CHAPTER 12: Cramming, The Most Effective Learning Method

"I'm very disappointed in you Mother"

"UWAAA!!! FORGIVE ME, LEON!!!"

In the living room of the Greenfield mansion, Ada could be seen pouring out a river of tears as she desperately begged for her son's forgiveness. To which Leon only replied with a cold gaze and a sigh of disappointment, further agitating his mother's broken heart.

"I get that I have a major fault in all of this, but aren't you too easygoing on me, Mom?"

Saying this, Leon recalled just how lacking in discipline Ada was in raising him. First was the fact that she gave in to his decision to isolate himself from the world for so long, but even when he decided to revert that, she hadn't done anything to stop his addiction to video games.

"Don't you want me to become a good person, Mom?"

"I DO!"

"Then why don't you scold me when I do something bad?"

"WHAT KIND OF MY MOTHER WOULD DO THAT TO THEIR OWN SON?!"

"Then how do you expect me to…"

But just as the young man was about to retort in anger, he was reminded once again of the fact that he was in an alternate world where men are rare and treasured highly. In this world, the very act of disciplining a man would only be done in the most extreme of circumstances.

And even then, it would mostly be done by third parties that held less emotional attachment to the person in question, not a mother of the child herself.

'No wonder I was able to meet a guy who knocked over a kid so easily'

Thinking this, Leon's eyes shifted from the figure of his crying mother and over to his maid Anastasia who had been standing stiffly.

Meeting her gaze, the snow-white maid flinched under the pressure of his scrutinization. As he opened his mouth to say something, Anastasia took action first, not wanting to hear what Leon had told Ada just then. Believing it to be too much for their loyal heart to bear.

"I APOLOGIZE WITH ALL MY BEING, YOUNG MASTER LEON!"

"I was just gonna if you think the same way as my Mom, Ana…"

Seeing the two women in his new family trembling and crying, Leon decided that a change was to not allow himself to become a bum, or in the worst case scenario, a bastard like in his previous life.

𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙋

"All right, Mom, Anastasia. Let's make this the first intervention of this family! Something we can all agree on for everyone's sake!"

An intervention. It was something Leon wasn't quite familiar with due to his lack of familial companionship, but he was aware of it to an extent due to its prevalence in modern media in his past life.

It was not enough that he followed restrictions by himself. He needed an outside party to be able to objectively judge if he was still going on the right path. But as he mentioned the start of an intervention as a family, Ada and Anastasia began to exhibit a reaction he wasn't anticipating.

"𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…Leon still thinks of me as his mother?...𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…"

"𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…Family. What a beautiful word. To think the Young Master was generous enough to include me in it…𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…"

The two women began to sob not out of fear of his disappointment, but now in joy of his words. The sight of which unnerved Leon who began to wonder just how much the men of this world scarred women for them to act like this.

…

..

.

Following a somewhat long discussion as a family, Leon finally set down the groundwork for how his mother and maid would look after him from here on out.

Communication. That was the crux of the intervention. From his observations, Ada and Anastasia were very hesitant to bring anything up to him when it came to how he acted or what he did.

Such as how Ada hired a personal maid for him without his notice, or how Anastasia kept quiet on his long gaming sessions despite checking up on him many times.

After much difficulty in trying to rewrite the messed-up perceptions regarding men that his mother and maid held, he was eventually able to find enough common ground to consider his efforts a success.

"Don't be afraid to tell me where I went wrong. I'm not a perfect person you know? I still commit mistakes"

With these words, Leon was able to set up a safety net for himself in the future. Though it didn't account for failures that he did in secret such as how he had beaten up the scowling man in the shopping district, what mattered was that he took one more step in the direction of becoming a kind person.

With that out of the way, he immediately shifted the conversation to tackle the looming issue that he wanted to resolve. His academic career in this world.

As expected from a criminal in his past life, and a former isolationist in this life, he had little to no knowledge on where to begin solving this issue.

All he knew was that he was severely behind compared to most other students in the education system. By leaps and bounds.

