"Please take care of me this May, Tetsu-kun~"
Immediately after that message, a sticker of a rabbit popped up, paw reaching toward the screen—probably a greeting.
It was ten o'clock at night. Watanabe Tetsu was doing math homework when his phone vibrated. A new LINE message appeared from the ID "koko."
Opening LINE, he saw the above message.
Watanabe Tetsu: Sorry, I'm studying right now.
Three seconds later, it showed "Read."
LINE was terrifying—especially that "Read" function. In group chats, it even showed how many people had seen a message, leaving no hiding place for lurkers.
koko: Tetsu, you're so diligent, that's amazing (^o^)/
Watanabe Tetsu: Well, the test is next week.
koko: Then I won't bother you. Good luck ()
Watanabe had already put his phone down but quickly edited another message: "You too—let's do our best together!"
Immediately came a "Mm-hmm" and a meaningless sticker, and Watanabe buried his head back in his studies.
Even though this was his second study session, aiming for first place was still extremely difficult. Not to mention that Rin Seino, normally at the top, had slightly higher intelligence than him.
He didn't absolutely have to be number one—he just needed a higher goal to keep pushing himself toward getting into Tokyo High School.
He studied until midnight. After finishing a set of chemistry problems, Watanabe stretched, turned off his desk lamp, and went to bed.
Every Friday, as a student, his body naturally brimmed with excitement—ah, tomorrow he could finally sleep in.
Since he was on duty today, he had arrived earlier than usual. The school was nearly empty, though the wind carried the faint sound of instruments from the band club.
Even with exams approaching, they were working so hard. Watanabe sincerely hoped they would do well at the Tokyo competition and earn a spot at nationals.
He found Tamamo Homami's locker and slipped in the envelope containing 150,000 yen. After finishing that task, he felt a deep sense of relief.
Now, he and Tamamo truly owed each other nothing.
Next came the duties for the day.
He first went to the office to get the key from Aona Koizumi, the part-time English homeroom teacher. He opened the classroom doors and windows, checked that the chalk supply was sufficient, and so on.
In winter or summer, he would also need to turn on the heaters or air conditioning.
With exams approaching, the normally leisurely teachers had slightly sped up their pace.
"Make sure you remember this problem—it will definitely be on next week's test!""Still sleeping? Do you even want to advance in school? I'm telling you, if your results are bad this time, we'll call your parents!""Everyone here got it, right? Let's move on."
Morning classes ended, and the first period in the afternoon was P.E.
The P.E. teacher briefly demonstrated setting, serving, and then the games began.
Watanabe couldn't understand why every single P.E. class had to involve a match.
"Tetsu, watch my monster dunk!"
Kunii Osamu leapt into the air, chest out, head high, abs flexed, arms bent and raised, his body forming a reverse-arch.
Watanabe struggled just to set the ball, let alone defend a monster dunk. He immediately stepped aside.
The volleyball crashed to the ground, rebounded violently, and slammed into the surrounding wire fence.
"Could you use a little less force?" Watanabe shouted.
On the other side of the net, Kunii struck a dramatic pose: "Listen, Tetsu! Volleyball means jumping for every ball, smashing down every chance you get!"
"Stop quoting Haikyuu! and trying to look cool, man!" Watanabe picked up the ball and served it properly.
"Ouch…"
The moment his hand hit the ball, sharp pain shot through his arm. Even using all his strength, the ball barely made it over the net and flopped weakly on his side.
Watanabe threw up his hands. "I give up."
"You just got on this court, and you're already giving up?"
Nearby, classmates lightly tapped the volleyball back and forth, but Kunii's booming voice drew all attention, making the two the focus of the court.
"Stop quoting anime lines so loudly!"
Unbearable. Full-blown middle-school chuunibyou, really.
P.E. ended. By the last class, Watanabe couldn't even twirl a pen coolly. Doing his post-class cleaning duty, his wrist trembled slightly.
This was why he hated sports: sweat aside, his whole body would ache the next day, leaving him unable to do anything.
"Just get used to it over time?" Who wanted that? A break in practice meant his body would revert, and no one could guarantee consistent effort.
Next P.E., he decided to pair with Saito again, thinking this on his way to the club building.
Sliding open the clubroom's door, he found Rin Seino completely absorbed in her book, blending seamlessly into the room—as if she were part of the furniture.
"Whatever you have to do, if you're coming, state your reason beforehand," the furniture—or rather, the girl—spoke.
"Sorry, I'm on duty today, so I'm a bit late," Watanabe said sincerely.
He hated making others wait and always tried not to. Even if someone was late without a valid reason, he'd get annoyed inside, even if he didn't say it.
Now, he felt dissatisfied with himself, warning that even joining a club just to comply with school rules required diligence.
