Ch.61Chapter 61

The exam period was fast approaching. Thanks to the Professor arranging a space for them, the study group could focus on their studies without having to borrow part of the Professor’s research lab.

The Professor had already taught them everything she needed to, so now it was just a matter of individual study.

Karen was studying with reference books recommended by the Professor and seniors.

Sera seemed naturally intelligent, sitting with her textbooks and notes open, her gaze fixed. Her notes were so systematically organized that it seemed impressive.

Though it might be bothersome to ask, I figured this might be my only chance, so I decided to ask just once.

“Sera, your notes are so neat. Do you always study like this?”

I placed both hands on the desk for balance and leaned my head forward slightly. Sera blinked and glanced at me.

After looking back and forth between me and her notes, she gave a wry smile.

“No, this is my fifth notebook.”

“…Fifth notebook?”

“Yes. First, I just listen to the Professor and write down the important parts.”

Sera showed me her textbook. With the closer distance, I could see it more comfortably.

Karen, sitting across from us, seemed interested too as she stopped writing and looked our way. While I was simply curious, Karen seemed almost desperate to gather information.

Since I’d already started the conversation, I decided to ask questions that might be useful for Karen, my eyes sparkling with interest.

“Mm-hmm.”

As I nodded in response to Sera’s words, she continued with a gentle smile.

“See these? Highlighters.”

“Yeah. They’re all different colors.”

“Yellow is for parts the Professor covered in lectures, orange is for parts she emphasized would be on the exam. This way, I can see what the Professor skipped, which is helpful.”

To be honest, it looked a bit messy.

Since she had highlighted everything the Professor said, half the page was stained with yellow ink. The paper even looked slightly shriveled from the moisture.

“If the Professor doesn’t mention something at all, you can assume it won’t be on the exam. Of course, that varies depending on the Professor’s style, but generally they don’t test what they didn’t cover in lectures.”

“So you don’t read the parts that aren’t highlighted?”

“That’s right. I’m completely exam-score oriented.”

“…But most of the page is highlighted. If you’re studying all that and still getting top scores, isn’t that just because you’re smart?”

I thought Sera had some special technique, but it seemed she was just a memorization monster.

She called herself exam-score oriented, but who says that while cramming everything the Professor mentioned into their head?

It was like winning with pure physical ability and then saying, “I won because of my technique, hehe.” Not much different.

Karen stared blankly for a moment before nodding. I wasn’t sure what she understood, but to me it looked like she was walking into a thorny path.

“Anyway, when I organize like this, it starts messy, but after rewriting and reorganizing several times, it ends up neat like this.”

“…So you’re saying you just work hard, organize everything, and create the essence of the material?”

“Well, something like that.”

“I think you’re just smart.”

I shook my head, thinking it probably wouldn’t be helpful.

Aria seemed to share my thoughts as she paused her work and added:

“That’s just how Sera studies. She dives in, studies and memorizes, then slowly organizes everything in her head…”

“Then how do you study, Aria? You’re similar to me, right?”

Sera, wanting to refute this, pointed her pen at Aria.

Blinking at the pen tip, Aria sighed and slumped her shoulders.

“Sigh, I just study from summaries. It’s different from memorizing everything and reorganizing it like she does. I only look at things I can’t summarize when absolutely necessary, but I don’t do it like that.”

They had different study styles.

There seemed to be some pride in their respective methods, mixed with a bit of stubbornness. It felt like they were saying, “This works better for me!”

As Sera and Aria asserted their pride, Karen, who had been watching them, rolled her eyes and quietly added:

“So which method is easier to follow?”

“If you’re going to follow someone, it should be me. I just need to invest time.”

Sera spoke confidently.

Her sparkling eyes turned to Karen as she pointed at herself with her thumb. As Karen tilted her head wondering “Is that so?”, Aria shook her head beside her.

“That study method only works for smart people. You have to memorize everything before moving to the next page, and she thinks it’s just about investing time because she does it easily. Honestly, during exam period, can you really memorize everything from start to finish that way?”

A list of disadvantages to Sera’s study method. Sera clenched her fist with a “hmph,” but she seemed to have no real counterargument and closed her mouth.

“Just invest time.” It was a convenient thing to say, but unfortunately, time was limited. There were many subjects and exams were approaching. To complete everything perfectly, one would need to be smart enough to do all that and still have time to spare.

Karen seemed to realize this as she shifted her gaze from Sera to Aria.

She had chosen a time-saving study method, thinking that the direct approach was still premature.

“We’re such a small group, yet our study methods are so different. I thought smart people would all study similarly.”

I really had thought they would be similar, but seeing the differences between Sera and Aria right beside me was fascinating.

Would Karen follow Aria’s method? Or would she develop her own study method as she progressed through second and third year? Curious, I quietly observed Karen.

Feeling my gaze, Karen glanced at me.

“Eh, is there something on me?”

Karen touched her cheeks, wondering if there was something wrong with her. Even though she realized there was nothing unusual, she seemed conscious of my stare and kept looking around nervously.

I shook my head.

“No, just… you seem to be working really hard. I still can’t read quickly when text scrolls up fast.”

The chat room would become more active after exams, but speed reading was still a difficult concept for me.

I could read slowly if I wanted to, but the problem was the time lag in conversations. If I was still reading while everyone else had already moved on to a new topic, it would be hard to keep up with the flow, so I was working hard on this.

It was good that we had the Professor’s permission to be here, but I was feeling limitations in my studying itself.

I could read and write to some extent, but was my inability to speed read just due to lack of experience? I was seriously wondering if I just needed to practice directly.

As I groaned and flipped the paper in front of me, Sera next to me chuckled.

“Ourr is so cute, it’s fine. If it’s too fast, I’ll slow down for you.”

“…You’re already using voice messages. That must be inconvenient for you, so I want to be able to read normally soon.”

I pouted.

Receiving help from others was certainly nice. Whether material or emotional, I didn’t want to refuse it.

But I felt uncomfortable only receiving, so I shook my head. I believed that becoming accustomed to others’ kindness and consideration without trying to stand on my own was like abandoning oneself, so I was determined to make efforts to stand on my own.

Receiving consideration was acceptable until I could stand on my own, but I disliked the idea of “Since others are considerate, I don’t need to try to stand up.”

Seeing my stubbornness, Sera smiled wryly.

“Ourr, I think you’ll grow up to be a good person.”

Aria looked at me and added thoughtfully:

“You’re so decisive, you’d make a great teacher.”

“Like the Professor?”

“…Ah, I didn’t mean becoming a professor.”

Following Aria, Karen added with sparkling eyes. But apparently that wasn’t what she meant.

Then what kind of teacher? Did she mean a teacher in elementary or secondary education rather than a professor at the Academy?

As I tilted my head looking at Karen, she smiled wryly and added an explanation to her comment.

“Just a teacher who teaches children, like elementary school students…”

“Oh!”

When I straightened my back and reacted intensely, Aria, who was next to Karen, said quietly:

“That still seems far off. Your reactions are so cute that if you became a teacher, the kids would probably tease you.”

“…Ah, n-no. I wasn’t reacting.”

As I returned to my original posture, Sera next to me burst into laughter. There was no sign of her trying to hold back her laughter as usual.

“She says she wasn’t reacting. What is this? So cute.”

Watching Sera holding her stomach and laughing, I couldn’t help but pout.

“I wasn’t…”