Volume 1: Chapter 3

After hours of searching... um, for information, I concluded how poorly adapted the social structure of this world was.

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Why is the anime in this place different from my normal world?

What about children's shows too? All the programs I knew in my world were very different. Of course, I found some that were the same, others that were shameless copies, or too similar to the program they knew, but there were differences.

There was no Attack on Titan, how was that even possible?

A sound of frustration escaped my throat. Damn it... I had looked for stories that weren't categorized as anime; were most books almost the same as our world? Then why were anime different?

I didn't understand.

Maybe it's because of that multiverse theory... that each universe is different. If I take the example of the RWBY world called Remnant, it was similar, but at the same time very different from Earth... the same could be said for Attack on Titan. I could list more differences, but we would never end.

Anyway? This is technically good for my situation, right?

If for some reason, they were to expel me from this school... I could use this to my advantage, I could profit to survive. It's not like anyone would publish some of the anime from my world anyway, and several anime should exist in this world; they are too good not to exist... I know more than a few would do the same.

Returning to our initial problem, what should I do? I have some ideas, but one thing is to have ideas, and another is for them to work out.

Nervousness ran through my body. Anyway, what time was it?

9:45 PM.

Was it so late? I felt that time was passing faster and faster; my stomach growled, warning me that I was hungry.

It's good that sandwiches exist.

After dinner, I tidied up my room so I could finally rest.

...

The first day of class... or the second?... had ended. I guess I was disappointed that my classmates couldn't pick up on the hints I had given, but that wasn't my problem. If the people in Class 1-D wanted to talk in class, use their phones in class, arrive late, or even sleep, then let them do as they please. Anyway, it wasn't me who would be complaining at the end of the month for spending all the points.

Teachers didn't care if the class misbehaved or made a mess.

If I stayed in the classroom for too long, it was obvious that Yōsuke would invite me to lunch because I had joined the "Hirata" group.

Anyway, I had no reason to stay in the classroom for too long, but before I could leave, the girls started to surround Yōsuke, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Hirata-kun, are you going to lunch, right?"

"Should we have lunch together?"

"Yes, yes."

The girls' voices began to bombard Yōsuke with questions as he tried to calm them.

"It's a good idea. How about having lunch in the school cafeteria?"

After Yōsuke agreed to have lunch with all the girls who were surrounding him, he asked a question that the girls began to answer affirmatively.

"Hiroki, do you want to have lunch with us?" Yōsuke asked the question he had been dreading.

I looked at Yōsuke and then at the girls before sighing resignedly. "Sure, just let me get my lunch."

I had made sandwiches to have lunch because I still didn't know how to use chopsticks correctly. I put my bag on my desk before taking out a bento where I had stored my lunch.

"Nakatomi-kun, I didn't know you could cook," Matsushita commented while looking at my bento with interest.

Well, it's a bit of a silly question; obviously, she hadn't met me yet, but I suppose it was just to make a conversation.

"Did you really make your lunch?"

"It's amazing, Nakatomi-kun."

I blinked a bit, seeing that the girls were quite surprised.

"Why were they quite surprised? Or is it not natural for me to know how to cook?" I asked with confusion in my voice.

"Well, you don't look like the type who cooks," Kei Karuizawa said. "Besides, that gloomy look doesn't help in your case."

What?

Okay. She's not too wrong; although I can cook, I don't consider myself a master in the art of cooking. I could make basic food and other dishes, but I wasn't used to cooking Japanese food... That's why I made sandwiches.

But damn it, that was a bit painful that everyone thought I couldn't cook. Besides, what's wrong with my face? Although I admit that my expression looks sleepy all the time, I wouldn't say gloomy is the right term... Kei Karuizawa, you just went down a notch on my anime girl list.

"Karuizawa-san, isn't it a bit much to say that Hiroki has a sad face?" Yōsuke intervened before the girls could sink me further with questions.

"No, it's okay," I said as I shrugged. "She may have a point, but I can't help it; I was born with this face." I ended with a nervous smile.

"Now that I'm looking closer, Nakatomi-kun is handsome," a girl named Ishikura said.

