People bring their own maids to the training camp

"Haha, isn't this great?"

"What kind of pre-exam syndrome is this? It's just pre-exam anxiety," the boy said. "Bad grades aren't something you can just fix easily, are they?"

"Yeah, yeah, those subjects we struggle with are really troublesome," the girl chimed in. "Sigh, I guess I should have joined a study group after all."

"But in that environment, are you able to concentrate on your studies?"

"...Probably not? I feel like everyone would just be circling around Hirata-san."

"So if we don't get Hirata's guidance, we might as well study on our own in that kind of environment."

"That's true. After all, we average students are better than the best but not the worst either."

"Sigh, the minister was saying today that Princess is number one in the grade, and her archery skills are also number one in the first year."

"Hey, San San..." The blue-haired girl wanted to remind the boy who had his back to Chihaya, but he didn't seem to notice.

"The minister even said she was a little envious; who wouldn't be envious of the first place winner?"

"..." The girl fell silent, because Chihaya was right behind "San San" at that moment, watching them with a smile.

"Why are not you talking?"

"Does San San envy Princess Consort?" The blue-haired girl decided to give up, since she had already been caught red-handed anyway.

"Of course I envy them, whether it's studying or archery," the boy replied affirmatively. "But we don't talk to each other often in the club, and we're not classmates."

"I don't think whether we're in the same class or not makes any difference, Miyake-kun?"

"!" Miyake turned around abruptly upon hearing the voice behind him, nearly falling off his chair. "Hime-Hime-kun?"

"Guian Miyake, and this gentleman too?"

"Hasebe Haruka," the blue-haired girl introduced herself.

"Honorable Hasebe, I am Chihaya Himegami."

"I've heard of your name for a long time!"

"I went to get my coffee, so Miyake probably didn't see me," Chihaya said, pointing to her seat. "I was just sitting over there, you know?"

"Sorry for talking about you behind your back." Miyake seemed extremely embarrassed.

"No, it's nothing. After all, Miyake-kun didn't say anything bad about me," Chihaya smiled. "We're classmates and clubmates, so there's no need to be so polite, okay?"

"May I sit here?" Chihaya asked Hasebe.

"Of course, please have a seat, Himegami-kun!" Hasebe seemed to be very welcoming of Chihaya's presence.

"I'll go order a coffee." Feeling awkward, Miyake went to the counter to order, hoping to ease the tension.

He quickly finished ordering and returned.

"Because I heard my own name, I took the liberty of eavesdropping for a while. Please allow me to apologize to both of you."

"It's okay, Princess, it's all San San's fault."

Miyake nodded repeatedly, clearly not the type to be very good at interacting with girls, and he didn't look Chihaya in the eye when he spoke. On the contrary, Hasebe, who had never met Chihaya before, was very bold and didn't treat himself like an outsider at all.

"Could you please not call me that in front of Princess Hasebe...?"

"Don't you like it? I find it quite easy to read. What do you think, Princess? Is it cute?"

"I think it's a very suitable nickname between friends, right?"

"See?" Hasebe raised his chin.

"surrender."

"You two have a good relationship, are you dating?" Chihaya asked with a smile.

He was actually asking a question he already knew the answer to; he had already deduced the relationship between the two from the details, but he didn't say it out loud.

"No, San San and I are just 'in the same boat'." Hasebe waved his hand.

“I don’t have any intention of dating anyone for the time being,” Miyake said seriously. “I want to focus on archery.”

73. "The Imperial Concubine Group"

"I want to focus on archery."

"I think Miyake-kun might become a regular player in the future?" Chihaya said. "You just lack experience right now. As long as you train hard, you'll definitely be fine."

"Feigong really approves of you, San San?"

"Thank you, Princess. I will do my best."

"Once I become the club president, Miyake will definitely be a regular member," Chihaya joked.

"So San San's future looks promising."

Miyake just smiled helplessly, letting the two girls tease him.

"By the way, I overheard you guys talking earlier, are you having problems with your revision?" Chihaya asked.

"Actually, neither of us is very good at interacting with people, so we couldn't bring ourselves to join the study group organized by Hirata-kun," Hasebe said apologetically.

“I see, I can understand that.” Chihaya nodded in reply.

In his heart, he thought: "I thought you, Hasebe, were quite talkative! Is this what you call being bad at interacting with people?"

How dare someone act like they're really close to the top-ranked girl in their grade on their first chat? And what about someone who gives a classmate a nickname after only knowing them for a little over a month—is that considered "socially anxious"?

This social skill is enough to terrify the other person, isn't it?

However, the emotionally intelligent Chihaya naturally wouldn't say it aloud, but instead went along with the two of them.

