When the two students passed by Wernher and saw his face, a slight shock surfaced on their faces.
“That guy just now. Wasn’t that Braun? The problem child of the Technology Class?” Ryou said.
“You mean the
Ryou was surprisingly informed on the people within the school, while Tomoe was surprisingly rude.
But of course, while the rumors surrounding Wernher weren’t exactly mistaken…
“Despite the rumors, he’s actually a brilliant engineer, you know. He knows how to read the air, he has a good sense for things too, moreover, he knows his place, so he won’t do anything stupid. He’s a decent guy,” Shinichi said.
But when Shinichi nonchalantly joined in on their conversation, the two of them couldn’t help but look at each other.
And then with a difficult face, take their seats and say.
“Look, the number one guy who doesn’t act how he looks is saying something,” Ryou said.
“Seriously, you look so harmless and innocent, and yet… I knew it, you really are a fraud,” Tomoe said.
“Ahaha, but thanks to that, people I meet for the first time look down on me, so it’s actually a huge help,” Shinichi said.
Tomoe complained to Shinichi, but as it turns out, he was aware of his harmless face, and even boldly confessed that he was benefiting from it. Ryou and Tomoe were speechless.
Once again, they were reminded just how hard it was to take the initiative from this guy.
“So, you said you had a question for me regarding the exam…” Shinichi said.
“Yeah, but can we change places? It’s a matter pertaining to ‘that’ exam, so a place with too many people like this is…” Tomoe said with the implication that a crowded place like this was troublesome for both sides.
But before Shinichi could even reply, that came.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, here’s your Spaghetti Meat Sauce, Japanese-style salad, Cheese Hamburger, large serving of fried potato, and large rice,” the waitress said.
“Thank you,” Shinichi said.
A waitress had brought enough food to form a mountain.
And then after arranging the various dishes on the table, she took away the empty plates.
“Is everything in order?”
“20 minutes later, please bring me a shiratama zenzai and green tea ice cream.”
“…Will do.”
Although the waitress smiled in the end, that smile seemed to be twitching.
But then again, perhaps Ryou and Tomoe were merely imagining it.
Regardless, their disbelief at Shinichi’s appetite was all too clear on their eyes.
For the meantime, they decided to order some drinks, so they could have an excuse to sit.
“You sure can eat. It’s not even lunch yet,” Tomoe said.
“I was really busy these past few days. My body won’t be able to keep up if I don’t eat when I can and get those calories. My Stamina limit is really low, so I run out of stamina easily. If I don’t stock up on calories, when the time comes, I won’t be able to move,” Shinichi said.
When she made a comment about Shinichi’s appetite, the mountain of potatoes was already starting to disappear.
But while Shinichi may have given his response nonchalantly, he was actually telling the truth, and his lack of total stamina was in fact a problem that he had to deal with.
Despite his exceedingly high Skill, his stamina was just too lacking.
Eating was able to recover mana, but without enough calories, the body would weaken, so it’s hard to balance it right.
To prevent any problems down the line, he would thoroughly refuel by eating a lot of food like this.
Unfortunately, eating at the school cafeteria would end up sending the bill to the Nakamura family, so from time to time, he would eat like a glutton with his own money.
“In other words, you want to eat, so you’re not moving, right?” Ryou said.
“Yeah, also, this place isn’t covered by the security camera here, and also can’t be seen from outside… At most, you have the people around us,” Shinichi said.
Despite rejecting their proposal, he sent a meaningful gaze to Tomoe, saying that since they couldn’t be seen by the cameras or from outside anyway, they should be the ones to fold.
“Sigh, okay, I got it… I came here to talk about this anyway, so…” Tomoe agreed, then while seemingly apologizing someone, she formed a hand seal and brought it close to her mouth, and then with a short chant, slid the hand seal through the air.
In the next moment, a half-transparent barrier, that could only be seen by those with the power, was erected around their table.
Suddenly, all the attention to the black school uniform and the famous student of the academy disappeared.
A barrier to repel people and ward off human attention had been erected.
