Chapter 37 - Everyone’s Smiles
—The protagonist’s battle: a test that spanned several days.
The results were posted in the hallway after school on the weekend.
I don’t remember much from the test day itself, probably because I was too focused. All I did was face the problems head-on, using everything I had, including knowledge from my previous life, to find the answers.
Looking at the two large sheets of paper displaying the top students’ names in the hallway, I clenched my fists tightly.
Nearby, I could hear cheerful conversations.
The voices were bright and lively, but none of them were directed at me.
“Raito-kun, that’s amazing! How could you score so high?”
“Wow, Raito, I’m really impressed!”
“Raito-san, please let me say it too: your hard work has clearly paid off. Congratulations.”
“Yeah, I never imagined I’d score this well. It’s all thanks to you guys. I’m really grateful.”
“Raito, you should praise me more, okay? Show me how much you appreciate me!”
“Karen, weren’t you the one being tutored most of the time?”
“Hehe, even so, Himeno-san worked really hard during the test period, Raito-kun. She faced her weaknesses head-on for your sake.”
“Is that right? Yeah, thanks, Karen.”
“It’s not like I did it for you or anything…ugh, whatever. If you’re happy, then that’s fine.”
“Heh, Karen, you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
“Wha—!? What are you suddenly saying!?”
“Who knows, maybe I just felt like it.”
A scene unfolding between the protagonist and the heroines.
It looked like the protagonist had just conquered a great enemy and overcome a huge obstacle with the heroines by his side.
But Fusegawa Raito’s face seemed dark somehow.
His gaze, which had been fixed on the ranking sheet, shifted slightly to the adjacent sheet of paper.
As he stared at the name written there, he clenched his fists again, turning his back on the heroines.
“Sorry, everyone. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now. I need to be alone. I’ve got a lot to think about, so I’ll head home first.”
“P-please wait, Raito-kun! We’ll come with you. You can count on us. No matter what walls you face, together, we’ll overcome them.”
“No matter what walls… huh. Yeah… I hope that’s true.”
As Fusegawa Raito started walking, the heroines followed, leaving the ranking board behind.
I watched them as they walked away and glanced back up at the posted rankings.
The names of the top students were listed in neat rows on the paper.
At the very top, shining brightly, was Fusegawa Raito’s name.
Below that were Yuna Hanazaki and Reo Kizaki.
To my surprise, Mashiro’s name was also among the top 10. Our efforts together during the test preparation had paid off, and she had secured a top spot as well.
Just as I squinted at the bright scene and was about to leave—
“Ryusuke!!!”
Mashiro came running at full speed and leaped into my arms. Beaming with a huge smile, she looked up at me and hugged me tightly.
Her momentum nearly knocked me over, but my well-trained body managed to hold firm and catch her.
“Good job, Ryusuke! Everyone at school is talking about it! You worked so hard, you’re amazing!”
“Thanks, Mashiro. But you did amazing too—7th in the grade, you know?”
“Really!? Wow, it’s true! Look at this ranking! I’m 7th! It feels like a dream!”
“Yeah, you did great. You really worked hard.”
“Mhm! And it’s all thanks to you, Ryusuke! I can’t thank you enough!”
“I’m glad to hear that. It makes all the effort I put into teaching you worthwhile.”
I gently patted Mashiro’s head, and she smiled with delight, her cheeks softening.
Then, she snuggled her face into my chest, and as I lovingly stroked her soft black hair, I felt a wave of affection for her.
After a little while, Reo and Nishikawa showed up.
“Good job, Ryusuke. The test this time was impressive. I heard the results.”
“Well, yeah. You did great too, Reo—4th in the grade. As expected.”
“My score’s about the same as it was in the last midterms, but as I expected, my rank went down. The top three were just too strong this time.”
“What about Fusegawa? I heard he left already.”
“Yeah, he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk, so I’ll catch up with him later.”
“I see. That’s probably for the best.”
“Anyway, Ryusuke. You did great. You should be proud of these results.”
“Thanks, Reo.”
Reo gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder, smiling brightly, while Nishikawa excitedly started talking.
“Ryusuke, listen! I somehow got 99th place! Finally made it into the double digits, and I’m so stoked!”
“You worked hard, Nishikawa. Now you can focus on basketball practice without worrying about failing.”
“You bet! But I had the coach give me the day off because I wanted to celebrate with you!”
“Yeah, me too. I asked for the day off to celebrate with you. The tournament’s still a ways off, so everyone was happy to let me go.”
“Really, you guys… for my sake?”
“It’s not just us! I want to celebrate with you too, Ryusuke! I want to give you lots of rewards!”
“A reward from Mashiro, huh? Can I look forward to it?”
“Of course! I’m going to give you lots and lots of rewards for working so hard!”
Everyone was praising my test results.
And that made me so incredibly happy.
Once again, I looked at the ranking sheet.
But it wasn’t the same one I had been looking at earlier.
It was the other large sheet beside it.
There, in big letters, was the name of a single student.
It was to honor the student who achieved the best results and let the whole school know.
First in the grade, a perfect score in every subject.
That incredible achievement, and the name of the student who accomplished it, were clearly written in bold.
—Shindo Ryusuke.
No one else. It was my name.
That’s right.
There were two sheets posted in the hallway.
One listed the top 50 students, starting from second place. The other was reserved for honoring the student who earned the top spot in the entire grade.
And that student, who earned the highest rank, was me.
I don’t have the power to work miracles.
I don’t have the strength to defy an unfair fate.
But I did achieve this—something that even someone like me, who isn’t the protagonist, could grasp.
Because I had friends who believed in me, because I had worked hard, and because I had the courage to vow that I would overcome any adversity.
And above all—
“Ryusuke, congratulations! Truly, congratulations!”
—Because I had Mashiro’s smile.
That’s why I made it this far. I was able to resist the world and share in this joy.
Mashiro’s innocent smile.
Reo’s refreshing grin.
Nishikawa’s infectious laughter.
Their smiles were contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile too.
It was a dazzling scene that anyone would envy.
This moment was what I had been striving for, and I fought to make it mine.
“Hey, everyone, want to head home together? I really want to talk with all of you.”
“Of course! Where should we go? Maybe a family restaurant?”
“Yeah, a family restaurant sounds good. I’m all for Mashiro’s idea.”
“I’m up for wherever you want, Ryusuke! I’ll stick with you no matter what!”
My precious friends answered with bright smiles.
That made me so happy that I smiled right back.
Thank you, everyone—