My dear wife, I still love you more.

"I was just walking around normally, and I greeted Hasegawa-kun in a very ordinary way."

"Um, okay. I see, that's just how you are. So, Kato-kun, how about you? How were your grades this time?"

"Hmm." Kato Megumi pouted, which was rare for her. "Your grades aren't very good. Just like me, they're average and unremarkable. In fact, they seem to be even worse than when school started."

Seeing the new expression on Kato Megumi's face, Hasegawa Kenichi's eyes lit up, and he looked at Kato Megumi with great interest: "After all, it's only the beginning of the school year, so maybe she's not used to high school life and studies yet. But Kato-san, you're really cute right now, not at all like the ordinary person you described yourself to be."

"Huh? Is that so? Although I'm happy to hear Hasegawa-san say that, I still know my place. I'm just an ordinary high school student." Kato Megumi's expression returned to normal.

"Kato-kun, you seem a little insecure. You're so cute, you must have a lot of guys pursuing you."

"It's not that I'm insecure, it's just that I'm self-aware. Besides, from childhood to adulthood, no boy has ever pursued me. After all, I'm too inconspicuous, and many people ignore me. Even my parents sometimes do that. Many times when they're cooking, they forget about my portion, so in the end, I have to cook for myself." She calmly recounted a sad story.

"Seriously, Kato-kun?" Kenichi Hasegawa stared at Megumi Kato in astonishment. "Are you making this up?"

"It's not a story, it actually happened to me. And Hasegawa-kun, didn't you notice?"

"What did you find?"

“No one in the class talks to me first. Whether it’s boys or girls, even Hasegawa-kun, you only talk to me when I initiate the conversation.” Kato Megumi stared at Hasegawa Kenichi with her dark eyes. Although she couldn’t discern any emotion in her expression, she seemed very serious.

Kenichi Hasegawa frowned and thought about it. It seemed that this was indeed the case. No one would take the initiative to communicate with Megumi Kato. In fact, Megumi Kato rarely sought out other people to talk to. She seemed like a withdrawn girl. However, when she spoke to him, although her face was expressionless, Kenichi Hasegawa could sense from her personality that she was not a withdrawn person.

"Hasegawa-kun should have thought of that by now."

"Hmm, it seems that's true. But I'm not ignoring Kato-san. It's just that Kato-san is a girl after all. If I took the initiative to approach you, it would inevitably cause misunderstandings among others, so I didn't do that."

"So Hasegawa-kun keeps making me, the girl, take the initiative to contact you. You're only worried that others will misunderstand you, but you never thought that others will misunderstand me. You're really malicious, Hasegawa-kun."

"Uh, that's not it, Kato-kun. I just, I just—" Hasegawa Kenichi scratched his head, looking a little troubled. He hadn't thought that much about it before, but now that Kato Megumi said it, it did seem a little excessive.

"Well, I was just joking with Hasegawa-kun. After all, almost no one else can see me, so there's no need to worry about people misunderstanding me. Or rather, if I could attract attention, it might actually be a good thing for me. After all, I've been ignored and never received any attention since I was little. I'm a little curious about that feeling," Kato Megumi said calmly.

However, hearing what Kato Megumi said, Hasegawa Kenichi felt a little uneasy. If what Kato Megumi said was really true, then Kato Megumi was indeed a bit pitiful.

"Hey, can you tell me about your situation, Kato-kun?" Hasegawa Kenichi took a deep breath and looked at Kato Megumi seriously. He now understood why Aki Tomo had asked him if he was talking to someone before. It was because Aki Tomo had completely ignored Kato Megumi's presence, not because he was so engrossed in the world of anime that he ignored others, but because of Kato Megumi's special nature.

"Well, there's not much to say. After all, I'm just an ordinary high school student with no exciting experiences. From birth until now, my life has been so uneventful." Kato Megumi said in a very ordinary, indifferent tone.

"..." Hasegawa Kenichi looked at Kato Megumi, and after a few seconds of silence, asked, "Kato-san, are you interested in becoming a star?"

