Chapter 109: Yamada-san, Like a Child

Every monthly test at Shuka High was always an occasion to witness the full spectrum of human emotions.

The top students, confident and composed, received their test papers from the teachers with a graceful air.

The average students, anxious and hesitant, would take their papers with trembling hands, their expressions shifting between despair and relief as they saw their scores.

And for those who already expected to fail, picking up their papers was just a formality—remedial classes were inevitable. They, too, were confident.

But unlike the top students, their confidence came with a sense of resigned acceptance, as if nothing about their failure surprised them.

It was like watching a death row inmate walk to the execution ground—there was a strange, tragic beauty in their resolve.

Among all these people, Minami's presence stood on an entirely different level.

Even on a test results day, he remained completely unbothered, casually pulling out his phone right in front of the teacher and replying to LINE messages.

But considering he had held the rank of top student in the entire grade for nearly half a semester now, earning him the title "Shuka High's Demon King of Academics,"

Being allowed to text during class was a privilege he had rightfully earned.

The teacher's silent approval was proof enough.

No one knew what Minami's score was this time…

All eyes in the classroom turned toward him with curiosity.

But since his student number was toward the end of the list, they had to wait.

About three minutes later—

The teacher finally called his name.

"Minami."

"Here."

Responding briefly, Minami calmly slid his phone back into the pocket of his navy-blue uniform under the watchful gazes of his classmates.

Then, he stood up and took his test paper from the teacher.

And—

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Minami didn't even glance at his score.

He just tucked the paper away in his blazer pocket without a second thought.

Then, he walked back to his seat, took out his phone, and continued replying to LINE messages.

Wait… what?

Watching Minami continue texting on LINE, his expression completely unmoved—

What exactly is in your LINE messages?!

Who are you even talking to?!

Can't you at least take a look at your grades?!

The students just couldn't understand.

For someone who had been ranked #1 in the entire grade all this time, today was a major event—a day to see his results announced.

And yet, this guy didn't seem to care at all!

Seeing that Minami had no intention of even glancing at his grade report,

Many students felt unbearably itchy, as if ants were crawling all over their bodies.

They desperately wanted to know Minami's score.

They wanted to see his reaction.

But now… what could they do…?

They were getting really curious…

What was Minami's score?!

Everyone struggled to hold back their curiosity, occasionally sneaking glances in Minami's direction.

At this point, whether or not they had failed their own exams didn't even matter anymore.

But to their disappointment—

Even after the teacher had finished distributing every single test result,

Minami still didn't show the slightest intention of checking his score.

After replying to his LINE messages, he simply sat at his desk, pulled out a freshly bought novel, and started flipping through it page by page.

This guy really had confidence in himself.

Was he that certain he would take first place again?

A few classmates sitting near Minami, noticing the curious gazes from all around, couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Do you guys think Demon King Minami will take first place again? Will he keep his undefeated record?"

A tall male student spoke in a hushed tone.

"Well… it's hard to say, but honestly, I don't think there's any way he wouldn't get first place."

The guy with slightly longer hair beside him lowered his voice and continued:

"I sit right next to him. I saw him finish his test in about ten minutes, check it once, and then just lay down on his desk and sleep… He was ridiculously fast. None of his exams took him more than ten minutes."

"What the hell?! Just filling in the answer sheet took me forever!"

Someone nearby exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hey, hey, forget about that. What about Shinjou Akane from Class 3? She's super smart, has a great figure, and is really pretty. If I had to root for someone, I'd definitely go for Shinjou Akane."

(TL Notes: Shinjou Akane Akane Shinjo (新条アカネ, Shinjou Akane) is one of the main characters and alongside Alexis Kerib, she served as a central antagonist in SSSS.GRIDMAN. )

"That's true."

They continued their discussion until suddenly—

A voice from the hallway called out:

"The top three rankings are out!"

The moment those words were spoken, a wave of students immediately stood up and rushed toward the announcement board in the second-floor hallway.

Would the arrogantly undefeated Demon King Minami defend his throne once again?

