Completely exhausted, Tanaka Masao went home, ate dinner, and went to bed early.
At six o'clock the next morning, his alarm rang right on time.
With his entire body aching, Tanaka Masao struggled to crawl out of bed.
For a moment, he seriously considered giving up on the morning jog—but then Yukinoshita Yukino crossed his mind.
He grit his teeth, washed up, and headed for school.
After arriving, Tanaka Masao stopped by the restroom near the track to change into his workout clothes.
By the time he finished preparing and reached the field, there were still five minutes left until seven.
He immediately spotted a beautiful figure standing by the edge of the track and walked over.
"Good morning, Yukinoshita-san."
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded.
"Good morning, Tanaka-kun. You're right on time."
"…Kun? Have I successfully evolved from bacteria into a human?"
"Of course." Yukinoshita smiled faintly.
"In recognition of your punctuality, I'll allow you to temporarily evolve from Tanaka-bacteria into a human."
"Temporary evolution? That sounds dangerous."
"Naturally. If you don't start training soon, you'll immediately devolve back into Tanaka-bacteria."
After exchanging a few words, Tanaka Masao began jogging around the track.
Yukinoshita knew her stamina wasn't great, so she didn't run alongside him. Instead, she found a spot to observe.
Five minutes later, Tanaka Masao returned to the starting point, breathing heavily.
Yukinoshita glanced at the time.
"One lap took you five minutes. Tanaka-bacteria, you continue to exceed my expectations. Tell me—how long do you think it takes a normal adult man to walk one kilometer?"
Panting, Tanaka asked, confused, "How long?"
"Ten minutes. One lap of this track is four hundred meters. In other words, your running speed is slower than an average person's walking speed."
"That's impossible!" Tanaka Masao widened his eyes in disbelief.
He admitted he was slow—but slower than walking?
Yukinoshita ignored his shock and continued calmly.
"You're just starting out, so I'm not demanding speed. Even if you're only walking, as long as you keep moving for one full hour, that's enough."
Hearing that, Tanaka continued around the track.
Even though she said speed didn't matter, he still tried to go a bit faster.
But after only a short while, he couldn't maintain it and slowed down again.
Yukinoshita, who had been watching him the whole time, naturally noticed.
She didn't say anything—but the slight smile at the corner of her lips showed she was pleased.
[He's weak, but at least he's trying. That's not bad.]
Twenty minutes later, Tanaka Masao's face was drenched in sweat, his breathing completely uneven.
He could no longer run—only walk.
Another twenty minutes passed, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead.
Even walking had become difficult, and his pace slowed even more.
In the final twenty minutes, he managed only a single lap—walking the entire way.
Watching the half-dead Tanaka Masao, Yukinoshita walked over.
"Good. This morning's workout is complete. Clean up and head to class."
"It's… finally… over…?"
Tanaka collapsed onto the ground in relief, gasping for air.
His face was so sweaty that he had no choice but to take off his glasses, revealing the eyes hidden behind them.
Yukinoshita glanced once—then lost interest.
Just like his face, his eyes were entirely ordinary.
Because of his round face, they even looked a little small.
And due to his previously irregular lifestyle, faint bloodshot lines were still visible, even after resting for a couple of days.
After waiting a few minutes for him to recover, Yukinoshita spoke again.
"All right, you've recovered a bit. Don't just sit there—get up already. By the way, you usually eat lunch alone, don't you?"
Tanaka pushed himself up and nodded.
"Yeah. I eat alone."
"Then from now on, come eat lunch at the Service Club. It's quieter there. And I can keep an eye on your diet."
Tanaka agreed without hesitation.
The Service Club really was a good place to eat lunch.
After that, he went to the restroom, cleaned up, and changed back into his uniform.
When he came out, he noticed Yukinoshita's back in the distance—even though she should have left earlier—and felt a little moved.
[As expected of Yukinoshita Yukino. Cold on the surface, but genuinely kind.
She really takes requests seriously.]
"I need to work harder on losing weight."
With someone pushing him forward, Tanaka felt more motivated than ever.
Back in the classroom, there were still thirty minutes before class started, and only about half the students had arrived.
Tanaka sat down at his desk, leaned back, and rested against the chair.
For the first time in a long while, he felt genuinely relaxed and comfortable.
Yesterday's training, plus this morning's run, had completely drained him.
A while later, just before class began, the student sitting in front of him finally arrived.
Kawasaki Saki yawned as she entered, clearly half-asleep.
[Kawasaki Saki has it rough too…]
At home, she had to take care of her younger siblings. After school, she worked part-time.
She wasn't working to support her family—but to earn money for cram school, so she could get into a good university.
Which meant that even after getting home, she probably studied late into the night.
[She works this hard—her grades must be good.]
Tanaka suddenly thought about the original owner of this body.
Because of past bullying, he disliked school and had no motivation to study—completely checked out.
Getting into Sōbu High had been partly luck: guessing a few multiple-choice questions correctly and barely passing.
With over 180 students in the grade, if he remembered right, his overall rank was dead last.
Only his math score wasn't last.
Everything else was.
(Hikigaya Hachiman: Math score 9 points, last place.)
Tanaka didn't feel particularly obsessed with grades.
In his previous life, he had already graduated from university and completed a full academic journey.
In this life, with a system backing him up, listening in class was enough.
Grades? Whatever happens, happens.
The four morning classes passed.
Tanaka Masao realized that he was… actually pretty smart.
Math and English posed no problems at all.
History, though?
That stuff completely lost him.