Saitō Keisuke came running into the classroom not long after.
He tossed his schoolbag onto his desk, pulled a book out of the drawer, and began fanning himself with it.
"This heat is getting worse every day. I break a sweat after running a few steps. When can we switch to summer uniforms already?" he complained.
"June."
After gaining the skill "Prodigious Memory" yesterday, Watanabe Tetsu had been so excited that he accidentally memorized the entire Shinkawa Academy Student Handbook.
Dress code, acceptable hairstyles for boys and girls, the exact dates of the school anniversary, the cultural festival, the sports festival—every detail now rested perfectly in his mind.
And because he knew all that, he hated Kiyono Rin even more.
Forming a club required at least five members, a supervising teacher, a proper name, a club president, and an activity plan that aligned with the academy's creative and energetic school spirit.
One member—ha.
"Human Observation Club"—ha.
Provoking other clubs just to observe their reactions—ha!
Watanabe Tetsu was so jealous he practically went into plasmolysis.
(By the way, plasmolysis occurs when a well-developed plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, causing the cell membrane to shrink away from the cell wall. It is a property of living plant cells.)
Randomly recalling knowledge points—flawlessly accomplished.
He nodded to himself, satisfied. His memory really was impressive. As expected of the great Watanabe.
"I know it's June!" Saitō snapped. "I'm asking why we can't switch earlier. May is already boiling!"
"A calm mind keeps cool."
Tetsu was thin and cooled down quickly, so he tightened his tie again to avoid getting penalized if the discipline committee caught him.
A moment later, Kunii Osamu returned from morning exercises, gulping down water as he walked in. He snatched the book from Saitō's hand and began fanning the inside of his collar with it.
"Don't you have your own book?"
"It's hot. Don't wanna move."
As usual, the three of them chatted aimlessly until morning homeroom began.
During breaks, Tetsu used to fool around with the other two. After all, he worked hard in class and studied at home—there was no reason to push himself during the precious few minutes of rest between periods.
But starting today, he was going to study.
"You're working this hard? Do you want the rest of us to live or not?" Kunii Osamu exclaimed in disbelief.
"I told you before—if I'm going to be a 'Tokyo heartthrob,' even if I can't take first place, I at least need to show improvement. I set a small goal for myself: second place on the exam ranking."
Saitō nodded in agreement. "It's the 14th today. We've got about half a month until the exams. It's time we buckle down too."
With that, he pulled a cram-school math workbook from his bag, dragged his chair over, and sat beside Tetsu.
"Watanabe, if I get stuck on something, can I ask you?"
"Of course. The Book of Rites says that teaching others helps oneself improve. I'm happy to help—it might even reveal a weakness I hadn't noticed."
"Book of Rites? Improve by teaching?" Kunii blinked, confused.
Saitō chopped him on the neck with a mock "Hell Send-Off Hand Knife."
"You don't even know that? Go get your literature textbook—now!"
"O-okay."
Kunii hurried back to his seat to get his Japanese workbook. Saitō leaned closer and whispered, "Hey, Watanabe… what is the Book of Rites? And what did you just say?"
"…"
The three formed a study group in the back of the classroom, working together.
This wasn't unusual in Shinkawa Academy. Some girls even read textbooks while eating lunch.
But even in a place like this, Tetsu still managed to rank third. Which only proved one thing—Kiyono Rin, who spent her breaks reading random literature, was on an entirely different level.
Watanabe Tetsu tried to focus on his studies, but every few problems he solved, his mind drifted inevitably to Yūki Miki and how on earth he was supposed to deal with her.
Imagine he studied hard, took the exam… and died before the scores were posted.
Tetsu could already envision himself becoming a vengeful school spirit out of sheer frustration.
Because the rankings were posted once.
If he died with his wish unfulfilled, he would be doomed to haunt the announcement board for eternity, waiting for a nonexistent Shinkawa witch to appear and release him from this world.
But the situation was too difficult. This was something he had to solve alone—how was he supposed to come up with a good plan?
He was smart, handsome, dedicated, and even had a gaming system on his side—but in front of someone like Yūki Miki, a natural-born winner at life, even he could only surrender.
His head hurt.
During the break after third period—
"I'm going to the bathroom," he said, hoping a little reset would help clear his thoughts.
Saitō and Kunii were fully immersed in studying and only answered vaguely, neither of them intending to follow.
Passing Class 2's room, he saw Yūki Miki surrounded like a queen by her followers.
He washed his face at the sink and sighed at the reflection staring back at him.
"You seriously don't know anything about water conservation?"
"Oh—sorry."
Tetsu quickly turned off the still-running faucet and looked back. It was Kiyono Rin.
"Oh. It's you," he muttered.
Kiyono Rin stepped to the sink and began washing her hands.
The sinks in Shinkawa Academy were located between the boys' and girls' restrooms, much like in shopping malls.
"Um…" Tetsu hesitated. "Can I ask you a question?"
Kiyono finished washing and adjusted her uniform bow in the mirror.
"If you're wondering why someone as beautiful as me has to use the bathroom, that's not something you need to know."
"No, I mean… someone like me—handsome, smart, strong-willed, destined for greatness, but currently poor and powerless—how can I silently and safely kill the heiress of a trillion-yen family without getting caught?"
"If you're a poor, useless student, then dreaming is your only option."
"No, I said poor and powerless, but also handsome, smart, strong-willed, and destined for greatness."
"Mm, useless." Kiyono tugged her ribbon. "I keep human observation reports. This conversation is going in there. If I die, you'll be the police's first suspect."
Tetsu felt certain his brain was malfunctioning from overuse and sugar depletion. How else could he have been stupid enough to ask her for advice?
This woman was far too full of herself.
Couldn't she be a little more humble, like him?
"Kiyono," he said, "I've started using my break time to study. I work hard after school too. Meanwhile you're always reading classics during breaks and staying in the activity room afterward. For this exam—"
"Watanabe."
"Huh?"
"I'll tell you one of the reasons I'm so exceptional: before achieving something, you must stay calm and composed… while your heart burns like fire."
Tetsu thought about it, then nodded. "I'm not as good as you at that. But now that you've told me, I can—"
Before he could finish, Kiyono's small, elegant face curved into a smile.
"Watanabe isn't completely useless. At least you're capable of admitting you're inferior to me. That deserves some praise."
"You… you're impossible. Not cute at all."
Kiyono didn't mind in the slightest. She laughed softly and walked out of the restroom.
Tetsu knew that smile too well.
It was the same smile he wore whenever someone told him he wasn't handsome.
So this was how annoying it looked?
He turned on the tap again, scooped water into his hands, and splashed it over his face.
He was fuming.