CHAPTER 71- Romantic Training. Part 1.

(Pov- Yesei.)

I'm screwed! What am I going to do?!

I-if I don't act well as Naima, Saik will expel me. Why is this happening to me?! I knew it was a bad idea to mess with Sylphie! Why did I go along with Reiko?! I'm an idiot!

W-well, at least I won't be expelled. Sorry, Reiko, but I told you several times that messing with Saik was a bad idea. You'll be expelled for being an idiot… Uwaaah! And I'll be expelled for being an idiot too! I'm even more of an idiot for following you in things that were clearly a bad idea!

N-no, don't lose your patience, Yesei. Y-you just have to go on fake dates with Saik so he's prepared for his real dates with Naima. He's only using you for that, and then he'll discard you.

Saik is just using me to prepare for his dates with Naima, and after that, I'll be free and unafraid of being expelled.

"Miss, dinner is ready."

"Thank you. Will my parents be home tonight?"

"I'm sorry, they won't make it today."

"I see."

Well, eating alone again.

Saik, I don't know Naima that well, but it's hard to imagine her falling for someone as selfish and cold as you. You have no personality. You're boring and weird. Only Sylphie would fall for you, and that's because you're her prince who always protects her, but no girl would see you as a romantic interest.

And what do I think of you? You just scare me… But you also confuse me.

I'm only afraid of you because all the hatred and disgust I felt for you is gone.

Talking to you made me realize you're a guy with no personality who only acts to protect himself. I have no reason to hate you because Reiko is the one to blame for everything, and the disgust I felt was just resentment for thinking you were better than everyone.

But now that you defeated the student council president, I'm afraid my resentment might make you angry. I'd rather not care about you and just do what you ask me to do.

After all, obeying is something I'm an expert at. Like it or not, I'm destined to just follow orders; I don't have what it takes to give them.

Saik, I hope you keep your word and don't expel me. This school is my last chance; don't condemn me.

… My last chance, and I risked it all to stay friends with Reiko.

"Yes… I'm an idiot."

And I hate being one.

I went down to the dining room to eat.

Ugh… I wish I could eat with the maids, but I don't want to risk getting scolded again.

So boring.

I'll keep reading Saik's novel. He may be a cold and weird guy, but as a writer, he's really good. He took a weird concept like falling in love with a prostitute and turned it into a pretty cute romantic comedy.

I pulled out my phone… Huh?!

Why do I have so many notifications?!

N-new followers… And tons of likes!

How did my novel grow so much in just one day?!

I'll read the new comments. Did some celebrity talk about my novel, or did the app massively recommend it?

… Huh?

"'Came here on Saik's recommendation. Hope it's worth it'? Saik?"

Did he recommend me? I have to see this.

I searched for him and went to his profile… No, he didn't post anything. Did he post it somewhere else? I'll check his social media. He has them linked to his account, so it won't be hard to find him.

Let's see… Found him… 32,000 followers?! H-he has so many. Are his novels really that famous?

W-well, I'll check his profile in depth later. I'll read what he said about my novel.

"Go read this novel. I don't usually do this, but I genuinely liked the plot. I recommend it if you like romantic comedies. The protagonist is a jerk at first, but later has good development."

A-and besides the promotion, he made a drawing for me! A drawing of the main characters fist-bumping! T-that's a scene from chapter 89. Did he read that much in one day?

… You're definitely very weird, Saik.

"But I appreciate the promotion!"

Is this your way of paying me back for helping you? Thank you! I'll definitely do my best! Thank you so much, Saik!

"Miss, Miss Reiko is here to see you."

I guess she wants to know about my situation with Saik. I'll have to lie to her. Saik did something nice for me; I won't betray him. Besides, if I do, he'll definitely get mad and expel me. I'd rather not risk it.

"Sure, let her in."

"But she's accompanied by another person, an adult man. Should I allow him in too?"

An adult man?

•

CHAPTER 71- Romantic Training. Part 1.

(Pov- Saik.)

Backpack, lunches, candy, wallet, portable console, emergency clothes. All set.

My school uniform is a bit wrinkled because I was too lazy to iron it.

