"As usual, you all will be receiving your grades now. If you think anything's wrong, feel free to consult a teacher or a reference material. If you find anything wrong with your grade, ask me to revise your test. But if not, then you're free to go home."
Nagasawa-sensei explained how things generally work here in Ginsei Academy before giving us our grades.
In short, today, the whole day was reserved for us students getting our grades. From what everyone told me, it seems like this is some serious business. The whole day is dedicated to these grades. If there are any problems to be solved, today's the day for that.
Just to give an idea of how seriously this is taken, apparently, a really long time ago, a teacher and a student got into a fight, since the student said their grades were lowered because the teacher was from a rival house. It got so bad the Devil King at the time had to get involved.
Well, I've never once questioned my grades in normal school, and I don't plan to start here in Ginsei Academy. I've never been the brightest student, but I always got passing grades, so I'm sure it'll be fine here as well.
Eventually, Nagasawa-sensei gave me and Miyabi our grades. The paper with those numbers printed on was sealed in an envelope, to show that it wasn't tampered with and all that. I feel like it's a bit much, but Ginsei Academy's staff probably has their reasons.
I was going to open my envelope, but then I noticed Miyabi wasn't opening hers.
"What's wrong? You won't open it?"
"Nah, I'm too nervous. I'll let senpai open it, maybe that'll 'wooh' bless it."
As much as she may look it, I don't think Lizel-senpai is some divine being. Though she is a devil as beautiful as a goddess. Also, was that 'wooh' the sound effect for a divine light or something?
All jokes aside, though I wasn't really joking, I didn't dislike the idea. So I stopped opening my envelope and decided to save it so Lizel-senpai could open it. Who knows, maybe Miyabi was right and that would bring some luck.
With our grades in hand, Miyabi and I left our classroom. We had agreed to meet with Lizel-senpai and Reina at the Palace after lunchtime, so there was still a lot of time to kill.
"Is there anything you want to do, Miyabi?"
"I'm going to go talk with some friends, since we won't be spending any time together this summer."
"Oh, that's actually a good idea. Maybe I'll do the same."
"Yuuto has friends beside us?!"
"Hey, that's rude!"
… Now that I think about it, I really spend most of my time with my Cards, so I don't have many friends outside Lovers' team. There's Ruki, Geld, Neith and Stella. I can also add Rinne and Lost for the sake of increasing numbers.
Huh… that's kinda low… I mean, I was never the popular kid, but I always had a bunch of friends in my previous schools.
But friends are about quality, not quantity. I consoled myself with that as I parted ways with Miyabi.
Since I don't really have much to do until lunchtime, I figured I could maybe go to the gym and train a bit, since I stopped training for a while to prepare for the tests. I also had to stop Healing Lovers for a bit, but we'll be back to doing that soon. Just between us, I can't wait.
So I started heading to the gym, but on the way I saw a familiar face.
"Oh, Ruki."
"Yuuto-kun! Are you heading somewhere?"
"Just going to kill some time at the gym."
I happened to meet Ruki. Of course, being a student, he probably also just got his grades and is probably going to head home soon.
Also, a while back, Lizel-senpai told me she invited Ruki for our little summer training camp as well. I was the one who gave the original idea. While I'd love to be surrounded by girls all summer, Ruki's still a friend, and the Devil King War has no breaks, so I figured we shouldn't leave him alone.
Besides, a little bit of male friendship couldn't be bad. So, while I had to admit I was a little disappointed to lose the all-girls paradise that awaited me, I asked Lizel-senpai to invite Ruki to come with us.
"I see. Well, I'm going back home to prepare. Hehe, I think I'm going to surprise Yuuto-kun."
"A-ah, sure. I'll see you when it's time for us to depart."
I hope it won't be a bad surprise! Considering I've already seen him in a girl's school uniform, a cheerleading outfit, and a dress, I'm pretty sure he'll show up in a girl's swimsuit this time.
I just hope he doesn't try to pull a slingshot swimsuit or a micro bikini. Please don't make me regret worrying about you!
But I didn't want to be rude, so I didn't say any of that. Let's just let things flow and see what happens. Just hope I don't regret it.
Anyway, I said goodbye to Ruki and went on my way to the gym. As I expected, there was nobody here today, so I had the place all to myself.
So, like I planned, I kept doing some light training until it was about time for lunch. It was almost time to meet Rinne, so I went to the usual place. Since it was the last day I'd meet her for a while, I tried to bring a little extra today.
