At this mont, Iruki was holding onto his place in Class Five based solely on his science and engineering grades. In other words, his humanities scores were zero, which ant he had room to raise his average by about 20 points.
Still, isn’t this a bit much? I’ve never seen kids in Class Five who don’t study this much.
Anyway, since the grades were properly managed, Shirone figured there was no point in arguing about it.
Besides, since Shirone was ranked lower, it made him feel foolish.
"I guess I ca to the study group for nothing."
"Why do you say that? You know it’s not easy."
"I really don’t get it. I think I’m going to be the first to start going crazy if I keep hanging out with you guys."
Nade turned around.
"What are you talking about? What did we do?"
"They call it a study group, but all we do is play around, and yet your grades are better than mine. I feel more anxious just being around geniuses like you."
Iruki glanced at him.
"Do you think that joke is funny? What’s the big deal about being a genius when you just threw a bucket at ?"
"Exactly. You’re so humble, it sounds totally arrogant."
Shirone stretched out his hand.
"No, I’m serious. Starting today, I’m going to cut back on my ti here. You guys aren’t even doing performance evaluations, right? I might as well use the ti to study."
Nade’s probably going to whine again...
Nade made an exaggerated noise, like he was starving.
It seed like he couldn’t stand not studying for even an hour, fearing soone might say he wasn’t a model student.
"Then how about studying here instead?"
"Huh? Here?"
"Yeah. We feel a little bad for you. We want to play, but we don’t want to bother you. Wouldn’t it be okay to study here? Maybe we’ll get motivated too."
"Hmmm."
Shirone didn’t think he would do well in his studies, but it felt good to have friends who would motivate him.
"Alright. But don’t interrupt."
"Don’t worry. We’re busy in our own ways."
After saying that, Nade flopped back onto the sofa and yawned loudly.
"What should I do now? I’m so bored."
Shirone’s temples tightened as he pulled out his book, but he held back his frustration, deciding that this was nothing compared to the challenges ahead.
Iruki, who was already deep into his thirty-fourth ga of chess, spoke while focusing on his pawns and bishops.
"If you’re bored, look at a picture book. I just got this month’s issue. I put it in the safe."
"Oh, really?"
Nade imdiately jumped up and started rummaging through the trash under the table.
A picture book? A collection of famous paintings?
Though Nade’s movents underfoot were annoying, Shirone didn’t stop him, since he had an interest in art too.
After a while, Nade crawled back from under the table, holding a book up triumphantly.
"Hahaha! The latest issue of the picture book!"
"Huh?"
Shirone’s eyes widened.
The cover wasn’t a masterpiece at all. It featured a sexy woman on a red background, with the words "Won’s Human Body Research Association" written along the spine.
"What is that strange book?"
"Oh, is this your first ti seeing it? This is a picture book—a secret magazine circulated by a study group in the shadows. It’s mostly full of female illustrations and has beco popular with the boys. But it also features so gossip articles and school secrets. A few months ago, it even had so confidential information from the school."
"Confidential? How is that possible?"
"It ans there’s either a teacher who’s acting as an informant or that the research group has incredible access to information. It’s never been confird, but it’s likely the latter. The shadow research group is very private and doesn’t let teachers interfere."
Iruki added.
"You could call it an unproductive hobby for people with too much ti on their hands. The school periodically confiscates the magazines, but since it’s a guerrilla group, they can’t catch the leaders. Even I don’t know who the president is. But most of the mbers think he’s from the graduating class."
"The graduating class... is doing this?"
It was definitely soone who had far too much ti on their hands—on a level completely different from Iruki or Nade’s ti-wasting.
As I turned the page, I saw an article with an illustration of a female student who appeared to be a graduating senior.
Most of the article was just random chatter, but it seed like too much effort to call it a simple hobby.
"Wow."
What truly amazed was the skill of the artwork. It looked so realistic that you’d believe it was a photograph.
Did one person really draw this?
Each ti I turned a page, I couldn’t help but marvel at the illustrations.
With skills like this, why would anyone make a gossip magazine? They could be a full-ti artist instead.
Then, a familiar na caught my eye.
"Wait, what?"
It was Karmis Amy.
Of course, she was talented, but what stood out to was the detailed description of her daily routine.
It went into depth about what she did during breaks and who she ate lunch with.
"...."
My na wasn’t ntioned anywhere.
"I really don’t know what to think."
It felt strange to read about her daily life from soone else’s perspective.
Nade, noticing my reaction, spoke up.
"Why so mad? You could even eat with the boys in your senior year."
Iruki laughed.
"Can’t you tell from Shirone’s personality? It doesn’t look like we’re really dating. Be honest, we haven’t even held hands yet, right?"
I tossed the book aside in frustration.
"Ugh, you guys do your best with that. Anyway, let’s stop wasting ti and do sothing productive. We’re in a research group, rember? Are you really going to sit around all day?"
I realized that studying here wasn’t getting us anywhere, so I decided to find sothing else to do with my friends.
"Alright, how about we check out so of Nade’s inventions? You know, his list of patents. The jack-of-all-trades, Nade."
Nade jumped up excitedly.
"Oh, that’s it! Alright, Shirone. Get ready to be amazed!"
Nade crawled under the table, and as I bent down to see what was there, I was surprised to find a hidden safe.