"You should smile more, Nakatomi-kun," Azuma said this time.

"Right? I think he looks quite good," Matsushita commented.

I felt my face blush with embarrassment.

"Look, he even looks cuter when he blushes," Nishimura pointed out.

The girls started to look more at my face, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Thanks?" I didn't know what to do in this situation, so I looked in Yōsuke's direction for help.

"Girls, you're putting him in a pretty difficult situation. You should give him a little space."

Thank you, Yōsuke, you're a lifesaver, my friend. When the girls were about to respond, I cleared my throat to get their attention.

Anyway, I think we should have lunch," I told them. "I don't know about you, but I'm quite hungry."

After that, the girls agreed with my statement. For me, it was fine because it took away all the attention they were giving me for no reason. While we were walking to the cafeteria, the girls were talking about what they were going to eat or about the food that had caught their attention yesterday.

We reached the cafeteria, had lunch, and then chatted—or rather, the girls were the ones talking the most. Occasionally, they asked me questions, but for the rest of the conversation, I remained silent while listening attentively for any important information.

I was still a bit uncomfortable that our group had more girls than boys, but I guess it's not as bad as I imagined it at first.

"At 5:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time today, we will hold a student club fair in Gymnasium No. 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather at Gymnasium No. 1."

The female voice from the speaker interrupted everyone in the cafeteria. Then the message was repeated.

Should I go to the club fair? I honestly wasn't interested in any, so it would be a waste of time to go to the club fair, but I knew Yōsuke would join the school's soccer club.

I ran a hand through my hair as I sighed. "This is troublesome," I spoke quietly in my native language. It was Spanish... I could see that the girls sitting next to me gave me a look of confusion, but I ignored them.

"Yōsuke, so are you planning to join the soccer club?" I asked.

"Yes. Did you think about what I asked you?"

I could see that the faces of the girls were curious about what you were talking about. I hadn't thought too much about the invitation to join the soccer club that Yōsuke had made to me. Because I wasn't going to join any club.

"Hmm," I put on a thoughtful face for a moment. "I'm not very sure yet, but maybe I can change my mind when I see what they have to offer."

"Hirata-kun, is he referring to the club fair?" Matsushita asked.

Before Yōsuke could answer, I spoke.

"Yōsuke invited me to join the soccer club," I explained to them. "But I'm still not very sure."

"You invited him to the soccer club?"

"Really? Is he even good at playing?"

The girls started talking with their different opinions, then they started commenting on the clubs that interested them. They also commented on which club they were thinking of joining, but two people weren't interested in joining a club.

Kei Karuizawa and Chiaki Matsushita.

I disconnected from the conversations when they started taking another turn once they had decided to go to the club fair.

(Time Skip)

After classes had ended, we headed to the club fair... when we were in the cafeteria, we were a smaller group, but due to the bad luck that Yōsuke had, he had invited even more people to join.

Most... scratch that... only girls had decided to join our group, and the guys looked a bit envious of Yōsuke. Ike and Yamauchi had complained out loud.

So, in total, we were a group of fourteen girls and two boys... as a certain character I know would say, troublesome women.

I don't know why I was wasting time heading to the club fair. I already knew what was going to happen or, well, part of what should happen. I just hoped I hadn't changed the timeline too much.

I was a bit paranoid if I'm honest. What if the butterfly effect is real? Even making a small change like the flutter of a butterfly's wing could cause a big change like a thunderstorm or worse, a black hole.

Maybe I was exaggerating too much, but I couldn't be blamed; there were many reasons why things could go wrong. That a person who shouldn't be in this world was heading to the club fair... Anyway, who was the poor extra that I had to replace in Class D?

I had no idea, but I didn't care too much either.

"A penny for your thoughts, Nakatomi-kun," a familiar female voice spoke next to me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"A bit stingy of you, Matsushita," I joked, managing to make her release a small laugh... a bit cute if you ask me... quickly shake off that thought. "It's nothing, just wondering if I should join a club," I replied, shrugging.

"Are you thinking of joining a club, Nakatomi-kun?" she asked me curiously.

