The next morning.
Yuuya washed his face, brushed his teeth, put on his standard uniform, and headed out. The high school was about a kilometer away, so he jogged to get there.
He arrived at Class 1-7 just as the morning hustle was starting.
The classroom was already buzzing. The first person to arrive every day was, without fail, the class representative. A girl with long, straight black hair, a high forehead, and a figure that defied high school biology.
Fukiyose Seiri.
She was currently watering the flowers on the balcony vase, radiating an aura of strict discipline.
By sheer coincidence (or perhaps a cosmic joke), Yuuya's seat was right next to hers. And the seat to his left was the legendary "Protagonist Seat"—the second-to-last row by the window.
Yuuya sat down. He watched his neighbor, Fukiyose, take out her notebook with practiced precision.
Without looking at him, she extended her slender right hand toward him, palm open.
Yuuya blinked, then gave an awkward laugh.
"My lovely desk-mate, why are you reaching out your hand? Do you want to hold hands? I'm not ready for such a commitment yet."
"Don't be disgusting. It's for the homework," Fukiyose snapped, frowning. "And don't call me 'lovely.' You sound like Tsuchimikado."
"Homework..."
Yuuya froze. His smile stiffened.
"Um... did Komoe-sensei assign homework?"
Because of the System awakening and the whole "fighting Accelerator" incident yesterday, he had completely erased the concept of schoolwork from his mind.
'Oh no. Komoe-sensei is going to cry.'
"Of course she assigned it. You didn't do it, did you?" Fukiyose crossed her arms, looking down at him like a disappointed older sister.
"Fukiyose-sama! Please let me copy yours!"
Yuuya clasped his hands above his head in prayer.
"I will set up a shrine for your salvation! I will make daily offerings of milk! Please save this lost lamb!"
"Go to hell!" Fukiyose blushed angrily. "Don't set up a shrine for me! Are you cursing me to die?!"
"Absolutely not! Only you can save me now!" Yuuya feigned a pitiful look. Even high school students who save the world still have to deal with math homework.
"I really can't deal with you..." Fukiyose sighed, putting her hands on her hips. Her "Iron Wall" defense seemed to crack slightly.
"You always pretend to be pitiful to slack off. If you keep doing this, you'll become a useless member of society like someone else we know."
"So... you agree?"
Yuuya's eyes lit up. (Though mostly he was distracted by the... physics of her posture when she put her hands on her hips.)
"This is the last time! You've only been in high school for a month, and you've copied my homework ten times already! This is the absolute last time, understand?"
Fukiyose slammed her notebook onto his desk.
"I hate people who cut corners. Luckily, you're not as hopeless as the idiot who always uses 'misfortune' as an excuse."
"You saved my life! I will repay you with my body—I mean, my loyalty!"
Yuuya grabbed the notebook and began to write at superhuman speed.
'As expected of Fukiyose. Her handwriting is so neat. It's like a font.'
"You said something about repaying me with milk earlier?" Fukiyose narrowed her eyes. "I only drink water and milk for health reasons. How did you know?"
"I can tell," Yuuya muttered, glancing at her chest out of the corner of his eye. "It clearly works."
"I have a feeling you're thinking something incredibly rude." A vein popped on Fukiyose's forehead.
"Absolutely not."
"Hmph..." She turned her head away, looking at the empty desk by the window.
"Kamijou Touma is going to be late again."
"Knowing him, he probably lost his homework on the way to school," Yuuya said without looking up from his copying.
Ding-Dong-Ding-Dong.
The bell rang.
Komoe-sensei walked into the classroom. She was barely tall enough to see over the lectern.
"Hi, kitties! It's a brand new week! Is everyone here?" she chirped in her sweet, child-like voice.
"Sensei! Kamijou isn't here yet! He must have stayed up late reading adult magazines!"
A boy with blue hair and earrings raised his hand cheerfully.
Aogami Pierce. The class pervert.
"He really is Touma's best friend..." Yuuya propped his cheek on his hand, looking at Aogami with pity. 'Touma must have been cursed by a god to be stuck with friends like you and Tsuchimikado.'
Komoe-sensei's cute smile vanished instantly. Her shoulders slumped.
"Ahhh... Kamijou-chan..."
Just as the class was about to collectively sigh in disappointment, heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway.
SLAM!
A spiky-haired boy appeared at the door, leaning against the frame, gasping for air. He looked like he had run a marathon through a war zone.
"Report! Huff... Huff... Reporting in!"
Kamijou Touma.
The sharp eyes of the entire class fixed on him like daggers.
"Kamijou-chan... why are you late?" Komoe-sensei asked, looking at him with watery, disappointed eyes.
Feeling the murderous intent of thirty students, Touma broke out in a cold sweat.
"Um! Komoe-sensei! My alarm clock broke! And then I stepped in a puddle! And then my bike chain snapped! I'm very sorry!"
He bowed at a ninety-degree angle. "Fukou da!" (Such misfortune!)
"Oh, I see. Don't let it happen again." Komoe-sensei sniffled. "Please hand in your homework."
"Okay, Sensei!"
Touma reached into his bag. He rummaged.
He rummaged some more.
His face went pale.
"Huh? Why isn't it here?"
'Oh no! I left it on the kitchen table!'
Touma looked up slowly. He scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
Seeing this, Komoe-sensei's eyes filled with tears. Her lip quivered.
"Kamijou-chan... you didn't do it...?"
She started to cry.
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Every student glared at Touma with pure hatred.
'I made the loli cry...' Touma thought, despairing. 'I'm dead.'
"Just as I expected. Hmph!" Fukiyose crossed her arms, radiating anger.
"Well... it is Touma's usual routine," Yuuya whispered to her. "But making Komoe-sensei cry is a capital offense. We should bury him later."
"You're not much better than him," Fukiyose hissed.
"..." Yuuya shut up.
"To avoid wasting everyone's time... Kamijou-chan, please go to your seat. Come to the faculty office after school," Komoe-sensei said, wiping her eyes.
She took a deep breath and flashed a brave smile, recovering instantly.
"Now! Today is the first class of the week, and I have exciting news! Our class has made a major breakthrough in Esper development theory!"
....
.....
.....
Support my patreon
patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter