Arc 31The Painter and the Teacher

Oreki used his painting talent to help Yukino and Takari, then returned to the present and began pursuing Shizuka Hiratsuka as he tried to fulfill her wish. The arc ended with Shizuka still refusing to date him, while his mission progress reached 99%.

  • Oreki developed his painting skill in Mitsuha’s body, helped Takari overcome the false accusations against her, and arranged an exhibition that boosted Itomori and helped Mitsuha’s father win reelection.
  • Oreki returned to the present, reunited with Mitsuha, and helped her paint a valuable picture before meeting Takari again and learning that Reine Murasame believed he had changed Takari’s fate.
  • Oreki accepted a hidden quest tied to Shizuka Hiratsuka and asked Iroha for help, eventually obtaining Hiratsuka’s number and sending her a confession.
  • Oreki met Hiratsuka at Sobhu High School, proposed to her, and insisted he was sincere, but she rejected him because she was his teacher and he was still a student.
  • Oreki encouraged Iroha to seek Yukino’s advice about her classmates, while Yukino overheard his plans to leave school and pursue Hiratsuka.
  • Yukino helped Iroha prepare to confront her former classmates, while Iroha noticed Hiratsuka secretly photographing Oreki and suspected that Hiratsuka had feelings for him.
  • Oreki waited outside the office for Hiratsuka, then confronted her after she again refused to date him and pointed out her secret photographs and physical reaction to him.
  • Oreki’s mission progress reached 99%, though he remained unsure how to fulfill Hiratsuka’s wish.
Chapters 751–775 Vol. 8 Read

Ch. 751Yeah, This Is Cheating!

Oreki used his max-level painting skill to captivate Yukino Takari and guide her through painting, completing a hidden quest that increased his Out-of-Body Experience time limit. He left the pavilion after giving Yukino the painting and saying he would return to sketch the next day.

  • Oreki chose painting as his specialty and quickly created an impressive rainy landscape while Yukino watched.
  • Oreki repeated the painting demonstration and guided Yukino's hand, completing a hidden quest that tripled his out-of-body time limit.
  • Yukino praised the painting and accepted it from Oreki, unaware that his skill had drawn her into art.
  • Oreki painted a deliberately poor assignment piece and spoke with Yukino about how people could be different without being treated as outsiders.
  • As the rain eased, Oreki asked to take back the first painting for treatment, then left the pavilion and said he would return the next day.

Ch. 752Yeah, This Is Cheating! (continued)

Oreki visited the mayor’s office and spoke with Grandma about the Miyamizu family’s mysterious body-swapping ability. He then tested whether he could use Out-of-Body Experience while inhabiting Mitsuha’s puppet body, and discovered that he could float and move his soul.

  • Oreki went to the mayor’s office, learned the mayor was raising election funds, and considered helping him secure reelection for Mitsuha’s sake.
  • Oreki returned home and asked Grandma whether gods existed; she explained that Miyamizu women mysteriously swapped bodies with someone who might become their future husband.
  • Oreki compared the family’s body-swapping ability to Puberty Syndrome and told Grandma that a teacher had encouraged his drawing.
  • Oreki used Out-of-Body Experience while lying in Mitsuha’s puppet body and found that he could move his soul up and down through the room.

Ch. 753Oreki’s Plan Is Obviously the Most Energy-Efficient! (Part 1)

Oreki explored Itomori as a soul, concluded that the world had no gods or supernatural disturbances, and returned to Mitsuha’s life with a new interest in painting. After Teacher Sojiro praised his sketch and classmates gossiped about his special training, Oreki displayed a striking painting at school, where Koyuki’s arrival caused a stir.

  • Oreki left his body, explored Itomori Lake and the town, and concluded that no gods or supernatural forces existed in the world.
  • Oreki returned to Mitsuha’s puppet body, showed Teacher Sojiro his sketch, and received lavish praise and an offer of further training.
  • At home, Oreki spoke with Yotsuba about their father and considered making paintings to ease Mitsuha’s life when she returned.
  • On the way to school, Oreki met Sayaka and Kawahara, who discussed Teacher Sojiro’s plans to train Mitsuha.
  • After classmates spread rumors about Mitsuha, Oreki painted a starry night scene and silenced their criticism by displaying it.
  • Koyuki arrived at school, drawing everyone’s attention.