"Well, I'm not very sure yet."

"By the way, Hirata-kun decided to invite you to the soccer club. I was curious if you had made a decision." She informed me. "I thought you might join a sports club, but I wasn't really sure which one."

"Well, although I like playing sports for fun, I'd prefer to have my free time after school," I told her. "And you? Will you join a club, or are you also from the Go-Home Club?" I asked with a playful smile.

"I think I prefer to have free time," she replied.

"So, Go-Home?" I responded, amused by the situation.

Matsushita smiled too before shrugging. "Sure. Go-Home Club."

We continued walking behind Yōsuke and his fan club before Kei Karuizawa approached.

"You should pick up the pace; we're about to reach the club fair," she... ordered or warned us. I had no idea, maybe a bit of both.

"Sure," I replied without contradicting her. I felt like walking slower just to annoy her, but I decided it was better not to.

After a while, we arrived at the gymnasium. There were a couple of students handing out pamphlets. I accepted the one they were offering me and quickly began reading it.

Most of the explanations in the pamphlet were typical of school anime. You needed a minimum number of members to create a club... in this case, three... after the general information about club activities.

There was information about the clubs, who the club representative was along with their year and class. The instructor oversees the club. Information about the activities the club performs. The achievements the club had made, and even a comment from the club representative.

What really surprised me was that each club received first-class facilities tailored to each club. For example, the cooking club had a lot of really expensive kitchen utensils. Everything needed for the club... as expected from a government-funded school.

The inside of the gymnasium was surprisingly spacious... it looked like an anime convention but without involving anime... A silly comparison on my part, but I'm sure many would understand my point.

There were quite a few people in the gymnasium... it was a bit bewildering. Sure, I had been to some events where there were several people, but they were never mostly teenagers. Most were adults, elderly people, and even annoying little children.

As our group moved through the crowd of first-year students, we ended up bumping into some that I knew all too well.

"Ah! Everyone! It's good to see you here."

Kushida's smiling face greeted us. Other girls accompanied her—Wang Mei-Yu, Inogashira Kokoro, and the other one, I think her name was Maezono if I'm not mistaken.

"Kushida-san, are you girls here to join a club?"

Hirata, as the spokesperson of the group, asked Kushida's group if they were joining a club.

I disconnected from the conversation. I didn't care about what they were going to say anyway. I knew Kushida wouldn't join any club. I didn't know about Mii-chan, but if she had joined a club, I would have remembered. I couldn't remember if Inogashira was joining, but I knew her hobby was sewing... maybe some club related to that. Maezono, who was she again? I only vaguely remembered that she had been named to participate in an exam, but I didn't remember which one.

I shrugged; I would remember over time, I guess.

I looked around to see if I could find another familiar face. Like Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, for example, but with the number of people, it seemed like a mission impossible. I also couldn't find Sudo, Ike, or Yamauchi.

"Thank you for waiting, first-year students." A voice sounded from the speakers installed around the gymnasium.

I looked in the direction of the sound. I wasn't surprised to find Akane Tachibana near the microphone on the gymnasium stage. The chatter from various places in the gymnasium was beginning to calm down, turning into whispers.

"We will begin the club fair. A representative from each club will explain its function. My name is Tachibana, student council secretary, and organizer of the club fair. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

While Tachibana-senpai was speaking, the students on the stage began to line up. Now that I was paying attention, there were quite a few clubs.

It made me wonder if there was even one form of anime literature club.

One by one, the people on stage began to present their clubs. Some only accepted people with experience, but some would welcome anyone with open arms.

I rubbed my eyes as they blinked sleepily. Damn, I was falling asleep because it was getting boring. How many clubs were there anyway?

As I looked around the gymnasium, I could confirm that Ayanokōji and Horikita were also at the fair. I decided to quickly look away from them. If I stared at them for too long, I was sure Kiyopon would notice.

One by one, the club representatives finished their presentations until only one person was left on stage. Manabu Horikita, the student council president.

Manabu Horikita looked at the large gathering of first-year students in front of him.