Yuki on my shoulders, sniffing my hair.

Yeah, I've got everything. Let's go.

I left the house and started my walk to school.

Yesterday was a disastrous day. I almost died, and Lalo had to revive me, but at least now, for sure, the ghost hunters won't keep screwing up my life. I confirmed I'm not Shadow, even almost got killed. That should be more than enough proof.

Or, well, I think so. I hope so. I feel Sayu's presence.

"Saik, now that we're relaxed, do you know Shadow? Who is he?"

I'll answer later, Yuki, I can't talk now.

I walked, and as I turned the corner, she spoke to me.

"Hey."

I stopped and turned to look at her.

"Ahhhhhhh! It's that killer!"

"Oh, hi… Sayu?"

"Saik, punch her in the face!"

No, Yuki, everyone makes mistakes. Learn to forgive. Besides, I don't have much time left to live; I won't waste it living with hatred in my heart.

"Did you forget about yesterday?"

"Oh, right, Lalo told me a girl found me passed out on the street. Did you take me to the hospital? Thank you so much."

I took a bag of chocolates out of my backpack.

"Here, little one, and thank you."

"I'm 14, I'm not a little girl! And I'll take these as payment."

She snatched the bag.

"As payment?! Damn hypocrite!" Yuki shouted, furious.

Calm down, Yuki, don't get mad, it's not worth it. This issue is resolved; don't dwell on the past.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Hmm… Let's see… I remember leaving school and… That's it. After leaving school, everything gets blurry, I don't remember anything. I think someone tried to rob me, and knowing my personality, I probably fought back, and they hit me on the head. Though it's just a theory, because I still had my wallet at the hospital. Why do you ask? Do you know something?"

"Yeah. We were talking about Hanako, and you passed out."

"Hanako? Do you know her?"

"She's my cousin, and you were asking me for advice on how to win her over."

… What?

"That didn't happen. What's she trying to do?" Yuki said.

"I'm in love with Hanako? Wow, that hit to the head messed me up more than I thought. I didn't remember."

"Yeah, you said you were in love with her and wanted my advice to win her over. Well, I'm glad you're okay. See you."

She walked away… Ugh, I knew this wouldn't be easy.

"Why did she make that up?"

I'm afraid she's trying to manipulate me, Yuki. She probably thinks that since Lalo erased my memory, she can manipulate me with fake memories to make me fall for Hanako. Ghost hunters can't erase memories like I do, or could do, so this is just her hypothesis, but it's well-founded. The shock of not knowing what I was doing before losing my memory would make me believe anything.

Why did she do it? They probably have something planned. I need to play along, but subtly, so Naima doesn't suspect.

Ugh, damn it, they just keep ruining my life. Won't they even leave Saik alone? They're such a pain in the ass.

•

•

(Pov- Kaeyko.)

A big yawn escapes me as I prepare my cup of coffee.

I'm still so sleepy. Evelyn insisted on playing video games with me until 3 a.m. I got the hint that she wanted to have sex with me, but I firmly refused. We're not even dating yet. If I want a healthy relationship with her, I need to wait one or two months more to build a solid foundation. She accepted my decision, and we played video games.

I'm not afraid of her cheating on me because Evelyn didn't like having sex. She probably feels weird because she got used to it, but she can overcome it. Abstinence shouldn't affect her too much. It's just two months. Besides, that's what masturbation is for.

What if she asks for naked pictures of me as material for masturbation? I'd give them to her, no problem. Honestly, I'm pretty proud of my body. Even if my photos leaked online, I wouldn't care. It's just a naked body; there are millions online, it's no big deal.

… Yeah, I'm definitely sleepy, thinking about stupid stuff.

I took a sip of my black coffee, no sugar, and sighed.

"Well… Our current situation is good and bad, Kaey."

Kaey stopped chewing his meat and nodded at me.

"Evelyn turned out to be a much nicer girl than I imagined. At first, I saved her because I wanted her to be happy again, but now she's the one making me happy. Life is weird, huh, Kaey?"

"Woof, woof!" he barked, nodding.

"She's the first girl I've ever liked, and I just met her. I always thought falling for someone you barely know was stupid and just sexual attraction, but I guess I underestimated love too much. Have you ever been in love, Kaey?"

