Okubo had been seen through entirely and insulted by someone he viewed as nothing more than a piece of trashy sc.u.m.

Okubo never considered… no, he’d never even imagined that such a day would come for him.

The impact he received was so enormous that his mind went completely blank. He was unable to think about anything; all he could do was s.h.i.+ver uncontrollably at the chill he felt.

It was as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Have you received so much of a shock that you can’t even speak anymore?" the voice asked mockingly. "So that’s your laughable limit. Okubo Yos.h.i.+aki, you know quite well that you’re not even close to a match for Natsuya Yoruhana in an honest, fair match!"

"Two years ago, she didn’t use any underhanded techniques and defeated you fair and square! Two years later, which is today, she’s even stronger than before, so there’s no way for you to defeat her directly, which is why you can only use sneaky underhanded tactics to try and catch her off guard."

"Honestly, your plot wasn’t bad at all… but you still ended up failing," Seiji said calmly. "Your final chance has disappeared with your failed plot, but you haven’t recognized this… Your twisted pride and arrogance have refused to allow you to admit this."

"But just because you refuse to admit it, reality won’t change just for your sake. Reality will simply show you reality, no matter if you accept it or not."

"Okubo Yos.h.i.+aki… you were defeated once before by Natsuya Yoruhana. This time, you will be defeated by her again. You’ll be defeated by her for eternity."

"You’ll never catch up to her in terms of power for your entire life, nor will you ever understand that even when you die, it’s because your so-called ‘divine child’ brain is basically now…"

Each and every sentence pierced into Okubo’s dazed brain painfully.

It evoked relentless waves of agony, like gla.s.s shards lacerating the inside of his head.

As for whatever final adjective Seiji said, he didn’t hear it clearly… he instinctively refused to hear it.

Seiji hung up on Okubo after that and put away his cell phone.

He then continued walking to s.h.i.+ka’s room, knocked on the door, and entered after she said: "come in".

"Brother Seiji…" s.h.i.+ka blinked in surprise as she greeted him. "Your expression… is a little scary."

Seiji raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I just had a phone call with an annoying fellow."

"Oh…"

"Don’t worry; it wasn’t a big deal." Seiji walked closer and offered his arm to her. "Let’s go eat breakfast together, s.h.i.+ka-chan."

"Okay," s.h.i.+ka answered happily, linking her arm with Seiji’s.

The duo walked together towards the dining hall.

"Today’s breakfast was personally made by me, you know."

"Eh…"

Seiji smiled. "Maybe it’s not as good as Houjou-senpai’s food, but it’s more than edible."

s.h.i.+ka eyes sparkled as she looked at Seiji. "Whatever Brother Seiji cooks… will definitely be delicious," she said in a serious tone.

Seiji scratched his face awkwardly. "Hah… I feel embarra.s.sed now."

 "Well, at least I believe it is," s.h.i.+ka added with a smile.

‘Objectively speaking, it’s probably not that delicious.’ That was left unsaid.

Fine then; at least s.h.i.+ka was an honest child!

He couldn’t help but reach out his hand and pat her on the head.

A light smile bloomed on s.h.i.+ka’s face.

The two of them soon reached the dining hall.

This was followed by the three of them eating breakfast together happily.

"I read Brother Seiji’s story last night; I think… it’s really just like Brother’s style."

"Ahh… What’s your overall impression? Did you enjoy it?"

"It was great… I enjoyed it so much." s.h.i.+ka flashed a movingly soft and gentle smile. "I believe that it’s a wonderful story!"

Seiji couldn’t find any words to say after seeing such a beautiful smile.

"That’s no good, Kagura-san. If you praise him too much, he’ll become arrogant." Mai entered the conversation with a frown. "You should be more objective."

"But… that’s what I really believe."

"Hmm… Then allow me to read Haruta-san’s story as well." Mai turned to the boy. "I’ll give you a fair and objective a.s.sessment, for Kagura-san’s part as well."

Seiji smiled. "It’ll be my pleasure to receive Senpai’s review."

He completely put that displeasing phone call behind him.

After breakfast.

Seiji returned to his room and emailed a copy of his story to Mai.

After that, he checked his system.

One night of [Visualization] had given him 5 extra points in [Spiritual Power]!

‘An excellent improvement, but I doubt it will continue to rise so quickly.’

From previous experience, he knew that his stats would improve faster when they were low and slow down when they were high.

