Nikita was extremely happy about his team's victory.
Symbat understood that Aibar had deliberately passed the question to Nikita's team, and she didn't hold it against him.
Aibar congratulated the fourth group, and the entire fourth group was incredibly happy because Aibar himself was congratulating them. To them, it felt like a huge honor.
The members of the fourth group turned to their leader, Nikita, and said:
"You're not such a bad person after all. Thank you so much..."
Aibar approached Nikita, extended his hand, and calmly said:
"Congratulations. You beat me. How about we become friends?"
He sincerely offered his hand.
All the students stared at them in complete shock.
The entire class whispered:
"No way... Nikita, you're so lucky. He's literally giving you the chance to experience my dream in real life. How I envy you..."
However, Nikita pretended as if he was about to accept Aibar's hand, as though he were going to shake it.
Then he suddenly slapped Aibar's hand away.
Symbat became furious.(to herself)
What!? How dare you...
Everyone was stunned.
The students whispered among themselves:
"What did you just do? That idiot... He just treated what most people here dream of like it was garbage..."
Maria replied with a satisfied expression:
"I don't want to be friends with you..."
She then gave a sly smile and thought to herself:
I was planning to humiliate you and defeat you.
Perfect... I actually humiliated you and beat you...
With that, she left the classroom.
The other students were burning with frustration and whispered angrily among themselves:
"What an idiot... Who the hell do you think you are? That was an incredible opportunity. If only I had been given that chance."
Aibar remains completely still, his expression cold and composed.
Symbat looks at Aibar for a few moments. Then she walks over to him and, in a warm voice, takes his hand and says with a slight smile:
"Don't leave your hand hanging."
"Good game. Thank you."
Nikita, meanwhile, is so happy that he can barely contain his excitement. He goes to the cafeteria, has something to eat, and then the next—and final—lesson begins.
Chemistry.
The chemistry teacher wants to put an end to the hostility between Aibar and Nikita. She stands at her desk for a moment, thinking to herself:
"No matter what it takes, I'll get my two favorite students to become friends."
An idea suddenly comes to the chemistry teacher, and she gives a sly smile.
The chemistry teacher, Gulnur, gets up and looks at the entire class.
"I'll make you all a deal. I won't be the one giving you the summative assessment. Instead, two excellent students will prepare it for you. One of them is the Guardian of Order. He knows what level each of you is at. That means he can make the tasks easier for you—tailored to each student's level. I'll allow it. Isn't that more convenient for you? You'll be taking the test without cheat sheets, because the Guardian of Order will help you. Isn't that wonderful?"
She deliberately words it this way to persuade and encourage the students.
Except for Symbat and a few other students, almost the entire class is frightened. Still, they gather their courage, look at Aibar pleadingly, and begin asking him to agree.
Aibar, however, doesn't object. He simply nods in agreement.
Gulnur then adds:
"However, the Guardian of Order must prepare the test questions together with Nikita. Otherwise, it won't work."
But Nikita refuses, stubbornly standing his ground.
Nikita, looking displeased, says:
"No... Never."
Aibar understands Gulnur's plan and accepts it as an opportunity to help.
Aibar looks at Nikita and calmly says:
"Alexei. I'll ask Alexei for permission..."
Nikita's eyes widen slightly in surprise.
"What...? You're on good terms with my brother?"
Aibar calmly replies:
"Fifty-fifty... We've run into each other several times. But most likely, he was following me, as if he were looking for information. And I... I just assumed he was a fan and didn't pay much attention to it."
Aibar pauses for a moment before continuing calmly:
"All of that happened during my first few days at school. So don't worry about it."
Nikita, growing irritated, says:
"No, he won't agree. If I say something, he treats it like law. Because he's my brother. He only supports me."
Aibar calmly responds:
"Fine. I know your home address..."
Nikita shakes his head.
"I refuse... Get lost."
Aibar calmly says:
"Be home at exactly 3:30."
Nikita is angry, but hides his irritation and speaks calmly:
"Who gave you permission? I absolutely refuse."
Aibar calmly replies:
"Fine. So if you become the Guardian of Order in the future, you're planning to become an even worse tyrant than me."
