This guy, not only did he skip school, but even the pile of assignments she had worked hard to prepare was done carelessly.
She snatched the assignments from him, looking dissatisfied.
Kirisu Mafuyu leaned down to check them.
At first, she thought Yukima Azuma had just filled in a few answers randomly.
After all, how else could he have completed the pile she expected to take half an hour in less than five minutes?
However, after just two glances, Kirisu Mafuyu realized something.
It seemed that all of Yukima Azuma's answers were correct.
She pulled out the answer key to compare.
Result: Every single subject in the pile, Yukima Azuma had answered correctly.
In an instant, Kirisu Mafuyu felt a bit helpless.
She couldn't deny ithe truly was a genius, the top scorer in the entrance exam.
Even skipping school, it seemed that exams were still a breeze for him.
Maybe she should just let him be, after all, he was a genius.
This thought crossed her mind for just a moment.
Kirisu Mafuyu immediately shook her head, pushing the thought out of her mind.
How could she think like that? She was a teacher!
Still, she couldn't let him get too smug about it.
Kirisu Mafuyu took out the previous year's final exams for all the subjects from her drawer.
These were the tests she had carefully prepared, and the questions earlier had been taken from here.
"Finish this lot too!"
Kirisu Mafuyu was determined to take the wind out of his sails.
...
And so, by the time the morning class ended...
"Kirisu-sensei, if there's nothing else, may I leave now?" Yukima Azuma asked, his expression drained of energy, reluctantly speaking.
It was quite amusing. Not to mention the final exams for the 10th grade. (t/n: first year high school)
Even if Kirisu Mafuyu brought out the graduation exam papers, Yukima Azuma could still solve them with ease.
Being a reincarnated person with an intelligence index of 8, it would be a joke to be stumped by high school exams!
Kirisu Mafuyu turned away from the stack of tests.
Her voice was weak:
"Wait, don't go yet. I have a few questions for you. What did you do last Thursday and Friday? I checked your official match schedule, and you didn't have any games on those days."
Yukima Azuma scratched his head.
He hadn't expected Kirisu Mafuyu to even check his match schedule.
A regular teacher wouldn't be this meticulous.
"I went abroad to discuss work for the company,"
Yukima Azuma finally said hesitantly.
He felt like if he lied here, Kirisu Mafuyu would keep pressing for more answers.
"Huh? Company?"
A big question mark seemed to appear above Kirisu Mafuyu's head.
Was she even educating a student at this point?
"It's from the game I worked on before, just earned a little extra money,"
Yukima Azuma explained briefly.
"Kirisu-sensei, I'm sure you know that the current economic situation in Japan isn't great."
"If I leave that money in my account, there's a high chance it will lose value."
"So, I went abroad to find an investor I agreed with, started a company, and in short, had to invest the money."
Kirisu Mafuyu was at a loss for words.
What was she supposed to say?
A student sitting in her office, discussing the country's economic situation with herit really felt absurd.
"Sighhh~, Alright, fine, as long as you know what you're doing."
Kirisu Mafuyu's tone sounded like a parent out of touch with the times, facing a child who had already found success in their career.
"Yes, if Kirisu-sensei encounters any trouble, just let me know, I'll help."
Yukima Azuma turned the situation around, speaking as though he were the superior.
After all, Kirisu Mafuyu had already shown this much concern for him.
Despite her stubbornness and clumsy approach as a teacher, Yukima Azuma was still willing to help her out with any troubles in her life, given the care she had shown him.
"Umu, alright... Wait?"
Kirisu Mafuyu responded instinctively.
Halfway through her sentence, she realized something was off.
How could a teacher ask a student to solve her problems!?
"It's time for class, I'll go ahead!"
Yukima Azuma quickly made his exit as the situation seemed to take a turn for the worse.
"Ahhhhhh! You delinquent student! Vengeance will be mine!!"
In the office, Kirisu Mafuyu shouted in frustration.
...
Back in the classroom.
The math class had begun.
The math teacher for class 1E, seeing Yukima Azuma return after a few days of absence, didn't seem interested in making things difficult for him.
He had been in the office earlier too.
He saw that Yukima Azuma had finished the entire semester's exam in the blink of an eye.
As long as he didn't disturb the other students during class, the teacher wouldn't bother, even if he was dozing off.
Geniuses had privileges.
Yukima Azuma sat down at his desk.
