Kuroba Akira crossed his arms and studied the class president from head to toe.
Even if he was going to make a counteroffer, he needed to first determine whether he could actually help—and whether that help was significant.
"First, let me ask… how many people are in the Literature Club right now?"
Hitomi Anri held up three fingers, then added her pinky.
"Including me, there are three. If you join, Kuroba-kun, that makes four."
"Then even if I join, the problem isn't solved. The club needs at least five members to be functional, right?"
"Yes, that's true. But before the seniors graduate, the Literature Club won't be under scrutiny by the student council."
"When do the third-years officially leave the club?"
"Kuroba-kun wants to know how much time the Literature Club has left, right?"
"Yeah. Just a rough estimate."
"Well… in other clubs, most third-years quietly step back around November. But since the Literature Club doesn't participate in major competitions, our seniors will phase out a little later. At the latest, they'll leave by the end of the second semester. When the third semester starts, they're no longer considered active members. As I mentioned earlier, the seniors are already focusing on exams and haven't been coming to club activities."
"Tomorrow is the new semester, so we have about four months until next winter break…"
There was plenty of time. If they found just one more member this year, they'd reach five.
That meant Kuroba Akira's timing wasn't about saving the club from collapse; it was more like offering a small helping hand.
Even if they didn't find enough members by next year, the class president could easily rally people willing to sign up for appearances—after all, all it took was submitting a membership form. Easy work.
"Assuming I join the Literature Club as the fifth member… do you already have someone in mind for the next spot, class president?"
"Not yet."
"Hm…"
At this point, Kuroba Akira had decided to join the club. Now it was a matter of seeing what he could gain from the deal.
Even if it was nothing more than personal leverage, it would still be useful. Building a good relationship with the class president was an investment in the future.
Excelling academically doesn't always guarantee wealth, but someone with her intelligence would continue improving.
And Hitomi Anri was socially adept, too—not just a high-scoring, socially inept bookworm.
A person with both social skill and intelligence was bound to succeed later in life.
But Kuroba Akira was hungry. He wasn't about to pass up a fat opportunity conveniently handed to him.
"Class president, can I see your hand?"
"Huh?"
"I want to read your palm before deciding what I want."
"You know palm reading?"
Kuroba Akira didn't even blink as he lied.
"Just a little."
"I see…"
Hitomi Anri was a little surprised and slightly disappointed. Really? He was going to make a decision based on something so unreliable as palm reading? Had she misjudged him?
High school girls loved fortune-telling. Hitomi often discussed things like today's lucky color, lucky numbers, or personality quizzes with friends.
But deep down, she didn't actually believe in any of it. She just absorbed the knowledge to have conversation topics.
The more she read books on divination, the more she became certain there was no way to predict the future—everything was just psychological suggestion and coincidence.
Her mother had said the same: only foolish people rely on illusions. Gamblers wager everything on non-existent luck, only to lose in life.
So when it came to divination topics, Hitomi usually played along superficially, never genuinely participating.
If anyone had observed her interactions with friends, they'd notice she never mentioned her lucky item or color—because she didn't believe in them.
And yet… now, at this moment, Kuroba Akira suggested it, and she found him genuinely interesting.
So, facing his serious expression, she made an exception. She extended the right hand she had been using to hold down her skirt.
"Alright. Kuroba-kun, take a look."
"Not the right hand. Left hand."
"Oh… okay."
Under Kuroba Akira's firm tone, the class president handed him her left hand—the one keeping her skirt in place.
Kuroba Akira held her hand up, inspecting it with full concentration.
Although Hitomi was skilled at interacting with people, she had never had a boyfriend. She'd never held a boy's hand before. Being examined like this was a first.
Her shy, hidden emotions, locked away until now, threatened to burst out.
Up until moments ago, she had easily handled his teasing, even turning the tables. But now… just by having her hand held, she felt completely immobilized, like he had found her weak spot.
Her palm was slightly sweaty… did it smell?
"Um, Kuroba-kun… can I wipe my hand first?"
"No need. I can see it clearly."
Kuroba Akira didn't even look up as he answered.
He was so focused… so "professional," it was almost impressive.
But he wasn't actually reading palms—he didn't understand palmistry at all.
He was using his "cheat" skill.
Earlier, he had seen the word "Academic Ability: A" in the center of her right palm, indicating she had A-level learning ability—a highly versatile and advanced talent.
If it appeared in one hand, naturally the other hand would have something, too.
In fact, it was the markings on her left hand that had first revealed to Kuroba Akira that he wasn't "God-forsaken." The deity had granted him a small cheat ability.
A subtle, inconspicuous cheat—so subtle he hadn't noticed it when he first transmigrated.
Other transmigrators had systems with full GUI interfaces, fancy abilities, weekly upgrades, even chat functions with the host. Kuroba Akira had none of that—a barebones, bottom-tier version.
But he was grateful. It was simple, yet effective.
If the right palm revealed talent, the left palm revealed effort.
With concentration, Kuroba Akira could see proficiency levels floating above the left hand.
Unlike talent, there could be multiple proficiencies. That was why he inspected so carefully.
On the class president's left hand, one after another, proficiencies appeared and disappeared:
"Japanese Lv1"
"History Lv1"
"Geography Lv1"
"Politics Lv1"
"Economics Lv1"
"Math Lv1"
"Science Lv1"
"English Lv1"
"Piano Lv1"
"Go Lv1"
"Calligraphy Lv1"
"Art Lv1"
"Flower Arrangement Lv1"
"Tea Ceremony Lv1"
"Ballet Lv1"
"Acting Lv1"…
Way too many!
Not only was she proficient in every academic subject, she also dabbled in arts and culture.
This was a true genius! Mere mortals couldn't comprehend it.