Hojou Kyousuke's June was filled with studying and training.
July was just around the corner, bringing with it both the national junior high school kendo championship and the end-of-term exams.
Although he had reclaimed the top spot in the midterms, Kisaki Tetta had nearly caught up with him in Japanese and social studies.
The total score gap between them was still considerable, but it was enough to make Kyousuke feel the pressure.
The Japanese exam had five sections: the first two were on kanji, the third on explanatory texts, the fourth on modern fiction (which included an essay), and the fifth on classical literature.
Each question was worth ten points, totaling fifty, with thirty as the passing mark.
Kyousuke scored 48; Kisaki got 45—way too close for comfort.
Classical Japanese was especially tricky.
It tested many Japanese poems in the using difficult, archaic kanji.
For most Japanese middle schoolers, it was a fresh subject not too bad to learn from scratch.
But for Kyousuke, who had memorized those kanji fluently, it was more like walking through the park.
No matter if he aimed for a public or private university, Japanese would be a required subject.
That why he already master it.
He wanted to prove that even without relying on any cheat-like system, he could still be number one.
When the royalties for his manga came in, the sum surpassed even the average starting salary of Tokyo University grads at top firms.
He did briefly wonder why keep going to school at all?
Why not just focus on drawing manga and enjoy a lazy, carefree life?
But that thought didn't last long.
Sure, with the memories he had, even copying just the parts he remembered from famous manga would earn him a small fortune.
But that kind of life was to isolated, with little influence or connection and that wasn't what he wanted.
He had reincarnated into this world, gifted with second change, he wasn't going to waste that by living as a shut-in manga artist.
Take Makki Hojou, for example the guy had casually gifted Kyousuke a 4-million-yen motorbike not long after meeting him.
In Japan, where gift-giving customs are usually conservative typically a few thousand yen at most and that was already beyond generous.
It wasn't just a nice gesture; it showed Makki didn't expect anything in return.
And Makki's daily life also screamed wealth.
Yet, he still worked hard in kendo and studied to get into Tokyo University.
Why? Because in Japan, education is that important.
Even though Kyousuke himself hadn't set a clear goal yet, he wasn't about to live out his life in mediocrity.
In East Asian culture, a good education earns immediate respect.
Look at Okudera Miki part of what made her effort to pursue her dream so admirable was her academic background.
Ochanomizu University, where she studied, is one of Japan's top schools.
Even if she had spent her university years avoiding clubs and keeping to herself, she could've landed a good job or secured a cushy marriage through arranged dates, living comfortably as a housewife.
But Okudera didn't take that easy path.
Despite her striking looks, she didn't go for a modeling job.
She started from the bottom as a waitress, learning how restaurants function and building up a menu of unique dishes for her future restaurant.
She chose the hard way because she had a dream and that determination gave her a radiant charm.
If she'd only graduated high school, her hard work would still be impressive, but it wouldn't have the same allure.
Judging people by their education may be a stereotype, but not just in Japan—worldwide, top-tier graduates are naturally held in higher esteem.
Graduating from Waseda or Tokyo University? People will say, "He's smart."
A no-name school? Even the graduate themselves will self-deprecate with, "My brain's not that great."
And the network that comes with elite schools is invaluable.
Just graduating from the same university as someone can open doors to connection.
Tokyo University was Kyousuke's sole goal and for good reason.
In his past life, he only made it into an average college. But now, he was going to aim for the best.
Tokyo University alumni dominate Japan's politics, economy, and academia.
They're known as the "Akamon Clique" (named after the university's iconic Red Gate).
While not every grad helps each other out, shared school roots often make cooperation more likely.
Then there's the "Iron Gate Clique" graduates from Todai's medical school, who rule Japan's medical world.
Only Keio University's med school grads, known as the "Sanshi Clique," can compare.
And even outside the major power groups, graduates form local circles.
Those who stay in Tokyo, for instance, form the "Tokyo Ginkgo Society."
