In practice, I originally just wanted to be a slacker.

That's why she hesitated.

She's hesitating about whether to drop out of school now and go back to idol activities.

But having finally made friends at school, she didn't want to easily part ways with Hasebe and the others. Torn between her career and her friends, she didn't know what to do.

Furthermore, if they choose to withdraw from school voluntarily, 300 class points will be deducted, which would be even more unfair to Class D.

“I know, I know, so I think…”

There was no further explanation at this point, and the others looked at the hesitant Sakura Airi, wondering what she was going to say next.

"Airi, you wouldn't be thinking of dropping out of school, would you?"

The one who saw through Sakura's heart was none other than Yukimura, who was determined to get into the University of Tokyo.

"Huh? Why? Ah, no, is this real?"

After Yukimura pointed this out, Hasebe was speechless and his voice became stammering.

"Why do you say that, Sachiki?"

Faced with Hasebe's questioning, Yukimura felt somewhat helpless.

“Because I’ve thought about the same thing.” In response to the other person’s confusion, Yukimura continued, “My decision to apply to the University of Tokyo wasn’t made on a whim.”

"I've been thinking about this ever since I signed that contract with Kamio."

Faced with the questioning gazes of the others, Yukimura muttered his thoughts to himself.

"Because if you want to get into the University of Tokyo, the best way is to attend a cram school that is aimed at the University of Tokyo, but the university doesn't have such a thing."

So I had the same idea at the time, and I even went to Mr. Chabashira.

What made me change my mind was a third-year student. I heard from Mr. Chabashira that a third-year student had been successfully admitted to the University of Tokyo this year, and that student was also from Class D.

At this point, Yukimura recalled the surprised yet appreciative expression on the other person's face, and then a smile appeared on his own.

"Later, I found Yoshida, and after hearing about my situation, he shared all his experience of getting into the University of Tokyo with me free of charge."

He said he saw a reflection of himself in me; he also decided to rely on his own efforts to advance in his studies after realizing there was no hope for his class to improve.

This guy is really lucky...

"So I somewhat understand Airi's thoughts. Airi probably can't choose between friends and career, right?"

Under the watchful eyes of the others, Sakura Airi nodded.

"Besides, dropping out would cause trouble for everyone in the class, so I..."

Well, now everyone understands, but no one can say anything.

This is, after all, a major life event.

No one can make decisions for Sakura.

In the afternoon, a knock on the door made Tatsuya Kamio, who was preparing content for the second part of Dragon Raja, temporarily stop.

"Hold on."

Although we don't know who the visitors are, it certainly won't be Kamuro or Shiina, because they both have spare keys to their rooms.

Tatsuya Kamio's social circle has never been very wide, so he couldn't guess who was coming to find him.

Wow, could it be that Kiryuin?

With some doubt, Tatsuya Kamio opened the door and was met with a visitor who surprised him: Airi Sakura.

"Sakura?"

"Um, I have something I'd like to discuss with Kamio-kun."

Sakura looked somewhat uneasy.

"If you don't mind, please come in."

"excuse me."

Upon entering the room, Sakura sat awkwardly on the tatami mat in the middle of the room.

"Would you like something to drink? We have black tea and cocoa."

Black tea is naturally Shiina's favorite, after all, she's in the tea ceremony club, while Kamuro has a particular fondness for cocoa.

"Well, black tea will do."

"That's perfect, I boiled some water earlier."

A few minutes later, Tatsuya Kamio came out of the kitchen carrying two cups of black tea. After being trained by Shiina for more than half a year, Tatsuya Kamio's tea ceremony skills, while not quite masterful, were at least somewhat accomplished.

Unfortunately, this skill did not earn Sakura's praise.

She was clearly preoccupied, sitting there uneasily, occasionally taking a sip of tea.

Tatsuya Kamio didn't urge him. Shiina and Kamuro both had their own plans for the day and wouldn't be coming, so he was quite free.

It's been so long since I've seen her, and Sakura seems even more beautiful than when school started. Her features are no longer as youthful as they were at the beginning of the semester.

Moreover, the feeling she gives off is completely different from that of Shiina and Kamuro.

As they continued, Tatsuya Kamio drank tea and wrote something, while Sakura sat silently at the table, not saying a word.

After a long while, Sakura finally mustered up her courage.

"That, that..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Kamio-kun, I... I don't know whether I should drop out of school."

Sakura's words startled Tatsuya Kamio. Why didn't he know whether he should drop out of school? What's wrong, kid? Did something happen to you?

"Um, could you tell me more about it?"

Sakura downed the black tea in her cup in one gulp, and then slowly began to express her thoughts.

The story wasn't complicated, and Tatsuya Kamio understood it immediately.

In short, he felt anxious about his future and wanted to return to his old profession, but that would mean leaving the school.

Leaving this school means dropping out, which is equivalent to leaving behind the friends you've made at this school.

Furthermore, dropping out of school will deduct 300 class points, which will cause trouble for the students in the class.

Before we go any further, may I ask why you chose this school in the first place?

"Actually, I am a very shy person."

Yes, I can see that.

"Although I have no problem taking photos in my private life, I feel very uncomfortable when facing other people's cameras."

