Guest (2)

"...Are you okay now?"

Haruna chugged the cold coffee until the glass was completely empty, releasing a sigh of satisfaction as she licked the last remnants of the drink off her lips.

"Wow, this was really good!"

Reiji's mouth twitched as he stared at his empty glass.

"Seriously? I doubt it was that hot!"

"Hmph, who told you to make it so delicious?" Haruna crossed her arms defiantly, but the teasing look in her eyes was too obvious.

'Oho, is that how you want to play it?' he snorted internally.

"Well, you could have at least used the other end."

He pointed to the wet spot on the rim of the glass, the only one around the entire thing, indicating that they had drunk from the same part.

Haruna tilted her head in puzzlement when she followed his finger, but when the realization hit, a faint blush spread across her face almost instantly.

"Wh-Wh-What!? I don't know what you're talking about!" she stammered, dodging his amused stare in sheer nervousness.

"Sure, sure. It never happened!"

"URGH!"

Reiji chuckled and walked into the kitchen to take out a diet soda from the fridge.

His drink was gone, and he'd get a replacement at least.

Haruna watched him with a fierce pout, the blush still adorning her beautiful face. But seeing the sly glint in Reiji's eyes, she quickly changed the subject to move on from this embarrassing incident.

"Y-You asked me about my dream, but what about you?"

"Could you not make it so obvious?" Reiji laughed, setting down the can before continuing, "I'm pretty sure I told you. I want to cut ties with the syndicate."

"....That's not really a dream, that's a short-term goal. What do you want to do after that?"

Reiji opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes widened slightly when he realized he had no response.

His brows furrowed as he seriously considered her words and discovered that he had been so focused on the issues of being in the gang that he had never thought about what to do with his life.

This new world, with these interesting 'characters' and the novelty of his situation, had made Reiji so laser-focused on living in the present that his future could not even be considered a blank slate!

It simply didn't exist.

'....Shit, I have no idea what I want to do!'

In his previous life, if someone had asked him that question, he'd simply have said that he was either considering culinary school or a regular college degree for a more secure job.

But was that still the case?

This new body had proven to be far more capable than his previous self, whether that was in physical prowess or intellectual capability, so he wasn't even sure if he wanted to box himself into one career path.

'I love cooking, but... Do I want to do that as a job?'

Haruna blinked at his silence, confused by the blank daze in his eyes that showed his wandering attention.

"Oi! Earth to Reiji-tan!" she said loudly, tugging at his sleeve.

"Ah? Oh, sorry...."

"What's wrong? Did I say something strange?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. I just realized that I have no idea what my plans are," Reiji chuckled wryly.

Her jaw dropped, covering her mouth with a gasp in an overly exaggerated fashion.

"You mean wise old Grandpa Reiji is even more unprepared than I am? This is truly shocking! Oh dear, I need to tell the Gluttons about this!" she exclaimed as she pulled out her phone.

Reiji knocked her on the head lightly, an exasperated exhale leaking out subconsciously.

"Shut it, you drama queen!"

Haruna rubbed her forehead with a delighted laugh. Even that wouldn't be enough to bring her mood down.

"Why are you so happy, anyway?" he snorted.

"It's not that I'm happy, it's just a little strange to see someone like you be so scatterbrained."

Reiji raised an eyebrow at that remark.

"Someone like me? What does that even mean??"

"I don't know... You're just... always so prepared, confident, and calm that I kind of forgot that you can sometimes be an idiot as well," she giggled, her eyes crescenting into moons.

'....What the hell kind of image have I built?'

"Well, you do remind us of your idiocy fairly often, though. Like when you said you made a copy of the rooftop key, haha!" she continued.

"Hey! That was actually pretty smart, okay? Aren't we having a lot of fun over there?"

"That's true, hehe."

Reiji leaned back in his chair, his thoughts shifting back to the lack of plans he had for himself. It wasn't that he was worried; he had plenty of time after all.

But the sooner he decided on a path for himself, the easier it would be to put those plans into action.

"Are you seriously still thinking about the dream thing?"

"I mean... It is kind of a big deal. I'm just thinking that if I figure it out quickly, it will help me out later on," he muttered.

Haruna sighed, drinking from her cooled-down mug before speaking up.

"What's the hurry? Aren't you having fun with the clubs and school? And what if you decide now and then figure out later that you actually want to do something else?"

Reiji turned to her, surprised at her words that actually made a lot of sense.

"Ummm... I guess?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

'Maybe I'm being a little hard on myself?'

He'd only been in this world for a few weeks, after all, and adapting to the new reality in the first place took quite a bit of time.

He had thought about various business and money-making ideas while preparing to leave the syndicate, but that was different from what he wanted to do in life.

"You know what? You're right. I'm gonna give myself more time and just try to enjoy this moment for now," he finally said, which made Haruna smile.

"Great!"

"Now, let's get started with the tutoring."

Haruna's face froze, her relaxed demeanor crumbling completely.

"I forgot about that...."

"How do you even forget when that's why we're here in the first place?" Reiji mumbled, bewildered.

"Ugh, I was just distracted! But fine, let's get this over with!"

She reached for her bag with a weary groan, aware that this was more important at the moment.

Reiji felt a little bad because they had really been studying more than necessary at this point.

At her current state, he was fairly confident she could make the Top 20, and with just a little more guidance, the Top 10 wasn't too far off.

But his ambitions had now shifted after seeing her progress.

'Can't tutor her for every exam period, so I'm gonna make sure she can not only make the cut, but maintain her spot from now on.'

In the game, even when Haruna managed to succeed at getting the fee reimbursement with Hina's help, she fell back down in the rankings slightly because her focus was still on paying off the debt.

But now that he could teach her more than Hina did, and with his reassurance that he could help with her financial situation, Reiji decided to aim for a more comprehensive growth for her.

"Don't worry, you can come over tomorrow at lunchtime, get a lot of rest before then," he comforted.

Yui was coming over early in the morning and staying for an undefined amount of time, so he was also planning on introducing them to each other this way.

The redhead had asked about who he was teaching anyway, and maybe it could help her make some actual friends.

"Really?"

Haruna's gloominess vanished, replaced by a tired but relieved grin.

"Finally!" she cried out, raising her hands in the air to celebrate her brief freedom.

***

Over the next few hours, the two of them concentrated on their textbooks, with Reiji patiently pointing out her mistakes and simplifying the tougher concepts as she listened with a focused frown.

They took short breaks here and there, but the skies soon started to darken, and Reiji stood up from his chair in the study with a long stretch.

"Okay, you should get going now. I don't want you walking home in the dark," he said.

"Damn, I didn't even notice!"

"....You know what, I'll just book a taxi for you," Reiji decided, glancing at the setting sun with a hint of worry.

"Pfft, don't do that! I can walk home just fine."

"Nope, there's no negotiation."

He sent in the request on his phone, the notification showing that the pickup would happen in 3 minutes. Haruna was facing the other way, packing her books into her backpack.

Just as he was about to put his phone away, a call came through with a short name displayed on screen, vibrating silently in his hand.

~Dad~

'...What the hell is he calling me for?'

Reiji clenched his jaw, hoping that it wasn't another task.

He was mentally taxed out.

He picked up the call after a moment's hesitation, and the deep, magnetic voice came through. Reiji listened for a few seconds and ended the call after saying 'okay' in a hushed voice.

"The driver will be here any minute. I'll come down with you," he smiled at Haruna, who had slung her bag over her shoulder, though there was a hint of frustration in his eyes.

"Really? Okay!" Haruna replied happily, not noticing anything strange.

'Tch..... What is he going to make me do now?'