Ten minutes later, the upperclassman returned, slightly winded.
"Here. Transfer the points."
He handed over a stack of papers—midterms for five subjects plus a monthly quiz.
After a quick inspection, Hashima smiled. "A pleasure doing business."
Pulling out his phone, he initiated the transfer—15,000 points from his personal account. Ichinose's class points were halved as Class A's leader, whereas his reserves were plentiful.
"All set."
Seeing his balance jump, the upperclassman finally relinquished the exams.
"Midterms on top, quiz below. Since you didn't specify which quiz, I grabbed our first one."
"Answers are included. Verify them yourselves."
"Much obliged."
After handing the papers to Ichinose, Hashima stood. "We'll take our leave now. Goodbye, senpai."
As they walked back, Ichinose scrutinized the exams, her brow furrowing deeper with each page.
"Relax, Ichinose-san. The midterms are days away—we've got time."
Noticing her tension, Hashima plucked the papers from her hands.
"Eh? Hashima-kun?"
"No reading while walking. Bad for your eyes."
His tone brooked no argument.
"O-okay. Sorry, I just... got excited."
Blushing, she let him steer her toward the dorms.
After dinner in his room, they cross-checked the exams.
Just as rumored, the quiz questions matched theirs perfectly—same order, same answers. Memorizing these guaranteed full marks.
"It's identical. The midterms will likely follow suit." Ichinose traced a finger over the answer key.
"But we won't distribute these yet."
Hashima stacked the papers neatly.
"Why not?"
"If we hand them out now, everyone will just cram the answers, wasting their previous efforts."
"Also, while the quiz matches, we can't be certain about the midterms until we see them. What if the scope stays the same but questions change?"
He checked his calendar—six days until exams.
"We'll share these on Wednesday. Two days of normal study, then one day of memorization. Dual insurance for top scores."
Ichinose's eyes shimmered with admiration. "As expected of Hashima-kun. Such a thorough plan."
"Just came to me." He handed her the papers. "You keep these. We'll review them together Wednesday."
After she left, Hashima flopped onto his bed, reflecting on the day.
Reused exams, sanctioned trades—this school keeps surprising me.
With no special exams yet, he wondered what twists awaited.
Their rules always leave room for creative solutions. Testing our ingenuity?
What exactly is this school's educational philosophy?