About the Reckless Girl Who Kept Challenging a Reborn Man Like Me

Part 2

"Oy, oy, oy! You popular b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You're going to teach the girls, and you're not teaching us!?"
"Urp!"
The cla.s.s rascals wrapped an arm around my neck, half in envy, half for the girls, with just a little left over for academic ambition.
I tried tapping out, but until the words of commitment came from my mouth, it seems they didn't intend to let me go.
"G... got it..."
"Aight! My allowance raise hinges on the next test! I'm all yours! Sieg!"
While the stranglehold was undone and the surroundings grew rowdy, all I could do was give an exhausted laugh.
Just how did it come to this?
But strangely, it didn't feel too bad at all.
Cla.s.ses came to an end.
My eyebrow twitched at the number of students much higher than I'd expected, what a bother, I said as I walked around watching everyone study.
I expressed my thoughts on studying I'd expressed to Anja, told everyone how I studied and made rounds to everyone's desk giving them practical a.s.sistance.
By the way, Anja didn't partic.i.p.ate in the study session. Sure enough, she didn't like the sort of atmosphere with everyone making a ruckus together.
"Sieg, about this problem, you know... when I look at the answer, the calculations, and the process, I can understand it, you know, but I can't understand why I shoulda calculated it like that. If it's going to be like that, then if the same sort of problem comes out on the test, my only hope is to memorize it.
"Yeah, I get it, Marco. Just by looking at the answer, it's often you won't get the problem's root and way of thought. So what's important is..."
"This is, let's see... the textbook's... right here. When you boil it down, this problem's just an application of the moment."
"Hmm..."
Looking over everyone's studies like this, I realized this wasn't a prep school for nothing, and everyone had a good head on their shoulders.
The kids were already beginning to mull over the way of thought I finally got around to realize around high school and college.
I caught a glimpse of the difference between ordinary and genius.
And it was something I felt when I taught Anja as well.
Perhaps it was around that time.
I was beginning to see what sort of path I would tread in this life.
"Even so, you sure are good at teaching, Sieg!"
A girl from the cla.s.s said it.
I could naught but give a bashful laugh.
I think this is something based in my experience called rebirth.
It's not as if I can just study better than a normal person, I'm pretty sure it's because, after desperately studying once for college exams, I went through my second run of elementary and middle school cla.s.ses.
As most ordinary people must, I studied for college entrance exams like my life depended on it.
By doing so, the things I began to see in regards to studying began to change. The efficiency of study, the point of study, the way to study, the knack to study... those sorts of things were boiled down, boiled down, and boiled down to my second try at the exams, and after all that studying, I took elementary cla.s.ses anew.
In my second round of cla.s.ses after going through such an existence, the way I saw the lessons had completely changed from in my first life.
There were times when I thought this teacher's way of teaching was better than my first life's one, and times I felt the reverse was true.
Seeing it on repet.i.tion, for the times I thought the lesson was well done, and the times I thought they should've emphasized that point more, impertinent as it may be, I had birthed my own evaluation for the teachers' cla.s.ses.
... Though it was way too brazen I couldn't tell a soul.
In my middle school days, if I only blabbed about it to anyone, that would be enough to make it my black history. From anyone's eyes, it would look like I was getting way in over my head.
That's precisely why I tucked it into my heart, but regardless, I had begun to hold my own personal view when it came to teaching.
"Yes, yes! Mr. Sieg! I don't understand this at all!"
"Yes, yes, just give me a minute, Lina..."
I think I was happy.
It was the delight I felt from my 'special' coming in handy for once.
The day went on, the study session ended. It happened when I was walking down the dark knight road on which the sun had already set.
During that day's study session, I had definitely felt a sense of satisfaction, my chest filled with a fulfillment at having been useful to my friends; I walked the way to my house with light steps only to find that person before me.
That person who stood imposingly right in the middle of the road home.
Her large eyes continued to glare at me, so there was no doubt I was her target.
Uwah, thought I.
No matter how you look at it, she is not happy.
Anja was completely blocking off my path.
"... Hmph!"
"Um... Anja...? Ms. Anja...? Why might you be so angry?"
I unconsciously went polite.
"I'm not particularly angry or anything! It's not like you did anything bad, after all!"
"Uwah..."
What do I do... about this...
... No, I could tell the cause lay in me getting along and studying with everyone, but I had no idea how she was processing that in her head.
... If I give her candy, will she regain her temper?
"... Anja... do you want... some candy...?"
"Hmph!"
With nimble hands, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the whole tin of candy, but her mood didn't improve.
I failed.
"Um... do you want to partic.i.p.ate in the session next time onwards...?"
"As I thought..."
Well, I already knew that. I was giving up hope.
She usually acts cool, this girl. Seriously, believe me. She's just completely different when she's in front of me.
"...... It just irritates me."
"... I don't know."
Anja didn't undo her stance as she said it.
"Aaah! Fine, whatever! Now help me study too! We're going to study the h.e.l.l of it! Here and now!"
"Then we just have to do it in my room, right!? We're going to have a study session through the night, just the two of us!"
A night study session...?
My heart skipped a beat.
"Today, we're going to keep studying until you say you can't go on anymore! No! Even if you can't go on, I'll force you on! Prepare yourself!"
"Hey... w-wait a second..."
My hesitant hand was yanked by Anja and forcefully led off to her den.
My chest continued to strike, ladum, ladum, my body was heating. A stream of blood was racing all around me at an incredible rate. A night study session, Anja's room, the two of us, until I can't go on anymore... even if I can't go on...