The same as the light novel. Some people started cheering him on; others began to mock Manabu Horikita, but he said nothing, choosing to observe the first-year students in front of him with an apathetic and worn expression.

Over time, the laughter faded until all that was left was silence. Then the first-year students began whispering to each other. An uncomfortable silence hung over the entire gymnasium as a strange tension filled the atmosphere.

After being silent for a few minutes, Manabu Horikita spoke.

"I am the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu."

This was something I knew thanks to my knowledge of the future of this world. I discreetly glanced at Suzune Horikita before looking back at the student council president.

"The student council is looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-year students to replace the third-year students who are graduating. While special qualifications are not required for candidacy, we humbly ask that those considering the application not participate in other club activities. We will not accept students involved elsewhere."

Damn... he really stunned most of the students. I looked to where Yōsuke and Kushida's group was... They too had stopped whispering about their opinions on the clubs.

Certainly, Manabu Horikita's dominant presence was very impressive.

"Furthermore, we in the student council do not wish to appoint anyone with a naive perspective. Not only would that person not be chosen, but it would tarnish the sanctity of this school. It is the right and duty of the student council to amend and enforce the rules, but the school expects more than that. We warmly welcome those of you who understand this."

After Horikita Manabu said all that, he left the stage, leaving Tachibana-senpai to close the club fair.

I could hear the conversations starting again. I looked towards where Yōsuke was to see if he had anything to say to me, but he seemed distracted with the girls.

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I sighed. Would it be rude of me to leave the fair? I had said I would accompany them, but I never said anything about staying the whole time.

In any case, it seems I was forgotten again... even in this world.

I didn't have to stay, so I decided to leave the gymnasium. When I left, the voices from inside faded as I walked away.

As I headed towards the dormitories, I couldn't help but wonder how my family was doing. This was the second day I was in this world.

Would they be devastated by my sudden disappearance? I knew they would be very worried; I knew my family very well.

Tears of frustration began to form in my eyes, but I wiped them away with my fingers before they could fall.

I couldn't cry.

I have to stay strong as I always have. I couldn't let myself get depressed, not now. Right now, I have to wait and gather information, at least to subtly help Class D.

Since I didn't know how to help without the idiots of Class D mocking me or calling me paranoid. And honestly, I preferred not to open that Pandora's box and the headache that can come with it.

I looked at my body for a few seconds before furrowing my brow at the brief thought I had. Even if I somehow managed to find a way to get back home (his brain told him the chances were nil, but he ignored it), would I still be in this body or get his back?

If it is the former, does it even make sense to return home? knowing that none of my family members would recognize me?

Most likely my family would not recognize me, and there is a very high possibility that they would call me crazy, and what could be even worse, that someone would recognize my new body as that of an existing anime character.

No matter. I have to focus on what's in front of me. And if I have to do whatever it takes in this world to win, then so be it.

I frowned at that; I'd probably have to let go of my morals a bit just to get results, but I also didn't want to compromise them, so I had to find a balance for that.

I just wondered what the future held for me.

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(Time Skip)

Two days had passed since the club fair. In the end, I declined Yōsuke's proposal to join the soccer club.

I was in my classroom while we were having a Japanese history class.

The class was somewhat interesting, to put it nicely. I was never good at subjects related to the history of countries. They always seemed boring to me. The different dates to memorize, the various terms used in society.

In conclusion, I never liked those kinds of things. Sure, there were some interesting aspects, but they didn't grab my attention.

Nothing had changed or happened. The only thing that kept happening was that the number of people sleeping in class, arriving late or absent, talking in class, and using their phones had increased enormously.

Considering how lenient the teachers had been on the first day of class, the class had become complacent and simply did what they wanted. I understand that sometimes classes can be very boring, to the point where you might feel like sleeping.

But at least pretend a little. They don't even make an effort to hide the fact that they're not paying attention. They're doing it blatantly.

A frustrated sigh involuntarily escaped my throat. How could they not catch my hint? I mean, I was too obvious about it... I emphasized while raising my voice on the words I wanted to emphasize... I didn't want to create an impression that they had accepted dumb people into a prestigious school, but I couldn't deny the fact as I watched my classmates.

