Jewelry Academia, Second-Year Class A.
It was a class composed of outstanding honor students even within the academy, and among them were two magical girls and the young lady of a world-renowned corporation.
But no matter how exemplary they were, they were ultimately still students. With a certain event approaching, there was no way their hearts wouldn’t flutter.
“Lady Dia, what are you planning to do?”
“Glad you asked! As for me, I’m renting a villa overseas…”
“Ravi, what are you gonna do for fun?”
“Hmm, I dunno? I think I’ll just laze around at home!”
Summer vacation. An event that marked the end of the semester and allowed them to turn their eyes away from their heavy studies for a short while.
Though it was called short, Jewelry Academia’s vacations lasted two months each, both summer and winter. It boasted a long vacation on a completely different level from other schools.
They were free to come to school during vacation and study on their own as much as they wanted. Of course, few people were willing to invest a hard-earned long break into academics.
In any case, the majority of the students were savoring the excitement of facing vacation.
But there was just one person who could not accept this situation at face value—
“Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh…”
“Amber, why are you shaking like that?”
“Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh…”
Like a certain high school student who had seen a blue monster, she trembled violently and dropped her head.
It was behavior utterly impossible to understand from someone about to enter vacation, but once one knew the incident that was about to occur, even Amber’s odd behavior would become understandable.
Rattle—
“Everyone, quiet down and take your seats.”
A moment later, Class A’s homeroom teacher entered, quieted the students, and began going over several announcements.
“As you all know, summer vacation starts in three days… But don’t let yourselves get too lax. Act with the awareness that you are students of Jewelry Academia.”
At the sight of the homeroom teacher continuing his speech with a languid expression, several students nodded.
If they endured just three more days, it would be summer vacation. That thought made them focus on the teacher’s words, which they usually wouldn’t even listen to.
He let out a deep sigh at the students who only listened properly at times like this, then took a thick stack of papers out of the brown envelope he had brought.
“Then I’ll hand back the final exam papers you took last time, so come up and take yours when I call your name. Anything below 40 is a failing grade, which means supplementary classes for two weeks.”
“…Guh.”
Supplementary classes due to a failing grade. That was the very culprit that had put Amber in such a strange state.
Even though it was vacation, excluding weekends, she would have to spend nearly ten more days studying all over again.
‘I struggled so hard to make it this far, so why did the last one have to be math…’
She had somehow scraped by in the other subjects and avoided failing, but of all things, the last one left was math, the subject she struggled with the most.
Getting 40 points or higher here was something she could only entrust to a miracle.
And so Amber prayed. To the countless gods that existed in this world.
‘Please let me get just 40 points, please let me get just 40 points, please let me get just 40 points…’
At the same time, the homeroom teacher began calling names, and several students whose names were called went up one after another to receive their test papers.
“Next, Diamond. 90 points.”
“Hmph! If it’s up to me, this much is easy!”
She laughed confidently, her enormous breasts bouncing with a sway.
At that sight, Amber felt a pointless jealousy and bit at the nail of her thumb.
‘Dia-chan’s boobs are disgustingly huge, and her grades are good too. Just how unfair is this world?’
Breast size and grades had no particular connection whatsoever, but in any case, the perception that it was unfair remained in Amber’s mind.
“And Sophia, 95 points. You’re the highest again this time.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
She received her test paper back with a small smile.
Thanks to her mother’s condition gradually improving recently, Sophia’s attitude seemed to have become noticeably gentler.
The fact that a few male students were lured in by that sight and tried to confess to her on the first day of summer vacation, only to be coldly rejected, was a story for later.
“……”
In any case, the pile of test papers on the teacher’s desk gradually disappeared, and at the same time, Amber’s heart began beating faster and faster.
The air cooled by the air conditioner instead formed a chilly atmosphere, making it absolutely unbearable for her.
And finally, her own name was called—
“Next is Amber, huh. Hmm…”
The homeroom teacher looked at her test paper with a somewhat troubled expression.
Through that expression, Amber ended up predicting in advance what would follow.
“28 points. Come to the faculty office later.”
“Gyaaaah!!”
“Throwing a fit won’t help.”
That day, Amber’s summer ended.
An officer of the Silver Order had fallen into the swamp of supplementary classes yet again, just like in her first year.
What would happen if her older sister or Citrine, who had helped her study, found out about this?
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
Were they chammaemi cicadas, or malmaemi cicadas? Either way, it was BGM suited to the poetic charm of summer.