“…Swiftly executed and with just the right coverage too. Masterfully done. And the flow of your power was beautiful too… That’s not something you can achieve with some half-baked training. It’s proof that you didn’t just coast off your talent, but polished yourself without end. Seeing the fruits of your efforts like this makes me happy,” Shinichi said.
“Ah, uu… Y-You’re not get anything from me even if you praise me!”
Tomoe couldn’t stand the somewhat excessive praise and turned beet red, but she didn’t want him to notice that, so she yelled, and yet no one in the restaurant reacted to her loud voice.
Regardless, however, Shinichi’s smile just grew deeper.
Clearly, she had been played, but the praise was real.
“…Shall we move on?” Ryou said.
“Go ahead. Continue at your pace,” Shinichi said.
Ryou felt he had to say that or the conversation wouldn’t progress.
Shinichi coiled the spaghetti around his fork, and as he nodded, brought it to his mouth.
Unlike the smiles he showed during the exam, the smile he made now as he enjoyed his spaghetti was just like that of a child’s.
But it wasn’t befitting of his age either, as it seemed to be brimming with too much innocence for his age, causing Ryou to be at a loss, but he continued nonetheless because he felt there was something they had to say first no matter what.
“First of all… Umm… Thank you for your help during the incident. Although you took full advantage of us, thanks to you, we didn’t have to fail the exam,” Ryou said.
“T-That’s right. In that regard, thank you. If we hadn’t happened into you that night, I would’ve probably been demoted a class by now. Ryou’s grades would have taken a hit too, and… We would have surely hurt someone,” Tomoe said.
‘So, thank you,’ the two students said shyly.
Shinichi didn’t poke fun at them and honestly accepted their gratitude.
“You’re welcome, but all I really did was defend myself. It was Teacher Frire who actually suggested to make you into my assistants,” Shinichi said.
But Shinichi felt like that wasn’t just his achievement, so he gave them Frire’s name too, but then Tomoe and Ryou made an unexpected reaction.
“Actually, now that I think about it, that’s really weird,” Ryou said.
“I never thought Teacher Doneju would do something like that for us,” Tomoe said.
When Shinichi heard that, he realized where he’d erred.
To most students, Frire still had the image of being a demon instructor.
He didn’t know whether to tell them the truth or hide it like the person herself wanted.
“…Just consider it as her feeling indebted to me for pushing the role of an examiner substitute onto me.”
Shinichi knew that in the end he’d caused more problem for her because of this incident, so he danced around the topic to avoid telling the truth and respect Frire’s wish.
“But enough of that, let’s get to the main topic. I mean there’s no way you came all the way out here just to thank me, right?” Shinichi said.
Although it was also partly to change the topic, Shinichi wanted them to get to the point.
After all, they had called him out here as people who knew the truth behind the exam; hence, there must be more to this conversation than what their words suggested.
Ryou and Tomoe shared a meaningful glance for a moment, and then with a sigh, Ryou spoke.
“I hate beating around the bush too, so I’ll get straight to the point. Can you… train us?” Ryou said.
“…What a hesitant ‘straight to the point’. Although I have a lot to say about your request, why me?” Shinichi said.
Surely, there must’ve been better people suited than him.
Without showing any interest to their request, Shinichi evened out the rice on his bowl.
Ryou was irritated by that, but Tomoe continued in his place and answered.
“One is because you know about our circumstances and our spiritual power, and two, because just a day and a half under you was enough to bring about a change in us.”
“A change?”
What are you talking about? Shinichi seemed to say, and Ryou and Tomoe brought out their fosters.
When Shinichi saw the information projected into the air, he kept his lifeless face, but deep inside he was already making a glum face.
Name: Shinguuji Ryou
Gender: Male
Strength: AAA (MAX)
Stamina: AA to AA+
Mind: A+ to AA-
Resistance: AAA+ (MAX)
Agility: A
Name: Tomoe Safina
Gender: Female
Strength: C+
Stamina: C+ to B-
Mind: AA+ (MAX)
Resistance: C- to C
Agility: C to C+
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