NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 43: BSS to the Hero! Broke His Mind!
“BSS to the Hero! Broke His Mind!”
After the mid-term exams, on the Monday that followed the weekend, a crowd had gathered in front of the corridor bulletin board from the early morning.
Because the rankings for the mid-term tests had been posted.
In each grade, the top fifty students were listed along with their total scores.
The three of us who had just arrived at school also joined the crowd to check our own rankings.
However, it didn’t take us long to find ours.
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~ Midterm Test Rankings ~
1st: Class 2-C – Sakura Hizuki – 500 points
2nd: Class 2-C – Isaya Tsujizono – 496 points
3rd: Class 2-A – Tatsuya Yamada – 487 points
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Sakura had achieved first place with a perfect score in all subjects, just as she had self-assessed.
“Wow, Sakuchan, that’s amazing~! You got a perfect score and first place~!”
“Really amazing. I can’t compete with that.”
“Thank you, Lilith, Isaya-kun.”
In response to our praise, Sakura blushed and returned the courtesy.
I ended up in second place by a small margin, and while I had aimed for first place this time, I couldn’t feel any resentment towards Sakura. In fact, I was genuinely happy that her hard work had paid off.
“Oh, look over there~, Lilith’s name is on the list~!”
“Huh? Oh, you’re right.”
Following Lilith’s voice, we looked and indeed, her name was there.
“45th place… hehe. Lilith, you did great!”
“Thank you~! It’s all thanks to you, Ikkun and Sakuchan~!”
Lilith was so happy that she grabbed Sakura’s and my hands and shook them vigorously.
As the one who had taught her, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotion.
As for Hakuma… let’s see, he was 32nd.
He always manages to stay within the top fifty somehow.
He says it’s thanks to me teaching him, but you really need a good head on your shoulders for this.
“But don’t let your guard down, okay? We have end-of-term exams in early July.”
“Ugh~, can’t we enjoy the moment a little longer~?”
“Well, okay. We can study together again, so no worries.”
“Yay, Ikkun is so nice~! ♥️”
At Sakura’s sensible advice, Lilith drooped her head in disappointment. But as soon as I offered some comforting words and a smile, her bright smile returned.
“Seriously…”
Sakura sighed in exasperation at her friends’ high spirits.
“Then, shall we head to class—”
“Wait!”
“Oh, come on…”
Just as we were about to head to the classroom after checking our ranks, Yuto, as usual, approached us. What was odd this time was the anger in his expression.
Though I could have easily ignored him, I knew that would only make him more persistent. So, reluctantly, I had no choice but to engage with him.
“What do you want?”
“Tsujizono Isaya, huh? I was really surprised to see you ranked second in the grade. Your grades seem genuinely outstanding.”
“Don’t phrase it like everything else about me is terrible. But let me ask, how about you?”
“It’s right there on the board. I’m 49th.”
Surprisingly close to the top fifty, I thought.
Well, being in the top 50 is quite impressive, even if it’s just barely. But given how he’d challenged me on total scores, this interaction felt a bit anticlimactic.
Should I have accepted the challenge without feeling bothered? Looking back, I slightly regret not doing so. If I had, I might have avoided getting tangled up in this conversation.
“But my business isn’t with you. It’s with Lilith.”
“Huh~? Me~?”
As soon as Yuto told me he wanted to talk to her, Lilith made a visibly displeased expression.
I can’t blame her – even I, who understood her feelings well, can’t help but feel a bit frustrated by how often she’s bothered by this hero.
Despite the fact that she’s clearly not interested in him, Yuto continued to speak without showing any concern about being disliked.
“I heard it just now. What’s this about Tsujizono Isaya teaching you?”
“Well, you know, Ikkun is second in the grade~. Thanks to him, I managed to get 45th place~!”
“!”
In response to Yuto’s somewhat dissatisfied question, Lilith replied with a smile.
When he heard her response, his eyes widened in surprise, but soon a murky emotion appeared in his gaze.
“Something’s not right here!”
“Kyaa!”
In the blink of an eye, Yuto grabbed Lilith’s shoulder and yelled, his voice carrying frustration.
“If you wanted someone to tutor you, you could’ve asked me! I would’ve taught you!”
