At 9:30, Mafuyu slowly took the test papers out from a sealed envelope and spoke unhurriedly, "First subject: Math. Duration: 60 minutes."

"No early submissions. No talking, no passing notes during the test. Any violations will be considered cheating and will result in disqualification."

She reiterated a few rules before distributing the papers row by row, and before long, they reached Takashi.

As he took the paper from Maki, their fingers brushed unintentionally.

Maki jerked her hand back like she had been shocked by electricity, not even caring whether Takashi had taken the paper properly.

What's with her?

Takashi glanced at her in confusion, finding her behavior rather baffling.

He scanned the test briefly, and faces across the room began to darken with tension.

Everyone quickly realized—this test was not normal.

The difficulty level was clearly way beyond what a first-year should be facing. This felt more like a university entrance exam.

The test included knowledge from second- and third-year high school material.

There was always a gap between first-year and third-year content.

This isn't a regular exam at all.

Arisu finished reading through the test and looked around the classroom.

Not only was the content elevated, but the exam procedures followed university entrance exam protocols strictly.

Even the location was a real university testing center.

The six-school joint exam is clearly separating us from ordinary students from this point onward.

Arisu suddenly understood the purpose behind this joint exam.

To the average person, Japanese high school life was all about fun, freedom, and being carefree.

For most, that was true.

It wasn't so different from the "happy education" promoted in the U.S.—but the children raised in such environments? They had no future.

Their options were limited to immediate employment, short-term colleges, or expensive, third-rate private universities.

The nine imperial universities were like distant dreams.

Why?

Because on the other side of the battlefield were students from schools like Aoba and Shuchiin—elite institutions filled with hardworking, talented students who'd been preparing since first year.

While some students laughed their way through first-year, enjoying summer vacations and the light curriculum, others had already begun prepping for the toughest exams of their lives.

You think everyone's standing at the same starting line, just waiting for the starter pistol?

In reality, while you're still stretching, they're already halfway to the finish line.

Fail to enter an imperial university, and you'll lose the key to major companies.

All the job listings say they care about ability, not academic background—but what they don't tell you is that resumes from third-tier colleges go straight into the trash.

The students now enjoying a "fun" education were like products on a factory line—each generation handed off to the next.

"So cruel…" Arisu muttered, shaking her head. She pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her test.

The questions were difficult—but to these top-twenty students in the nation, they were just "challenging."

Mafuyu walked down from the podium, occasionally glancing at the students' papers.

Technically, she was there to supervise—but in reality, it was all for show.

Who among the national top twenty would even need to cheat?

Hers was easily the most relaxed exam room of them all.

She walked softly, careful not to disturb the students' concentration.

But the more she looked, the more shocked she became.

She'd seen geniuses before.

Among her own students, two were especially brilliant—though they were highly unbalanced in their subjects, their talent was undeniable.

But now, faced with this group of elite examinees, those two seemed less dazzling.

Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu were once-in-a-million geniuses—but here, everyone was a genius.

And even among geniuses, there were levels.

Only fifteen minutes into the test, Arisu, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Umaru, and Maki were already nearly on the second page. Others were only halfway through.

These few were not only fast—they were accurate.

What puzzled her most was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

She didn't recall seeing his name in the top twenty last mock exam.

Rumor had it he'd been forced into the list by an adult.

But judging by his current speed and accuracy, he had definitely held back during that mock test.

Suddenly, Mafuyu froze in her tracks, pupils shrinking.

Under her gaze, Takashi looked like he had some kind of omniscience cheat enabled—he glanced at a question, and the next second, the answer appeared on his answer sheet.

While the others were barely flipping pages, he was nearly finished.

She instinctively checked the clock. Only 19 minutes had passed since the test began.

At his pace, he would finish in just over 20 minutes.

Kitahara Takashi—now a household name in Japan.

He'd ranked third in the last national mock exam, just behind Shirogane Miyuki.

But Shirogane's speed couldn't compare, and he'd made one or two mistakes.

Takashi, on the other hand, hadn't missed a single one.

Was the ranking really this inaccurate? Mafuyu thought.

Ayanokoji should be at least top five, yet he wasn't even on the list.

Takashi should be fighting for first or second—yet he was ranked third.

Arisu, Maki, Umaru… their scores all seemed to surpass Shirogane and Kaguya. What was going on?

…

Done!

Maki dropped her pen after the final question and stretched with a satisfied sigh.

Only 40 minutes had passed.

She glanced around and saw only a few people had stopped writing. Most were still focused on their papers.

Nagisa was among those still writing.

Knowing she had finished earlier—and likely scored higher—than Nagisa gave Shijo a strange sense of superiority.

She didn't even know why she felt it.

She never used to care about these things, so why had she recently started comparing herself to Nagisa so much?

Bored, Maki lay her head on the desk. Her eyes drifted naturally toward the back.

There, Takashi was already asleep at his desk.

Back when he entered the exam room, she hadn't dared look at him directly, afraid he'd notice her watching.

Now that he was asleep, she finally dared to look freely.

It was strange.

He was the one who deceived her.

But she was the one avoiding him.

Maki didn't understand what she was hiding from.

Gazing at his peacefully sleeping face, she muttered inwardly: "How do they even look alike?"

Even though she knew, she still couldn't see Watanabe Takashi and Kitahara Takashi as the same person.

She tried to mentally split Takashi into two different people—as if doing so would let her believe Watanabe was Watanabe, and Kitahara Takashi was Kitahara.

But what was the point?

Split him in two—sure, Watanabe would still exist. And then what?

Would she fall in love with Watanabe again?

No, no, no. She had always liked Tsubasa.

Yet she found she couldn't bear the thought of giving Watanabe up to anyone else.

Am I just naturally a terrible woman?

If only Takashi were still here. He'd know exactly what to tell me to do…

When it came to love, Maki had always relied on Watanabe Takashi, her strategist.

But now that strategist was gone, and she had no idea who she could turn to with her relationship troubles.

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