Monday morning, long before sunrise Hide rushed to the backyard to exercise. As he was worried, his body was indeed very weak. He was only able to do ten push-ups before his arm burned. Meanwhile, ten sit-ups almost cramped his stomach.

Luckily, he did not set a too high target. So he could finish all the menus, although with a lot of interval rest.

'Slowly but surely, my body will return to its peak if I keep exercising.'

Hide then rushed to clean himself and make breakfast. Not forgetting, he also made lunch for Aizawa. Of course, it was not the instant ramen he usually gave her, but rolled omelet with cheese and bacon, white rice with nori and lettuce, a small flask of sweet tea, and a pear.

Every day, Hide didn't need to take Aizawa to school or pick her up, or rather he couldn't do it.

More than 95% of primary schools in Nikko were owned by the government, and some regulations determine where a child would study based on the distance from home to the nearest primary school. Even so, parents did not need to worry because public schools in Nikko share the same standards in quality and cost.

Parents were also not allowed to drop off or pick up their children because each child would be grouped based on where they live. Each group would go to school or return home together, and had a leader who would be appointed in turn. This system enabled every child in Nikko to know the meaning of independence from an early age.

However, if in a group there was a child who was ostracized, then for at least six years the child had to live a miserable school life. Unfortunately, Aizawa was one of the outcast children. In his previous life Hide didn't do anything even though he knew about it. Of course in this life, he vowed to change that at any cost.

Hide's heart felt tight when he saw Aizawa walking alone at the very back, while her friends cheerfully walked hand in hand.

'Private schools are expensive, but it isn’t a problem as long as Aizawa can learn and develop optimally.'

Hide took a deep breath before locking the door. A moment later, he was already on his way to school.

---

Hide never imagined that he would return as a student at East Nichiko High School. However, he didn't feel any nostalgia. Instead, he wanted to leave the school as soon as possible. Moreover, there were many things he had to do and school would only get in the way.

Luckily, since 2024 the Nikko Ministry of Education had issued a policy that junior and senior high school students could take accelerated exams which were held in June and December.

Hide casually fixed his books and stationery, while the class was busy talking about the incoming match between Nakamura Ocean and Yuko Mountain. The match became the hottest topic because the best strikers and the strongest defender in Nikko would meet.

In his previous life, Hide, who was blind to soccer, even learned about the match because all the students in his class talked about it for a whole week.

In this life that had not changed. As soon as the lesson ended, Nakamura Ocean and Yuko Mountain's supporters immediately continued the argument war.

"Yuko Mountain has no chance. Nakamura Ocean brought in the strongest trio defenders from Britiss League for no reason. Meanwhile, Yuko Mountain currently only has one striker who for the last few games played poorly. So, even though the striker is the best striker from last season, it won’t make much difference.”

A beautiful schoolgirl with a slender but well-tuned body vigorously defended Nakamura Ocean. She was Sayaka Kiyomasa, one of the most fanatical soccer fans in Hides’ class.

Sayaka, who was also the leader of the hiking club, looked quite striking to Hide because they both studied at the same school since elementary school.

Hide even tried to express his heart to Sayaka when they were in the third year of middle school, but she flatly rejected him because she was only interested in boys stronger than her.

Hide looked at Sayaka for a moment before sighing deeply. In his previous life, after he nearly died from completing airborne and ranger training without a break, Hide immediately attended the assault climber course in the hope to impress Sayaka. But Sayaka rejected him again, and preferred to have a relationship with a professional mountain climber from Vrancis.

'I can't wait to see you cry hysterically, when Nakamura Ocean gets slaughtered this Friday.'

Grinning inwardly, Hide got up and grabbed his school bag. He had to hurry because he had to go to a law firm. Unfortunately, Watanabe Sensei was waiting for him at the door.

---

As soon as he entered the counseling room, Watanabe Sensei asked Hide to sit down.

"Hide, your email last night surprised me."

Hide looked at his homeroom teacher before saying, "I'm not the first student who asks for an acceleration exam. So I don't think it's anything special."

Watanabe Sensei nodded before saying, "Yes, but every student who asks for an acceleration exam, has been preparing for a long time. So the homeroom teacher can provide a letter of recommendation with ease.

As for you, your score since first year was only at the threshold of average. When you were in elementary school, I heard that you were always in the top ten in the national exams. But from the third year, your performance dropped dramatically and there has been no improvement until now.

Some teachers suggested rejecting your request. But I felt it might be best if I gave you a chance. You can't take the graduation exam in June, but I don't mind giving you a recommendation for the graduation exam in December as long as you show improvement on your daily scores."

Without thinking any further Hide answered, "Thank you for understanding, Sensei. I will try my best."

Hide then got up and bowed deeply before walking toward the exit. At first glance, this was very rude, but the accumulated experience from his previous life made Hide need a while before he could adjust to and pretend to act like a high school student.

That's why Hide prefered to be considered as an impolite student rather than having to talk to his homeroom teacher for a long time, who would more or less notice his changes.

'I still haven't asked why he wants to take the final exam. Well, I can still ask him another time so I don't have to press him.'

Watanabe Sensei then lit a cigarette before returning to the staff room.

*****