"Ta-da!"
Nade pulled sothing out, but at first, I couldn’t see what it was.
"Huh?"
Then, as I waved my hands, I felt the air shift around a certain area.
"Could this be...?"
"Haha! Yep! It’s called an invisibility cloak!"
It was an item that refracts light using electric energy, making it seem like light passes right through it.
"You actually made this?"
When it cos to electric magic, people often think of lightning-based spells, but there are many more types. One of them is the illusion series, which deals with visual tricks. Nade had created a magical device that had the sa effect as the invisibility spell.
Though not a completely original invention, the ability to create sothing like this using existing technology was impressive. It took professional-level skills.
"My dream is to beco a magical engineer. Of course, compared to the expensive invisibility cloaks out there, this one is much cheaper. The material quality is low, and the charging tech isn’t great, so the effect only lasts for an hour. But still, it’s pretty good, right?"
Nade wrapped the cloak around himself, and his figure vanished.
The quality of an invisibility cloak depends on the light refractive index, and anything below 95% isn’t considered transparent. Nade’s cloak didn’t match the industry’s best (99%), but it was still very effective.
As Nade walked, you could detect a blurry boundary around him, but when he stopped moving, it was nearly impossible to tell he was there unless you looked closely.
I couldn’t help but think.
"If you put this much effort into your studies, your grades would be way better."
"Haha! That might be true. I just enjoy making magical tools more than doing magic. There’s so much more to it than just spells."
Nade took more items out of the safe.
There were even miniature electric carriages and holographic projectors that turned 2D images into 3D. Among them were flash grenades and smoke grenades, which incorporated Iruki’s ideas, though Nade didn’t think they were good enough to be included in his list of patents.
"And if you press this button..."
I watched Nade excitedly explaining everything. It was the first ti I’d seen him so passionate.
It’s not a waste of talent.
Even though they were troublemakers, Iruki and Nade had expertise that was ahead of their peers.
"The powertrain for this carriage rotates at a speed of—Huh?"
Suddenly, Nade paused and looked up at the ceiling as the room shook.
The vibrations grew stronger, and as the chess pieces on the table began to fall, Iruki seed to realize what was happening and quickly rushed out into the hallway.
"Damn it! The teacher’s here! Put everything away, quickly!"
"What? What’s going on?"
There was no ti for explanations.
Nade quickly hid the picture books and stashed the unofficial research group supplies—like the smoke bombs—back in the safe.
Once the last of the school rule violations were hidden, Nade grabbed and shoved onto the sofa.
"Sit here! It’s a security check!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Istas’s machinery activated.
A red warning light flashed in the hallway, signaling that the study group would soon be summoned to the first floor.
"The teacher’s coming? But what if I sit here? Shouldn’t I greet them?"
Nade sat down firmly as I tried to stand up.
"Just act like nothing happened! If they find a picture book or smoke grenade, we’ll be in trouble."
"Huh? Oh, got it."
My heart sank at the thought of getting caught, but soon enough, I managed to calm my nerves.
Nade stuck his tongue out, impressed by how quickly I’d switched my mindset. Thanks to that, we didn’t have to worry about one less thing.
Shirone won’t ss up, right? The only thing left is to figure out which teacher is coming...
Nade checked everything one last ti, then breathed out and sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs.
Let’s see who’s coming.
The tension in the room grew.
anwhile...
"Ugh, so annoying."
Siana rubbed her head, feeling a headache coming on.
It took at least three minutes to move Istas’s warehouse from the first floor. That was enough ti to escape and cover up the scene.
In the past, so teachers had tried sneaking into the building without activating the system, but they’d only ended up wandering around for over an hour, unable to find the lab.
Of course, it was natural for the students to be frustrated since they could freely co and go from the lab.
Clever things.
Siana already had an idea of what was going on.
The plan was to analyze the cube’s movent pattern, focusing on the lab, and try to predict its path.
There’s got to be a formula for this.
Istas was built as a magical warehouse, but its manufacturing details and design weren’t disclosed.
It was absurd that a student from 20 years ago had solved sothing like this, and now it was being used as a cover-up for a research group.
Siana crossed her arms and shook her legs as she waited for Istas’s form to complete.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get. What kind of study group is this? What am I supposed to do with these kids?
This is why the secret study group was such a problem.
Cornered and out of options, Neid let go of his pride and turned desperately to Siana.
"Professor! Please, give us another chance. Isn’t there so other way besides the presentation? Our research group has value just by existing. We’re the only ones challenging the magic society’s obsession with pure logic."
Siana didn’t even react—no sigh, no scoff, nothing.
"That’s exactly why I’m asking," Neid continued. "We’ve already co this far. At least give us so guidance. You’ve compromised this much already—shouldn’t you follow through? Since this topic is already on the agenda for the teachers’ eting, I hope you’ll make the right call."
Without a word, Siana kicked her chair back and stood up. The others imdiately followed.
"Professor! Please, just a minute—!"
But the heavy iron door slamd shut in their faces.
As if that were the final blow, Shirone and the rest of the group collapsed onto the sofa, utterly drained.
It felt surreal—like they had just woken up from a strange dream.
"...That was a disaster."
With a clank and a whir, Istas’s chanical system began resetting the lab back to its original state.
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