Kaey shook his head.

"I guess it's hard to find females of your species… Or males. You identify as both, so I'm not sure what you like. But anyway, our situation is also bad because there are aliens living among us, and 99 people, including me, with powers. There haven't been any live broadcasts, so for now, we're safe."

The main problem will be distinguishing aliens from normal humans. Will we have some special ability for that?

Ugh, this world is going to be pretty screwed up in the future. If I… Well, if Dark Demong managed to eliminate tons of criminals in one night without any difficulty or leaving evidence, others could do the same. For some strange reason, I discovered that no one can see me when Kaey and I are fused, except for my enemies or the people we want to kill. We walked through the streets, and our bodies passed through people like we were ghosts. Pretty weird, but useful.

And… Ugh… Dark Demong is a killer. I felt awful after the fusion ended because I had committed murder, but I try not to think about it too much. I hate this feeling of being a murderous monster; I have no right to take other people's lives. But in the future, if I want to keep my family and Evelyn safe, I'll have to kill to ensure their safety.

If I win, I can guarantee their safety, but to win, I have to become a monster.

"Kaey, we need to start training using our fusion."

"Woof, woof!" he barked, nodding.

I finished my coffee, grabbed my backpack, and Kaey hopped onto my head.

Well, a new school day begins. Today, Tanya will return, and we'll get the results of the special test. Considering the number of students in my class and Class B, yeah, we won. We have the advantage. On the island, it's all Class A, and that participation was the most important. I hope defeating them makes Tanya feel better and she doesn't get mad at us for quitting. I have the perfect excuse. I'll say I had a very important and private family emergency, so I had to leave. Ether is an idiot and will just say he followed me so he wouldn't be alone. Ugh, that idiot doesn't have much brain, but at least he's pretty good at soccer, and his points from that club will be useful.

I'm smart and stay in one of the top ranks, second place, so I'll be safe for a while.

But there's a certain girl who really worries me.

"Kaeyko. Kaeyko, are you awake?!"

Evelyn, she worries me a lot.

I opened the door, and she immediately threw herself at me and hugged me.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, Evelyn. Ready to go?"

"Mmm. Wait, I'm missing something."

She kissed me on the cheek and smiled. And that beautiful smile was enough to fill me with energy and make me smile too.

"All set, I gave you your good morning kiss! We can go."

"What a nice way to start the day. Thanks."

I put on my face mask.

"Let's go."

I locked the door, and she took my hand.

Evelyn is one of the worst in her class. She's in danger of being considered useless to the class and unnecessary, and worse, if this continues, she'll be expelled by the end of the semester.

Evelyn didn't focus on studies because her priority was finding a rich boyfriend to pay off her debt, but now that she's free, that's no longer necessary. She stays in school because she wants to be with me.

She confessed that she's not interested in studying at university and would rather be a housewife. Financially, we won't have any problems. I'm smart enough to attend a good university, and my father will support me financially whenever I need it. My family has contacts I could use to get a job when I finish my studies.

I'll be one of the best plastic surgeons, and being one of the best means earning a lot of money. If Evelyn marries me, she'll never have to work in her life, but I also don't want to spoil her too much.

Besides, the future is uncertain; I don't even know if I'll still be alive. It's best for her to learn to be independent on her own, as I might not be able to help her in the future.

It's me against 98 people and aliens. It's overly optimistic to think I'll win. I'll probably end up dead, so it's best to prepare Evelyn for that possible future.

I don't want her to depend on me emotionally or financially. She has a lot of money right now, and I asked my father to say he gave it to her for her studies to avoid tax issues or investigations about where it came from. My father will call in some favors owed by certain government executives, so no one will question where the money came from as long as he pays the corresponding taxes.

But that money won't last long; she'll need to get a job soon. Evelyn no longer has her family; they turned their backs on her. I'm all she has right now, and if I die, she'll be alone. I don't want her to suffer from loneliness or not know what to do with her life, so I'll prepare her to be an independent woman.

Evelyn has incredible willpower; I'm sure she'll surpass me and move on with her life when I'm gone.

