Ch.71Midterm Exams of Doom (1)

“Urgh… Stop… Stop it…!”

Only after a good while of mindless group lynching did we finally come to our senses.

To be precise, we snapped back to reality at the sound of the status window alert.

My level had increased by a whopping 20, and I’d even acquired a skill. It was called “Flash Strike Style Zero: Armor Breaker”—a skill that didn’t exist in the original game. Well, I could test that out later.

Anyway, things had gone so well that my anger subsided. Thanks to that, I regained my sense of decency. Thank you, status window!

Jack’s appearance before me was truly pitiful.

Since we had beaten every exposed part of his body, his entire skin was purple. He looked just like Barney. I could almost see him running around with a handbag in Teletubbyland.

I want to go there too… Teletubbyland!!!

“Barney. Go home now. I’ll spare your life.”

That’s what I said.

“D-damn you…! I won’t… cough!”

Barney tried to get up while coughing.

“Tsk tsk. Want another taste of Gen Z?”

I immediately raised my fist.

At the mention of “Gen Z,” Barney’s expression turned ashen.

“A-alright!!! I’m going!! Isn’t that enough?!”

Barney hurriedly got to his feet.

“You forgot something important,” Umi interjected.

“W-what…?”

“This won’t do. Gen Z punch…!”

Umi raised her sweet and spicy-looking fist.

“I got it!! Thank you!! Thank you for sparing me!!!!”

Barney shouted frantically.

By now, Barney had reached a state where he’d feel terror at the mere mention of “Gen Z.” He feared Gen Z more than a convenience store manager who had encountered five consecutive part-timers who fled at the start of each semester.

Whoosh-!!

And so Barney fled to Teletubbyland.

“Yeah… send my regards to the vacuum cleaner and the sun.”

I said, watching Barney’s retreating back.

“And introduce me to Laa-Laa while you’re at it.”

I added.

Laa-Laa… my first love. I always hated Po because I was jealous of how she stuck with Laa-Laa all the time.

The original blonde gyaru character… wasn’t that Laa-Laa? I was lost in such thoughts.

“Shota. He’s talking nonsense again.”

Umi looked at me with pity.

“I’m used to it.”

Taiga replied nonchalantly before stretching.

“Let’s grab something to eat at a 24-hour fast food place before heading back.”

Taiga suggested.

If this were Korea, we’d be talking about ordering chicken, but this was Japan. I was surprised by how quiet the streets were when I first possessed this body, and also by how delivery culture was so minor here. At best, only famous pizza franchises offered delivery.

So, we decided to have our team dinner at a fast food restaurant. It was the same place I’d gone to with Umi before.

——–

“Welcome!!”

The employee greeted us with a smile.

“Smile!! A smile for 0 yen!!!”

I immediately shouted. Can’t resist a 0 yen smile!!!

“Yes, sir!”

The employee immediately gave a bright smile.

“Woooah!!!! To think that something free actually exists in this capitalist society!!!!”

It’s always a melting pot of emotions, I tell you.

“Shota. He’s talking nonsense again.”

Umi said, affectionately smacking the back of my head.

“Shota. My smile is 0 yen too, you know?”

Taiga said with a grin. It was a fresh smile that made it hard to believe she was beating someone up just moments ago.

“Taiga!!! Your smile is so pretty!!”

“Hehehe. Right? Compliment me more.”

While the three of us were fooling around, Sasitsu went ahead and placed an order.

“One Night Chicken, please.”

“Yes! We’ll fry it right away!”

Well… I’ll pay later. After all, I’m the sponsor here.

———

After receiving our chicken, we went upstairs.

“Oh… Isn’t that our homeroom teacher?”

Taiga looked toward a corner.

Indeed, by strange coincidence… our homeroom teacher was there again.

“Your very own childhood friend next door! Rico-tan is here!”

A VTuber made a noisy greeting.

Ah… so she’s going with the childhood friend concept. Really, there’s all sorts of things out there.

“Hehehehe. Average viewers: 5. Chat doesn’t get buried even if you type… Hakos are diligent. They don’t cause scandals with dating rumors… They’re desperate for their streams.”

Our homeroom teacher was watching the stream with a creepy smile while eating chicken.

It seemed… the teacher had crossed a river of no return. It was the pattern of someone who, disappointed by corporate VTubers, had taken the path of a Hako hunter who targets seemingly innocent small streamers. He’d become a big spender in a small room, and would either turn dark when viewer numbers increased and other big spenders arrived, or become a viewer who ventures out to find another Hako.

Ah… I felt like I understood how Orpheus felt when he sent his wife to the underworld. Once you go there… you can’t come back!!!

‘Teacher…!!!’

I unconsciously wiped away a tear.

While watching the stream, our homeroom teacher was busy making exam questions. Well… it was midterm season after all.

‘ConvenienceStoreChopstickThief donated 1000 yen’

‘Making exam questions for students while listening to Rico-tan’s stream ^^ So healing.’

Multitasking ability to even throw in donations!!!

“Oh my?! Teacher?! Amazing! Cool! It seems like there are many wonderful people among our viewers!”

The VTuber on screen gave an exaggerated reaction typical of Hakos.

“Puhihihi…!”

Hearing those words, our homeroom teacher let out an unpleasant laugh. It seemed his self-esteem was bouncing up and down like on a trampoline.

“We should at least say hello.”

Taiga, unable to read the atmosphere, was about to approach our homeroom teacher.

Thud-!

I stopped Taiga.

