Ignoring the system's pop-up notification about his growing narcissism, Minami Shouji continued reading.
[System Score: 16 points.]
[System Evaluation: Without your knowledge, she had feelings for you. However, she concealed even that slight fondness with flawless acting. Your relationship with her is closer than that of ordinary 'friends,' but far from that of 'lovers.']
[To this day, you still don't understand why she so adamantly rejects other people's feelings, just as you don't understand why she uses such a perfect mask to hide the depth of her true emotions.]
[Yet, in the days to co, you'll occasionally recall her—her mischievous yet sowhat insincere smile appearing in your mories.]
[Perhaps only by uncovering the story behind her mask will you truly capture the heart of soone who has grown accustod to hiding herself.]
A score of 16 was exactly what Minami Shouji had expected.
What caught his attention more was the system's evaluation.
As the system had pointed out—
Why did Shinjo Akane reject love?
Why did she hide behind a fake smile?
Minami Shouji felt that only by uncovering these answers could he achieve a happy ending.
At the sa ti, there was another lingering mystery.
Why was Shinjo Akane so obsessed with tokusatsu?
Even her career path after graduation revolved entirely around tokusatsu.
Her passion for tokusatsu went far beyond a simple "hobby."
In the end, just as the system had said—
Shinjo Akane was still a walking enigma.
And precisely because of that—
"That's what makes her so troubleso."
If it were Gotoh Hitori, Yamada Ryo, or Nishikigi Chisato, Minami Shouji could have simply asked them if they had any worries and offered to help.
But Shinjo Akane...
Minami Shouji recalled his interactions with her in the simulation.
She rarely—if ever—truly opened up to others. At least, not in his mory.
Asking her directly? That was impossible. A complete waste of effort.
So, what about asking soone else?
That wouldn't be easy either.
Although Shinjo Akane had a large "friend group," it was just for show.
The only person she genuinely confided in was Takarada Rikka.
But Takarada Rikka... Minami Shouji had interacted with her twice in the simulation.
She was a laid-back girl, but once she decided on sothing, she was incredibly firm about it.
Asking her about Shinjo Akane? No way. She would never help him.
In the worst-case scenario, she might even tell Shinjo Akane that Minami Shouji was prying into her business.
That would only make things harder.
So... what was the right approach?
Minami Shouji thought for a mont.
In the end, he decided to revisit the three options given in his previous simulation.
Opening the simulation nu, he scanned the choices:
1. Uncover the truth—find out why Shinjo Akane is hostile toward you.
2. Forget about it—there's no point getting involved with an unimportant woman. Instead, you should focus on building a better relationship with Miss Yamada, who has been sending you lots of LINE ssages you've forgotten to reply to.
3. Approach her directly—politely ask, "I heard you have so really rare tokusatsu films at ho. Can I co over tonight to watch them?"
Last ti, Minami Shouji had chosen the first option, "Uncover the mystery," due to a lack of information.
After all, just from reading them, the second and third options sounded ridiculous.
But now, having gone through the simulation once—
Minami Shouji felt that the third option actually made a lot of sense.
Because Shinjo Akane was, at her core, a hardcore tokusatsu fan.
She had watched almost every tokusatsu show available in Japan. Even her career aspirations revolved around tokusatsu.
Thinking about it from another angle—
Wouldn't soone so passionate about tokusatsu want a friend to discuss it with?
Minami Shouji suddenly perked up.
Starting from her interests—this seed like a solid approach.
Hah. Won.
Using their interests to win them over, and then later treating them with the sa cold indifference they once showed him—though, of course, that was just a joke.
The most handso man in Tokyo wouldn't stoop to such things.
The more he thought about it, the more Minami Shouji nodded to himself. This approach had potential.
But...
How to initiate contact with Shinjo Akane was still a challenge.
Absentmindedly flipping through his textbook, his mind was still preoccupied with Shinjo Akane.
As the simulation had ntioned before, she harbored jealousy toward his writing talent.
Her first impression of him was already bad, and now he had to find a way to approach her?
That made things even more difficult.
As he pondered, his eyes drifted to an item he had obtained from a previous simulation—a reward from Nishikigi Chisato's happy ending.
['Unrivaled Tracking: Nishikigi Chisato' Character Card]
["Love is war. Holding back against others is being cruel to yourself. With unmatched execution and action, she never believed that hesitation and passivity would bring her love. To her, taking the initiative was the only way to win."]
["I don't seem like the kind of woman who would stalk soone. But to win you over, I perfected the ultimate stalking thod—Nishikigi Chisato."]
