After dinner, Makoto Nishikado returned to his dorm.
Holding his Personal Terminal, Makoto Nishikado chatted with Kamuro Masumi all the way back.
[Makoto Nishikado: I really don't have some superpower that lets me secretly monitor you. You still don't believe me?]
[Kamuro Masumi: We're not that close. Why should I believe you?]
[Makoto Nishikado: By any reasonable standard, your suspicion is ridiculous.]
[Kamuro Masumi: What's ridiculous about it? You can even guess things like that. There's no way you're normal.]
[Makoto Nishikado: Anyway, I don't have permission to view the camera footage, I didn't install surveillance software on your phone, and I don't have supernatural powers. I just guessed.]
[Kamuro Masumi: Really? I don't believe you.]
[Makoto Nishikado: The little princess really does have that kind of ability, and she can access the school's footage. Be careful around her from now on.]
[Kamuro Masumi: Huh? Someone really can access that footage? Who is she, exactly?]
[Makoto Nishikado: Ask her yourself.]
[Kamuro Masumi: I'm asking you because I don't dare ask her!]
[Makoto Nishikado: ...Miss Master Thief, you've become a fine little lapdog.]
[Kamuro Masumi: Say that again!]
[Makoto Nishikado: Well, generous and beautiful Miss Kamuro, weren't you not afraid of getting caught stealing? Why are you letting the little princess blackmail you so obediently?]
[Kamuro Masumi: I just think she's in such poor health and needs someone to look after her.]
[Makoto Nishikado: Really? I don't believe you.]
[Kamuro Masumi: Believe whatever you want! I'm going to sleep. Stop bothering me!]
[Makoto Nishikado: Wait, we haven't decided when and where the date is!]
[Makoto Nishikado: A good woman should honor her bet and keep her word!]
[Makoto Nishikado: Miss Master Thief? Please, won't you answer me? qwq]
[Makoto Nishikado: Once, a sincere love was placed before me, but I didn't cherish it. Only after losing it did I regret it. The greatest pain in life is this. If I had another chance, I would say three words to that girl: I love you!]
[Kamuro Masumi: Stop acting crazy in here! I really am going to sleep!]
[Makoto Nishikado: Good night. Sweet dreams, Miss Master Thief.]
[Kamuro Masumi: Don't call me a master thief!]
[Makoto Nishikado: I'll call you that in private from now on.]
[Kamuro Masumi: ...You can decide when and where the date is. I won't agree to anything outrageous.]
[Makoto Nishikado: Can I still call you Miss Master Thief?]
[Kamuro Masumi: Of course not!]
[Makoto Nishikado: Then forget it. It's only one date. I'd rather hold on to our special pet name.]
[Kamuro Masumi: I already agreed to the date. Don't call me a master thief again.]
[Makoto Nishikado: You're a downright tyrant!]
[Kamuro Masumi: You and Sakayanagi are made for each other. I really am going to sleep now. Don't message me again today!]
"Was that a compliment or an insult?"
After teasing Sakayanagi Arisu's little dog, Makoto put away his Personal Terminal.
He opened the system screen and saw a string of system notifications.
[Provoked Kamuro Masumi's emotions, gained 3,642 emotion points.]
[Provoked Kamuro Masumi's emotions, gained 6,177 emotion points.]
"What a treasure trove of emotions. I love you!"
If he ever did get into a relationship, Makoto planned to find a girlfriend just as emotionally expressive.
He could deepen their relationship while earning emotion points. That was what you called success in both love and career!
"Come to think of it, do I have a status screen of my own?"
After some experimenting, Makoto finally brought up his own status screen.
[Name: Makoto Nishikado]
[Transmigrator: ???, so he's this world's child of destiny.]
[Hand of God (Unawakened): ???, brave boy, go challenge AlphaGo.]
[Go: 3.92 million points, professional fifth-dan level, but not enough to win a title.]
[...]
"Looks like I can level up... Deep Blue, add some points!"
After a full day of activities, Makoto had already earned more than seven hundred thousand emotion points.
[Spend 100,000 emotion points to improve the skill "Go"?]
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Makoto invested his emotion points in his specialty.
But since he wasn't sure what the effect would be, he didn't spend them all.
As for Go, it was a talent Makoto had honed since childhood.
He'd first encountered professional Go in middle school in his previous life, and he'd shown considerable talent.
Unfortunately, his family had other plans for him, and he'd never been able to pursue it. It had remained a lifelong regret.
After being reborn in this life, he'd taught himself Go to make up for that regret.
Perhaps because he'd lived two lives, his talent for Go was much stronger than it had been before.
At his current age, he was already at a professional level—good enough to make a living from Go in the future.
With such clear goals for his future, Makoto wasn't fixated on Class A.
"Let's see what it does."
Makoto set a timer on his phone, then pulled up some Go problems and started solving them.
He recorded his time for each problem he solved.
After solving ten problems, he calculated how long he'd taken in total.
"I've improved, but not by much."
Makoto thought it over, then found [Sakurajima Exam Japanese] in the skill list.
The skill was priced at 9,000 points.
Of the subjects taught in Sakurajima schools, he'd already studied math and English in his previous life, so learning them again hadn't been difficult.
But he really was starting from scratch with Sakurajima's Japanese classes.
The other skills all cost tens of thousands of points, while this one cost only four digits.
"If I raise the price from four digits to five, will the improvement be more noticeable?"
[Spend 1,000 emotion points to improve the skill "Sakurajima Exam Japanese"?]
[Spend 10,000 emotion points to upgrade the skill "Sakurajima Exam Japanese" to the next level?]
"Why are there two system notifications?"
Makoto was baffled.
After experimenting, he tried it with a skill that cost more than 90,000 points.
He found that upgrading it to the next level required 100,000 emotion points.
"So upgrading to a five-digit level costs a five-digit fee, and a six-digit level costs a six-digit fee. I might as well just copy other people's skills."
Makoto let out a mournful sigh.
Could this world get any worse? The system, his closest companion, bound to him as if they were one, actually wanted to charge him points?
Couldn't it show a little genuine affection?
"System, you're so heartless and unfeeling. You're actually charging me a fee. Don't you have a conscience?"
After testing it out, Makoto discovered that the system wasn't a girl and couldn't provide him with emotion points.
It was truly disregarding tradition.
Didn't it know that every cat system was supposed to obediently join the protagonist's harem?
His system wasn't his little darling after all.
Once he'd figured out how to use the system, Makoto turned off the lights and went to bed on time.
He wasn't some struggling writer, staying up late every day to type and whining in group chats that he wouldn't live much longer, so everyone should be a little nicer to him.
A regular schedule of going to bed early and getting up early was an essential skill for students.
After closing his eyes, Makoto began to think seriously.
Since he'd become Class B's leader, he would have to take on the responsibilities that came with it.
He'd already established connections with Classes A and D. That left only Class C.
And with the three years ahead bound to become a long, drawn-out battle, the only real concern in the short term was Class C.
To deal with Ryuen Kakeru, he'd better get a skill that would help him fight. And...
"I forgot to buy a voice recorder."
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