"Yesei and Saik make a cute couple, don't you think?"

Hearing those words snapped me back to reality. I was listening to her while thinking about our situation, but those words really surprised me.

"Yesei? The one with fluffy hair? Didn't you say she was unbearable?"

"She is, but when I saw her talking to Saik, I thought it was pretty cute. I don't know, it felt like watching a romance movie. It was really sweet to see."

"I see… Honestly, I don't care enough about Saik to pay attention to his life, but it's interesting to know what kind of girl someone like him likes."

"At least I confirmed for myself that he's not attracted to curvy girls like me. When I tried to flirt with him, he never paid attention to me."

"Wow, wow. He was able to ignore your two big assets? I guess he likes flat girls."

"Fufu. And do they work on you?" she said, hugging my arm to press it between her breasts.

Well, I'd be lying if I said feeling her breasts on my arm doesn't affect me. Her breasts are pretty soft.

I'm a healthy teenager, so this does excite me, but everything in its time. It's too soon to have a sexual relationship with her.

"They work pretty well, but don't think you're the only one with hypnotizing big assets."

I took off my face mask, caressed her cheek, and smiled at her.

One of the few good things about me is my appearance. I may be a guy with a boring and charmless personality, but at least I'm handsome. Thanks, genetics.

Evelyn blushed at my smile, and I brought my face closer to hers.

I can feel her nervousness, and her lips are trembling. Wow, wow. How cute.

"So tell me, pretty, do my charms work on you?"

"Of course they do!"

"What you feel, I feel when I see you. Don't forget that."

I put my face mask back on and took her hand.

"Want to go to the movies after school?"

"I'd love to."

"It's a date then."

… Am I turning into a cheesy guy? Wow.

•

•

(Pov- Saik.)

I got to school but stayed at the entrance, waiting for Yesei. Naima just passed by me, but she didn't even greet me. I greeted her, but she ignored me and kept walking.

This girl is really hard to win over, but I'm not giving up yet.

Yuki went off with Sumi because I told her I needed to be alone at school for a while, as I suspect they'll be watching me closely because of yesterday. If I show any signs of remembering what happened, they'll definitely try to kill me and even destroy my soul, regardless of Lalo's protection.

Ugh, whatever. I'm waiting for Yesei because I need to become her friend so her acting as Naima is more genuine, and I can figure out exactly what to do to win her heart.

Yesei is a girl with no personality of her own, who just mimics her friends to fit in. I noticed that from her reactions. She almost never speaks first, and Reiko always has to speak first for her to act. A very moldable girl.

Why is she like that? Is she afraid of being herself? She acted really excited when I mentioned I like reading, and her reactions and words when we talked about her novel and "mine" were genuine, not fake like her reactions with Reiko and Naima.

In other words, Yesei is a girl who enjoys reading, writing, and isn't interested in trendy things like Reiko or belittling others like Naima, though Naima mainly does it so no one takes advantage of her. Naima does it for survival, Reiko does it because she's a jerk who enjoys others' suffering, and Yesei hates doing it but only does it to fit in with her friends.

Yesei is a pretty innocent and boring girl who, for some reason, forces herself to act like a jerk to fit in.

…

…

…

"Did I really learn that much about her in just one day?"

I'm good at judging people by their behavior and way of speaking because I had to learn to distinguish good people from bad ones to avoid being taken advantage of, but this is too much, even for me.

With Naima, I needed time to research and understand her, but with Yesei, I came to conclusions in just one day. This is weird.

Oh, there she is, with Reiko.

That girl is a bad influence on Yesei, but well, it's her life, her choice. Let her do what she wants.

"Good morning, Yesei. Can we talk?"

"Good morning, Saik," she said, uncomfortably.

Reiko kept walking, not before flipping me off and clicking her tongue.

… Gross. I thought I liked girls with that kind of personality, but Reiko just disgusts me. What kind of women do I actually like? I don't even understand myself.

"How are you?"

"Good, I guess. You?"

She's way too uncomfortable. Yeah, I know, it's pretty weird that I'm suddenly getting so close to her, but little by little, she'll get used to my presence, or so I hope.