Ch. 754Oreki’s Plan Is Obviously the Most Energy-Efficient! (Part 1, continued)

Oreki learned that Yukino Takari had been ostracized over rumors and found her hesitating outside the school gate. He brought her inside and warned her not to trust the men at school, leaving Takari wondering why he said that.

  • Sayaka told Oreki that third-year girls and their parents had boycotted Yukino after accusing her of seducing a student's boyfriend, and that the school had not defended her.
  • Oreki left class to approach Yukino, but Teacher Ito reached her first and greeted her at the gate.
  • Oreki interrupted Ito, took Yukino by the wrist, and led her into the school, telling Ito to return to teaching.
  • Oreki warned Yukino to stay away from Ito and not trust any man at the school, and Yukino asked why.

Ch. 755Oreki’s Plan Is Obviously the Most Energy-Efficient! (Part 2)

Oreki helped Takari explain why she had withdrawn from teaching after students falsely accused her and ostracized her. He resolved to help her return by creating a place where she could belong, and asked her to paint another picture.

  • Oreki told Takari that he understood why she used makeup to make her appearance less striking, and she admitted that she was in pain.
  • Takari explained that a third-year student had falsely accused her of pursuing the student's boyfriend, leading girls to boycott her lessons and making her afraid to enter school.
  • Takari revealed that she had come to school hoping to find Sojiro and ask him to frame the painting Oreki had given her.
  • Oreki hurried back to class for Sojiro's art supplies, then returned to Takari and told her to stay where she was.
  • Oreki told Takari he would create a place where she could belong and asked her to paint another picture so they could change her reputation.

Ch. 756Oreki’s Plan Is Obviously the Most Energy-Efficient! (Part 2, continued)

Oreki painted Takari’s portrait and devised a plan to repair her reputation by presenting the artwork as a gift from someone close to her. He began producing more paintings for an exhibition, leaving Takari stunned by his ability to paint six canvases at once.

  • Oreki pointed out Takari’s insecurities and taste disorder, then began painting while describing his work as art therapy.
  • Oreki painted Takari beneath a cherry blossom tree and told her to claim her boyfriend had given her the portrait when she asked Teacher Sojiro to appraise it.
  • Oreki explained that presenting Takari as having an outstanding boyfriend would undermine rumors that she was pursuing an ordinary countryside boy.
  • Oreki set up six easels and painted six pictures simultaneously, shocking Takari with his speed.
  • After class, Takari handed Oreki her scented handkerchief while he washed paint from his hands.

Ch. 757The Return! Futaba: Does This Even Count as a Best Friend?

Oreki helped Takari bring her seven paintings to Sojiro, where the teachers marveled at their quality and learned they were supposedly gifts from her boyfriend. Sojiro declared each painting worth tens or hundreds of millions, and the staff’s view of Takari began to shift.

  • Oreki accompanied Takari to the staff office so she could ask Sojiro to mount her paintings, and she entered despite feeling anxious.
  • When Takari froze and could not speak, Oreki drew Sojiro’s attention to the paintings and asked him to look at them.
  • Sojiro examined the seven paintings, praised their technique, and warned the teachers not to touch them.
  • Oreki asked who had painted the works, and Takari said her boyfriend had left them for her while visiting town.
  • Sojiro valued each painting at tens or hundreds of millions, stunning the teachers and prompting them to react to Takari’s supposed relationship.

Ch. 758The Return! Futaba: Does This Even Count as a Best Friend? (continued)

Oreki helped Yukino Takari overcome the rumors by arranging an exhibition of her paintings, which made Itomori Town famous and helped Mitsuha's father win reelection. At the lake, Oreki revealed that he came from four years in the future and left Yukino with a painting for Mitsuha as he prepared to say goodbye.