"Nakatomi-kun, is something wrong?" I heard Matsushita's voice whispering to me.

I discreetly looked in her direction as we made eye contact for a few seconds before turning my gaze away and paying attention to the class again.

"Well, if we don't consider that our classmates aren't behaving like students," I said in a low, annoyed tone, "then nothing has happened."

"The teachers are too lenient for a government-funded school," Matsushita agreed with me. "But it seems something is bothering you," she pointed out in a low voice.

I could tell that Yōsuke had started paying attention. He was subtle about it; if I hadn't paid attention, I might not have noticed.

I frowned, thinking of a way to answer before shaking my head. "Don't worry. It's probably nothing," I told her in a low voice to dispel any suspicions. "In the schools I've attended, people in my class always paid attention... That's why it's a bit strange."

We didn't talk after that. Instead, we tried to pay attention.

At lunchtime, I always found myself with Yōsuke's group and the girls. The group's configuration could change depending on which girls wanted to eat in the school cafeteria instead of buying food at the convenience store and eating in the classroom.

I was still getting used to chopsticks. So, I kept eating the same old thing... sandwiches... the girls had asked me why I was only eating sandwiches, but I ignored them, giving them a vague answer to at least satisfy their curiosity.

Without realizing it, a week had passed.

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"Is everyone ready for the swimming class later?"

While we were eating in the school cafeteria, Yōsuke posed a question.

Shit! We were going to the swimming class so fast... Wait, I'm not ready yet... I was a bit nervous about the swimming class... Not because I can't swim... Just other reasons that I don't want to specify, but it's nothing suspicious... yes, it's nothing suspicious on my part.

In my school, when they went on expeditions to places, I preferred to stay at home, making the most of my time. Most of my friends also preferred to stay at home.

We preferred to gather at a friend's house and spend the day playing all kinds of video games or watching movies. Anything to have fun.

One of the girls had commented that she didn't know how to swim, but Yōsuke, being the kind person he was, insisted that she should attend for that very reason.

"I'm not swimming."

A voice interrupted the chatter, making everyone turn toward the source.

"Are you sure, Karuizawa-san? It's not often that we get to swim," Yōsuke asked.

"Didn't you hear what the guys were saying?" Karuizawa commented with a slight look of disgust. "The guys were going to lecherously stare at our swimsuits."

Then the girls began to agree with Kei Karuizawa; she had ultimately gained popularity with the girls because of her character.

Yōsuke tried to defend the guys by saying that they wouldn't go that far. But Karuizawa made a denial.

Opinions among the girls were different. Some agreed with Kei Karuizawa, thinking that the guys were just perverts, but others were giving them the benefit of the doubt.

"Come on, girls, at least you can give the guys a chance. Right, Hiroki?" Yōsuke tried to calm the girls as he dragged me into a problematic conversation.

Now I had everyone's attention as they awaited my response.

Damn it, Yōsuke. Don't drag me into this.

I rubbed my neck, unsure of what to say for a moment. "Well, I don't think generalizing all guys is correct, Karuizawa," I told her.

"Eh? Are you defending people like Ike-kun or Yamauchi-kun? I guess you're like one of them," Karuizawa looked at me with disgust.

"Think what you want, then," I shrugged. "Anyway, I don't plan on swimming either."

It seemed my attempt to change the subject worked.

"Eh? Are you sure, Nakatomi-kun?"

"I thought you would swim."

"Yes, yes."

"You too?" Yōsuke asked, somewhat surprised. "Are you really sure, Hiroki? We don't know when we'll get another chance to swim." He tried to make me reconsider.

I lazily waved a hand. "I'm really not interested," I replied.

The reason for this is that even though swimming would be quite nice, and being able to appreciate the girls in bikinis only adds more incentive, I couldn't afford to look like a pervert. The girls wouldn't trust me completely. So, it would be better to play it safe.

Besides, the only thing I was really interested in about the pool was winning those 5,000 private points, but I wasn't sure I could beat Koenji, so it would be a futile effort to try.

