Watanabe Tetsu carefully hung up his suit and other easily wrinkled clothes, then tidied away the useless shopping bags, immediately returning to his test papers.
By the time he finished grading everything, it was the early hours of the second day of the three-day weekend. The system refreshed.
[Items: Detector (1/1000), Healing Potion (1/1000), Fruit Knife (1/1000)]
Watanabe Tetsu blinked and tried to calm himself. Don't panic. After all, it's worth 1,000 points—there's no way it's really a fruit knife.
He clicked on the description.
[Fruit Knife: Razor-sharp, peels without sticking to the blade (please handle with care—so sharp that if you cut a finger, the pain will be delayed, but the blade will remain clean even with blood)]
"…So it really is just for peeling fruit!"
Watanabe Tetsu was dumbfounded.
Don't panic, don't panic, Watanabe—there are skills too! You still have a chance to turn things around!
[Skills: Beginner—Calligraphy (100), Proficient—Camping (1,000), Expert—Photography (10,000), Master—Car Repair (100,000)]
"Car repair… I-I won't curse, I won't curse." Watanabe Tetsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Rely on the system for revenge? What kind of refresh is this? Go work as a mechanic? Or become the next Edison Chen?
Impossible!
First, Yuuki Miki would never let him touch a car.
Second, whether or not he takes photos is also Yuuki Miki's call! He might even end up being the one photographed!
"This is infuriating!"
Just thinking about continuing to sponge off someone while carefully navigating Yuuki Miki's unpredictable moods made him miserable.
He blew off steam with two sets of 50 push-ups and two sets of 50 sit-ups, leaving him completely exhausted before he finally felt a bit calmer.
Watanabe Tetsu had no hope for July either.
After all, the system was incredibly generous—it covered everything, even car repair. And precisely because it was so versatile, the chance of getting a skill useful for revenge was minuscule.
He couldn't rely on the system; he had to rely on himself.
Believe in yourself, Watanabe. You can do this!
The next morning, Watanabe Tetsu ran along Shinjuku Boulevard, from Yotsuya Station to Shinjuku Gyoenmae, returning to do his morning calisthenics.
He didn't study during the day but went out with Kunii Osamu and Saito Keisuke to relax and enjoy themselves.
This time, Yuuki Miki didn't call to "check in," so apparently men weren't on her radar.
That morning, the three of them went fishing at Toyosu Park.
The park, near the Tokyo Bay coastline, was filled with men holding fishing rods, ranging from young guys struggling to lift the poles to elderly men with white hair who could barely walk.
Watanabe Tetsu only caught a trout too small to eat, while the other two landed three fish of varying sizes.
In the afternoon, they went to the Toyokai Sports Park camping area, rented an outdoor barbecue spot, and enjoyed a self-service grill.
Throughout the day, neither Kunii Osamu nor Saito Keisuke noticed that Watanabe Tetsu was wearing expensive clothes.
From this, the "old-school boy" Watanabe Tetsu admitted that these two were true men.
After all, many men nowadays could discuss cosmetics with women, knew every clothing style by heart, and had their desks piled high with bottles and containers.
Given humanity's increasingly comfortable material life, Watanabe Tetsu had to admit that such men might represent a future trend.
Then again, maybe not.
Men were naturally lazy and rough when it came to personal grooming.
They preferred spending energy on cars, computers, and sneakers.
Some men wouldn't even buy clothes for themselves for a year, yet spent money dressing up game characters, meticulously checking if the skirts flowed nicely, how much was revealed while walking, whether lace trim was present, and so on.
Men were strange creatures.
As a man himself, Watanabe Tetsu sometimes couldn't understand these guys—or even himself.
On the last day of the three-day weekend, he studied diligently in his apartment all day, still keeping up his running and evening swimming.
Only by maintaining full energy could he study and work efficiently—this was a lesson to remember.
The first day of school in June marked the official start of Tokyo's rainy season, and heavy rain poured down.
Watanabe Tetsu got off at Yotsuya Station, holding an umbrella as he mingled with the crowd heading toward Kamikawa Private Academy.
At the school gate, the student council's disciplinary officers stared at him like police watching a suspect, as if he might pull a gun from his backpack at any moment.
Maybe someday that might be necessary—but for now, all Watanabe Tetsu could manage was keeping a fruit knife handy.
That morning, while changing into his indoor shoes, he ran into Seino Rin—who was all beauty and brains, but otherwise completely useless.