After pestering his mother who tried and failed to convince him that he didn't need an education, she eventually relented and began to explain where he stood.

"Men aren't really required to excel in academics. So long as they possess some knowledge of basic information necessary to live, they can move along the system just fine"

"But they're still expected to attend classes in some capacity, right Mom? So how come I wasn't told that I needed to attend classes?"

"That is because you were granted special permission by the Department of Education under male protection laws…"

"Male protection laws?"

What followed was an easy-to-understand explanation by Ada regarding how the male population of this world was protected regarding education.

In summary, somewhere in the long time that Leon had spent isolated before recovering his memories, a government agent sent by the Department of Education was assigned to evaluate his fitness to become a student.

If a man was deemed unfit, they would be granted exemption from participating in classes. However, this privilege was only reserved for cases of real severity rather than simply being given because some guy didn't want to do so.

The agent observed his extreme isolation and aversion to human contact, especially with women, and decided not to provoke the situation. The government essentially giving letting him continue to do what he believed to be good for himself.

"So, they just leave men to do whatever they want?"

"With so few men in the world, it's better that they continue living in their stable state than to provoke them to take severe actions. There would be grave consequences if something happened to a man due to them meddling too much in their lives after all"

Hearing this, Leon was naturally not happy with such an arrangement. Though it appeared to be done out of good intentions, the whole situation uncannily reminded him of how the big cities of his past life disregarded the lives and circumstances of the poverty-stricken individuals of their population.

"...𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘩…"

But though he didn't like it, there wasn't much he could do to fix the situation. He lacked the abilities and influence to make lasting change, and he knew better than anyone else how futile the passing pity of good-hearted people was in the lives of the unfortunate few.

If he was going to want to help people, he would first need to help himself to the point that he could do so not at the cost of himself or other people around him. With that in mind, Leon was more determined to jump into the education system after so long of being detached from it.

"Mom, I want to go back to studying again"

"Hm? Oh! If that's the case then I can hire a private tutor-"

"I don't want a private tutor, Mom"

Hearing the coldness in her son's rejection, Ada grew quiet as she began to see him exhibit a flurry of emotions she hadn't sensed in him before.

No, that wasn't right. She had sensed this same aura from him not too long ago. It was when he had reached out to her for the first time in so long. When they became a family once again.

"Though I may not be the best suited for education, I may be able to substitute for a private tutor for the Young Master, Madame-"

"I appreciate the help, Ana. But I don't want a private tutor in any form"

With the rejection of even Anastasia's proposal, Leon raised his head as he faced them both with a determined gaze. One that was prepared to toil and suffer to achieve what he wanted.

"I want to enter high school. Not out of consideration of me being a man. or as your son, but through my own effort and abilities"

Hearing what he said, Ada and Anastasia were surprised to see him say what he wanted to achieve. Though it wasn't like there weren't any men who excelled in academics, it was right to say that they were in the minority of the population.

Given between a life where everything is fed to you in a silver spoon, and one where you constantly stress your mind to understand complex and niche subjects, most people would choose the easy path.

But Leon knew the regret-filled end that awaited him in the path taken by many. It was only in the path less taken that true satisfaction would be found.

"Mom, Ana, I want to be better. For that, I need to push myself. Just like how you both pushed yourselves to arrive at where you are now"

Staring at them both, Leon envied his mother and maid. Though he didn't know all the details, he could recognize just how well-accomplished and respected his mother was from the brief glimpses he saw of her personal office in their home, and the casual whispers of recognition she received in their last outing.

The same was true for Ana. Her repertoire of skills was vast, and her proficiency in each one was commendable to a high degree. From her etiquette to her home-caring skills to even niche skills that would rarely be used in daily life, he couldn't even begin to imagine how much she worked to accomplish so much at a young age.

In comparison to them both, he was a guy who preyed on people's fear and weakness. Hid away when the problem he faced was too big. Grew satisfied at the bare minimum abilities needed. And indulged in sin rather than improving himself.

