Chapter 1: The Reincarnated Boy Won't Encounter a Superhuman Female Teacher
"Hayashida, you're in this state and still coming to school? I don't recall you being such a diligent student."
Shizuka Hiratsuka massaged her temples in exasperation. Had she been some great villain in her past life? The problem students she encountered just kept getting more outrageous.
First, there was that student who turned High School Life Reflections into a criminal manifesto—that alone had given her a headache. Now, there was Hayashida.
Did this guy treat school like a battlefield? Refusing to retreat despite minor injuries?
No, no—even on a battlefield, you'd be sent to the rear for recovery if you broke a bone, right?
"People change, sensei. And setting aside my classroom behavior, I think I'm pretty studious," Hayashida replied with a straight face.
Sure, he often zoned out in class, never paid attention, didn't review after school, and half-heartedly completed most assignments—but he was still a good student.
Hiratsuka couldn't exactly deny that. If the top-ranked science student in the entire school didn't count as studious, then who did?
It's just that Hayashida's usual behavior gave no indication of diligence whatsoever. She couldn't fathom how someone so lazy and seemingly indifferent to academics could score so well.
Geniuses truly were incomprehensible.
"Studious kids don't sleep in class."
"Not necessarily. Some people act like they don't care about school, then study like mad at home. I usually call those people 'study fakers.'"
"Self-introduction?"
"Of course not. I'm consistent—whether at home or school, I'm like this." Hayashida stated matter-of-factly, his plaster-casted left leg adding an indescribable touch of absurdity to his words.
Hiratsuka didn't laugh. Instead, she looked even more pained as she pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand while the other fished out a pack of Seven Stars from her white coat pocket. With a flick of her wrist, a cigarette magically popped halfway out.
The mature teacher lowered her head slightly, clamping the cigarette between her lips, then patted her pockets with both hands as if searching for a lighter.
Click—
A small flame appeared before her. Instinctively, Shizuka leaned forward and took a shallow inhale. After confirming the tobacco was lit, she even muttered a thanks. It wasn't until the rising smoke formed a barrier between her and the student that she suddenly realized—
Who just lit her cigarette?
"Don't mention it. It's only natural for students to show respect to their teachers," Hayashida replied with a smile.
Shizuka: #
"Where did you get that lighter?" Her tone carried an eerie calm, like the River Styx ferrying lost souls.
Hayashida's gaze focused on the top of Shizuka's head. Whether it was the glaring red text on her status bar or the ominous crimson aura radiating from the beautiful teacher, both served as silent warnings to him.
"I chew on it when I'm bored."
A gust of wind passed by.
It was a delicate yet powerful fist.
Fortunately, the well-executed straight punch hit nothing but air. Unfortunately, its owner seemed intent on following up.
"The next one won't miss."
"Sorry, I picked up the lighter from your desk earlier because I figured you'd want to smoke during our talk and thought lighting it for you might make you let me off the hook."
This time, Hayashida's rapid-fire speech reached unprecedented speed, shattering his previous limits.
Between life and death lies great terror—and the chance for breakthroughs.
Sniff... Never playing abstract again.
Just kidding, I'll totally do it next time.
"Honestly..."
Shizuka retrieved her lighter from Hayashida's hand, exhaling a puff of smoke before asking, "You sure you're okay?"
"Of course. Just a minor fracture."
Someone who's already died once wouldn't joke about their life. Hayashida glanced to the empty space on his left—where something only he could see floated: the system panel.
Yes, Hayashida had awakened a system. As a transmigrator who'd been in this world for over a year, he initially thought he was on the "literary plagiarism" route. Who knew the setting could still change after a whole year?
System route, activate!
To be fair, both tropes had their appeal for readers. But for a transmigrator, nothing beat the mindless stat-boosting of a system.
Though Hayashida's system wasn't purely stat-based, its functionality was no less impressive—even surpassing simple number-crunching in some aspects, since it granted superpowers.
Any mechanics experts here?
[Wish Power System Panel]
[Host: Hayashida]
[Physique: 3 (↑)]
[Spirit: 10]
[Abilities: Emotion Perception]
[Wish Power Points: 0]
No flashy subcategories—Hayashida's system interface was minimalist, with just four sections: Physique, Spirit, Abilities, and Wish Power Points.
Physique represented physical fitness, where 5 was the standard for a healthy adult (same applied to Spirit). The "↑" indicated his physique was currently increasing, for a simple reason: he was injured. Once healed, the stabilized value would reflect his true baseline.
Hayashida dared to come to school the day after the car accident largely because he could monitor his physical condition in real time. If that '↑' ever turned into a '↓', he would immediately call 119 and have the ambulance take him back to the hospital.
Steady and reliable!
His mental points were tied to the duration of his ability usage. For low-energy skills like Emotion Perception, as long as Hayashida didn't go overboard by sensing everyone's emotions around him and just focused on one or two people, he could use it as a passive skill without any issues.
As for how to obtain new abilities, that was linked to Wish Power Points. Helping others fulfill their wishes would grant him Wish Power Points, with 1 point allowing one wish. Wishes could grant abilities, physical points, mental points, free points, or ability points.
The first wish was guaranteed to grant an ability - that's how Hayashida obtained his Emotion Perception. After that, every ten wishes would guarantee either a new ability or ability points. Ability points could directly enhance existing abilities, upgrading them to more powerful versions.
His evaluation? Too much gacha gaming.
Fortunately, there were no "thank you for playing" items polluting the pool. Every wish provided some improvement, and there was a guaranteed reward every ten wishes - quite generous indeed.
With this system installed, Earth OL instantly switched from hard mode to easy.