"Good… Look, I know I seem like a cruel and evil guy, but as long as you're not against me, I won't do anything bad to you. I know you're uncomfortable with me, but I really need your help. Naima is the first woman I've genuinely fallen for, and I don't want to mess it up. Could we at least try to be friends?"

"Sorry, it's just… Never mind. Sounds good. We can at least try."

"I appreciate that."

I took a lollipop out of my pocket and offered it to her.

"Want one?"

"Yeah, thanks."

She took the lollipop.

"By the way, Saik, I wanted to thank you for promoting my novel. It doubled the views, and they're still growing. I really appreciate it."

Polite words, serious and somewhat boring tone, and I don't feel like she's pretending. Is her real personality this boring? Wow.

"Favors are repaid with favors, don't worry. You help me, I help you. A win-win for both of us. Well, let's head to class for another boring school day."

"Okay."

We started walking together.

Yesei, this girl pretends to be someone she's not just to fit in. Does her social status matter that much to her? Pretending to be someone you're not only makes your life harder because faking it won't let you enjoy the things you really like just because you want to please others instead of yourself.

I never pretended to be someone I'm not, not even to please my own family. I was never as sociable as my parents wanted me to be; I was always honest with my words and acted in the way that felt most comfortable to me. I may have been a lonely and selfish person, but at least I was honest with my behavior; I never pretended to be someone I'm not to satisfy others.

In my family, we're honest, so I was always honest and spoke the truth, no matter if that truth hurt others. I'd rather be honest and hurt others than be a liar to make someone feel good. Unfortunately, sometimes I have to lie because it's necessary, and it hurts me to do it.

… I'm a lonely and selfish person… Selfish, huh?

Ugh, Number 1, I guess you were right about that. I finally accept it.

"The characters in your novel are pretty good, though the protagonist's behavior makes me cringe. He's way too shy and blushes too much when the alien gets too close to him. But he makes up for it in his action scenes."

"Thanks!"

Wow, she got excited hearing that. A girl who loves talking about books, especially her own novel. Wow, wow. You'd get along with Number 31.

"I know, I made him too shy, but it's to better show his character development."

"Going from shy to a guy with high self-esteem and no fear. Got it. Well, I'll be waiting for updates."

"… Are you already caught up?"

"Yeah, I finished it before coming to school. It was pretty entertaining, though I prefer the secondary couple over the main one. I think they have more chemistry, and their transformations are more epic than the main couple's. The protagonist's childhood friend really found someone way better than him. Though, finding a guy better than the protagonist at the start of the novel is pretty easy. Even someone like Bell or me is better than your protagonist at the beginning. No offense, obviously, the protagonist improves a lot, but at the start, he was pretty whiny and pathetic."

Ugh, I think I'm talking too much. I really liked her novel, so I couldn't help it.

"Sorry, I talked too much. But overall, I liked it a lot."

She looked down a bit… Sad? No, just for a second, but then she smiled and looked up to meet my eyes… Well, so to speak.

I didn't sense any acting in her movements. Is this the first time she feels someone understands her? I say that because she seemed sad at first. Did she realize that pretending to be someone she's not has cost her a lot of happiness?

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate your comments. I also loved your novel, especially the romantic comedy between the Demon King and his maid. The revenge scenes against people who've done harm were very satisfying."

"Thanks."

I'll tell Number 31 what you said. They're his novels, not mine. I prefer reading; I don't have the creativity to write.

"I'll read your other novels later and leave my comments."

"I hope you like them. And thanks so much for the drawing; I used it as the cover."

"You're welcome."

Her smile is genuine and… Did I find it cute?

… This is weird.

I mean, Yesei is the complete opposite of my type of girl; she's like a Sylphie without the shy side. Why did I find her cute?

I feel strange.

We entered the classroom, and ignoring the nuisance standing in front of the chalkboard, I went to my seat, where another nuisance was sitting on my desk.

"Hey, Saik."

"Hey, Miss President of the Idiot Council. Could you get your butt off my desk?"

"Fufu. Regretting not betting?"

"Not really. Can you get your butt off my desk?"

"Congratulations, you managed to take one of my four protection points. That's more than I've lost since I started at this school."

