Chapter 366: A Bunch of Academic Bitches

"Principal, what do you think?"

"..."

"Come on, say something."

"I think... Rinji, could you rewrite it?" the principal asked awkwardly.

"Are you messing with me?" Rinji's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"No, no! I'm not teasing you at all!" The principal frantically waved his hands. "But... the slogan you wrote probably can't be posted."

"Why? That slogan is awesome and you're saying it won't work?"

"This is a school recruitment pamphlet for regular students who want to go to high school, Rinji. It's recruitment, not military conscription."

"Is there a difference?"

"..."

The principal was at a loss for how to explain it to Rinji.

"Principal, I've been at Shuchiin for more than half a year now, right?" Rinji suddenly said.

"Ah... yes."

"In that half-year, I've constantly wanted to send you to Africa."

"...Huh?"

"Let's list your crimes."

Rinji raised a finger.

"You went hunting Pokémon during work hours—fine, I won't bring that up. But for last semester's French exchange student welcome party, you only told us about it one week in advance."

Principal: "That was to test the Student Council President's crisis response skills."

"You wanted me to wear a dress for a promo shoot."

Principal: "I genuinely thought it would suit you."

"You sent me to Private Hyakkaou Academy for a month."

Principal: "That couldn't be helped. With the mess you caused, parents were all sending complaints my way."

"So, Principal, pick a destination—Africa or the Middle East."

"Wait, Rinji, let's talk this through."

"I don't think there's anything left to talk about," Rinji said sharply. "And about last semester's finals. My score was the same as Iino's, yet you ranked me second."

"But according to the alphabetical order of Romanized names..."

"Goodbye, Principal. Enjoy your trip."

"Wait, wait, wait! For the upcoming finals, I'll make sure the ranking is reordered!" the principal said quickly. "If scores are the same, you'll be ranked first."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"I'll trust you this once."

Rinji didn't care much about grades, but seeing the principal's attitude so humble, he let it go.

---

Final exams are the most important tests each term, measuring the students' overall progress.

At Shuchiin, students face five exams per semester, with finals being the most crucial. It determines whether they can enjoy their break in peace.

During this time, everyone needed to review class content and prepare thoroughly to achieve their best possible performance.

Only a few hours later, as Rinji returned to the student council office after class, the atmosphere had completely shifted.

Though everyone was calmly working at their desks, the tension in the air was palpable—like they were silently hostile toward one another.

"...What's wrong with all of you? You were all normal this morning," Rinji asked.

"Nothing's wrong."

Shirogane replied without looking up, busy writing at his desk.

"We're just the same as always."

"Really?"

Of course not.

With finals approaching, the student council members were already sizing up their classmates as rivals to defeat.

Not everyone was nervous though.

Ishigami clearly didn't care, lounging on the sofa playing his Switch.

"Hey Ishigami, wanna hit the arcade after school?"

"Sure."

Rinji wasn't nervous either. He already knew everything he needed to.

Seeing Rinji relaxing instead of studying, Iino, who was reading a book, spoke up. "Exams are coming up soon. It'd be better if you spent a little time studying, Rinji-kun."

"Doesn't matter. Grades aren't that important."

And he meant it.

Rinji had matched Iino's scores in almost every test that semester. That said, he hadn't taken many exams in total, considering he was regularly forced to take leaves from school each semester.

From the few tests he did attend, Rinji had never really seen Iino as a rival. It was more like "I showed up just because the school was holding exams."

In terms of mindset, he wasn't much different from Ishigami.

"I see." Iino remained composed. "I just hope you'll think a bit about your future and study more. I'd love to see the day you surpass me."

That was a lie.

The happiest person about Rinji slacking off was her.

She was so pleased her lips curled up without even realizing it.

Currently, in the entire first year, only Rinji had grades on par with hers. And he was the kind of guy who could get top scores without even studying.

Iino, being the disciplinary committee member, had made plenty of enemies. So, she needed authority.

And being first in the grade was the only way she could maintain that authority.

If she ever lost that position, what she said would carry far less weight.

So what she wanted most was for Rinji's test results to be ranked below hers. Ideally, always below hers.

"Whatever. See you in the top three of the finals."

"OK."

Ishigami: "...So this is what it's like in the world of the strong?"

Ishigami definitely had the worst grades in the entire student council.

Just look at the others—Shirogane was first in second year, Kaguya was second in second year, and both Rinji and Iino were tied for first in first year.

The student council was either first or second across the board.

"Ugh... the finals," Fujiwara said with a deeply troubled expression. "I haven't even finished reviewing. I think I'm doomed this time."

That was true.

If someone who goofed off all the time didn't do badly in exams, that would be the real tragedy.

Still, even with bad grades, Fujiwara was somewhere in the middle range. Ishigami, on the other hand, consistently hovered in the bottom fifty of the year.

"Hey, Ishigami."

Rinji suddenly remembered something and looked over at Ishigami, who was gaming.

"What?"

"I'll help you review over the weekend before finals," Rinji said. "Let's at least get your grades looking a bit more decent."