A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - 09

Chapter 9: Grandpa’s Enrollment Gift

Four months had passed since the October meeting. During that time, I lived a life focused on perfecting my routine.

I had memories from my first loop, but the entrance exam for Teimon Academy was far more difficult than I had imagined. From looking at past questions, it was clear the test was not designed to allow anyone to get a perfect score. It seemed like a test created with an average of around 30 points in mind.

Normally, an exam candidate would think to prioritize exam preparation above all.

But for me, two hours of study after waking up each day was plenty.

What mattered most was building physical strength. Having once been an adult, I could understand just how important that was.

I focused on improving the quality of those few hours rather than increasing study time.

And then the exam day arrived. All sorts of memories flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

It was not just about Sasa or Ousei. Just imagining a high school life different from my first loop made excitement well up inside me uncontrollably. In that sense, I might have been nervous too.

In my first loop, I eventually lost that feeling of challenge.

The results could be checked online.

I went to the Yashima house mansion and ended up checking them together with Grandpa.

“Taiki, you passed. As expected, my judgment was not wrong.”

“The results of my studying paid off.”

Grandpa’s words were calm and even. From the moment he looked at my face, he might have been certain I had passed. What mattered was the score.

“To think you scored 90 percent… It might be the first time in history anyone has gotten over 80 percent.”

In other words, I still dropped 10 percent. Since this was my second life, I had aimed for a perfect score. It was a time-strict exam, so I must have made a mistake somewhere.

Grandpa praised me, but there was another new student: Kurumi Kano.

Knowing my future wife so well, I could not be confident I could beat her.

“Taiki, keep that greed close. There is no future for someone who grows satisfied with the present.”

“Of course.”

To survive in a constantly changing world, new knowledge is always needed.

Otherwise, no matter how much of a genius someone is, an unbeatable future awaits.

“Now then, let us get to the main reason I called you here today.”

“Is there some kind of reward?”

“You catch on quick.”

Huh… I had meant it as a joke, but there really was a reward.

“I thought I would show you the first step toward creating that future.”

“…!?”

I should not be satisfied with the present. The moment he said that, I should have realized.

The weight in Grandpa’s words was real.

I clearly remembered when this was released to the world during my high school years in the first loop.

“This ring is a product we are currently developing at our company. Do you know what it is?”

It was a creation that would change the world.

It was the bomb that drove Yashima Electronics to ruin.

It was the reason my name became known around the world.

But now, I slowly shook my head.

“This is an electronic device called Remona. It allows remote operation not only of smartphones and tablets but of any device previously controlled by finger.”

Remona… The official name was Remote nerve.

It was the beginning of the next generation and would eventually become part of the infrastructure.

However, looking at the exposed structure without any casing, it looked different from the Remona I knew.

“It’s a pretty rugged design.”

“This is one of the prototypes completed three years ago. People often say the same thing.”

So this was one of the only three prototypes in the world.

A few years later, it suddenly appeared at auction and gained an unbelievable premium value. Of course the developer would still have it.

If it was going to be sold to someone, I would want it as my enrollment gift.

“Now, let me show you how to use it right away.”

Grandpa took a tablet from the desk, placed it in the center of the table, and sat on the sofa across from me.

When he pointed at the table, the scenery outside the window soon changed.

No, the scenery itself had not changed.

What I thought was a window was actually a transparent display mirroring the tablet screen.

The key point was that he was operating it without directly touching the tablet.

Just by moving his finger in the air, Grandpa remotely displayed a message.

‘If we succeed in spreading Remona, our next step will be to develop touch-panel wall displays for home use, creating an entirely new living space. That future is almost here.’

I never expected he would share Yashima Electronics’ business vision with me just because he liked me so much.

But unfortunately, I could not imagine it going that far. Because in the future I knew, it had not succeeded.

The problem was not the home wall display but something earlier. The Remona itself.

As I thought, they had not yet realized the true value and danger of this product.

“Grandpa… May I try touching the Remona too?”

“Of course.”

“Ah, could you also turn the tablet screen the other way?”

“Oh, was the rotation locked?”

I took the Remona while handing over the tablet.

Grandpa looked puzzled that the screen rotation was locked.

Of course he was.

I had just locked it a moment ago without touching it directly.

Right then, I clearly saw Grandpa’s eyes widen suddenly.

Because even though he was holding the tablet, my message was displayed on it.

‘This is really amazing! I never imagined such a product existed. So this is the next generation of electronics.’

Just like when Grandpa operated it earlier, it appeared on the window too.

With a shocked cry, he stood up.

“What!? Taiki… What did you just do!!”

He must have felt as if the tablet he was holding directly had been forcibly taken over, like it had been hacked.

The tablet was definitely in his hand.

The touch panel screen was not facing me, and even if it had been visible, from my position across from him, even the keyboard would have been upside down.

‘Sorry for operating it without permission. But I thought this kind of use was possible too.’

If you think about it carefully, this was not strange at all.

Being able to operate remotely meant operation through the back of the tablet was possible too.

And typing on an upside-down keyboard was the same.

Once you get used to it, you can type on a normal keyboard without looking. Even if it is upside down, it does not become impossible.

“This is… Why did I not notice? This is a serious problem that requires calling an emergency meeting right now!”

He finally realized.

It was good I let him experience it rather than just explaining. Feeling your operation taken away does cause a certain amount of discomfort.

In my previous life, the reason Remona became a social issue was exactly because this fatal flaw of operation takeover was exploited.

Once it started being used for stalking and crimes, Yashima Electronics was held responsible and lost all standing.

Typing on an upside-down keyboard also became known through those stalking incidents.

“Sorry, Taiki. Thanks to you, I noticed a major problem. I will be a bit busy from now on, so you can go home… No, first I want to hear your opinion.”

With a more serious face than I had ever seen, Grandpa faced me.

This was a problem in a long-term project where the product itself had been completed three years ago. Even if it was not fatal, if promotions and other preparations were already underway, it would need urgent handling.

The situation might be more serious than I thought.

Still, the issue with Remona stemmed from laws not keeping up with technological innovation, but it would eventually be resolved.

“Operation takeover could lead to unprecedented chaos. What do you think we can do to prevent it?”

“I have one idea…”

No, it would not just be resolved. I resolved it.

Because the one who acquired the fallen Yashima Electronics was the Kokonoe Group.

The title I held for the longest time was

Kokonoe Group Technical Strategy Division Director and “Remona” Business General Manager Taiki Kashiwado.

“It will be a little less convenient, but if we make pairing with the device used mandatory, I think the worry will disappear.”

“That seems to be the only way.”

The Remona Grandpa aimed for was probably meant to be not an accessory to devices but an eleventh finger.

But in the first loop, because models that could be used without pairing circulated, the only thing that could be done was forcing the download of a dedicated app that set identification terminals for each Remona device and recorded operation logs.

Making it mandatory from the start would cost far less.

Our eyes met again, but the meeting ended there.

Grandpa would be busy from now on. He probably would not be able to come to my entrance ceremony. I had not expected him to anyway.

In any case, the path for Yashima Electronics in this life to fall into ruin could probably be greatly avoided.

No, I would not let it fall.

Even if the opponent was the savior of the world.