"Come to think of it, am I really supposed to introduce myself the way that Umaru girl told me to? Ah! Why did I have to deliberately lose to her? She's nothing but a useless little sister, so why does she get to plan Onii-chan's life? That kind of— that kind of useless..." Sogo Doma stood outside the classroom office, his expression shifting between bright and dark.
Of course, his frustration was also one of the reasons he'd skipped school all morning on his very first day as a transfer student.
The thought of saying aloud what his little sister had told him to say made it feel like he'd be picking a fight with the whole class.
"Who are you?"
Before Sogo could fret for long, a young female teacher opened the office door.
"Sorry, I'm Sogo Doma, the new transfer student. Is the teacher for Class 2-D here?"
"You're Sogo Doma?" The teacher looked as if she'd suddenly understood. "Ms. Takahashi is here, but skipping class on your first day? Renna will be mad at you... Just between us, she still hasn't eaten because of you..."
"Renna?" Sogo asked, smiling broadly, his expression full of meaning.
"Why, that's your teacher, Ms. Takahashi." The young teacher seemed not to understand what he meant. She walked past him and out of the office, smiling as she answered.
"This is getting a little interesting." Sogo smiled as he watched the young teacher leave, then went into the school office.
"Sogo Doma!" Ms. Takahashi was, by and large, a serious and responsible person.
At least, that was his first impression of her.
But—
You're a little too responsible, Ms. Takahashi.
"Skipping school on your very first day as a transfer student! What kind of high schooler does that?" Ms. Takahashi looked at Sogo's lazy smile and spoke with a stern expression and a harsh tone.
"Of course there are. I'm the proof. Didn't I just do it?" He showed no remorse whatsoever.
Takahashi was left speechless. If they were in the Celestial Empire, she could just call his parents. But with all the rules in Japan, she could only probe indirectly...
"Is it because of your family situation?"
"Huh?" At the question, Sogo scratched his head. "It's not like both my parents are dead, but I've got a little sister and a house!"
"..."
Ms. Takahashi's mouth twitched. She had the distinct feeling this guy was trying to annoy her!
"Then can you tell me the real reason you skipped all your classes this morning?" Ms. Takahashi, having lost a little of her patience, finally got to the point.
"Oh, that!"
Sogo smiled just as cheerfully as before.
From the way that other teacher had addressed Takahashi, she was only putting on a tough front. After all, at a Japanese school, even two close colleagues wouldn't call each other "Renna" in front of a student if they were really that strict...
"I don't think there's any need."
"N-no need? What on earth are you talking about?!" Ms. Takahashi was getting angry.
"Come on, you know it too, don't you, teacher? The idea that you can get knowledge from the classroom is a complete lie. Just look at all the cram schools that have sprung up..."
"T-that..." Takahashi wanted to argue back.
"'Happy education' is nothing but the Heisei board's pig-raising rhetoric. The people at the top just want to raise a bunch of useless people who'll do whatever they're told. So school education isn't really important, is it?"
Sogo kept stating unsettling truths, and Takahashi was at a loss for words.
"By the way, Ms. Takahashi, you don't have a boyfriend, do you?" But then Sogo changed the subject, suddenly bringing up something Takahashi cared about quite a bit.
"Come on, Ms. Takahashi, don't you think something's wrong here? You've got the looks, the talent, and you're so virtuous. Why should someone like you have to endure being single?"
Takahashi was silent for a moment. "Are all the men in Japan dead?"
The next second—
Takahashi took a few small steps backward. "How do you know I'm virtuous?"
Sogo smiled easily. "It's obvious. You don't seem like the kind of person who flirts around, Ms. Takahashi."
"To be honest, this is still..."
After half an hour of verbal sparring,
Ms. Takahashi walked out of the office. Then she looked at Sogo behind her and said, "So I can't get married because Japanese men have no taste, right?"
Sogo glanced at the skill Beguile (Lv. 3, EXP 23/300, maybe you should try preaching.)
He smiled. "No, Renna's so adorable. It's not that they have no taste—it's that Heisei men aren't good enough for you. Otherwise, why would you still be single?"
"Even though I have a bit of a drinking problem as a hobby?"
"Fine wine for company is one of life's great pleasures."
"I do like to speed a little when I drive."
"Speeding's no big deal. A life without speeding is an incomplete life!"
"Are you sure someone as awful as me can find happiness too?"
"Trust me, Renna-chan will definitely find her happiness. There's bound to be some country where people will accept you just the way you are. Besides, the world is so big—don't you want to see it?" Sogo once again wore the smile of a divine messenger.
"Maybe the world is so big that I ought to go see it..." After a moment of silence, Ms. Takahashi spoke slowly.
But—
The thought didn't last long before someone interrupted her.
"Ms. Takahashi, Ms. Takahashi, wasn't your first class this afternoon? Um, are you discussing something with this student?"
The middle-aged man spoke as he hurried toward the classroom. If he hadn't heard from a colleague that Sogo Doma came from an influential family, he would've said something by now. What was this, flirting in the hallway instead of teaching during class?
And "the world is so big, don't you want to see it"...
Bah!
No wonder she'd ended up having to go on blind dates. Why didn't she just look at the colleagues around her?
For example, him—a righteous, well-liked teacher, with nothing wrong except a bit of a beer belly, a slightly bald head, and smelly feet...
He had his good points too, like, for instance...
He shook his head. Never mind.
Not worth getting involved. Not worth getting involved...
"Haha... It's time for class?" Ms. Takahashi turned to look at the man who'd started trying to convince her Japan was doomed as soon as they'd met. He'd even made his case so convincingly, with such penetrating insight.
"Mm-hmm, it's time for class. Shall we go to the classroom, teacher?" Sogo's smile grew wider.
Looking at that smile, Takahashi suddenly shivered. That was the face that had almost made her quit and travel the whole world...
But still...
Takahashi wanted to ask: she wasn't bad-looking, so why did she have to end up as a blind-date commodity?
She knew that Shizuka Hiratsuka from Sobu High School had started going on blind dates at her age and was still pitifully single to this day!
If Japan was hopeless, why shouldn't she do what Sogo Doma had suggested and see the whole world? Surely the men in the entire world couldn't all be blind?
Thinking that, Takahashi took Sogo Doma into the classroom, treating him much better than before. After all, he was a life mentor!
And hearing that Heisei men weren't good enough for her felt great!
"This is our new transfer student..." Japanese schools always seemed to make students introduce themselves, but as far as Takahashi was concerned, Sogo Doma's introduction couldn't go wrong. After all, he was someone who'd been able to debate with her in the office for so long.
Sogo Doma, the person in question, rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Guess I can't avoid it."
He walked up to the front of the classroom.
He tapped the teacher's desk lightly to get everyone's attention.
"I'm Sogo Doma. I'm a world-class sadist. Boys, if you don't want to become a public toilet, and girls, if you don't want to become a breeding sow, you'd better stay away from me. That's all."
Before you continue