Chapter 36: The Stock Trading Skill Rocks!

……

At the end of the update notes, Himekoji Akito noticed a piece of information crucial to him—a small line in the “Quest Optimization Noticeboard”—

[From now on, when quests trigger, there is a small chance a Perfect Quest Event will appear! Stop hesitating, say bye to decision paralysis!]

Though he still had doubts about the “small chance” and “Perfect Quest Event” mentioned by the System, Himekoji Akito took note of it anyway.

Just saying, if they lied, they should be cursed!

After that, Himekoji Akito spent more time exploring the upgraded new System and new features, going over it several times. Once he felt like he had a thorough grasp, with no details left uncovered, he finally exited the interface with satisfaction.

Maybe people feel energized when good things happen? The exhaustion from staying up all night suddenly vanished. Himekoji Akito felt alive; he was confident he could clean even three hundred Hiratsuka-sensei’s bedrooms in one go!

So, come at me!

“Himekoji, you’re annoying. Could you not make that creepy expression in my line of sight?”

Huh? Someone actually took the bait. The voice came from Aoyama Nanami, sitting beside him.

Wait, let me check first—

Aoyama Nanami’s stock price is… oh, it’s 8!

Seriously? Seems like just a minor character to me.

Therefore, there’s no need to deliberately please her.

Actually, this might be an opportunity. By being rude and sarcastic, worsening their relationship, then buying her stock at its lowest when it crashes—that could be profitable!

Thinking this, Himekoji Akito immediately wiped off the proud smile he had after the System upgrade, put on a cold expression, pretended to glance at his watch, and spoke calmly:

“Seventeen minutes.”

“Huh? Seventeen minutes what?” Aoyama’s light eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

“You’ve been staring at my face for seventeen minutes since class started?” Himekoji Akito suddenly gave a sly smile. “Well? Enjoying the view? Seen enough? If not, you can come closer.”

“Th-that’s nonsense! I’ll cut you!” The girl flushed, seeming flustered at being caught, suddenly blurting out her trademark Kansai dialect.

“People here don’t say ‘cut’.” Himekoji Akito corrected her.

“I-I know that.”

Toyonoshi Academy provided dorms for students from all over the country, including Aoyama, who was from Osaka. In Himekoji’s class alone, many students had come from other prefectures.

Aoyama naturally spoke with a strong Kansai accent a year ago. Now, aiming to master standard language, she deliberately suppressed her accent.

Her ambition was to become a seiyuu, where perfect tone was absolutely fundamental.

This past year, her standard Japanese sounded mostly natural. However, the habit of pronouncing things clearly with a Kansai rhythm hadn’t fully disappeared.

She attended training classes at an agency affiliate on weekends and spent much of her time in self-imposed practice drills.

To Himekoji, Aoyama Nanami seemed mature—a girl with principles, humble, serious, and incredibly self-reliant.

Her reluctance to seek help was very much like Himekoji Akito.

Well, he had no one to ask for help! After all, being the “leader of the Five Shadows” was no joke! Hmph~~

Hmm, maybe that wasn’t something to be proud of?

Ahem, back to the topic…

Unlike him, Aoyama’s independence perhaps stemmed from not being good at acting cute to get what she wanted.

He pondered this. The image of Aoyama Nanami acting cute? Unimaginable.

Hardworking, diligent, and precise—she would pay back any favor, no matter how small. Faced with challenges, even beyond her strength, she’d never quit.

She was genuine, approachable, considerate, caring, a bit tsundere… ordinary yet cute…

Weird, stop! Stop!

Why did Himekoji Akito feel like he knew her so well, like they were this close?

She was just a random “girl” whose stock was only worth 8 yen!

Aoyama’s seat number was 5. Next came Kano, Kamijo, Ikuta, Kaito, Kawasaki, Totsuka, followed by number 11—Himekoji Akito.

Six rows of six seats filled the classroom. Conveniently, he ended up sitting beside Aoyama in the front row again—similar seating to the previous year.

“Okay then, I’ll beat you up!” Aoyama corrected her earlier words seriously, carefully pronouncing each syllable for her seiyuu training.

“No need to repeat it!” Himekoji rolled his eyes.

“That feels better.”

“Heh, just a tip—neither phrase suits a girl well. It’s not about the accent anymore,” Himekoji chuckled, provoking her.

“Shut up! You’re the weird one, Himekoji! No matter who they are, no one would be a pervert like you!”

Success! Provocation successful!

He could almost hear her affection points crashing down.

Internally cheered, Himekoji Akito immediately summoned the System and opened the stock market interface.

[Aoyama Nanami Stock—]

[Open: 8.00 Low: 7.32 Current: 8.03]

Wait!

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

Huh? Still not right!

Why did the price go up instead of drop? What’s happening?!

He whipped his head toward Aoyama to complain—

“Hey! What is wrong with you?! Play along! Hate me more! Hate me even more!”

But before he could speak, the words stuck in his throat.

Their eyes met… awkwardly.

Eye contact.

For the first time, Himekoji noticed Aoyama’s eyes—a bright, warm amber color, striking and clear like gemstones.

It wasn’t just him! She was acting strange today since the start of class! Staring at him lost in thought like that… flowers growing on his face?

[Please choose!]

While Himekoji was still puzzled, the new System quest popped up suddenly, like an ambush.

Huh?

After reading the quest, his expression froze.

Wasn’t this… different indeed?

If he remembered correctly, this was the first quest since awakening his System that had nothing to do with being a “pervert.”

After a beat, he finally followed the System instruction:

“Well, I think… your eyes are your best feature, Aoyama-san. If I rated them out of ten… 9.9!”

“Eh?” Aoyama’s bewilderment surely surpassed his own just now; she clearly hadn’t expected words like this from him.

“Know why the missing 0.1?”

“Huh?”

“Because… they don’t reflect me.”

As he said this, Himekoji’s gaze suddenly slid away from her stunned face. Like losing gravity, it fell straight down… down towards the floor, perhaps even lower places.

His pupils seemed to swell with an overflow of emotions, a chaotic tide.

It looked… painful. Like it might make people feel sorry for him.

Paired with the increased charm from his passive skill and his naturally handsome face, the impact was MAX+!

[Quest Completed. Gift: 10 shares of Aoyama Nanami stock.]

Just as expected—the expert acting earned the System’s professional recognition.

But Aoyama’s reaction was—

“Pervert!”

The girl’s face crimson, she muttered the word lowly, then flusteredly turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge Himekoji Akito further.

Huh? Pervert?

Wait! That quest wasn’t perverted at all!