Through the course of a single meal, Satoru Gojo successfully fleeced a significant amount of Impression Points out of Kenji Hagiwara.
After all, he only needed to employ his most innocent, uncomprehending expression to call out "Big Sister~?" to make a class-beauty level girl, who had originally just come over to join the crowd, dizzily hand over her phone number and even book a joint mixer for the following week.
While Hagiwara was getting along like a house on fire with the girls, he quietly flashed a thumbs-up in Gojo's direction. Gojo said nothing, merely sipping his strawberry milk the entire time, concealing his achievements and fame deep within.
He was suddenly a bit curious: if Hagiwara knew his true mental age and discovered that he was actually older than everyone present on the scene by more than a full round, how massive of a crack would form across that smiling face of his?
...Better not. When the time comes, the one dying of social death will still be myself.
After finishing lunch, Gojo and Hagiwara returned to the dorm building together, intending to take a brief midday rest. They happened to run straight into Jinpei Matsuda, who was currently fetching water.
Recalling the scene he had witnessed in the cafeteria, Matsuda's face was covered in black lines, completely unable to contain his speech: "Hey, hey, since when did you two get so close?"
"My, could it be that you're jealous, Little Jinpei?"
Kenji Hagiwara giggled as he teased his friend. Before his childhood friend could throw a tantrum, he explained the situation in a brief, easily comprehensible manner.
"...So to put it simply, the current Hisano-kun is my precious wingman," Hagiwara patted Satoru Gojo's shoulder, his tone solemn and businesslike. "Little Jinpei isn't allowed to bully him just because he's younger, okay?"
"Who is bullying whom after all?!" Matsuda roared, his natural curls appearing to flare out in tandem with his rage.
Gojo's hands grew itchy all of a sudden. Before his brain could register the action, his fingertips had already descended onto Matsuda's head. He even rubbed it a good few times.
Just as I imagined, the texture really is pretty good.
"Huh?"
Jinpei Matsuda froze for a solid two seconds before swatting Gojo's hand away with immense force, his face flushing crimson from sheer rage. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Gojo let out an "Mmh," spreading his hands as he said, "Nothing at all. Little Matsuda, even if you lost to me in running, there's no need to be this fierce, right?"
"Who lost in running?! The main focus is you touching my head, mind you! Don't think you can play dumb and gloss over this!"
"Oh, you mean that." Gojo simply began to act shameless. "My second personality did it. Don't pay it any mind."
Matsuda glared at him, immediately turning around to loudly complain to Hagiwara: "Hagi, can't you see how wicked this guy is? To think you're actually letting him act as some wingman! I can easily fill that kind of role myself!"
"Uh, well, about that..." Hagiwara and Gojo exchanged a glance, collectively deciding not to offer any commentary regarding his claim.
After Gojo appeased Matsuda with a few sentences (which in reality merely added fuel to the fire), he lifted his feet and walked toward his own dorm room.
"Hisano, I am not done with you—"
Gojo suddenly recalled something, tossing two tubes of ointment generated from the system mall straight into Matsuda's embrace. "Matsuda-kun, your injuries haven't healed yet, right?" he added. "This ointment is highly effective. As long as you apply a tiny bit, it'll quickly restore your face to its original state. Use it with peace of mind~"
"Of course, there's Furuya-kun's share as well. Since you two are roommates, I'll trouble you to deliver it to him for me."
Holding the ointment in his hands, Matsuda immediately caught a whiff of a refreshing, spirit-uplifting fragrance. The other party didn't appear to be lying. The texture of the ointment felt ice-cold, yet inexplicably scalding to the touch.
[Ding! Impression Points from plot character Jinpei Matsuda increased by 200 points!]
He subconsciously wanted to offer his thanks, but before the words could leave his mouth, the youth's silhouette had already distanced itself.
"...Why does this always feel a bit bizarre?" Matsuda muttered. "If it weren't for him, Furuya and I wouldn't have sustained such heavy injuries to begin with."
But why... did a thought of 'this guy actually isn't a bad person' sprout within his heart?
Well, thinking about it carefully, it truly was a case of their own skills being inferior to his. A loss was a loss, nothing to make a big deal out of.
Unlike Matsuda, whose emotions were a complicated mess, Hagiwara accepted the gesture exceptionally well.
