Under everyone's watchful eyes, Makoto opened the lunchbox.
Inside were his favorite Sichuan dishes… twice-cooked pork, shredded pork in garlic sauce, and a piece of rice cake in the corner as a dessert.
Having lived under the same roof for over four years, Yui had a pretty good understanding of his tastes.
"Heh~ If I made something like this, I would have alrea—"
Kuga, standing behind, craned his neck for a glance at the dishes inside the lunchbox, a disdainful smirk immediately curling at his lips.
As a member of the Elite Ten Council specializing in Sichuan cuisine, he didn't even need to taste this level of cooking.
Just by the smell and appearance, he could tell these dishes would be thrown in the trash if they came out of his kitchen.
Smack!
Before Kuga could utter the last word, a resounding slap landed hard on his face, sending him spinning into a full 360-degree tumble onto the floor.
Kuga clutched his burning left cheek, staring incredulously at Rindo standing before him.
Among the Elite Ten Council, he and Rindo were the closest, not as lovers, but more like siblings.
"Rindo-senpai, you—"
Before he could finish, Rindo delivered another slap.
As the member of the Elite Ten Council specializing in game meat, she often ventured deep into tropical jungles for hunting. Ordinary adult men were no match for her.
This slap knocked Kuga unconscious on the spot.
Sensing Makoto and his group looking her way, Rindo quickly put on a placating smile. "Oh ho ho, sorry, he seems to be drunk..."
Once Makoto looked away, Rindo kicked the unconscious Kuga again in annoyance.
'Damn it. Normally having no social skills was one thing, but did he have to run his mouth at a time like this?'
'That girl was clearly close to Makoto. Even if her cooking was terrible, it wasn't your place to comment.'
Under Yui's nervous yet expectant gaze, Makoto picked up the lunchbox and finished the meal in a few bites. He gave his verdict under her hopeful eyes: "Mm, still plenty of room for improvement."
Yui didn't catch the implication in his words, taking it as simple praise. Her face immediately lit up with a radiant, glowing smile, radiating happiness.
"Sensei-kun really is something."
Utaha clicked her tongue in admiration.
Megumi and the others nodded silently, as if seeing the words [Affection MAX] floating above Yui's head.
The last class of the afternoon in Class 1-F was still Shizuka's Japanese lesson.
Near the end of class, Makoto suddenly felt someone gently poke his back.
He half-turned and glanced at Sonoko sitting behind him. "What is it?"
Having followed Makoto's advice to let her bangs down, Sonoko's appearance had improved significantly. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Makoto, should we start a club?"
"Huh?"
Makoto was slightly taken aback.
Sonoko continued, "Didn't you say there might be more monsters like that crab-man from this morning? We can't slack off on training in the real world either. Why don't we start a club to make it easier for everyone to train together? I can use my allowance to build a training ground like the one in Konoha Village."
"A club, huh..."
The words made Makoto thoughtful.
For one thing, student life in Japan was much more relaxed than in his past life. School ended around three or four in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the best moments of youth.
Most students joined some kind of club… only a few chose to go home.
For the girls close to him, like the Aizono sisters, Megumi, Utaha, and the others, Makoto had already given them their respective training directions. Training at home individually was fine.
But training together would obviously be more efficient.
Makoto leaned back slightly and asked with a smile, "So what's this club called?"
Sonoko leaned in, almost close enough to touch his ear. Their cheeks were inches apart.
"Combat Club, Ninja Club, Makoto Club?"
She rattled off several names.
Makoto couldn't help but laugh. Their seemingly quiet conversation had already drawn the attention of many classmates.
On the podium, Shizuka didn't know how many times she had crushed her chalk.
'Good grief. Did I look invisible to them?'
In the past, Shizuka would have used her fists on troublemakers like this.
But now, facing Sonoko, the second daughter of one of the Four Zaibatsu, and a superhuman who had carved a bloody path across half the planet... well, never mind. She'd pretend she didn't see anything.
Finally, the bell rang.
Shizuka let out a long breath. "That's it for today. Be careful on your way home."
She began packing her teaching materials.
"Sensei-kun, what were you and Sonoko whispering about just now?"
Utaha was the first to come over, quickly followed by Chizuru, Yumiko, and others.
Before, they had never paid much attention to Sonoko. So what if she was rich? To them now, it was just a number.
But when Sonoko let her bangs down, they suddenly realized… this plain-looking girl was actually stunning?
Makoto repeated his conversation with Sonoko.
"Train together? Sounds interesting."
"It'd be more motivating with others."
"But I've already joined the karate club..."
"Huh? With your current strength, Ran, joining a club like that... aren't you afraid of accidentally killing someone?"
The girls chattered, mostly in agreement. After the crab-man incident, they also realized the real world wasn't safe. They needed to get stronger… they couldn't always rely on Makoto.
Just as the discussion was getting lively, a respectful voice called from the classroom doorway.
Senzaemon, the Director of Totsuki Academy, was waiting, his gaze fixed on Makoto with reverence.
"Nishikawa-sama, may I have a word?"
Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly, waved for the girls to wait, and walked out.
In the Director's office at Totsuki Academy, at Senzaemon's invitation, Makoto took the seat of the Director.
Senzaemon handed a list to Makoto and spoke respectfully:
"Nishikawa-sama, you dealt with former Prime Minister Ooka at Haneda Airport yesterday. He deserved death, but a nation cannot be without a leader. I've come to ask you to decide on the new Prime Minister."
He then opened the first page and quickly introduced the candidates.
Behind each name lay a massive political faction.
At least, what they considered massive.
Looking at the names he had no recollection of, Makoto grew impatient.
He flipped through the list casually.
Sure enough, he didn't recognize a single one.
But hearing the words 'Prime Minister of Japan', a pink-haired cancer cell inexplicably popped into his mind.
"Fujiwara Chika."
Hearing this name, Senzaemon was dumbfounded.
'F-Fujiwara Chika? Who was that?'
He had never heard of such a figure in Japanese politics. There was, however, a political dynasty named Fujiwara.
One of the candidates on the list, Fujiwara Daichi, was also one they were putting forward.
'Wait!'
He suddenly recalled a young girl he had seen at a banquet before, whose figure was no less impressive than his own granddaughter's...
'Surely, it couldn't be her?'
Ten minutes later, in the temporary student council office at Shuchi'in Academy.
Chika, serving as secretary, felt her phone ring. It was her grandfather.
Her grandfather, a former Prime Minister, adored this granddaughter and often slipped her extra allowance.
Thinking he just wanted to chat, Chika answered. Her expression gradually went blank.
"Fujiwara-san, what's wrong?" Kaguya, the student council president, approached with concern.
"Kaguya-san, I might not be able to be your secretary anymore."
"Huh?"
"I'm going to be the Prime Minister of Japan."
"Huh???"