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"Thank you, Asakura, for listening to my complaints."
After pouring out her entire emotional journey of having her love stolen, Yanami Anna finally wore an expression of 'I feel so much better' and, with great swagger, chugged down the cola in front of her.
Asakura, who had been used as a trash can and forced to listen to a classic romance story, finally breathed a sigh of relief—thank goodness it was finally over. He had already finished his burger and was almost unable to sit still.
If it weren't for basic politeness, he would have run away when the girl was rambling on about her and her childhood sweetheart's 'I'll be your bride someday' moment in kindergarten.
"Asakura, do you want to eat anything else?" the girl asked.
"No, it's getting late, and I'm going home." Asakura showed a standard, professional fake smile: "What about Yanami?"
"Hmm, although I still want to order a Yubari melon soda, both my wallet and my calories are at their limit…" The girl sighed, seemingly a bit dejected, and said, "Sorry, Asakura, I ate a lot of your fries. Let's split the bill."
You ate almost all of it, though…
Although Asakura really wanted to complain about this, since he ordered a set meal, the price of the fries was much cheaper than ordering them separately, almost like a buy-one-get-one-free deal, so he had no objection to the girl's suggestion.
"No problem, let's do as you say."
The two then got up together and went to the cash register, intending to pay the bill.
Just as Asakura took out his wallet and paid his share, he found that the girl beside him seemed to have frozen.
"What's wrong, Yanami?"
He asked out of politeness.
"Um…" A few drops of cold sweat appeared on the girl's forehead, and she showed a somewhat awkward smile: "It seems I don't have enough money. Asakura, could you help me pay for it first?"
She put her hands together towards Asakura, desperately pleading: "I promise I'll pay you back very soon!"
Even the landlord's family has no surplus grain.
Although Asakura really wanted to refuse her by saying that, after all, if it weren't for the Phosphophyllite rewarded by the system after completing missions, his monthly disposable living expenses would only be a few thousand yen.
One should know that in this day and age, even working part-time at a convenience store can earn at least tens of thousands of yen a month. With only a few thousand yen and no side jobs, Asakura would probably only be able to eat bean sprouts, which for some reason are particularly cheap, every day.
But at this point, if he refused, things would likely become even more troublesome. To avoid wasting the time and effort he had spent listening to the boring story, he ultimately reluctantly paid for the girl's share.
After returning home, Asakura already wanted to just put everything behind him and take a shower and go to bed.
A lot had happened today, and it had really drained him.
However, after lying on the bed for more than ten minutes, he still got up again with strong willpower, sat back down at his desk, took out the Sorting Hat from his backpack, put it on his head, and began doing his homework, reviewing and previewing, using its ability to boost his mental focus.
Even though it was his second time in high school, reincarnation didn't change Asakura's talent. Just like in his previous life, his academic ability was only average to above average. If he didn't study hard, he would quickly be left behind by the top tier of his grade—and in this matter, the Sorting Hat helped him a lot.
Some might wonder, he's already a winner in life who has mastered supernatural powers and has a system residing within him, is it necessary to continue spending time and energy on studying, which seems dull and uninteresting?
Only Asakura would answer without hesitation: it's worth it.
Perhaps because he died inexplicably in his previous life, he lacked a necessary sense of reality and security for everything.
Supernatural powers? Can this kind of supernatural power, which requires absorbing other people's Magic to use, truly be considered his own? If he couldn't absorb it anymore, like before, wouldn't it be completely useless?
The system, or rather, the Nameless Magic Book? If it suddenly disappeared one day, or its power suddenly ran out, then he, who was accustomed to relying on it, would probably fall into a long period of confusion and helplessness, perhaps even unable to recover.
In contrast, after studying hard, the knowledge gained would not disappear; only they are truly his own. Even if all the extraordinary parts of him disappeared one day, his scores would not deceive him. At that time, he would at least still have the option of continuing to study, advance his education, and become a winner in life in the conventional sense.
However, after a period of intense and stimulating study, Asakura suddenly realized: when he was at the family restaurant earlier, could he have used the fact that the other party owed him money as an entry point to ask Yanami Anna for one of her school uniforms?
After all, Soubu High School students have to buy new uniforms every year, so Yanami should still have her first-year uniform.
If I could get a uniform from her, it would be much more convenient for Gokou Ruri to come to Soubu High School in the future.
But asking a girl who just broke up for her old uniform, wouldn't that request be a little too ambiguous? Would she really not think he's a pervert?
"Ugh, this is so troublesome…" Asakura muttered.
Meanwhile, at the Gokou's home.
"Did something happen to Ruri today?" Gokou's mother, who had returned home earlier than usual, curiously asked her eldest daughter.
"What?" Gokou Ruri was startled, and said with a guilty conscience, "Why do you ask that?"
"Because Hinata and Tamaki said you were late when you went to pick them up today," Gokou's mother said. "Hinata even ran to me to complain."
Gokou Ruri immediately glared at her younger sister, who returned her a Fujiya Poko-chan expression.
Paired with those two pigtails that were mysteriously similar to Fujiya's, it really did have that vibe.
"I just ran into a small accident on the way," Gokou Ruri mumbled in her usual somewhat aloof tone. "No need to worry."
"That's good. Now, for the second question." Gokou's mother's smile suddenly became a little mischievous: "Where did that boy's clothes in the house come from?"
"Wh…" Completely unexpected that her mother would discover the Magician's tracksuit she had secretly hidden, Gokou Ruri's expression immediately panicked.
"Although Mommy doesn't object to romance, Ruri is still too young. Mommy suggests it's enough to stay at a platonic level for now. You absolutely must not cross that line~" Gokou's mother's smile became even more teasing.
"That's not it at all!" Gokou Ruri, finally realizing the meaning behind her mother's expression, immediately denied it, though a blush still spread across her face, appearing particularly obvious and delicate on her porcelain-doll-like fair complexion: "He and I aren't like that! It's a more noble, profound… Ugh, stop laughing!"
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