Before heading to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner, Yuu called Asuna, informing her that the issue was completely resolved and that person would no longer bother her from now on.
Asuna, of course, had many questions and was worried whether Yuu had compromised with Sugou to achieve this result—perhaps imagining a scenario like, "You can do anything to me, just let him go!" like a betrayed victim. Her tone grew anxious and angry.
Hearing this, Yuu could only console her with a wry smile and a few words, and only then did Asuna finally feel relieved.
As for the detailed process, Yuu didn't explain, and Asuna didn't press. They quickly moved past the topic, pushing Sugou far out of their minds, and shifted to discussing future plans.
For the autumn festival next weekend, Yuu was busy with club activities, so he couldn't accompany the Yuuki mother and daughter around the school. He could only tell Asuna the auditorium's location and the club performance schedule in advance so she could bring Kyouko to watch his performance.
Compared to Yuu, who was focused on the upcoming weekend, Asuna seemed more preoccupied with the distant future—like their next date, whether they'd attend the same university, and so on.
As if unafraid of her mother opposing their relationship and already determined to be with him, Asuna enthusiastically envisioned their future together.
Hearing this, Yuu only responded perfunctorily, with no intention of delving deeper into the topic. Talking about the future with Asuna, who would eventually forget everything, would only make him suffer more when recalling it later.
If the weekend plans didn't work out, only then would Yuu consider whether to go on a few more dates with Asuna or even visit her directly—and until then, he just wanted to count down to their inevitable parting.
For now, Asuna's smile was enough for him to see, and he was already deeply satisfied.
What Yuu needed to do now was to end this happy smile perfectly as soon as possible and move on to the next phase alone.
Before his thoughts wavered, before he grew even more reluctant to part.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Back home, after having dinner with Sora, Yuu went to his room. Since the stage shifted from the game to the real world, the system rewarded him almost daily—especially during flirting in class, walking her home, and holiday dates. As a boyfriend, he clearly met Asuna's expectations perfectly.
Cash rewards were a given, piling up in his account, making him a millionaire in less than two months—but when his mindset shifted from grinding to pursuing his own goals, the money became mere numbers, no longer something he obsessed over or the source of his efforts.
Skills and statuses were far more important.
Whether due to luck or the system toying with him, most of the skills triggered by Asuna were duplicates. Now, most Proficient-level skills had been synthesized into Expert-level, and many Expert-level skills were one step away from Perfect.
Skills like skiing, gymnastics, vocals, and various ball sports… a wide variety, all upgraded to Expert, leaving only two or three Proficient skills at the bottom of the panel.
It was like playing a single-player game with cheat codes, giving an unreal feeling—how could he gain Expert-level skills without spending much time?
Things obtained too easily ultimately aren't valued as much.
Yuu shook his head, lifting his gaze to the top of the list.
Perfect-level skills were still just Acting… but if he kept training like this, perhaps Cooking and Swordsmanship could reach Perfect through his own efforts, right?
After all, these two skills were the ones he practiced most daily, and with Expert-level Learning, they were also the ones he reflected on and improved the most.
Numerically, they should be at 90% of Expert level, just waiting for a future opportunity to reach Perfect without system assistance. Unfortunately, no matter how much he trained now, the experience bars barely moved, which was slightly frustrating.
Still, Expert-level skills were sufficient for most situations, so there was no need to be too picky.
Looking at the full skill list now, Yuu felt something called confidence.
This was also why he dared propose that plan, which was akin to putting himself on a pyre—through this Autumn Club Festival, he could also gauge just how abnormal he had become.
Lastly, the statuses.
Besides Execution of Justice, Asuna had given him three single-use statuses during this period. Since they were all useless, Yuu tossed them into the synthesis furnace to try his luck after washing his hands and face.
The system's voice soon sounded:
Congratulations, Host has obtained the status: I Predict Your Moves
I Predict Your Moves: Select a specific target. When the target has a strong intent to act, you can preempt them and complete the action first.
Note: The preemptive timing is uncertain, depending on the action's complexity and the target's urgency.
