Snakes drop coins, snakes good.
Ants didn’t drop coins, ants bad— Well, it was also possible that this particular ant simply hadn’t triggered a drop.
After all, in games, monsters didn’t always drop money or equipment every time they were killed.
More testing was needed.
Sora continued walking with his head lowered, mercilessly crushing several hardworking ants that had come out early in the morning.
Still, not a single copper coin dropped.
It seemed ants weren’t considered monsters by the system.
Giving up on the experiment, Sora followed the flow of students through Toyogasaki Academy’s gates.
The campus was also filled with cherry trees.
A gentle breeze blew through, carrying falling petals everywhere.
The scenery looked like something from a painting.
Arriving at Class 1-E, Sora found his seat, put down his bag, and took out his textbooks.
His gaze drifted toward a desk in the corner of the classroom.
A rather inconspicuous girl was sitting there.
The classroom hadn’t started lessons yet, and students were chatting and fooling around everywhere.
Only she sat quietly at her desk, reading a book with her head lowered, as though isolated from the rest of the world.
Megumi Kato.
Her presence really was remarkably weak.
Sora thought this could probably be considered a talent in itself.
Of course, it definitely wasn’t on the same level as his [Death Declaration].
At most, it was probably a Common-grade ability.
Class began.
A middle-aged mathematics teacher wearing black-rimmed glasses entered the room.
“Everyone, turn to page thirty-two.
Today we’ll be studying…” Sora listened attentively for a while.
So this was how Japanese high school teachers taught mathematics.
After satisfying his curiosity, he flipped through the entire math textbook in his hands.
For someone who had already studied university-level calculus, first-year high school mathematics was simple enough to understand at a glance.
Since he had already learned it, there was no need to waste classroom time on the textbook.
Sora took out a sheet of paper and began writing down the information he had gathered while browsing the news the previous night.
Totsuki.
(Food Wars) Seigaku.
(Prince of Tennis) Kiyosumi.
(Saki) Seto.
(My Bride Is A Mermaid) Beika Town.
(Detective Conan) Toyogasaki.
(Saekano) Shuchiin.
(Kaguya-sama: Love Is War) Using his knowledge of the original anime storylines, he could potentially predict future events.
This information advantage was almost like seeing the future and might prove useful someday.
The bell rang.
As soon as the teacher left, the classroom instantly became noisy.
Some students complained they couldn’t understand math at all.
Others complained about the mountain of homework.
Still others discussed baseball, makeup, and beautiful upperclassmen.
Sora folded the sheet of paper covered with notes.
Pretending to place it in his pocket, he actually stored it in his inventory.
As he stood up to go to the restroom, he glanced toward the back of the classroom.
Megumi was still quietly sitting in her seat, reading her textbook.
Nobody approached her to chat.
Nor did she approach anyone else.
Sora withdrew his gaze.
Although he felt her personality was somewhat solitary, he wasn’t much better himself.
He didn’t have any friends in class either.
Besides, teenage girls were difficult to deal with.
Right now, Sora only wanted to make money.
Becoming friends with Megumi wouldn’t make coins drop.
How boring.
—— At noon, Sora bought a simple bread roll and headed to the legendary rooftop.
The sunlight was somewhat harsh.
The ground was covered in dust.
And there were no beautiful girls.
But it was quiet.
Finding a shaded corner, Sora squatted down and finished eating his bread.
It was so dry that it nearly choked him.
He took out the cup of water he had stored in his inventory the previous night.
Steam was still rising from it.
That was good news.
At this point, he could basically confirm the inventory’s special property.
Sora put the cup away again and decided to visit the supermarket after school.
This time, he would stock up on bottled water, bread, fried chicken, and other food.
After all, items stored in the inventory didn’t spoil.
Taking out his phone, he dialed the number for Miss Mira’s Jewelry Store.
A pleasant female voice answered.
“Hello, this is Miss Mira speaking.” “Hello.
I’d like to ask whether your shop accepts custom commemorative coin orders.” “What material would you like them made from?
Gold?
Silver?
Or…” “Copper.” “Copper, huh?
That’s possible.
Will you be providing the material yourself, or would you like our shop to provide it?” “You provide it.” “Very well.
Please send the commemorative coin design to our shop’s email address as soon as possible.
We’ll provide a quote afterward.
If you’re satisfied with the price, we’ll begin production immediately.” “Alright.” After hanging up, Sora took out one of the copper coins from his inventory.
He placed it on the ground and prepared to photograph it with his phone.
Then something strange happened.
The coin was clearly visible to his naked eye.
Yet through the phone’s camera lens, there was nothing there.
The ground was completely empty.
Sora picked up the coin and held it between his fingers before looking at it through the camera.
On the screen, his thumb and index finger were slightly bent, as though he were pinching something invisible.
“So it can only be observed with the naked eye?” Sora pondered for a moment before opening the voice recorder on his phone.
He lightly tossed the coin.
It landed on the ground with a crisp metallic clink.
Sora saved the recording and played it back.
The sound of the coin hitting the floor wasn’t there.
At this point, a suspicion began forming in his mind.
But he needed someone else to verify it.
Picking up the coin, he headed back downstairs.
When he returned to the classroom, only a few students were present.
Most were probably still eating lunch in the cafeteria.
Megumi, however, was there.
She sat quietly at her desk, carefully eating the homemade lunch she had brought from home.
After looking around the room, Sora walked over to her.
Megumi raised her head and looked at him with mild confusion.
“Kato-san, do you think this coin in my hand looks nice?” Megumi stared at his hand.
Two seconds later, she replied: “Harumi-kun, there’s nothing in your hand.” Sora waved the copper coin in front of her.
“Look more carefully.” Megumi stared at him and quietly said, “This joke isn’t very funny.” Sora closed his hand, stored the copper coin in his inventory, and took out an ordinary coin instead.
Opening his palm, he smiled.
“It wasn’t a joke.
Just a small magic trick.” “So it was magic.” Megumi nodded expressionlessly.
“That’s impressive.” “Thank you for the compliment, Kato-san.
As thanks, I’ll give this magic prop to you.” Sora smiled and handed her the coin.
Megumi hesitated briefly before accepting it.
Their fingers brushed lightly against each other.
[Ding—] A system notification suddenly sounded within Sora’s mind.
Unlike the previous notification sounds he had heard, this one resembled the crisp ringing of numerous coins colliding together.
“Thank you, Harumi-kun.” “N-No problem.” A trace of surprise flashed through Sora’s eyes.
“Then I won’t disturb your lunch any longer.” He returned to his seat.
A translucent panel appeared before him.
Sora looked at his wallet.
It now displayed: — [0 Gold Coins, 0 Silver Coins, 12 Copper Coins] — [TL: MC name is Sora with Harumi as his last name • Miyuri Asou, The Landlady is an H-anime character from Dokidoki Little Ooyasan • Mifuyu Yukino, or the Yuki-Onna is an Eromanga character from Hitozukiai Ga Nigate Na Miboujin No Yukionna-San To Noroi No Yubiwa • Miss Mira Tsubakihara, The jewelry shop owner is an H-anime character from The Masterpiece]