I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

Midterms.

The name strikes fear into the hearts of many students.

Especially in Japan, where midterms begin about a week or two after Golden Week, the country’s longest holiday period, those who haven’t been studying regularly start to feel a strange pressure as the exams draw near.

And that was true for Rika, whom we seldom saw with her nose in a book.

“Waaah! Help me, Ryu-chanemon!”

“So, what do you want to ask this time?”

“I can’t make heads or tails of these math problems! Help me out!”

“…You just need to apply the formula I showed you a moment ago.”

“Hehe, I actually didn’t get that.”

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but Rika was exactly as she seemed, for better or worse.

Usually, if the subject doesn’t capture her interest, she spends class time sleeping, doodling, or engaging in some other distraction, but it seemed she instinctively sensed the impending danger of midterms.

I heard that if her grades slipped, her parents would cut her allowance.

After I explained the math formula and the solution method again, Rika thanked me and settled into her seat to begin tackling the practice workbook.

I let out a soft sigh after watching her and was about to turn back to my Jump manga, which lay face down beside me…

“Kim. Can I ask you something?”

The Class President suddenly addressed me.

“What’s up, Ayase?”

Ayase Satzuki.

Better known as the Class President.

She had been in my class since our first year, always the model student with her black hair in twin braids and thick, nerdy glasses.

Ayase was one of the few classmates who engaged with me without any reservations.

For the record, she also held the Class President title in our first year.

“During Mr. Matsuda’s lecture the other day, he highlighted a few topics that will be on the test. I think I missed some of them. Could I take a look at your notes?”

“Just a second.”

I dug through my bag hanging next to my desk and extracted my history notebook.

Luckily, I hadn’t left it at home.

“Here.”

“Thanks. I’ll bring it back when I’m done.”

The Class President said that, nodded her head, and returned to her seat.

Rika, who was watching from the side, asked,

“I thought the Class President was really good at studying, but maybe not? Borrowing notes from Ryu-chan and all.”

Picking up the Jump manga that lay flipped over on my desk, I replied,

“She’s really good. I think she ranks within the top 10 in our grade.”

“Why would she borrow Ryu-chan’s notes? Ryu-chan’s just a dummy who only knows sports.”

“Look who’s talking—the fool asking the dummy for math formulas.”

I retorted, turning the page.

“And by the way, I’m surprisingly good at studying. You’d probably be shocked by my grades from the first year.”

Then Rika asked, tilting her head,

“What rank were you in the first year? Like, 50th?”

…With about 270 students in the second year, that wasn’t really a low rank, but did she think I was bad at studying?

Unable to focus because of the continuous questions, I closed the Jump manga and replied,

“Top of the class.”

Rika nodded, saying, “Hmm,” her eyes widened like those of a rabbit.

Then she reacted as if she were a character straight out of a manga.

“Whaaat?!”

“Quiet.”

I said, placing my index finger to my lips as a sign for silence, and then Rika, realizing she had spoken too loudly, blushed and covered her mouth with her hands.

Then Satoru, who was in the front seat, turned around and remarked,

“Yu-seong does look like he’s not good at studying. If he hadn’t been admitted as a freshman representative, I probably would’ve had the same reaction as you.”

“You jerk…”

I glared at Satoru for his pointless comment, and he continued his explanation, saying with a nervous laugh, “Eek, scary.”

“He wasn’t this buff until the first semester of the first year. But was it the second semester? After he joined the student council, he suddenly started working out a lot, and now he looks like this.”

As Satoru patted my shoulder and spoke, Rika looked at him with a hint of amusement.

“Momochi doesn’t seem to be very scared of Ryu-chan, huh?”

Satoru shrugged and replied,

“I know he’s actually a really nice guy. You think the same, don’t you, Kishimoto?”

Rika’s smile was bright as she nodded.

“Yeah. Right. He even showed me the way when I first transferred.”

Feeling embarrassed by the unexpected praise from both of them, I quickly stood from my seat.

Then, with a mischievous look, Satoru asked,

“Class is about to start. Where are you going?”

“The restroom.”

Rika, seated next to me, added,

“Hmph. You’re embarrassed.”

…These guys?

“It’s not like that.”

With that, I hastily retreated from the classroom.

“Is Kim Yu-seong doing well with his exam preparations?”

After the sixth period on Wednesday, in the student council room I hadn’t visited in a while, the President inquired, elegantly sipping her green tea.

“Well, it’s always the same for me.”

