Volume 1 - CH 5

Volume 1, Chapter 5: Doing Homework at School

Offer to help

→ Don't offer help

"Stretch your back more! Ikuto!"

"Yes!"

This old fart.

"Too halfhearted! What have you been doing all this time?!"

"I'm sorry!"

This old bastard.

"Too slow! You can't even kill a mosquito with such a strike!!"

"This old ass."

"...What did you just say?"

"I-I’m sorry...just now…"

On an early Sunday morning, I visited the dojo ran by my grandpa.

He told me to come on weekends unless I had a very good reason not to.

This old man, who surprisingly gave me a strict training as if I wasn't his grandson, was Jimichi Gouto.

Chairman of Earth Road Pharmaceuticals and karate dojo instructor. It wasn't just once or twice had I thought about how energetic of an old man he was.

"Next, a hundred straight punches!"

"Eh..."

"150 punches!"

"Ah, yes!"

Of course, there were many times where I thought he was being unreasonable. But to raise any objections to what this person said would only implicate myself.

He was a little strict, but once out of the dojo, he was just your normal, old man. Besides, I was the one who knocked on his door to learn karate.

After that, we took a short break after I completed the tasks grandpa gave me.

As I was hydrating myself and fiddled with my phone, this boisterous old man, who didn't seem a bit tired at all, approached me.

"Ikuto, are still practicing aikido?"

"A bit. I wasn't as bad as it used to be."

Partly due to my father's influence, my first choice of martial arts was aikido.

Rather than aiming to master aikido, I simply wanted to train my body.

"I see, I guess I won't bother you with that anymore. But I won't tolerate half-heartedness, okay?"

"I know."

When I started pursuing aikido, my grandfather initially didn't agree with me. He tried convincing me to join the karate dojo he ran, and we had a fight about it.

I heard that my father never showed interest in karate, so I could see why he would want me, his grandson, to learn it.

"That reminds me. Ikuto, your grandmother wants to see you."

"Grandma... Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a while."

"She wanted you to help her with her phone. I don't know anything about that."

"... Ah, must have been a new model.”

Grandma and grandpa from my mother's side of the family lived far away and rarely did we ever get to see each other, but Gouto-jiichan lived nearby, and I visited them frequently.

Although it had been a while since I last saw them, we often exchanged messages.

"Last time she called me, she didn't say anything about that."

Most likely, she wanted to see me for a different reason. I didn't mind, though. I liked my grandma and grandpa.

"... You guys, do you often contact each other?"

"It's mostly just texting, though."

"Texting... If I buy a phone, will I get to talk with Ikuto every day?"

"That's what phones are for."

I peeled my eyes off from grandpa, who was thinking about something, and turned my attention back to my phone again.

Someone messaged me. It looked like it was from Riku though, and not grandma.

"Hm... Well then, Ikuto! Time to start practicing again!"

"Sorry grandpa, I have something to attend to."

"Guh... It's not your grandma, is it?"

"Why grandma? Nope, it's from my friend."

"Then it's fine. Go take care of your friend."

I didn't really know why he agreed, but I had to hurry anyway, so this should be the end of training for today.

After freshening up, I said goodbye to grandpa and left the dojo.

――――

――

―

"―― This is bad."

The message I received from Riku contained something terrifying.

Riku: On Monday morning, can you show me your homework?

Homework? I tilted my head and thought about it, then I remembered.

I had an assignment that had to be turned in on Monday, and I had left it on my desk.

The day before yesterday, what Riku was searching for in his desk was this homework.

"You should have told me back then..."

There was no point in holding a grudge against him. It was my own fault for forgetting in the first place. I sighed and took the printout off my desk.

It wasn't a large amount of work, but I was doubtful if he would even be able to finish it in time if he did start it on Monday morning.

"...I guess I'll just do it here."

I didn't know why, but I felt like I should.

Although school was a place to learn, all my reference books were at home. Considering efficiency, it would have been far better to work on it after I got back instead.

Well, this homework was just some math and calculation problems, so I didn't really need any reference books. Not to brag, but I was kind of a smart guy myself.

I started working on my homework, and based on my speed, I should be done in... about an hour.

It had been some time since I started my homework on this quiet, empty classroom on a Sunday.

At first, I thought I might have been slower than usual, but this situation might have made me more efficient in a way.

I never expected to be able to concentrate so much. Was it because the chairs, desks, and the aura of studying made it so? I was able to finish my homework way earlier than expected.

"I should start heading back..."

Once I was done with my homework, I didn't have anything to do here anymore. I double-checked that I put back my assignment under my desk to make sure I didn't misplace it.

"―― Oh, you're quite diligent, aren't you?"

A beautiful voice came from the door which had been left open.

When I turned around in surprise, I saw a female student in her school uniform staring at me.

"Sorry I'm late. Let's start immediately...rather, who are you?"

"Um...hello, Yukinaga-senpai."

Senpai, who seemed to have mistaken me for someone else, had her happy look changed to a suspecting one.

For someone who I could only describe as beautiful even with that kind of expression, she didn't look like she knew me.

But on the other hand, I did know her. I mean, she was so famous that I wondered if anyone in this school didn't know her.

Yukinaga Mutsuki, the exceedingly beautiful student council president.

This was the first time the student council president and I exchanged words.