Chapter 56: Future's Goal
I’ve lived aimlessly without purpose up until now.
And I probably won’t change in the future either.
No dreams for the future, nothing particularly that I want to do.
Even my otaku hobbies aren’t something I have a particularly strong attachment or commitment to…
Sure, I watch VTubers on YouTube, but it’s not like I’m a gachikoi or a unicorn or anything. I just watch them to kill time, and there’s no real passion behind it.
The same goes for anime and manga.
There was never anything that strongly attracted me, nothing that moved my heart. I’ve passed through elementary school, middle school, high school in this state.
Once I finished compulsory education, I figured I’d just go to a university that suited me for the sake of my parents and appearances, then get a job at some decent company, and if I could get married, great—if not, well, whatever. That was about as far as my thoughts went.
Being the way I am, I’ve never truly fallen for anyone.
I think about how beautiful someone is or how cute they are or how sexy they look, but that’s all.
There was never any reason for me to become obsessed with someone, get deeply involved in them, or desperately pursue them.
A hollow person.
That’s me…
There was nothing inside me…
Until now….
“Ugh…”
“Where? Which part don’t you understand?”
“This one…”
“Ah, that’s just an application of the previous problem. See, if you do this here…”
“Oh… I see.”
I’m currently receiving tutoring at Fuyunagi-san’s house.
Why?
The reason is simple, because I want to go to the same university as her.
She has chosen a prestigious university with notoriously low acceptance rates.
Apparently, that’s also the famous university where Kuzuryuu Shiori herself is enrolled.
And if you choose the mechanical field at a university affiliated with the Kuzuryuu Group, it’s said that you have a high chance of joining the Kuzuryuu Group after graduation.
Well… “high chance” is only in comparison to the usual, more conventional routes, though.
Besides, with Kuzuryuu Shiori’s recommendation, my chances are already much higher than most… but please don’t resent me for getting in through connections.
To begin with, my grades are so poor that getting into the university itself is as realistic as trying to grab air with your hands.
That’s why I asked Fuyunagi-san, who is at the top of our school academically, for tutoring.
She didn’t act bothered at all—if anything, she looked momentarily stunned, then nodded with a serious expression.
“That’s right. With Taku-chan’s grades, even starting in the second year is almost too late. Let’s focus and work hard together, okay?”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
And so, right now, she’s fully devoted herself to playing the role of my tutor.
I’ve never been good at studying, and I don’t like it either. Well… most people probably don’t like studying, but still.
Even I was surprised that I, of all people, took the initiative to ask someone to teach me.
The reason is obvious, I want to go to the same university as Fuyunagi-san and spend my campus life with her.
And after that, I want us both to join the Kuzuryuu Group so I can make our future together solid and secure.
It amazes even me that someone as hollow and uninterested in things as I am can actually work hard for someone else.
It’s strange to be surprised by your own actions.
It made me realize that there are a lot of things I don’t understand about myself until they happen.
The only thing I’m sure of is that the one who changed me… was her, Fuyunagi-san.
At first glance, her outrageous, unpredictable behavior might seem troublesome.
Even so, she’s someone who brings surprise and excitement into my life.
Honestly, I get exhausted being dragged around by her reckless antics all the time… but more than that, I think I genuinely enjoy being with her.
I want to stay by her side, just like always.
I want to become someone worthy of her.
I want to be the kind of person who won’t be shaken even if someone like Kuzuryuu Souma appears.
That’s what I found myself thinking.
And that’s why I’m here now, looking through this so-called “grimoire” known as a textbook—something I’m bad at and absolutely hate.
I can barely understand any of what’s written.
Even so…
Even so, I want to understand.
For the sake of securing the future I want with her.
Character Summary (non-official)
- Majima Takuma / Taku (真島 拓真 / タク) — Taku is an utterly average high school boy in both appearance and ability. His hair and uniform are always neat but unremarkable, giving him the classic “background character” characteristic.
- Fuyunagi Shizuku (冬柳 雫) — Fuyunagi Shizuku is a stunning black-haired high school beauty with a mature, graceful aura. Her long, silky hair, elegant posture, pure and innocent atmosphere, and impressive figure—including her large chest—give her an appearance so gentle and comforting that a tired working adult might instinctively want to cling to her and call her “Mama.” Her looks alone make her feel like a UR-rarity heroine. At school, she’s admired as a pure, wholesome, and almost ideal girl—popular among girls, constantly confessed to by boys, and always at the center of her class. In private, however, Shizuku reveals a selfish, bratty, and emotionally unstable side. She’s clingy, easily upset, mentally fragile, and relies heavily on her boyfriend for emotional support while demanding secrecy and setting controlling conditions in their relationship.
- Sakurada Nagisa (桜田 凪咲) — Sakurada Nagisa is a gyaru and one of the central members of Fuyunagi-san’s friend group. With light-brown hair, piercings, and perfectly applied bold eye makeup, she has a flashy style but is undeniably beautiful—cute enough to stand out even among the popular girls. Sado Kengo’s current girlfriend.
- Natsume Kano (夏芽 華乃) — The class president. A dignified, serious beauty whose pure appearance gives her a charm distinct from Fuyunagi-san. She prioritizes efficiency, logic, and rationality above all else, resulting in a rigid, no-nonsense personality that makes her unpopular with most classmates.
Sado Kengo (佐渡 健吾) — A high-spec soccer club member who once acted as Shizuku’s fake public boyfriend. He is now Sakurada Nagisa’s actual boyfriend.
- Katou Susumu (加藤 進) — The textbook “protagonist’s best friend” character. He’s a founding member of the self-proclaimed “Unpopular Men’s Club”. Although he’s extremely jealous of Takuma for landing a girlfriend like Fuyunagi—thus “betraying” the Unpopular Men’s Club (a group Takuma never actually agreed to join)—Kato remains loyal to him despite both his jealousy and the negative public opinion surrounding Takuma.
- Fuyunagi Reiko (冬柳 澪子) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s mother. She is, in every sense, the woman Shizuku was shaped from—from their breathtaking beauty to the way they view men and even their underlying desires all mirror one another. Beneath that elegant, doll-like exterior lies a strict and controlling parent fixated on restoring the Fuyunagi family’s former prestige. Unlike Shizuku—who directs her warped affection toward someone she genuinely chose—Reiko tries to force her ambitions onto her daughter, believing that arranging Shizuku’s marriage is the key to reclaiming the family’s lost glory.
- Fuyunagi Kanemasa (冬柳 兼政) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s father. A highly capable and successful man who even took the Fuyunagi family name in order to marry Reiko. Despite the family’s rigid traditions, Kanemasa is the one person who genuinely supports Shizuku, encouraging her to live freely and choose her own path—including whom she loves. The only reason Shizuku’s mother and grandfather don’t openly oppose his stance is because his success and value to the family make him too important to antagonize.
- Kuzuryuu Shiori (久豆流 詩織) — Souma’s younger sister—a beautiful, sharp-tongued genius with strikingly foreign features. Despite her Japanese-sounding name, she is a natural blonde with radiant golden hair, inherited from their great-grandmother, and possesses elegant looks that stand out strongly against Souma’s more traditionally Japanese appearance. Cold, dismissive, and brutally honest toward her brother, she seems to harbor open disdain for him, even though she once adored him as a child. Academically, she is a prodigy who skipped grades at fifteen, now attending university with multiple acclaimed research papers to her name. Her intelligence creates a stark contrast to Souma, fueling his inferiority complex and twisted sister-obsessed longing.
- Kuzuryuu Souma (久豆流 創真) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s arranged marriage partner.