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...!?~ - 13

Chapter 13: A Girl’s Secret Is Sweet

Three days have passed since enrollment. As expected, the classes at Teimon are much higher quality than in my first loop.

Food, clothing, and housing are all taken care of properly, so I can live comfortably.

But right now, I have two big problems.

The first is that Sasa keeps coming to the boys’ dorm… No one has found out yet, but for some reason she likes my room and hangs out there after school. She’s practically living here.

The second is… I can’t bring myself to talk to Shika.

“Sigh…”

I feel like sighing.

Honestly, I just don’t have the courage… and there’s no opportunity to start a conversation.

…It seems I’m not used to girls. Even in my first loop, I kept my distance from romance, so now I can’t take action.

I’ve been in love with her for decades, and yet—this is pathetic.

“I-It’s okay… There’s still three years.”

I know putting it off is bad.

But this is the sad conclusion of a virgin.

“Taiki… what are you muttering about…?”

When I look up, Tsukimi’s face is right there.

“Oh, even the top student found the class too hard and didn’t understand anything?”

“No? The teacher’s explanation was clear, and I got it right away… How about you, Kagurazaka?”

“Total gibberish.”

…I thought so.

She seems to be falling behind in this academy’s classes.

She doesn’t say it, but I’m surprised she got in with how little she studies.

She’s only good at math, it seems.

That’s why she asks for help like this every class.

Thanks to our seats being close, I’ve been tutoring her a bit.

In her case, she just lacks the basics overwhelmingly, but she picks things up quickly when taught.

Honestly, it’d be better if she previewed on her own more.

“You’re devoted. That’s good.”

“Kano, you can help too?”

“If I interfere with Kashiwado’s limits experiment, it would ruin the point.”

“Since when am I Kano’s lab rat…”

“Hehe, just kidding. But… you have enough leeway to talk back.”

She got the better of me.

I can’t picture winning a verbal battle with Kano right now. She’s been like that since the first loop—she’s surprisingly sharp-tongued.

“I owe Kurumi for helping with dorm life, so I shouldn’t trouble her with studies too?”

So it’s okay to trouble me? Well, fine.

It seems their dorm rooms are next to each other, and they naturally became friends.

…No matter how many times I think about it, it’s a strange combination.

The girls are currently divided into several groups, but the big divide is still general and recommendation.

Yet these two are close across that line.

Plus, Kano has this… academic supremacist preconception.

That’s why Kano teaching would deepen their bond more… but actually, Kagurazaka is the one refusing it.

“But I think trying once wouldn’t hurt. Kano’s probably better at teaching than me.”

“Huh? Well, maybe, maybe not—”

“…Tsukimi. Don’t say unnecessary things.”

“Oh.”

Maybe she already tried.

From what I can tell—Kano’s bad at teaching others?

For a genius like her, it’s not impossible.

She’s pretty proud, so I’ll leave it alone.

“Well, since I already agreed, I won’t quit.”

“Th… yeah~ sorry, big bro.”

She looks like she’s saying it worked out, though she couldn’t hide it well.

She doesn’t seem malicious at all…

I wish she’d stop making me nervous too.

But hanging out with Kagurazaka isn’t so bad… We have a lot in common as fellow commoners.

It’s relaxing—that’s what I thought until now.

“…”

“…”

After school, at a Western sweets shop a bit away from the academy, I ran into a peach twin-tailed beauty who looked just like Kagurazaka. No, from her awkward face, it is her.

“…Financiers and madeleines.”

Teimon students basically handle everything within the grounds.

The shop near the cafeteria sells high-end food at reasonable prices even commoners can afford.

Coming out here like this is probably for those who can’t forget commoner habits… or customers like me who want to reminisce about past tastes.

But she doesn’t fit either.

“Part-time job…?”

“U-um… yeah~”

Teimon rules prohibit part-time jobs.

From Kagurazaka’s expression, she knows that but works here anyway.

“Please! Keep it secret from school?”

She put her hands together small and begged me.

Just as I was about to eat sweets, I can’t relax.

“Sure, but…”

With her studies too, am I weak to girls’ requests…? Is this the limit of a virgin?

Anyway, the madeleines with tea are sweet and delicious.

“Y-you promised, okay? If you break it, I’ll expose Taiki’s weakness… Do you have any weaknesses?”

“People don’t usually ask that themselves! Anyway, why the job?”

“Money… My family’s single mom, so… Even if tuition’s free, I can’t just rely on that~”

Come to think of it, she said her background is below regular household.

Wait, Teimon’s tuition is free…!?

No way. I read the prospectus thoroughly—no exemptions, and it’s not an amount a part-time job could cover.

That doesn’t change for recommendation… How does she think students can use all those facilities?

Guessing, the answer might be simple.

Her mother pays that huge tuition in their strict home but hasn’t told Kagurazaka.

Life’s still hard, so she’s trying to help her mom… by working part-time. That makes sense.

If that’s the case, I couldn’t snitch to school even without the promise.

“…Does Kano know? About the job and your situation.”

“If something happens, Kurumi covers for me…”

“She’s surprisingly nice.”

As expected from someone who saves the world in the future. Her heart is truly generous.

“I’m always asking favors, so as payment… can I consult you too?”

“Huh, what what? Spill.”

“How do you talk to a girl you like?”

It’s not because I felt petty compared to Kano or anything… but out of sympathy, she decides to teach me her weaknesses.

I need to toughen my mentality to get close to Shika anyway.

“Super interesting! Who’s the girl? Oh, Sasa?”

“I don’t want to say who. Anyway, not Sasa.”

“You call each other by first names and seem close?”

“Sasa treats commoners like me without discrimination. So without knowing she’s from a prestigious family, it just flowed that way.”

“I kinda get that… Sasa’s friendly even with the Nanamiya faction girls.”

Her personality changed, but we worked together in the previous life too.

By the way, the Nanamiya faction is the girls’ group centered on those under the Nanamiya Group.

Naturally, they’re rivals with the Kokonoe Group girls, but Sasa treats everyone equally.

The Kokonoe Group’s prestige is dazzling, and most students seem careful not to upset her.

“I see… Then that rumor is wrong.”

“Hm…?”

Rumor? Suspicious word.

“You didn’t know? The rumor that Sasa hugged Taiki from behind… like that.”

“…First I’ve heard.”

“You’re called the scumbag who’s toying with Sasa, but you okay?”

A completely false rumor is spreading. Not okay at all?

This makes romance advice impossible.

According to Kagurazaka, it’s still just among the girls, so probably not reached the boys yet.

If so, Ousei would have told me something.

Anyway, there are few guys… no, because there are few, I should connect with them soon.