A new day dawned, the sun blazing hotter by the minute. Pedestrians grumbled about God's cruelty as they trudged along the streets.

Haiyue High School remained calm as ever today. But...

When the test papers were handed out, one person's world shattered.

"Zero on math? You just retook the exam last week, and now you pull this stunt again? What's even inside your head?"

Holding the paper, the glaring red circle stood out starkly. Only one person in the whole class could pull off such a feat.

"I... I can't help it. I just don't know how to solve them..."

Moyu Manatsu looked down guiltily, too ashamed to meet Yuki's eyes. Her class wasn't divided by rankings—no elite or remedial groups—but scoring zero? No normal student would manage that.

For Yuki, ranked near the top of the entire grade, Moyu Manatsu was a "talent" in the worst possible way. She felt ready to explode.

"Haven't I taught you this before? Why did you mess up this problem again? Look here—you're supposed to plug in this value. Why did you split it apart? And here—five-twelfths needs exact division. What were you skipping for?!"

Only Moyu Manatsu could rile the class rep to this degree.

Yuki trembled, clutching the zero-scored paper. Blood rushed to her head, her fury barely contained.

She felt like a mother whose daughter had run off with some random guy, then waddled home pregnant, announcing, "Mom, I brought you a grandson."

Okay, maybe that was exaggerated—but it was close.

"Brat."

"Y-yes...?"

Her voice dripped with guilt. She was visibly shaking, terrified Yuki might snap and kill her.

"Study session this afternoon. I'm starting from middle school basics. If you score zero again, I swear I'll murder you."

"Understood..."

What else could she say? Not a peep escaped her.

You could offend anyone—but never a woman, especially the class rep.

Yuki's scolding felt more motherly than her own parents ever had. Moyu Manatsu felt utterly miserable.

"Wife-tamer? What's this?"

Nan Huayin, never one to miss drama, leaned over with a grin. She skimmed the zero-scored paper and gasped softly.

"Honestly, that's... impressive in a weird way."

She wanted to laugh but held it back.

Scoring zero in high school? Only a blank test or a total idiot could pull that off.

"Seriously, Manatsu, how did you even get into this school?"

Nan Huayin's skeptical gaze felt like the world's malice aimed at Moyu.

Haiyue High wasn't the city's top school, but it wasn't easy to enter. Even Nan Huayin had crammed at cram schools to pass the entrance exam.

"Now that you mention it, Moyu, how did you get in?"

Yuki's calm face returned, but her eyes held suspicion as she stared at the girl.

"Why keep asking me that...?"

Moyu Manatsu squirmed guiltily.

"Our school requires decent scores. With grades like yours, how did you make it?"

"How I got in doesn't matter!"

"Did you sneak in through connections?"

"Sorry, I'm not some rich or official kid. I didn't buy my way in."

"Then how?"

"How else? I passed the exam."

Moyu was exasperated. Why wouldn't they drop this?

Just as Nan Huayin pressed further, a boy approached with a stack of papers.

"Manatsu-san, here's your Chinese test. And yours, Class Rep."

He handed them their papers and moved on to distribute the rest. Yuki examined hers carefully.

"Let me see... Not bad, Yuki. 89 points."

Nan Huayin praised her, but Yuki didn't look satisfied.

"I thought I'd hit 90."

"Relax. That's still great. You're always top of our class anyway."

Nan Huayin had absolute faith in Yuki's abilities.

"By the way, Mo—uh, Moyu. How did you do?"

She almost called her "brat" but caught herself with Nan Huayin around.

Moyu held her paper calmly, no surprise on her face. Yuki braced for another failure.

"Let me—what?!"

Nan Huayin snatched the paper. Her teasing expression vanished, replaced by shock.

Yuki took it. Her usual composure cracked for the first time.

"97 points..."

No matter how many times she checked, the score didn't change. And the name "Manatsu Mio" written on it looked genuine.

"Holy crap! She must be cheating! Absolutely cheating!"

Nan Huayin couldn't stay calm.

Minutes ago, this girl scored zero. Now she held a near-perfect paper? The whiplash was unreal.

"Only three points off for the essay. How is this even possible...?"

Yuki stared at the paper, deep in thought.

"Yuki, is this really the time to be calm?!"

"Don't overreact. It's unexpected but makes sense. She always ranks low overall, but the Chinese teacher adores her. Now I recall—her single-subject scores are always top-tier."

Yuki set the paper down.

"Moyu, I finally get how you got into this school."

Exactly. Moyu Manatsu was a hopeless case in math—but a severely unbalanced student otherwise.

"Unbelievable..."

Nan Huayin still hadn't recovered. Understandable.

Moyu Manatsu stayed calm. She'd expected this.

"I'll let it slide this time. But the study session still stands. If you shore up your weak subjects, you won't score so low."

Yuki handed back the paper, her tone flat.

True, even with a stellar single subject, Moyu's overall grades were terrible—dead last in class. Nothing compared to Yuki's all-around excellence.

"Got it..."

Moyu dared not argue. Thankfully, Yuki's anger had cooled thanks to the high Chinese score.

The bell rang. Students returned to their seats. Freshly scolded, Moyu didn't dare sleep in class. She sat up straight, though she understood little anyway.

Bored, she yawned. She missed her isekai life—the magic academy had its troubles, but it was fun. She longed to grab a meal with Caina in that world.

Reality felt dull. Though, with internet access, it might be bearable.

During break, she visited the restroom. Afterward, craving a drink, she headed for the vending machine.

"Gah! This stupid machine!"

A girl in uniform was "beating" the red vending machine. It clanged loudly. Her face flushed crimson with rage—adorably furious if you ignored the violence.

"Um..."

Moyu Manatsu wanted to buy a drink, but the girl blocked the machine. She hesitated.

"Huh? What is it?"

The girl turned, asking casually.

"...What are you doing?"

Moyu avoided the direct question, hoping she'd move.

"It ate my money! Can you believe that?!"

The girl stomped her foot, radiating fury.

Poor thing. Not my problem.

Moyu thought this.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask for space, the girl brightened.

"Oh! Can you lend me some coins?"

"..."

Minutes later, the girl hugged several drinks, sipping happily. Moyu Manatsu stood behind her, utterly regretful.

Why did I agree to lend her money?!

Her wallet was already thin. At this rate, she'd starve.

"You're such a good classmate. Thanks!"

Stuck with an unsolicited "good person" card, Moyu just sighed inwardly.

"Wait—I remember you. You're that weird guy from class, right?"

The girl spoke uncertainly.

Classmate?

Moyu studied her. Strange—she didn't recognize her at all.

"Your name was... Manatsu? Manatsu Mo... Manatsu Moyu?"

"It's Manatsu Mio!"

"Right, right. Manatsu Mio-san."

The girl chugged a drink, then tossed the empty can. It arced perfectly into the trash bin.

"I'm Kubo Aoji. Your classmate."

She cracked open another can and gulped it down.

"Hold on—Kubo Aoji sounds like a boy's name! And you're a girl!"

Seeing the horrified look on her face, Kubo Seiji sighed.

“I get that a lot.”

She drained the drink, then tossed the empty can into the trash bin with a satisfied sigh.

“Truth is, my mom picked this name before I was born. She didn’t expect a girl, so I’ve just kept it.”

She spoke like it was nothing unusual.

“This stuff’s pretty good. Want to try some, Manatsu?”

“......No, thanks.”

Moyu Manatsu watched the girl sipping her drink, thinking, *Just don’t get dragged into trouble*, and felt utterly speechless.