126. Academic Advisor

Japan, Tokyo, ten o’clock at night.

Jiang Yu emerged from the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He took a bottle of barley tea from the refrigerator and drained half of it in one go. Only then did he let out a long breath, feeling as though every cell in his body had come back to life.

He glanced at Umaru Doma, who appeared to have switched to another game, and sighed several times, unsure what he could possibly say. Out of a brother’s sense of responsibility, Jiang Yu walked over anyway, patted the game-obsessed girl on the head, and said, “You should probably play a little less, you know?”

Without even turning around, Umaru answered perfunctorily, “Yes, yes, I will.”

“Honestly… hasn’t it already been half a month since school started? Are you having any trouble with your studies?”

Only after the words had left his mouth did Jiang Yu belatedly remember that he himself seemed to be the one who had never attended a single class.

Umaru’s hands paused over the controls. Somewhat uncertainly, she said, “I should be fine, right? You taught me all this before, Big Brother.”

“I… taught you?” Jiang Yu pointed at himself in astonishment.

When did I ever teach you anything? I don’t even know whether I can remember that stuff myself. Were you dreaming?

Umaru paused the game, turned around, and made a face at him. With a laugh, she said, “Of course I wasn’t talking about you. I meant Taihei! Good grief, Big Brother, you’re such an idiot!”

“…”

I’m sorry for getting carried away! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

“Well… as long as you’re not having any problems, that’s fine. But if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can try asking me, okay? I should probably know most of it.”

Jiang Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose to ease his embarrassment, his expression somewhat peculiar.

He had suddenly remembered that, perhaps thanks to the mysterious computer in his mind, he could now recall with perfect clarity the high-school knowledge he should have forgotten long ago. It was time to show this Japanese high-school student, who was always busy saving the world, just how formidable a Chinese high-school student devoted to studying could be!

Or so he claimed.

Umaru did not seem to doubt him. After all, her predecessor had always displayed academic results that could not be called outstanding, but were certainly above average. She simply nodded with a pleased smile and said, “Then it’s a promise!”

As she spoke, Umaru extended the little finger of her right hand.

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion, “What are you doing?”

Umaru puffed out her cheeks and muttered, “Pinky promise, silly Big Brother!”

I know it’s a pinky promise. The question is, as a high-school student, do you really still believe in this most innocent childhood method of sealing a contract? My little sister…

Under Umaru’s insistent demands, Jiang Yu eventually extended his own right hand and made a promise with his sister in a manner that was slightly childish.

And so, I hereby declare the contract sealed. From this day forward, I am your dog…

Ahem. Wrong, wrong.

From this day forward, I am your life advi—

No, that’s wrong too. From this day forward, I am your academic adviser!

…

Back in his room, Jiang Yu switched on his computer and was just about to write the second volume of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, as he had planned, when he noticed the indicator light on the phone he had tossed onto the desk before bathing blinking insistently. It was reminding him that he had unread messages.

Curious, Jiang Yu unlocked the phone. He immediately saw a string of unread messages from Tomoya Aki, along with an offline file.

TAKI: “Sorry, Yu. I only just finished scanning everything you wanted. I’ve compressed it all into one archive and sent it to you.”

“What are these, anyway? They’re all pictures I’ve never really seen before. Are they fan illustrations from some game or anime? I had no idea you were good at drawing too. I get the feeling that, if you really wanted to, you could make a game all by yourself or something.”

Sorry, but I really do want to make a game by myself, even if the graphics look like they came from the last century…

Jiang Yu chuckled and shook his head. He opened the PC version of LINE and began downloading the compressed file Tomoya had sent him. At the same time, he replied:

“I got it, Tomoya. Thanks. As for that booklet, bring it to school tomorrow and give it to me there. Sorry for the trouble.”

He had completely ignored every question Tomoya had asked.

After replying, Jiang Yu set his phone aside and opened the Word document for the second volume. Soon, the only sound in the room was the crisp tapping of his fingers against the keyboard.

…

After finishing an entire chapter about the protagonist’s study session in preparation for the midterm examinations, Jiang Yu stared at the dangerous declaration issued by Hachiman Hikigaya at the end, as well as the even more dangerous title of the second chapter. His expression became rather complicated.

He was sometimes teased for being a “sister complex,” but whether he was the Jiang Yu of his previous life, who had never had a younger sister, or the Jiang Yu of his present life, who did, he had never considered himself someone with a sister complex.

And so, when he thought about how his friends would inevitably read the rest of this light novel—especially Umaru, who would certainly see it—Jiang Yu felt a headache coming on.

They were definitely going to think he was a pervert, weren’t they? Weren’t they?!

With a sigh, Jiang Yu temporarily set aside this troublesome matter, closed the Word document, and prepared to continue building the scenes for The Witch’s House. Now that he had the reference images Tomoya had sent over, the timing was perfect.

Though he would probably have to color them first before they could be used.

After extracting the archive, Jiang Yu spent some time sorting and organizing all the reference images. He then opened Photoshop and prepared to color them. SAI would have worked as well, but Jiang Yu had only learned how to use Photoshop.

If he had enough time later, he planned to replace all the assets in The Witch’s House with improved versions that had passed through his own hands.

But it was too early to worry about that now. Jiang Yu flexed his fingers, cleared his mind, and began coloring.

By the time he had finished coloring two asset modules with a series of yawns, Jiang Yu wiped away the tears that had escaped his eyes and glanced at the late hour. He finally abandoned the idea of continuing to work on the game.

After shutting down the computer, he turned and headed for the bathroom. Naturally, he also dragged Umaru away from her game addiction and made her wash up with him. He then watched as she entered her bedroom, muttering under her breath, “I haven’t finished today’s daily quests yet!”

She slammed the door shut with considerable force, making her displeasure perfectly clear.

Jiang Yu had more or less grown accustomed to his younger sister’s childish tendency to throw tantrums. He could only shake his head helplessly before returning to his own room.

This girl… Is she really doing all right academically? I remember Uncle takes his children’s grades incredibly seriously. Come to think of it, I really do have a heavy responsibility as her academic adviser.

Thinking this with no small amount of concern, Jiang Yu pushed open the window of his room. He let the refreshing night breeze rush toward him and gazed into the distance, staring at the firmament blanketed in thick darkness.

For a moment, it seemed as though he could see the future.