Monday— A day that strikes terror in the hearts of countless students.

And to make matters worse, if an exam is added on top of that, then the day might as well be considered a one-day trip to hell.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Sobu High's midterm exam fell on this very day.

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Early Morning.

When Hikigaya Hachiman stepped into school at his usual time, the campus was eerily quiet.

The sports field and gym, which normally bustled with club members, were completely deserted.

The few students he occasionally spotted were walking hurriedly through campus, disappearing from his sight in the blink of an eye.

Hachiman, however, wasn't surprised at all.

He walked into the bicycle parking area, locked his bike, and on his way to the school building, he spotted a familiar figure in the distance—Yuigahama Yui.

"Good morning, Yuigahama."

After all, they were in the same club, and had known each other for quite some time now. It would feel wrong to pretend not to notice her and just walk past.

Especially with Yuigahama's personality—if she realized Hachiman had deliberately ignored her, she might very well complain to Yukinoshita Yukino during club activities in the afternoon.

And Hachiman, who knew he couldn't handle dealing with both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita at the same time, naturally made the optimal choice.

"...Morning, Hikki."

Unlike her usual cheerful and energetic self, today Yuigahama's complexion was pale, and even her voice lacked its usual strength.

It gave him the impression that—

"Did you not sleep last night?"

Looking at Yuigahama swaying on her feet as though she might collapse onto the ground with a thud any second, Hachiman couldn't help but worry.

"Yeah. Since today's the midterm, I stayed up all night memorizing stuff..."

She nodded, covering her mouth as she yawned, then explained why she looked so exhausted.

"I see."

Hachiman felt several black lines drop across his forehead at her explanation.

Not sleeping all night—was she really not going to fall asleep during the exam?

Especially since the first subject in the morning was science—a notoriously difficult and, more importantly, sleep-inducing subject.

"No problem!"

But when Hachiman voiced his concern, Yuigahama's previously weary expression suddenly lit up with confidence.

After all, she had already downed three cans of coffee since morning.

If she still managed to fall asleep after that, she swore she'd squeal like a pig in front of Hachiman and Yukinoshita at the Service Club.

"...Is that so? Well, good luck then."

Hachiman originally wanted to warn her not to make such bold declarations, but seeing her so strangely energized—as though experiencing a brief flash of vitality before death—he decided to swallow his words.

After running into Yuigahama, the solitary walk to the classroom naturally turned into a walk for two.

As they neared the classroom, Hachiman deliberately slowed his pace, letting Yuigahama go in first, and then followed a few seconds later.

Inside, a classroom that would usually be filled with chatter was now dead silent. Everyone was flipping through textbooks and study guides, all traces of usual liveliness gone.

Even Yuigahama, after entering, only greeted Yumiko Miura briefly before sitting down to resume her cramming.

With the whole class absorbed in studying, the sight of Hachiman zoning out at his desk, along with Miura in the back of the room staring down at her phone, stood out as somewhat out of place.

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Soon, the exam bell rang.

A teacher Hachiman didn't recognize stood at the podium, reading out the test regulations that everyone had already heard countless times, before distributing the midterm exam papers.

Taking the paper, Hachiman quickly scanned through the questions.

When his eyes fell on the last few big problems, a look of surprise flickered across his face.

They were strikingly similar to the ones Yukinoshita had deliberately selected for him and Yuigahama to practice.

If he didn't know for certain that, with Yukinoshita's pride, she would never resort to cheating, he might have thought she had somehow gotten a sneak peek at the exam.

The ballpoint pen scratched against the paper, producing a steady sasa sasa sound.

Having fully mastered the material thanks to their practice, this was the first time Hachiman had ever found answering science questions so smooth.

In another classroom, Yuigahama stared at her own test paper with the same confident smile on her face.

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Two hours passed quickly.

At the teacher's announcement to stop writing, Hachiman flexed his slightly stiff arms, which had gone numb from spacing out for a while after finishing.

After waiting for the teacher to collect all the papers, he grabbed his belongings and walked out of the classroom.

"Yo, my bosom friend..."

No sooner had he stepped outside than Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, who had taken the exam in the same room, walked over and draped an arm around his shoulder.

"How'd you do?"

Hachiman brushed Zaimokuza's arm off and casually asked about his friend's exam.

Though even without asking, he could already guess the miserable outcome.

After all, it wasn't until just last week that Zaimokuza even realized they had exams today.

Trying to cram in that short time was absolutely impossible.

"Heh heh..."

But at Hachiman's question, Zaimokuza adjusted his glasses with surprising confidence, not showing the doomsday expression Hachiman expected, but instead radiating self-assurance.

"For this general, a mere midterm exam is nothing but a trivial conquest!"

"Looks like someone tutored you, huh?"

Seeing him so confident, Hachiman instantly figured out the reason.

"As expected of my soul-bonded comrade! You saw right through me!"

"No, it's just way too obvious."

Hachiman gave him a dead-fish-eyed stare as Zaimokuza squirmed like a chubby hamster.

On his own, Zaimokuza could never have managed to study properly.

Which meant the only explanation was that someone had helped him.

"So? Who helped you?"

Hachiman was genuinely curious about the kind soul who had gone out of their way to tutor Zaimokuza.

Considering how Zaimokuza's constant chuunibyou aura made him even less popular than Hachiman at school, anyone willing to lend him a hand could practically be called an angel.

"Well, the thing is..."

Suddenly, the previously smug Zaimokuza became awkward and fidgety.

After glancing at the students around them, he suddenly grabbed Hachiman and dragged him to the empty corner of the staircase.

"Please! I beg you to grant the one and only request of my life!"

Just as Hachiman was about to ask what he wanted to say, Zaimokuza dropped to his knees in a full dogeza.

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