Then Hasebe and Miyake briefly explained the situation of the two: their weak subjects were exactly opposite, one was weak in humanities and the other in science, so the original plan was to tutor each other.

However, due to Miyake's participation in club activities, the two-person study session progressed slowly.

"In short, that's how it is. Although San San and I are average students, we are still a little worried because of our weak subjects," Hasebe concluded.

“I understand the situation.” Chihaya nodded. “If you two don’t mind, I can help you, okay?”

"Huh?!" Hasebe was greatly shocked. She didn't expect that Chihaya would offer to help when they had only met by chance.

"But Princess, we're not in the same class, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Miyake asked, "Is this a special time..."

"It's okay?" Chihaya smiled. "I promised Kikyo that I would attend your Class D's study session, but only once."

"Really? But Hirata-san didn't mention this at all?"

"It was organized by Horikita-kun, not Hirata-kun," Chihaya explained. "But I wasn't planning on inviting you two to this study session, was I? If you don't mind, how about just the three of us?"

"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you?" Hasebe was clearly tempted, but worried that it would be too much trouble for Chihaya. After all, they weren't related, and Miyake was just a member of the same club. Calling them strangers would be a bit of an exaggeration, but the difference wasn't that big.

"No, no, your grades are quite good, and I didn't exert much effort at all."

"It would be better if Princess Chihaya didn't overestimate the two of us." Miyake remained relatively calm, hoping that Chihaya would think things through carefully before making a decision.

"Although it sounds a bit boastful, the midterm exams aren't anything to worry about for me, so you don't need to think I'm wasting your time."

"Shall we accept Himegami-san's kind offer, San-san?" Hasebe said. "As a reward, the two of us will treat Himegami-san to coffee and snacks."

“No problem, I still have plenty of points.” Miyake immediately agreed.

"San San is a practical, homebody type of man, yet he has quite a few points?" Hasebe joked.

"Because apart from daily expenses, I haven't bought any electronic devices."

"Indeed, I saw Yamauchi and Ike spending money really freely, and I was quite envious at the time," Hasebe said with lingering fear. "Luckily, I restrained myself last month, otherwise I would have been eating the mountain vegetable set meal this month."

"Things will definitely get better after the midterm exams," Chihaya comforted the two. "Since it involves personal points, I think there will be other ways to get class points besides exams in the future."

"hope so."

So, at Hasebe's suggestion, a group chat was created, and Hasebe, as the initiator, took it upon himself to name the group "Himegumi Group".

"Hahaha, this sounds a bit like a yakuza organization, but we're just a study group." Hasebe laughed heartily. "After all, you're the 'teacher,' so of course we have to use your name, right?"

Miyake nodded silently in agreement.

"Looks like there's no way to refute this?" Chihaya paused for a moment, then laughed. "Alright, alright, from today onwards, I'm the boss of the 'Himeko Group,' Yoro Shiku~"

"Hahahaha, it's so cute to hear that from Himegami-san! She doesn't sound like a biker gang member at all."

"Really? I've actually always wanted to try these kinds of lines."

"It's a great contrast; it would definitely be fantastic if it were a stage play."

“I’m also very interested in that format; I’ve seen Takarazuka plays before.”

"Excuse me, what is Takarazuka Revue?" Miyake raised his hand sheepishly.

"San-san doesn't know? It's actually a kind of play performed entirely by women, you know? The male roles are also played by women in drag," Hasebe explained, then looked at Chihaya, "I feel like Hime-kun would actually be quite suitable for Takarazuka plays, right?"

"Really?"

Chihaya couldn't help but think to herself: Suitable for Takarazuka dramas? He's a man, isn't he suitable for Takarazuka dramas?

“If it’s a female character playing a male role, I think Princess is very suitable,” Miyake said.

"Oh? It seems San-san knows something I don't!" Hasebe became interested. "Tell me about it!"

"Actually, Hasebe, you'll understand what I mean once you see Himeko shooting an arrow in person. How should I describe it? It's very impressive."

"So there's a reason why San San isn't good at humanities. Don't you know how to use adjectives? Let me give you one: peerless beauty."

"Alright, alright! If you keep talking, I'll get so proud that I'll burst out laughing!"

"May I go watch Princess Fei practice archery next time?"

"Sure, just sit quietly in the back and watch. I'll let the minister know when it's time."

"Yay!" Hasebe gave a "yeah" sign. "I hope San-san won't miss the target just because I'm watching?"

"Even if you don't come, I'll still miss the target. Don't have too many expectations of a beginner like me."

"Don't worry, don't worry, you're just incidental."

74. Pork Chop Rice

After the casual conversation, Chihaya gave each of Miyake Hasebe a test paper and asked them to complete it in their spare time. She would then find an opportunity to explain the test paper to them based on their weaknesses.