  • Oreki persuaded Yukino to lend her paintings to an exhibition, and Sojiro brought Mayor Miyamizu to secure her agreement.
  • Mayor Miyamizu promoted the exhibition, drawing experts and media to Itomori Town and making Yukino and Takari famous.
  • The exhibition helped Mitsuha's father win reelection, while Aizawa and her boyfriend were mocked and Takari was no longer condemned.
  • At the lake, Oreki told Yukino he was not Mitsuha but a painter from four years in the future, and asked her to give his painting to Mitsuha Miyamizu.
  • Oreki said Yukino's setback had been overcome, then prepared to leave as his hidden quest to resolve Reine Murasame's emotional knot stood at 99.9% progress.

Ch. 759Oreki Is Back! It’s All Because You’re Here!

Oreki returned to his own body, discovered that the hidden quest to eliminate Reine Murasame’s emotional knot was still 99% complete, and teleported to Itomori Lake. There he reunited with Mitsuha Miyamizu, now four years older, after pretending to drown so she would rescue him.

  • Oreki left Mitsuha’s body and returned to his room, while Yukino found that Mitsuha had vanished and met a Mitsuha who did not recognize her.
  • Oreki saw Rio Futaba’s message and asked Kamuro to help her move books at the bookstore.
  • Oreki checked the hidden quest to save Bailixiang in Itomori Town, saw its three-month deadline and 99% progress, and teleported to Itomori Lake.
  • Oreki spotted Mitsuha on the shore, faked a leg cramp, and called for help.
  • Mitsuha jumped into the lake to rescue Oreki, and he warned her that her soaked coat could make swimming dangerous.

Ch. 760Oreki Is Back! It’s All Because You’re Here! (continued)

Houtarou Oreki reunited with Mitsuha Miyamizu in Itomori and visited her family, where Hitoha recognized him and invited him to accompany them to the shrine’s divine body. Mitsuha explained how the town’s tourism growth had also revived Miyamizu Shrine, leaving Oreki to reflect on her father’s role in its recovery.

  • Oreki met Mitsuha while she cleaned trash beside Itomori Lake and said he had come to search for a god.
  • Oreki told Mitsuha that tourists had come to paint because her painting and her father’s promotion of tourism had made the town famous.
  • Mitsuha brought Oreki to her home, where Hitoha recognized him as the person who had asked whether gods existed.
  • Hitoha invited Oreki to join her and Mitsuha on a trip to the mountain the next day to pay respects at the divine body.
  • Mitsuha told Oreki that her father had stopped pursuing the mayor’s office and that the shrine had grown lively as a tourist destination.
  • Oreki realized that Mitsuha’s father had helped Miyamizu Shrine recover by supporting Itomori’s development after a fire damaged the shrine and destroyed its records.

Ch. 761Oreki Is Back! It’s All Because You’re Here! (continued)

Oreki returned to Itomori and taught Mitsuha to paint, encouraging her to create paintings she could sell to support herself. He then left with the painting materials and ran into Sayaka at her café.

  • Oreki asked Mitsuha and her grandmother about Ms. Yukino, but Mitsuha said she barely knew her.
  • Oreki admired the painting of Itomori Lake and persuaded Mitsuha to try painting her own work rather than sell the family heirloom.
  • Oreki guided Mitsuha through painting a sky, and she finished a work he estimated could sell for two to three million.
  • Oreki borrowed the painting supplies and left, while Mitsuha went to show her painting to her grandmother.
  • Oreki stopped at Sayaka's café, learned she had confessed to Kawahara and been rejected, and ordered a cappuccino.

Ch. 762Oreki Is Back! It’s All Because You’re Here! (continued)

Oreki went to the park where he had first met Yukino Takari, hoping to find her, and instead met a beautiful woman reading poetry. They discussed poems and the person she missed, and Oreki left her with a suggestion to show that person her natural beauty.

  • Oreki headed to school to confirm Yukino Takari was alive, but stopped at the park where they had first met.
  • Oreki entered the pavilion and saw a beautiful woman carrying Tagore's Poetry Collection.
  • The woman recited a Man'yoshu poem, and Oreki completed its final line before they discussed poetry together.
  • The woman told Oreki that someone had once saved her at the park and that she could no longer see him.
  • Oreki suggested she might see the person again if she washed off her makeup and showed her most beautiful side, and she thanked him.