"Huh? A celebrity?"

“That’s right. If Kato-kun becomes a star, he won’t be ignored anymore,” Kenichi Hasegawa said earnestly.

"Hmm, that sounds pretty good. But, I think I'll pass. I do have a slight fascination with celebrities, after all, I'm just an ordinary high school student, and I do envy those who become stars. But it seems like such a hassle, so I'd rather not. It might seem a little strange, but I'm already used to my current life and don't have any desire to change it." Kato Megumi shook her head and refused.

Is that so?

"Yes, that's how it is. Actually, thinking about it, things are pretty good now, especially at school. Sometimes I forget to do my homework, but no one comes to collect it. I don't have to worry about being scolded by the teacher. Even if I'm daydreaming or sleeping in class, the teachers will just turn a blind eye. It feels very relaxed." Kato Megumi said calmly, describing the advantages of her current situation.

"...Now that you say that, it seems like most of the students in the school would envy you," Hasegawa Kenichi said, somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Yes, I feel that's definitely the case." Kato Megumi nodded gently.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Privileges of Top Students and Shizuka Hiratsuka's Iron Fist

When the test papers were discovered, they were all perfect scores. Even though these scores had no practical use for Hasegawa Kenichi, he was still quite happy. It seemed he had achieved his goal of becoming a top student.

As for how others did, Kenichi Hasegawa didn't know. In reality, this relaxed educational approach in Japanese high schools doesn't involve publicly announcing students' final exam scores. They only let the students know. The idea of ​​someone standing on a platform reading out a score and handing out exam papers is simply impossible; doing so would be a violation of regulations.

Even teachers cannot tell students' test scores to their parents. If parents want to know their children's scores, they can only ask the students themselves.

It has to be said that for Japanese high schools, this kind of behavior is undoubtedly an angelic act for underachieving students.

Therefore, if Kenichi Hasegawa doesn't tell others his score, no one else will know how many points he actually scored.

"That's so insane, Hasegawa-san," Kato Megumi said enviously. Of course, her expression didn't change, and even her tone of voice was relatively flat, so no one could tell that she was envious.

"Well, the exam questions were quite simple after all. So it's normal to do well." Hasegawa Kenichi showed no sign of pride or smugness.

"Easy? Not at all. As expected, only a freakish genius like Hasegawa would think the exam questions are easy."

"I'm not a pervert, I'm just a little smarter."

"So, according to Hasegawa-san, you're saying I'm an idiot? I don't want to talk to Hasegawa-san anymore. My test scores weren't very good, and now I'm being mocked."

"I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just saying, Kato, can you please stop having such a vivid inner monologue?"

"I'm sorry, since there's not much emotional fluctuation on my face, if I don't have a rich inner monologue, I'll really become super inconspicuous."

"You were already incredibly unremarkable."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm going to get angry if Hasegawa says that."

"But that's true. Although Kato looks so cute, even among all the girls in the class, she's one of the cutest, but her personality isn't really that remarkable."

"Well, Hasegawa-kun really knows how to make girls happy. So Hasegawa-kun must have had a lot of girlfriends, and maybe even two-timing?"

"No, don't frame me."

As he collected the test papers, Kenichi Hasegawa wondered if he should put them in a box. After all, a perfect score on all the papers was no easy feat. Putting them away and showing them to friends or other people later would certainly give him a very impressive feeling.

Thinking this, Hasegawa Kenichi glanced at Yuigahama Yui, whose expression had turned ashen. That idiot Yuigahama Yui, all looks and no brains. She has the worst grades in the whole class; I really don't know how she managed it. Her head must be full of water. Even Hikigaya Hachiman, who only arrived at school three weeks after the start of the semester and took his exams after only a week, still had much better grades than Yuigahama Yui.

That's why I say that Yui Yuigahama is someone who completely replaced her brain with those two lumps of flesh on her chest.

Regardless, Hasegawa Kenichi is now a top student, and he's starting to enjoy the privileges of one. Well, his teacher is having a heart-to-heart talk with him, although this privilege... well, it seems a little... not so much that he wants to accept it.