Although I had tried to overcome it before, I reached my limit in my third year of middle school, so I had to stop my idol activities at that time.

Then I learned about this school by chance, and unexpectedly, I was accepted…

Sakura's reasoning left Tatsuya Kamio speechless.

Goodness, you know, tens of thousands of people want to get into this school every year, but they only admit 160 students each year.

As it turns out, you only learned about this school by chance and got in.

Well, this probably wasn't just luck; it was the school's admissions system that was causing the problem.

In other words, Sakura's idol career hit a bottleneck, then she came to this school by chance, and now she feels that the bottleneck has disappeared and she can go back to being an idol.

On one hand, there's the future, and on the other, there are friends. And given Sakura's personality, she can't make a decision right now, which is why she came to me.

After understanding the cause and effect, Kamio Tatsuya felt a bit of a headache, because judging from the current situation, Sakura was very likely to listen to him.

If I tell her to drop out of school, she drops out; if I tell her to stay in school, she stays in school.

In short, her fate could be decided by a single word from him.

Alas, what have I done to deserve this?

No one knows the future, not even Tatsuya Kamio. Even if he did know, he wouldn't know which future Sakura wanted.

Therefore, Kamio Tatsu would never use the pretext of "doing what's best for you" to make decisions for others.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I can't make a decision for you."

Upon hearing this, Sakura's face showed disappointment.

"This is your life, and you should be in charge of it yourself. However, I can help you analyze the pros and cons of different choices. Do you want to listen?"

Upon hearing this, Sakura nodded quickly.

"Let me confirm one thing first: Sakura, you're planning to resume your idol activities regardless of whether you graduate from this school or not, right?"

Sakura nodded in response to this question.

With that, Tatsuya Kamio understood the situation. Since that was the case, for Sakura, the only options were to drop out of school now to pursue idol activities, or to pursue idol activities after graduation.

Of course, she might not make it to graduation; she might even be expelled halfway through.

"What is your family situation like? Because providing free room and board at this school is a benefit for many students."

"I'm fine at home."

Well, that makes sense. After all, they're the kind of family that gives digital cameras as gifts when their children are in middle school. Their financial situation is far superior to that of the Ichinose family.

In that case, there's no need to worry about that.

"Let's start by analyzing the option of dropping out of school now and participating in idol activities."

Kamio Tatsuya smiled and put down his teacup.

"If you want to drop out of school now and participate in idol activities, you're only worried about two things."

Class D will have 300 class points deducted. Of course, Class D doesn't have that many points, meaning Class D's class points will be reset to zero again.

At the same time, you will be separated from your friends, but if your friendship is strong enough, you can still reunite with them two years later, outside of the school.

As for whether your idol activities will go smoothly, we won't consider that for now.

"Let's start with the point about friendship. I think the fact that you came to me means that Hasebe and the others didn't ask you to stay at school."

If that's the case, it means that Hasebe and the others are waiting for your decision and respecting it. At least for now, they still consider you a true friend.

Therefore, even if you drop out of school now, it probably won't have much of an impact on them. After all, even though they can't contact you directly after you leave school, they can still see your updates through your blog.

"Then there's the impact on the class, which is negligible. Because of the deduction of class points, you should consider the impact on Hasebe and the others rather than the impact on the class itself."

Your withdrawal will leave them without living expenses again. Of course, I believe that when you made the decision, they wouldn't hold a grudge against you for such a small matter.

As for the other students, you don't know them well, so why bother with them?

Sakura nodded, then couldn't help but say, "But it will eventually cause them trouble."

Indeed, if Sakura could be so ruthless, she wouldn't have specifically come to Tatsuya Kamio for advice on this matter.

"So I'm just here to help you analyze what you'll face on each path." Kamio Tatsuya wasn't angry at Sakura's words. "Then, you'll wait until you graduate before starting your idol activities."

Speaking of this, Kamio Tatsuya laughed, because the analysis of this line was far too simplistic.

"If you choose to continue your idol activities after graduation, then you don't need to consider the issues I just mentioned at all."

But since you want to restart your idol activities now, you must have sensed something, right?

Upon hearing this, Sakura nodded slightly.

"Well, because the golden age for idols is before they turn 20. If you go into that field after graduation... it might be too late."

That's right, this is the biggest downside of restarting idol activities after graduation. As for the advantages, there are some: this school helps students grow up quickly.

However, no matter how harsh this school is, it is still far from enough compared to the real world, so Kamio Tatsu would not consider this an advantage, and therefore did not mention it.

"Of course, there is another way, which is to wait, wait for the next special exam to come, and then use the exam rules to withdraw from school."

As you've probably seen, the fact that someone is willing to drop out of school without fear of being expelled can significantly help their exam performance.

Kamio Tatsuya demonstrated this to everyone during the forest exam earlier this year, so Sakura must understand it.

Even if she couldn't do it, at least she wouldn't cause trouble for Class D. In this way, Sakura got over that mental hurdle.

Moreover, Tatsuya Kamio has the authority to control Class D, so how to use Sakura as a trump card is entirely up to him.

Sakura thought for a moment, then nodded.