Chapter 64: All Sorts of Complications
"Phew, finally made it. Life in the 2D world is way too addicting—makes you forget about coming back. But seriously, only 2:1 time flow? Coming and going in such a rush feels exhausting as hell."
The moment Takumi stepped back into the real world, the warning bell rang. He hurried back to school and dropped into his seat. Barely catching his breath, a faint whoosh cut through the air. On pure instinct he snatched the paper ball out of the air and glanced over—Haruto was waving at him like an idiot.
"What the hell is that lolicon bastard up to now…?"
Takumi unfolded the note, read it, crumpled it back up without a word, then lobbed it in a perfect arc straight into the trash can in the corner.
"What's wrong? Aoki-kun seemed really desperate to find you. Is something important going on?"
"Nothing. Ignore him. Probably water got in his brain or something. Passing notes to a guy? Screw that—if I actually replied, tomorrow I'd wake up an official member of the 'bromance squad.'"
Takumi shrugged it off casually. Yuu seemed to get the joke and let out a light, bell-like giggle. He turned to her with a gentle smile.
"You look really cute when you laugh. Do it more."
Yuu's cheeks instantly flushed. She quickly turned her head away so he couldn't see her face.
A faint, unfamiliar fragrance drifted over. Thanks to repeatedly channeling magical power to sharpen his five senses, Takumi's sense of smell had become ridiculously keen. Yuu definitely had her own soft scent, but this was different. He glanced sideways—and golden hair filled his vision.
The Golden Sparkling Ojou-sama.
What caught him wasn't just her beauty (though that was plenty distracting on its own). It was the hair accessory. Ryūko and Yuu both usually let their hair flow free—no clips, no ties, nothing. Yet after just one short hour in the real world, a slender red ribbon now bound a single lock on the right side of Ryūko's golden mane. Not a full ponytail—just that one strand pulled back, adding a touch of unexpected cuteness to her usual icy aura.
What really made Takumi's stomach twist was the metal charm sewn onto the ribbon: a full-metal, raw-finish, knuckle-sized Ahri figure.
He opened his mouth. "Hey, Ryu—"
"Is something the matter, Takumi-kun?"
Ryūko's voice was cool and distant as always. Every tiny movement she made drew every eye in the class. Suddenly the whole room was staring. Takumi gave a helpless chuckle.
"Nah, nothing. Just… your hair ribbon looks really nice."
"Thank you."
She gave a small, polite nod—warm yet still carrying that signature chill—then walked past with her faint floral scent trailing behind.
Takumi was dying inside.
Yuu spoke up quietly. "Takumi, did something happen between you and Ryūko-san?"
"It's nothing, really."
He forced a smile and pulled out his phone, staring at the empty spot where the charm used to dangle.
[After class I've gotta swing by the discount supermarket in the department store basement. Sigh… wonder if they still sell raw titanium Ahri charms. Empress gave me that for my tenth birthday. She saved up for months collecting empty drink bottles to trade for it—didn't ask Mom or Dad for a single yen. If she finds out I lost it… I don't even wanna think about what she'll do.]
The real problem was what happened at noon. To help Ryūko deal with that sleazy thug, he couldn't find a decent rock—so he'd yanked the metal charm off his phone and beaned the guy with it.
And now… the delicate little charm carefully hand-stitched onto Ryūko's silk ribbon was unmistakably the exact same raw titanium Ahri.
No mistaking it.
How the hell was he supposed to ask for it back?
The class bell rang. Extinction Tyrant marched in right on time, a thick stack of test papers in her arms.
"Pop quiz this period. Put your textbooks away."
"No way—seriously? I haven't reviewed at all lately!"
"I'm screwed… pulled an all-nighter yesterday, been half-dead since lunch. Can't focus for crap."
"Sudden tests are literally the worst nightmare."
"Quiet. hand out the papers. Ryūko, take group one. Takumi, group two. Someone-or-other, group three…"
Takumi had been stressing—until Ryūko placed the test on his desk. Then all his earlier worries vanished, instantly replaced by something far more terrifying.
"Calculus?! Are you kidding me? I'm a liberal arts student! Why the hell do we have to take this?! Damn you, Newton—you've been dead for centuries and you're still torturing people!"
Math and science had always been Takumi's mortal enemies. Lately he'd been too busy indulging in the 2D world to even glance at a textbook. Now his brain cells were literally screaming. Even channeling magical power to boost cognition only helped so much. Magic was versatile, but not omnipotent.
He wasn't the only one suffering. Half the class was chewing on pen caps, faces twisted in agony. Meanwhile, Yuu next to him was breezing through, pencil scratching away happily.
Takumi considered sneaking a peek.
Pride stopped him.
The test dragged on for two full periods. With magical enhancement barely keeping him afloat, Takumi somehow scraped together most of the answers—whether they were right or not was anyone's guess.
Extinction Tyrant checked her watch.
"Eighty minutes up. Hand in ten minutes early to make up for the ten minutes I kept you after last time. But no one leaves until the final bell—don't disturb the other classes. collect the papers in the same order."
"Eighty minutes already? Damn, time flew."
"Flew? Felt like years to me. These questions were insane."
"Did we accidentally walk into an International Math Olympiad or something?"
"I'm done for. Retake city, here I come."
Ryūko was in charge of Group A—Takumi's group. She reached his desk quickly. Yuu had already turned hers in.
Takumi looked up at Ryūko with a miserable expression.
"Um, Ryūko-san… in this endless hell of an exam, this paper and I have spent eighty long years together. We've bonded. Can't I just… keep it a little longer? I'm almost done, I swear—just a tiny bit more."
"What do you think?"
She gave him a dazzling smile—like sunlight flashing off gold—and it nearly blinded him.
Defeated, Takumi reluctantly handed it over with exaggerated reluctance.
Just hours ago he'd been an invincible force dominating the tennis court in the 2D world.
Now a mere written test had crushed him.
"Sigh… when am I gonna get a super-smart girlfriend with a built-in study-cheat ability?"
Takumi sank back into brooding.
Yuu spoke softly beside him.
"Takumi, yeah, this test was pretty tough—but it didn't actually go beyond second-year scope. If you have to retake it and there's anything you don't understand… I can help you study."
Takumi's eyes lit up.
[Holy crap, jackpot! A kind, beautiful, academically gifted girl literally fell from the heavens into the seat next to me and I never noticed?! Thank you, merciful Goddess of Mercy! Yuu, retake study sessions are officially in your hands!]
He grabbed her hand in excitement.
Yuu blushed furiously.
"Takumi-kun… I know you're talented. You're amazing at music—you're nothing like a boring bookworm exam machine like me. I've always admired that about you. Back in second year of middle school, at the New Year's party… the song you sang in falsetto was really beautiful. So don't put yourself down, okay?"
"Wait—hold on. We went to the same middle school?"
"Same school, yeah. I was just… really easy to overlook. You probably never noticed me."
"Seriously? Sorry about that."
Takumi apologized immediately.
A cough came from behind.
Haruto's voice drifted over.
"Hey hey, tone it down a bit. Confessing in front of the whole class? You've got guts."
Only then did Takumi realize he was still holding Yuu's hand. He let go fast. Yuu's face turned even redder; she frantically started organizing her stationery.
Takumi shot a glare over his shoulder.
"What do you want now? I remember we're about equally hopeless at studying. You're not even worried about retakes?"
"Of course I'm worried! But there's something way more important right now. Your Majesty… you're in deep shit."
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