Hiratsuka sat quietly in the chair, looking at Hasegawa Kenichi standing in front of him.

"Hasegawa, come, have a seat." Hiratsuka Shizuka pointed to the chair next to her.

"Thank you." Hasegawa Kenichi sat down in the chair. Being able to have a seat while talking to the teacher must be one of the privileges of top students.

"I never expected you to get first place in the whole grade, and you even got full marks in every subject. Tsk tsk tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover." Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Hasegawa Kenichi with amazement, as if she were looking at some monster.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I feel like you're looking down on me," Hasegawa Kenichi thought to himself.

"Well, well, well, this is praise, a compliment. Hahaha." Hiratsuka Shizuka laughed a little sheepishly. "After all, getting full marks in every subject, to be honest, in all my years as a teacher, this is the first time I've ever encountered such a person. You must be what they call a top student. I thought you could never meet one in real life, that you only existed in novels or comics. Tsk tsk tsk." As she spoke, Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Hasegawa Kenichi with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.

"I feel like Hiratsuka-sensei, your gaze is a bit too much."

"Well, alright, alright, Hasegawa-kun, how about becoming the class representative? After all, your grades are quite suitable for this position. As for class president, you're usually too quiet, and it seems like you don't have a very good relationship with your classmates."

"I'm sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei, I'm not interested in that kind of thing."

"Hmm? Not interested? After all, you're quite ordinary-looking. Generally speaking, no girls would pay attention to you. If you were the class monitor, you could at least attract some girls' attention, and maybe you could even make friends through that connection—" As she spoke, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly stopped, and then her expression became a little scary: "Heh, heh heh, students should focus on studying. They shouldn't care about or think about anything outside of studying. I clearly—"

Seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka's appearance, Hasegawa Kenichi suddenly felt a little scared: "Um, Hiratsuka-sensei, are you... alright?"

"It's okay, I'm fine. Of course I'm fine. Hehe, hehehehe."

"Hiratsuka-sensei, are you really alright? You don't...don't have a boyfriend, do you—?"

"call."

Hiratsuka Shizuka's fist grazed Hasegawa Kenichi's ear: "I said, Hasegawa, do you want to die?"

"Uh... I'm sorry, Ms. Hiratsuka." Kenichi Hasegawa apologized immediately, realizing that his words had hurt this poor, older single teacher.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph." Hiratsuka Shizuka sneered, "Don't talk about me. Someone like you, with your ordinary looks and only knowing how to bury yourself in studying, will definitely end up like me, no, you should be even worse off than me." Hiratsuka Shizuka cursed her student viciously.

"Well, that's none of Hiratsuka-sensei's concern. Actually, I don't think I'll end up as miserable as you are—"

bump!

Another punch landed, and this time Hiratsuka Shizuka's fist was aimed directly at Hasegawa Kenichi's stomach.

Kenichi Hasegawa immediately took a step back, simultaneously placing his hands in front of his stomach, actually managing to block Hiratsuka Shizuka's iron fist. However, although he blocked it, Hasegawa still felt a slight numbness in his arms; Hiratsuka Shizuka's punch was truly powerful. Fortunately, Hasegawa's physical condition was much better than when he first transmigrated, otherwise he might not have been able to block it.

"Oh, not bad." Hiratsuka Shizuka was a little surprised, then praised her.

Chapter Thirty: Changes Brought About by Grades

"Alright, Hasegawa. Well, how should I put it, although he's a bit of an average-looking guy."

"Hiratsuka-sensei, can we not talk about appearance?" Although he didn't really care about that, almost everyone said it, and Hasegawa Kenichi still felt a little helpless.

"Uh, okay, okay. Young people these days don't like to hear the truth. After all, good medicine tastes bitter, I understand." Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head, lamenting that good medicine tastes bitter, but young people these days don't want to take it. "Alright, enough joking. Hmm, your grades are excellent, and you joined the kendo club, which is pretty good. Your personality is also relatively calm. However, it seems you don't interact much with your peers. Besides Aki Tomoya, you don't have any other friends in your class, right? It's true that Aki Tomoya is your only friend in the whole school, isn't he? Don't you think you're a little too withdrawn?"

