I, Aki Tomoya, will not be a simp.

Time flew by and it was time to leave school again. Aki Tomoya didn't have to go to the cram school today, so he spent his time in the library instead.

Japanese history is no longer Aki Tomoya's biggest weakness, but it is still something he needs to pay attention to compared to other subjects.

"Kato-kun, which university's red book are you holding?"

Occasionally, when he bumps into his classmates in the library, Aki Tomoya doesn't deliberately avoid them. When he sees Kato Megumi sitting alone in a corner with a red book that looks like it belongs to some university, Aki Tomoya walks up to her with the book and casually asks her a question.

"Aki-san?"

Kato Megumi raised her head, a ripple of emotion flickering in her calm eyes.

Once again, Aki Tomoya noticed him as if he were a normal person...

In Kato Megumi's eyes, Aki Tomoya treated everyone the same way, even someone as inconspicuous as herself.

To be honest, this feeling of being similar to an ordinary person is not bad for Kato Megumi; at least she won't be easily ignored like usual.

"This is the exam question set from Shinazugawa University last year."

Kato Megumi answered in a calm voice, while subtly glancing at the books Aki Tomoya was holding.

The news that Aki Tomoya was also going to take the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo had already spread like wildfire throughout the school. As one of the three famous figures of Toyonosaki Academy, his actions were actually being followed by quite a few people.

Nowadays, the school library has become one of Aki Tomoya's daily activity areas, so it's not surprising to run into him there.

Upon seeing the books in his hands, Kato Megumi couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "The changes are truly astounding!"

"Please take a seat."

Seeing that Aki Tomoya was still standing, Kato Megumi nodded politely and said something.

Having already received permission, Aki Tomoya naturally sat down opposite Kato Megumi without hesitation, and then said thoughtfully, "Shinazugawa University..."

So what kind of diploma mill is this?!

Aki Tomoya felt he needed to do some more research to see what other bizarre universities Japan had.

"It's perfectly normal that An Yi wouldn't know about a university that can barely be considered second-rate."

After all, their focus is on the University of Tokyo, so it's normal that they wouldn't know about a university like Shinazugawa.

Kato Megumi didn't find it strange that Aki Rin didn't know about Shinazugawa University.

"Don't say that, I am indeed a bit ignorant."

Aki Tomoya shook his head; the Japan he was in now was indeed quite different from the Japan he remembered from his previous life.

=

Thank you for the spicy strips from [Wangtianlan]

Thank you [丿Examine] for the salted fish stab, monthly pass, and 2 razor blades.

Thank you [Restart] for the razor blade.

Thank you [Seventh Archangel - Ink] for the March ticket and 2 spicy strips.

Thank you to 【Who Doesn't Love Rotting Days】 for the February ticket and 2 razor blades.

Chapter 14 Ordinary High School Girl

Chapter 14

Some parts differ slightly from Aki Tomoya's memory, not by much, but there's just a slight sense of incongruity.

For example, a private university like Waseda University, which sounds like a combination of Waseda and Keio, is something that Aki Tomoya is certain of in his past life that there is no top-tier university in Japan called Waseda University.

Separating the two characters, however, allows us to refer to Waseda University and Keio University.

Aki Tomoya wanted to complain about this, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a trivial matter, so he simply accepted it as "reasonable."

"Kato-kun, you don't need to worry about me. If you have any problems, I will help you out as a classmate."

After leaving behind such polite words, Aki Tomo stopped paying attention to Kato Megumi in front of him.

Even if he did care, it was illogical that such a high-quality girl as Kato Megumi was so "unremarkable".

However, it would be impolite to ask out of curiosity. Most importantly, they are only "classmates" here, and their relationship is not close enough to talk about so much.

He came over simply because of Aki Tomoya's curiosity, and his curiosity was limited to that; he had no intention of going any deeper.

"Really……"

Kato Megumi always had a calm and composed expression on her face, as if nothing could stir up any waves.

However, something different flashed in her eyes than usual.

If it were in the past, Kato Megumi might have just taken what Aki Tomoya said as a polite remark, while secretly thinking to herself how pathetic she would be if she had to ask an otaku whose grades were even less impressive than hers for help.