To my surprise, when I arrived, Rinne was already there sitting and waiting for me. The little devil on my shoulder told me to stay hidden a little bit to see what would happen.
"… He's late…"
Even when she thought nobody was around, Rinne still kept up her fake smile. But that went away once she noticed I was getting late, and her normal frown-like expression showed up.
She seemed to really be getting worried, and I didn't want to actually be mean, so I decided to show up.
"Sorry, got a little distracted today."
"… You don't have to explain yourself to me. … I was only getting worried because Lost would be mad at me if something happened to you."
Yeah sure, I'll believe that 100%.
So, as it's been on my routine for a while now, I started having lunch with Rinne. I tried asking a few random stuff, like if she had any plans for summer break, but wasn't able to get any real answers.
"… Again, thank you for the food."
"It's no problem. And I guess today's the last day we'll be seeing each other for a while. See you when school comes back?"
"Maybe… maybe not."
Was she worried something would happen during summer break? Maybe I could help ease some of her worries.
"Do you have your phone with you? We can exchange numbers and you can call me if something happens."
"I don't have a phone."
Huh? I think she's the first person I ever met that doesn't have a phone.
But this is a problem. How could I get her to contact me if something happened? … Wait, I think I have an idea. Hey, Arcana…
[… It should be possible.]
Alright, then let's go with that.
"Rinne, you have your Arcana with you?"
"Obviously. But what for?"
"Can you hold it out for me?"
I could see she was confused, most people don't know you can talk with your Arcana after all. But why is she looking at me like I'm crazy?
Regardless, she held out her Arcana like I asked her. I took out Lovers and pressed it to Rinne's Wheel of Fortune.
I didn't do anything else, just waited for the Arcana to tell me she finished.
[Done.]
Then I separated our Arcanas and put mine back under my shirt. Rinne put hers back in her pocket.
"I know you're Lovers, but I would rather you just tell me directly if you're planning something perverted."
"That's not it! I just asked my Arcana to ask yours to send a signal if something happened to you."
Rinne seemed confused, but then she put her hands on my head. Wait, I know this feeling, it's healing magic.
"You should have told me if you hit your head. Even if you feel fine, it can be dangerous. Are you better now?"
"Y-yeah, better."
Guess I'm not convincing her, so I'll just give up before she thinks I'm crazy.
Anyway, even if she doesn't believe it, her Arcana should still warn me if something happens. I can't promise to come running, but I'll help if I can.
After this little embarrassing sequence, Rinne and I went our separate ways. It was about time to meet everyone else at the Palace.
Once I arrived, I found Lizel-senpai and Reina already there waiting.
"Look, onii-chan. Reina's grades were amazing desu!"
"Ooh, mom and dad are going to be happy."
Reina showed me her grades. You could see her strong and weak points, but she passed all subjects with points to spare. I'm proud of my little sister!
"And how was Lizel-senpai?"
"The usual. Does Yuuto want to see?"
Lizel-senpai also showed me her grades. It was a bunch of 100s with some 99s here and there. A nearly perfect score!
"W-wow, as expected of Lizel-senpai."
"This is nothing much. How about Yuuto?"
"Oh, actually, Miyabi and I decided to save ours so Lizel-senpai could open them."
"Me? Alright…"
Lizel-senpai seemed a bit confused, but a little bit of superstition couldn't kill.
Speak of the devil, literally, Miyabi showed up not long after I mentioned her. She walked straight over to Lizel-senpai, lowered her head and handed her the envelope with her grades.
"Please give me your blessing!"
"I'm not sure how to feel about this…"
Regardless, Lizel-senpai took Miyabi's envelope and opened it. She read Miyabi's grades and then told her the results.
"You just barely scraped by on a few subjects, but you managed to pass everything."
"Oh thank God."
Miyabi fell with her back on the sofa as if she was completely exhausted. I guess she was more nervous than she was letting on.
"*giggle* Senpai's funny today desu."
Even Reina couldn't help but laugh. I guess it's my turn now, so I handed my envelope to Lizel-senpai, also jokingly asking for her blessing.
Lizel-senpai opened my envelope and read my grades. Though she was taking a little while to tell me.
"… Maybe I need glasses. Reina, can you read this for me?"
"Y-yes, senpai. … …hum… s-senpai, can you read onii-chan's grades desu?"
"Lemme see."
Huh? Why are my grades passing from one hand to another? Miyabi even got up with her back straight. I hope it's something so amazing that it's hard to believe.
"Yuuto, I'm supposed to be the 'dun' dumb one of the group. If you show me this kind of thing, I'm going to get worried I'll lose my place."
