April 8, Sunday. The weather was lovely, but I wasn't in high spirits.
Thanks to yesterday's me, that lazy bastard had left me with a mess to clean up.
I had quite a lot to do today.
Learn to draw, write a mission report, borrow books from the library, take photos with Airi...
Even with my extraordinary abilities and cheat powers, I was starting to feel worn out after all that running around.
It was all yesterday's me's fault!
He was so useless. He'd spent all night drawing eggs and still hadn't managed to turn it into a skill.
That idiot must have believed the rumor that mastering eggs would make you a great artist.
Hah. I didn't know if he'd drawn the eggs well, but after he was done, all that remained was a table full of eggshells.
What a stupid glutton!
Unlike that fool, I was a genius. I'd unlocked the skill in a single stroke while taking photos with Airi.
Not only had I successfully unlocked it, I'd also raised it to D+, just shy of C rank.
But...
Progress was so slow.
Each picture took a long time to draw, so there was no way to grind my way to a high rank in a short time.
And I didn't have much time today.
All thanks to yesterday's me, that slacker who'd only cared about going shopping with girls!
Cut ties! I had to cut ties!
In the library,
Dongfang Yi, bored out of his mind, started using his diary to vent about himself.
There wasn't any other reason.
His plan was great, but right now he was a little...
Actually, it wasn't that he was lazy. He just lacked inspiration.
He hadn't met Ayanokoji yet, so he still hadn't figured out how to make up a scandal about him (crossed out)
or a reasonable account of the White Room's greatest masterpiece developing feelings.
Damn it, why wasn't I in Class D?
If I were... I guess I wouldn't need to write this thing,
and I wouldn't make any money either.
Well, Class A was pretty good.
Dongfang Yi, who never stressed himself out, quickly made peace with himself.
At the moment, four carefully selected books sat beside him. A black mechanical pencil was tucked between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, and he idly spun it around.
He planned to borrow the books and study in his dorm once he got tired of sitting here.
Sakura Airi sat across from Dongfang Yi.
He was a little worried about the girl's grades, but it was still the beginning of the school year, so there was no need to rush.
Dongfang Yi thought it would be better to work on her concentration first.
Incidentally, she was currently reading an advanced photography guide, and seemed quite absorbed in it.
Dongfang Yi glanced around and confirmed that Shiina Hiyori didn't seem to be here.
The beginning of the school year must be hard for Class C, right?
He wondered how things were going now.
After all, even at the café, he hadn't seen many students from Class 1-C, so he hadn't heard much news.
Had Ryuen sent them all to the nurse's office?
How frightening, Ryuen. (deadpan)
That would make a good addition to the mission report.
Pleased with himself after jotting down the idea, Dongfang Yi felt as if creating a folder meant half the work was already done.
I've done so much already. What's wrong with taking a break?
Laziness creeping back in, he got an itch to draw. He quietly measured up Sakura Airi, who was reading intently across from him, then started doodling in his diary again.
This time, he planned to use a beautiful, graceful girl as his model. With such an excellent model, surely the drawing couldn't turn out too badly.
After all, without the Mona Lisa, there could be no Mona Lisa.
This time, I should be able to get a lot of experience. Dongfang Yi felt pretty confident.
Ten minutes later...
He successfully drew a...
Somewhat comical anime-style figure that looked nothing like the real person.
[Drawing Experience +10]
Perhaps his drawing was just too bad. The system grudgingly gave him ten points as consolation.
This system had no artistic sense at all. Dongfang Yi glared at the System Panel with contempt. It couldn't even understand abstract art. What a disgrace to the system!
He started erasing the entire drawing without changing his expression, planning to destroy the evidence.
It was a precaution.
He wanted to avoid a day when, after he passed away, his descendants sold the works of the future great painter, Master Dongfang, and "accidentally" revealed his embarrassing past.
As for why he didn't sell them himself while he was alive? It was simple—
After he died, his paintings would be one of a kind.
A masterpiece that shook the world, worth a fortune.
While he was alive, this stuff could only be called doodles.
Barely worth a glance, and not worth a cent.
Looking back over the course of history, how many great painters had been world-famous while they were still alive?
"Yahallo~"
A soft little hand reached out from behind Dongfang Yi and lightly patted his shoulder. A bright, lively voice gently sounded in his ear, interrupting his attempt to destroy the evidence.
Where was my detection skill?! Someone, protect me!
Dongfang Yi sharply raised his head and looked at the assassin who'd suddenly appeared beside him, but before he knew it, her crowd-control skill had caught his gaze.
She even swayed when she walked~
Ichinose must have taken a little hop just now. He reached that conclusion easily.
But wasn't the library supposed to be Shiina Hiyori's territory?
Poor Shiina. Someone had taken over her turf!
"What a coincidence, Dongfang."
Ichinose smiled and blinked at him, a sacred aura of gentleness and acceptance washing over him.
Dongfang Yi felt that his evil self couldn't withstand her holiness. Before long, he'd be converted.
He smiled faintly and graciously offered her the seat beside him.
"It's been a long time, Ichinose."
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