"Looks like you didn't lie to avoid responsibility," Rin commented, neither forgiving nor scolding.
"You're supposed to hate liars, right? I don't want to keep earning your dislike."
Watanabe closed the sliding door, sat on the steel pipe chair he had located yesterday, and hung his bag at the corner of the long table.
"You start lying after two sentences—I have reason to question your personality."
"I'm joking, wait, that's just a joke," Watanabe protested.
Actually, he was testing whether he could complete the [Temporary Activity]. Even if he couldn't reach the one million points, he could at least try to earn the chance to buy [Mind Reading].
Rin Seino said nothing, merely closing her seemingly endless hardcover book, assuming a posture like she was ready for a meeting.
Watanabe had to admit, someone as cute as Rin could be captivating even without smiling or indulging in male humor.
But more than her looks, he was concerned with how to deceive her.
He respectfully acted as if attending a serious meeting, cultivating a professional atmosphere between them as preparation for the next move.
Rin may not have noticed—or she did and simply didn't care—her expression remained unchanged.
She pulled out a thick list. "This is a list of all Literature Club members. Write down those in your class, homeroom, and electives who belong to the club. Observe their reactions to you."
Homeroom combined two classes, electives meant art, music, or calligraphy; Watanabe chose art.
"Are you serious?" Watanabe said, staring at the thick list, which included names, classes, and photos.
Where even did she get this information?
Once again, he felt the darkness of capitalist society: forming a club was one thing, but personal data too?
"Even if your brain is only used for exams, at least remember your peers' names. It's the foundation for Human Observation Club activities," Rin said.
"But I haven't even memorized half my class yet."
That was an exaggeration—just a few inconspicuous classmates weren't committed to memory.
"Then take this chance to memorize every student in this school."
"Wh-what?"
The demand was so absurd Watanabe wondered if he'd heard correctly.
"As a member of Human Observation Club, remembering your peers is basic. Remembering all students is what makes you qualified." Rin pushed the list toward him.
"This… is a joke?"
The girl lightly flicked her straight, tidy hair, arms crossed, letting out a small laugh.
Fine, it wasn't a joke.
No email arrived from the game either; exaggerated lies had failed.
"And after observing their attitudes?" Watanabe asked, mentally organizing the names he had just memorized.
"See who gets frustrated, angry, resentful, or gives up when bested. Start by noting the proportions."
Watanabe looked up. "Feels like you just made that up."
"You just need to complete the tasks I assign." The girl crossed her arms, her gaze icy.
"Alright, whatever you say."
As the sunset bathed the room in orange, Watanabe finally memorized all his peers' names and faces—over an hour's work.
A simple Friday meeting turned into such a time sink… is this lying?
And the rigid club system—what's the point of making everyone join a club?
Does anyone actually believe students would seriously participate, enjoy youth, or learn a skill?
Watanabe tidied the list. "All memorized."
Rin Seino, still reading, gestured toward the corridor with her chin—he could leave?
Since he was already there and had wasted so much time, quitting now wasn't an option.
"Rin-san, I will surpass you in this test. I'll take first place."
"Hm?" Rin didn't lift her gaze from her book.
Her tone left Watanabe unsure if she was questioning why he hadn't left or why he suddenly issued a challenge.
"Maybe you don't know, but I entered school ranked third, and I've been working hard recently. I'm confident I can take first."
Rin looked at him, colder than before:
"You've been lying since a while ago. Testing my patience? Let me make it clear: I'm generally difficult to deal with. I have nothing to do with kindness. If you intend to use stupid tricks to deceive other girls on me, I advise you to give up."
Her sudden seriousness caught Watanabe off guard. He even wondered if he'd done something wrong.
"Sorry. I was just curious. I wanted to see if what you said about 'seeing through all lies' was true. Nothing else."
He hoped that was true, but wasn't entirely sure.
Though he wanted to complete the [Temporary Task], he still doubted Rin's ability. The rules made it clear: no task is impossible. Testing her seemed natural.
But now, even half-joking lies were detected. Could he only rely on drugs? And if so, where would he even get such convenient ones?
"You… you're the type who…" Rin's mouth curved slightly, terrifyingly without any warmth, "lie constantly."
"I lied just now?"
Rin's smile vanished, cold as ice. "You mean to suggest I lie?"
I… don't even know myself anymore, thought Watanabe.
"I think you could operate a lie detector for the police," he genuinely suggested.
"How much can one person change the world with effort? Also, my career path isn't your concern." Rin withdrew her cold gaze. "Can you leave? The stench of lies on you makes me uncomfortable."
"The stench of lies? Alright, I'll go for today."
Then the girl politely thanked him. Watanabe nearly doubted he actually smelled bad.