Nikita tries to ignore him.
"If you would just stop talking to me—"
Aibar interrupts him before he can finish.
"Being the Guardian of Order isn't just a title. It means being able to help others. And you're proving that you'd be a worse Guardian of Order than me. Look... If these students had to choose between the two of us after this, they would choose me. Even if they didn't like me. You just admitted that you can't live up to their expectations and that you'll lose to me."
Nikita snaps angrily:
"Who told you that I lost to you or admitted anything? Fine... I agree... You bastard."
The lesson ends, and Maria returns home.
"Bastard. Who the hell do you think you are...?"
She angrily walks into the house.
Alexei calmly looks at her.
"What happened? The Guardian of Order again?"
Nikita removes her disguise, taking off the wig.
Maria angrily says:
"Yeah. That bastard forced me into it. He said he'd be here at 3:30... Ugh..."
Alexei thinks for a moment before calmly saying:
"I won't be home at that time. I have some things to take care of..."
Maria freezes for a moment, then blushes.
"Wait... Brother, you mean I'll be alone with that bastard? With him? No, brother, postpone your plans."
However, Alexei tells her that he already promised his classmates he would be there.
Maria sighs.
"Ugh... Fine..."
And so, Alexei leaves the house early, at 2:30.
Meanwhile, Maria lies on her bed, lost in thought, and eventually falls asleep.
Aibar arrives at the address where Nikita lives. Exactly at 3:30, he knocks on the gate.
Aibar calmly takes his phone out of his pocket and tries calling her. But Maria doesn't hear it—her phone is on silent.
After waiting for a while, Aibar loses patience and calls out her name. He shouts for her several times.
Hearing him, Maria suddenly jumps to her feet. She hurriedly puts on her disguise and manages to get ready before opening the door.
Aibar calmly says:
"Why did you take so long? I called you several times."
Nikita, slightly out of breath, replies:
"I fell asleep..."
Nikita then blushes and lets him into the house, and they begin working together.
The work is going very easily for them. After all, they are the two strongest students.
Just as they are about to finish their work, the call to prayer begins playing from Aibar's phone.
Aibar takes his phone out of his pocket and waits until the call to prayer finishes.
Once the call to prayer has ended, Aibar calmly says:
"I should perform my obligatory prayer. Nikita... do you have a prayer mat?"
Maria looks at him in surprise and, with at least a little respect, asks:
"Of course. Wait... you actually pray?"
Aibar calmly replies:
"Yes."
Nikita begins to realize that Aibar isn't the bad person she had thought he was. She prepares everything he needs, then goes to another room so she won't disturb him, while also taking care of her own things.
Nikita has gone into one of the rooms inside the house.
After finishing his prayer, Aibar looks around and begins searching for Nikita. As he looks for her, he walks farther inside and notices one of the rooms.
A sound is coming from inside.
Aibar quietly peeks into the room—and sees her.
Instead of the boy he knows as Nikita, there is a girl sitting there.
Maria.
Aibar recognizes that Maria is Nikita from her clothes.
His expression remains emotionless, but his mouth falls slightly open in surprise.
However, Aibar quickly regains his composure and notices something else.
There are tears in Maria's eyes.
Maria is holding a framed photograph in her hands. It appears to be a family photo.
When Maria was little, her parents loved her older brother more than they loved her. She received very little attention from them.
However, Alexei knew that his little sister was a talented and wonderful girl. He always supported her wholeheartedly and gave her the love and attention she deserved.
Maria's parents had believed that their son would become stronger than their daughter and accomplish greater things in life. They had not been particularly happy when Maria was born.
Then, one day, Maria's parents disappeared.
Maria sits there crying as all of these memories come flooding back to her.
After their parents disappeared, Alexei and Maria moved to this village and built a new life together. They created fake documents claiming that they had legal guardians and registered them under the names of their missing parents.
Maria had promised her parents, "I'll prove it. I'll prove that a girl can accomplish great things too."
And Alexei had promised that he would support her.
So, at first, Alexei started going to school. He would teach his little sister everything he knew and bring home huge piles of books for her.
Maria had an incredible memory, so she learned and mastered everything with ease. In other words, she was a genius.