Before he could even open his math book, a crumpled piece of paper flew onto his desk.
Curious, Yukima Azuma opened the piece of paper.
Just by the handwriting, he knew it was from Kato Megumi.
[Did Azuma-san get scolded? Kirisu-sensei looks really angry.] (Megumi)
Just reading those words, Yukima Azuma could almost hear Kato Megumi's gentle voice in his head.
[Got scolded, but managed to cover it up somehow.] (Azuma)
Yukima Azuma wrote back, then tossed the paper back.
And so, the two began passing notes to each other.
[Well, there's no other way around it, it's Azuma-san's fault for not studying properly.] (Megumi)
[Wait, is Megumi mad too?] (Azuma)
[In cooking class on Friday, I had to do everything by myself.] (Megumi)
[I'm really sorry!] (Azuma)
[Just kidding, I'm not mad. You probably had something important to do when you took those days off, I understand.] (Megumi)
[Wow, Megumi-sama, you're truly an angel!] (Azuma)
[Compliments won't do you any good.] (Megumi)
[As long as Megumi-sama is happy, that's the greatest benefit for me.] (Azuma)
[Feels like Azuma-san is the male lead in one of those trashy light novels about predator-like boys.] (Megumi)
[Emotional damage!] (Azuma)
[Just kidding~.] (Megumi)
Suddenly, a piece of paper rolled over from Eriri seat.
[You two, focus on your studies! Stop passing notes and teasing each other!] (Eriri)
[How about we go shopping after school?] (Azuma)
[Sure, but didn't Azuma-san have a club activity?] (Megumi)
[Grrrrrr! You two! There's a limit!] (Eriri)
[The club activities are fine, so I can take a break! Also, Eriri, aren't you going out after school?] (Azuma)
[They got suspended... So that's why.] (Megumi)
[That's how you invite someone? I'll deduct points! But... but since you begged like that, I can't really say no!] (Tsundere Eriri)
A piece of paper rolled to the math teacher's feet as he was walking down the aisle to check on students.
Eriri's eyes went wide.
Her whole body seemed to turn into black-and-white sketches.
The math teacher picked up the paper, glanced at Yukima Azuma.
In the end, he didn't say anything. He just placed the paper back on Azuma's desk as he walked by.
The bell for the end of the period rang.
"Uwawah, I thought I was going to die!"
Eriri sighed in relief while rubbing her "smooth" chest.
"It's all your fault, Eriri! You even messed up throwing a piece of paper! Noob, practice more!"
Yukima Azuma teased.
Eriri immediately bared her teeth, looking like she wanted to bite him.
"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to find Kita-chan to hang out."
With that, Eriri ran off to find Kita Ikuyo.
However, today, Kita Ikuyo seemed a bit distracted.
...
After school.
Eriri seemed uneasy.
"Sawamura-san, what's going on?"
Kato Megumi asked softly.
"I don't know, but I feel like Kita-chan has something on her mind lately. When we talk, she seems... absent."
Eriri sighed, expressing her concern.
After saying this, she realized.
She probably shouldn't have confided in Kato Megumi about this.
Though they were friends, they weren't yet close enough to talk about things like this.
"If that's the case, why don't we follow her and see what happens?"
Yukima Azuma pointed to Kita Ikuyo, who was heading out of the school gate.
"Eh? Won't that be a bit rude?"
Eriri hesitated.
"Which is more important, friends or manners?"
Yukima Azuma's question made Eriri drop her hesitation.
So, the three of them quietly followed Kita Ikuyo...
After school, Kita Ikuyo didn't head home.
Instead, she went toward Shimokitazawa.
Shimokitazawa was a bustling commercial street.
It was filled with many 100-yen stores and bars.
Since Kita Ikuyo was a standout student, it wasn't unusual for her to be walking down this street.
But walking alone did seem a little odd.
Normally, one would go shopping with friends, right?
The three of them silently trailed behind.
They weren't hiding their presence, yet it seemed that Kita Ikuyo didn't notice them at all.
Azuma wonder if it was because of Kato Megumi presence or not.
They watched as Kita Ikuyo entered a music store, spoke briefly with the owner.
Then, she came out with a large instrument bag on her back.
It looked like either a guitar or bass.
It didn't seem like a new purchase; she probably had left it at the store before and came to pick it up after school.
"So Kita-san knows how to play an instrument."
Kato Megumi glanced at Eriri.
Eriri looked a bit puzzled.
