Under the comforting words of Sora and Anna, Elf finally temporarily abandoned the idea of skipping class.
Fortunately, geography class wasn't difficult, and Elf managed to listen, avoiding turning into a salted fish sprawled on the desk.
The bell rang.
As the lunch break officially began, the classroom instantly became lively.
"Let's go, let's go~"
Anna quickly stood up, approaching Sora and Elf while clutching her stomach:
"I'm going to starve to death any minute now, let's hurry to the cafeteria."
Angel-sama also walked over:
"Let's go together."
"And Ruri-chan." Anna's voice was crisp. "I messaged Ruri this morning. Since it's Elf's first day of school, everyone should celebrate properly."
Yamada Elf finally recovered some spirit and stood up:
"Let's go take a look at the cafeteria."
"..."
The four walked out of the classroom, met up with Kuroneko from the class next door, and headed to the cafeteria together.
The journey was silent.
Arriving at the cafeteria, Sora ordered a pork cutlet rice bowl and sat down in a corner. With Anna around, he didn't need to worry about the rest.
Before long, the four girls came over carrying their meals.
Mahiru and Ruri sat opposite Sora, while Anna and Elf sat on his left and right.
Surrounded by four cute girls, Sora clearly felt his presence significantly amplified. Many students in the cafeteria were sneaking glances their way.
"Elf, how does it feel on your first day of class?"
Ruri asked curiously.
Elf still had a smile on her face, quite satisfied with the food Anna recommended. But the moment Kuroneko asked, the smile on Yamada Elf's face quietly vanished:
"It's not good at all. I completely don't understand math and physics. Those must definitely be forbidden knowledge that humans cannot master."
"Math and physics are indeed quite difficult. Sometimes it feels like an invasion of high-dimensional knowledge; forcefully studying it will corrupt our brains." Ruri, also a chunibyo girl, could resonate with Elf's frequency.
"But you still have to learn them slowly. If you fail the exams, you'll have to take makeup exams."
"I can't learn them." Yamada Elf pitifully put down her chopsticks.
"We truly cannot learn together."
Sora took a bite of his pork cutlet and said slowly:
"For math, if the foundation isn't solid, the whole structure will shake... I seriously doubt Elf's mathematical ability right now. It's necessary to test Elf's academic abilities."
"Trigonometric functions are indeed a very difficult chapter, don't be discouraged, Elf." Angel-sama looked up, her voice gentle.
"You should know quadratic equations, right, Elf?"
"Eh?" Yamada Elf's expression was blank.
"Quadratic... what is that? I only know about the 2D world."
Sora: "..."
Mahiru: "..."
Oh no, she doesn't even know what a quadratic equation is. Elf's math level might be even worse than imagined.
"That's knowledge from our middle school days." Anna looked over in surprise.
"Elf hasn't learned it?"
Yamada Elf averted her gaze, stammering:
"My mom always hired tutors to come to the house before, I never went to middle school."
Mahiru gently pursed her beautiful lips, asking softly:
"You should know linear inequalities, right, Elf?"
"..."
Yamada Elf shook her head again.
Sora and Mahiru exchanged a glance, confirming in each other's eyes that they had indeed encountered an unbelievable fish that had slipped through the net of compulsory education.
"Elf." Sora put down his chopsticks and looked at the blonde loli beside him.
"What is three plus five?"
"Idiot Sora, stop looking down on me." Yamada Elf quickly puffed out her pink cheeks, reaching out to poke Sora's waist.
"Of course I know such simple math. It's eight, right?"
Sora continued asking:
"What is thirty-one minus seventeen?"
"L-Let me think..." Yamada Elf couldn't answer immediately, counting on her fingers. "Thirteen... no, maybe fourteen?"
Sora silently pressed his fingers against his brow: "Let me ask you a multiplication question... What is twelve times eight?"
"Umm..."
Yamada Elf began counting on her fingers again. This time she hesitated even longer, taking quite a while before lifting her chin:
"I got it, it's eighty-eight."
Ruri: "..."
Anna: "..."
She even gets the simplest addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division wrong. Her math level is clearly worse than an elementary schooler's! No wonder trigonometric functions sound like a book from heaven, and physics and chemistry are incomprehensible. It would be weirder if she could understand!
"Let's eat, let's eat." Anna hurriedly coughed lightly twice.
"Let's not discuss studying for now, it'll affect Elf's appetite... It's mealtime now, just focus on eating."
"..."
Lunch ended.
Anna put down her bowl and chopsticks in satisfaction. She looked at Yamada Elf, speaking tactfully:
"School life is very colorful. Many people are idiots when it comes to studying, but they are very good at sports... The Sports Festival is starting soon, does Elf want to challenge it?"
"No." Yamada Elf crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head decisively.
"I don't want to run at all. Getting all sticky and sweaty is so uncomfortable. If I wanted to exercise, I would have gone night running with Sora and Mahiru last night."
"Eh?"
Anna was taken aback. She widened her eyes and looked at Sora:
"Sora and Mahiru went night running last night?"
"Umm..." Mahiru's pretty face flushed slightly, and she hurriedly lowered her head to eat to hide her shyness.
"The Sports Festival is starting soon. Sora-kun and I signed up for a lot of events, so we have to hurry up and improve our physical fitness."
As she spoke, Angel-sama remembered the kisses from last night again, and her voice involuntarily grew softer and softer.
Sora remained expressionless: "Leaving the house every night at eight o'clock, running for an hour, and returning a little past nine, the timing is just right."
"Mhm~"
Hearing this, Anna quietly gave two light snorts to herself.
It doesn't matter if Sora and Angel-sama go night running together.
I had dinner with Sora yesterday, and finally, he carried me to the train station on his back... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a date, right?
The advantage is mine!
If this is a race, I've already lapped Mahiru by a full lap or more, right?
"After school, Ruri can also go to the track to run." Sora looked at Kuroneko sitting opposite him.
"Your stamina is too poor."
"No." Ruri flatly refused. She pressed her right hand against her cheek, striking a standard chunibyo pose.
"I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night. The night is my home turf. During the day, my mobility drops by fifty percent."
"Then run at night?"
"I have to take care of my sisters at night, I don't have time."
No time during the day or night. You're clearly just being lazy and don't want to exercise!
After lunch, Sora and the four girls left the cafeteria and returned to class.
The two afternoon classes passed in a flash.
The second class was swimming, and Elf actually had a lot of fun.
However, after school, Yamada Elf said she wanted to take a shower and asked Sora to go to the student council to fetch her clothes.
Sora went to the student council office and knocked on the door.
After waiting for a good while, there was no response from inside the office.
"Is no one there?"
Sora frowned slightly. As he was thinking about how to contact Tiara, a weak, feeble voice suddenly sounded from behind him:
"Please... wait a moment... I'll open the door..."
Turning his head, he saw the zombie-like gyaru senpai stumbling towards him, looking as if she would fall over in the next second.
"Shikiya-senpai, perfect timing."
Sora stepped forward to meet her.
The next second.
The zombie senpai, carrying a faint, cool scent, collapsed once again, falling headfirst into Sora's embrace:
"Carry..."
"Carry me... to the sofa... I'm shutting down..."