"Huh? Wait, let me see."
I looked at my own grades… wow, this isn't even bad, it's horrible. Nothing even has 2 digits, and it's out of 100 points.
If we were playing golf, I would be dominating. But we aren't, so this is pretty bad.
"What happened, Yuuto? This is more than bad, it's shameful."
"I-I don't know. I know I have difficulties, but I didn't think it was this bad."
How it works when a student gets bad grades here at Ginsei Academy is like this: instead of being free during summer or winter break, they still have to come to class, but now it's basically a 1-on-1 with the teacher so they can give individualized lessons. Right before vacation ends, there's a test that substitutes the previous bad grades.
Some students just study by themselves during that time and only take the test at the end. I could try to do that, but I was planning to dedicate summer to getting stronger, and Lizel-senpai said she had to go right now, though she didn't explain why, so she can't help me study.
"Yuuto, go after your teacher and ask her to help you. But you can't waste all summer, so ask her to give you intensive classes or something."
"Y-yes, Lizel-senpai."
In short, I really need to do something about these grades. That's why I rushed after Nagasawa-sensei. With some luck, she'll still be in the classroom.
I arrived in front of class 1-D and opened the door. Luckily, Nagasawa-sensei was still there, but I don't think she was too happy to see me.
"You're late! I've been waiting all this time!"
As Nagasawa-sensei made very clear to me, my grades were the big problem she had today. In fact, I was the only student of 1-D to not pass. She expected me to come talk to her soon after I got my grades, but I ended up taking hours to show up, so she had to wait all this time.
It took a while to calm her down, but I eventually managed to. Though I couldn't quite call her calm yet, I had to see what could be done about those grades.
"Do you even listen to a word I say during classes? How could you even get such low grades?!"
"I-I'm sorry."
I didn't know what else to say, but I understood where Nagasawa-sensei was coming from. With these grades, I might as well not even be coming to classes.
"*sigh* It's fine. Your extra classes start tomorrow, we'll use this classroom. I'll be sure to drill everything into your empty head, even if I have to spend the whole day doing it."
Should I be happy Nagasawa-sensei speaks so freely with me? I don't really mind it, but I really can't imagine this is proper behavior for a teacher.
But anyways, I have to do something about this. I can't afford to spend the whole break taking these classes.
"Hum, you see, Nagasawa-sensei, I had other plans during summer break, and it's really important. Can't we do something about this? Like just speed things up a little."
Of course, I couldn't just ask her to increase my grades. What Lizel-senpai suggested I ask was for Nagasawa-sensei to speed things up. Intensive lessons, as she put it.
Basically, what matters is that I take the test and get a passing grade. It's not uncommon for some students to ask to take the test right away or something. I couldn't do that, but maybe with a few extra classes or something I could pull it off.
"I-I understand. T-then let's exchange contacts, I'll message you later today about what I can do."
Nagasawa-sensei's voice sounded a bit strange, but I don't think I sounded aggressive or anything like that. Maybe it's just her being stressed out? If so, I apologize, it's probably my fault.
Anyway, we exchanged contacts, she'd message me later about any arrangements she could make. Nagasawa-sensei said she'd go home, since there was nothing more for her to do. I apologized again for making her wait.
I met up with Lizel-senpai and the others after that and told them about my talk with Nagasawa-sensei. I'll have to do my best to study.
Later, when we got home, Reina gave her grades for mom and dad to see. Of course, they were pretty happy with her results.
"Oh my, Reina-chan is so smart."
"Right? Our daughter is not just cute, but also really bright!"
"R-Reina is embarrassed desu."
I thought that my parents' overhype over Reina would let me pass by unnoticed, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
"How about you, Yuuto?"
"Oh, my, hum, grades… right… they, hum, weren't printed out yet. It might take like a week or so more."
Those were the lowest grades of my life! No way I could show them to mom and dad.
But I think they might have gotten the idea, since dad went:
"I see. So they weren't printed out… Well, it happens with everyone. Just because Reina's good- I mean, her grades in general, were 'printed' you don't have to worry about yours. Just make sure to show us when they are 'printed'."
"Poor Yuu-kun. You've probably been having difficulties with everything that has happened. But you have to do your best to study. And if you have difficulties, ask Reina-chan."
"R-Reina will do her best to help onii-chan."
Why does forgiveness sometimes feel worse than blame? For the rest of the day, my parents tried to avoid any mention of grades and such. Maybe I should have just shown my bad grades anyway…
