Chapter 9

After saying, "Please take care of me, Tetsu-kun~," a rabbit emoji immediately popped up on the screen, stretching its hand out—presumably to greet.

At 10 PM, Watanabe Tetsu was doing math problems when his phone, placed to the side, vibrated, indicating a message from LINE with the ID "koko."

After he opened LINE, he saw the content mentioned above.

Watanabe Tetsu: Sorry, I'm studying right now.

Three seconds later, the message showed "Read."

LINE is truly terrifying, especially the "Read" function, and it even shows in the group how many people have seen a particular message, leaving no room for lurking.

Koko: Tetsu, you're so diligent, that's amazing *//(^o^)/*

Watanabe Tetsu: We have an exam next week.

Koko: I won't disturb you then, good luck ( )

Watanabe Tetsu had already put his phone down, but after some thought, he edited a new message: "You too, let's both do our best!"

Immediately, he received a "Mm-hm" with an emoji of unknown meaning, and then Watanabe Tetsu buried himself back into his studies.

Even though it was just high school first-year knowledge, and he was studying it for the second time, achieving a top score was still quite difficult, especially since Seino Rin, who was originally first, was a bit smarter than him.

He wasn't necessarily aiming for the top spot, but having a higher goal kept him motivated to study hard and get into Tokyo University.

He continued studying until midnight, finishing a set of chemistry problems, then stretched, turned off the desk lamp, and went to bed.

Every Friday, as a student, Watanabe Tetsu's body would naturally get excited—ah, finally, he could sleep in tomorrow.

Because he had cleaning duty today, he arrived a bit earlier than usual. When he got to school, there were almost no people around, but the sound of the brass band was already playing.

Even with the exams approaching, they were still working so hard.

Watanabe Tetsu sincerely wished them good luck in the Tokyo competition, hoping they would qualify for the national tournament.

He found Tamamo Konomi's shoe locker and placed the envelope with 150,000 yen inside. After finishing this task, he felt a sense of relief.

Now, he and Tamamo Konomi were truly even.

Next was his cleaning duty.

He went to the office to get the key from his homeroom teacher, English teacher Koizumi Aya, opened the classroom door and windows, and checked if there was enough chalk.

If it was winter or summer, he would also be responsible for turning on the heating or air conditioning.

With the exams approaching, the teachers, who usually took their time, had picked up the pace.

"This problem will definitely be on the exam next week, so remember it well!"

"Still sleeping? Do you even want to advance? I'm telling you, those who don't perform well will have their parents called in for a meeting!"

"Here... you should all know this, right? Let's move on."

The morning classes ended, and the first class in the afternoon was physical education. The PE teacher demonstrated some basic volleyball skills like bumping and serving, followed by a match.

Watanabe Tetsu couldn't understand why every PE class had to end with a match.

"Watch this, Watanabe, big spike!"

Kunii Shu jumped, chest out, head up, abdomen extended, and his arm bent backward, forming a reverse bow with his body.

Watanabe Tetsu struggled to bump the ball, let alone receive a big spike. He quickly dodged.

The volleyball hit the ground with a loud thud and then bounced up, slamming into the wire fence around the court.

"Can you use a little less power?" Watanabe Tetsu shouted.

Kunii Shu, on the other side of the net, put on a senior's demeanor: "Listen up, Watanabe, in volleyball, you jump for every position and spike every ball!"

"Stop quoting anime lines to show off, you guy!" Watanabe Tetsu picked up the ball and served it with a standard stance.

"Ouch."

The moment his hand hit the ball, a sharp pain shot through it, and the volleyball he hit with all his might didn't even clear the net, bouncing weakly on his side of the court.

Watanabe Tetsu raised his hand in defeat: "I give up."

"Having finally stepped onto the court, how can you give up so easily?"

The classmates nearby, who were casually passing the ball back and forth, were drawn to the scene by Kunii Shu's loud voice, making the two of them the center of attention.

"Stop shouting anime lines!"

It was unbearable, like a case of middle school syndrome. No, given his age, it was more like a second-year high school syndrome.

After PE class, during the last period, Watanabe Tetsu couldn't even spin his pen stylishly. When cleaning the blackboard after school, his wrist trembled slightly when he extended it.

That's why he hated sports. Not only did he end up drenched in sweat, but the next day, he would be too sore to do anything.

As for getting used to it? Who would want to get used to it? And if you didn't practice for a while, your body would revert to its original state. Who could guarantee they could keep it up?

For future PE classes, he thought, he would team up with Saito as he walked to the club building.

Opening the sliding door to the club room, Seino Rin, who was reading a book, seemed to have completely blended into the room's scenery.

She had become an inseparable part of the classroom.

"Whatever you have to do, please inform me in advance if you can't come."

The "fixture" spoke.

"Sorry, I had cleaning duty today, so I arrived a bit late," Watanabe Tetsu apologized sincerely.

He hated it when others were not punctual, so he tried not to make others wait. If someone was late without a valid reason, he would be upset, even if he didn't say anything.

Now, he was dissatisfied with his own behavior and warned himself that even for a club he joined just to meet school requirements, he shouldn't slack off.

"It seems you didn't lie to avoid it," Seino Rin said, not forgiving or not forgiving, but rather with this comment.

