Vol. 1 Chapter 25 – Information Exchange

This is bad. Seriously bad.

Tuesday evening, I sat at my desk, head in hands, staring at the math exam prep workbook.

Only two days left until the exam.

I had wasted both precious weekend days on games.

Never mind the first day skipping with Asahi-san, but the second day was completely unnecessary.

It was all the fault of that weakling called The Defect for not defeating the A20 Heart quickly enough.

Anyway, at this rate, failing grades were certain.

If I failed, precious time would disappear on supplementary lessons, and my parents in India would be contacted.

They weren’t overly enthusiastic about education, but failing grades were another matter entirely.

If that happened, worst case scenario, surveillance via Ichiru-san would be strengthened, and there was even a possibility of the internet connection contracted under my parents’ name being cut off.

That alone had to be avoided at all costs.

What to do…?

Should I call Hayato and Yuuma and try to overcome this with the pooled wisdom of three gloomy types…?

No, it was clearer than day that three failures getting together wouldn’t result in any proper studying.

I didn’t want to rely on it, but I had no choice but to resort to my last option.

I launched ‘PINE’ on my phone and typed a message.

‘Please teach me for the exams. As compensation—’

Less than an hour after hitting send, that person arrived.

“Yo. I’m here.” (Taiju)
“Sorry for the sudden unreasonable request… Please, come in.” (Reiya)

With the demeanor of welcoming a noble guest, I ushered Taiju-san into the room.

“Heh… Nice room you got here. This where you’re always fooling around with Hikaru?” (Taiju)
“No, we don’t do that…” (Reiya)

Does hugging in the heat of the moment count as fooling around…?

Thinking such thoughts, I returned to the room myself.

Taiju-san, wearing yet another character T-shirt, was also carrying an unusually large bag in one hand.

He placed it on the floor with a thud and sat down on a cushion himself.

“Here you go… It’s just coarse tea, but…” (Reiya)

I placed the pre-prepared black tea on the table.

“More importantly… are you sure about that compensation?” (Taiju)

He asked in the tone of a drug cartel member before a major deal.

“Yes, if I can successfully avoid failing grades… For two weeks after the exams end, every day I have my part-time job, I will subtly praise you in front of Ichiru-san.” (Reiya)
“Alright, then it’s a deal.” (Taiju)

At the maximum compensation I could offer, Taiju-san accepted the request with a ready answer.

An active Todai Science I student.

He was as reliable as a knight bearing a silver spear to support me through the difficult early stages.

“So, which subject do you need help with?” (Taiju)
“For now, math is the most dangerous, so if you could teach me that first… This is the scope…” (Reiya)
“Ahh… Don’t need that stuff, just put it away quick.” (Taiju)

Taiju-san waved his hand dismissively at the workbook I had opened on the table, as if it were unnecessary.

“Eh? But without the workbook, how—” (Reiya)

Interrupting me, the heavy bag was placed onto the table with a thud.

“Who’s the math teacher?” (Taiju)
“Eh? Math is… Saitou-sensei, but…” (Reiya)
“Saitou, huh… Brings back memories. Let’s see, Saitou… Saitou… Found it, this is it.” (Taiju)

The bag was opened, and one notebook was pulled out from the massive pile inside.

“What’s that?” (Reiya)
“This is Saitou’s expected questions collection I made back when I was a student, collecting past exams from seniors, juniors, and even alumni.” (Taiju)
“E-Expected questions collection…!? Is everything in that bag like that?” (Reiya)

Looking inside the bag, there were easily a hundred notebooks, conservatively estimated.

“Yep, covers all the teachers from when I was a student. Made quite a bit of money off these back then… Kept ’em as souvenirs, but who knew they’d be useful again.” (Taiju)

Are you one of those vendors selling lecture notes in front of universities?

“You were doing something that could get you suspended if found out.” (Reiya)
“Just shut up and memorize the problems in the exam scope like crazy. Even if you can’t understand them, you can at least memorize them, right? High school exams mostly just reuse problems with slightly changed numbers anyway… Hey, what’s with that face?” (Taiju)
“Well, it’s just different from the kind of tutoring I expected…” (Reiya)

I had imagined something more like a Todai student, patiently teaching me one-on-one.

Who knew it would be this kind of cheat-like strategy…

“Come on, there’s no way someone who hasn’t been able to do it until now can manage with a direct approach starting from now.” (Taiju)

It was an irrefutable argument.

In any case, having obtained the strategy guide, I continued solving the problems written within.

Not understanding, just relentlessly memorizing the combinations of problems and answers.

A study method unbecoming of mathematics.

However, surprisingly, doing it this way actually helped things stick, and I even felt a sense of improvement in my comprehension, little by little.

Maybe he had considered that from the beginning…? I thought, looking at Taiju-san across from me.

Two hours passed since I started memorizing the workbook, and just as I was starting to get hungry—

“Um… what have you been doing for a while now?” (Reiya)

Taiju-san, who had been keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn’t slack off, was now doing something with a laptop placed on the table.