[A one-ti-use character card. When used, you can perfectly erase your presence. No human senses or surveillance equipnt will be able to detect you. Use this to track your target undetected.]
"Yeah, no thanks."
Minami Shouji shook his head. He had a feeling this item would be useful in the future.
Besides, using a stalking thod to initiate contact was already a losing move.
But if that was out of the question—how was he supposed to approach soone who already disliked him?
Minami Shouji kept thinking.
And then—
"Minami-kun."
"Hm?"
Lost in thought, Minami looked up. A female classmate had approached him.
"Do you need sothing?"
He couldn't rember her na, so he left it out, maintaining politeness.
"Ah... um... it looks like Shinjo-san from Class 3 wants to talk to you about sothing."
"Huh? Who?"
Hearing an unexpected na, Minami froze.
"Shinjo-san. Akane Shinjo, the second-ranked student in our grade."
Shinjo Akane?
Confirming that he had heard correctly, Minami looked toward the classroom door.
There, a lavender-haired girl was standing, smiling and waving at him.
"..."
Minami Shouji frowned and opened his simulation interface.
Displayed there—
[Current Simulation Target: Shinjo Akane. Status: Slightly Hostile.]
And yet...
Instead of waiting for him to approach her—
She had co looking for him first?
You're soone who's slightly hostile toward ... and instead of waiting for to co to you, you're the one approaching ?
Minami frowned.
He realized sothing.
Akane's outwardly disguised personality really reminded him of a certain female protagonist from a manga he had read before.
Except... that manga was Chainsaw Man, and the heroine's na was Makima—a textbook bad woman.
Of course, there were differences between them.
At the end of the day, Akane still gave Minami the sa impression—she was a bad woman, just like Makima.
Minami didn't dwell on the thought any longer. Instead, he stood up and walked toward the door.
Since this bad woman had co knocking on his door, he might as well see what kind of move she was planning to make.
Stepping outside, Minami took a good look at the ever-smiling Akane standing before him.
Just like in the simulation, the girl had sleek, silky lavender hair, and her crimson-red eyes carried the sa alluring temptation as strawberries.
Her mischievous, ever-curved smile didn't seem unnatural—instead, it added to her charm.
But perhaps the most eye-catching thing was what lay beneath her school uniform—sothing far more developed than the average high school girl.
If the simulation's standards were anything to go by—
Akane's figure was at the level where she could probably rest a cup of boba tea on her chest.
Minami only glanced for a mont before his sharp mind automatically calculated her three sizes beneath her loose uniform.
But since he had no interest in such useless data, he withdrew his gaze almost imdiately.
Still, Akane seed to have noticed his brief glance.
Her smile widened slightly, a teasing glint flashing in her eyes.
She pressed a delicate finger against her chest and grinned.
"Hello, Minami-kun, I'm—"
"Akane from Class 3. I know."
Minami cut her off without a hint of politeness, his tone dry and to the point.
At the sa ti, he glanced at his status screen.
[Current Simulation Target: Akane Shinjo. Status: Hostile.]
So she really was sulking.
Confirming that her status had changed from "Slightly Hostile" to just "Hostile," Minami took another look at the girl in front of him.
Despite the clear shift in hostility, her face remained completely unchanged—still smiling, still unreadable.
Minami let out a quiet sigh in his heart.
As expected of her.
Yes.
If it weren't for the simulation's status tracker, he probably would've been just as clueless as his past self.
Thinking this, Minami decided to use [Data Analyzer] on Akane.
[Na: Akane Shinjo]
[Appearance: 8, Athleticism: 7, Academics: 7] [Skills: Disguise LV5, Emotion Concealnt LV5,
Social Skills LV4, Tokusatsu Knowledge LV3, Initiative LV3, Studying LV3]
[Current Impression of Host: Hostile, Slightly Jealous] [System Evaluation: Your first impression in her eyes was not favorable. She holds a bit of jealousy toward your talent. If you wish to pursue her, you may need to put in multiple tis the effort—and even then, there's no guarantee she will reciprocate.
However, even she cannot deny that your good looks have left a strong impression on her. Because of that, you might still have a small chance of making this bad woman fall deeply in love with you.]
...Well, damn.
Minami raised an eyebrow.
LV5 in Disguise? LV5 in Emotion Concealnt?
No wonder the simulation's version of himself never managed to see through her.
With her disguise skills maxed out, Akane was impossible to read.
This wasn't the kind of skill set a tokusatsu heroine should have—if anything, her stats were more fitting for an evil female executive in a villain organization.
