Chapter 48: Exchange Student Of The Storm

Chapter 48: Exchange Student Of The Storm

After the first period of Mizuki Nanaes Practical English class, the students crowded around Sasha.

As a gesture of consideration for her as an exchange student, Sasha was seated right next to the Class President. Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions from all sides, the visibly flustered President quickly vacated his seat.

How did you learn Japanese?

I taught myself by watching animations.

Are you pure Russian or half Japanese?

I am a proud daughter of Russia.

What do your parents do?

My father runs a company, and my mother supports him.

Is it true that you said you like Kim?

Its true. He has helped me a lot, and he is stronger than my father, who is my ideal man.

Wait, that last answer could cause a misunderstanding.

As I flinched and twitched, the students around Sasha started whispering.

Its Kim Yu-seong again.

Hes not satisfied with Kishimoto and Tojo; now hes adding another girl.

I heard hes also involved with the Student Council President?

Stronger than her father? Does that mean Sashas father already fought him?

Kim Yu-seong, what a frightening man

Stop it! Another bad rumor is spreading!

He and I are not involved at all!

Just when I thought the bad image was subsiding, it started twisting in a weird direction.

I looked at Rika in the next seat, hoping for help, but she was somehow narrowing her eyes and staring at me.

Ryu-chan, it seems like youve charmed another girl in my absence.

Wait, its a misunderstanding.

Thats what most romantic comedy protagonists say.

I had no words for the truth.

How did I end up in this situation?

Originally, all the attention that should have gone to Sakamoto Ryuji was coming to me.

I thought it was a small price to pay for changing the original flow, but wasnt this putting the cart before the horse?

I pondered this while reading the Jump manga in my hand.

Everyone, take your seats. The class is about to start.

Mr. Matsuda, the homeroom teacher, opened the classroom door and stepped inside.

Thanks to the timely interruption, the attention that had been on me quickly dissipated, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief. Grateful to the teacher, I finished preparing for the study session.

With midterms around the corner, I knew I needed to concentrate even more during class.

Most teachers tend to drop numerous hints as midterms draw near.

Remember this part; its going to be on the test.

After a long morning of classes, lunchtime finally arrived.

Kim Yu-seong! How have you been?

As usual, Karen burst into our class and asked with a wrinkle-free smile.

It felt like quite some time had passed since I had last seen her.

Watching Karen casually drape her arm over my shoulder, Sasha, who had just risen from her seat, approached slowly and said,

Sorry, but could you step away from him?

Aang? On what grounds do you say that?

Sasha then laughed and placed her hand on her chest.

Aware of the girls seated behind him, he tugged his gym clothes collar up to his neck and made his coolest face as he crouched at the start line.

Once he was ready, the teacher gave the signal.

Ready Start!

Beep!

With the stopwatch started, Akagi burst forward.

He moved smoothly from his crouch, accustomed to physical exertion.

After completing the 50 meters in a flash, Akagi swaggered back to inquire about his time.

Teacher, what was my time?

7.38 seconds, just average.

Akagi returned to his seat, his face flushed with a mix of exertion and perhaps a touch of embarrassment.

Indeed, there was a big difference between how fast one felt and how fast one actually was.

The sprint tests proceeded one after the other.

Beep!

For the first time, Teacher Oonuma expressed admiration.

Incredible. Thats almost athlete-level timing.

Sakamoto Ryuji stood out amongst the students as he broke into the 6-second range, upholding his status as the romantic comedy protagonist with ease.

Sakamoto-kun was quite cool, wasnt he?

Oh? You think so, too? Honestly, hes more than just an average face.

Maybe Ill try to catch up to him next time.

Amidst the girls adulation, Sakamoto returned to his seat.

Even though he appeared unsatisfied, it wasnt my concern.

I sat quietly on the grass, the last among the boys, waiting for my turn. After watching Satoru, who was just before me, return happily with a time of 7.18 seconds, I slowly stood up.

Somehow, the atmosphere seemed to quiet down suddenly.

Every time I do this, the other kids seem overly aware of me. Honestly, I wish they would restrain themselves.

Even being the one receiving attention was uncomfortable.

As I loosened up and took my place on the track, Teacher Oonuma approached with a serious look.

Please, just dont destroy the track.

Ill be careful.

I knew if I ran seriously, the problem wouldnt be limited to the track but would include attracting the whole schools attention, so I decided to exert as little force as possible.

Having fully rested during the rest of Golden Week, my body had completely recovered, but thanks to my experience with eating a red pill and suffering its aftereffects, I had learned to suppress my physical abilities to a normal human level.

Ready

As soon as I heard ready, I tensed my relaxed thigh muscles slightly.

Then, I leaned forward to reduce air resistance a little.

Once I was prepared, Teacher Oonuma swallowed nervously and pressed the stopwatch button.

Beep!

Ti

At that moment, I became like a gust of wind.

me!

Thud.

The physical assessment was over in an instant.

I casually looked back and asked,

Teacher, how many seconds was it?

Uh? Uh, well 5.38 seconds.

Fortunately, the time was just slightly above average.