13 Hard work

While they often went home together, Ibara didn't wait in front of his class.

Instead, Mineta was the one who took the initiative to visit her class since her class was closer to the entrance of the school, which was inevitable.

On the other hand, his class was quite far.

In other words, this action showed that when the bell rang, telling everyone to go home, Ibara quickly ran into his class.

"Mineta-san."

Mineta was slightly confused and asked, "What's wrong, Shiozaki-san?"

"Let's go home together."

When Mineta approached Ibara, she took his hand without hesitation, and the two walked together while holding hands, causing uproar everywhere. After all, even if they often held each other's hands, they did it when there were no people around. Yet he felt it was normal since he was her first boy, so she was naturally shy, and he also didn't have a hobby to show off in front of everyone.

It was their first time to hold their hands right in the school, in front of everyone, which made him extremely surprised.

However, Mineta didn't say anything and naturally held her hand since he would be stupid for acting nervous or embarrassed. This girl had taken the initiative to find him and even held his hand in front of many people.

As a man, he should also be confident and hold her hand firmly.

"Kota, Tanaka, I will go home first."

"Oh-Oh..." 2x

Kota and Tanaka were dumbfounded, but they had decided to firmly follow Mineta's back!

Leaving his friends, Mineta left with Ibara together.

Even if they were stared at by many people along the way, they didn't get nervous and just walked normally.

As someone who aspired to become a hero, Ibara's confidence definitely wasn't small.

On the other hand, Mineta felt it would be too stupid to let go of this chance.

While he didn't want to admit it, he was slightly scared to live in this world. His system might be wonderful, but he must admit it was quite challenging for him to use this system, considering his disadvantages.

Yet he must be confident.

Even if he didn't feel confident, he mustn't waver and used various tricks to get to Ibara.

Many people might think his methods were dirty, but he didn't think so.

It wasn't about bad or good when you tried to seduce a girl. It was all about whether you were good or bad at it.

Fortunately, he was good at it.

The two parted their hands when they were changed indoor shoes before Ibara took his hand again.

"While I am happy for you to take the initiative to come see me, I will be happier if you can smile and erase that sullen expression on your face."

Their school was near the beach.

However, this was normal since they were living in Kamakura, the old capital of the land of the sun.

While Mineta said those words, he sat on the stairs near the beach while watching Ibara's complexion from the side.

Ibara followed him and sat next to him.

"Have you heard about what happened in the forum?"

She was sad and furious when she saw many people secretly mocking Mineta on the forum as if it was something normal to do. Fortunately, the thread quickly disappeared, but she realized how someone could be so evil, even though they were still in middle school.

"Really? But I am happy, though."

"Huh?"

Ibara was confused. "You're happy?" She thought he was lying, but she could see his smile coming from his heart, which made her even more confused.

"Yes."

Mineta nodded with a gentle smile and said, "Because of this, I can see that you care so much about me."

Ibara blushed and lightly hit his arm. "Mineta-san, it isn't a time to joke around. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

It was impossible for him to say he had done his revenge on this pure girl since he didn't want her to have his image tarnished.

"We will graduate soon, and by that time, I will enter the "U.A. High School." On the other hand, those people will only enter second or third-rate high school before they become either NEET or corporate slaves. By then, I will become a famous hero. My happiness is the greatest revenge, and when I see them in the future, I will say, "who are you?"

Mineta took his handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "So don't cry, alright? Still, if I remember them, I might say, "In your face!"

Ibara laughed and said, "You're too bad. That isn't a suitable trait to become a hero, you know?" She felt all of her unhappiness vanish when he said those words, and she smiled brightly like flowers blooming in the spring.

"While I want to become a hero, I am still a human after all. It is impossible for me to smile and befriend someone who tries to harm me."

Mineta shook his head and asked, "Still, are you alright with that?"

"What?" Ibara asked since she didn't understand his question.

"Are you alright being misunderstood as my girlfriend?" Mineta asked teasingly.

"I...I..."

Ibara blushed and couldn't answer his teasing properly. She didn't have much experience and was defenseless after his bombardment.

"Well, do you want to go back now?"

Mineta wasn't in a hurry, and while the mood was good, he didn't plan to confess to Ibara.

After all, what's the use of being in a hurry?

He wouldn't enter into the showdown without 100% confidence!

If he had a "Quirk" that allowed him to read Ibara's mind, it would be different.

Unfortunately, he didn't have it.

He didn't have it, so he didn't plan to confess to Ibara now since he didn't want to destroy this fluffy ambiguous relationship.

While it was a shame that he couldn't become Ibara's boyfriend so quickly, he could hug, kiss, and many others in their current relationship.

However, if he confessed and rejected, without a doubt, everything would be drained into the sink, and all of his progress and hard work would turn into nothing.

While a hero had to battle against the villain, he had to battle against his impulse and proceed with everything in a calm manner.

After all, when one's heart isn't calm, it is the moment when one often makes mistakes.

Everything has to be done as a precaution and clear head.

If possible, he wanted Ibara to confess to him, so everything would be easier, but he had to make more preparation, so she would take the bait and confess to him.

'I'm going to use them.'

He thought about a few girls he had a good relationship with within his class and thought about using them as bait to see how Ibara was going to react when he was close with other girls.

While he knew Ibara had a good opinion about him, he wanted to make sure everything.

He knew that he didn't have an advantage on the face and height, so he had to do some extra work, so he could get Ibara's heart.

Yet when he was about to stand up, his hand was held by Ibara.

"Shiozaki-san?"

He looked at Ibara in confusion.

Ibara was slightly shy and blushed, but she said, "Mineta-san, I like you. Plea-please..." She stuttered since she was so nervous, but she was able to finish her confession.

"Please be my boyfriend!"

"...."

In a relationship, it was different from mathematics.

There wasn't only one answer, and there were countless answers.

The best way to get someone to be your partner is to make them fall for you and confess to you first instead of the other way around.

Still, is it unmanly to let a girl confess to you?

Mineta didn't think so. Instead, he felt relief since he knew how she felt about him, and he didn't hesitate anymore.

"Sorry, Shiozaki-san."

*Thumb!*

Ibara felt her heart stop since she thought that she was rejected. Her green-colored hair slowly turned ashen, showing how shocked and sad she was.

"It should be me who is the one who says that."

Mineta gently held Ibara's pale, slender hands and said, "I like you, Shiozaki-san. Can you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes!"

Ibara smiled brightly and was already in tears before hugging him tightly without letting him go.

"......"

Mineta held his tears and hesitated before hugging her back, feeling her soft body pressed against him and her lovely flower-like smell drifting into his nose. It was the first time after his stay in this world that he felt so calm and happy.

<Congratulations...>

Mineta ignored the system and enjoyed his time with his first girlfriend.