"Incorrect," I replied. "I can swim. The reason I don't want to is simply that I'm not interested."

Karuizawa narrowed her eyes. "You're probably just trying to get a good look at us."

I narrowed my eyes back at her but said nothing for a moment.

I wasn't one to get angry easily. Anyway, it didn't make sense to get upset over words that could easily go in one ear and out the other.

But staying silent might make me look like someone easily intimidated.

"I'm a guy, so it's normal for me to be attracted to the opposite sex," I calmly stated the first thing that came to mind. "But if you think I'll be lecherously staring at women, then you're very wrong."

After saying that, I stood up from my seat.

"I'm done eating. Lost my appetite."

The pleasant atmosphere we had in our chat was replaced by an uncomfortable silence.

Before I could leave, Yōsuke stopped me.

"Wait... Karuizawa-san, I think you should apologize. I don't believe Hiroki would do that. Especially not with the girls in this group."

Karuizawa had a hesitant expression on her face. Before they could speak, I decided to intervene.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Yōsuke," I told him, making some girls blink in surprise. "I don't blame Karuizawa for having her doubts. She's right in a way. Some of our classmates haven't been subtle about it."

The reason I chose to support Karuizawa is her popularity. Sure, she might have some influence over the girls, but we've barely been in this school for a week. Therefore, she doesn't have the popularity she has in the light novel at this moment.

Yōsuke was the type who tried to help everyone, due to his past.

So, he tried to get Karuizawa to apologize to me because she had been accused of knowing me too well.

That could cause the girls to have different opinions. Some might agree with Yōsuke and others with Karuizawa.

It was better to avoid that situation.

Even so, I didn't stay in the cafeteria. Anyway, the bell would soon ring, and we could go back to class.

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"Hiroki, are you sure you're not going to swim?"

As we were heading to the pool, Yōsuke tried to convince me to swim or at least be sure that I wouldn't.

"As I said, I have no interest in getting into the pool."

I repeated what I had said in the cafeteria. I had no desire to swim in the pool. And it was about something I wasn't willing to talk about, but I also didn't want to appear suspicious.

"At least you could tell me the reason," Yōsuke asked me with a friendly smile.

"Well..." I began hesitantly, "... I don't feel very comfortable being in the pool with several people," I said, murmuring while pretending to be shy. I didn't know how good I was at feigning a certain emotion, but I knew I wasn't bad at it.

Yōsuke put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think you should worry. Guys aren't the type to make fun of someone for their appearance."

You have a lot of faith in your classmates, Yōsuke, but I don't care about others' opinions. I only care about the people I consider important.

"Besides, you don't seem to have a bad physique," Yōsuke commented.

It was a bit annoying, but I guess I could understand it. Although I think Yōsuke thought I wasn't joining to swim because I was embarrassed to show my physique.

"Maybe another time," I tried to change the subject. "You should go to the changing rooms," I nodded in the direction where the boys were heading.

"Alright then," Yōsuke seemed a bit disappointed but didn't insist any further.

We both separated as the boys and girls went to the changing rooms according to their gender. I went straight to the pool where the observation platforms were located.

I sat in the rear, positioned in the right corner of the observation platforms. I put my right hand on my thigh, using it as a support for my head.

I blinked as several girls began to sit on the observation platform in their school uniforms.

The girls looked in my direction, but I ignored them, looking out one of the windows conveniently close to where I had sat.

There were only three weeks left until the end of the month. After the swimming class, I knew that Kushida would ask Ayanokōji for help in becoming friends with Horikita, but unfortunately, Horikita would coldly reject Kushida's request as she was still a loner.

Nothing interesting happened in week two. But in week three, they were going to have the practice test that wouldn't be reflected in our grade book.

Even if the grade wasn't reflected, I was one of those people who didn't like getting bad grades.

Fortunately, I had a plan. I was going to buy the exam tickets. I just hoped that the senior students wouldn't turn out to be scammers.

A noise snapped me out of my thoughts. I could observe from the corner of my eye that the boys were coming out of the changing room. I could also see that the girls on the observation platform were looking at the boys with disgust.

