After school in the afternoon, Sorata, who did not participate in club activities, went to the library with Shiina Mashiro.
"Sorata, what are we doing here?" Mashiro asked, her voice calm and curious.
"Looking for some materials. There is an entrance exam tomorrow, remember? I have not listened to any of the classes, so I am here to cram," Sorata replied without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Is that so?" Mashiro blinked. It seemed that their art department did not have exams. Mashiro, who also never paid attention in class, found nothing strange about Sorata's words.
While speaking, Sorata, following the content recorded in Nanami Aoyama's notes, began searching for relevant textbooks.
Before long, he was carrying more than a dozen books on high school physics, mathematics, literature, and other subjects. Finding an empty table, he sat down and got to work.
Flip, flip.
Picking up a book, Sorata quickly flipped through it. In less than a minute, he had scanned all the contents before moving on to the next.
"Sorata, what are you doing?" Mashiro, who had already taken out her drawing board from her backpack and started preparing to draw, was stunned.
"Reading. There is an exam tomorrow. I am memorizing all the content first."
"You read so fast," Mashiro observed quietly.
As a memory genius herself, Mashiro only thought Sorata was reading unusually fast. However, many high school students studying in the distance assumed Sorata was searching for something, not reading seriously.
"I know that guy, Kanda or something. I heard he joined the Occult Research Club," a voice murmured from the other side of the library.
"Is that the club with two big beauties and one cute little beauty? I am so jealous," another voice answered, full of envy.
Several students glanced toward Sorata, their eyes filled with resentment and jealousy.
And with Shiina Mashiro, the famous beauty transfer student, sitting beside him, their jealousy only deepened.
After all, people leading fulfilling lives were always the ones others found most irritating.
"I heard he lives in the Sakura Dormitory. That girl too. We better stay away, what if we get infected with the Sakura Dormitory virus?"
"Yeah, people say the ones living there are all weird."
The subtle sounds of sour jealousy reached Sorata's ears. However, he was too focused to care, automatically filtering out their words.
Before entering the Nightmare Space, Sorata had been one of them.
An ordinary person, easily overwhelmed by the existence of true genius. When faced with someone vastly more talented, most people could only admire or envy them. To protect their fragile egos, they would band together to isolate the genius and restore psychological balance.
Few truly sought to catch up through hard work.
Even fewer succeeded.
Many despaired, realizing that no matter how hard they tried, they could never reach that height.
But there were exceptions.
Those who clawed their way up, those who had tasted the bitterness of countless failures, built a will stronger than steel.
For them, learning and improving became an instinct.
And when they finally stood atop the mountain, their brilliance eclipsed even the brightest natural talents.
Sorata was one of them.
After experiencing the Nightmare Space, after surviving the great purges and the final destruction, growth had been etched into his soul.
Even now, after gaining freedom and awakening in this world, his instincts urged him to constantly restore his strength, to deduce and evolve into something flawless.
On the surface, he looked lazy and carefree, like someone who had lost all ambition and just wanted to enjoy life.
But deep down, improving himself was something so natural, so ingrained, that he could never truly stop.
At this moment, Sorata, who once resented geniuses, had unknowingly become exactly what he used to hate.
A genius.
A super genius.
More than ten minutes later, Sorata had scanned and memorized the entirety of high school-level knowledge. Still not satisfied, he returned to the shelves, picking out even more books, some covering university-level material.
Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded in the library.
A beautiful girl quietly painted on her drawing board, while across from her, a boy methodically flipped through an ever-growing mountain of books, absorbing their contents within seconds.
"Ha... done."
As the sun was about to set, Sorata stood up and stretched lazily. His mind was now packed with enough knowledge to easily tackle any future exam.
Under the watchful and slightly nervous gaze of the beautiful librarian, Sorata returned every book precisely to its original place, surprising her.
She had thought she would have to spend hours reorganizing them after he left.
With his backpack slung over his shoulder, Sorata walked side by side with Mashiro across the schoolyard.
"Sorata, Ayano said she is treating us to dinner after school," Mashiro suddenly said as they approached the school gate.
"When did that happen?"
"During afternoon class. I was chatting with her on my phone. She asked about the illustration progress and whether I wanted to continue with the newcomer competition," Mashiro answered plainly.
"Then you told her that after finishing the illustrations, you wanted to draw the manga for Toradora, so she came over for that, right?" Sorata asked casually, already guessing the next part.
Mashiro blinked and nodded. "Yes."
"Why did you not say that earlier? She has probably been waiting outside for an hour or two by now."
"I forgot while I was drawing in the library."
Sorata could only mourn silently for Ayano Iida.
When they stepped outside, they found Ayano leaning against the door of a sleek car, waiting patiently.
"Sorry, Mashiro forgot to mention you were waiting for us," Sorata said with a faint apologetic smile.
"Kanda-sensei, you are too kind. It is my impudence to disturb you. Please, get in the car," Ayano Iida said politely, her tone warm.
As for Mashiro, social etiquette like this was simply not something she concerned herself with.
Inside the car, Sorata casually chatted with Ayano Iida, keeping a light smile on his face.
He appeared to be just a slightly more mature high school student, perfectly blending into the world around him.
No one would have guessed that beneath his calm surface hid a supernatural being with terrifying power.
Ayano Iida drove them to a high-end dessert café. After each ordered a drink and a pastry, Mashiro focused intently on her food, while Sorata and Ayano began discussing the Toradora manga project.
According to Ayano, if Mashiro truly intended to adapt Toradora into a manga, they would need to arrange a contract with Kamimura Yuriko, Mashiro's assigned editor.
Originally, Sorata had planned to find time to meet Kamimura Yuriko about this, but now that Ayano had taken the initiative, he was more than happy to relax and let her handle it.
As they talked, Ayano casually mentioned, "Speaking of novels, our Bunko department announced they will be holding a 'Short Light Novel Number One Martial Arts Tournament' in three days."
"It is said many promising new writers have already signed up. The top three winners will earn a publication slot, and their works will be released on May first, the same day Teacher Kanda's work is set to launch."
She also briefly mentioned the upcoming campus youth novel celebration hosted by Dengeki Bunko and Fujimi Shobo.
"What is Kamimura Yuriko's position in the publishing house?" Sorata asked directly, his gaze sharp.
He had a keen feeling that all these sudden events were not random but targeted. Not at him, but at Kamimura Yuriko.
Ayano Iida seemed slightly surprised at the question but smiled warmly. "Senior Kamimura comes from the prestigious Kamimura family in Adachi District. Their family controls the Hyakkei Conglomerate, which ranks among the top thirty conglomerates in Japan. Dengeki Bunko is a subsidiary under Hyakkei."
"Last year, there were rumors that the Hyakkei chairman's health was failing. The current publishing house chairman, Kamimura Hiroshi, is Senior Kamimura's distant uncle," Ayano explained, her tone casual as if mentioning unrelated gossip.
"I understand," Sorata nodded.
A simple family power struggle.
He had just happened to stumble into it.
However, from the way Ayano spoke, it was clear her own background was not simple either.
The question was, why was she telling him all this?
Did she think he could actually do something about it?
Or was she simply... mentioning it casually?
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus chapter.
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Try Other Fics I Have
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•Anime: I Want Harem
•DxD: I am Kanda Sorata
•Anime: Curse Of Immortality
•Genshin Impact: I have Broken System