Chiba City Sobu High School

　　"Even though..."

　　 Itsuki wanted to say something else, Shinichi waved his hand first and walked forward.

　　"Let's get back to business. Do you remember what we said at the meeting that afternoon?"

　　It took two seconds to react, Itsuki took out the information from her school bag in panic.

　　"Eh... Yes, I still remember it. Most of it is school spirit and the characteristics of the school I attended this time. Recently, Kirisu Sensei gave me tutoring in this aspect..."

　　"Don't look at the information yet. How much have you memorized?"

　　When she was about to take it out and look at it, her movements suddenly stopped, Itsuki racked her brain to think again.

　　"First of all, this is Imperial Sakura Girls' College. Their students who attended this meeting were the student council president and two students with special physical fitness. One is the legendary Imperial Sakura's, and the other is Russian... "

　　She occasionally blurted out information she was trying to remember.

　　"Next... Sakura Academy? Yes, Sakura Academy! It used to be a girls' school, but then it became mixed. The students attending the meeting were... A girl with an IQ of 180, the head teacher of the judo club, and....."

　　"Yes, there is also a vice president of the student council, whose last name I remember is..."

　　Her eyes moved around, and she wanted to glance at the paper in her hand several times, but under Shinichi's pressing gaze, Itsuki said everything she remembered in her mind.

　　"Next... Next is..."

　　It wasn't until she read all the information and couldn't think of anything else to say that she lowered her head, a depressed expression on her face.

　　"Sorry, I only remember it was a school in Chiba, I forgot the rest..."

　　Afraid to see Shinichi's disappointed expression, Itsuki hugged her school bag to her chest, her face looked anxious, and she spoke hastily.

　　"Don't worry, I'll remember everything when I get back! Even though Kirisu Sensei told me not to worry, it was only very little information. If I go back and memorize it carefully, I can definitely—"

　　"Surely you can remember?"

　　Shinichi said with a chuckle.

　　Itsuki handed over the information in her hand.

　　"So what if you can't remember?"

　　Shinichi flipped through the information, his eyes scanning the neat notes one by one.

　　The further he looked back, the more smudged the handwriting became, it was clear that her writing speed couldn't keep up with the speed of explanation, and Itsuki had no choice but to make her writing a mess.

Shinichi continued to speak casually.

　　"The more unstable her mentality, the worse her memory level will be."

　　"Even though you, Kirisu Sensei... And I have promised that you will never stay up late and work hard in the future, but if that happens on the day before the exchange meeting, you are still quite far from completing the task. Assigned to you by Kirisu sensei. Apart from meeting, there is no way anyone outside the world can do anything to help us, and when the time comes…"

　　"Do you want to stay up late to catch up on work again, and then make the same mistake again, going to the exchange meeting with us with a pair of dark circles under your eyes and a tired spirit?"

　　Shinichi didn't seem to care much on the surface, but he actually understood in his heart.

　　Despite staying up late, memorizing so much information, and wanting to study as their support, Itsuki's existence is indispensable to the entire exchange team.

　　Itsuki can work hard, but she doesn't have to work too hard, she just needs to do her best and follow the plan step by step. This is the "task" that Shinichi and Mafuyu hope she can do.

　　She came here to study, so Itsuki didn't need to feel too much pressure. Honestly she wouldn't learn much in a week. It's great to feel the atmosphere and see the world.

　　But Itsuki is the kind of honest person who sets goals for herself, even if reluctant or meaningless, she must do her best.

　　In other words, her original intention was to grow in the oppression of this kind of environment, and she wanted to force herself to break through her limits and keep up with the speed that others had achieved.

　　But it's a pity that her own talents don't stand out, so she pushes herself, constantly putting pressure on herself, burdened with personal needs that don't match her strengths.

　　"I..."

　　Facing Shinichi's gaze, Itsuki opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak.

　　It felt like nothing could be hidden from him.

　　Looked down and answered in a low voice.

　　"Maybe.... No, it will definitely happen! If I can't even put in this much effort, then I shouldn't have asked you and Kirisu Sensei to let me join this team!"

　　She stood in front of Shinichi.

　　Blue eyes with a look of reluctance stared at him firmly.

　　"I will tell you the truth. If I still can't complete the plan that Kirisu Sensei gave me today, I will stay up late and try my best to stay up late until my body gets used to it. I definitely won't cause you any trouble."

　　"I know many students are in a hurry to get papers like this. Now I just found out about this step before, so please don't worry about my health..."

　　 Shinichi hoped to persuade her.

　　"It's just because you have a bad mind that you work harder than others. It's just a matter of sacrificing sleep. I think that's understandable."

　　"What if we continue living leisurely, eating and sleeping as before? If we want to fill the gap in talent, we must change our living habits and work hard day and night to continuously improve!"

　　 Itsuki said word by word.

　　"I'm not as smart as Asada-kun and Kirisu Sensei, but I can work harder than you."

　　"Kirisu Sensei would not agree. After all, she was a teacher who really cared about her students. If she finds out, she will definitely let me leave the team… Therefore, I will try my best not to violate the plans she made for me and let her have no worries."

　　"Even so...Even though I try too hard and do things in vain, I still hope..."

　　Itsuki looked directly at Shinichi with determination.

　　"Asada-kun, I hope you will allow me to use my own way, the stupidest way, even if you have to laugh at my clumsiness. Please let me find a way to surpass my past achievements this week!"

Itsuki understands very well that her only strengths are hard work, seriousness, unwillingness to admit defeat.

　　As long as Shinichi is willing to agree, Itsuki believes she can do it!

　　"…"

　　Shinichi stared in silence, he nodded his head, then turned around and continued walking towards the bus stop.

　　The location of the upscale apartment building is still quite far from the school. Without taking the bus, they have to walk more than 20 minutes.

　　And Shinichi didn't want to waste time.

　　Seeing that Shinichi didn't react, Itsuki grabbed his wrist.

　　"A-Asada-kun, what's your answer?"

　　As his wrist was grabbed, Shinichi glanced at her and spoke.

　　"I don't allow it."

　　Itsuki's eyes suddenly widened and she froze in place.

　　"Why..."

　　The strength in her hands loosened, and Shinichi took the opportunity to break free from her restraints.

　　"You have big problems on your mind. If you insist on me giving an answer, then I can only say this…"

　　"Sorry, like Kirisu sensei, I don't want to see 'fools' wasting time on useless things."

　　"Also, memorizing is not your strong suit. Why don't you understand it now?"

"Useless things..."

　　As she muttered again, her cheeks turned pale, Itsuki bit her lower lip, a sad expression on the verge of tears appeared on her face.

　　"Because of me, I can only do that kind of thing…"

　　Her hands clenched into fists.

　　"Asada-kun, I thought... You would never say something like that. You shouldn't be this kind of person…"

　　"Do not take it wrong."

　　With an unwavering expression, Shinichi held her slender wrist and pulled Itsuki towards the bus stop.

　　"That's because you don't know who I am."

　　"…"

　　For a moment, Itsuki couldn't refute, even losing the strength to continue talking to him, she could only be pulled by him gently.

　　(Neo Asada-kun)....

　　"Back to topic. Itsuki, do you remember which high school in Chiba had the highest deviation scores?"

　　Ignoring the heavy atmosphere between the two, Shinichi spoke again.

　　"I don't remember…" Either out of embarrassment or because he really didn't remember, Itsuki lowered her head and answered in a low voice.

　　"Chiba City Sobu High School."