"You're not moving, huh? Fine."

I sat in the chair behind her.

"By the way, President, you have a nice butt, but it's blocking my view. Could you move it?"

"Saik, come with us," said the teacher from Class 3-A.

"What did I do now? Still mad because I punched you in the face? Or because I forced you to apologize to me and didn't forgive you? Wow, wow. How resentful you are, Mr. Teacher."

The president laughed, got off the desk, and patted my back.

"You're so fun, Saik. To think you'd dare punch a teacher. You've got guts, Saik, though you're also pretty disrespectful. We want to talk to you about something important, related to your mother."

"Alright."

Knowing it's about my mother, I immediately stood up.

If they used my mother, I hope it's really something serious, because if they used her just to drag me to the student council to waste time with nonsense, I'll stop holding back.

I walked up to the teacher, stood next to him, and looked at my classmates.

Most of them are here, except those at the camp test. Oh, and Saoto is looking at me seriously, but I sense some concern in him. No hatred or resentment? I guess knowing I defeated the student council president made him admire me a bit and feel hope that I'll be useful to this class.

Well, I'll stay here for now, as long as Sylphie stays loyal and doesn't betray me, I'll be in this class.

"See this teacher next to me? He hates me because I expelled one of his students, defeated his best student, and punched him in the face, leaving him on the floor."

"Walk."

He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me along, but he couldn't move me an inch. He's trying, but he just can't budge me.

"In other words, he's resentful because I humiliated him. As long as Class 3-A has this idiot as a teacher…"

Saoto got more nervous, as did the others, when they heard me call the teacher an idiot, completely disrespecting him. In this country, teachers are treated with a lot of respect by students, no matter how terrible or unprofessional they are, because disrespecting a teacher could have serious consequences academically and socially. It makes you look disrespectful, and since this country is very strict about respect and manners, disrespecting a teacher makes me look like an ignorant person who doesn't care about their future.

In this country, your academic record defines your professional future, and this insult could tarnish it, making me seem like someone who wouldn't respect their bosses, lowering my chances of finding a job. But since I don't care about my future because I'll die, doing this won't affect me at all.

Naima looks at me with disgust and hatred because I'm making it harder for this class to survive.

Saoto is full of worry and fear because now we'll definitely be enemies of the whole school.

Bell is still depressed and doesn't care about me.

Naok is smiling, arms crossed. I guess this really excites him and seems more fun.

And Yesei is looking at me… worried? Naima, why don't you look at me like that? Worry about your future boyfriend, at least a little. Even Yesei, who barely knows me, is worried about me. Ugh, life is so unfair.

"Class 3-A will be my enemy. I already expelled one of their students and defeated their best student, the student council president. As long as he's their teacher, Class 3-A is my enemy. So let me make one thing clear."

When the teacher pulled my arm again, I pushed my arm and then yanked it hard, causing the teacher to lose his balance and fall to the floor.

From the ground, he looks at me with fury, which he hides with his usual serious expression.

And the president just smiles while crossing her arms.

A man who faces me out of pride and hatred, and a girl who faces me just for fun.

"From this moment on, you decide whether to be my allies or allies of the man on the floor. You decide. Goodbye."

I left the classroom, and the president ruffled my hair.

"Wow, wow. Saik, you're pretty aggressive today, huh? I like this dominant and active side of you. The lazy and calm Saik had his charm, but this more active Saik is cooler."

She stood in front of me, and I stopped.

"What? Did you fall for me or something?"

"Not really, you just became a much more fun challenge than I imagined."

She lifted my hair to see my eyes and smiled, full of confidence.

"I have three protection points, four chances to defeat you. This school year will be full of fun. Thanks for making my last year the best and most fun."

"I'm not here to entertain you, so don't treat me like a toy, big-butt president."

"Oh, wow, wow. Should I report you for sexual harassment?"

"Says the girl who touched my chest without permission. Now we're even."

"How resentful you are, Saiki."

"Saik."