I put down the student council documents I had been reviewing and replied. Minami, the Treasurer, joined the conversation, tapping away at her calculator.

“He’s the top of the class, after all. It’s probably Shinjiro and me who should worry about our grades.”

“Hmph, don’t lump me in with you, Minami. No matter how busy I get, I never neglect my studies.”

“Is that why you were playing games late into the night yesterday?”

“No, I told you, that was a raid commitment from a long time ago. I couldn’t help it. Missing it would have caused a lot of complaints.”

“If your grades drop again, Auntie said she’s going to smash your computer first.”

“…I should really work hard.”

The Vice President, intelligent but prone to cramming due to his severe gaming, and Minami, who had little personal time because of her duties to the ever-busy President, both seemed to be on shaky academic ground.

After about 30 minutes of catching up on the backlog of paperwork and taking a break with the coffee Minami had made, the President asked, as if she had just remembered,

“By the way, how is Aleksandra Ivanovna Romanova, who transferred to Class 2-B, doing? I know she completed the paperwork on Monday, but I’ve been too busy to pay attention.”

“Oh, yes. Sasha is doing well.”

“Sasha? Who is that? I was talking about Aleksandra Ivanovna Romanova.”

“That’s the nickname for Aleksandra, the one you just mentioned. The students usually call her Sasha because her name is too long.”

“…How do you shorten that name to Sasha? Won’t it usually be Lexi or Lexa or something?”

“I’m not sure either.”

Maybe that’s how they shorten it in Russia. Who knows?

Hearing my answer, the President still seemed unable to understand, tilting her head with a perplexed expression.

Anyway, there were only about 12 days left until the midterms.

Since the midterms were scheduled for three days starting Monday, the 22nd of the following week, the entire school was buzzing with a studious atmosphere.

Students who tended to neglect their studies usually started a week before the exams, so it still seemed pretty relaxed.

While enjoying a moment of leisure with the coffee Minami had made, I felt it was getting close to the end of the school day, so I picked up my bag and stood up.

“Well, I’ll be going now. See you on Friday.”

“Yes, take care.”

“Goodbye, Kim Yu-seong.”

“Please, go.”

As I heard the farewells of the three, I left the student council room.

Now, it was time to go home.

May 18th (Thursday) [AM 11:50]

This morning, there was a light drizzle.

With only four days left until the midterms, the whole class had a subdued atmosphere, whether that was the reason or not.

Even the bald trio, who would usually be joking around, were in serious study mode at the moment.

During breaks, the atmosphere remained lively, but as soon as class resumed, everyone concentrated on the teacher’s words, eager to catch any hints for the exam questions.

Of course, I did the same.

I had studied regularly, so cramming wasn’t necessary, but I saw no reason to ignore the opportunity when they were practically handing out past exam questions.

With that knowledge, I avoided studying the parts of the syllabus that overlapped with the exam separately.

After the fourth period of classical literature, everyone groaned as lunchtime arrived, and we headed for our meal.

Karen and Sasha, who had naturally become part of the group that day, playfully argued over the student cafeteria menu.

For the record, I opted for a pork cutlet rice bowl.

“Ah… my head feels like it’s going to burst. I should have studied more consistently.”

“I feel the same. No matter how much history I cram, I just can’t retain it. Especially the dates; there are too many to remember.”

“Classical literature gives me a headache. Regular Japanese is tough enough, but classical literature with its archaic language is on another level.”

They all complained as they ate their lunch, or at least they pretended to.

Even Rika, usually a hearty eater, settled for just one onigiri set; perhaps her appetite was affected by the stress.

Meanwhile, as I faced no such stressors, I suggested, while enjoying my pork cutlet rice bowl,

“If it’s that troublesome, why not form a study group or something?”

Observing them, I noticed each had different areas of struggle.

Rika, typically strong in humanities, faltered in science subjects; Karen maintained average grades but found memorization challenging; and Sasha, despite her proficiency in most subjects, grappled with the Japanese language and classical literature as a foreigner.

It seemed that if they assisted each other with their weak points, their grades could significantly improve.

Convinced that my suggestion held merit, all three brightened up at once.

“That’s it!”

“Brilliant!”

“Harasho (Good)!”¹

Rika’s expression hardened as if she had realized a blind spot.

“But at whose house should we gather?”

Then Karen said,

“How about my place? There are plenty of empty rooms, so it’s okay if you want to stay over.”

1. ED/N: This is Sasha trying to say 'Good' in Japanese. ️