Hearing this, Asai Yu let out a helpless sigh. "Just a reminder—if you don't meet the standard on this test, your middle school graduation certificate is gone. And when that happens, your entire study-abroad life is basically over."
"I know that kind of thing already…" Chihaya Anon had only been a little worried before, but after hearing it spelled out like that, she immediately became far more tense.
Then why did you still decide to take a leave of absence?!
He'd originally thought that pink-haired Anon would be relatively reassuring. Turns out she was even more capable of stirring things up than blue-haired Sakiko.
At that moment, a system task suddenly popped up.
[Task: Help Chihaya Anon pass this test]
[Reward: 5× EXP Card (30/30)]
[Effect: After applying this card to a designated bonus, all EXP gained by that bonus on the same day will be multiplied by 5. Usable 30 times]
Five times? And thirty uses?!
That was huge. No way he was letting that slip.
After a brief moment of thought, Asai Yu proposed, "I'll come before the test. Two people are safer than one."
"Is that really okay? Yu, don't you need rest?" Anon asked, a little worried.
Asai Yu replied calmly, "I'm an onmyōji. Not a normal person."
Hearing that, an idea suddenly formed in Anon's mind.
If she could learn some techniques from him in the future and then show them off in front of normal people… just imagining it made her excited.
After that, Asai Yu kept reviewing Anon's middle school coursework.
Time quickly reached ten p.m. in London, and Asai Yu chose to return to his own body.
In Japan, it was now six a.m.
He planned to go back to Anon's side after six hours.
As for now—it was time to have a proper talk with the system.
"The first experience target was Togawa Sakiko, the second was Chihaya Anon, and you even dragged me all the way to the UK. And you're telling me this is 'completely random'?" Asai Yu demanded out loud.
The system remained silent for five seconds before a screen immediately popped up.
[Detected that the host has, to a certain extent, altered the experience targets' life paths]
[Fate Trajectory Point System unlocked: When an experience target's fate trajectory changes, corresponding points will be awarded. Every 50 points can be consumed for one draw]
[Togawa Sakiko Fate Trajectory: 50/100]
[Chihaya Anon Fate Trajectory: 5/100]
[Total Fate Trajectory Points: 55]
[Consume 50 points to perform a draw?]
"This system really knows how to play along," Asai Yu commented with some satisfaction. "Draw."
[Consuming 50 points…]
[Bonus Fixation Card ×1]
[Remaining Fate Trajectory Points: 5]
A good item. Even though he already had one, things like this were always better in multiples.
Satisfied with the result, Asai Yu went to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror, trying to see whether the Affinity bonus had any visible effect.
But perhaps because it was still him, he couldn't really tell any significant difference in charm from his reflection.
After that, Asai Yu headed out to a music shop.
The moment the shop owner saw him, his eyes lit up slightly, staring at him almost from the moment he entered.
Asai Yu could feel the gaze and felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but quickly relaxed.
Because today, he wasn't here to freeload on the piano—he was here to buy a guitar.
That's right. Today, he was a customer.
Asai Yu walked up to the guitars and started trying them one by one.
The owner looked completely baffled at the sight. Why was he suddenly looking at guitars? Wasn't he here to play piano?
With some basic experience already under his belt, Asai Yu carefully tested several instruments and finally picked out one priced at 200,000 yen.
After paying and stepping out of the shop, he noticed the owner was still staring at him.
Asai Yu began to suspect that the middle-aged man might have some kind of unusual hobby and quickly left the area.
Just then, a message came in from Sumita Mana, saying she happened to be free after five p.m. today and could start the first day of piano lessons.
After a moment's thought, Asai Yu typed back: I'll be there at 6:30 sharp.
Sumita Mana: Thanks for your hard work!
As long as the money was there, nothing really counted as "hard work."
Asai Yu put away his phone and returned to the apartment with the guitar.
The place was clean and the surrounding environment was nice, but it was still too small. After harvesting a few more rounds from Sakiko's side, he could move somewhere better.
As for where exactly—that could wait.
After playing guitar for a while, Asai Yu confirmed that his current level matched what he'd had during the experience and felt reassured.
Still, due to differences in finger adaptation, his playing wasn't completely smooth yet, so he stayed home and practiced for several more hours.
After eating a meal, the time reached noon.
Asai Yu called up the system and entered Chihaya Anon's body.
"You really came…" Anon's surprised voice echoed in his mind.
Asai Yu looked at the moon outside the window, then at the tablet in front of him, which was playing a recorded lesson.
"If I weren't here, do you really think you could handle classes during the day and then more classes at night?" he asked.
"It'll be fine! As long as I can hold on for about a month," Anon replied confidently.
Another month like this and her body would probably collapse. Did she think she was some kind of superhero?
Asai Yu still decided to pull her back from the brink. If he could ensure that Anon successfully studied abroad in London, then maxing out Fate Trajectory Points should be possible.
To be safe, while attending the online class, Asai Yu continuously reviewed Japanese middle school material as well.
One hour later, the live video session began. On the screen sat a teacher.
"Good afternoon, Chihaya-san. Can you receive both video and audio clearly?" the teacher asked.
"Yes, everything's clear," Asai Yu nodded.
The teacher then reiterated various procedures, especially the strict requirements for camera angles, completely eliminating the possibility of cheating.
Once everything was confirmed, the exam officially began.
Just as Asai Yu had expected, it was a written exam. The test paper appeared directly on the tablet, with a two-hour time limit.
He skimmed through the questions: Japanese language, science, and mathematics—three subjects arranged in that order.
"There's math too?!" Anon instantly sounded like she was about to cry. "I'm done for—math is my worst subject…"
"Shh. Don't suddenly talk and distract me, okay?" Asai Yu reminded her. Anyone would get thrown off by a voice suddenly shouting inside their head.
"O-oh… sorry. Um, is it really okay if you do it yourself?" Anon asked, still worried.
Asai Yu was fairly confident. After all, in his previous life he'd been a provincial-level top student. "Just watch."
First came Japanese language: one reading comprehension passage and one essay.
It all seemed rather easy. For the reading comprehension, he directly applied standard techniques—metaphor, personification, using scenery to express emotion, conveying homesickness…
Asai Yu was confident his answers were completely correct.
The essay was even simpler. Still the same formulaic structure, and combined with his narrative ability, if the full score was sixty, getting fifty-five shouldn't be a problem at all.