Or would a rising star finally surpass him?

Everyone was eager to find out.

They crowded together, pushing forward, then lifted their heads to read the results.

And then—

Looking at the undisputed name at the top,

Everyone fell silent.

#1: Minami Shouji

#2: Shinjou Akane

#3: Itou Kashi

Shinjou Akane's score was absolutely terrifying.

Out of the five subjects—Japanese, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English—

She had scored perfect marks in three of them, and in the other two, she had only lost one, two, maybe three or four points at most.

Itou Kashi, ranked third, had a similar performance—two perfect scores, with minor deductions in the other three subjects.

By any standard, these results were nothing short of extraordinary.

If they had been part of previous years' second-year students—

Either Shinjou Akane would take first place, or Itou Kashi would.

But—

"With a monster like Minami Shouji around… there's just no way anyone else could take first place, right...?"

Staring at Minami's name in the #1 spot, someone couldn't help but mutter under their breath.

There was no helping it.

Minami's scores this time were simply too terrifying.

On the neatly printed ranking sheet—

Right next to Minami's name were his scores.

#1: Minami Shouji – Japanese, Math, Science, Social Studies, English – Perfect Scores.

And what made it even more absurd was—

Minami scoring full marks...

Didn't mean that full marks were the limit of his ability.

He got a perfect score only because the test's maximum score was full marks.

Meanwhile, Shinjou Akane and Itou Kashi scored perfect marks because that was the highest they could possibly achieve.

The difference between the two seemed negligible.

But in reality, it was immense.

…

To be honest, Minami didn't really care what others thought.

Blending into the crowd, he only glanced at his own score and thought—"Oh, first place again."

Then, he stopped thinking about it altogether.

To him, this result was completely expected.

Even without the help of his dating simulator system,

He would have still secured first place without a doubt.

So, it was only natural that he felt nothing at all—

Well, actually… maybe not.

Minami thought for a moment.

After all, he was receiving a full tuition exemption from Shuka High.

If he couldn't even keep his spot as the top student, wouldn't that mean he was failing to live up to the school's expectations?

Hmm.

Thinking about it that way, maybe he should celebrate a little.

He'd add an extra egg to his dinner tonight for a protein boost.

But—

"Was her name Shinjou Akane?"

Rubbing his chin, Minami recalled the #2 name he had just seen on the ranking board.

How should he put it…

He had never really paid attention to her before.

But ever since obtaining the dating simulator system and going through various events,

Looking at this name now, he suddenly felt… a strange sense of familiarity.

It was as if he had seen it somewhere before, but just couldn't remember where.

That feeling was so frustrating—

Like when you remember what you were about to do one second ago,

But then completely forget it the next.

"Whatever. If I can't remember, I won't bother thinking about it."

Minami wasn't the type to waste time on random thoughts.

Rather than dwelling on it—

It was better to focus on what he needed to do next.

Clearing his mind, Minami began thinking.

First, he still needed to visit STARRY every day.

After all, his guitar skills still needed practice.

Then, there was the matter of Riko-Riko Café.

Through his simulations, Minami already knew that Riko-Riko Café was primarily established to provide financial support to an orphanage.

If he could completely resolve the orphanage's financial issues,

Then Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue could, just like in the simulations, free themselves from the burden of Riko-Riko and look toward the future.

This issue was obviously more important than visiting STARRY.

It should be prioritized.

As for how to solve it...

Thinking about that, Minami started to feel a headache coming on.

Because he suddenly remembered that woman.

A woman with short blue hair, quiet and lazy—but unbelievably stingy when it came to money.

"What should I do..."

Minami Shouji couldn't help but think.

In the simulation, he could shamelessly throw out a "Yamada-san, save me!" without a second thought.

But in reality…

Minami rubbed his chin, feeling conflicted.

Aside from asking Yamada-san for help, there were, of course, other possible methods.

The first option was exactly what the simulator had suggested—sacrificing his "charms" by visiting the Tokyo Red Cross and trying to cozy up to that old woman, the president.

But obviously, that option was out of the question.