And he had to admit—
Compared to soone like Chisato, who basically threw herself at him before the simulation even started—
Akane's simulation difficulty was hell-level.
But... it wasn't completely hopeless.
Minami straightened his posture.
If his simulated self could make Akane waver—
Then he could make this bad womantruly fall for him.
Turning his gaze back to her, Minami got straight to the point.
"You wouldn't have co looking for if you didn't have sothing to say, right?"
"Ah... It's about the Shuka school Journal," Akane said with a lighthearted hum.
She didn't seem the least bit upset that Minami had rudely cut her off earlier.
Her tone was cheerful and sweet.
The way she playfully stuck out her white, slender fingers—
The cute, teasing expression—
And that charming, almost unnatural smile—
Any average high school boy would have been utterly smitten by now.
She had probably already turned countless boys into her "friends."
But—
Minami, who now fully understood what kind of girl she truly was, wasn't fooled by her act.
He simply waited for her to continue.
"To put it simply... my latest article didn't quite et the teacher's expectations," Akane said, giggling.
"So... Hehe, I thought I'd co ask Minami-kun, the guy who always pleases the teacher, for so guidance~"
She stuck out her tongue playfully, pulling a stack of papers from her schoolbag.
Then, with both hands pressed together in a pleading gesture, she tilted her head down slightly, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
It was the kind of scene where any normal teenage boy would be unable to refuse her.
And Akane knew that.
She was confident in her charm.
With just a little bit of sweetness, these simple-minded boys would be putty in her hands—
Or at least, that was what she thought.
But before she could finish that thought—
Minami took the papers from her.
And without even glancing at them—
Smack!
He dropped them straight onto the ground.
"Huh?"
Akane's perfect smile stiffened for a split second.
She opened her mouth slightly as if to say sothing—
But before she could—
Minami propped his chin up with his hand.
"'Huh?' What do you an, 'huh'?"
His voice was laced with open disdain.
"You're asking for soone's guidance, right? Then shouldn't you at least use honorifics?"
"Eh?"
Akane blinked, completely caught off guard.
No... wait. This isn't right.
Wasn't he supposed to be the one kneeling at my feet, begging to let him teach ?
How did things turn out like this?!
She didn't get it.
"'Huh?' again? You don't know how to ask for help properly?"
Minami pressed.
"Ah... um... S-Sorry, Minami-kun... Could you... please teach ...?"
Flustered, Akane stamred out the words.
But Minami only squinted at her.
"Wrong."
He bent down, picked up the papers, and dusted them off.
"Shouldn't it be 'Please, guide , Minami-sensei!'?"
His gaze turned cold.
"If you're going to ask for help, at least act like you an it, Akane."
"Eh? Ehh?"
No, wait. This isn't right at all.
At this point, shouldn't he be enthusiastically offering his help, acting all reliable and smug?!
Why... why was he treating her like this?!
Akane couldn't wrap her head around it.
"What's wrong? Out of words? Can't even speak properly now, Akane?"
Minami's voice was loud and commanding, drawing glances from nearby classmates.
The sudden strictness made Akane's shoulders stiffen.
Subconsciously, she opened her mouth—
"Uh... P-Please guide , Minami-sensei...!"
"Louder."
"P-Please guide , Minami-sensei!!"
"Not enough! Do you even want to learn?!"
"I... I do! Please! Guide , Minami-sensei!"
For the first ti, Akane was utterly bewildered.
And yet, she could only obey.
"Shouldn't you add 'thoroughly' to that?"
"...P-Please thoroughly guide , Minami-sensei!"
[Akane's impression of you has changed.]
Checking his simulation screen—
[Current Target: Akane Shinjo. Status: Hostile, Slight Respect, Slight Fear.]
As expected.
Minami nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he had planned, when dealing with a bad woman like Akane—soone who carried countless secrets—the best approach was to go in strong.
She had to understand that he was nothing like the average guys who ca running at her beck and call.
Still pleased with himself, Minami glanced sideways at Akane.
Her face was flushed red, her eyes flickering uncertainly as if she wanted to et his gaze but didn't quite dare to.
"Since you put it that way, Akane, I'll make sure to thoroughly train your writing skills. Understood?"
"U-Understood... Minami...-kun..."
"It's Sensei!"
"Yes! Minami-sensei!"
Shinjo Akane, flustered and hesitant, nodded her head vigorously.
And so, on that day—
A new legend was born at Shuka High.
The mighty Demon King, Minami, had forced the second-ranked student, Akane, to call him Sensei as punishnt for challenging him.
And according to rumors, there were even humiliating penalty gas between the two—
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