That afternoon, Sorata once again made his way to the rooftop to take a nap.
Ever since school started yesterday, he had either been dozing off in class or escaping to the rooftop to sleep. His self-abandoning attitude had drawn the attention of quite a few people.
By evening, Kamiigusa Misaki, who was on dinner duty, was bustling behind the kitchen counter. Clearly inspired by the delicious Chinese feast Sorata had prepared the night before, she had rushed off to the supermarket after school and returned with a pile of premium ingredients. She had been working non-stop since then.
In the living room, Sorata sat at the table, casually tapping away at his laptop. Shiina Mashiro had followed him back and gone upstairs to draw manga.
"Sorata, what are you looking at?"
Mitaka Jin entered through the front door, phone still in hand. Judging by the cheerful look on his face, he had just finished a call with another lovely lady.
"Chihiro-sensei brought up college applications again during lunch today. I figured I should at least think about my future, so I've been browsing online to see if anything sparks inspiration," Sorata replied with a lazy wave.
He had spent the afternoon on the rooftop, continuing to deduce the gene information chain, burning through what little spiritual power he had recovered. Naturally, he looked exhausted.
"Oh right, I forgot to congratulate you and Senpai. Her work got picked up again and is being turned into a game. It's even in magazines. That's incredible."
As he spoke, Sorata typed Kamiigusa Misaki's name into the search bar. Instantly, dozens of results appeared, the top one showing a photo of her with Mitaka Jin. A short description of her work sat beside the image.
Mitaka Jin paused, glancing at the laptop before shifting his gaze to Kamiigusa Misaki, who was still busy at the counter. A complicated expression crossed his face as he gave a small, self-deprecating smile.
"It's not me that's amazing. Misaki is the amazing one."
He walked over and sat down across from Sorata, pulling out a chair.
"You are being modest, Jin-senpai." Sorata smiled and began typing Shiina Mashiro's name into the search bar. In an instant, hundreds of results popped up. He clicked on the top one.
"Besides, comparisons only lead to frustration. Look at Shiina. She needs help just to wash her face, yet she's an internationally acclaimed genius painter."
He shook his head in admiration as he looked at a photo of Shiina on stage, bathed in the spotlight, wearing a stunning red off-shoulder dress.
"Jin-senpai, you're a renowned screenwriter before even graduating high school. Misaki-senpai is a genius in the animation world."
"Junior, I'm clearly adorable and beautiful. How could you call me a monster?" Misaki protested from the kitchen, waving her ladle.
"My bad, you must be an alien."
"And then there's Shiina, that single-track mind of hers. Even Akasaka, who never leaves his room, is a genius who got scouted as a high-paid engineer in his second year of high school."
"Chihiro-sensei, of course, is a battle-hardened woman still stuck in the dating scene. Always matchmaking for others, but still single. Even so, her resilience is commendable."
"Out of all six people living in Sakura Dormitory, only I am completely average. Average looks, average personality, average height, average grades. I don't even know what to write on my college application."
He spread his hands and sighed. "So, Jin-senpai, do you feel better about yourself now?"
"Hahahaha... Sorata, since when did you go from being sarcastic to this funny? Still, hearing you say that makes me feel a bit better."
Jin chuckled, glancing at him. "But first, you might want to survive the next crisis."
"Battle-hardened... repeatedly failing..."
The words were muttered through gritted teeth, the sound cold as a gust of wind from the underworld.
Standing behind him, Sengoku Chihiro glared with murderous eyes.
"Aaaaaah..."
"What are you doing?"
Shiina Mashiro stared blankly down from the stairs as Sorata struggled under Chihiro's chokehold, making muffled noises.
Though Sorata's body was three times stronger than the average person, he did not resist. With such a large and soft pressure on the back of his head, he figured it was better to just go along with it.
"Dinner is ready! Come eat!"
"Tonight's special is Russian Roulette! One of the six dishes has a surprise hidden inside. Everyone gets to pick one. Let's see who is the luckiest!" Misaki announced with excitement.
"Senpai, please don't tell me you loaded one of the dishes with wasabi again..." Sorata asked, looking exasperated as he pulled himself from Chihiro's grip.
"Junior, you've gotten sharper! You guessed it!"
"I want this one."
Mitaka Jin moved first, taking the plate on the far left.
Seeing that, Sorata sniffed the air with his now heightened sense of smell and quickly took the two plates on the far right. "Mashiro and I will take these."
"Junior, so confident this time? Then I'll take this one!" Misaki picked the middle plate.
Jin turned to Chihiro. "Chihiro-sensei, not joining in?"
"No rush. I'll choose after seeing who gets the surprise." She cracked open a can of beer and sat back comfortably.
Jin lifted a spoonful of rice and grinned. "Mine's safe."
"Mine too," Shiina followed, lifting her bowl.
"Don't even look at me. I'm good," Sorata said, confidently eating.
"Ha... I got it!" Misaki exclaimed with joy as she found the clump of green wasabi beneath her rice, as if she had just won a jackpot.
"Wait... you seriously didn't know which one had it?" Jin looked at her in disbelief.
"Nope! I made them all the same, shuffled them, and then laid them out. That's what makes it fun!"
"That's so very you, Senpai."
"Oh right, Kanda, don't forget to submit your college application form by tomorrow. The school's pushing those who haven't turned theirs in yet," Chihiro reminded.
"So soon? Alright, got it," Sorata nodded.
"By the way, Junior, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?" Misaki leaned forward with curiosity. "University? Teacher? Office worker? Or a pervy youth?"
"No idea."
"No idea?"
"Yeah. I don't have anything in particular I want to do." Sorata leaned back lazily. Honestly, aside from recovering his strength, simply living peacefully was the most he had in mind.
"But since they're urging us, I'll just fill in some random choices. A regular university, second choice novelist, third choice manga artist," he said nonchalantly.
"Is that really okay...?"
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
"The school doesn't say you can't do that, right? Look, in Sakura Dormitory, Jin-senpai writes scripts, Senpai is headed for the animation industry, Shiina wants to draw manga, and Akasaka's a programmer."
"If I aim to be a novelist or manga artist, I won't seem too out of place."
"The problem is, can you do it? Have you written a novel or drawn a manga before?" Jin adjusted his glasses, skeptical.
"Not really. But I've read a lot, so I should be fine," Sorata said casually.
"Kanda, are you serious?" Chihiro's gaze sharpened.
"Not completely sure."
Mitaka Jin and Chihiro exchanged glances, both thinking Sorata was being impulsive again.
"Hahahaha... Junior, do your best! Senpai supports you!"
"Sorata, do your best." Surprisingly, Misaki and Mashiro were the ones to cheer him on without hesitation.
Sorata smiled quietly at their reactions.
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Try Other Fics I Have
•SAO: I replaced him?
•Anime: I Want Harem
•DxD: I am Kanda Sorata
•Anime: Curse Of Immortality
•Genshin Impact: I have Broken System