When Shirase heard Kojima Kana bring this up, he immediately understood.
The nickname "Shirase Haruto, the Discipline Machine" wasn't new to him. Even Hayama Hayato had gently reminded him once or twice: "First-years don't need to push themselves so hard. Pay attention to your health."
Naturally, no one else knew that his intense daily studying was carried out entirely through [Fixed Hosting].
Partly, it was because he genuinely wanted to improve himself, and partly, he was impatient to unlock the [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery].
Especially when it came to memorizing vocabulary, [Fixed Hosting] was practically a godsend.
It reminded him of playing Arknights in his past life—setting up predetermined steps, then just letting the hosted self carry them out mindlessly.
During hosted sessions, his brain could drift freely, daydreaming or thinking about anything he liked.
As for math problems, that was something he genuinely enjoyed.
Sure, encountering a tricky problem would leave him scratching his head. But when he finally broke through and solved it, while everyone else around him was still groaning in frustration—that sense of superiority was unbelievably satisfying.
Even more satisfying than piecing together the plot of Nezha.
Because of this, both his classmates and teachers had quickly labeled him as the "Discipline Machine."
Knowing Kana was simply concerned about him, Shirase smiled and said, "You're right, I do want to push myself harder. Actually, if possible, I want to aim to become first place in the whole school on future exams."
"So… you're aiming to surpass Yukinoshita Yukino in your class?" Kana asked.
Shirase nodded.
He was practically burning himself out studying already. If his grades still failed to rise after this effort, he had only himself to blame.
"I'm happy you're determined to study," Kana said seriously. "But no matter what, your health comes first. Don't pile unnecessary stress on yourself."
"I understand. Thank you."
"No need to thank me." Kana proudly puffed out her chest, shoveling food into her mouth between words. "Though your big sister here is definitely an adult, I'm willing to treat you as my equal. No matter what problems you have in the future, you can always come consult me. After all, adults naturally know more things than you teenagers. Who knows, maybe you'll end up learning a lot from me."
"Why do I feel like that sounded kind of suspicious?" Shirase raised an eyebrow.
Kana froze, her beautiful face suddenly flushing bright red. Still pretending to be composed, she forced herself to straighten up proudly. "I mean—even if you're curious about… adult topics, I can properly teach you about them!"
"Really now?" Shirase stared at her, eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Y-yes, of course!" Kana's face was scorching hot, but she bravely held his gaze.
But barely three seconds later, she nearly crumbled.
Knowing how thin-skinned she was, Shirase looked away first. "Alright. If I encounter a problem I can't solve, I'll definitely come to you."
"That's exactly how it should be!"
Kana secretly let out a sigh of relief, thinking she'd nearly given herself away. Thank goodness she hadn't fully exposed herself as a shameful elder.
After dinner, Kana volunteered to handle dishwashing duty.
Shirase lounged on the sofa for a while, and just as he stood up, ready to return to his room for another hosted session, Kana's voice came drifting from the kitchen: "By the way, Haruto-kun, next time you visit the Nakano house, remember to bring along a small gift. Nakano-san takes good care of you, after all."
"Got it," Shirase responded lazily.
Returning to his room, Shirase opened his music app, pressed play, and started a hosted training session.
Mainly push-ups and sit-ups.
Back when he didn't have a system, jogging had been his only form of exercise.
Now that he had hosting, the range of exercises he was willing to do had expanded dramatically.
Just as he was working up a sweat in his room, the door suddenly swung open. Kana peeked her head inside.
The self-proclaimed adult woman instantly froze at the sight of Shirase doing push-ups shirtless.
Shirase was still growing, so he wasn't ripped like those hardcore gym-goers. But at least he had maintained a regular exercise habit, and his body already had clearly defined muscle lines. The sight of him shirtless unexpectedly caused Kana's face to flush.
"Did you need something, Kana-nee?" Shirase paused the hosting, glancing at her questioningly.
"N-no… Nothing. You're exercising, huh? Then I won't disturb you." Kana quickly retreated in panic.
As soon as the door shut, she stood in the living room patting her burning cheeks. "Kojima Kana, you really are lonely to the point of insanity. You see him as your little brother, how could you possibly have weird thoughts after seeing his muscles?"
Her mind spinning with awkward thoughts, Kana decisively headed for a cold shower.
Ah, youth. Her body was still young, but her thoughts had clearly grown too impure—thus she needed to cool down.
...
Before heading to bed, Kana casually mentioned to Shirase: "Yesterday, Nakano-san called. I suspect he's trying to find a tutor for his daughters. He specifically asked about your grades and gently hinted that all five of his daughters were doing terribly academically. They might even risk repeating a year."
Shirase wasn't at all surprised.
As for why he'd ranked only slightly above average on the entrance exam, that had been purely because the system had given him too little time. His transmigration had been rushed, forcing him to cram like mad at the last second, flipping through textbooks and scouring the internet while desperately hosting himself to exhaustion.
Now, however, his knowledge base was steadily expanding. His earlier comment to Kana about "becoming first place in the school" hadn't been mere bravado.
He genuinely meant it.
The next morning, Shirase arrived at school on time. On his way to class, as usual, he noticed plenty of students stealing glances or whispering about him. Thankfully, fewer and fewer people actively approached him for conversation compared to when school first started.
Exactly what he wanted.
I'm already hosting my entire life, so please just leave me alone to manage my own time.
As time ticked by, students gradually filled the classroom.
Hayama Hayato walked in with Miura Yumiko. Their arrival immediately sparked enthusiastic greetings from classmates, which Hayama responded to warmly, ever the sunny and friendly boy.
Today, however, Hayama didn't head for his seat. Instead, he approached Shirase directly.
"Still no new recruits in the soccer club yesterday?" Hayama asked gently.
Flipping through the math workbook he'd bought, Shirase nodded without looking up. "Same old."
Hayama sighed. "The baseball and basketball teams at this school both had great success before. Only the soccer club gets worse each year. People are probably losing interest."
Originally, Shirase had only joined the club to make up numbers, thanks to Hayama's persuasion.
Now, Hayama himself had been dragged into the club with Shirase, both stuck with this dying soccer team.
Normally, the club captain enthusiastically tried recruiting new members, while Shirase and the others took turns staffing the clubroom to welcome anyone interested.
Yet, after so many days, since Shirase and Hayama had joined, no fresh blood had appeared.
"That club captain you mentioned, isn't he already a third-year?" Miura Yumiko butted in, unwilling to stay left out. She discreetly eyed Shirase, clearly curious about this infamous Discipline Machine.
Hayama nodded. "Yeah, it's his final year. You can tell he's desperate to achieve something in the high school league."
Shirase, still staring down, remarked flatly, "Reality isn't a shounen manga. He's unlikely to find his Sakuragi Hanamichi or Rukawa Kaede in time."
Hayama blinked, then chuckled. "Still, you've got to try. I'll help find a solution. Giving up without even trying would be too pitiful."
"True." Shirase finally raised his eyes, meeting Hayama's gaze head-on. "As the saying goes: if you don't even have the courage to charge straight ahead, how could you earn the right to quit halfway?"
Hayama slowly formed a question mark over his head.
Something sounded deeply wrong about that line—but strangely enough, it also seemed to make sense.