[Because the experience target's guitar ability is far too weak, bonuses can only start from lv0. The multiplier is 0.5× that of lv1.]
Well damn. So the reason the run started on hard mode was because Chihaya Anon was just that bad.
By the time Asai Yu came back to his senses, Anon had already stumbled her way through half of what she was supposed to say. After that, her mind went blank. She hesitated, stammered, and couldn't remember how it was supposed to end.
"With skills like that, if you'd been introducing yourself just now, the whole class would've looked down on you," Asai Yu said flatly, not bothering to spare her feelings.
"No way, everyone's definitely nice people…" Anon insisted, still trying to save face.
Nice people?
This was Britain, not her living room back home.
Asai Yu didn't bother responding to something that naïve. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward the podium. "This is a class debate. The teacher's already asked a question. Think about how you'd answer it."
"Okay, got it. Leave it to me." Anon forced herself to concentrate.
About two minutes later, the teacher called on another exchange student who had enrolled today as well.
That student's English, however, was painfully weak. She couldn't get out more than a few broken phrases. After enduring a round of strange looks from the class, the teacher sighed and told her to sit down.
Then came another exchange student. This one spoke fluent English and confidently delivered her answer. It was completely wrong—but she still received praise.
"See the difference?" Asai Yu said quietly. "You can be wrong, but you can't freeze up and fail to say anything."
Just then, the teacher's gaze landed on the pink-haired Japanese exchange student sitting in the back row. Anon's self-introduction earlier had left a very strong impression.
Chihaya Anon fell silent.
"Anon, could you share your thoughts on this question?" the teacher called on her by name.
"Alright," Asai Yu said, standing up as he spoke directly in her mind. "Tell me your answer. I'll relay it to the teacher."
Hearing that, Anon snapped back to reality—but her head was nothing but chaos.
"Um… well… that is…"
Three seconds passed.
She still hadn't managed to say a single coherent sentence.
With no other choice, Asai Yu answered in her place. Smooth, fluent English flowed effortlessly from his mouth.
When he finished, the teacher's eyes were full of approval. "That was a very good answer. Anon, please take your seat."
Asai Yu sat back down, and a system screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Affinity Bonus lv1 (1/100)]
[Daily acquisition cap: 20]
So just like that, one point of experience?
If the cap was 20, he probably wouldn't even need an hour to max it out.
"Looks like you couldn't answer at all. If it'd really been you standing up there, you would've embarrassed yourself in front of everyone," Asai Yu said calmly.
His words were like a needle, piercing straight through Anon's fragile mental defenses.
She froze, then after a long pause, forced the words out. "Even if that's true… so what? I'll study harder from now on!"
"Then until you get there," Asai Yu continued smoothly, "I'll take control of your body at fixed times and help you get through this rough period. How does that sound?"
Seeing that the timing was just right, he made his proposal.
"You've seen it yourself. My English isn't bad."
Not bad? It was practically native-level.
Anon's heart wavered.
She knew it was true. If she'd been the one attending class today, she would've humiliated herself countless times and probably ended up disliked by both classmates and teachers.
She absolutely couldn't accept that.
"Is it really okay? There are lots of other classes too…" she asked hesitantly.
"Of course. I've got plenty of experience dealing with schoolwork. If you don't believe me, just observe for a few days."
Asai Yu answered without hesitation.
"…Fine then. But you have to earn everyone's approval," Anon added.
Vanity, at work.
Asai Yu figured that her vanity was precisely why she'd handed over control of her body so easily. It was essentially Chihaya Anon's one and only weakness—and he'd very deliberately pressed on it.
"Deal," he replied.
Class ended quickly after that. Several classmates who had looked down on Anon before class immediately came over to apologize.
Honestly, Asai Yu had little respect for people like that. But to reinforce his image as a bright, likable presence, he responded politely anyway.
"Now that I look at Anon, she feels kind of cute."
"Yeah, totally!"
The classmates whispered among themselves.
[Affinity Bonus lv1 (3/100)]
[Affinity Bonus lv1 (10/100)]
[Affinity Bonus lv1 (20/100)]
Just chatting with a few classmates, and the affinity bonus was already maxed out?
Compared to other bonuses, this one really was absurdly easy to raise.
In the afternoon came GCSE-level English Language class. The entire session was spent writing argumentative essays. Aside from the pink-haired girl repeatedly staring at his writing in shock, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
After submitting the introductory essay assignment, the time hit exactly 4 p.m.—the end of the school day.
Normally, this was when all the school clubs became active. Asai Yu, however, paid them no attention and left the school grounds directly.
Then the system's voice rang out.
[Japan time is about to reach 12:00. Would you like to initiate a seamless experience?]
Seamless experience?
Wouldn't that mean experiencing from midnight all the way to noon? That would completely overlap with Anon's classes.
And seriously—if we're already all the way in London, couldn't you optimize the experience schedule a little?
Asai Yu voiced his complaint.
A few seconds later, the system responded:
[Experience rule updated: Each day, you may freely select two separate six-hour periods to experience a single life.]
In other words, once he selected Anon's life for the day, he could experience it in two segments of six hours each.
Not bad. The system finally did something right for once.
He chose to seamlessly continue for another six hours.
[Acknowledged]
"Huh? We're just leaving?" Anon asked. "Aren't you going to join a club or something?"
"Clubs aren't useful right now. Did you bring your guitar with you?" Asai Yu asked.
"How would I bring something like that? It wouldn't even fit in my suitcase," Anon complained.
Fair point.
Asai Yu agreed internally, then followed the map and found a musical instrument shop on the street.
"What are you doing at an instrument store?" Anon asked suspiciously. "Don't tell me you're buying a guitar?!"
"Yes," Asai Yu replied. "Exactly right."
He walked around the shop a couple of times. Not really knowing much about guitars, he simply picked one that looked decent and was reasonably priced.
The guitar cost 400 pounds—roughly 78,000 yen.
"How much money is left on the card?" Asai Yu asked in his mind.