Ch. 763A New Mission: The Oregairu Arc

Houtarou Oreki reunited with Takari, helped her remember how he had saved her four years earlier, and learned that Reine Murasame was tied to her past. After returning to the inn and finding Sakayanagi Arisu there, he began the next morning in a good mood, while Sakayanagi hinted that a wish of hers had come true.

  • Houtarou Oreki reminded Takari of their meeting four years earlier, prompting her to recall how Mitsuha Miyamizu had helped her through a crisis at school.
  • Houtarou Oreki asked Takari about Reine Murasame, and Takari explained that they had become friends after she helped an injured girl on Shikoku Island.
  • Reine Murasame appeared before Houtarou Oreki and said he had overturned Takari's fate because he was an outsider who was not bound by the world's rules.
  • Houtarou Oreki returned to the inn at three in the morning and found Sakayanagi Arisu sleeping there.
  • At breakfast, Masumi Kamuro noticed Sakayanagi Arisu was in a good mood, and Sakayanagi said one of her wishes had come true.

Ch. 764A New Mission: The Oregairu Arc (continued)

As the students enjoyed breakfast and prepared to shop during their trip, Oreki met Karuizawa, who gave him a hard-to-find Oregairu after-story novel. Accepting the gift triggered a hidden quest to fulfill Shizuka Hiratsuka’s wish within a month, leaving Oreki wary of books and the new task.

  • Kamuro accepted the prospect of leaving school and working for Sakayanagi Arisu in exchange for financial security, while Hasebe noticed Sato seemed unusually happy.
  • A Class C girl thanked Ichinose for helping her the previous day, and Ichinose shared that she remembered a vivid dream in which Oreki had helped her at Shuchiin Academy.
  • Oreki told Ryuuen he was going to the souvenir shop, and Ryuuen correctly guessed that Oreki was meeting a girl there.
  • Karuizawa met Oreki at the shop and gave him a shrink-wrapped copy of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected: After Story, which she had obtained through barter.
  • After Oreki accepted Karuizawa’s gift, his system announced a hidden quest to fulfill Shizuka Hiratsuka’s wish within one month.

Ch. 765Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k

Houtarou Oreki accepted a mission that gave him the identity of Iroha Isshiki’s foster brother and transported him to the Isshiki household. After dinner, he asked Iroha to help him get Shizuka Hiratsuka’s phone number, but learned she did not have it.

  • Oreki accepted the mission for a Loli Card and appeared in Iroha Isshiki’s bedroom as her sworn older brother.
  • Iroha teased Oreki about a girl confessing to him, then called him downstairs for dinner and tried to make him wash the dishes.
  • Oreki offered to wash the dishes himself because Iroha had cram school, asking her to do him a favor in return.
  • After dinner, Oreki asked Iroha for Shizuka Hiratsuka’s phone number, but Iroha said she did not have it.

Ch. 766Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k (continued)

Oreki decided to propose to Shizuka Hiratsuka after Iroha Isshiki revealed that Hiratsuka had confiscated her PSP. Iroha doubted his intentions but eventually gave him Hiratsuka’s phone number.

  • Iroha explained that Hiratsuka had confiscated her PSP and refused to return it, despite her attempts to act cute.
  • Oreki suggested he could get the PSP back by proposing to Hiratsuka, and Iroha was stunned to learn he was serious.
  • Iroha reminded Oreki of a childhood promise that they would marry, then admitted she had made that up and said Hayama made her heart race more.
  • Oreki warned Iroha not to get close to Hayama and asked what she thought of Hikigaya Hachiman, whom she did not know.
  • Oreki said he liked Hiratsuka because she was pretty and rich, and Iroha gave him Hiratsuka’s phone number.

Ch. 767Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k (continued)

Oreki planned to make Shizuka Hiratsuka notice him by sending her earnest confession messages, but her silence left his new mission to fulfill her wish at zero progress. He turned to Iroha for advice about a pink app and downloaded it, leaving her shocked by what appeared on his screen.