Frowning, Yuu muttered with a strange expression, "Another status with a confusing explanation…"
His thumb tapped the desk as he decided to experiment on his sister first—after all, she was in the next room, and this wasn't a dangerous status.
Thinking of Sora's face, the system soon provided a prompt:
(This time, I'll defeat that armored warrior!)
Indeed, Sora's strongest thought right now was… completing a game.
"My sister, that's so you."
Shaking his head helplessly, after selecting and activating the target, the system gave another prompt:
After use, the Host will appear in Kasugano Sora's room, seize her controller, and complete the game before her.
"…What the heck?"
It could even teleport and forcibly control his body?
Stunned for a moment, Yuu firmly chose to refuse—no matter how rough a brother he was, he couldn't do something that cruel.
"Could it be I finally got unlucky and synthesized an even more useless status?"
Sighing, the system updated Sora's thoughts.
This time, it was…
(I can't, I need to use the bathroom before playing!)
It seemed Sora wanted to go to the bathroom before gaming.
After use, the Host will preempt the target, appear in the second-floor bathroom, and suddenly feel the urge to urinate.
Yuu touched his chin, pondering for a moment.
Hearing the sound of the next room's door opening, driven by experimental curiosity, he finally approved the status's use.
The next second, as if King Crimson erased time or DIO stopped it and moved him, in the blink of an eye, the clean, fragrant bathroom of his home appeared before him—the light was even already on.
Yuu stood in front of the toilet, bewildered, suddenly feeling the urge to pee.
Before he could react, two knocks came at the door, followed by the girl's hesitant voice.
"…Yuu?"
"Sorry, it's occupied!" Yuu answered instinctively, then his brain kicked in. He unzipped his pants, raising his voice to cover the sound of water hitting the toilet.
"Use the downstairs bathroom."
"Oh… okay." Standing at the door, the girl seemed puzzled. "By the way, Yuu, when did you come out to use the bathroom? Why didn't I hear your door?"
Hearing the splashing, Yuu answered honestly, "I teleported here!"
"…"
As if joining the system's silence, Sora didn't respond, as if too lazy to entertain his nonsense, quietly heading downstairs.
Yuu, in the bathroom, shook twice, zipped up his pants, and firmly sentenced the status to a suspended death penalty.
"It feels useless and might even control my body… Better not use it too often."
With all his trump cards set, everything was ready, just waiting for the east wind.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The next day.
September 15, Monday.
Yuu arrived at school in the morning, dropped his bag, and headed straight to the staff room to talk to Hiratsuka about the autumn festival.
Seeming to want a comfortable place to talk, Hiratsuka didn't answer immediately, instead leading him to the guidance counseling room first.
When Yuu closed the door, he turned to see the delinquent teacher lounging in her chair, legs propped up shamelessly, a women's cigarette dangling from her mouth.
"Sensei…" His expression turned helpless.
"I'm not lighting it, okay?"
Cutting off his lecture as quickly as possible, Hiratsuka bit the cigarette filter, scratching her hair in frustration. "Ugh, I got to school and suddenly craved a smoke. Nothing I can do… Let me just smell it, pretend you didn't see."
Pulling up a metal chair, Yuu calmly delivered a brutal declaration: "Seriously, if you don't quit smoking, you won't have a boyfriend even past forty."
"Urk!"
Hiratsuka froze instantly, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She looked at the cigarette pinched between her fingers, then at Yuu, who seemed to state an undeniable fact. After hesitating and struggling for a while, she finally lowered her head, sighing heavily.
"…You're right, I get it."
"Let me chew on it first. I'll quit smoking starting tomorrow… no, later!"
Saying this, Hiratsuka's eyes grew resolute, as if she'd truly made up her mind.
"…Heh."
Yuu only smirked, clearly unconvinced.
Her attitude was exactly like someone too lazy to get out of bed in winter. Despite promising to rise when the alarm rings, they turn off a dozen alarms and stay wrapped in warm blankets—just self-deception.
Of course, Yuu wasn't arrogant enough to think he could fix Hiratsuka's human flaws with a lecture; he only reminded her a bit upon seeing her, a courtesy he owed his teacher.