"I want to be a better person than I was before…so please…help me to become someone like that"

With his heartfelt request reaching their ears, Ada and Anastasia weren't dense enough to not recognize the determination of the young man before them.

So, swallowing their preconceptions of men and how they should treat them, they began to pave the way for Leon's reintroduction as a student in this world of theirs.

…

..

.

"Good morning, Leon. How was Anastasia's tutoring?"

"My brain hurts…"

"Hehe. Eat up, you have to provide your mind with nutrients so that it can remember everything that she taught you"

"Ugh…"

It has been a few days since the Greenfield family began to work to have Leon re-introduced into the education system.

Though there was no age limit on how old a student must be before entering high school, the young man wanted to at least be on an acceptable level with his peers.

Thus, with half a year left before high school entrance exam season began, the Greenfield family set their time limit within six months.

Leon hadn't been formally educated yet due to being a recluse at the age of four, so the first order of business was to assess just how much he lacked.

Taking this task upon her shoulders, Anastasia began to concoct a series of tests ranging from pre-formal education, all the way to the end of middle school where people of his age group were currently at.

Luckily for Leon, he wasn't completely stupid. He at least possessed knowledge of basic information such as arithmetic, science, grammar, and logic. Something that was needed at the very least to survive in the upper echelons of the underworld.

But beyond that, he was completely hopeless. From the history of this world which he would naturally not know of, to the more complex mathematical formulas and scientific processes, Leon had much to study on if he wished to meet his goal.

"The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell…"

"Young Master Leon, please stop reciting the anatomy of a cell as you eat your breakfast"

But though Leon's head ached under the weight of the first few lessons he received, he emitted a slight smile as he felt progress being made, no matter how slight it was,

Reciprocating the smile her son beamed, Ada began to talk about the fruits of what she had been doing as Anastasia tutored Leon for his eventual attempt at a high school entrance exam.

"I contacted my acquaintances at the Department of Education, and I was able to confirm that there would be no issue with taking a high school entrance exam despite your lack of educational history. A sort of special exemption for your unique situation"

Hearing that he was receiving special treatment, Leon's eyes narrowed, but Ada quickly responded to his sentiments regarding special treatment with some words of her own.

"I understand that you want to achieve this with your own efforts, but there are times when you need to let go of your pride to get closer to your goal. I didn't achieve my position by only working hard, Leon. I was also very fortunate with the opportunities I received. Luck is a necessary factor in success"

Seeing that his mother was rebuking him for his attitude, the young man was quiet for a moment before he accepted her words. Ada had begun to properly scold him if he began to show inappropriate behavior.

"Sorry for scowling…and thanks for all the help, Mom. You too, Ana"

"Fufu, anything for you, son"

"It is my honor to be of service, Young Master"

The atmosphere between the three was serene and peaceful, but it was quickly broken as the clock began to strike nine in the morning, indicating the start of Leon's day to catch up on his studies.

"Finish your breakfast quickly, Leon. I need to go over with you the various tutoring programs and educational resources at your disposal. Six months to catch up with years of formal education is challenging…but with your mother's history as a top student in her day, such a thing is more than doable"

With a scary glint in her eyes, Ada began to lay out a mountain of cramming school pamphlets and educational services. Right then and there, the feared Chief prosecutor would begin to display to her child why she had become so undisputed in the highly competitive world of court and law.

"I concur with the Madame. After the Young Master is finished listening to her explanations, we will go over the modules and worksheets covering first grade once more to strengthen your foundation. I can guarantee the effectiveness of my methods, as it is a special technique passed down in our Romanov family"

Following Ada's example, Anastasia began to emit a cold air around her as she didn't look upon Leon like a Young Master to be doted on, but a person to be disciplined. Like a wolf staring down at a poor cub as it taught it to survive in the harsh cold winter.

Under the immense weight of these two accomplished women wanting to push him beyond his limits, the young man began to regret a bit for egging them on so much to act in such a way.