Chapter 28: If I Fail, the World Will End!
"?"
Katsuragi Keima looked at Elsie in front of him and fell into silence for a moment.
'Has this girl been doing weird things during class too?'
He took a deep breath and continued:
"I say, can't you just listen to the lectures properly?"
"But Kami-nii-sama plays games during class too!"
"Th-that may be true, but I already know everything they're teaching! You don't know anything, so why aren't you listening? You should at least try to keep up with the class—"
"Is... is that how it is!?"
"What are you so surprised about! You scored a whopping 8 points on the last quiz; that's not something just anyone can achieve!"
"You—you can't blame that entirely on me! It's because the test paper was too hard! Besides, the person in second-to-last place only scored 8 points higher than me!"
"In other words, his score was double yours!"
Keima sat back in his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained.
"Quizzes and monthly tests probably aren't that important, but if I fail the final exams, I'll be expelled!"
Elsie crawled over to Keima and grabbed his hands tightly.
"If I'm expelled, there will be no one left to monitor Kami-nii-sama! If Kami-nii-sama becomes obsessed with games, it will be a disaster! The world will be destroyed! So Kami-nii-sama, you have to help me! If I fail the exams, the world is finished!"
"That sounds absolutely ridiculous... but what you need to worry about isn't the final exam."
"Then what is it?"
"Figure out how to get through the midterms first. Theoretically, they should be at the end of next month."
"Ahhhh, Kami-nii-sama! Help me!" Elsie practically wailed.
"Turning an idiot into a normal person in less than two months... the difficulty is quite high..."
"If Kami-nii-sama has no way, then I'll just have to do that..."
"What are you going to do?" A bad premonition surfaced in Keima's heart.
Elsie pulled several books out from her raiment and began flipping through them rapidly. "I've actually learned quite a lot from books."
Keima's brow furrowed. He clearly saw the titles of those books. They were all the mystery novels Elsie had mentioned earlier.
"As long as the person writing the test and the person grading it disappear, everything should be fine! I've already learned many relevant techniques..."
A smile that looked like it was on the verge of breaking bloomed on Elsie's face.
"Go back to being the idiot you were before!"
Keima hurriedly snatched those books away. "Don't bring things from books into the real world!"
"But Kami-nii-sama loves playing games so much!"
"Even though I do love the game world more, I don't mix the two worlds up—especially the real world; it's far less pure than the game world."
Keima pushed up his glasses, revealing an incredibly serious expression.
"I understand... but if I'm expelled, the world will end... Kami-nii-sama, it was nice knowing you!"
"Don't say stuff like that! Sigh, I'll do my best to tutor you. I did promise you before, after all. But you have to study seriously, do you hear me!"
"I understand, Kami-nii-sama! Kami-nii-sama really is the best!"
Elsie's face shifted instantly, returning to that innocent smile. "Kami-nii-sama went to capture the target character today, right?"
"I suppose so. I accompanied Sakura-san to buy some things."
As Keima spoke, he pulled out the card.
[Name: Sakura Airi] [Affection: 34%]
"It went up by that much all at once today!" Elsie's eyes widened in surprise.
In just one day, the capture progress for Sakura Airi had advanced by leaps and bounds. Elsie, who hadn't participated, had no idea what had happened.
"Kami-nii-sama, how did you actually do it?"
"I simply accompanied her while she bought things," Keima said slowly. "For this type of girl, there's no need to force a change in her attributes. Just stay by her side and let the resistance in her heart decrease bit by bit. In games, this kind of girl with a simple personality is the easiest type to capture. There's no difficulty. As long as you put your heart into the capture, you will surely succeed. That is my philosophy."
"As expected of Kami-nii-sama!"
Elsie nodded. She looked down at the card again, and her brow twitched slightly. "Eh! Kami-nii-sama! Look! Did the affection change? What's going on?"
Keima looked over and saw that Sakura Airi's affection had risen again to 35%.
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Meanwhile, inside Sakura Airi's room.
She took off her glasses and let down her hair. When no one was around, the usually timid-looking Sakura Airi disappeared. In her place was the bright, sunny girl—the gravure idol, Shizuku.
She picked up the camera she bought today and took a few beautiful selfies. Her already very cute appearance was further enhanced by the angles and lighting, and her proud curves were boldly displayed. Sakura Airi in "Shizuku mode" was worlds apart from her usual self.
After taking the photos, Sakura Airi spent a long time choosing before finally uploading her favorite one to her blog. Upon entering the school, she had learned that simply uploading photos without interacting with fans online was not considered a violation of school rules.
Having finished all this, Sakura Airi cradled the camera and lay on her bed. Her body was enveloped by the soft mattress, and the day's stress seemed to vanish in an instant. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
During these first few days of school, Sakura Airi had been quite ill-at-ease; she couldn't even relax while shopping. Until today...
Sakura Airi recalled the scene of going shopping with Katsuragi Keima. Especially when the clerk came over to talk, she had been scared to death. Thanks to Keima stepping in at the right time... and later, Keima proactively helping her pay, which saved her from another awkward situation.
Even though Keima usually seemed like a loner, he appeared to be very gentle. Many people in the past had told her to be more outgoing and bright, saying she was too gloomy, but only Keima told her to stay as she was.
Speaking of which... even though he wears glasses, Keima's features seem quite refined...
Sakura Airi usually kept her head down, afraid to make eye contact, so she hadn't memorized many people's faces. Katsuragi Keima was the first person she had completely memorized.
Sakura Airi raised the camera, intending to take a few more selfies for her stock, only to find that in the lens, her cheeks seemed a little red.
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