Listening to the unknown cicadas’ ensemble coming from beyond the window, Amber trudged up to the teacher’s desk and received her 28-point test paper.
“Lastly, Ravi… 19 points. You come to the faculty office later too.”
“Waaaah!”
“Screaming won’t help.”
That day, Ravi’s summer ended.
***
Cafe Eclipse, as usual.
I spoke to Amber, who was staring at the drifting clouds as if reality had just hit her.
“Why do you look so dead from this early in the morning?”
“Ugh, my homeroom teacher pissed me off.”
Did something unfair happen in the classroom or what?
“…Want some coffee?”
“Sounds good. Make it black. I’m trash that isn’t even worth sugar.”
I had no idea what nonsense she was saying, but since she was the one who asked, I decided to give it to her black for now.
“Cough, cough! Blegh!”
Then why order something you can’t even drink properly…
“What is it, seriously? Did something happen at school?”
Without saying a word, she handed me a test paper.
‘She did say she took finals last time. Did she get her test paper back today?’
Judging from the questions, it was probably math. I took it and glanced at the score column—
“…28 points.”
Twenty questions worth 4 points each, and four questions worth 5 points each.
In other words, on a test worth a total of 100 points, she had gotten 28.
“Hey, you little punk. Even if you guessed in a straight line, you’d get about the same as this.”
“I tried hard, in my own way…”
“What are you gonna do by trying hard to solve it on the day of the test? You should’ve studied hard normally.”
At this rate, it seemed she hadn’t even crammed. Though considering her other subjects, I couldn’t entirely blame her…
“This is a failing grade, right? Are you even going to be able to graduate properly?”
“…They said if I take supplementary classes, retake the test, and get over 60, I pass.”
“60, huh.”
That school was making a pretty unreasonable demand of a kid who got 28 points. Or maybe, since it was the world’s greatest prestigious school, this much was normal.
“I got over 40 in all the other subjects somehow! My practicals weren’t bad either, but of all things, math got me!”
“I get it, so calm down.”
Jewelry Academia’s exams were usually divided into written exams and practical exams.
Since there was a factor called mana, they didn’t just brush off the arts and physical education side, but properly emphasized practical skills.
‘Aside from the fact that she’s not smart, she’s pretty impressive too.’
She had the sociability to approach even someone she had just met without hesitation, and her mana control was not inferior to a magical girl’s.
As Lapis’s younger sister, her talent was exceptional.
Feeling a little regretful, I looked back at the test paper, and nostalgic math problems began appearing.
“Let’s see, in the set of all real numbers… Is this the section on sets and propositions? They learn upper and lower math in second year here.”
“…Huh?”
At my muttering to myself, the girl suddenly raised her face as if something was strange.
“Senior Jade, you know this?”
“Rather than knowing it… It’s just that what I studied a long time ago is still in my head.”
That said, not all of it. Especially in my third year, I had gotten hooked on making desserts and tossed studying aside.
“Th-then can you teach me, Senior? If I pass the test in one shot, the supplementary classes end in a day…”
“I don’t really mind, but there are plenty of people who can teach better than me.”
For starters, even her friend Sophia was one.
From what I’d heard, she had done well on this test too, so if Amber lowered her head and asked, she’d probably gladly agree.
“Hmm… But Sophia seems busy these days. She goes straight home as soon as school ends too.”
Come to think of it, with Ravi and Citrine’s devotion, her mother had overcome her illness, hadn’t she? If so, it was only natural that she’d want to spend time with her family.
Taking that into consideration, the only other person she could ask was…
“What about your homeroom teacher? He’s in charge of math, right?”
“Just me and the teacher?! I’d die of awkwardness!”
“Is that really something to freak out that much about?”
I had met that teacher during the three-way conference, but I hadn’t gotten any particularly bad impression of him.
If anything, even though at a glance he seemed like he had a halfhearted personality, when it came down to it, the image I got was that he cared about his students more than anyone.
‘Teachers like that have always been popular, regardless of the era.’
Still, if Amber found it this awkward, I couldn’t exactly force her.
“Fine. Starting today is okay too, so bring your textbook and notebook after we close.”
I couldn’t guarantee anything, but if she worked hard from now on, I could probably drag her up to 60 points. A retest would have similar questions anyway.
“As expected of you, Senior! Please marry me!”
“Quit talking bullshit.”