Side characters gotta stick together

*RING*

Finally, after a long day, a final ring signaling the end of the last period showed up as if to save me from boredom. I was still getting used to being a student again and I was honestly feeling fairly tired. I had no idea whether it was from using the skills many times today for the first time or whether I was getting used to Ike's body but I knew a cruel truth that I couldn't just go and lie down in my dorm room.

'Anyway, what should I do about this...he already spent such a large amount, and not even half of the first month passed.'

As the students slowly began leaving for the dorms or for the club activities, I took out my phone.

[Private Points: 60.759]

"Tsk" I clicked my tongue with closed eyes, I must have appeared really irritated since even Yamauchi didn't bother me to go playing with him.

"Ike, we are leaving now. Get well soon" It seems like he misunderstood my changes but I was only thankful since I could keep living life the way Ike was used to. I did enjoy video games but I simply had no time or even the mood for them.

Currently, there was only a handful of students who remained in the classroom, either to review today's materials or reorganize their stuff before leaving. I was currently staring into my textbook, immersed in thinking about original Ike's impact on the main storyline.

'I know that he somehow befriended Ayanokoji and dragged him into their group...the question is, will Ayanokoji involve himself during the Sudo's near expulsion incident due to failed test if he won't even interact with Sudo beforehand? He should be asked to convince him to attend the study group but is that enough? Wait, was the idiot trio and Ayanokoji even hanging around before that happened anyway?!'

I grabbed the sides of my head when I felt a faint headache.

'Wait, didn't he just save him because he saw athletic potential in Sudo? Fuck! I can't remember exact details!'

"Why do I even care?!" I couldn't help but lean into my seat and said aloud without a care in a world since it's been a while since the last period ended.

Unfortunately for me, when I regained my focus I noticed a few students present in the classroom. The one who caught my attention the most was the Horikita who was giving me a strange look.

She grabbed her bag and was preparing to leave.

"One day of serious studying is too much for you?" When she was passing by my seat, she muttered with contempt hidden behind her words and a small ridiculing smile.

'This brat...she must have even chosen a longer path out of the classroom just to let me hear this. I can't really reply even if I wanted to since she didn't address me personally and just muttered it.' I honestly felt that her actions were slightly out of character. As of now, she should be just focused on herself, it will be only later when the S-system gets revealed she should start paying attention to the grades of the others.

Honestly, it feels a bit childish of her but I let her walk away without responding, when she was at the doorstep, I noticed her giving me a last look before disappearing.

However, before she disappeared, I noticed an interesting change while looking at her.

---Suzune Horikita---

Affection: -1

???

???

Her affection actually went up by 1 but...why? Why would she even care about my effort to "change"?

I stopped thinking about such useless things and decided to head home for today. At first, I was contemplating whether I should hit the gym before going back but I think light home exercises will be more beneficial for this weak body.

When I left the school building, I started to jog toward the dorms since I wanted to warm up my stiff muscles before doing some basic stretching exercises.

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.

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As such a week has passed since my arrival into this world. During the past days I did what regular students do. I went to school, studied, exercised and then went home to rest or do additional studying. I have also visited the school's library a few times. During the weekend I played a few games with Ike's friends as to not appear too suspicious. They were still thinking that my recent behavior and actions are strange but at least they stopped bothering and pushing me about it too much. They most likely reluctantly accepted the changes and I probably had a lot to thank for the short time they spent with the old Ike.

Currently, I was getting ready for my regular Saturday jog around the campus, thankfully it wasn't a repetitive routine since the campus was extremely large and I could always change the route.

I put on a light gray vest with a hood and exited my dorm room.

'Damn, during this entire week, I managed to raise the teacher's affection only by 0.5. It's almost as if nothing could move her unless you are about to reveal some of your secret abilities.'

I boarded the elevator alongside a few more students I wasn't familiar with.

When I finally exited the elevator and got outside of the dorm building, I was met with familiar faces.

