COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

In Japan, afternoon dismissal time is remarkably early compared to his previous life. Classes generally ended around three or four. After that, students either joined club activities, went to cram school, or became members of the "Go-Home Club" and each headed straight home.

There was still some time before dinner. Having successfully mastered his crash-course technique and crushed Morishita Ai under his palm, Fuyuji Mikage wandered around the convenience supermarket to kill time.

Currently, the cultivation of his own abilities had already gotten on the right track.

During the day, while strolling around campus, he would occasionally use Probe. This skill's consumption was far lower than Psychokinesis. As long as he kept the range under control, he could maintain it continuously.

At night, right before sleep, he would use Psychokinesis to drain his mental energy in one go, then sleep straight through until morning, absolutely refusing to let any fatigue carry over to the next day.

For the remaining time, he planned to develop a hobby for himself—cooking!

One week into enrollment, he felt his sense of taste was already close to being successfully reformed. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but lately, he actually found himself able to accept that sticky, stringy, gooey natto served in the student cafeteria... Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Enameled cast iron pot...

Tagine pot...

Cast iron wok...

Titanium alloy frying pan...

Fuyuji Mikage stopped walking and glanced at the price.

[Titanium Alloy Frying Pan: 35,600 pp]

"..."

Time to bail. He'd find someone reliable next time to help him make a choice.

Leaving the kitchenware section where the cookware was, he entered the bath and toiletry section, where the supermarket sold shampoos and body washes.

In a corner, a shopping cart marked "Free" was crammed full of various daily necessities, with a note specifying "Up to three items per month."

Fuyuji Mikage, entirely unsurprised, continued forward. His gaze stopped on a girl with silver hair, a petite figure, and leaning on a cane.

Her hair, like threads of silver frost, cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, flowing with a delicate luster beneath the white fluorescent lights. Even relying on her cane, she possessed a serene elegance.

First, she steadily propped her cane against her side. Then, her slender yet well-defined hand gently grasped the edge of the shelf, her whole body stretching upward, like a swan craning its neck.

Her small, porcelain-white hand reached upward, bit by bit, bit by b—

The girl's hand stopped in midair. She turned her head to look at him, a trace of composure in her delicate voice. "Ara, to see a lady in difficulty and stand by with folded arms is not what a gentleman should do, you know."

"I thought you didn't need any help." That sheer refusal to admit defeat was practically overflowing.

Fuyuji Mikage shrugged and walked over to help her take down the toiletry item from the shelf.

Probably a shampoo or a facial cleanser?

"If someone is willing to assist, I naturally won't refuse." Accepting the toiletry item, the girl smiled and gave Fuyuji Mikage a slight bow. "Thank you for your help. I am Sakayanagi Arisu, from Class 1-D."

"Class 1-A, Fuyuji Mikage."

It was just a small matter of lending a hand. Fuyuji Mikage certainly didn't think this was something worthy of such a solemn expression of thanks; the other party was merely acting out of courtesy.

"Then, I'll be on my way now."

After giving the other party his name, Fuyuji Mikage stepped away, heading toward the exit of the convenience store.

Left behind, Sakayanagi Arisu watched Fuyuji Mikage's back, a delighted smile curving at the corner of her lips.

Class A, was it...

...

Oden!

One of Japan's specialty dishes famous abroad. Curious about its authentic local taste, Fuyuji Mikage bought a portion and waited in the open-air seating area outside the convenience supermarket.

Amid the wreaths of white steam, amber-colored broth clung to the trembling daikon radish, and beads of fat on the beef tendon had congealed into translucent crystals.

Imitating the Japanese way of eating it, he took a sip of the original broth first, to savor the fresh flavor of the ingredients.

One sip down, Fuyuji Mikage smacked his lips, his eyes squeezing into a slit.

Sweet!

"If you don't mind, you might try this." A bottle of green tea was placed on the table and pushed over in front of Fuyuji Mikage.

Sakayanagi Arisu walked to the seat opposite Fuyuji Mikage, leaning on her cane. She pressed down on her skirt with her hand and sat down, keeping both legs together.

"Is there something else I can do for you, Sakayanagi?" Fuyuji Mikage swallowed a chicken meatball and asked.

"I wanted to get acquainted with you, Fuyuji-kun. To be honest, I haven't really made any friends in Class D." Sakayanagi Arisu replied with a smiling face.

"Are the students in Class D that difficult to get along with? Someone as cute as Sakayanagi shouldn't have much trouble making friends, right?" Fuyuji Mikage skewered a meatball from the bowl and asked casually.

The situation in Class D was what Fuyuji Mikage knew the least about. According to Hashimoto, Class D currently consisted of several students leading their own small cliques, each doing their own thing, with no sign of unification whatsoever.

Additionally, that Kushida Kikyo, who was on Fuyuji Mikage's friend list, would occasionally exchange a few words with him online. But whenever the topic touched on the state of Class D, it was always "Ahaha, everyone's such good friends," "No way, everyone's a good person, I get along happily with everyone, there's no such thing as conflicts or anything like that."

"Not at all," Sakayanagi Arisu covered her lips and spoke with a certain profound meaning. "Everyone is quite adorable."

"..." You and her really are of the same type.

"What about you, Fuyuji-kun? Being here alone at this hour... do you prefer solitude?" Sakayanagi Arisu placed her cane aside and rested both hands on her knees, which were wrapped in white stockings.

"Er... you're not exactly wrong to say that. But actually, I'm waiting for someone."

Fuyuji Mikage picked out a piece of beef tendon from the bowl and tossed it into his mouth, his eyes flicking towards Sakayanagi Arisu's inconvenient leg.