"Actually, it's not really a fracture, just a minor bone fissure and some soft tissue contusions. A week's rest should be enough for recovery."
"Then stay home and rest properly, damn it!" Shizuka felt her fists tightening again. This student was really too much to handle.
Shizuka glanced at Hayashida's mummified left leg, stubbed out her cigarette, checked her watch and sighed: "Fine, stay in the office for now. After I finish with club matters, I'll drive you home."
"Come to think of it, you've never joined any school clubs, have you?"
"I consider the 'Going Home Club' as a legitimate club too. It helps cultivate students' sense of family responsibility." Hayashida had zero interest in clubs. Rather than spending time in clubs celebrating youth, he preferred dedicating his time to more meaningful pursuits.
Before obtaining the system, Hayashida found self-amusement more meaningful - reading novels or playing games at home, with zero focus on studies.
After getting the system, Hayashida decided he should rise above such vulgar pastimes. His modest goal: become a superhuman before entering university.
"Calling going home to play games 'cultivating family responsibility' - that's a first."
"That was the old me. The new me wants to be useful to society, someone who helps others." Hayashida said with profound gravity.
"Did you get soft tissue damage in your brain too?" Shizuka asked suspiciously.
"What kind of question is that? There's great terror between life and death. Isn't it normal to change after a car accident? Teacher Hiratsuka, you'll understand when you reach my age." Hayashida sighed like a world-weary old man.
Shizuka: ?
"How would I reach your age? Can time flow backwards? Wait, are you subtly calling me old?" Shizuka narrowed her eyes as ominous dark energy began radiating from her.
Killing intent! It's killing intent!
In an ordinary novel, the ominous black aura emanating from someone might just be an exaggerated metaphor. But now, thanks to Hayashida's Emotion Perception skill, the emotions of those around him are visually manifested in his eyes.
A massive "DANGER" character quietly materialized above Hayashida's head.
"Time cannot flow backward, and people can never truly understand each other. Just like when I first met you, sensei, I wondered if Japan's education system had made a mistake letting an 18-year-old become a teacher." Hayashida's flattery was so transparent it might as well have been shoes in a shoe rack.
Though clumsy, the flattery proved surprisingly effective.
Watching the rain-clearing colors surrounding Shizuka, Hayashida quietly sighed in relief.
Sniff... Never playing abstract again.
Shizuka observed the somewhat eccentric boy before her and suddenly realized something. Since he claimed to want to become someone who helps others, wouldn't the club she supervised perfectly match his needs?
Could there be a more serendipitous coincidence in the world?
"Could there be a more serendipitous coincidence in the world?" Hayashida found himself asking Shizuka the same question.
No sooner had he declared his intention to help others than Shizuka introduced him to a club called the "Service Club."
'Those who have give generously to those who lack - this is called volunteer work. Extending a helping hand to those in difficulty is this club's activity.'
This was the founding principle established by Yukino Yukinoshita for the Service Club.
Frankly, after hearing Shizuka's explanation, Hayashida concluded the club president must be someone special. Regardless of her moral character, anyone who could get school approval for a club with such vague objectives was clearly no ordinary student.
"So? Interested?" Shizuka asked.
"I could give it a try," Hayashida replied cautiously.
Hiratsuka was surprised by this response. She'd fully prepared herself for Hayashida to make all sorts of excuses to refuse.
After all, he was already a second-year. If he'd really wanted to join a club, he wouldn't have waited until now.
Yet here he was, saying he'd try. Could it be true what he said about gaining enlightenment after facing death?
Shizuka remained skeptical.
But skeptical or not, now that Hayashida showed interest in joining the Service Club, Shizuka wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.
In her eyes, while Hayashida often acted irresponsibly, he was fundamentally a good kid... probably?
Moreover, Shizuka was curious to see what kind of chemistry would emerge between straightforward Hayashida and the complicated Yukino.
Isn't life's journey built upon such coincidences?
"No time like the present. You'll come with me to the Service Club later," Shizuka declared.
Hayashida shook his bandaged left leg and asked with a peculiar tone, "Like this?"
"If you can make it to school, walking a bit further to the Special Building shouldn't be a problem. Unless you want me to carry you?"
"Eh? Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you, sensei?"
"You really dare to think that way!"
Sigh, it was your idea in the first place, yet now that it's time to act, you're unwilling.
Women are truly unfathomable creatures!
Hayashida mused inwardly. Even with his emotion-sensing superpower—an ability that made him invincible in social situations—he still couldn't grasp the true essence of a woman's heart.
'A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.' The wisdom of the ancestors never lies.
Perhaps only a mind-reading ability could truly contend with it?
The special building for club activities wasn't far from the classroom building—just a few minutes' walk at most. Of course, that was for someone with two healthy legs.
Hayashida, being a cripple, moved much slower, especially when going downstairs. Anyone who's ever sprained an ankle knows that going up is easier than coming down. And for Hayashida, with his fractured bone and only one functional leg, descending required him to rely on the stair railing and his medical crutches, taking each step one at a time.
Shizuka followed closely beside Hayashida for a few steps before deciding the efficiency was simply too low. At the landing of the staircase, she outright snatched his crutch away and hoisted him up in a manner reminiscent of carrying a sack of cement.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Hayashida blurted out in his mother tongue, startled by the sudden maneuver. His expression turned even more horrified when he noticed Shizuka was wearing high heels.
Hmm, on second thought, this didn't look like carrying cement—more like a bandit abducting a bride from a village.
Hayashida was the bride in question.
After a bumpy ride, Hayashida's uninjured leg finally touched the ground again, and his crutch was returned to his left hand. Shizuka, acting as if nothing had happened, casually asked, "Want me to carry you upstairs later—"
"Absolutely not!!!"