GIFTED ACADEMY: THE PERFECT STUDENT

It was early on Saturday morning when I received a rather frightening message.

'Meet me in the locker area, we need to have a talk.'

It was sent by Tachibana—considering the fact that I only got my phone at the beginning of the year, I have no idea how she managed to get my number. After all, not a single person has my number at the moment; she must really be quite sly.

Well, there was no point in me declining. I thought that she would leave me alone for a little while at least but it seemed my wishes were unfounded. It would likely only get escalated if I decided to evade her request so I put on some clothes and began making my way out of the dormitory.

Once again, I was back at the lockers. I was starting to get flashbacks of Tachibana's bullying. I really didn't know what she wanted me to gather here for, maybe she was going to try to kill me with a bomb or something.

"Ah, so you finally showed up."

"You're the one who called me here."

"Hey, now, I had no other choice."

No other choice?

She took out her phone and handed it to me. On the screen, there was an address.

"You've memorised it, right? Someone wants to talk to you; go meet them there."

"What is it that they want?"

"Ugh, just go there, and you'll find out, now leave."

She was just as cold as I expected.

It was a little suspicious that she was trying to get me to a random address I had never seen before—however, judging by her expression, it seemed that her intent was not to kill me. She left without saying another word, so I was not going to be getting any clarification. I assumed that there was someone else trying to contact me through her.

Why would someone want to contact me?

With basically no other choice, I decided to make my way over. It was only a few minutes on foot, and the general area was relatively safe. It appeared to be a pretty rich neighbourhood, so I doubted that I'd end up getting kidnapped. I made sure to stay on high alert just in case something were to happen.

As I arrived in front of a very large high-rise apartment, I was finally getting the gist of what was going on. From the outside, it looked extremely luxurious—it was something that the very rich would live in. There were huge automatic doors with electronic locks and a very lavish reception area staffed with several people in suits.

Why was I needed here?

Suddenly, a man walked out of the apartment towards me.

"You're Mizuhara Ayato, right?"

"Um, yes..."

"I just want to have a chat with you; come inside."

He scanned his personal keycard on the electronic lock by the door, and after a slight beep, the glass door slid wide open, revealing the giant, modern reception area. He led me over to some seating just around the corner, and the two of us sat down opposite each other on some elegant couches. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

"You're probably wondering why I called for you."

"Yes."

"I'll cut right to the chase. I want you to be a tutor for my daughter."

Huh?

"I don't understand; why me?"

"Because... you're one of Tachibana Kohei's Outcomes, aren't you."please visit panda-:)ɴᴏᴠᴇ1.co)m

Ah, I see what was going on now.

"Don't worry. Your efforts won't be unrewarded. I will pay you $300 an hour to tutor her; you're pretty low on cash, I would assume," he continued.

"I don't see why you couldn't just hire another better tutor with that type of money."

"Well, there's a reason I've come for you. You're my last resort. I've tried everything else I possibly can."

Everything else you possibly could?

With that type of money, he could hire some of the best tutors in the world—it was pretty obvious that money was not an issue for him. I just didn't see how he knew of me and why he thought I'd be a good tutor.

"I still don't see why you would want me. I wouldn't be a very good tutor."

"You were part of the Ideal Human Project. I don't mind putting a little faith in you."

"Why do you know so much about me?"

"Oh, it's no big deal. I was the biggest sponsor of the Ideal Human Project. After all, it's to be expected that I'd want to see some return on my investment."

Ah.

"Sure, I'll be her tutor, but don't expect anything from me."

"Sorry, but I'm expecting quite a lot. I want her to pass all of her exams at the end of this semester."

"Are you going to fire me if I can't do it?"

"I know something like that wouldn't motivate you," he placed his cup of coffee on the table, "if she doesn't pass all of her exams, I'll reveal your secret to the entire school. Don't expect to have a normal life after that."

"What secret might you be referring to?"

"Ah, you know exactly what I'm referring to. What did they call it again... the incident? Was it? Oh, I remember now. They called it The Incident That Ruined the Outcomes."

This must have been his trump card from the beginning.

I was left with no other choice.

"You know, you'll regret manipulating me like this."

"Haa, I've got plenty of regrets in my life already."

He took out a key card from his wallet and passed it over to me.

"Use this to enter the building. We're on floor 6, room 124. Everything else is up to you, Mizuhara Ayato."

I grabbed the card and placed it into my pocket.

"I'm going on a business trip for a few months, and when I get back, I'll be expecting some good results from you. Feel free to make any purchases you feel necessary for her education; I'll reimburse you."

After that, he stood up and walked out of the building.

Getting someone to pass their final exams shouldn't be too hard in theory. However, if I was his last resort, that meant that many other tutors would have tried and failed to produce the result he wanted.

This was going to be a hassle.