But the girl giving the worst disgusted look was Haruka Hasabe. It's not like I cared anyway.

I let out a disappointed sigh at how loud the boys were being. What was wrong with them? Can't they pretend to be normal people?

"Aren't you joining them?" A voice from one of the girls joined me, sitting beside me.

I looked in the direction of the voice. Surprisingly, it was Kei Karuizawa.

"I told you, didn't I?" I replied calmly. "I'm not interested."

An awkward silence began to form between us. From the corner of my eye, I could see that she wanted to say something, but it seemed like she couldn't.

"Did you want to tell me something?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I wanted to tell you something," Karuizawa replied.

Had I done something? Kei Karuizawa had shown some animosity toward me, but I couldn't think of any reason for her to be like that.

Why was she friendlier with girls than boys? I remembered that she had been kind to the boys who had a certain popularity.

A look of sympathy was on my face before it disappeared. Having sympathy wouldn't help her overcome her past, but I knew Ayanokōji would help her, so there was no need for me to get involved.

Before I could respond, the voices of the boys celebrating that there were girls in swimsuits reached us, and Kushida was getting the main attention.

"I knew they were disgusting. They started drooling over Kushida-san," Kei Karuizawa said with disgust, looking at the boys.

I had a complicated expression on my face. I understood the boys and the reason they were excited. They were guys, so it was natural to feel attracted to women. Conversely, women felt attracted to men.

Unless they were homosexual. I have nothing against them, by the way. Everyone could do with their life as they pleased, so I had no right to criticize anyone.

Returning. I could understand that they were interested in the girls, but well, I couldn't do anything about it. Just hope they wouldn't label me as a pervert.

Yōsuke had approached to ask or confirm if the girls weren't going to swim. In the end, none of the girls on the observation platform decided to join the rest of the class in swimming.

Disgusted looks began to be noticed on most of the girls, to the point of making me feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the instructor... What was his name again? I hadn't paid attention, but he was the swimming instructor.

He gathered the students who were going to participate in the swimming class.

"Only twenty-six people. I thought there would be more, but I guess it's okay."

In total, there were 16 boys and 10 girls in the pool area. The others were on the observation platform or had abandoned the class altogether.

The instructor began to explain that he would evaluate the skills of each after they had warmed up. Then, he explained the rules and declared that the winner would get 5,000 private points, and the person who came in last would receive private lessons.

This made the students who were skilled in swimming cheer with joy, while the less confident ones groaned.

"Weren't you saying you wouldn't watch the girls?" Karuizawa unexpectedly chose to tease me. "I knew you were a pervert too."

I decided to ignore her; it wasn't worth it. A bit hypocritical on her part because she had also been looking at the guys with physically attractive bodies, but it was better not to point it out in front of the other girls. Even if they looked at me with slight disgust because of Kei Karuizawa's comment.

Fortunately, not all the girls were like that.

Since I didn't want to spend my time watching others have fun in the pool, I took out my phone and started playing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

It was good that some games still existed even in this world.

With an evil grin, I turned up the volume on my phone just to annoy Kei Karuizawa.

In the end, the swimming class was almost the same as in the light novel. There were some small changes, but not too many.

I admit it was a bit uncomfortable and at the same time funny that some girls were curious about what I was playing; some approached me with questions.

--------------

Three days had passed since the swimming classes. The days had gone by normally while my classmates still did whatever they wanted in class.

The bell rang, marking the end of the class. Before the girls surrounded Yōsuke and, to some extent, me too.

I got up from my seat.

"Yōsuke," I said, getting his attention. "I won't be having lunch this time; I need to do some things."

"Are you sure? We can wait for you if you want," Yōsuke commented.

I shook my head. "It would be better if you didn't wait for me." Then I looked at the girls. "Besides, the girls might be hungry."

After convincing Yōsuke and his group of fans to go to lunch in the cafeteria without me, I headed to the place where I would be executing the first part of my plan.

I reached the cafeteria but didn't buy any food. Instead, I positioned myself where I could see what food the students were buying.