“Let’s pretend we didn’t see him.”

“Shota… this bastard has a serious expression for once… heheh. Alright. Everyone has their private life, right?”

Fortunately, Taiga backed off immediately.

And so, I protected our homeroom teacher’s little peace.

———

In our corner seat, we devoured the tower of chicken. I wondered if it might be too heavy to eat at night, but we demolished the chicken with incredible momentum. Never underestimate growing teenagers. They say it’s an age where you could chew through steel, and it’s true.

Since we’d all gotten closer than before, the dinner atmosphere was cheerful. The mood had improved significantly now that Umi and Taiga weren’t engaged in a strange rivalry over me. Since they’d agreed to “share” me, unnecessary conflicts didn’t arise.

Anyway, after dinner, we parted ways and headed home.

“Ahh… that was fun.”

Umi said, patting her stomach.

“Still… Shota was in danger today.”

Taiga said.

“Yeah.”

If I hadn’t gained insight during the fight with Barney, I would have died.

“I need to get stronger.”

There would be more formidable opponents in the future. To prepare for those moments, I definitely needed to build my strength. I didn’t want my girlfriends to experience loss.

“I also need to get stronger so I can protect Shota.”

Taiga also showed enthusiasm.

“Yes! Me too!!!”

Umi also contributed to the warm atmosphere.

Well… since we’ve created both a warm and all-ages appropriate atmosphere, how about we go home, engage in wholesome affection, and then go to sleep in a wholesome manner? I was about to make such a suggestion.

“But first, let’s devour Shota!”

Umi said with a bright expression.

“Ah. Agreed.”

Taiga said, dragging me along.

After returning home, I was immediately devoured by Umi and Taiga. The situation got even more complicated when Eri barged in midway.

Turned into a semi-dried squid, I was soaked in the bathtub and barely regained my original condition.

Life… was sometimes quite cruel.

———-

Even after conquering a dungeon, the daily life of a student remained firmly in place.

In fact, by the next morning, the fact that we had conquered a dungeon felt hazy. It was only when I heard the news that the people who had become shut-ins had suddenly recovered that I realized what we had accomplished. Honestly, it felt somewhat rewarding.

The next day, I had to go to school as usual. Before I knew it, I was sitting in my school uniform. I had completely localized to school life.

“The classroom atmosphere… feels kind of stifling.”

Eri muttered as soon as we entered the classroom.

“Ah… it’s exam season after all.”

The midterms were scheduled for the first week of May. Since it was the first exam as high school freshmen, everyone was tense. It was their first exam, after all.

Well… from the final exams onward, some students would gradually give up, and those in the upper ranks would naturally defend their positions, so this kind of tense atmosphere wouldn’t be recreated.

In the end, students were creatures that followed the classroom atmosphere, and even those not interested in studying had their books open and were studying.

The atmosphere was almost like a cram school filled only with long-term students. It felt like a room full of people who had attempted to enter Tokyo University for up to 11 years. That’s a bit of an extreme comparison, though.

“Sigh… I don’t want to study.”

Taiga said, kneading my body.

“But if we don’t, there’s summer supplementary classes…”

Umi’s expression also darkened.

“If we get caught in summer supplementary classes, it’ll eat up the entire vacation period… I hate that. We won’t even be able to go to the beach.”

Eri said.

“Hm? The beach?”

Well… it’s a standard summer event. There was such an event in the game. There, you could go on a date with a companion who had high affection.

That event… is it coming to me? Sasitsu seems strangely uninterested in romance, after all.

“The beach!!! Shota!! Let’s all go to the beach together!!”

Umi’s eyes immediately lit up. To regain energy just from the word “beach.” High school girls were amazing.

“Hehehe. Sounds good. Let’s make Shota drink lots of water.”

Taiga already seemed full of thoughts about tormenting me.

“Shota… want to make summer memories together?”

Revealing her cleavage through her uniform in a strange way, Eri seductively tempted me.

“Ah!! Eri!! No cutting in line!!”

Umi immediately lunged at Eri.

Somehow… a very youthful atmosphere had been created, but…

“That’s if we do well on the exams.”

I had no choice but to bombard them with a fact-rioter missile.

“……….”

With that, the mood immediately deflated. These girls really don’t have confidence in their grades, do they?

“Well… I’ll help you so you don’t fail.”

Since I also wanted to play at the beach with my girlfriends, I immediately extended a helping hand.

“Shota…..”

My girlfriends looked at me as if moved.

“I love you!!”

Soon, they all threw themselves at me.

‘Fuck… I’m gonna die.’

‘Don’t rub it in our faces… damn it.’

The gazes of the surrounding classmates were piercing, but I decided to enjoy it. Otherwise, I didn’t think my mental state could handle it.

Anyway, after somehow boosting Umi, Eri, and Taiga’s motivation:

“Shota. Do you have a moment?”

At that time, Sasitsu called me.

“Oh my!! When our leader calls, I must go right away!!”

I immediately started kissing up to Sasitsu. He’s the protagonist, after all. Without him, this world would perish. I couldn’t help but adopt a submissive attitude.

“Stop it… it’s disgusting.”

Sasitsu immediately made a displeased expression. Ah… was that counterproductive?

Anyway, I followed Sasitsu to the back of the classroom.

“Um… Shota.”

Sasitsu opened his mouth with what seemed like a troubled expression.

“By any chance… are you good at card games?”

Sasitsu suddenly said something out of the blue.

“Card games?”

What’s this about? I raised my head, urging Sasitsu to continue.