Sacrificing his looks? Selling himself out?

What kind of nonsense was that?

Then there was the second option…

Iijichi Seika managed to run STARRY in Shimokitazawa, so she must have some assets… technically making her a rich woman.

But—

"That's not realistic either."

Minami let out a sigh.

Yeah.

No matter how he looked at it, it wasn't realistic.

He couldn't possibly go against his conscience and scam Ijichi Nijika's older sister out of her money, right?

As for the other scattered ideas—

It wasn't like Minami hadn't thought of them.

But no matter how much he considered it, nothing was as reliable as Red Cross aid.

"So in the end, from the start to the finish, there's really only one option?"

Minami pulled out his phone and glanced at Yamada-san's LINE profile picture.

Yamada's profile picture was incredibly simple.

Just a chibi-style dirt doll-like character.

It gave off a "what the hell is this girl thinking?" kind of vibe—definitely not the type of profile picture a typical girl would use.

Forget it, forget it.

Thinking about Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue's situation, Minami didn't hesitate any longer and quickly typed out a message.

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Yamada-san, do you have time lately? I need to discuss something with you.]

After sending the message—

Minami put his phone down.

After all, Yamada Ryo had her own things to do. She probably wouldn't reply that quickly.

And then—

"Pop—"

Almost instantly, LINE's "Read" notification sound chimed.

The so-called "Read" function was one of LINE's more interesting features.

It meant the other person had already seen your message.

Which gave Minami the suspicion that Yamada Ryo had been sitting there, phone in hand, waiting for him to message her.

No way, right?

Minami raised an eyebrow.

Yamada Ryo was still a young lady from a well-off family, after all. Sitting around waiting for someone's messages…

He picked his phone back up.

Sure enough, there was already a reply in the chat.

[Lone Bass Freak: Ryo.]

…Ryo?

Minami stared at the message for a second, shook his head, and started typing again.

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Since you're online, that's even better. If you have some free time, I'd like to meet up and discuss something.]

After sending the message—

Again, instantly, the message turned to "Read."

It seemed like Yamada Ryo still hadn't put down her phone.

Seeing this, Minami let out a small breath and waited for her reply.

But this time—

Unlike before, where she responded immediately…

Minami waited over three minutes in front of his phone.

Yamada Ryo still hadn't sent anything back.

"Is this… 'Read' but not replying?"

Minami glanced at Yamada-san's profile picture.

He stared at it for a while.

And after confirming that she really had no intention of replying—

Minami sighed helplessly.

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Ryo.]

The moment Minami sent that message—

Yamada Ryo instantly replied.

The difference in speed was night and day.

[Lone Bass Freak: From now on, call me that. No more 'Yamada-san.']

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: ...]

Oh, Yamada-san, Yamada-san.

So you're throwing a tantrum over a nickname now, huh?

Minami Shouji rubbed his temples.

[Lone Bass Freak: Minami, what's up?]

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Let's talk in person.]

[Lone Bass Freak: Alright, then… is Minami treating me to a meal?]

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Don't you have money yourself?]

[Lone Bass Freak: It has to be a meal bought by Minami for it to have meaning. Besides, I'm broke lately. This is what I've been eating. (Attached: A picture of vegetable porridge)]

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Fine, but only if you agree to help me first.]

[Lone Bass Freak: Mm, I agree.]

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: ? You don't even know what I need help with.]

[Lone Bass Freak: If it's Minami, I'll help.]

[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Alright, I'll contact you later.]

[Lone Bass Freak: Okay.]

And with that, the LINE conversation ended.

At the same time—

In a second-year classroom at Shuka High, a curious female classmate spoke up:

"Yamada-san?"

"Hm?"

"Did something good happen?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Uh… I just saw you smiling…?"

The curious classmate tilted her head.

"Did I?"

Responding with her usual lazy elegance, the short blue-haired girl replied in an indifferent tone.

Then, shifting her gaze back to her phone—

She rested her chin on her hand, looking effortlessly relaxed in the afternoon light,

But the corners of her lips curled slightly into an unintentional, soft smile.