It was a small business model focused on portability, so it didn’t seem like a game…

“Hm? Am I distracting you?” (Taiju)
“No, not really, but… I was just wondering what you were doing…” (Reiya)
“Meeting with the other development members I mentioned before.” (Taiju)
“A meeting…?” (Reiya)
“Updates and debugging for the previous game are mostly done. So we’re talking about making a new game soon. That’s why we’re having a meeting, brainstorming ideas.” (Taiju)
“Hoh~…” (Reiya)

Super curious…

“If I’m distracting you, I can head out soon?” (Taiju)
“N-No… It’s more helpful if you stay a bit longer. In case I have questions about something I don’t understand…” (Reiya)
“Ah, I see. If you say so, I don’t mind…” (Taiju)

Saying that, Taiju-san turned back to his computer screen.

Super curious…

Right now, before my very eyes, a new game was about to be born.

What kind of exchanges were happening, what kind of ideas were emerging.

Super, super curious…

“You really are interested in the creation side too, aren’t you?” (Taiju)
“Eh? W-Why do you say that…?” (Reiya)
“Well, you’re staring this way with eyes full of interest…” (Taiju)
“W-Was I making that kind of face…? I was concentrating on studying, so I wasn’t aware at all…” (Reiya)
“If you say so…” (Taiju)

I turned back to the strategy guide again.

I was curious, but right now, I had to focus on conquering math.

“…By the way, have you decided what genre it’ll be?” (Reiya)
“Hmm… Well, the previous game was a roguelite top-down 2D action game, and it did reasonably well, right? So maybe it’s better to make something in a similar genre this time to get users familiar with the studio’s style… That’s what I’m thinking, anyway.” (Taiju)
“I see… You think about various things…” (Reiya)

Smart enough to get into Todai, and possessing the drive to launch a studio while still a student.

Moreover, he succeeded with his first game and is already working on a new one with an eye towards the future.

He had quite a few strange quirks, but I was reminded again that he really was an amazing person.

“Hey, you…” (Taiju)

Just as I renewed my focus on studying, Taiju-san spoke up this time.

“What is it?” (Reiya)
“Are you in love with Hikaru?” (Taiju)
“Wh-wh-wha… What’s this, suddenly…” (Reiya)

The unexpected question made me fluster intensely.

“Well, you were asking a lot about Hikaru the other day too. Made me wonder if that might be the case.” (Taiju)
“N-Not really… Besides, Asahi-san’s specs are too high, she’s not a match for someone like me at all…” (Reiya)

Although I declared I’d continue inviting her as a friend, when it comes to romance, the story changes significantly.

Viewed on that scale, there was still a massive, massive gap between us.

“You think? She looks kinda nice, but she’s incredibly moody and annoying… She’s not that great, is she?” (Taiju)
“Isn’t that just because she’s your sister…?” (Reiya)
“Is that how it is…” (Taiju)

The conversation died down, and silence fell again.

As I was diligently copying and memorizing problems in my notebook with scratching sounds—

“Does Mizumori-san… have a boyfriend or anything?” (Taiju)
“What’s with the sudden questions out of the blue again…” (Reiya)
“Just tell me. I’ll lend you the workbooks for subjects other than math indefinitely.” (Taiju)
“…Probably not right now, I think? At least in the year since I started helping out, I haven’t seen any sign of one.” (Reiya)

Tempted by the attractive offer, I ended up providing information.

“What about in the past?” (Taiju)
“Who knows, I wouldn’t know about her time in culinary school or before that.” (Reiya)
“Do you know what type she likes? Any trends or countermeasures?” (Taiju)
“Don’t know that either. We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff.” (Reiya)
“Tch, what the hell…” (Taiju)

Missing the mark, Taiju-san clicked his tongue, looking slightly displeased.

“…By the way, Asahi-san, has she ever brought a boyfriend home or anything?” (Reiya)
“What’s this, you’re shamelessly interested too, aren’t you?” (Taiju)

Seeing his smirking face, I slightly regretted asking.

“I-It’s just small talk… following the flow from talking about Ichiru-san…” (Reiya)
“Well, I’ll let it slide. By the way, I’ve seen her being lovey-dovey with a guy at home many times.” (Taiju)
“Eh!? S-Seriously!?” (Reiya)

As I looked up in surprise, I saw Taiju-san’s mocking smile.

The moment I saw it, I realized I’d been tricked.

“Wahahaha! Look how flustered you are! When I said guy, I meant our old man!” (Taiju)

Seriously, this guy…

Dealing with him up until now, this might have been the most irritated I’ve ever felt.

“She might not look it, but she has quite the father complex. It’s not so bad now, but back in elementary school, whenever something bad happened, she’d always go crying to Dad.” (Taiju)
“Family doesn’t count…” (Reiya)
“Well then, never seen or heard anything. Like I said before, she’s a total tennis person. Immersed in tennis day in and day out, she probably never had any time to hang out with guys.” (Taiju)
“I see…” (Reiya)

Brushing it off lightly, I lowered my gaze to the workbook, determined to focus on exam prep this time.

“By the way, Mizumori-san’s hobbies—” (Taiju)

Like that, with neither of us able to concentrate at all, the mysterious information exchange continued until Taiju-san left.