On the way to school, Kazuma spotted Daimon Gorō from quite a distance before he even reached the school gate.
Daimon Gorō noticed him immediately as well. His eyes followed Kazuma the whole time, only briefly shifting when greeting passing students.
As soon as Kazuma got close, Daimon gave him a stern warning.
"If you stir up any romantic drama on campus, I'm not turning a blind eye anymore! And what's with making a girl walk to Etsukawa Girls' by herself after dropping her off partway? What's that supposed to mean?"
Nanjo Honami gave a very formal bow.
"Good morning, sir. I'm Nanjo Honami, transferring to Kitakatsushi High starting today."
Daimon's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"What? Transferring in?"
He looked her up and down, then gave Kazuma a hard once-over like he was seeing him for the first time.
"You… actually lured a girl from a prestigious school to our humble public high?"
Kazuma gave a helpless look, inwardly grumbling, Like I wanted this to happen, but he still put on a smug face.
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
Daimon let out a frustrated sigh.
"Keep your head down at school. I can cover for you inside the kendo hall, but outside that? If the guidance teacher or the discipline officer catches you, don't expect me to bail you out."
Kazuma nodded repeatedly.
"All right, get going already. Don't block the entrance." Daimon waved his bamboo sword like a traffic baton—because for some reason, P.E. teachers always felt the need to carry those things when doing school patrols.
Once inside, Nanjo spoke up.
"I'll head to the staff office first. See you in class."
New transfer students usually had to meet their homeroom teacher, review previous schoolwork, and only then would be introduced to the class.
Kazuma watched her head off to the teacher's building and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Nice work," the class rep said.
"You say that now? Sounds kinda passive-aggressive."
"No way, I mean it. Want me to stay out of this mess?"
She looked at him with complete sincerity.
Kazuma hesitated.
She added, "Then you'll have to study for Todai on your own."
"…Please keep helping me with review," he said.
The class rep smiled. "Deal."
Before first period began, Tachibana-sensei walked into the room early.
"Quiet down!"
The noisy classroom fell silent immediately, everyone a little confused—it wasn't even his class.
"Well, this is unexpected," Tachibana-sensei began. "We've got a new student joining us today. Be nice and make her feel welcome. Come in, Nanjo-san."
Nanjo Honami entered the room with her head held high.
Several of the boys couldn't help but blurt out, "Whoa," and "She's gorgeous."
She walked to the blackboard and neatly wrote out her name, then introduced herself.
"I'm Nanjo Honami, student of Kiryu Kazuma. My goal is to enter the political science department at Keio University. I look forward to studying with you all for the next year."
The classroom erupted into whispers.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Kazuma.
But Nanjo smoothly pulled the spotlight back to herself.
"Sensei, I'd like to sit next to my teacher, Kiryu-sensei, so I can receive guidance at any time. Is that okay?"
Tachibana-sensei was so thrown off he didn't respond right away.
"Uh… well, that's the first time I've ever had a student-teacher dynamic like this in my homeroom. What kind of subject is this mentorship in, exactly, Nanjo-san?"
"Kendo," she answered, then paused and added, "Also, Kiryu-sensei is my life mentor."
The class buzzed again with laughter and disbelief.
Tachibana scratched his head.
"So… in front of your actual homeroom teacher—whose job is to guide your life—you're declaring someone else as your life mentor? Isn't that a bit… much?"
Nanjo looked flustered for the first time. She covered her mouth.
"Oh—sorry, I didn't think about it that way! Of course, you're my life mentor too, Sensei! Definitely!"
Tachibana waved a hand.
"Fine, fine. Kiryu's seatmate… Sawamura, right? Move to that open seat over there and let Nanjo-san sit next to Kiryu."
Without hesitation, Sawamura got up and switched seats.
And so, in front of the entire class, Nanjo Honami took the seat beside Kazuma.
"For the next year, I look forward to your guidance, Sensei," she whispered with a beaming smile.
Kazuma wanted to smile too—but the moment he imagined the drama this would stir among the girls, he started getting a headache.
In that moment, he finally understood the burden of emperors throughout history—haunted by endless harem intrigue.
It must've been exhausting.
At the end of first period, Fujii Mikako came rushing in like a storm.
"What the hell?! Why?! What happened while I was gone?!"
Kazuma, barely able to keep his eyes open, had slumped over his desk.
"Long story short, Nanjo tamed the sleeping beast called fate."
"English, please."
"I awakened her grandpa's forgotten youth?"
Mikako gave him a blank stare. "Huh?"
Nanjo chimed in brightly, "And he also lit up my life."
"…Hold on. That sounded kinda indecent, didn't it?"
"Nope! Totally wholesome," the class rep interjected helpfully. "Not a single thing violating public morals."
Mikako glanced back and forth between the class rep and Nanjo.
"I hate being the only one left out! And you—Kazuma, don't you dare run!"
"I need the bathroom!" Kazuma yelled as he dashed off.
He bolted straight into the boys' restroom. Just as he relaxed a little, a kendo club member suddenly bowed to him.
"Sensei! Teach me your secret techniques for picking up girls!"
Kazuma flinched so hard he nearly punched the guy on reflex.
But then he sighed and said,
"It's simple. First, you solo an entire third-tier yakuza gang—not the weak kind. Then you make a bet with the syndicate boss. And finally, you publicly cuss out a major capitalist."
"Wait, what?!"
"Make sure you point directly at the capitalist's nose while yelling."
Kazuma quickly finished up and escaped the restroom.
No matter where he went, people stared at him.
Every guy who'd ever chatted with him before came over to beg for dating advice.
Eventually, fed up, Kazuma dragged himself back to the classroom…
Only to find Nanjo surrounded by a swarm of girls, leaving him no space to even reach his own seat.
He sighed. Screw it, he thought, and headed to the infirmary to fake an illness and crash.
He'd stayed up all night. He was utterly exhausted and needed rest.
The class rep had been right—pulling an all-nighter for a limited-time buff wasn't worth it.
Even if he still had twenty-one hours left on it, he should've just slept first and studied later.
As he walked to the infirmary, he consoled himself.
If I rest now, I'll still have the afternoon and evening to use those last few hours.
Still… just studying during that time seemed like a waste.
Maybe there was something more meaningful he could do…
(End of Chapter)