Since that day he was warned by Kaguya, Kikouka Seijirou had not approached Yusei again.
And Yusei also seemed to have been forgotten by the specially established department, returning to a normal school routine.
It's worth noting that Asuna was also invited by Seijirou. But thanks to Yusei's prior warning, she also paid him no mind.
The only unfortunate thing was that Yusei, Asuna, and Kaguya each attended different schools, so during the school term, they had no way to see each other.
It was raining heavily again today. Holding an umbrella, Yusei bid farewell to the two little girls who were still sleeping.
He had managed to get five million Yen from Seijirou, plus the prize money from the Kendo Tournament.
This money allowed Yusei to buy himself a motorcycle. The rest of the money was given to Kanako for safekeeping.
In Japan, a driver's license was needed, which was a bit troublesome.
Fortunately, he still had his status as a disciple of the Shinomiya Family's head.
So, he simply had Hayasaka arrange a driver's license for him.
Remembering Hayasaka's repeated warnings to drive slowly on the road, Yusei couldn't help but twitch his lips.
He had the [Driving] skill... As long as he kept his right eye active, even piloting an aircraft carrier would be [easy as pie].
The energy consumption for using this skill wasn't high, so driving with the Sharingan active wasn't a concern for Yusei.
It was raining today, so Yusei didn't ride his bike. Instead, he took the train and walked to school with an umbrella.
This was Yusei's first time at school since entering SAO. Looking at the familiar buildings, he felt quite sentimental.
Many students were arriving together, but most had their heads down, holding umbrellas, quickly heading towards the school building, not bothering with anyone else.
Yusei seemed like just an ordinary student as he entered the building, closed his umbrella, changed into clean indoor shoes, and arrived at his classroom.
By now, half a year had passed. It was around the winter break of the third year of high school. Everyone was studying seriously.
They were all preparing for university entrance exams. Since they didn't get extra points, their only option was to strive desperately.
His gaze quickly scanned the room and found his seat at the back. Next to it was still that quiet, brown-haired girl.
Yusei slowly walked over and sat down next to the girl. This was his seat.
His movements were light. He didn't disturb any of the classmates seriously reading, nor did he disturb this quiet girl.
Yusei just quietly turned his head and looked at the girl. In his 'original' memories, she was the only friend of the formerly weak 'him'.
They were both at the bottom of the class academically, with very poor grades. Perhaps because of this, they were the only ones in the class who could talk comfortably.
Half a year apart.
The girl had also changed somewhat. Her previously short hair was now grown out long. Previously lacking presence, she now stood out because of her extremely beautiful appearance. A delicate nose, cherry lips... her already exquisite face now looked extremely serious as she focused on the book in her hands.
Her long hair hung down, some strands obscuring part of her fair, pretty face.
Looking at this hairstyle, Yusei was certainly struck by her beauty, but he also felt he had seen it somewhere before.
Suddenly, he remembered, 'Didn't Senpai have this kind of hairstyle?'
'Is this hairstyle popular now?'
However, compared to short hair, Yusei did prefer long hair. Because it always gave him a feeling of gentleness and maturity.
This didn't mean he was leaving the 'lolicon' organization behind, but was simply a pure preference.
Watching the serious Megumi, Yusei didn't disturb her further. Instead, he quietly practiced mental training… this was something Koken had taught him earlier to train the mind.
The teacher soon entered the classroom. It was a woman, not their previous teacher, probably a new one from the past half year.
The teacher carried a stack of test papers. Her face showed both pleasant surprise and anger.
She heavily placed the papers on the desk, slapping the table.
Bang!
"Look at your scores! The entrance exams are approaching, and you're still getting grades like this! What universities can you possibly get into?!"
Her tone was severe as she scolded the students below. Yusei knew his class wasn't a top-tier one to begin with, so poor grades were normal.
However, the teacher on the podium then softened her tone considerably.
"Of course, some students have made rapid progress in this exam." She looked towards Megumi's seat, but paused slightly when her gaze landed there, as she didn't remember there being someone next to Megumi.
'Who was that boy in uniform?' She had taught this class many times and had no recollection of this boy.
But she didn't have time to dwell on that now. Instead, she looked happily at Megumi, "Kato-san has improved very quickly this time. She was 30th in the end-of-term exam last semester, and now she's 10th in this mock exam."
"I hope everyone will learn from Kato-san's hard work and progress. Kato-san, I hope you continue to work hard and keep it up."
After saying this, the teacher turned back to scolding the other students who had regressed or performed poorly.
Megumi showed no particular expression, but Yusei saw her subtly let out a sigh of relief, 'She was probably happy inside about her good results, right?'
Yusei thought for a moment, then smiled slightly. Leaning towards the Megumi beside him, he said softly, "Congratulations. You've improved very quickly. Keep working hard like this, and even Tokyo University should be within your grasp."
Megumi, who had been looking at the mistakes on her test paper, froze upon hearing this familiar voice. She turned her head woodenly towards the familiar face.
Seeing him looking at her with a smile, Megumi's cherry lips moved slightly, as if to say something, but no words came out... Her eyes seemed to glisten, as if they could drip with moisture.
However, Yusei's sharp eyes noticed it wasn't just 'as if'… tears were actually welling up in Megumi's eyes.
Yusei quickly handed her a tissue, asking with a mix of amusement and concern, "What's wrong? Why are you crying just from seeing me?"
Megumi used the tissue to wipe her tears. Looking at the familiar boy, a faint, gentle smile appeared on her face, which, paired with her flowing long hair, looked extremely captivating.
"No... I just feel very happy."
"Happy that I'm out of the hospital and recovered? Actually, you don't need to be. The days in the SAO game weren't as difficult and dangerous as you might imagine."
'Well, it wasn't dangerous. And where else could I find a wife and daughter so conveniently?'