The same pattern exists across other prestigious schools:
Waseda alumni create the "Toumon Clique," dominant in publishing and media; Nihon University's grads form the "Sakuron Clique" in construction.
Even Japan's Shinto religious world is split among cliques from Kogakkan University and Kokugakuin University.
It all sounded terrifying almost as if all of Japan were under the rule of academic cliques.
If you wanted to rise above the crowd, you'd inevitably end up stepping on the toes of these elite groups, bringing their wrath down on you.
But really, the only ones who suffer are those who aren't capable of getting into these prestigious schools.
Once you're in, once you become one of them life suddenly becomes a whole lot more comfortable.
Hojou Kyousuke didn't have some grand dream of changing the country. All he wanted was a happy life with the people he cared about.
So, school?
Yeah, that wasn't something he was planning to give up on anytime soon.
That resolve only deepened one day when he rode his Rocket-33 over to Eriri's mansion to deliver her share of the profits.
Seeing that place so extravagant it made the word "luxurious" feel inadequate—snapped him right awake.
In that moment, he gave himself a mental slap.
'Seriously? Just a bit of cash and you're already getting cocky? Are you turning into a piece of trash like the system itself?'
Could he really copy notes for the rest of his life and expect to afford a place like Eriri's estate?
Eriri, who had been born into wealth, still pushed herself so hard with her art that she ruined her eyesight.
And here he was, already thinking about slacking off?
'Don't you want to earn Eriri's recognition someday?!' With that fire lit under him, Kyousuke doubled down on his studies.
He diverted all his time away from science and focused it entirely on Japanese and social studies instead.
Social studies included history, geography, and civics the last of which covered topics like politics and law.
First-year middle schoolers studied geography, second-years took history, and civics came in the third year.
The only major event that broke up the study grind was a school trip in June.
At Higashi Middle School, every grade from first year all the way to third-year high school had an annual school trip and for first-year middle schoolers, that always meant Mount Fuji.
Even though all the supervising teachers were male, the trip ended up being surprisingly fun.
Actually, the all-boys aspect might've made it even more entertaining after all, guys are only really reckless and uninhibited when they're around other guys.
On the first day, they had a curry cookout in the woods at the base of Mount Fuji.
Kyousuke's group included Kisaki Tetta and Hanagaki Takemichi, and they definitely lucked out.
Unlike your average Japanese middle school boy, Kyousuke had been trained in cooking since he was a kid thanks to his mother and Sakura.
Making curry a dish as simple as it gets was basically second nature to him.
Other groups in the class? Not so lucky.
Somehow, even boiling ingredients and tossing in curry roux was too much for some of them, and their results turned out just as messy as the boys themselves.
On the flip side, everyone got super into chopping firewood.
Especially the guys from the kendo club they swung axes with so much intensity, it looked more like secret warrior training than a school event.
Total chunibyou energy—but they were all having the time of their lives.
Day two was a mix of activities: curling at a nearby club and hiking through the Aokigahara forest.
Honestly, the money spent on the trip clearly went straight into giving students the best experience.
On the third and final day, the students had to build small boats out of bamboo and rope, then race them across Lake Saiko, right at the foot of Mount Fuji.
(And no, not that Saiko—this was Lake Saiko, one of the Fuji Five Lakes, also known as Otome Lake.)
And just like that, the three-day, two-night school trip came to an end.
Then it was back to school, back to studying, and straight into finals.
The school helpfully scheduled the exams for early July, but even after they were done, students still had to stay for another two weeks before summer break officially started.
Probably so they could bring their grades home or maybe just to give them a reality check before picking a summer cram school.
There were five subjects in total: English, math, Japanese, science, and social studies.
Kyousuke finished all of them early and handed in his tests before time was up.
For the next two weeks, aside from the necessary exams in home economics, music, and art, he practically lived in the kendo club.
Everyone was working themselves to the bone for the upcoming national high school kendo tournament especially Eikichi Onizuka and Danma Ryuji.
It was like those two had cut all their ties with distraction.
No more late-night rides, no more pin-up magazines, just pure unwavering focus on the sword.