Next, he chose [Spiritual Abilities]. There, he saw a new option called [Spells]!

The prerequisite for [Spells] was to have 15 points in [Spiritual Power].

When he chose [Spells] and looked at the options, there was only one choice called [Beginner-level Body Strengthening Spell], which was grayed out and unselectable.

According to the system’s explanation, the requirements for learning the basic body strengthening spell were—

[Read and fully comprehend a beginner-level body-strengthening technique manual or its equivalent—current progress 0%.]

[Accept training from someone who understands the [Beginner-level Body-Strengthening Spell] or above and completely comprehend their tutelage—current progress 0%.]

[44 points required to exchange for this ability.]

Seiji’s eyebrows twitched when he read this.

This was rather different from the abilities on the other item cards. Not only did it require points, it had two additional requirements.

Why did it need both points and these conditions? Or that is to say, why did he need to learn it both in real life and through his system?

And as for the points required… why exactly was it 44 points!?

Normally prices would be set at something like 40 or 45 points, but why was it 44?

Just what are you trying to say, system!?

Seiji couldn’t comprehend it.

44 points… This was an acceptable price; it was even cheaper than the abilities under the [Fighting] skill tree.

But as for these conditions… right, was it because of the other two requirements that the points required were lower?

If it weren’t for the two requirements, and he only exchanged points for this ability, just how strong would the [Beginner-level Body-Strengthening Technique] be?

Seiji pondered on it.

It was incalculable until he learned just how strong the body-strengthening spell was.

As for exactly what this spell did, the only explanation the system had was [a spell that greatly increases the user’s physical abilities. Beginner level.]

Just how much do you want to skimp on the word count?

Seiji began seriously considering whether or not to learn this spell after commenting on the situation… 

'No, I have to learn it.'

 This appeared to be the most basic spell, so it was a necessary requirement! What he needed to consider wasn’t whether or not to learn it, but if he wanted to learn it right away, and how.

Even though he could learn it later, he figured that it was best to learn the basics early for a solid foundation. He was unsure how difficult the two requirements would be to achieve… If it was difficult, then it was all the more important that he began as soon as possible.

Yep, he decided to learn this spell as soon as possible! As for how to learn it… he could probably borrow a manual on this from Natsuya, and for his teacher… s.h.i.+ka-chan was a perfect choice!

He needed to think about how to ask Natsuya to borrow a technique manual…

‘Ugh, when is she going to return?’

Seiji yawned as he kept thinking.

He decided to take a rest. Last night’s [Visualization] was similar to dreaming, but it wasn’t real sleep, so he was rather tired.

‘Wait! Before I go to sleep, I should sign the story contract and mail it out.’

He slept till noon.

Seiji left his room, found Mai, and from her, he gleaned that Natsuya had returned and was in her study.

Seiji thus walked to the third floor and knocked on her door.

He entered after receiving her permission.

He saw that the president was sitting on the chair behind her desk. When he came in, she smiled and turned around to look at him.

Seiji returned her smile with one of his own as he greeted her. "Judging from how you seem… your negotiations met with great success."

"Yep, they were a lot more successful than I expected. The duel’s format was as I expected, but apart from that, I received many advantageous conditions."

"Just as I thought." Seiji observed her face intently. "You’d never lose in a direct duel against that type of guy… Not only that, you’d achieve a great victory."

"I’m glad that I didn’t betray your trust." Natsuya’s face flushed slightly red as she averted her gaze.

A moment of silence fell between them.

"Actually, Okubo Yos.h.i.+aki gave me a phone call," Seiji said honestly. "He tried to get me to come over to his side and do something for him, but I refused."

Natsuya looked directly at him. "That sounds like just how he’d struggle… Thank you, Haruta-kun."

"No need for thanks; I told you before that I’d stick by your side."

The two of them exchanged smiles.

"I also used this opportunity to ask him some questions and confirmed that he is an absolute complete b.a.s.t.a.r.d." Seiji walked up to her desk. "Would you like to hear the details?"

Natsuya shook her head. "I can guess at what he said, so it’s not necessary."

"Then I’ll stop thinking about it, since that phone call was really unpleasant… The only part that I enjoyed was being able to guess that you were successful in your negotiation." Seiji rubbed his chin. "I won’t ask about the details—all I want to know is this: how soon can I beat him up… I mean, how soon can I deal with him?"

"Soon." An indescribable light flashed through Natsuya’s eyes. "This will all be over before the school festival."