Tanaka Masao, exhausted from the previous day, went to bed early after dinner.
The alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning, right on time.
Sore all over, Tanaka Masao dragged himself out of bed with difficulty.
He had originally planned to skip his morning jog, but then he thought of Yukinoshita Yukino.
Grinding his teeth, he washed up and headed to school.
When he arrived, he first stopped by the bathroom near the playground to change into his sportswear.
By the time he was ready and stepped onto the track, it was five minutes before seven.
He immediately spotted the beautiful figure standing at the edge of the playground and walked over.
"Good morning, Yukinoshita-san."
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded. "Good morning, Tanaka-kun. You're right on time."
"Kun? So I've successfully evolved from bacteria to human?"
"Of course," Yukinoshita smiled faintly.
"In recognition of your excellent performance in arriving on time, I'll temporarily allow you to evolve from bacteria to human."
"Temporarily? You mean I can still degenerate?"
"Of course. If you stop training, you'll soon revert back into Tanaka fungus."
With that, Tanaka Masao began jogging around the playground while Yukinoshita Yukino, knowing her own stamina was poor, chose to sit and watch instead.
Five minutes later, he returned to the starting point, breathing heavily.
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the time.
"Five minutes for one lap. Tanaka fungus, you've really exceeded my expectations. Guess how long it takes an average adult male to walk a thousand meters."
Panting, Tanaka Masao asked, "How long?"
"2 minutes. One lap around the track is 400 meters, which means your running pace is slower than a normal walking speed."
"What? That's impossible!" He widened his eyes in disbelief.
He admitted he was running slowly, but it was still running. How could it be slower than walking?
Ignoring his shock, Yukinoshita continued, "Since you've just started training, I'm not asking you to run fast. Even if it's slow, as long as you can keep moving for an hour, it's fine."
Encouraged, Tanaka Masao resumed jogging.
Though she hadn't asked for speed, he stubbornly tried to push himself faster. But before long, he couldn't keep it up and had to slow down again.
Yukinoshita Yukino noticed, but instead of commenting, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Weak as he is, at least he's motivated. That's not bad.
Twenty minutes later, Tanaka Masao's face was drenched with sweat and his breathing ragged.
Running was no longer possible, so he slowed to a walk.
After another twenty minutes, his legs felt like lead, each step heavier than the last.
By the end, in twenty whole minutes, he only managed a single lap.
Looking at the half-dead Tanaka Masao, Yukinoshita Yukino approached.
"Good work. That's enough exercise for this morning. Clean up and head back to class."
"Finally… it's over?"
Collapsing to the ground, Masao let out a long sigh of relief, gasping for air.
Dripping with sweat, he removed his glasses, revealing the eyes hidden behind them.
Yukinoshita Yukino gave them a quick glance before losing interest.
Just like his face, his eyes were plain. His chubby cheeks made them look even smaller, and from his unhealthy lifestyle, they were still bloodshot despite two days of rest.
After a short wait, once she saw he had recovered a little, she spoke again.
"Alright, you've regained some strength. Don't just sit there, get up.
By the way, you should eat alone at noon."
Supporting himself with his hands, Tanaka Masao staggered to his feet and nodded.
"I'll eat alone at noon."
"From now on, come to the Service Club for lunch. It's quieter there.
And I can keep an eye on your diet."
Tanaka Masao agreed. The Service Club really was a good place for lunch.
After that, he went to the bathroom, washed up, and changed into his school uniform.
When he stepped back out, he noticed Yukinoshita Yukino still nearby, though she should have left earlier. His heart was moved.
As expected of Yukinoshita Yukino. Cold on the outside, but warm and responsible at heart. She takes every request seriously.
"I need to work harder to lose weight too."
With someone pushing him forward, Tanaka Masao felt motivated like never before.
Back in the classroom, there were still thirty minutes before class, and only half the students had arrived.
He sank into his seat, leaning against the backrest, finally feeling a rare sense of comfort.
The training yesterday and this morning had drained him.
Not long after, as class was about to begin, Kawasaki Saki arrived late, sliding into the seat in front of him.
She yawned, clearly still half-asleep.
Kawasaki Saki really has it tough.
She had to care for her younger siblings at home and then work part-time after school.
Not to support her family, but to save tuition money so she could get into a good university.
Which meant every night, after returning home, she studied until late.
Kawasaki Saki works so hard, her grades must be excellent.
That thought reminded him of the original Tanaka's grades.
Because of the bullying, the original had grown to hate school and had almost given up studying.
He only managed to get into Sobu High by sheer luck, guessing a few multiple-choice questions correctly and barely scraping a pass.
Out of more than 180 students, he ranked dead last overall.
The only subject where he wasn't last was math; in everything else, he was at the very bottom.
(Hikigaya Hachiman, for instance, scored just 9 points in math—the lowest.)
But Tanaka Masao himself wasn't obsessed with grades.
In his previous life, he had already graduated from university and completed his education.
Now, transmigrated to another world and have a system, he simply listened in class and let his grades fall where they may.
By the end of the morning's four classes, he realized something surprising: he was actually quite capable.
Subjects like math and English were no problem at all, though history still gave him trouble.