“Let go! There’s no reason for Lilith, who’s 45th, to be taught by someone who’s 49th place like you!”
“That rank difference isn’t something you can flaunt.”
Instead of that, right now I need to help Lilith!
I unintentionally interrupted and disrupted the flow, but I quickly pulled Lilith away from Yuto.
Was he so annoyed at my interference, or was it something else? Yuto stared at me with an uncharacteristic intensity.
“Tsujizono Isaya..!.”
“Calm down. If you wanted to teach her, there were plenty of opportunities before the tests to invite her. Bringing it up now doesn’t make any sense, right?”
“Shut up! If I had taught her, Lilith could have achieved a higher rank!”
“What evidence do you have for that…”
To say it simply, tutoring someone involves having a solid understanding of the subject matter. It’s not the same as just solving practice problems.
As I voiced my astonishment at his arrogant and grandiose statement, Lilith shot Yuto a stern and defiant look.
“Don’t belittle Ikkun! Even when I was like ‘ No more, no more, I can’t do it, I am at limit, let me rest,’ he was there, patiently and kindly teaching me until the end!”
“Watch how you phrase it!! That makes it sound like I taught you subjects other than the five subjects!”
I didn’t teach anything like health and physical education!
I mean, I’ve been feeding her off my essence, but not to that extent!
Oh no, am I coming off as creepy to the girls!?
No, it’s not like that at all, nothing shady happened, I swear!
“Um, Isaya-kun…”
“Even Sakura!? We’ve all been studying together, so you know the truth, right!?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s right!”
For some reason, even Sakura, who was with us, seemed to doubt me. Thankfully, she quickly regained her composure and agreed.
Amid the commotion caused by Lilith’s support wrapped in a bombshell, Yuto, who had heard the words directly, stood there bewildered.
His face, which had been filled with anger until a moment ago, had turned a ghastly shade of pale.
“L-Lilith… Do you really prefer Tsujizono Isaya that much?”
“Yeah~. At least I like Ikkun more than you, Hero-kun~.”
“What!?”
I get it, I’m just some sort of bait or toy to her, aren’t I?
But Yuto, who didn’t know Lilith’s true feelings, seemed to have taken her words at face value, and he collapsed to his knees, clearly devastated.
In a sense, it’s like getting rejected again.
This time, he was being compared to me, who he sees as his rival.
Even the mighty Hero had his limits, it seemed.
That’s what I thought, but then I heard Yuto muttering something under his breath. And in an instant, he grabbed my collar.
“I’ll never forgive you, Tsujizono Isaya!”
“Don’t take your frustrations out on me just because you got rejected!”
“I liked her first!”
“Telling me won’t do you any good!”
This guy is seriously annoying!
Even though he got rejected and he still won’t give up!?
I couldn’t help but feel exasperated by Yuto’s unexpectedly tenacious attitude
After managing to push Yuto away as he lunged at me, he still glared at me with eyes filled with hatred.
“Tsujizono Isaya! I challenge you to a duel once again! We’ll settle this in the final event of the sports festival, the ‘Duel Game’!! If I win, you’ll stay away from Hizuki and Lilith forever!”
“I’ve already told you I don’t want to. And under those conditions, I really don’t want to accept it.”
“Shut up! It’s already decided, and your opinion doesn’t matter!”
“Your arrogance knows no bounds…”
I didn’t want to engage further, and Yuto left after saying his piece. It’s annoying how he turns into a tragic hero just because he got rejected.
“Are you okay, Isaya-kun?”
“I’m fine, Sakura. But things have gotten complicated. Lilith, are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m fine! Nothing hurts at all~”
As everyone around us stared in disbelief, I reassured Sakura that I was fine. I also asked Lilith, who had been grabbed by the shoulder, but she seemed dazed.
But she quickly switched back to her usual smile. Was I overthinking things?
Doubts lingered, but I concluded that for now, she probably wouldn’t provide answers even if I probed further.
The current issue was Yuto.
Somehow, I had been dragged into the flow of a duel, whether I won or lost, it was still a nuisance.
Should I consult the young lady again?
For now, I decided to wrap up my thoughts and bring them to a close.
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