The Former Swordmaster Who Pretends to Be the Worst, and the School’s Top-Ranked Chairman’s Daughter Who’s Way Too Sweet in Public, It’s a Real Problem
The school bulletin board displayed the recent academic rankings.
Like many students, I scanned the crowd for my own name—Aragaki Saito. Well, “scanned” might not be entirely accurate. To find where my name was, the quickest way was to start from the bottom and work my way up.
“Third from the bottom again… huh?”
I confirmed it clearly.
My name was undoubtedly carved near the very bottom. It was nothing new; I’d repeated this countless times since enrolling at this private Tokyo Magic Academy half a year ago. In this high school that championed meritocracy, it was tantamount to being branded a failure.
So, students who previously ranked last should have desperately tried to improve their grades. Indeed, the faces had changed since last time.
“Hey, hey… That Aragaki guy again? It’d be faster counting from the bottom!”
“Won’t he get expelled someday?”
“Seriously, wasn’t he admitted through connections with the chairman anyway?”
“Really? Better stay away from him then.”
Amidst this, I was a complete anomaly, achieving such high grades.
It was true my parents and the academy’s chairman were old acquaintances, having spent much time together since my childhood. To anyone aware of that background, it was only natural they’d call it connections getting me in, or backdoor admission.
So everyone ignored me and walked away.
Treated as if I didn’t exist, and that’s precisely why my days were free and peaceful—.
“Hey! The young lady’s here, everyone make way!?”
“Wow, she’s gorgeous today too! She really is a peerless beauty!!”
“Top grades in history and the chairman’s daughter… Seriously, is she some kind of perfect superhuman?”
――Yes, that’s when I was thinking.
Many students began whispering in unison, all looking in one direction. There, with long, beautiful black hair flowing behind her, a beautiful girl approached the bulletin board with a dignified expression.
Her name was Agatsuma Rika, who looked like a model.
The daughter of the chairman, she was called the most talented student in the academy’s history, destined to become the strongest magician. She was the complete opposite of me, drifting near the bottom of the class rankings.
“Ahh… what a sight for sore eyes.”
“Seriously, I’m so happy to see her again today.”
“But man, reality’s cruel, huh? They grew up in the same environment, yet she’s like this—”
And to me, she was the girl I could call my childhood friend.
But as you can see, Rika was now the unattainable flower of the academy, while I was a failing student counting down the seconds until expulsion. We lived in different worlds. It was truly worlds apart, like the moon and a turtle… What other sayings were there?
“Hm…?”
—or so I was thinking.
Suddenly, I heard the surrounding area start to buzz.
Wondering what was happening, I followed the commotion with my eyes and realized her gaze was fixed on me. Her being, of course, my childhood friend and the academy’s top student, the chairman’s daughter, Rika.
Rika, her sharp gaze fixed on me, slowly began walking towards me.
Shit…!
“Whoa, hold on… make way—”
Realizing the situation, I instinctively tried to flee the spot.
But pushing through the students gathered in front of the bulletin board proved incredibly difficult. And while I was struggling like that…
“Hey…?”
Rika’s cool voice reached me from behind.
My spine froze. My legs felt like they’d been nailed to the spot, but I managed to twist my upper body and look back at her.
Then, in that instant.
“Saito-kun! I got first place again this time! Praise me, praise me!!”
“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Rika, unbelievably, threw her arms around me right there in public.
I was completely defenseless as she buried her face into my chest. Gone was her earlier dignified demeanor; now she wore a beaming, adorable smile.
“H-hey, hey, hey! What is that girl doing!?”
“Wait a minute, why is Agatsuma san hugging the underachiever!?”
“Don’t mess with me, I’m jealous—no, I’m starting to feel murderous…!!”
The surrounding students saw this and began murmuring again.
I let out a full-blown scream and desperately tried to shake her off. Then,
“L-Leave me aloneeee!!!”
There was no time for hesitation.
Pushing the student aside, I fled at full speed…
Maiban
“Ahhh, how precious.” is what my reaction was instead of the usual “it should’ve been me!”