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Chapter 43 - Chapter 43: Going to the Rooftop

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"Achoo!"

Asakura, sitting in the classroom and being his usual low-key self, rubbed his nose.

He suspected he might have a cold; he had been sneezing non-stop since yesterday, which even led to an unsatisfactory result when brewing magic potions.

After his investigation a few days ago, he discovered that most of the ingredients for the Essence of Dittany could actually be gathered in reality, so he purchased all the materials through Amazon online and tried to see if he could brew a magic potion without relying on the materials provided by the system.

The result, of course, was failure.

None of the various magical reactions that should have occurred during the brewing of the magic potion happened. What Asakura ended up brewing was similar to a pot of spoiled mixed vegetable soup.

This made him somewhat troubled—if he could only rely on system-granted materials to make magic potions, what would be the difference between a magic potion and an non-renewable consumable?

But if that were truly the case, then why would the Nameless Magic Book specifically teach him how to make magic potions? Wouldn't it be simpler to just give him finished magic potions as rewards?

Could it be that this was simply something the system created to increase the failure rate? Like how web Games in the last era had success rates for upgrading equipment and so on...

Asakura always felt that something was off, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was for a while.

During this time, perhaps because his expression was too distorted and conflicted, he was called to the blackboard by Hiratsuka Shizuka to solve a problem.

Asakura quickly and perfectly finished the problem, then silently returned to his seat, still looking conflicted, which made Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had no excuse to make him stand in the hall, ache with frustration.

During lunch break, Asakura boredly munched on a bread he bought from the convenience store, his gaze unconsciously wandering around the classroom.

After acquiring the Magical Eye Kill and no longer needing to wear the overly chuunibyou eye patch, Asakura's presence-concealing level had increased, allowing him to blend in more effectively with ordinary students without being noticed. He no longer needed to run to less crowded places to eat lunch to avoid being disturbed by others.

At this moment, his gaze caught sight of a back.

The person's name was Hachiman Hikigaya, an inconspicuous boy with dead fish eyes.

The reason Asakura noticed him was because he knew from anime commercials in his group chat before he transmigrated that this guy was the male protagonist.

He had originally planned to observe the other party joining the Service Club and then catch up on the story from an outsider's perspective. However, even now, the male protagonist hadn't shown any reaction. Instead, he suddenly heard two days ago that this guy had been lured by the beauty of the tennis club president and joined the tennis club...

This made Asakura unable to help but cast a look of 'disappointment' at him recently: Male protagonist, you better take the plot seriously!

Suddenly, Asakura felt a jolt, sensing someone else's gaze.

He looked back and saw Yui Yuigahama furtively looking at him. Upon realizing she had been caught by Asakura, the girl stiffly turned her head and pretended to talk to the curly-haired blonde next to her.

Although this guy had joined the Magic Society, he hardly interacted with Asakura in the classroom during normal times, so Asakura couldn't help but be curious when he found the other party secretly looking at him.

But the other party also had her own circle, and Asakura didn't presumptuously go up and ask anything.

"Yo, what are you looking at, President?" While Asakura was still deep in thought, Yanami Anna suddenly came up to him, patted his shoulder, and asked.

"The meaning of life."

"That's too grand! It's not something a mere high school student should be able to see! Is this the President's new perspective after taking off his eye patch and putting on glasses?"

"Isn't it that Yanami's vision is too narrow?" Asakura retorted.

"Nonsense! From the school's convenience store to the convenience store by the slope, my, Anna, vision is very broad!"

"I heard (from Yui Yuigahama) there's a highly-rated all-you-can-eat pastry shop near the station."

"Alright, Anna's vision has expanded to the front of the station! Such a broad horizon, it's like an eagle, no, a phoenix!"

Doesn't only chasing after food make one a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of its eyes? Asakura thought to himself.

"Is it okay to talk to me? I remember you, Yanami, often hang out with the popular crowd, don't you? Talking to an gloomy outcast like me, won't your reputation in your group decline?"

"Who I talk to is my own business. Anna knows very well in her heart who are friends, who are enemies, and who are the opportunistic hussies who steal other people's childhood friends!"

Is that last one an existence that can be independent of friends and enemies?

"So, Yanami, you only came here to complain to me about the hussy?" Asakura said helplessly, "Also, that thick-cut fried pork cutlet sandwich was something I deliberately saved to eat last, don't secretly take it... And don't openly take it either!"

"Of course not. I remember you, President, are competing with Yukinoshita for the right to the clubroom, right?" Yanami Anna reluctantly returned the sandwich to Asakura, then picked the cheapest red bean bun.

"That's not the case at all." Asakura shook his head.

With the Association Clubroom, he had no interest in the Service Club's clubroom. The reason he stationed the superficial Chiba Magic Society there was simply to annoy Yukino.

"There you go again! You were so keen on the requests that came your way before, and I've noticed recently, President, you've been getting very close to Yuigahama, haven't you?"

Yanami Anna showed a cute, sly smile, like a little fox who had stolen a chicken: "So, the capable Anna has found a new request for the President! This way, our club's reputation will surely surpass the Service Club's, right?"

Asakura had a bit of a headache.

Indeed, although at first glance Yanami Anna seemed like nothing more than a gluttonous, talkative, abandoned loser, she actually had quite good popularity in class and possessed incredibly high initiative...

"What kind of request is it?" Asakura asked.

If it was just a small problem, helping out casually wouldn't matter. If it was troublesome... well, he'd just casually dump it on Yukino and let her help out.

"Huh, should we talk about it here?" Yanami Anna hesitated, "Well, it concerns the client's privacy, so I think it would be better to discuss it in a more private place."

"Alright, let's go to the rooftop then." Asakura packed up the plastic bag from the convenience store.

"Oh, oh, is the rooftop atmosphere more suitable for private matters?" Yanami asked excitedly.

"No, it's easier to fake a suicide when dealing with trouble on the rooftop."

"...!"

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