After they sat across from each other, without further ado, Yuu crossed his arms on the table, getting to the point:
"Hiratsuka-sensei, do you have the list of clubs holding Challenge Activities at this autumn club festival?"
Challenge Activities—a tradition of the Autumn Club Festival.
On that day, many booths would offer challenge projects related to their clubs to attract those yet to join or those intrigued by the club's uniqueness. Activities, rules, and rewards were all designed by the students.
This not only drew attention but also showcased the appeal of club activities, a more engaging promotional method.
"There is…" Hiratsuka glanced at him, puzzled, turning to rummage through a cabinet behind her for a folder. "I'm telling you, are you really going to do something that arrogant?"
Yuu spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless. "You also want to say I'm unrealistic, just having a chuunibyou phase?"
"Nonsense, any normal person would think that… But you, your recent changes make it hard for me to jump to conclusions."
Placing a stack of documents in front of him, Hiratsuka crossed her arms, observing him, her brows slowly furrowing.
"Tenkuji, even though you're truly versatile, a hundred times better than Yukinoshita… have you considered the consequences?"
"Hm? I'd like to hear the details." While picking up the documents and reading, Yuu raised an eyebrow, showing curiosity.
Hiratsuka sighed, her slender fingers tapping the desk, her voice clear.
"It's simple. Whether you perform under the Service Club's name or not, in front of everyone—teachers, students, and outside participants—you'll single-handedly defeat the clubs holding challenge activities, trampling them all."
"Have you ever thought about what others witnessing this will think?"
Yuu set down the documents, meeting Hiratsuka's eyes, and asked slowly, as if confirming, "You mean, if I do this, everyone in the clubs will be looked down on?"
"Simply put, yes," she pursed her lips. Hiratsuka pinched her cigarette between her fingers, looked up, and exhaled deeply, without a hint of tension. "Some might think, why are Sobu High's clubs so weak? They set up challenge activities, yet so many clubs get consecutively beaten by one ordinary student. The result isn't just lower club participation but could even cause a drop in student admissions…"
"Ahem, Sensei, I think you've misunderstood two things."
Before she finished, Yuu cut her off with a slight chuckle.
"Two things?"
Hiratsuka looked down, confused, meeting his calm, confident smile.
"First, the so-called challenges don't mean I'll crush them like breaking eggs… On the contrary, I need to be careful not to flip and make my plan a joke, embarrassing myself in front of that Yukinoshita woman."
Yuu raised one finger:
"Like the Cooking Research Club's president, Yukihira Soma—his Mapo Tofu's deliciousness is only slightly below mine. If I don't go all out, there's a chance I could accidentally lose, and that'd be a huge joke."
"After all, when I proposed this plan, it meant I can't lose and mustn't lose."
Hiratsuka froze, as if processing his words, silent for a moment.
"…Well, you could say you've earned that," she sighed. "When did you compete in cooking with someone from the cooking research club? Why didn't I know?"
"Last Friday after school. I'll explain later. Also, I don't intend to blame my choices on others." Yuu shrugged casually, continuing from earlier:
"If those clubs can show enough skill to compete, in everyone's eyes, even if they lose to me, no one will look down on them… After all, being underestimated isn't because the opponent's too strong but because you're too weak and seem unable to fight back."
"Conversely, if there are clubs like that, I can't do much either. I can only try not to pick them for the challenge activities… Bullying the weak won't create a good event effect."
"Tch, so arrogant. That line."
Hiratsuka couldn't help but click her tongue, sounding a bit disgusted but with a face full of admiration and approval, as if she wanted to pat his shoulder and loudly say, "You did great!"
Feeling the shonen manga vibe, Yuu spread his hands with an innocent expression.
"I'm just stating facts. Where's the arrogance?"
Hiratsuka smirked slyly, raising her fist. "Your tone and attitude are so arrogant I want to punch you, you know?"
Yuu paused, deciding not to argue with this old single woman.
"…Anyway, I'm not wrong, right?"
Hiratsuka thought for a moment, then nodded slowly in agreement.