The Reincarnation of a Commoner Couple - Episode 16

“The final exams are over!”

The chime rang out as the teacher began collecting the test papers. Masaru threw a fist in the air and let out a triumphant shout.

“Another perfect score.”

“Yep. I even made sure my mistakes looked natural.”

For most students, exams might feel like hell, but for cheaters like us, they’re actually kind of great—shortened classes, half-days once exams end, and nothing but good stuff.

“Summer vacation, huh?”

“Wanna go somewhere?”

Once finals are done, summer break begins.

With so much free time, I want to try out lots of things. But since I’ve managed to become a student again, I also want to enjoy some typical student experiences.

“What even is typical student fun…?”

“Traveling’s probably out. We’re supposed to be broke, and there’s no way I could convince Mom.”

“Guess that means something nearby. Somewhere fun in Chiba… or maybe we could stretch it and head into Tokyo.”

Like a pool or the beach?

Not like you have to be a student to go there.

It’s kinda tricky. What did we used to do back in the day, anyway?

“You’re actually serious about this, huh?”

“You didn’t believe me?”

When the finals were returned, I showed my results to Mom.

Apparently, she’d still been doubting my intention to apply to Chiba High. But seeing my scores—about the same as last time—finally made her start to believe.

“Well, you’re always so fickle, you know? I figured the studying was just another phase.”

“Azusa and I have a dream we need to achieve.”

“When you get all serious like that, that’s when I really don’t trust you.”

Ouch. That’s my mom for you. She sees right through me. I wonder what kind of face she’d make if she knew our motivation was just to win the academic superiority game.

And so, summer vacation began.

I couldn’t help laughing at how different my report card was from last year’s. Even the teacher’s comment section seemed super carefully worded.

[Basic Info]
Name: Keita Tani
Age: 15
Height: 175cm

Academics: 70/100
Athleticism: 50/100
Looks: 60/100
Luck: 50/100

Skills:

• Singing Lv2
• Horse Racing Lv5
• Slots Lv2
• Pachinko Lv2
• Mahjong Lv3
• Bedroom Techniques Lv5

Remaining Funds: ¥18,000,000

[Basic Info]
Name: Azusa Nakamura
Age: 15
Height: 161cm

Academics: 70/100
Athleticism: 50/100
Looks: 60/100
Luck: 50/100

Skills:

• Singing Lv2
• Video Editing Lv4
• Cooking Lv5
• Mahjong Lv1
• Bedroom Techniques Lv5

Remaining Funds: ¥18,000,000

Right before the summer break, Azusa and I had our birthdays and turned 15.

We both grew a little taller too.

We didn’t really do anything special—just said “happy birthday” to each other and ate some cake. Totally like an old married couple.

My mom asked if there was anything I wanted, but I turned her down.

I can buy most things myself, and I don’t want to burden the family finances.

Also, every Sunday up until now, we’ve been going to the racetrack and pulling in about ten million yen a week.

Thanks to that, we’ve got 18 million yen each now. But I still haven’t decided what new skill to learn.

After all, it costs ten million to learn a new skill for the first time.

So yeah, I’m being cautious.

“Summer homework is such a pain.”

“Really? Thanks to our academic skills, it’s super easy now.”

Yeah, but still… doing repetitive kanji drills is just tedious.

Why the hell do I have to write the same word over and over again like an idiot?

It’s such a waste of time.

“You were the one who said we should finish early so we wouldn’t panic later, remember? Don’t go whining now.”

“Bah! For a change of pace, I’ll sing a song now!”

First day of summer break.

We’re at our usual karaoke place, doing our homework.

We’re making good progress, but writing is still a pain.

♪♪♪

Singing is the best for stress relief.

Thanks to my skill, my voice sounds amazing, so it feels great.

“Karaoke is the best. You can study and blow off steam.”

“Plus, it comes with a drink bar.”

With a free-time deal, it’s about 1,000 yen for the whole day. That’s a lot of money for a middle schooler, but it doesn’t matter to us.

“Looks like we’ll be done in about three days.”

“Yeah. Gotta love those academic stats.”

It’s getting dark, so we’re heading home.

Once we finish this homework, it’s time to start the big summer money-making plan.

“I wonder when the last time I went to a local racetrack was…”

“This’ll be my first time.”

The big summer money-making plan?

We’re going to hit up local racetracks that run weekday races and make daily profits.

It’s kinda sad that gambling is the only way we know how to make money…

But we’ll treat it like a date—visit local tracks around Kanto, and aim to earn five million yen each per day.

Traveling by train is a bit annoying, but we’ll hop between Oi, Urawa, Funabashi, and Kawasaki and roll in the cash.

“If we keep going to the same racetrack, we might get recognized by some regulars.”

“You think we’ll get caught?”

“If you wear makeup, you’ll totally be unrecognizable.”

We’ll wear sunglasses and stuff to stay lowkey. We’re pretty tall for middle schoolers, and our faces look mature too.

I’ve never even been asked for an age check when buying cigarettes at a convenience store.

And girls can completely transform with makeup, so it’s even easier.

“All I have to do is copy your bets, right?”

“Yeah. If we win about 500,000 per race, we’ll hit five million a day easy. The early races might be tough, though, so we’ll just adjust as needed.”

There are night races too.

This summer, we’re gonna make an insane amount of cash.