But now, because Aki Tomoya has already changed people's impressions of him in the days since the start of the school year, his words still carry some weight.

"It seems the rumors about choosing the University of Tokyo as a college choice are true."

I overheard some gossip from a female friend at school, and now it seems to be true.

The way Aki Tomoya, the person involved, is acting at this moment truly shows that he is striving towards that goal.

If we only look at the aspect of striving, this characteristic is somewhat similar to Aki Tomoya's struggle last year against the headmaster who opposed the airing of anime and later the principal.

So if there's any change, it's just that the boy in front of me has a different goal now.

Megumi Kato doesn't understand what the so-called "2D world" really is. Her understanding of 2D world is probably just the prejudice that others have against it.

However, based on my impression of Aki Tomoya last year, his determination to temporarily put aside his beloved pursuits and head towards a top university like the University of Tokyo is truly remarkable.

Originally, Kato Megumi was just here to learn a little about the entrance exam questions for the undergraduate program of the university she wanted to apply to. In her boredom, she thought about the changes in Aki Tomoya, which was a bit of fun in her spare time.

After all, from an outsider's perspective, Aki Tomoya's transformation is indeed quite interesting.

Similarly, no matter what changes occur, this boy remains famous as one of the three most famous figures at Toyonosaki Academy.

However, it is worth examining how much of it is good and how much is bad.

But for now, Megumi Kato thinks that in the future, more and more people will look at this boy who was once a hardcore otaku with new respect.

"Compared to this boy, I am just an ordinary high school girl, and I am easily overlooked."

For some reason, Kato Megumi thought of this.

There is no sadness or negativity involved; it is simply a comparison to see the differences between them.

Moreover, Kato Megumi got used to it.

She was used to being an ordinary female high school student, used to being ignored, and used to being invisible and only able to chime in when talking to her few female friends.

It's strange that she was noticed by someone who is the complete opposite of her.

It's just that being treated like a normal person in front of a campus celebrity like Aki Tomoya, not being ignored, and the other person even remembering what happened during spring break—how can I describe that feeling?

It can't really be called satire, because if it were satire, then as one of the parties involved, she would also be one of the targets of satire, which would turn her into a tragic character being bullied in a TV drama.

However, in reality, Kato Megumi was not the protagonist of the school bullying; her only characteristic was her weak presence.

"Aki-kun, may I ask you a question?"

Kato Megumi's calm voice rang in Aki Tomoya's ears.

The latter looked up at Kato Megumi with a puzzled expression and replied, "Please speak."

"Are you dating the most beautiful girl in the school? And two at the same time?"

Kato Megumi's words left Aki Tomoya completely bewildered.

Aki Tomoya still has some confidence in his appearance, but the fact that they are dating is completely untrue.

And whether in the past or now, he doesn't seem like someone who has a lover.

So what was the reason behind his classmate Megumi Kato's question?

“I’m single.”

Aki Tomoya calmly responded to this fact.

Although he felt ashamed, he was single both in the past and now. He may have had opportunities in the past and present, but he was not interested in them now.

"But the third-year student Kasumigaoka and the second-year student Sawamura are both paying attention to you."

So here's the question: Kasumigaoka Utaha, who's pretending to be studying at the next table; Eriri, who's hesitating at the library entrance and only daring to secretly glance at this side; and the other two of the three famous figures of Toyonosaki Academy—Kato Megumi—are definitely all looking this way.

What even surprised Kato Megumi was that it was the first time she had been looked at with such scrutiny, and the reason, without much thought, naturally stemmed from the boy in front of her.

"The gathering of three such celebrities is a coincidence, but should I leave first?"

Kato Megumi, perhaps feeling that she was in the way, asked Aki Tomoya if she needed to step aside.

Because she always felt that there were many problems with the way those two looked.

The two girls' gazes weren't entirely pure; if one were to view what would happen next as a romantic comedy, Kato Megumi felt there was a serious problem.

Similarly, being an ordinary girl doesn't stop Kato Megumi from having a gossipy heart at this moment.

What exactly is going on with this delicate love-hate relationship that develops into something like this?

"Actually, you can just ignore it."

Aki Tomoya's expression remained unchanged.