Strange words continued spinning around my head as I was led by the hand to Anja's whim, staggering as I wandered the night path.
Let me get one thing straight.
... We just studied.
I mean, yeah. It was obvious. We were still only 13.
Anja fell asleep studying until she couldn't go on, so I carried her to her bed, neatly draped the cover over her, and had Anja's father accompany me to my own house.
I mean, yeah.
I wanted to punch myself to death for letting my heart race so.
Even if my body was young again, to think I ended up l.u.s.ting for a 13-year-old girl...
Pedophile? Am I a pedophile?
c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p.
A large sin on my life, a capital crime. It's a sin worthy of the death penalty.
After returning home, I slammed my head against my room's desk a number of times.
Until my mom noticed me eccentricities and stopped me, I continued hurting myself time and again.
Aaaaaah..........................
The guillllttttt............... the guiiillllllltttttt............................................
"Good mo... wait, Sieg, what happened!? Your forehead, it's red! And those are some crazy bags under your eyes!"
When she came to school the next morning, those were the first words to come out of Anja's mouth.
My forehead had swelled so large it might burst, and bags had firmly taken root under my eyes.
I couldn't sleep. I'll leave it at that.
Even relieving myself felt like a sin, and I admonished myself more. I had spent a hazy night. I was riddled with guilt.
"...... It's nothing."
"A... again...?"
I saw her off as she returned to her seat, leaving only those words, after which I promptly fell prostrate over my desk.
In the next test, I was unable to achieve 100 percent.
The months went by, and we enrolled in high school.
What's more, I was able to enter that nationally accredited prep school on a scholarship.
No tuition fee. It was the most I could do for my parents. I couldn't help but think back to my salary in my last life.
In a sense, someone with the grace of 'reincarnation' like me taking the privilege of scholarship was quite natural, but Anja who had won over that position with her own power was truly amazing.
As a childhood friend, I took pride in her.
Right. We were already childhood friends.
To me, past life included, it was 10 out of 43 years. But to her, it was 10 of 15.
Right. It's already been ten years.
... Already ten years.
'High school is the real battle! I'll catch up to you in no time, and defeat you in a test! You'd better prepare yourself!'
Right after the entrance ceremony, Anja proclaimed it with spirit.
Her face puffing up just a bit, 'Now's the last time you'll be able to put on airs!' she said and rung her nose a 'hmph'.
Yet a girl like that somehow managed to earn the nickname 'Ice Queen' after spending about three months in school... I really don't get people.
About nine months from enrollment, the incident happened.
Especially to me, this was the turning point, I think it was the time the crease started to show.
"... Huh?"
Anja opened her eyes wide as she looked over the large board of third-semester midterm rankings posted right outside the entranceway.
Her eyes blinked again and again in surprise as she stared intently at the ranks of people who did well in the test. After rubbing her eyes once, she looked over it again.
'1st Place: Sieg 785 Points
2nd Place: Anja 785 Points'
The ranking table laid it out so.
A red tinge quickly spread across her face, her eyes giving a glimmering sparkle.
"Sieg!"
She raced in a straight line towards me, bringing along a full-face smile to look over me with.
It looked almost as if her delight was becoming a steam gushing forth from her body.
"Sieg!"
Closing in, she called me again. There was no meaning to it, I think she was simply filled with elation.
"I finally caught up to you! It's the first time! The first! The first, I say! The first time I lined up with you!"
Delighted, she continued repeating the word 'first' time and again.
When it came to that, it was nothing more than a draw. What's more, to her, it was a draw she was never too happy about.
So this was the first time we ever tied with anything besifrd full marks, and she didn't hesitate to rejoice at the notion.
"We lined up! Side by side! All that's left is for me to overtake you! To win! We lined up! I lined up next to Sieg!"
Happy, she looked truly happy. Enough that just looking at her made me happy as well, her eyes gleamed and sparkled and shined like gemstones.
"Prepare yourself!"
She said and laughed. As if her future was paved with jewel boxes, she held such a hope in her chest as she laughed.
... But Anja.
It's already been 10 years.
10 years have pa.s.sed since we started competing...
The seams are starting to come apart, Anja...
It didn't take much longer for the seams to widen.
"I won! ... I won! I won! I won! I won! I won!"
'1st place: Anja 786 Points
2nd place: Sieg 781 Points'
The midterm of the second term of the second year, I lost to Anja for the first time in my life.
When it came to test scores, it was my first defeat in this life.
When Anja first saw the rankings, she was left in a daze.
She saw something she couldn't believe, rather, she couldn't tell what was going on and the inside of her head had gone pure white. She absentmindedly raised her head, opened her mouth, and widened her eyes as the inside of her head crossed the expanse of s.p.a.ce.
Perhaps it was after about five minutes.
Her consciousness finally returned to her body, she processed the visual information coming in, and the curtain opened on her delight.
"I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it......!"
She hopped up and down with her face a bright red, displaying her delight with her whole body in a way completely unbefitting any icy nickname she received.
"I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it......!"
And once more she ran a straight dash towards me, taking me- her supposed enemy- by the hands-, and shaking those hands up and down. Smiling from ear to ear, she tossed a feverish gaze at me.
There was no other path.
"I did it~~~~~~~~~~!"
Said Anja, as she heatedly ran out the school gates.
"Ah! Wait a second! Anja! Come back! Get back here! Cla.s.ses aren't over yet!"
Forgetting cla.s.ses just like that, the impulse sent Anja running out of school. Forgetting herself, she ran.