"Saiki. Yeah, I'll call you Saiki from now on. You can call me Fanny. My name doesn't sound that cool, but well, my parents didn't expect their first child to be a girl; they wanted a boy, so…"

"Blah, blah, blah. My parents underestimated me for being a woman. Blah, blah, blah. I proved I could be better than any man. Blah, blah, blah. Machismo, feminism. Look, I really don't have time to hear your tragic backstory and personal growth story."

"You've broken my heart, bad boy. You have to take responsibility."

"You sound like I got you pregnant."

"My father wants to meet you."

"I'm not marrying you. Don't ruin the image I have of you by becoming a stalker."

"I don't ask for things twice, don't worry. He wants to give you something from your father."

"Well, that changes things."

Fanny caressed my lips while placing her hand on my chest.

Ugh, this girl is weird. I don't feel love from her, so she's not really in love with me, but her behavior is too strange.

"Didn't make your heart race, huh?"

She leaned in close, as if we were about to kiss.

"Nothing… Fufu. Interesting."

She stepped back, and I followed her. I looked at the students around us, watching the show. Nosy people.

Ugh, I really don't understand the president of the idiot council. What's she trying to do? Only she knows, and knowing her, she's probably just analyzing me to figure out how to defeat me.

A girl who doesn't waste time on love.

A girl who just wants to have fun, and her way of having fun is overcoming others and showing she's the best… No, she just loves tough challenges and doesn't care about losing. She lost to me, and I don't feel resentment from her, only happiness and fun.

A girl who enjoys planning strategies to overcome obstacles. A girl who has fun with this kind of thing… I see.

This girl won't give up or get mad when she loses. A girl who uses losses to improve and be better.

Yeah, this girl is really weird, and that's saying something coming from someone as weird as me.

"So, who's your next victim, Saik? Me again?"

"You really think I'd tell you?"

"Yeah, to make it more fun."

"Isn't it more fun with surprises?"

"You're pretty obvious, Saik, so your victim choices don't really surprise me."

"Then why do you want me to tell you?"

"I like your voice and want to keep talking to you, that's all."

"I like another girl, so don't waste your time trying to flirt with me to make me lower my guard."

"Yeah, I know, you like Naima."

Ugh, the teacher probably told her I saved Naima from expulsion, and knowing my personality, she concluded I needed Naima for something, but how did she know I liked her? Or is it just a theory?

"Why do you think that?"

"You saved her from expulsion, you give her chocolates, you used her to expel a student to get her a protection point, and you punched a teacher just to leave the island with her. I doubt you'd do all that for school interests, considering there are plenty of girls better than her to manipulate."

"If you managed to manipulate her, I can too."

"Yeah, but I did it because I knew you'd defeat her. I never considered her useful."

"Excuses to justify your loss."

"You saved her from expulsion because you like her. Naima is a girl with no value to me. If I don't find her useful, you definitely don't. Or tell me, do you really think Naima is useful for moving up to Class A? Be honest, Saiki."

… Naima… Well, she… She…

Ugh… I don't know.

Naima is a smart girl, but even Sylphie caught up to her in no time, and Sylphie was the worst in the class at first.

Naima is sociable, but intellectually, not so much.

Is Naima useful to the class? Yes, but she's not as essential as Ram, who's the smart one in the class, or Saoto, who's the most sociable.

Naima is just pretty average.

"Fufu. That silence confirms everything. To save her, you sacrificed your protection point and punched the teacher to leave with her. Going that far for that girl only means one thing: you're in love with her. Your taste in women is the complete opposite of what Sylphie is, which is why you never fell for her despite that girl being in love with you. Tell me, Saiki, am I wrong?"

"Ugh, yeah, I like Naima. So what? Are you going to blackmail me with that? She already knows how I feel about her, so go ahead, I don't care."

"And does Sylphie know?"

"She'll know soon."

"Wow, wow. Interesting. I'd rather wait for her reaction. It'll be more natural coming from you."

"Whatever."

"Well, we're here. Go in first."

I opened the door and was about to enter, but the presence of a certain girl I hate made me step back and turn to leave, ready to go back to my classroom and pretend none of this happened.

But, as always, this girl is determined to ruin my life and hugged me from behind.

"Saik, we meet again!"

"Tsk."

Rossy, the one who made my school life hell since we met.