Snakes could drop coins, so snakes were good.
Ants couldn’t drop coins, so ants were bad… Well, it was also possible that this particular ant simply hadn’t triggered the drop mechanism.
After all, in games, monsters didn’t always drop coins or equipment every time they were killed.
He still needed to increase the sample size and find a few more ants to test.
While walking with his head lowered, Suto mercilessly stepped on several more ants that had come out early to work hard.
Still, not a single copper coin dropped.
It seemed ants probably weren’t recognized as “monsters” by the system.
Suto gave up on testing and followed the crowd into Toyogasaki’s school gate.
There were quite a few cherry trees planted on campus as well.
When the gentle wind blew past, falling petals scattered everywhere, making the scenery look like a painting.
After arriving at Class 1-E, Suto found his seat, put down his schoolbag, and took out his textbook.
He glanced at a desk in the corner of the classroom.
A rather inconspicuous girl was sitting there.
The students in the classroom were laughing and chatting before class started, yet she alone sat quietly at her desk, reading with her head lowered.
She gave off a faint sense of being separated from the rest of the world.
Kato Megumi.
Her presence really was thin.
Suto thought this should also count as a kind of talent ability, but it definitely wasn’t as high-quality as his [Death Declaration].
At most, it would probably be Common-grade.
Class began, and a middle-aged math teacher wearing black-framed glasses walked into the classroom.
“Students, turn your books to page 32.
Today, we’ll be learning…”
Suto seriously listened to the teacher’s lecture for a while.
So this was how high school teachers in Japan taught problems.
After satisfying his curiosity, Suto flipped through the entire math textbook in his hand.
For someone who had once studied advanced mathematics in university, the content of first-year high school math was easy to understand.
Since he had already learned it, there was no need to waste more classroom time on the textbook.
Suto took out a sheet of paper and began writing down the intelligence he had gathered from reading the news last night.
Totsuki, Seigaku, Kiyosumi, Seto, Beika Town, Toyogasaki, Shuchiin…
Through the original plots of those anime, Suto could know in advance what might happen in the future.
This information gap, similar to future sight, might bring him some kind of help.
The bell rang for the end of class.
As soon as the teacher left, the classroom became noisy and lively.
Some people complained that they couldn’t understand math class at all, some complained that the teacher had assigned too much homework, and others chatted about baseball, makeup, and pretty upperclassmen at school.
Suto folded the paper full of writing in his hand and pretended to put it into his pocket, but in reality, he stored it in his inventory.
He got up to go to the bathroom and glanced at the back row of the classroom.
Kato Megumi was still quietly sitting in her own seat, reading her textbook with her head lowered.
No one went over to chat with her.
She didn’t go over to chat with anyone either.
Suto withdrew his gaze.
Although he felt that her personality was a little withdrawn, he wasn’t much better himself.
He didn’t have any real friends in class either.
Besides, girls in puberty were very hard to deal with.
Becoming friends with Kato Megumi wouldn’t make coins drop.
Boring.
…
At noon, Suto casually bought a piece of bread and went to the legendary rooftop.
The sunlight was a little harsh, there was a lot of dust on the ground, and there were no beautiful girls.
But it was very quiet.
Suto found a shaded spot, crouched on the ground, and finished eating the bread.
The bread was too dry, making him feel a little choked.
Suto took out the cup of water he had put into his inventory last night.
It was still steaming hot.
That was good news.
This basically confirmed the special nature of the inventory.
Suto stored the cup back into his inventory, thinking that he should make another trip to the supermarket tonight.
This time, he needed to stock up on mineral water, bread, fried chicken, and similar things.
After all, anything placed in the inventory wouldn’t spoil.
Suto took out his phone and dialed the number for “Miss Mira’s Jewelry Store.”
A pleasant female voice came from the other side.
“Hello, this is Miss Mira’s.”
“Hello.
I wanted to ask if your shop can custom-make commemorative coins.”
“May I ask what material you would like them made from?
Gold?
Silver?
Or…”
“Copper.”
“Copper, I see… Yes, we can do that.
Will you be providing the materials yourself, or should our shop provide them?”
“You can provide them.”
“All right.
Please send the commemorative coin design to our shop’s email as soon as possible.
Once we receive it, we’ll give you a quote, and if you’re fine with the price, we can begin production.”
“Mm.”
After hanging up, Suto took out one copper coin from his inventory.
He placed the copper coin on the ground and was just about to take a picture of it with his phone.
Then something strange happened.
In Suto’s field of vision, the copper coin was clearly lying on the ground.
But through the phone camera, there was nothing on the ground at all.
Suto tried pinching the copper coin between his fingers, then observed it through the phone camera.
On the screen, his index finger and thumb were slightly bent, as if he were holding something.
“Can it only be observed with the naked eye?”
Suto pondered for a moment, then opened the phone’s recording mode.
The coin landed on the ground, making a clear collision sound.
Suto saved the recording he had just made and played it back.
However, the recording did not contain the sound of the copper coin hitting the ground.
A faint guess formed in Suto’s heart.
But he still needed someone else to verify it.
He picked up the copper coin from the ground and left the rooftop.
After returning to the classroom, Suto saw that there weren’t many students inside.
They were probably still eating in the cafeteria.
However, Kato Megumi was still there.
She was sitting quietly in her seat, slowly eating the bento she had brought from home.
Suto looked around, then walked up to Kato.
She raised her head and looked at him with a slightly puzzled gaze.
“Kato-san, what do you think of the coin in my hand?
Does it look nice?”
Kato looked at his hand.
Two seconds later, she said, “Suo-kun, there’s nothing in your hand.”
Suto held the copper coin and waved it in front of her.
“Look more carefully.”
Kato stared at him and said softly, “That joke isn’t funny at all.”
Suto closed his hand, stored the copper coin in his inventory, and then took out an ordinary coin.
He opened his hand and smiled.
“It’s not a joke.
Just a small magic trick.”
“So it was magic.”
Kato nodded expressionlessly.
“Amazing.”
“Thank you for the praise, Kato-san.
As thanks, I’ll give this magic prop to you.”
Suto smiled and handed the coin over.
Kato hesitated for a moment before reaching out to accept the coin.
Their fingers brushed lightly against each other.
[Ding—]
A system notification suddenly sounded in Suto’s heart.
It was a little different from the notification sounds he had heard before.
This time, the sound was like the crisp ringing of many coins colliding together.
“Thank you, Suo-kun.”
“N-No need to thank me.”
A hint of surprise flashed through Suto’s eyes.
“Then I won’t disturb your lunch anymore, Kato-san.”
He turned around and returned to his seat.
Then, an illusory panel appeared in front of him.
Suto looked at his wallet.
At this moment, it had changed to:
[0 gold coins, 0 silver coins, 12 copper coins]