Chapter 30: I'm Crying From Anxiety
Takagi Saya was a genius.
This was an indisputable fact. Everyone around her believed it, and she absolutely believed it herself.
Setting aside the immense privilege and resources her family background provided, when it came to pure academics, Saya knew she was an unrivaled prodigy. By her second year of middle school, she had already mastered the entire middle school curriculum.
She aced the Fujimi Academy entrance exams with the highest score in the district, entirely skipping her third year of middle school to directly enroll as a first-year high school student. Even though the jump to high school material posed a slight challenge, she still effortlessly claimed the #1 rank in her grade.
However, just last year, when she was contemplating skipping yet another grade, she noticed that infinitely infuriating guy in her class.
Suyan!
He was a classmate who had enrolled at the exact same time as her. She was ranked #1; he was ranked #2.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have given him a second thought. That was, until she accidentally discovered a horrifying detail: Suyan, the supposed #2 student, scored perfect 100s in literally every single subject... except for History.
How was that fair?! How could a guy who spent all of class either sleeping or skipping entirely manage to get scores like that? Outside of History, there wasn't a single subject where she could actually beat him.
The girl felt as though her untouchable pride as a genius had been brutally trampled under his feet. From that day on, she entirely scrapped her plans to skip a grade. She poured every ounce of her energy into studying, obsessed with the singular goal of defeating Suyan in every single subject. Once she did, she planned to stand before him as the absolute victor and ruthlessly mock him.
Unfortunately, even after advancing to their second year and coincidentally ending up in the exact same class again, Saya had yet to achieve her goal.
It was precisely because she constantly monitored him as her ultimate rival that she had been paying such close attention to what he said. The moment he left the classroom, she hadn't hesitated for a second to follow him.
She tracked them all the way down the hall... until she watched Suyan and Rei walk straight into the school infirmary.
Saya was utterly bewildered.
However, the person even more bewildered than her was Miyamoto Rei, who had followed Suyan inside.
Weren't we supposed to go on a date?! Why did you bring me to the infirmary?! I only used feeling sick as an excuse! I didn't actually mean it! Don't tell me he brought me all the way to the infirmary just to play with my ahoge in private?!
She clearly had much more fun and interesting places on her body, yet this guy only ever focused on the two strands of hair on her head.
It was absolutely infuriating!
Suyan was completely unaware of the girl's internal meltdown, but he was highly satisfied that Rei had followed him here.
As mentioned before, due to his memories of the anime's plotline prior to crossing over, Suyan held some rather negative preconceived notions about her. Although those stereotypes had slowly begun to dissolve over the past half-month as they shared secrets and spent time together, completely erasing a deep-rooted bias wasn't something that happened overnight.
Therefore, this little stunt was his final test for the girl.
When he realized the zombie outbreak was starting, he could have simply grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the classroom. But he didn't. He gave her the choice, merely offering a casual "Let's go."
If she was willing to disregard the stares and judgment of the entire class to blindly follow him, then from this day forward, he would truly view her as one of his own.
After all, a girl who was willing to stand up in front of dozens of people and follow you into the unknown without asking a single question... that was infinitely more valuable than a friend who only ever logged on to play video games with you when you sent them a party invite.
Of course, if Rei hadn't followed him, she would have simply remained an NPC extra in his life. Because he had spent the last two weeks amusing himself with her ahoge, he might have tossed her a lifeline once the virus overran the school, but that would have been the absolute extent of their relationship.
Fortunately, Rei had chosen the former.
Upon entering the infirmary, Suyan didn't immediately address Rei. Instead, his eyes landed on Marikawa Shizuka, who was currently dead asleep, slumped over the infirmary desk.
Suyan quickly stepped forward, sliding his hands under her armpits to hoist her into the air before unceremoniously tossing her onto the infirmary bed.
Instantly, a pair of phenomenally bouncy water balloons jiggled violently up and down.
"Oh my?" Shizuka's eyes fluttered open. Seeing Suyan standing over her, she groggily murmured, "If it isn't Little Suyan. Skipping class to come see me again today?"
"Sister Shizuka, how many times do I have to tell you not to sleep slumped over the desk?!" Suyan reached out, pinching her cheek before his gaze drifted slightly downward. He scolded her with faux anger, "What if you squish my precious assets flat? If that happens, don't blame me when I abandon you."
A blatant lie! Given what an absolute, lovable airhead Shizuka was, even if he hadn't formed a Contract with her, there was zero chance he would ever abandon her unless he suffered severe brain damage.
Shizuka knew this perfectly well, but she eagerly played along. She scooted closer, wrapping her arms around him and putting on her most pitiful, teary-eyed expression. "Little Suyan, noooo. Please don't abandon your big sister Shizuka."
"But I was just thinking, aren't the infirmary beds supposed to be for the students to rest on?"
"I'm a teacher, after all. If I hog the beds meant for the students, wouldn't that make me a salary thief?"
Suyan looked at her with playful disgust, pushing her clinging head away. "Has it ever occurred to you that the moment you decided to slack off and sleep during your working hours, you already became a salary thief?"
"Eh?! R-Really?!" Shizuka's golden eyes went wide, staring at Suyan in sheer disbelief.
"Of course," Suyan replied deadpan. "If you don't believe me, ask anyone else."
"How could this be? I... I..."
Marikawa Shizuka: I am literally crying from anxiety right now.
Seeing her distress, Suyan patted her head, offering a comforting smile. "But you don't need to worry about it anymore, Sister Shizuka. Because starting today, you're officially unemployed."
After all, once the zombie virus fully consumed Japan in a few hours, the yen would be utterly worthless paper. Anyone still trying to clock in for a normal shift would be the crazy one.
"Eh?!"
While Suyan's attempt at comfort was nice, the delivery was absolutely brutal. Shizuka froze, completely dumbstruck.
All she did was take a little nap during work hours! It wasn't like she committed some unforgivable crime against humanity! How could she suddenly be told she was getting fired?!
Acting on pure instinct, Shizuka hugged Suyan's arm and began to whine: "I'm unemployed! That means you have to support me from now on, Little Suyan! I promise I'll never sleep on the desk again!"
"Um..."
Watching the two of them flirt like nobody else was in the room, Rei felt completely out of place, like a massive third wheel. She realized that if she didn't speak up soon, she'd probably end up having to hide under the bed to avoid watching a live show.
She reached out, gently poking Suyan's arm with her index finger, asking nervously, "Suyan-kun, can I ask exactly what we came to the infirmary to do?"
Suyan offered a single, weightless word: "Wait."
Rei was confused. "Wait?"
"Exactly." Suyan nodded.
Wait for Busujima Saeko to arrive. They had established a contingency plan beforehand: the moment she noticed any unusual, chaotic situations erupting within Fujimi Academy, she was to immediately rally at Shizuka's infirmary.
Furthermore, Suyan's command to "wait" carried a second meaning.
Wait for the zombie virus to completely detonate across Fujimi Academy.