  • Oreki found Hiratsuka's number in his sparse contacts, and Iroha teased him about his chances of winning her over.
  • Oreki explained that he needed to make Hiratsuka notice him, then wrote and sent her a lengthy confession filled with poetry.
  • After five minutes passed without a reply, Oreki checked his mission to fulfill Hiratsuka's wish and saw that its progress remained at zero percent.
  • Oreki asked Iroha about the pink app, learned it was now called Young Gaze, and downloaded it.
  • Iroha saw the app's images on Oreki's phone and called him lewd, while he insisted he did not need it for himself.

Ch. 768Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k (continued)

Oreki pursued Shizuka Hiratsuka despite the teacher-student complications, and Isshiki's Father supported him after seeing his painting and sharing his own history of a teacher-student romance. The chapter ended with Iroha warning her father that Oreki had also sent Hiratsuka an explicit picture.

  • Oreki sent Shizuka Hiratsuka a long love confession, and she replied that she thought it was a prank; the system showed that her wish quest had reached 10% progress.
  • Oreki told Iroha Isshiki that Hiratsuka's hesitation was cute and that he was beginning to see her as his type.
  • Isshiki's Father warned Oreki about the difficulties of pursuing a teacher, but Oreki said he would leave Sobhu High School and pursue her responsibly.
  • Oreki showed his father a painting of Lake Itomori, and his father supported him, revealing that he had once left teaching because of gossip about his own teacher-student romance.
  • Iroha returned from her bath and warned her father that Oreki had sent Hiratsuka an explicit picture along with his love letter.

Ch. 769Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k (continued)

Houtarou Oreki enlisted Iroha Isshiki’s parents to help him pursue Shizuka Hiratsuka, and learned about Hiratsuka’s difficult early days at Sobhu High School and her disastrous arranged dates. After Oreki contacted her, Hiratsuka summoned him to the guidance office, where their first in-person meeting began.

  • Iroha’s father explained that becoming a teacher’s problem student could help Oreki grow close to Hiratsuka, and Iroha’s parents agreed to assist him.
  • Mrs. Isshiki shared details of Hiratsuka’s past, including how she earned students’ trust and how her ramen messages ruined two arranged dates.
  • Oreki introduced himself to Hiratsuka by message, and she told him to come to her guidance room the next day.
  • Oreki arrived at Sobhu High School, went to the teachers’ office during lunch, and identified himself to Hiratsuka by sending her a message from the doorway.
  • Hiratsuka took Oreki into the guidance office and lit her cigarette again.

Ch. 770Someone Hurry Up and Marry Her! 12k (continued)

Oreki proposed to Hiratsuka Shizuka, but she refused because she was his teacher and he was still a student. The chapter left Oreki leaving the Guidance Office after accepting her answer.

  • Oreki followed Hiratsuka Shizuka to the Guidance Office and asked why she was helping teach natural science.
  • Oreki told Hiratsuka that his actions were not harassment because he intended to propose to her, and he insisted that he was sincere.
  • Hiratsuka rejected his proposal at first and urged him to stop teasing her about marriage.
  • Oreki recited personal details about Hiratsuka's life and teaching career to prove that he had learned about her because he wanted to get close to her.
  • Oreki held Hiratsuka's hands and called her a wonderful teacher, but she withdrew them and refused his feelings because she was his teacher and he was still a student.
  • Oreki accepted Hiratsuka's answer and walked toward the door of the Guidance Office.

Ch. 771Yukino Yukinoshita Doesn’t Hold a Candle to Me! Yukinoshita: !? 12k

Oreki talked with Iroha Isshiki about her classmates ostracizing her and suggested she learn from Yukino Yukinoshita. Yukino overheard their conversation about Oreki proposing to Hiratsuka, while Iroha tried to stop him from dropping out; the chapter ended with Oreki noticing something felt strange since the previous night.

  • Oreki left Hiratsuka and answered Iroha’s call, then met her at a campus pavilion for lunch.
  • Iroha complained that her classmates had excluded her, and Oreki suggested she ask Yukino Yukinoshita how to handle being alone.
  • Iroha agreed to approach Yukino, partly because she hoped to gain information about the popular student.
  • Yukino overheard Oreki tell Iroha that he had proposed to Hiratsuka and planned to drop out so they could date.
  • Iroha protested that Oreki’s plan was reckless and argued that she should not have to support him.