"Aren't you the one who hates lying? I don't want to be disliked by you anymore."

Watanabe Tetsu closed the sliding door, sat down on the steel chair he had found the day before, and hung his backpack on the corner of the long table.

"Can't even stick to two sentences without lying, I have reason to suspect you have a personality disorder."

Watanabe Tetsu, accused of having a personality disorder, denied it: "Wait, that was just a joke."

Actually, he was trying to see if he could complete the "Temporary Mission." Even if he couldn't earn a million points, getting the chance to buy "Mind Reading" would be nice.

Seino Rin neither confirmed nor denied, just closed her seemingly endless hardcover book and prepared for the meeting.

Watanabe Tetsu had to admit that someone as cute as Seino Rin, even without smiling or engaging in male humor, was still beautiful and attractive.

But more than her appearance, he cared about how to deceive her.

He made a respectful and attentive appearance, creating a serious atmosphere for the meeting, laying the groundwork for his next move.

Seino Rin might not have noticed, or she might have noticed but didn't care, as her expression and attitude didn't change at all.

She took out a stack of names: "This is a list of all the members of the Literature Club. Note down the members from your class, home economics, and elective classes, and observe their reactions to you."

Home economics was a combined class, and elective classes included art, music, and calligraphy. Watanabe Tetsu had chosen art.

"Are you serious?" Watanabe Tetsu looked at the thick list, which included names, classes, and photos of the members.

Where did she get this information?

Watanabe Tetsu once again felt the darkness of capitalist society. Not only did they form a club, but they even collected personal information!

"Even if your brain is only good for exams, at least memorize the names of your peers. This is the foundation for the club's future activities."

"But I haven't even memorized half the names in my own class."

This was an exaggeration; he just hadn't memorized a few particularly unremarkable classmates.

"Then take this opportunity to memorize the names of all the students in the school."

"What, what?"

The request was so outrageous that Watanabe Tetsu suspected he had heard wrong.

"As a member of the Human Observation Club, memorizing the names of your peers is just the beginning. Memorizing the names of all students in the school is the standard." Seino Rin pushed the list over.

"Is this... a joke?"

The girl lightly brushed her neat, straight hair, crossed her arms, and chuckled.

Well, it didn't look like a joke.

Also, the game hadn't sent any emails, so the exaggerated lie had failed.

"After observing their attitudes, what next?" He asked while using his brain to memorize the information in his hand.

"The most proud part being defeated, regret, anger, unwillingness, or giving up... let's start by looking at the proportions."

Watanabe Tetsu looked up: "How does it feel like you just thought of this?"

"Just complete the tasks I assign you." The girl crossed her arms and gave him a cold, boss-like look.

"Alright, whatever you say."

By the time the sunset dyed the room a deep orange, Watanabe Tetsu had finally memorized the names and faces of all the first-year students, which took over an hour.

They had agreed to just a brief meeting on Fridays, so why did it take so long? Was this a lie?

And the rigid school rules, what was the point of requiring everyone to join a club?

They couldn't really think every student would seriously participate in club activities, enjoy their youth, or learn a skill, could they?

Watanabe Tetsu neatly organized the list in his hand: "I've memorized them all."

Seino Rin, who was reading a book, indicated the corridor with her chin, suggesting he could leave?

He had come this far and wasted so much time, so he couldn't just give up easily.

"Seino, I will definitely surpass you in this exam and take the top spot."

"Hmm?" Seino Rin didn't take her eyes off her book.

Her tone made it unclear whether she was wondering why he hadn't left or why he was suddenly declaring war.

"Maybe you don't know, but I was the third-best in the school on the entrance exam, and I've been studying hard recently. I have a lot of confidence in taking the top spot."

Seino Rin looked at Watanabe Tetsu, her tone even colder:

"Since just now, you've been lying continuously. Are you testing my patience? I clearly tell you, while I don't care about many things, I am generally not easy to deal with and have nothing to do with being gentle. If you try to use the same stupid tricks you use on other girls on me, I advise you to give up."

Her sudden seriousness made Watanabe Tetsu momentarily lose his composure, even reflecting on whether he had done something wrong.

"Sorry, I was just curious and wanted to test if what you said about 'seeing through all lies' was true. I didn't mean anything else."

This was probably true... Watanabe Tetsu wasn't entirely sure.

While he wanted to complete the "Temporary Mission," he was still skeptical of Seino Rin's abilities. After all, the "Appendix" clearly stated that there were no impossible tasks, so he must have had some intention to test her, right?

But now, even half-truths were being seen through. Could he really only use drugs? But where would he get such convenient drugs?

"You... are always lying, even now."

"Did I lie just now?"

Seino Rin's smile vanished, and she said coldly, "Are you saying I lie?"

Ah, I don't even understand myself anymore, Watanabe Tetsu thought at that moment.

"I think you could work as a polygraph operator and help the police solve cases." He suggested sincerely.

"How much can one person change the world, no matter how hard they try? And my career path is none of your business." Seino Rin withdrew her cold gaze: "Can you please leave? The smell of lies from you is making me uncomfortable."

"The smell of lies? Alright, I'll leave today."

The girl then politely thanked him, making Watanabe Tetsu almost suspect he really did have a bad smell.