116 - Study Session

RAW

Having greeted Ikue, Tomoya and the others headed straight to Ayaka's room.

"Wow, I’d heard from Aizawa-san before coming here, but Ayaka’s house really is a mansion," Tomoya remarked.

"I’m confident I could live in just the hallway of this house," Shizuku added.

"Ah, I thought the same," Tomoya nodded in agreement, recalling the grandeur of the corridor stretching out from the entrance.

As they climbed the stairs, Tomoya and Shizuku continued their banter, prompting Saki to speak up proudly, her face beaming.

"See? I told you Ayaka’s house is amazing, didn’t I?"

Tomoya, chuckling, quipped back, "Wait, why are you the one bragging? Shouldn't that be Ayaka?"

"Well, you know, it’s that whole ‘what’s my best friend’s is mine’ kind of thing, right, Ayaka?"

Ayaka, giving her an exasperated smile, opened the door to her room and gestured for everyone to come in.

Shizuku quickly scanned the room upon entering, her gaze eventually landing on the ceiling light.

"Oh? No chandelier here, Ayaka-senpai?" she asked.

"Having one in a bedroom would be unsettling," Ayaka replied, her expression faintly exasperated.

"But you’d suit a chandelier, Ayaka-senpai," Shizuku said, tilting her head slightly with her usual neutral expression.

"…Shizuku-chan, is that a compliment or an insult?" Ayaka asked, squinting at her.

"Hmm, half and half."

"Couldn’t you just say it’s a compliment…?"

"I’m joking."

While Ayaka and Shizuku bantered, the others took their seats on the cushions around the table.

"Hmm, knowing this is Ayaka-san’s room makes me a bit nervous. Right, Haru?" Tomoya teased.

"Yeah, I remember being nervous at first too," Haruto replied.

"Oh, so Haru’s already a regular in this room?" Tomoya grinned knowingly.

"Not exactly a regular…" Haruto muttered with a wry smile.

"Where does Haru-senpai ‘reside’ in this house?" Shizuku interrupted, ending her conversation with Ayaka to question Haruto.

"Reside? What am I, a wild animal?" Haruto retorted lightly before pointing toward the adjacent room.

"I’ve been borrowing the room next to Ayaka’s. It used to be Ryota-kun’s."

"A boy and a girl, in neighboring rooms under the same roof during their teenage years… how scandalous," Shizuku remarked slowly, glancing between Haruto and Ayaka.

"Why?!"

"Why?!"

Haruto and Ayaka’s voices overlapped perfectly in protest.

"Isn’t it obvious? Your beloved is just a wall away," Shizuku continued nonchalantly.

"Why does that make it scandalous?!" Haruto demanded.

"Because it’s impossible for nothing to happen in that situation. Right, Saki-senpai?" Shizuku turned to Saki for support.

"True… scandalous," Saki nodded with a grin.

"Stop saying weird things, Saki!" Ayaka protested, puffing her cheeks in frustration before plopping onto a cushion.

"Let’s start studying already. That’s what we’re here for, right?"

Prompted by Ayaka’s declaration, everyone settled around the table and began pulling out their study materials.

Despite her usual antics, Shizuku also focused seriously on her notes and textbooks, refraining from teasing Ayaka or cracking jokes.

Time passed in silence as everyone concentrated on their work until Saki, who was working on math problems, leaned toward Haruto with her textbook.

"Hey, Otsuki-kun, can you help me with this problem?"

"Hm? Oh, sure. This one’s…" Haruto began explaining the solution.

"Got it! That makes sense now. Wow, Otsuki-kun, you’re amazing. No wonder you’re at the top of the class!" Saki exclaimed, clearly relieved.

"Yeah, Haru’s awesome. He can explain anything so clearly," Tomoya chimed in, grinning.

"Tomoya, why are you bragging? Shouldn’t Ayaka be the one bragging about her boyfriend?" Saki teased, turning to Ayaka.

Caught off guard, Ayaka blinked in confusion. "Huh? Did you call me?"

"Look at Ayaka’s notebook; she’s super focused this time," Saki noted, pointing at Ayaka’s densely filled pages.

Ayaka blushed slightly. "I’m aiming to score above 80 on every subject this time."

"Huh? But you usually get around that, don’t you?"

"Y-yeah, but this time I really want to…" Ayaka trailed off, glancing shyly at Haruto.

"Could it be… you’ll get a reward from Haruto-kun if you do?" Saki teased with a sly smile.

Startled, Ayaka’s shoulder twitched visibly.

"Bingo!" Saki declared triumphantly.

Ayaka quickly explained, flustered, "W-we studied together over the summer, and we thought it’d be motivating to have a reward system, so…"

"I see! And what’s Haruto-kun’s reward if he gets first place again?" Saki asked playfully.

"Uh, nothing, really…" Haruto replied awkwardly.

"That won’t do! If Ayaka gets a reward, Haruto-kun should get one too!"

Blushing, Ayaka nodded hesitantly. "If Haruto-kun gets first place again… I’ll give him a reward."

"Thanks…" Haruto muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Shizuku, who had been silent, suddenly tossed her pen down dramatically.

"What is this?! Flirting while we’re trying to study?!"

"W-we’re not flirting!" Ayaka protested, her face red.

"Yes, you are," Shizuku replied flatly.

"Let’s ask Tomoya-senpai, the flirting judge!"

Tomoya stroked his chin theatrically before declaring, "Guilty!"

"You’re so loud," Haruto groaned.

Shizuku, now thoroughly distracted, rummaged through a bag of snacks and dumped them on the table.

"Break time! Snack party!"

Saki immediately joined in, grabbing a pack of gummies.

"Care to join, Ayaka?"

"Sure, I’ll have some."

As the snack party unfolded, Shizuku suddenly suggested, "Let’s play a game!"

"What game?" Saki asked curiously.

"Isn’t it obvious? When young men and women gather, there’s only one choice… the King’s Game!" Shizuku declared, grinning mischievously.