"100, 101..." "200, 201..." ... Only when the muscles in his arms had truly reached their limit did he release his grip and collapse onto the ground, ending this round of exercise.
"Hoo... hoo..."
His hands trembled as they rested on his knees, and his chest heaved with each labored breath.
Though his body was exhausted, his spirit was invigorated, alive with excitent. Kitahara Sosuke relished the feeling of pushing his limits.
Lying back on the sofa, he took a break, repeatedly playing a videotape on the television.
He watched it fra by fra, in slow motion.
The monsters on the screen didn't use elental attacks or flashy special effects. Their movents—both attacks and defenses—were simple, unadorned.
As long as he trained his basic physical attributes and kept learning, he could certainly perform the sa feats.
Absorbing the knowledge diligently, Sosuke occasionally glanced at his phone.
On it were chat logs with a woman, currently just a regular friend.
"Hmm... hmm... thank you for your concern, Kato-senpai. I'm alright."
They weren't in the sa class, or even the sa grade, but it seed Miss Kato had noticed Sosuke's absence from school since that weekend. She had misunderstood the reason for his absence.
"Don't push yourself too hard!"
Kato gumi sat on a bench in the school courtyard, quickly typing on her phone.
Next to her, under her pleated skirt, two lunch boxes sat.
She was worried Sosuke had done sothing reckless again, like that ti on the train when he fought off a group of thugs alone.
"Don't worry, I would never do anything beyond my abilities. Compared to , I'm more worried about your situation, Kato-senpai."
Sosuke replied with a smile, trying to reassure her that she was overthinking things.
Then, rembering sothing, his expression grew a little more serious.
"? Nothing special on my end..."
Kato gumi tilted her head, confused by his words.
"The incident at the coffee shop before... It seems so people who were there leaked it. I'm concerned it might affect you, Kato-senpai."
Sosuke quickly typed out the ssage, keeping it short and to the point.
What ca next was a hesitant reply from her.
"Umm..."
"What's wrong?! Did soone bully you?"
Sosuke, now sitting up from the sofa, switched off the TV. Could it be that soone had actually bullied Kato?
His heart clenched at the thought.
"It's nothing. Just rest well at ho and don't overthink it."
Kato's ssage was calm, but Sosuke could sense the faint amusent—and maybe even happiness—behind it.
For soone who was often overlooked by others, even her own family, Sosuke's concern ant a lot to her.
Most importantly, Sosuke never ignored her, no matter what.
After a brief pause, Kato's fingers tapped the phone screen slowly.
"I saw that secretly taken photo too."
"The things about Kasumigaoka-senpai, Sawamura-san, and Aki-kun seed to have excited a lot of people."
"And you, Kitahara, seem to be quite famous among the second and third years. You were recognized instantly..."
Kato gumi spoke slowly, and there was sothing in her tone that made Sosuke slow down as well, following her rhythm.
"They're all just shallow people who judge by appearances."
Sosuke replied, calming his mind. He figured that many people at school probably saw him as a delinquent. To him, this was just aningless, baseless speculation.
On Kato's end, after ntioning the others, she hesitated before speaking her mind.
"Anyway, it seems like this ti too, only I seem to have been ignored by everyone again."
She couldn't help but complain.
To be honest, gumi had grown used to being overlooked by others, but even though she was in that group chat when that photo was sent, no one noticed her.
The gossip about "Kitahara Sosuke's girlfriend" was right there, and yet no one seed to care.
It stung. Even a kind-hearted girl like gumi was affected by it.
"It's probably because those people are all blind."
Sosuke replied bluntly, not holding back.
"You shouldn't say that about others, Kitahara."
Kato responded, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm just stating the facts," Sosuke defended himself.
A beautiful girl is a beautiful girl, no matter how she dresses up. Back in his hotown, middle school students were restricted to wearing ugly, low-quality tracksuits, and their hair was required to be cut short.
What did they think would happen? It was like putting a target on their backs for the boys going through puberty.
Kato gumi wasn't deliberately trying to make herself unattractive. As a naturally beautiful woman, she simply wasn't noticed.
Kitahara Sosuke couldn't help but think, "Well done!"
A beautiful girl who wasn't targeted by other boys, and she belonged to him.
It was like a dream co true, a perfect galga heroine scenario.
But he had to apologize to Aki Tomoya. Although he'd made it so that everyone except him was blind to gumi's beauty, Sosuke wasn't blind.
He wasn't going to let her suffer loneliness just waiting for the "male protagonist" to trigger the plot.
"In short, if anyone dares to bully you, Kato-senpai, please tell ."
After a mont of thought, Sosuke added with so concern.
Bullying in this country was serious, and often, when sothing happened, teachers couldn't be bothered. Worse, they'd bla the victim instead of the bully. It was a bizarre and frustrating logic.
"Then, if I really get bullied by others because of this, what are you planning to do, Kitahara-kun?"
A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes as she smiled in the afternoon sunlight, her face partially shaded by the trees.
Her question was playful, but Sosuke could sense a genuine curiosity.
"I..."
Sosuke started to reply, but was cut off.
"No violence allowed."
gumi opened one of the lunch boxes, tasted it, then placed her chopsticks by her mouth, her tone suddenly adopting the air of a headteacher in a good mood.
"I'll reason with him, with emotion and logic!"
Sosuke, imagining the scenario, accidentally squeezed the remote in his hand and crushed it.
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus Chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus Chapter.
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