'This might be useful,' Izumi thought.
Even though it had been 15 years since he reincarnated into this world, his System had only awakened a short while ago.
He still didn't quite understand how the system worked, who created it, or why he received it. But one thing was clear: the System would give him a reward whenever he reached a certain reading target.
For example, if Izumi read a novel or book with a word count of 1,000/5,000/10,000 in a single day, he could receive rewards depending on how many words he read that day.
The higher the word count target reached, the better the reward.
If anything, 1,000 words only gave him a small amount of money and daily necessities; 5,000 words gave him more money, but at a lower rate, and a higher chance of getting random items; while 10,000 words could grant him a random skill.
"Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" was one such skill he had received. These skills varied widely—from martial arts to cooking, and many others.
'Still, I can't believe this is a mixed anime world....'
Izumi's eyes glanced around the classroom. Like Narasaka Maaya, several students in his class were characters from anime he had watched in his past life.
Take the notorious troublemaker trio: Sudo Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji. They were characters from the fiction—Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e—more widely known as Classroom of the Elite.
Of course, they weren't the main characters, just side characters who happened to be in the same class as the protagonist. Even so, Izumi still recognized them easily.
And as for Narasaka Maaya herself....
"Wanna have lunch together?"
"...Huh?" Izumi looked at Maaya, half-confused.
Maaya pouted and crossed her arms as she asked again, "What do you mean 'huh'? I asked if you want to have lunch with me."
"No..., I mean, why all of a sudden?"
Even though they sat next to each other, they rarely talked, and Maaya had never asked him to eat together.
So why was she suddenly inviting him now?
Instead of answering, Maaya gestured for him to come closer with her hand.
As Izumi leaned toward her, Maaya whispered to him.
"Actually, a bunch of people asked me to have lunch with them today. It's too much of a hassle, so I plan on turning them down."
"And then...?"
"Ugh! That means I'm going to use you as an excuse!" Maaya puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed at Izumi's cluelessness.
"Why don't you just say no to them directly? Why use me as your excuse?" Izumi asked in confusion.
He knew Maaya was quite popular, and she was well-known by many students—not just in their year but even upperclassmen. Still, he didn't get why she couldn't just reject them outright.
"Enough questions! Just come with me, okay?"
Without waiting for his approval, Maaya grabbed Izumi's hand and dragged him out of the classroom.
---
"Sorry for the trouble...."
"No, no, I'm the one who got dragged here by Narasaka, so it's not your fault."
"Still, thinking about how she just pulled you away without asking..., let me apologize for her."
Since Maaya dragged Izumi out, they ended up in the cafeteria, sitting at the same table. But they weren't alone—another girl was sitting with them as well.
"Hey, don't talk about me like I did something awful!" Maaya pouted, seeing the two starting to ignore her.
She felt bullied here!
"But that's exactly what happened," Izumi said casually.
"...Has anyone ever told you you're mean, Asahina-kun?" Maaya grumbled quietly, glaring at Izumi.
"No. But my parents often praise me as the most handsome guy in the world."
"...What a narcissist." Maaya gave him a blank stare. Though she had to admit Izumi was handsome, she definitely wasn't going to say it out loud—or his ego would grow even bigger!
Meanwhile, Maaya's friend smiled slightly at their bickering, quickly covering her mouth when she realized what she did.
"Saki-chan, don't tell me you're into him?!"
Her friend, who usually kept a cold and indifferent expression toward almost everyone, suddenly smiled when around Izumi.
"Eh...." The girl, Ayase Saki, froze at Maaya's words. Her face reddened slightly, but she quickly calmed herself.
"Uwahhh! Saki-chan's been stolen from me! She's going to leave me for some random guy she barely knows!"
"...." Saki.
"...." Izumi.
While Maaya began flailing and fake-crying dramatically, the two sat in silence, covering their faces in embarrassment due to the many stares aimed at them.
"Don't say weird stuff!"
Unable to handle her friend's antics, Saki smacked Maaya on the head, making her wince in pain while clutching the top of her head.
"Uwahhh! Asahina-kun, your wife hit me! You have to scold her!"
"You...!"
Saki's face turned red. She raised her hand again, ready to teach Maaya a lesson so she'd stop spouting nonsense. But before she could do that, Izumi's voice cut in.
"Can we stop this? We're the center of attention right now," Izumi said with a blank expression.
At first, the stares directed at them mostly came from jealous guys seeing him surrounded by two pretty girls. But now, even the girls were watching their table—like they were witnessing a live drama.
"Ah...."
Both girls clearly began realizing just how many eyes were on them, making them feel awkward and embarrassed.
"I-I guess I'll eat my food before it gets cold!" Maaya grabbed her spoon and took a bite of her food—of course, to hide her embarrassment.
As for Saki, she just lowered her head in silence. Even if she didn't care what people thought about her, she still felt embarrassed when stared at so intensely.
So her only way to hide her shame was to bow her head, avoid looking at anyone, and hope the stares would stop soon.