Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 5Volume 1 .2 - An Unexpected Invitation......?

An Unexpected Invitation……?  2

“In all subjects, only the last three questions were left blank. Consistently three questions… and the rest were all correct.”

“Is that why you think I held back?”

“More like a calculation. Each question is worth one to three points, and since there are no four-point questions, scoring below ninety is impossible. So, your scores range from ninety-seven to ninety-one points.”

“Even if that’s the case, why aim for the nineties? It’s not like scoring below eighty would…”

“Scores reflect ninety percent of your grade. In our school, scoring in the nineties and submitting assignments diligently means a grade of nine or ten out of ten, or five out of five. ──Oh, by the way, at this rate, you’re perfectly qualified as a full scholarship student based on academic merit. Rest assured.”

Sakuto was taken aback by Tachibana’s sharpness.

But this was different from Usami. Tachibana was purely logical.

Rather than stimulating the senses, she spoke in a way that felt like being slowly strangled with a silk thread.

Quite troublesome.

Tachibana didn’t seem to be someone swayed by ‘superficial results’ like rankings or scores.

“By the way, the marking done by each subject teacher isn’t shared among all the teachers in detail, like where and how mistakes were made. The only ones who really know the results are the students who get their answer sheets back… I see, you smartly exploited this loophole in our system, didn’t you?”

“…….”

There’s a loophole that can hardly be called a loophole in the process after the test results are scored.

The teacher in charge of tallying the scores only receives the points marked by each subject teacher.

The exchange of answer sheets is directly between the subject teacher who marked it and the student.

The answer sheets are not shared among the teachers after scoring.

There’s simply no need for it.

He thought no teacher would bother comparing a student’s answer sheets across all subjects.

However, he mentioned ‘a loophole that can hardly be called a loophole’ because there’s no benefit for a student in lowering their score.

While there are students obsessed with raising their scores, there are basically none who intentionally lower them.

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That’s why Sakuto was even more anxious.

Tachibana had realized something about him, albeit still conjectural at this stage.

“Intentionally not answering the last three questions in all subjects. In other words, you held back…”

“Why would I do that? There’s no benefit for me, right?”

“It’s because of the ranking list.”

“…!?”

“You don’t want to score high and be exposed in front of everyone. The attention from others fades from the top rank down. So being around eighth place was just right… Am I wrong?”

Tachibana spoke like a true detective, unraveling the case and gradually approaching the truth.

It was somewhat discomforting.

“I just ran out of time.”

“Hmm… from the student who scored first in the nation in ninth grade?”

Had she researched that much, even though she wasn’t his homeroom teacher?

It’s frightening to think she might have dug up his junior high school history.

“The content in junior high school is different from high school. Even if, hypothetically, what Sensei says is true, would that be considered cheating?”

Tachibana’s expression darkened.

“No, it’s not cheating. It’s not right, though…”

“That sounds like the same thing…”

“What I meant by ‘not right’ was not pointed at you.”

“Eh…?”

“Never mind. Oh, I’m running out of time──”

Tachibana didn’t pursue the matter further and silently continued eating.

However, a certain vegetable was being pushed to the side of her plate, along with fish bones.

It was the carrot included in the side dish of simmered hijiki seaweed.

“…Takayashiki, you like carrots, right? Here, take it. Don’t be shy.”

“I won’t eat it. And don’t assume what I like, please?”

“Is that so… Hmm…”

She hummed softly in front of the carrots.

“Tachibana Sensei, are we done talking?”

“Can I ask just one more thing?”

“…What is it?”

Tachibana gave up on the carrots and put down her chopsticks.

“You were twenty minutes late on the day of the entrance exam, weren’t you?”

“Yes, well…”

“You entered during the first period of the Japanese language exam. The reason was the delay of the train due to heavy snow and an accident, right? Is that correct?”

“…It is, for the most part.”

Sakuto recalled that day’s events with a wry smile.

“I was just grateful to be allowed to take the exam at the last minute.”

“It was a case that deserved consideration. But… are you really glad you chose to attend this school?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just as I said. Really… didn’t you have any other high school you wanted to attend? Moving away from your parents to live with your aunt… I’m curious why you were so determined to come here.”

It was a more fundamental question than before.

He thought this was probably what Tachibana most wanted to ask.

Sakuto let out another wry smile.

“Well, the cafeteria food is the best. And you should eat your carrots, you know?”

“Hmm… I know, but I just can’t stand them… Mmm…”

It made him wonder how much this carrot-disliking person knew.

Her knowledge seemed to be a mix of fragmented information and conjecture.

The timeline was scattered, and characters were missing.

With just this, it probably didn’t make much sense.

Yet, maybe in Tachibana’s mind, a whole story had formed.

Comedy and tragedy.

It’s a story that could go either way, depending on the writer.

***