As Hiratsuka Shizuka said this, she looked intently at Hasegawa Kenichi.

Kenichi Hasegawa scratched his head upon hearing Shizuka Hiratsuka's words. Hiratsuka was right, but there really was a generation gap between him and these high school students. He always felt a little out of place with them, and actually trying to mingle with them would be truly uncomfortable.

“I know that as a genius, there will always be a certain gap between you and your peers. People like you think differently from normal people. But that’s how society is. To survive well, you have to interact with people and things outside the world; it’s essential. If you don’t try to interact with others, then when you truly enter society later, you’ll find that you’re completely out of place. After all, 99.9% of society is made up of ordinary people.” Hiratsuka Shizuka felt that Hasegawa Kenichi was a rather composed person, so at this moment, she inevitably spoke about things that adults experience.

“Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei. I know you're absolutely right. But, how should I put it?” Hasegawa Kenichi organized his thoughts, “Actually, if I did what you suggested, with my abilities, I could certainly make a good living in society, and might even have a promising future. But, I always feel that such a life would be very tiring. And I'm certain that I can live a fulfilling life even relying solely on myself. So I don't want to make any changes.”

"You're quite confident, aren't you? But I guess all geniuses are like that. Anyway—never mind. People like you probably won't turn back until you hit a brick wall. Anyway, as your teacher, I've said what I needed to say. Think about it carefully." Hiratsuka Shizuka took Hasegawa Kenichi's attitude as confidence, even arrogance. After all, Hasegawa Kenichi could get perfect scores in all subjects during exams; if that wasn't genius, what was? And geniuses are often very confident, even to the point of arrogance. Such people probably won't change unless they suffer a setback.

"Thank you. But Hiratsuka-sensei, although I don't interact much with people my age, it doesn't mean I can't communicate. It's just that I feel there's a bit of a generation gap between us. Compared to them, I actually prefer to communicate with adults. After all, adults are usually more mature and don't make decisions on a whim. At the same time, adults start to take responsibility for their lives, so their every move becomes more cautious. Unlike high school students, who might start causing trouble for you just because they think something is wrong. That's too immature." Hasegawa Kenichi said rationally.

"Hmm?" Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Hasegawa Kenichi in surprise: "Your analysis is correct. Most high school students are like this. After all, they are young people and they are very energetic. However, Hasegawa, you look too old. If you didn't look like you were only ten years old, I would have suspected that you were a man in your thirties or forties."

"Well, Hiratsuka-sensei, you've found out. Although my body is only sixteen years old, my soul is actually that of a forty-year-old man," Hasegawa Kenichi said with a light laugh.

Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't help but roll her eyes: "You, trying to act all mature in front of me. Oh well. As long as you know what you're doing, that's fine. After all, geniuses are different from ordinary people like us. As long as you don't regret it."

……

"Hasegawa-kun, may I bother you for a moment? I'm having trouble with this problem, could you please explain it to me?"

A fairly pretty girl looked at Kenichi Hasegawa with an expectant expression on her face.

"Yes, of course. Is this the question you're asking?"

"Yes, this is it."

"This question is actually very simple. Look here... Do you understand now?"

"I see. Hasegawa-kun is really amazing." The girl looked at Hasegawa Kenichi with admiration.

"No, it's just a very simple question. In fact, if you pay attention, you can solve it," Hasegawa Kenichi said politely.

"No way! I've been thinking about this for a long time and I had absolutely no clue. Now that Hasegawa-san has said this, I finally understand. Hasegawa-san is really amazing."

"Fortunately."

"Well, as payment for Hasegawa helping me with this problem, I'll treat you to coffee this weekend."

"I'm sorry, I have things to do this weekend and I don't have time. I'm really sorry."

"Oh? I see."