However, one day, Alexei saw Aibar, the new student who had just transferred to the school.
That very same day, Alexei had been planning to enroll Maria in the school starting the next day. But after witnessing Aibar's unbelievable abilities, he became wary of him and told Maria about him. He decided to postpone her enrollment for a while so he could learn more about Aibar.
In general, Alexei tried to keep an eye on Aibar and gather information about him, then shared what he discovered with Maria.
As Maria heard more and more about how incredible Aibar was, she began to see defeating him as a way to prove herself and achieve her goal.
However, Alexei refused to let her enroll yet and postponed it again. He wanted to observe Aibar for a little longer.
But after Alexei kept delaying Maria's enrollment for too long, Maria contacted the school herself without her brother's permission.
When Alexei found out what she had done, he didn't get angry with her. Instead, he told her that he would submit the documents himself and explain everything to the principal and teachers, including their plan to keep their secret.
Tears fill Maria's eyes. She slowly looks at the photograph of her parents and says in a quiet voice:
"I'll defeat him no matter what. I'll prove that I'm capable of great things too."
Aibar experiences a strange feeling for the first time.
Yes, he still looks emotionless, but his cheeks turn slightly red. Without realizing it, he accidentally bumps into a vase filled with flowers.
Can Aibar really only feel anger?
And now... he's blushing?
The vase Aibar bumped into falls to the floor and shatters.
Hearing the sound of the broken vase, Maria immediately begins putting on her disguise as quickly as possible.
Aibar is slightly irritated, yet his face is still faintly red.
Damn... My reflexes are usually better than this.
Maria quickly finishes putting on her disguise and steps out.
Then she sees Aibar.
Maria comes out of the room and looks at Aibar.
In a calm but scolding tone, she says:
"What are you doing here? You could've just waited or called for me. I would've come."
Aibar pulls himself together and calmly replies without emotion:
"I just wanted to use the bathroom."
Maria calms down.
"Huh...? Fine. The bathroom is over there..."
She points toward it with her finger.
Aibar walks toward the bathroom as if nothing happened.
"Thanks."
Just as he is about to leave, Maria suddenly says:
"Stop..."
Aibar slowly turns around and looks at her.
Maria calmly asks:
"You didn't... hmm... follow me or see what was inside that room, right?"
Aibar puts on a completely innocent expression and calmly replies as usual:
"The room? What is there that I'm not allowed to see?"
Maria believes him.
Then Aibar deliberately says, still acting as if nothing happened:
"I hope you're not stalking me..."
Maria becomes flustered and tries to compose herself.
"N-No, of course not... It's just... hmm... I have some of my things in there. They're private..."
Maria regains her composure and pretends to scold Aibar.
"So, are you going to the bathroom or not?"
Aibar silently turns around and quickly enters the bathroom.
Maria lets out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thank God. He didn't see anything... Phew...
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Aibar is slightly blushing but remains emotionless. Calmly, he thinks:
What is this feeling...? It feels so pleasant, but somehow... strangely uncomfortable...
After a moment, Aibar leaves the bathroom, says goodbye to Maria, and hurriedly leaves the house.
All the way home, Aibar keeps thinking about what happened.
Calmly, he thinks to himself:
Why not deliberately admit my defeat to her and let her become the Guardian of Order? Whatever happens, everything will be decided tomorrow.
Morning comes.
As usual, Aibar and Maria arrive early and tidy up the classroom.
Aibar looks at Nikita and calmly says:
"Today, the weekly list of outstanding students will be announced. You probably still have hope of beating me."
Nikita is irritated, but gives a slight smile.
"Of course."
And so, the exam for the Student of the Week begins.
The exam covers the material from all the lessons being taught that day, and it takes place during the first lesson.
The exam ends, and the rest of the lessons continue as usual.
During the break, just before the fourth lesson begins, the results appear on the school's exemplary students' board.
When the bell rings, everyone goes to see the results.
There are fifteen places in total.
And then they see the rankings:
3rd place — Symbat.
2nd place — Aibar.
1st place — Nikita.
The entire class is completely shocked.
Ever since Aibar arrived, not even Symbat had managed to take first place.
And now...
Nikita had done it.