Class 2-4.
"I saw Aoyama this morning!" "Is he back? Is he okay? I heard he was in a car accident." "Car accident? I heard he was sick."
A girl in the front row turned to another behind her. "Aoyama's back. Will that mess with your studying?" "No way, I'll study harder! You're the one who'll be distracted!" "So popular, Aoyama," said Aizawa Jun, tall enough to sit in the back row. "With that face, he's gotta have some fatal flaw!" Kobayashi Shiki declared.
A girl shot him a cold glance.
The warning bell rang. Everyone returned to their seats, the classroom quieting. Only the faint sounds of desks shifting, pencil cases unzipping, and textbooks flipping remained.
When those faded, Akita Shio entered, followed by a lean, upright, handsome boy.
A perfect chance to stare at that face under the guise of curiosity.
The girls did just that.
Akita Shio scanned the room, smiling. "Does he need an introduction?" "Yes!" Kobayashi Shiki raised his hand loudly. "Sensei, who's this handsome guy?"
Laughter erupted.
Kaimei High didn't reassign classes, but there were occasional roster changes.
Aoyama Osamu, already stepping off the podium, had to return.
His reluctant expression sparked another wave of laughter, loudest from Kobayashi Shiki and Aizawa Jun.
Aoyama Osamu grabbed chalk, writing his name on the blackboard.
"Nice handwriting!" Kobayashi Shiki shouted.
Class 2-4 roared with laughter. Under scrutiny, Aoyama Osamu could barely write his name.
Good thing habit took over.
Name done, he faced the class. "Hi, I'm Aoyama Osamu. Please look out for me."
"What do you like, Aoyama-kun?" a girl asked. "Where'd you study before? What club?" another. "Did you watch the spring Koshien tournament?" a third. "LoveLive—which part's your favorite?" asked a nerdy girl. "Fruits Zipper—who's your oshi?" That was Kobayashi Shiki.
Total transfer student vibe.
"Alright, alright!" Akita Shio clapped, smiling, signaling a stop. "Aoyama-kun, take your seat. Ask classmates or teachers if you're stuck on studies."
Aoyama Osamu returned to his seat—not the protagonist's window spot, but next to it.
The window seat held a basketball club girl, her desk always sporting a basketball, her bag adorned with a Ryukawa Kaede charm. She often bragged about her #30 jersey.
Aoyama Osamu still didn't know who wore #30.
She acted like everyone should know, so never elaborated.
Sitting down, pulling out his textbook and pencil case, Aoyama Osamu shed the transfer student aura, becoming an ordinary student starting the day's lessons.
"Open your textbooks. We'll pick up from last class…" Akita Shio began.
—System, take my Japanese literature class!
[Teaching environment detected. Smart Guidance available. Activate?]
He'd worried Smart Guidance would mean two hours of intense study—still, he was ready to try.
How else to know what it did?
Now, he was relieved.
—Activate Smart Guidance
[Smart Guidance active]
Aoyama Osamu felt… nothing.
Slap!
The classroom went silent, everyone staring at him.
"Aoyama-kun," Akita Shio hesitated, "what's wrong?"
She'd been watching him, concerned about his catch-up, and saw him slap himself.
"Nothing, Sensei. Just zoned out," Aoyama Osamu said, stone-faced.
"Okay… Let's continue, class."
—What kind of Smart Guidance is this?! Head-hanging, thigh-stabbing torture?
[Correcting…]
A fix-on-error system? Smart enough, he supposed.
Then, his right hand moved on its own, pulling his old secondhand phone from his uniform pants, opening his chat with Ono Mihana.
It started typing a message.
〖Aoyama Osamu: Nee-chan, I've always liked you.〗
Yamero!!
It hit send.
Then it moved to Ono Mizuki.
Stop, stop, STOP!
Aoyama Osamu snapped his eyes to Akita Shio, focusing on the lesson.
Just in case, he waited a minute, glanced down—his hand moved again.
Tap-tap typing.
〖Aoyama Osamu: Mizuki, your chest…〗
YAMERO!!
He didn't dare lose focus, even secretly slapping himself or pinching his thigh.
—Smart? You call this SMART? Brain-dead, more like!
〖Aoyama Osamu: Mizuki, your chest got bigger…〗
Staring at Akita Shio, who occasionally met his intense gaze and looked away, embarrassed.
Class ended, his back slightly sweaty.
The battle wasn't over!
He grabbed his phone, deleted the system's lewd texts, and messaged Mihana.
〖Aoyama Osamu: Thanks for all these years. I'll work har—〗
Before he finished:
〖Ono Mihana: Why aren't you focusing in class?〗
He really wanted to hang his head from the rafters.
〖Aoyama Osamu: Back at school, I got emotional. Mihana-nee, thanks for everything. I'll study hard.〗
〖Ono Mihana: Hit top 50 in the monthly exam.〗
〖Aoyama Osamu: Watch me!〗
〖Ono Mihana: Top 50, I'll grant you one wish.〗
[High School Romance Novel: 10%... 11%... 12%... 18%]
—Stop, System! Not everything's material!
[Terminate 'High School Romance Novel' material gathering?]
…
—No!
〖Aoyama Osamu: Then I want 2,000 yen pocket money!〗
After a pause, Mihana replied:
〖Ono Mihana: Sure, good luck (lol)〗
Aoyama Osamu exhaled, his heart—nearly leaping from his throat—settling.
Looking around, classmates studied during the break, unlike the cheerful vibe at other schools.
Steadying himself, he recalled last class's content.
He'd expected the stress to erase it, but everything stuck firmly.
…Surprisingly effective.
But also a total scam!
What if he left his phone elsewhere? A "smart" system wouldn't make him leave his seat in class to grab it, right?
Aoyama Osamu left his chair, hurried to the shoe lockers, and stashed his phone.
Back in class, he sat just as the second period began.
Math II.
—System, take my math class!
[Select mode: Self-Study / Smart]
—Smart!
'Let's see what you do now!'
[Smart Guidance active]