Chapter Thirteen: Learning Brings Me Joy

In class, Satoru Aoki listened intently, his expression utterly serious. As the teacher’s words drifted into his ears, his store of knowledge grew, bit by bit, like water seeping into thirsty soil. Though the teacher was so flustered by the intensity of Satoru’s gaze that she kept dropping her chalk and nearly stumbled off the podium, nothing could shake his hunger for learning.

But why, you might ask, was someone as notoriously lazy as Satoru suddenly so earnest and focused? The answer was simple: the mock exams were less than three weeks away.

Maiyō Private High School was renowned for many reasons. On one hand, it provided extraordinary resources for the arts, boasting excellent faculty and facilities for both music and dance students. On the other, its academic scholarship system was famously generous. Each semester, the top ten students in the entire school had their tuition waived, and the top three received substantial cash awards. Even the school-wide mock exams came with class-based scholarship incentives.

In other words, if Satoru managed to rank first in his class in the upcoming mock exams, he’d earn a full ten thousand yen in scholarship money. Ten thousand yen! That was nearly six hundred yuan—a fortune for him. If he could win it, not only would he escape the current predicament of not being able to afford a meal, he could even pay for mobile data and begin to enjoy a life of simple happiness.

Satoru had already pieced together the basics of this world. He could confidently say it was not just a parallel version of his previous life—the course of history itself had changed in many ways. All those famous anime, movies, and novels were different here.

Which meant—countless unseen films, anime, novels, and games were waiting for him to discover!

In his past life, when others debated whether League of Legends or Dota was better, he forced himself to believe that studying was the most fun. While others devoured chicken dinners in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, he was selling chicken legs in the school cafeteria to make ends meet. When others started working, bought game consoles, and lounged at home watching movies and anime, Satoru was drinking with his boss—nearly all his earnings going to his brother’s medical bills.

But this time, all the joys he’d missed before—he was determined to reclaim every one.

Of course, this required money.

He didn’t even have a hundred yen to his name. Forget mobile data—he might not even be able to pay his phone bill next month. As for using the home Wi-Fi, Satoru would have liked to, but Masao Kasugano awkwardly explained that Sora Kasugano controlled the Wi-Fi password, and Satoru still hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet…

So, first in the class was a goal he absolutely had to achieve!

Satoru yearned for knowledge without restraint, while not far away, Tora Maeda, inspired by Satoru’s earlier words, believed in them more than ever: If even the great Aoki is studying so diligently, how can someone like me possibly slack off?

Thus, Tora stared eagerly at the teacher as well.

Finally, after the teacher dropped her thirteenth piece of chalk and shattered it against the floor, the bell rang at last. The bespectacled, scholarly English teacher was visibly relieved—she fled with only a hurried “goodbye,” not even bothering to assign homework.

Satoru sighed, reluctantly turning a few more pages of his English textbook before packing his bag.

“Um… Satoru?” A somewhat familiar female voice reached his ears. He looked up, unsurprised to see Kokomi Terashima smiling at him with a sweetness that could rot teeth. “Are you heading straight home after school, Satoru? Would you like to walk together?”

Walk together? Inwardly, Kokomi raged: Why hasn’t this guy reacted to me with an ‘oh-ho’ even once in two days? Today, I specifically told my family not to pick me up, just to create the perfect ‘oh-ho’ opportunity. Satoru Aoki, you won’t escape!

Satoru scratched his head and pointed at the wooden sword leaning against his desk. “Sorry, I have kendo club practice.”

Kendo club? Kokomi’s smile faltered just a fraction. Damn, how did he act so fast? He just transferred yesterday and already joined the kendo club?

But she quickly collected herself and responded with a bright smile, “Kendo, huh… I bet you look really cool swinging that wooden sword. But…”

She adopted a delicate, helpless pose, lowering her head to stare at her toes. “My family didn’t come to pick me up today. If I walk home alone and run into trouble… I heard there are a lot of delinquents at the nearby high school. Satoru, could you walk me home?”

“Uh…” Satoru looked at her frail, vulnerable expression. He wasn’t sure what she really wanted from him, but he didn’t flatter himself that she was genuinely interested. Following his usual principle of passing on trouble, he waved a hand. “Tora Maeda.”

“Yes, boss!” Tora, whose face was still swollen and bruised, shot to his feet like a soldier awaiting orders.

“Kokomi Terashima might be in danger walking home alone. I have something to do—could you walk her home?” Satoru finished packing, slung his bag over one shoulder, grabbed his wooden sword, and rolled his neck.

Watching Kokomi play the damsel in distress, Tora was moved by those big, watery eyes full of anxiety. He thumped his chest. “No problem, boss! Leave it to me! Unless I die, no one will lay a finger on Kokomi!”

“Huh?” Kokomi stared, dumbfounded as the situation spun out of her control. She turned to see Tora, black and blue, grinning at her with a dazzling smile—which, in her eyes, was terrifying.

“Um… um…” Kokomi stammered, searching for a way out.

“I’m counting on you, Tora!” Satoru stood, clapped Tora’s burly chest, and grinned at Kokomi. “Don’t worry—Tora’s really strong. And if there’s any trouble, he’s got my number; I’ll call the police for you.”

Strong, my foot! His bruises haven’t even faded! And he only asked for your number to get closer to Kokomi, not to call the police! At this moment, Kokomi’s mind was in turmoil, her flawless smile threatening to crack. She could only nod numbly. “Well… okay, Satoru, do your best at kendo club.”

“Tora, I’m counting on you…” she said, turning to him, the radiant smile she prided herself on feeling forced.

But Tora met her gaze and, inspired, let out a heartfelt, instinctive, “Oh-ho… No problem! Leave it to me!”

Seeing this, Kokomi felt a hint of comfort: At least the world isn’t broken—normal people still react to me with an ‘oh-ho.’

Curse you, Satoru Aoki! Kokomi bit her lip and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Could it be… he already likes someone else?

“Huh? Are you talking to me?” Tora, nearly drooling, snapped back to reality and grinned sheepishly at the goddess before him.

“No, never mind. Thanks, Tora.” Kokomi tilted her head and forced a dazzling smile.

Tora, feeling as if a sea of flowers had bloomed before his eyes, couldn’t resist letting out another, “Oh-ho…” And inside, his admiration for Satoru only grew: To stick to his plan in the face of such beauty, and even hand me the opportunity… Could he know I like Kokomi? As expected of the boss!