"I think Hisano-kun is actually quite a good person, you know. Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited him to become my wingman either." The handsome youth with violet eyes remarked optimistically, "I told you long ago that you two would get along, and looking at things now, I wasn't wrong, was I?"
Jinpei Matsuda: "?? Where exactly did you see that?"
"Forget it." He stuffed the ointment into his pocket, letting out a snort. "Once I'm healed, I'll figure out a way to thrash that freakishly strong brat until he cries."
Ever since witnessing Hisano's exaggerated performance during the morning training, Hagiwara realized that the probability of Matsuda achieving his goal was basically identical to the probability of Instructor Onizuka wearing a floral skirt.
"...Keep it up, I believe in you."
The afternoon curriculum belonged to cultural studies, focusing on the domain of criminal investigation.
Inside the large lecture hall, dozens of freshman police academy students clad in deep blue uniforms sat together in a single gathering. The vast majority listened to the lecture with rapt attention, not daring to slacken in the slightest. Their electronic devices, including their mobile phones, had long been confiscated and would only be handed back on rest days, meaning there was no way to stealthily slack off even if they wanted to.
Hachizo Onizuka stood on the podium, capturing everyone's postures perfectly within his sight.
Furuya Rei's spine was as straight as a pine tree, his fountain pen moving rapidly across his notebook, his handwriting so neat it resembled printed text.
Jinpei Matsuda propped his cheek in one hand, carelessly spinning a pen with his other hand, occasionally drawing sketches of mechanical components in the corners of his notebook. However, his ears twitched subtly; he was clearly listening to the lecture, merely disdaining to appear too much like an "obedient student."
Kenji Hagiwara supported his chin with his left hand while taking notes with his right hand, his handwriting fully deserving of the word dashing.
Wataru Date sat with a heroic posture, his pen tip pausing. His expression was serious; he was likely contemplating a problem.
As for Hiromitsu Morofushi, he lowered his head slightly, a pair of cat-like eyes focused intently on his textbook, using a highlighter to mark out key points. Occasionally, he would cast a helpless glance at the black-haired youth who was his desk partner and roommate, who had long since let his spirit wander into outer space.
Satoru Gojo adopted a casual posture, leaning backward against the chair as he stared blankly out the window. The swaying cherry blossom branches reflected in his pupils, appearing entirely uninterested in the course content.
Yet, nobody knew that he was currently browsing through the threads on the manga forum in his mind, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Aside from the [Manga Serialization] section, the forum featured two other sub-boards: [General Chit-Chat] and [Fan Creations]. As the first chapter of the police academy manga continuously climbed in popularity within the parallel world, a significant number of threads had likewise cropped up in the [General Chit-Chat] section.
[Manga Hiromitsu beauty appreciation screenshot dump thread, feel free to take avatars and wallpapers]
[Conan Main Story VS Police Academy Arc: A comparison of Furuya Rei's suit and police uniform styles (VOTE)]
[What exactly is Hisano Nozomi's background? He checks the boxes for beautiful, powerful, and tragic all at once. Is he Old Man Aoyama's biological son?]
[Rei and Hiro's mutual pursuit! An analysis of the sweet interaction details in the cafeteria (Contains microscope screenshots)]
[Matsuda x Hagiwara, what kind of divine childhood friend setting is this! I can watch 100 chapters of their daily bickering]
[Rational Discussion: Can a peak-condition Furuya + Matsuda thrash Hisano Nozomi?]
[Analysis post is here—Comparing the timeline of the main Conan story, here are six potential death flags planted in Chapter 1 of the Police Academy Arc!]
[Does everyone think this short series can get animated?? Leaving so many gorgeous panels un-animated is a complete waste of celestial resources!]
[Among Hagiwara, Date, and Hisano, who has the highest probability of receiving a lunch box (dying) in the later stages?]
[Hisano looks like a pure pleasure-seeker at first glance, don't be deceived by him. He is a classic white-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside villain]
[Why can't the official manga update daily? This tiny amount is simply not enough to satisfy the appetite]
[Clash at the pinnacle of face value: among the six members who have debuted so far, who is the handsomest?]
So many threads—just reading the titles alone was incredibly entertaining, making them perfect to use for killing time whenever he was free. Gojo turned the pages with relish, only to halt dead in his tracks in the very next second.
[Wild Theory: Hisano Nozomi is highly likely to belong to the Black Faction, and he might even be that man's avatar!!]
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100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus chapter