Sayuri's math abilities had not improved at all.
It seemed she had been having fun since returning home, not doing anything productive.
Now she was regretting it, wasn't she?
Only when facing the exam did one regret not studying enough. The problems from "Five Years of College Entrance Exam, Three Years of Simulation" hadn't been too difficult for her, but the subsequent calculus problems had been torture.
She tried thinking about common calculus approaches, even using her hands and feet to calculate, but couldn't solve them.
Fortunately, Kaito let her off the hook. Just as the math problems began to drive her to the brink of despair, her eyes going hollow, he took back the test paper and marked it with a passing score.
"Sigh..."
Kaito couldn't help but sigh, looking at Sayuri lying on the ground, defeated by mathematics. He took out a cigarette and lit it, contemplating life.
'This wood was impossible to carve!'
'She was the worst student I had ever taught.'
Shodai had been slightly better!
Even if only by a little...
She was both weak and eager to play. Clearly unable to solve the problems, yet she insisted on trying.
Didn't she know that the most terrifying thing was the math problems themselves?
Were those monsters and Demons terrifying?
Terrifying? Terrifying, my foot!
Just kill them, that's it. No matter how terrifying, they could still be killed.
But math problems?
If you don't know, you don't know. No matter what you do, you still don't know!
You can't pick up a pen and kill a math problem!
In this situation, your only options were despair, or flipping the table and refusing the exam.
But clearly, Sayuri was the type who, even when she didn't know, would rack her brains trying to find the right answers.
Unfortunately...
Looking at the test paper, over half were wrong.
The passing score was given purely because Kaito was kind-hearted!
"Alright, I'll let you off tonight. Next time, you'll need to improve your math skills. Don't be so weak."
"..." Sayuri rolled her eyes, unable to say anything.
Later, Kaito carried her to the bedroom and tucked her in. He stayed by her side until she fell asleep.
As for him, he really couldn't sleep.
With a student scoring this poorly, how could he sleep!?
He was more likely to be pissed off!
Forget it, he took out his phone, signed into the chat group, lurked for a bit, and then went to sleep.
...
Meanwhile...
Kie was amazed by her rejuvenated appearance.
She couldn't help but touch her cheek, then her arms.
'Was I really...'
'This good?'
Her skin was smooth, fair, and supple, like beautiful white porcelain.
Her hands had no calluses whatsoever, as if she had never done a day's manual labor.
After marveling for a while, Kie's face gradually flushed.
Fortunately, she was staying alone.
After dressing again, Kie noticed...
The lingerie Akina had given her was now too small...
So, she took it off, reverted to her usual cloth wraps, and put her kimono back on.
After lying down, she took out the upgrade cards, glanced at their descriptions, and began using them one by one.
After using one, her eyes would automatically open, and she would continue.
Time...
Passed until morning.
Kie had woken up unusually late.
Nezuko came by, found Kie still asleep, and went to attend to Kaito instead.
Kaito had just gotten up and opened the door to find Nezuko, looking like a curious child.
"Nezuko, good morning."
"Good morning, Kaito-nii! Did you sleep well last night?"
"Of course!"
Kaito couldn't resist ruffling her hair.
Since he had bought her clothes, several sets that were identical, she still looked exactly like Nezuko from the original work, just without the bamboo mouthpiece.
"Would you like to come in?"
"No, I came to call Kaito-nii for breakfast. I made it myself!"
"Oh? I'm looking forward to it."
Kaito closed the door behind him, leaving the still-sleeping Sayuri inside, and followed Nezuko to the dining room.
He was the only one there. Asking Nezuko, he learned she hadn't called the others yet.
He decided to eat first and let Nezuko go get everyone else.
An hour later...
Kaito was glad he had made that decision.
The breakfast had long gone cold. When Nezuko returned, she looked confused.
Why were Misuzu and the others taking so long to get up? And they needed so much time to get ready?
If it were her, she could be done in 10 minutes!
Get dressed, wash up, brush hair, etc.!
Really, just 10 minutes!
"Haha, well, they have their own habits. It's normal for them to take a bit longer."
"But... the breakfast I made is cold... I'll go reheat it."
"No need, I can reheat it for you. Also, the breakfast you made was delicious!"
Even though it was just simple bread with some side dishes, this kind of down-to-earth breakfast made Kaito happy.
"R-Really? Thank you, Kaito-nii!"
"What are you thanking me for? You should eat too."
"Okay!"
Then Hanako and the others arrived. It was 8 AM, a normal waking time.
But Tanjiro and Takeo were drenched in sweat, indicating they had been training since early morning.
As for Hanako...
Rubbing her eyes, clearly just woke up.
"Ugh... good morning..."
Eriri arrived, looking a bit shy and avoiding Kaito's gaze. She sat slightly farther away and began eating her breakfast.
Misuzu and Mikoto, wearing kimonos and looking well-groomed, appeared and sat next to Kaito.
Mikoto was a bit shy, while Misuzu seemed slightly more forward.
But...
"I'm already full. No need to get me anything."
Kaito declined Misuzu's offer.
"Nezuko, where's your mother?"
"Um... she's probably still sleeping? She usually wakes up very early. This is the first time I've seen her sleep in so late."
"Is that so? Maybe she stayed up a bit late last night."
"Yeah, maybe she went to the inn to arrange things before going to sleep."
Nezuko nodded without thinking too much. Seeing Kaito finished, she proactively heated water to make tea for him.
As for Kie, she didn't wake up until 10 AM. Sayuri woke up around the same time.
Shinobu had actually been up early but hadn't been invited by Nezuko. She had simply eaten breakfast in her luxury suite, served by the attendant.
It was only when Kaito asked Nezuko to invite Shinobu that she appeared before everyone again.