Life In The Reverse World

“Haruuuu—takiii—”

“No.”

“Wait, I haven’t even said anything yet!”

The drowsy warmth of the afternoon sunlight rippled across the oak desks. The classroom’s easygoing atmosphere was shattered by a wail, like someone dumping creamer and sugar into a cup of black American coffee. Irritating beyond words.

Thud.

Haruto planted both hands on the edge of the desk and pressed his forehead hard against the still-warm surface before calling out Harutaki’s name again.

“Harutaki~”

“I’m not Doraemon. I don’t have any memory bread.”

“Huh? You already know what I’m about to ask?”

Haruto jerked his head up, shrinking his neck back with a ghost-struck expression.

“Even sports clubs have grade requirements, and midterms are coming up… I’m guessing Ren reminded you yesterday.”

The only thing that could trouble this carefree, simple-minded idiot was probably exams.

“…Yeah, pretty much.”

“Then why not just ask Ren? He wouldn’t refuse you.”

Harutaki had a very good impression of Ren.

Even when it came to messy interpersonal issues like Tazaki’s, Ren would take the request with a wry smile and handle it perfectly. Compared to that, helping Haruto review was nothing.

Ren’s grades didn’t quite break into the top ten, but Harutaki figured he wasn’t far off.

“That’s exactly the problem. Sigh—” Haruto slumped, then continued, “—Miho booked Ren’s tutoring slot first the day before yesterday.”

“You could just study together as a group. Don’t you usually move around in a pack anyway?”

“She says I’m too noisy and would ruin the study efficiency.”

“A perfectly reasonable judgment.”

Harutaki nodded in agreement, only to catch the deeply aggrieved look on Haruto’s face. His forehead was still red from earlier.

Glancing at his own desk, Harutaki found, as expected, a damp patch of sweat left behind.

“Even you’re saying that, Harutaki?!”

“…Forget it.”

Seeing how pitiful Haruto looked, Harutaki felt a bit bad.

“…After school, we’ll go to Starbucks. I’ll get you up to a passing level before midterms. That should be doable, right?”

“Yesss! As long as I don’t fail!”

Your bar really is low.

Just as Harutaki was considering how to structure the session, a weak voice piped up from the side, the complete opposite of Haruto.

“H-Harutaki-sama…”

“Tazaki, don’t tell me you need tutoring too?”

He turned in his chair, pressing a hand to his forehead, and looked at Tazaki, who was more or less his seatmate.

After more than a month of exercise and diet control, Tazaki looked far more energetic and put-together. His figure had improved as well. Though his lack of confidence still lingered, he no longer shrank away the moment someone met his gaze.

“I-I’ve been rereading a niche light novel these past few days…”

“Put that rereading enthusiasm into studying, you idiot. And besides, you’re not like Haruto—”

“I’ll treat you to a cold drink, Harutaki-sama. Please.”

“—You’ve got good instincts. Add a tiramisu.”

“Me too, me too!”

Haruto shot his hand up like an elementary schooler, brimming with enthusiasm.

“I’ll match Akihisa’s offer!”

“You trying to give me a stomachache?”

After some bargaining, the final arrangement was: Tazaki would cover drinks, Haruto would cover desserts.

…

At 3:50 PM, when they stepped into the Starbucks near Nichiya High School, Harutaki was surprised to find Ren and Miho sitting face-to-face, their table covered with open textbooks and reference materials.

What timing.

He had planned to sit somewhere out of sight before Haruto noticed them, but Ren reacted faster than expected.

The popular, good-looking guy with black hair and brown eyes showed a wry smile, then waved at Harutaki.

“Miho, see? I told you—”

“Ah~ Harutaki-kun, you’re here to study too? What a coincidence~”

Miho’s cheerful voice completely drowned out Ren’s. She pointed to the seat beside him, inviting them to join.

“Oh, and the otaku-kun is here too.”

“G-Good evening…”

Tazaki greeted nervously.

“What about me, what about me?”

Unable to hold back, Haruto squeezed up to the table, asking excitedly.

“Ah… it’s Haruto…”

“That was so half-hearted! Why are you so excited for Harutaki—”

“Because Harutaki-kun is handsome.”

“I am too, okay?!”

Haruto indignantly pointed at his athletic, good-looking face.

“I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Ugh…”

In the end, under Miho’s openly annoyed gaze, Haruto still plopped himself down beside her with a grin. Harutaki sat with Ren, while Tazaki pulled up a chair to the side.

Scratch, scratch.

The sound of pen on paper began to echo through the quiet café. With one hand, Harutaki drafted key-point summaries for Haruto and Tazaki’s weakest subjects. With the other, he enjoyed an affogato Frappuccino.

The cool, creamy drink slid into his mouth, first bringing the rich bitterness of coffee, then the fragrance of vanilla, before finishing with a pure milky sweetness.

Under the warm-toned lighting, time itself seemed to slow. Before he knew it, the ice cream floating in the coffee had completely melted.

Half a cup down. Thirty minutes gone.

After reviewing the outline once more, he neatly tore the pages from his notebook and slid them to Haruto and Tazaki.

“These are the key midterm points for your weak subjects. If you want pickles to soak overnight, you need the right marinade.”

“Ooh~ This is way more convenient than Ren’s usual question-by-question approach.”

“Please don’t ask me for help anymore.”

Haruto’s admiration earned a deadpan retort from Ren. Haruto immediately bowed his head onto the table in a full-on dogeza apology.

“This kinda feels like how cram school teachers do things.”