"Ike-kun? It's really you, I almost didn't recognize you with that hood on!" It was Hirata who friendly waved at me. I had no idea why he was so friendly with someone who said he hates the hot guys but I guess he was clueless about Ike's previous remark.

Seeing as I couldn't escape anymore, I pulled my hood down and approached Hirata who was there for some kind of reason together with one girl.

---Kei Karuizawa---

Affection: -10

???

???

'The last time I looked at her, she had -9! Did I lose a point just because I approached them?!'

"Bitch" I muttered with a very quiet tone through my almost closed lips however it seemed like Karuizawa felt some malice in my inaudible murmur.

"What did you just say?!" Karuizawa raised her voice and narrowed her eyes.

"Witch, I am just on my way to the cinema. Apparently, there is a new movie called witch that is about a girl who uses her charms to manipulate people around her. haha" I quickly raised my hands and replied in panic but didn't forget to add a few hidden meanings she might pick up despite her intelligence.

"Hah?!" It seemed like she actually understood what I meant to say or maybe she was just trying to play tough.

"Now now...let's calm down, we are all classmates, we should get along." Hirata quickly stepped between us with a slightly forced smile.

"Of course, in that case, Ike-kun, why don't you tell us more about that movie and why I haven't heard of a movie with such an interesting name?" Karuizawa asked with an annoying grin.

"Um, Karuizawa-san, Hirata-kun, I would like to talk to you more but I am probably already running late so please excuse me!" I quickly said and run off before even giving Hirata a chance to stop me.

Silver Tongue lv. 1 (4/100, passive) -> Silver Tongue lv. 1 (5/100, passive)

I resumed my jogging session while feeling a bit lighter as if I forgot something, however, I decided to ignore the feeling and started focusing on breathing properly.

After jogging for around 20 minutes without any pause.

*pant* *pant* 'What is this shitty stamina! And this guy dreamed of being the first to find a girlfriend! He would have gotten a heart attack during the sex!'

I cursed inwardly while feeling as if my heart was about to pop out of my chest.

'At least I received another skill for risking my heart this way'

*----*

Kanji Ike

Private Points: 59.514

-Normal Stats:

Strength: 0.620 / 5

Endurance: 1.1 / 5

Agility: 0.9 / 5

Speed: 0.740 / 5

-Special Stats:

Intelligence: 3.6 (Due to you taking over Kanji Ike's body, your intelligence increased)

Charm: 1.6 (Appearance, social skills, and high enough charm makes it easier to persuade or make more believable lies. Due to you taking over Kanji Ike's body, your charm decreased)

[Special Skills]

*----*

[Special Skills:

Silver Tongue lv. 1 (5/100, passive) - (inherited from the original Kanji Ike; slightly increases your charm(0.2))

Eyes of the Reader lv. 1 (5/100, active) - (Innate skill, you may see everyone's affection for you. As this skill's level increases, you will be able to see much more such as current emotions, etc.)

Iron Will lv. 1 (1/100) - (Boosts your mental strength under harsh conditions and regenerative abilities of your body. Your stats increase slightly faster the more you push your body to its limits.

*----*

I usually jogged with my hood over my head to avoid being recognized by somebody from my class but since today was especially warm, I had to take it off after I finished. Somehow, my throat felt drier than ever so I looked around just to spot a convenience store a short distance from me.

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*Beep* My sports drink got quickly scanned, showing its price on the terminal.

I felt like drinking something else than plain water today so I decided to go with the sports drink since even the price was very affordable, however, the moment my hand went inside my pocket and couldn't feel anything other than air, I froze.

"Um, I apologize but it seems I forgot to take my phone with me so could you please cancel it? I will take mineral water instead and put this drink back on its shelve." I apologized and the female employee didn't seem annoyed as she even gave me a light chuckle, however before she could cancel anything, someone already put their phone to the terminal and paid for my drink.

.

.

I went to sit on a bench in a small park together with my benefactor but both of us remained silent for a few seconds before I couldn't take it anymore.

