Chapter 7: Waiting for You, Too
Back row, by the window—the throne of kings.
As the teacher droned on at the front of the class, Ryouma gazed out at the blue sky and white clouds.
Below the sky was the schoolyard.
A class was having P.E. on the field.
The girls shed their sailor uniforms for gym clothes—a sight Ryouma had only seen in anime before… Well, doujinshi too, of course. There were plenty of techniques involving gym clothes in those.
B-But only pure love doujinshi!
NTR stuff was instantly forgotten—disgusting! Disgusting! Just thinking about it made him sick—!
Ryouma shook off these stray thoughts and continued watching the girls bask in their youth. The Japanese boys, however, were completely ignored.
His eyes locked onto a single black ponytail in the crowd.
Tall, slender limbs, snow-white skin.
It was Yotsumoto Ryouka, currently doing warm-up stretches. As she bent forward to touch her toes, every eye—male or female—was on her.
Ryouka stood out like a blooming flower in a field of grass.
"Hm?"
Mid-stretch, Ryouka suddenly turned her head, looking up toward the school building.
Her eyes met a boy watching her from a classroom window.
…Kobayashi-kun.
The corners of her lips curled faintly as she raised a hand and waved lightly in front of her chest.
"What's up, Ryouka?" a female classmate asked.
"Nothing…" Ryouka chuckled.
"Oh? Did you see Matsubara-kun?" the girl teased. "You two are so close… I'm kinda jealous…"
"N-No…" Ryouka quickly denied. "Ayumu and I are just childhood friends."
That's right. Ayumu was just her childhood friend.
Ryouka told herself that.
And Kobayashi-kun was… just a classmate.
Nothing more.
What a beast-like sense of awareness.
Ryouma clicked his tongue. From this distance, and at this angle, Ryouka had still managed to pinpoint his location instantly. Was this the composure of the karate club's ace?
He withdrew his gaze and continued listening to the class.
[...Host! It's already been half a day, why haven't you asked Ai-chan for help!? Beep, Ai-chan is making a fuss trying to get the host's attention.]
"This question..."
Ryouma looked at the textbook.
Although he could now be considered proficient in Japanese literature, he was helpless when it came to English... Oh wait, this turned out to be a math textbook.
He had long forgotten where he'd tossed his high school math knowledge, and now couldn't even remember the Pythagorean theorem.
And math was the most loyal subject - it would never deceive you. If you didn't know it, you simply didn't know it.
So Ryouma quickly gave up and continued looking out the window.
System? What use was this thing...
Yesterday it had confidently talked about Love's Crematorium, yet less than half a day later it was already scrambling to make its presence known again.
What an embarrassing thing.
[Host―]
Cut off. He began considering other matters. Ryouma thought while spinning his pen,
Before he could even start thinking about the situation in Syria, the teacher's powerful voice called out "Kobayashi!" and he stood up.
"Y-yes."
"Tell us how to solve this problem?"
Sometimes you have to pay the price for certain actions. Daydreaming in class meant you might get caught by the teacher.
"Ugh..." It turned out to be a fill-in-the-blank question. The blackboard was filled with English symbols and formulas written in chalk, making Ryouma wonder "Is this really math?" If it had been multiple choice, there would at least be a chance to guess.
But it was fill-in-the-blank!
Though Ryouma had lived two lives, his math knowledge hadn't increased, but he had grown considerably in certain areas. For example, his thick skin.
He was about to answer with "I don't know" when he thought of a solution.
'Stupid system! Are you there?'
[Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! Beep, Ai-chan is always waiting for the host... but Ai-chan must emphasize that Ai-chan is not stupid, Ai-chan's IQ is higher than...]
'If you're really that smart, tell me how to solve this problem.'
[Hehe, Ai-chan knew the host would be eager to rely on Ai-chan. After all, in this era, systems represent justice... Beep, Ai-chan proudly puffed out her 36D...]
'If you can't solve it, then shut up!'
[...0...]
"The answer is 0." Ryouma immediately responded.
"...Oh, Kobayashi, I didn't expect you to be paying attention." The math teacher said in surprise. "Then stop looking around."
"My eyes were just a bit tired, so I was looking into the distance." Ryouma elegantly sat down.
"What, it was 0 after all."
"I thought it was 1. How come Kobayashi-kun got 0?"
"His 0 is correct..."
The classmates around him began discussing their own calculated answers.
'Not bad.'
[Of course, Ai-chan is a highly intelligent system. Beep, Ai-chan spins around proudly and, although Ai-chan was just scared by the host, Ai-chan won't say it out loud, hoping the host will notice on his own and comfort Ai-chan with gentle words...]
'The sky is so blue...'
[Hey hey hey host, you're really burning bridges after crossing the river, quickly talk to Ai-chan quickly...]
As his thoughts drifted away, the artificial idiot's words became increasingly indistinct, only hearing the final faint...
[Scumbag!]
...
The blue sky turned fiery red as the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
After Ryouma sighed, "The clouds are so dazzling," he stood up with the flow of the crowd, tidied his backpack, and prepared to head home.
"Hey, Kobayashi! Let's go home together!" Anshi said.
"Sure."
"Come with me to get a haircut while we're at it!" Anshi added.
"Ah, I just remembered I have something to do. You go on your own."
"Hey! You're the one who told me to get a haircut!"
"But I never said I'd go with you. Accompanying you would take at least thirty minutes, not counting the waiting time... I don't have that kind of free time!"
"Stop making excuses! I'm sticking with you today!"
Anshi slung his arm around Ryouma's shoulders and didn't let go until they reached the school gate.
"Kobayashi-kun..."
Yotsumoto Ryouka, holding her backpack, waved at Ryouma and then glanced at the stunned Anshi. "And this is...?"
Anshi hurriedly released Ryouma's shoulder and took a quick step back, putting distance between them.
"Oh! Ippatsu! I'll take it from here on my own! Gotta run!"
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
He laughed heartily and dashed off in a direction completely opposite to the way home.
What just happened!?
So Kobayashi and Yotsumoto are already this close? Ippatsu... you must find happiness!!
"He...?" Ryouka pointed her slender finger at Anshi's increasingly distant figure.
"He's got issues," Ryouma said. "Are you waiting for Ayumu?"
"Yes," Ryouka replied, lowering her gaze with a nod. "I'm waiting for you too."
"...Hah..." Ryouma said.