"Seino, the results will be out at noon today."
"Huh?"
"I got the test answers from Supervisor Koizumi and estimated the scores. I think your situation doesn't look good."
"Are you bragging about being Koizumi's favorite? I stopped playing that game in kindergarten. Go bother your girlfriend instead."
"My point is, my score is really high this time!" Watanabe Tetsu said, looking at Seino Rin's profile. "If I didn't happen to get first place, what would happen to you?"
Seino Rin slightly turned away, her back facing him.
"I know boys are… vigorous in the morning, and I admit my charm is irresistible. But Watanabe, I didn't expect you to harass me at school this early."
"I have a girlfriend!"
Seino Rin smiled. "Alright, Watanabe, stop dreaming so early. Time to wake up."
"When Yuuki Miki agreed to it, weren't you there?!"
"Oh my, you mean that? I'm talking about your delusion of getting first place."
"We'll see about that!"
It wasn't just the two of them; other students were also keeping an eye on the rankings.
Watanabe Tetsu walked into the classroom. Saito Keisuke, who surprisingly arrived before him, egged him on.
"Watanabe, go ask Supervisor Koizumi for the results."
"Won't we know at noon anyway?"
"Don't you want to know early? You could casually ask Seino or Yuuki… Yuuki's your girlfriend, so forget her."
"You can't count on Seino Rin either."
"Why not?! I studied properly!"
Watanabe Tetsu put away his backpack and opened his textbook, looking at the guy. "Saito, stop dreaming this early. Time to wake up."
"You sound so punchable right now."
"I feel the same," Watanabe admitted.
The morning classes dragged by in restless anticipation. Some students tried asking teachers about the rankings early but were all rejected.
During English class, Koizumi Aona glanced at Watanabe Tetsu a few times, but he didn't understand the meaning and didn't ask.
He was confident he would get first place!
By noon, the bulletin board on the first floor was packed. Kunii Osamu even asked a senior from the baseball club to check for him.
In truth, it was unnecessary.
A nameless senior, buried in the crowd, used a voice as loud as Kunii's to shout out the rankings and scores.
"First! Seino Rin! 888 points!"
Watanabe Tetsu suspected that number was deliberately cruel.
Damn it! I stayed up all night studying! How do I still lose to this literary girl who just reads random books?
Where's the "hard work pays off" logic? Lies!
Watanabe Tetsu looked toward the elevated walkway between the classroom building and activity hall, imagining Seino Rin walking there, flicking her long hair and letting out a disdainful snort, mocking his morning antics.
But he wasn't the only one upset.
Other boys in the class were either sulking or letting out wails of regret.
"Hey, you guys didn't really expect to get first, right? Such dreamers… But if Seino Rin's first, I should be second. Second isn't bad—progress is progress, and I'll still have goals to strive for. Besides, I wouldn't dare take first anyway."
"Second! Yuuki Miki! 887 points!"
"No way!" Watanabe Tetsu, who had been consoling himself, joined the chorus of groans.
H-he's third again!
This was the third time! Third time with no improvement!
"Third! Watanabe Tetsu! 886 points!"
Just one point short, and that was pure luck—he had just asked Seino Rin about the "Northern Islands Dispute" before the test.
"Fourth! Taniwara Kenji! 841 points!"
"Fifth! Ando Shuhei! 837 points!"
Overall, the school's results had improved, especially among the boys.
But that meant Yuuki Miki might get kicked out of the Human Observation Club? Perfect!
Freedom!
Suddenly, chaos broke out at the bulletin board. Watanabe Tetsu looked from the third-floor corridor window to see the principal personally posting something new.
What could possibly be important enough for the principal to do it himself?
Soon, the principal clarified via the PE teacher's megaphone:
"Attention, everyone. Yuuki Miki's math test was undercounted by one point. This time, first place goes to both Seino Rin and Yuuki Miki, second is Watanabe Tetsu, and all other students move up one rank.
"Also, summarizing this tri-school exam, our school has achieved excellent results thanks to the efforts of teachers and students alike. Many students showed remarkable improvement—"
Watching the principal ramble on, Watanabe Tetsu deeply felt that life is hard for everyone.
But he wasn't losing out. He had improved, right?
Improvement was what mattered.
As for whether the scores were miscalculated, who led the Human Observation Club, or his luck (system refresh) and test-taking skills—he had no control, and he didn't care to.