"You are...Inogashira-san, right?" I honestly guessed since the girl in front of me was even more of a side character than Ike himself...she was a minor character if I were to choose her role. Still, I never expected to meet anyone from my class, considering how large the campus is. For some reason, I couldn't even use Eyes of the Reader on her to confirm her name.

"Y-yes." She nodded her head timidly while avoiding looking directly into my eyes.

---Kokoro Inogashira---

Affection: 2

???

???

Only after her confirmation did I manage to use my skill on her but what I saw forced my eyes wide open. Her affection was too high considering we have never interacted before.

"Thank you for buying this for me, I will return the points to you once I get hold of my cell phone" I showed her a grateful smile.

"I-It's nothing, it wasn't even expensive so there is no need to return anything! Rather...I am quite surprised to see you here, looking like that, Ike-kun" She quickly shook her hands in front of her face to reassure me before she was observing me from head to toe.

She was most likely surprised by the amount of sweat on my face which made it slightly shine in the sun. Honestly, even my breathing wasn't completely stable yet so she could easily deduce what I was doing here.

"I- I am exercising...you know, a little bit of jogging, this and that...haha" I didn't want to tell anyone about this but lying would most likely make me look even more suspicious. Seeing how timid she is, I doubt she has a big mouth.

"I see...Um..." I waited for her to continue but it seemed like she had trouble voicing out her thoughts.

"You don't need to feel so tense, Inogashira-san. If you wish to leave then just leave. If you wish to just sit here without talking, I could use a few more minutes to catch my breath and calm my heart." I said while observing the beautiful scenery all around us.

"No! I mean- I would like to stay for a bit longer" She slightly surprised me when she raised her voice but she quickly returned to her usual low tone.

'It seems that she is also blushing...geez, she must be really embarrassed by her outburst.'

After 10 minutes of sitting silently next to each other, she decided it was time for her to leave. She wished me a nice rest of the day before walking away. I continued watching her leave and I had to bite my lower lip to contemplate whether I truly want to do what I was just about to do.

In the end, I got up from the bench and chased after Inogashira

"Inogashira-san!" She stopped walking and turned around upon hearing me call her name.

"Yes, Ike-kun?"

"Inogashira-san, take this with the grain of salt but I overheard upperclassmen talking about something regarding the private points. I think that we won't be given the full 100.000 points the next month as we received at the beginning of the year. So, please be mindful while spending your points, though, it might sound presumptuous coming from someone like me."

---Kokoro Inogashira---

Affection: 2 -> 3

???

???

"No, not at all! I am grateful to you for sharing this information with me even if there is no solid evidence. I also thought it was a bit strange to receive so many points...Shouldn't we tell the others about it?" Inogashira grabbed the ham of her skirt and ask nervously, obviously, she wouldn't be able to announce it in front of the entire class without any evidence, she was too timid for this.

"I don't know, we have no evidence, and would the stubborn ones even listen to us? You might tell your friends if you want but...please leave my name out of it." I told her which slightly surprised her.

"Leave your name out? I mean I can definitely do that but why would you want to hide your contributions if it truly turns that way?"

"Because people would start questioning how did I know that and why I haven't told them. Humans are capable of blaming you for the results even if you warned them beforehand. They will blame you for not telling everyone or they will blame you for not persuading them more strongly or finding solid evidence. Please think carefully about who you warn and whether you can trust them to keep secret." I said with a serious expression that made her stiffen.

"Anyway I am going back now, have a nice evening Inogashira-san. I will treat you to some sweets for that sports drink and I don't take no for an answer!" I broke my serious expression and grinned at her before walking away while waving my hand without looking back at her.

I could feel her confused gaze on my back for several more seconds before I glanced back at her which woke her up from her daze.

---Kokoro Inogashira---

Affection: 3.5

???

???

Was it always so easy to raise affection? Well, we side and minor characters gotta stick together if we want to make it in this world.