Tazaki, who had probably attended cram school in middle school to get into Nichiya High, muttered.

“Speaking of which, didn’t you two go to cram school?” Harutaki asked Ren and Miho.

In his memory, most people spent hundreds of thousands of yen on cram schools to get into good universities.

“I think working hard on my own is enough.”

Ren sounded confident.

Miho, on the other hand, shrugged.

“Cram schools are suuuper expensive. And my grades are fine as long as I’m not aiming for a top university.”

She seemed to have a very clear understanding of her own limits.

Harutaki found himself thinking that at this age, sixteen to eighteen, most students were lost about their future.

What university should they aim for? What city should they study or work in? And… what kind of career did they even want?

Back then, he had been the same. Under pressure from teachers and parents, all he thought about was getting higher scores.

But why he needed those scores, or where they would take him, he had no idea.

“Hey, what about you two? Any plans?” he asked curiously.

“Basketball, obviously.”

Haruto answered without hesitation.

“I’ll make it to nationals, stand out, get a recommendation into university… though in the end, I might just become a basketball coach.”

“I-I don’t have such a passionate goal. As long as I get into a decent university and become a full-time employee somewhere, that’s enough. But… my salary has to cover merch and idol concerts.”

Very Tazaki-like.

Harutaki was a little surprised. He had expected something more “fantastical” from him, like working in the anime industry. Instead, Tazaki’s outlook was grounded in reality.

And Haruto clearly already understood how harsh the path of an athlete was, and the possibility of failing along the way.

Perhaps sensing something, Ren turned to Harutaki.

“What about you?”

“Tokyo University, probably…”

He didn’t continue. Beyond the immediate goal of entering university, he hadn’t thought further ahead.

So what path should he take?

Become a politician with the backing of the Chouko family?

Ride on Nogami’s coattails?

Or… just live and work alongside beautiful girls and his little sisters?

He couldn’t help but scoff at himself.

Tazaki could accept reality, yet here he was, clinging to an unrealistic dream.

“With your current rank—fourth in the year—getting into Tokyo University is basically guaranteed. But after that, have you decided on a faculty?”

Ren was really persistent.

“…Haa.”

Harutaki let out a quiet sigh.

Right now, immersed in his present life, he had no desire to spend energy worrying about the complications of the future—

And yet, confusion and struggle over one’s path forward were an inseparable part of youth.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Guess you’ve just got too many choices, Harutaki-sama. People like me, with barely any choices, have it easy.”

Harutaki glanced at Tazaki in surprise. He hadn’t expected such clarity from his otaku seatmate.

“Calling it ‘easy’ when it’s actually ‘having no choices’… that’s pretty impressive, Akihisa.”

Haruto didn’t hold back at all.

“That’s so mean!”

The encouraging smile Tazaki had just given Harutaki crumbled instantly.

“Alright, alright, everyone’s got their own path~”

As always, Ren stepped in to smooth things over.

After patting Tazaki’s shoulder, he turned back to Harutaki.

“By Nichiya High tradition, after midterms there are two career guidance sessions. One with seniors and university students, and one with successful alumni from society. You can think about it then.”

“…Yeah.”

Harutaki nodded. Good schools really did have great resources.

For decades, Nichiya High had produced countless students who entered top universities and rose to prominence.

After also putting together a study outline for Miho, his phone suddenly buzzed on the table.

Bzz. Bzz.

He picked it up and unlocked the screen. A LINE notification.

He had expected it to be from his sister Ayaka asking about dinner, but instead it was from Chouko—cat avatar and all.

[Chouko：Inspection time! 🐱]—Read

[Harutaki：Got dragged into tutoring Haruto and Tazaki for midterms. At a Starbucks off-campus. Want to come?]—Read

A moment later, a surprised cat sticker popped up, followed by her reply—

[Chouko：I! ALSO! NEED! TUTORING!]—Read

Even through the screen, her determination was palpable.

[Harutaki：Have you made it back to the apartment yet?]—Read

[Chouko：I’ll wait for you to tutor me. I’m going to improve my grades and ranking~]—Read

Click.

Harutaki locked his screen and looked up—only to realize all four pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

“…”

He silently turned to Ren.

After enduring the stare for a moment, Ren finally broke, laughing helplessly as he nudged him with his elbow.

“Alright, if you’ve got something to do, just go. Same as always, I’ll take care of Haruto and Akihisa.”

“Sorry, I’m counting on you again.”

“Harutaki already made study outlines for everyone. I didn’t think of that before, so it actually saves a lot of trouble.”

Ren waved it off, clearly unconcerned.

“I-I’m fine too! As long as I follow the outline Harutaki-sama made, I’ll be okay. Right, Haruto?”

“Huh?”

Haruto froze for a second, then nodded vigorously.

“Ah… yeah, yeah! If you’ve got something important, just go take care of it.”

“Then I’ll excuse myself. See you tomorrow.”

After saying his goodbyes, Harutaki grabbed his bag and headed out of the café.

The moment his figure disappeared from sight, the remaining four couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“I don’t have much experience with this, but seeing how brightly Harutaki-sama was smiling… he’s totally in love, right?”

“Or maybe something good happened at home.”

Ren offered his own neutral take.

“Still… that expression kinda looked like when Haruto sneaks glances at the girls’ basketball team. But way more handsome~”

“Huh?! Miho, you finally admit I’m handsome?!”

Haruto nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement.

Only to be doused immediately by Miho’s look of disdain.

“You looked super sleazy back then. Gross.”

…

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