Chapter 42

It was the start of the week, just another ordinary Monday.

Yūji came to school alone as usual and made his way to the classroom. Amidst the noisy chatter inside, he slipped through without anyone calling out to him and reached his seat.

He quietly placed his bag on the desk and, as he pulled out his chair with a creak, Miki, who had been fiddling with her phone next to him, glanced over and smiled faintly.

"Good morning."

"…Good morning."

After returning the greeting, Yūji sat down silently, took out a book from his bag, and lowered his gaze.

After a moment, Miki’s voice came from the side.

"Hey, hey, what are you reading?"

"A book."

Yūji answered without looking up.

After another moment, he felt a silent pressure or some kind of pressure from the side, and suddenly Miki leaned in.

"Wait a minute."

"Yes?"

"Why are you resetting?"

"Resetting?"

Yūji looked up to see Miki staring at him with a serious face.

It felt like he was being scolded, but not understanding why, he tilted his head.

"Well, you know, a lot happened last week, right? I thought we had gotten closer, at least in terms of our relationship. So why are you resetting… or rather, why is it getting worse?"

"I see."

"No, that’s not what I mean."

Since about half of what she said went in one ear and out the other, he just said, "I see."

He thought that if he agreed casually, she would back off, but she was surprisingly persistent.

From experience, he knew that dealing with Miki in the morning was tiring. If he started the week with this, it would be tough for the rest of the day.

So, he decided to pretend to be unwell.

"I’m feeling a bit under the weather… Maybe it’s from running around looking for Mizuho last week."

"Are you middle-aged?"

"That day, we went to the park too."

"You just slept, didn’t you?"

"My neck hurts."

"Sorry for the hard knees."

"But Miki’s lap…."

As he started to say this, Miki put her index finger in front of his face with a serious look.

"Your voice is too loud!"

Actually, her voice was much louder.

Indeed, a few people around them had looked over.

Miki, slightly blushing, cleared her throat dramatically, turned back to her original position, and started fiddling with her phone as if nothing had happened. However, she kept sending glances as if it was all Yūji’s fault.

(Well, what can you do…)

The seat killer next to him was in a bad mood again.

It wasn’t worth getting into a fight with her at the same level.

Yūji sent her a warm look, saying,

"Miki? Are your shoulders and neck okay?"

"This isn’t a conversation for old people…."

Miki showed a frustrated expression, but seemed pleased to be asked, and quickly turned back to peek at Yūji’s book.

"What are you reading today?"

"A Conversation with God."

"Still as punchy as ever. Is it interesting?"

"Quite challenging."

It was a book recommended by his father, who had returned from a long business trip to check on him.

Incidentally, his father had stayed overnight and left early this morning on a bullet train, with a tight schedule.

At their parting, he had muttered that he wouldn’t be back until the following week, but seemed a bit dejected when Mizuho said, "If it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to come."

"Tests start next weekend, but are you really that relaxed?"

"Huh."

"…Why did you laugh just now?"

"A relaxed smile."

"Hard to understand."

(If you do badly on the test) a relaxed smile.

That might have been even harder to understand.

This end-of-term test was going to be really tough.

"Actually, how good is Yūji’s head? What did you score on the last midterm?"

"Forgot."

"Then what subject did you do best in?"

"Forgot."

"If you don’t want to talk to me, just say so."

She became visibly upset after he said "forgot" twice.

Well, even a saint has limits, and Miki had already pushed it twice, so it was a good effort.

"No, really, I forgot."

"Then you must have done well. What’s your best subject, Yūji?"

"Hmm, maybe math."

"That’s strange. This is a liberal arts class."

"I’m good at math, but I don’t really like it. I prefer liberal arts subjects, where you can understand the author’s feelings."

"I don’t think there are many questions that ask you to understand the author’s feelings. Did you choose liberal arts for that reason? And what do you mean by 'understand the author’s feelings'? You don’t seem good at that kind of thing."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said."

Miki shot back with a straight face. It seemed there would be no more hints.

Then, she suddenly grinned.

"Ah, I get it. You must have done really badly and don’t want to say."

"That’s not true. I got 90 in math."

"You remember that?"

"I just remembered. What did you get in math?"

"Miki got 92 in English!"

"I asked about math."

"Mathematics!"

She gave an English translation but didn’t want to reveal her score.

Miki, having pushed through with her momentum, turned away, signaling the end of the topic. As Yūji tried to return to his book,

"Then let’s make a bet on the next test."

She turned her head again.

A bet on top of a love game.

He almost said, "Eh…?" but decided to go with the policy of not outright rejecting Miki’s suggestions and instead accepting them as much as possible, so he nodded easily.

"Sure."

"Didn’t you just make a really reluctant face for a moment?"

"No, no, I didn’t."

Patiently and persistently.

Whether she knew it or not, Miki smiled mischievously and tilted her head.

"Then, if I win… what do I get?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"If I win, I thought Yūji could do something for me."

"Like what? A shoulder massage?"

"Such a good son."

"Shoulder rub ticket?"

"No thanks."

"Then what would you like?"

"Well, um… for example…."

Miki looked up at the ceiling, crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes.

After a while, she started to smile to herself.

"Um, how about… a one-day obedience ticket?"

"Obedience?"

"Yes. You have to do whatever I say."

While laughing, she said this.

He didn’t know if it was because she found it fun to make people do what she wanted, but it was certainly a sign of a twisted mind.

"Then if I win… Miki will change her ways."

"What do you mean?"

"Then I’ll take the obedience ticket too."

"Very casual. It’s not a rice ball, you know."

"Got it," Yūji said lightly, and Miki pressed on.

"Think about it. Obedience means you have to do whatever I say. You don’t want to lose, right?"

"But there’s no legal binding force or anything."

"Thinking you can just back out when it gets tough is not a good attitude."

It seemed she had seen through him.

To avoid a noisy argument, he decided to go along with her.

"But I don’t think I’ll lose to Miki. Your scores aren’t that bad."

"You said it. I have a secret weapon, you know."

"No cheating, okay?"

"I won’t."

With that, Miki started fiddling with her phone enthusiastically.

When she mentioned a secret weapon, it wasn’t like something would burst out of a pool.

After a while, she looked up with a smug smile.

"Hehe, I’m practically already the winner… You should practice your one-liners in the meantime."

"Huh, Miki should be careful with her stockings…"

"What are you planning…?"

Thus, a quiet battle of wits began.

Chapter 2.

I have a rough outline, so I’ll proceed steadily.

New characters will also appear.