After a few minutes, I spotted my target. I sat at a table where another student was sitting, presumably a guy from the upper class of Class D.

"What are you doing?"

The senpai looked at me with some confusion and suspicion.

"Hello, I'm Nakatomi Hiroki from Class 1-D. The food doesn't look very tasty. Does it, senpai?"

The senpai frowned.

"What do you want?"

"Do you still have all the exam tickets you made when you were in your first year?" I asked calmly.

"Do you even understand what you're asking?"

"I don't think it goes against the school's policy to study with old exams," I pointed out. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be listening to me."

"... How much?" Senpai asked me.

Now, I was really in the difficult part. I wasn't just asking for the partial exam of the first trimester. I was asking for all the exams they had done in all the trimesters.

Fortunately, I had watched a lot of anime where they used bargaining.

"20,000 points. That's all I can offer," I replied.

"I don't have any of the problems, but... I know someone who does. If you want me to ask for help, you'll need at least 40,000 points," he told me.

"40,000 is too much. I don't have that much money; you must know the situation of Class D."

If Senpai was surprised by the number of points I had, he didn't show it. Instead, he rolled his eyes.

"How many do you have?" He asked me.

"30,000 points," I lied.

"Then 30,000... no... 25,000 points, and we have a deal."

The senpai was desperate to get points. 25,000 points wasn't a small amount of money. You could survive for a few months at least if you were frugal.

He was so desperate that he didn't even have questions. Why was I buying exam tickets even if it had only been a week with three days since we entered Class?

This was also the reason why I had decided to give more points than Ayanokōji when buying the exam tickets. Because if I gave more points, to the people who needed points in the school, the offer I was making would be more tempting for the more desperate ones.

"Alright. I'll pay the 25,000 points," I told him.

"Then we have a deal, but you'll have to pay upfront," he said.

"I don't mind, but if you lie to me, you'll regret it," I told him.

"Fine. I don't want a negative record. If a rumor comes up that I stole from a kouhai, then they won't forgive me," he said.

"Since I'm paying you 25,000 points, can you give me a gift? I want to see the answers to the practice test."

The senpai didn't seem to realize how I knew about the practice test the school was going to do.

"Alright, I'll include it. Even though I think what you're doing is useless, but sure," Senpai shrugged.

It seemed he didn't understand what I was trying to do.

"Okay. Here's my email address. Send me the questions once you get them," I told him.

After finishing the negotiations, I returned to the classroom, but before that, I checked how many points I had left.

68,310 PPt.

I still had enough points to survive for a few more months.

Shortly after, I received a message from a third-year student, including a shared file with the exam tickets they had in their first year, along with the practice test. Then, that same day, nothing significant happened.

----------------

The following days passed normally, but once classes were over, I was really busy.

First, I had to find a place to print copies of all the exam tickets. I took advantage of this to print various maps of the school and each of the buildings it had.

I stored the exam papers in my room to study later.

In the afternoons, I explored various areas around the school. I did this to find where the cameras were located. Then, I marked the exact position of the camera on the map with a red marker.

In the evenings, I started memorizing the answers on the exam tickets. I also studied topics that I thought would help me with the exam tickets.

Marking all the cameras in the school was a pain in the ass, mainly due to the school's enormity. Also, because I hadn't asked anyone for help.

When marking the cameras, I did it as discreetly as possible. It's not like I cared if someone found out, but I also didn't want to answer anyone's questions.

Also, if I couldn't mark all the cameras that day, the next day I changed locations just in case. Then the day after, I would finish what I had started in the previous location.

When I was with Yōsuke's group and the girls, most of the time, they asked what I was doing after class. I always vaguely answered with the first thing that came to mind or tried to avoid the question by changing the topic.

Once, they even joked that I was having a date with a girl from another class. I denied the conclusion the girls were coming to, but apparently, they didn't entirely believe me.

I just hoped there wouldn't be rumors about it. I didn't want the guys to get jealous over supposedly having a "date" with a girl from another class. A girl who didn't even exist.

I repeated the cycle until the third week of class arrived.