"Is that so? Why didn't I know about this?"
Yukima Azuma remained silent, having almost figured everything out already.
While the three of them quietly whispered and speculated, Kita Ikuyo, with the instrument bag on her back, turned a corner and disappeared from their sight.
When the three of them chased after her, they couldn't find her anymore.
She must have gone into one of the shops on the street.
Eventually, they had to give up.
They'd talk to Kita Ikuyo directly tomorrow.
"So, what do we do now?" Eriri asked helplessly.
Yukima Azuma pointed to a nearby crepe shop.
"Since we're here, let's eat something, drink something, and walk around a bit. By the way, weren't we planning to go shopping earlier?"
With that, the three of them entered the crepe shop.
...
The time spent strolling around was really enjoyable.
Kato Megumi clearly loved shopping.
She had once introduced herself as someone who liked shopping.
It's just too bad that, aside from Yukima Azuma, no one remembered that. (t/n: poor Megumi)
Eriri wasn't very interested in shopping.
But whenever Yukima Azuma teased her a little bit, her tsundere attitude made the atmosphere much more lively.
However, after the lesson from that rainy night, Yukima Azuma started to hold back, not teasing Eriri too much.
"This is a fortune-telling shop. Let's check it out!"
Eriri pointed at the fortune-telling shop by the street and called out to the other two.
Yukima Azuma looked over.
It was a shop decorated in an astrological style.
With purple decor, the inside of the store was quite dim.
The sign outside read:
"Fortune-teller, banishing evil spirits."
"Free consultations, no taboos."
"Fortune in wealth, love, careerall included."
The sign pretty much said it all.
It was clear from the start that this was a shop run by third-rate scammers who played psychological tricks.
However, it seemed like teen girls really believed in this kind of thing.
Yukima Azuma looked over at Kato Megumi.
He noticed that Kato Megumi seemed interested.
Even though she didn't believe in it, Yukima Azuma wasn't the type to ruin the mood.
The three of them walked toward the fortune-telling shop.
The shopkeeper was an old woman in a robe.
In front of her, there was a crystal ball.
By the door stood two high school girls.
Yukima Azuma recognized their uniforms.
What a coincidence.
They were wearing the uniform of Shuka High School, Bocchi school.
"Excuse me, do you have any strong bracelets for banishing evil spirits?"
"A kind that won't break easily."
As they neared the shop, the voices of the two girls could be heard.
"Oh, what a cute customer! I just got a strong bracelet that's been enchanted here."
The old woman said, then reached under the counter to pull out a bracelet that looked fairly decent.
As for the claim that it had been enchanted...
Yukima Azuma had heard that line too many times already.
But this time, there seemed to be something different.
As the three of them got closer to the store, the black-haired girl just happened to put on the bracelet.
In just one second, there was a sudden "bang."
The bracelet immediately shattered, with pieces flying everywhere.
The scene unfolded so quickly.
Yukima Azuma reacted instantly, standing in front of Eriri and Kato Megumi.
He raised his hand and caught the pieces of the bracelet that were flying toward him.
Looking at the pieces in his hand, Yukima Azuma's expression darkened.
He couldn't imagine what kind of force or impact this bracelet had endured to break apart like that.
Had the fortune-teller mixed in some kind of explosive with the rubber band!?
"Are you okay?"
Yukima Azuma turned and asked.
"I'm fine. What just happened?"
Eriri shook her head.
"Azuma-san, you're amazing."
Kato Megumi was impressed.
Seeing that the two girls were fine, Yukima Azuma turned his gaze toward the fortune-teller.
She was just trying to create some mysterious effect without thinking about safety, right!?
However, it seemed the fortune-teller wasn't paying attention to them.
"It looks like the rubber band had aged. I'm sorry, I'll get another bracelet."
The fortune-teller said to the black-haired girl, then turned to go into the back of the shop.
Yukima Azuma gave a side-eye and turned away.
There was no way the rubber band could have broken apart like bullets.
But as he was complaining internally, Yukima Azuma suddenly caught a whiff of a foul odor.
The smell wasn't strong, but it was extremely unpleasant.
Yukima Azuma tried to locate the source of the smell.
It came from behind the two girls from Shuka High, where there seemed to be nothing at all.
Yukima Azuma furrowed his brows.
Chapter 66: Throughout Heaven and Earth, He Alone The Honored One.
The smell of decay spread little by little.
