Seeing him at a loss for words, Shuuka continued.
This time, she spoke calmly with a serious expression.
“Tsukushi was just trying harder than you. He’s been studying all along. Well, he’s not very efficient, so he couldn’t show it until recently. At least he’s not like you, wasting time with girls or taking it out on them.”
The sudden revelation from his ex-girlfriend made the people around Takagi look at him even more harshly.
In that moment, all their gazes turned almost entirely to contempt.
For Kako, Tsukushi remained an annoying childhood friend, but she couldn’t stand Takagi criticizing him.
Kako knew how sincerely Tsukushi had pursued his dreams.
She also knew how much he had sacrificed.
While she disliked the fact that she herself was among those sacrifices, she couldn’t stand seeing Tsukushi being slandered with baseless accusations.
Such words finally caused the people around her to start bashing her.
“You said you’d apologize to Edano if you lost !”
“Stop making lame excuses and apologize for provoking him the other day !”
“That’s right ! Apologize !”
Takagi finally realized the situation she was in.
He had no allies, and everyone looked down on him and treated him like a fool.
Unable to bear it any longer, Takagi knelt down on the spot—at that moment.
“What’s going on here? What’s the situation?”
It was Edano Tsukushi himself, walking over with a puzzled expression.
He had arrived a bit late and seemed unaware of the situation.
Beside him was Nanamura F. Reisa, looking awkward.
“Um, just bantering.”
“…Yeah.”
After hearing the explanation, Tsukushi was even more confused and stunned.
Once everyone was gathered, the onlookers addressed Tsukushi.
“Takagi, if you lose this time, you promised to apologize for mocking me during the last quiz. Plus, you said you’d drop out or whatever if you lost.”
“You’re making a big deal out of it again.”
Tsukushi responded with his usual confidence.
The bold words, which didn’t consider the possibility of losing at all, made him sigh for the umpteenth time.
Then he turned his gaze to Takagi.
“But you don’t have to apologize. I was able to work this hard because you challenged me. And don’t drop out. Don’t run away.”
If he apologized, he would have to forgive him.
Tsukushi had no intention of doing that.
Putting his own feelings aside, he couldn’t forgive him for mocking Nagisa, so Tsukushi shook his head.
The onlookers misunderstood his attitude as generosity and began to cheer.
Takagi stared at Tsukushi in astonishment, and Tsukushi glared back at Takagi.
“I won’t let you get away with doing whatever you want and then running away.”
He wanted to make him taste the bitterness of never being the best in this school.
Those words were filled with that kind of determination.
In any case, the outcome was clear.
The midterm exam, which determined the course of their lives, ended with Tsukushi’s victory.
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