"Sakayanagi is quite impressive. At other schools, it might be fine, but at Advanced Nurturing High School, you have to be on your own for all three years. And yet, you still came here to study."

Given Sakayanagi Arisu's bearing, manner of speech, and skin as fine as egg white, she was almost certaintly a young lady from a wealthy family. It was hard to imagine her family would allow a girl with such mobility difficulties to attend school all by herself.

"Actually, my father originally didn't wish for me to come here to study either. But later, I suddenly discovered that someone I knew was also going to attend this school. So I asked my father to let me come here." Sakayanagi Arisu's voice carried a note of delight.

"Then you must be getting along very happily with that classmate now, right?" Fuyuji Mikage asked casually.

"No!"

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile turned chilly. She spoke flatly, "I was stood up."

"Ah, that..." Fuyuji Mikage, who had just been about to praise the greatness of friendship, was instantly choked up.

"That classmate didn't tell you he wasn't coming to Advanced Nurturing?"

"He did not," Sakayanagi Arisu said with some annoyance. "In fact, it was only when his father came to visit our household that I learned he had suddenly decided not to come."

"Then do you plan to withdraw from school? Given your circumstances, I'm sure the school would understand." After all, her goal for coming to this school was gone. There was no reason to stay here anymore.

"I don't have such plans for the time being. After all, the classmates in our class are all so interesting. I intend to get to know them better."

Sakayanagi Arisu's eyebrows and eyes carried a smile, her tone gentle. Yet, for some reason, Fuyuji Mikage felt a trace of chill run down his back.

"And what about your Class A, Fuyuji-kun? Are there any interesting classmates there?" A streak of light flickered in Sakayanagi Arisu's purple eyes.

"Capable classmates, you mean?" Fuyuji Mikage squeezed some yellow mustard onto the skewer and tried hard to recall the students in his class. "Mm... Katsuragi, from our class, is quite good."

"Is that so? May I ask what kind of person he is?" Sakayanagi Arisu inquired further.

Fuyuji Mikage gave her a thumbs-up and flashed his white teeth. "An honest, reliable, and responsible baldy!"

"..."

"Heh heh... is that so..."

Fuyuji Mikage sensed that her enthusiasm for socializing had just cooled considerably.

At that moment, three male students, carrying shopping bags, emerged from the supermarket's main entrance in the distance. They walked and chatted casually among themselves.

"Ah, Kushida-chan is so cute. Last night, I already finished thinking of a name for our future child."

"Get lost. Kushida-chan is mine."

"No way, man. Kushida-chan's level is way too high. You guys can't catch up. Give it up."

"Sigh... you're right. Kushida-chan is cute, sure, but there's absolutely no hope in sight. Dammit, I really, really want a girlfriend!"

"Me too. I absolutely have to become popular!"

"Hey, listen up, and don't go telling anyone else. Actually, Sakura from our class confessed to me a few days ago. But I'm just not interested in that airhead type of girl, you know."

"You actually turned her down! But, speaking of confessions... I actually feel like Sakayanagi-chan might be interested in me, you know?"

"Really, Ike? Damn, you're so lucky, man."

"Sorry, but no dice. Even though Sakayanagi-chan is cute enough, I still prefer the type with a big chest like Kushida-chan. And besides, if, by some chance, I really did marry Sakayanagi-chan someday, it'd be way too painful if that kind of stuff... didn't work out. Plus, don't you think Sakayanagi-chan is way too chuunibyou? Just like one of those characters from a galge."

"Now that you mention it..."

"Kushida-chan is still more to my taste. How about you, Ken?"

"I do really want to be popular with girls, yeah. But that kind of thing can wait. Right now, I still have to focus my energy on basketball."

"Jeez, you don't understand the beauty of youth at all. Fine, I'll lend you my treasured collection then."

"Lend it to me too."

"All of you can have it. After all, we're best friends."

"Hahahaha."

As the three of them faded into the distance with their utterly carefree laughter, all that was left were the two people sitting in a corner, wrapped in dead silence.

Fuyuji Mikage gulped down his food and cautiously stole a glance at Sakayanagi Arisu, who sat frozen in her seat. He felt it was best not to cross this girl's path right now.

And besides, she didn't seem to be in the best of health. If she collapsed right here, he was afraid he'd have a hard time explaining himself.

Beneath the parasol, under her silver hair, her porcelain-white face stiffly maintained a smile. Regrettably, her chest, previously calm but now heaving violently, had already thoroughly betrayed her state of mind.

After a moment's hesitation, Fuyuji Mikage slowly, with a hint of trepidation, slid the bottle of green tea back across the table towards her.

"Having a drink might help a little."

"Thank you for your concern. I am perfectly fine."

"Or perhaps... would you like the oden too? It's sweet."

"I must respectfully refuse. I don't actually like sweet things very much. And I'm currently in a very good mood."

"In that case... shall I introduce you to some more outstanding male students from our class?"

"No."

"Is there something you need me to do?"

"Thank you once again for your kindness. My mood is absolutely delightful."

Facing Sakayanagi Arisu, who had already erected her AT Field, Fuyuji Mikage felt as if a ticking time bomb were sitting right next to him.

After bidding Fuyuji Mikage a flat farewell.

Sakayanagi Arisu, alone, leaning on her cane, slowly stepped away in the direction of the setting sun. Amid a sea of blood-red light, her shadow stretched out upon the ground.

In a trance, Fuyuji Mikage seemed to see a bottomless gate to hell silently splitting open behind her back.

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