Ch. 772Yukino Yukinoshita Doesn’t Hold a Candle to Me! Yukinoshita: !? 12k (continued)

Houtarou Oreki told Iroha Isshiki that he planned to leave Sobhu High School, pursue Shizuka Hiratsuka, and support himself through his painting talent. Yukino Yukinoshita identified him and questioned his perfectly controlled grades, while Oreki’s quest to fulfill Hiratsuka’s wish now required marrying her within a month.

  • Houtarou Oreki claimed he could skip grades and said Yukino Yukinoshita could not match him, while Iroha Isshiki struggled to accept his plans.
  • Oreki revealed that he had painted the lake artwork in the living room and said his talent would let him earn money even if he left school.
  • Yukino saw Oreki and Iroha in the pavilion, identified them, and discovered that Oreki had scored exactly 50 in every recorded subject and athletics.
  • Oreki checked his quest and found that marrying Shizuka Hiratsuka within a month was now required, with progress at 35%.
  • Oreki told Iroha that he had proposed to Hiratsuka and believed he could make her care about him; Yukino watched nearby as he insisted she would eventually like him.

Ch. 773Yukino Yukinoshita Doesn’t Hold a Candle to Me! Yukinoshita: !? 12k (continued)

Iroha Isshiki sought Yukino Yukinoshita’s help with being ostracized by her classmates, and Yukino agreed to listen. After school, Iroha noticed Shizuka Hiratsuka secretly photographing Oreki at the tennis court.

  • Oreki sent Iroha to seek Yukino’s advice and warned her not to eat the octopus.
  • Iroha caught up with Yukino and explained how jealousy and a false accusation had turned her classmates against her.
  • Yukino listened to Iroha, who felt relieved that the influential senior might help resolve her predicament.
  • Iroha followed Yukino to find Shizuka Hiratsuka, who stopped by the tennis court and photographed Oreki.
  • Hiratsuka deleted the first photo, walked away, then returned and photographed Oreki again while Iroha watched.

Ch. 774Yukino Yukinoshita Doesn’t Hold a Candle to Me! Yukinoshita: !? 12k (continued)

After seeing Shizuka Hiratsuka secretly photograph Oreki and flee when he approached, Yukino Yukinoshita agreed not to interfere with their romance and took Iroha Isshiki to confront the classmates who had slandered her. Shizuka struggled with her feelings for Oreki and buried herself in work, while a new teacher prepared to leave the office.

  • Iroha Isshiki realized Shizuka Hiratsuka had feelings for Oreki after watching her secretly take his photo and run away when he came over.
  • Yukino Yukinoshita told Iroha that they should not interfere with Shizuka and Oreki’s romance, then urged Iroha to confront her middle-school classmates in person.
  • Yukino planned to accompany Iroha to the neighboring city and offered to pay the travel costs, expecting the other side to reimburse them.
  • Shizuka returned to the office, regretted being caught taking photos, and wrestled with doubts about accepting Oreki’s proposal.
  • Shizuka tried to distract herself with grading and other work, but her thoughts about Oreki caused her to make mistakes.
  • Mr. Honda told Shizuka he was leaving the office.

Ch. 775Yukino Yukinoshita Doesn’t Hold a Candle to Me! Yukinoshita: !? 12k (continued)

After Shizuka Hiratsuka spent hours hiding in the office to avoid Oreki, she discovered he had waited outside for her. Oreki confronted her about rejecting him and secretly photographing him, and the system’s mission progress rose to 99%.

  • Shizuka Hiratsuka stayed at school until eight o’clock because she was embarrassed to leave after Oreki caught her trying to photograph him.
  • Oreki revealed that he had waited outside the office for hours after noticing Shizuka run off, but could not call because she had blocked his number.
  • Shizuka told Oreki she could not agree to date him, and Oreki pushed her against the wall and questioned her reasons for rejecting him.
  • Oreki accused Shizuka of secretly taking his photos and pointed out that her body was reacting honestly to him.
  • The system displayed mission progress at 99%, leaving Oreki confused about how close he was to fulfilling Shizuka’s wish.
Arc 31 of 33