"Yuu, right now everyone at school is saying you’re dating that girl nad Yukinoshita."
Before morning classes began, in Class 2-F.
The first thing Totsuka said to Yuu after returning from outside was this.
Looking into those soft, gentle eyes, Yuu’s sour mood—leftover from his morning encounter with a beautiful girl—imdiately lted away.
"Can this even be misunderstood? I just greeted her politely, and she even glared at angrily. Can’t other people feel the absolute zero temperature radiating from her eyes?"
Yuu sighed resignedly, propping his cheek on his hand as he scoffed: "Totsuka, let tell you, even if I were to die by a knife slash, jump from here, and die out there, I absolutely wouldn’t—"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly rembered the existence of the system and clamped his mouth shut as if choked.
Making casual promises wasn’t a good habit. If one day he were betrayed from behind by that system again, he’d regret it.
"Yuu?"
Noticing his sudden change in deanor, Totsuka tilted his head in confusion. His soft, short silver hair fell gently over his slender shoulders.
Yuu rubbed his forehead, feeling slightly dizzy. "...Never mind. The point is, I’m not dating her. We’re just in the sa club."
"I see~" Totsuka exhaled, patting his chest with relief and smiling.
As his hand slowly lowered, Yuu stared at him oddly. "Totsuka, your reaction..."
"Eh? N-no, it’s not like that!"
Totsuka frantically waved his small hands, his handso, cute cheeks turning red. For so reason, he couldn’t bring himself to et Yuu’s eyes.
"I-I just feel that even though Yuu and that girl Yukinoshita might seem like a perfect match, if you actually started dating, it’d feel like celebrities getting married—like there’s this untouchable aura or sothing..."
"Is that so?" Yuu frowned, ignoring his awkward explanation as he murmured thoughtfully, "I get Yukinoshita, but I’m pretty approachable, right? I’m not like those top-tier popular students at the peak of the social pyramid. There’s no way I’d be elevated that high..."
"Yuu, you’re underrating yourself."
Totsuka gave a faint, bittersweet smile, wiping his reddened cheek with the back of his hand as he looked at Yuu with warmth and sincerity. "Yuu was amazing yesterday! Just playing the piano that impressively was enough to draw attention. You defeated so many clubs in front of everyone, and even beat the undefeated kendo club president—"
"If you don’t believe , just look. Even while just sitting in your seat, plenty of people are watching you."
Following his gaze, Yuu openly glanced around the classroom, eting the eyes of several classmates without flinching.
Indeed, among the thirty or forty students, about a dozen were secretly watching him.
So were using him as conversation material, others observing him like an alien species, while a few quickly looked away the mont their eyes t his.
Just like when he was sward at the school gate, even while sitting still, he remained the center of attention and atmosphere.
The only difference was one girl, who was glaring at him with wide eyes, as if deeply wronged, pouting her cheeks in frustration and sadness, staring sharply from afar.
Even when their eyes t, she didn’t look away. Instead, she puffed out her well-endowed chest and widened her already large eyes even further, making one worry they might pop out.
That angry glare silently protested sothing.
"...Geez."
Yuu deliberately looked away, placing his hands over his mouth and coughing as if nothing had happened.
Clearly, after hearing the rumor that he was dating Yukino, Yuigahama was now extrely unhappy and desperately needed a reasonable explanation.
As a mutual friend (in her mind), surely she didn’t like feeling this excluded, right?
Realizing this, Yuu couldn’t help but sigh again.
At this mont, he slightly regretted his act of revenge at the school gate. He’d acted too hastily, turning an already troubleso situation into an even ssier one.
Couldn’t he have just teased Yukino in the Service Club room with the door closed?
When small matters are blown out of proportion by the masses, nothing good cos of it—like the growing number of gawkers and increasingly annoying ambiguous stares.
If one day Yukino were truly chosen by the system as a mission target, Yuu estimated that once their relationship was revealed—real or fake—he’d still have to endure this kind of scene until the rumors died down...
Wait!
A sudden thought struck him, and Yuu couldn’t help cursing inwardly.
Could it be that the system wants to exploit this chaos and imdiately force him and Yukino into a fake boyfriend-girlfriend relationship or an officially recognized couple?!
Please, I’m just overthinking this...
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Although the rumors about the two of them continued to spread as ti passed, as an ordinary Japanese high school student, Yuu’s daily life didn’t change much.
The four morning classes passed peacefully. Aside from being called on more often by teachers to answer questions, no one ca asking for his autograph during break. Apparently, everyone was consciously maintaining a respectful distance.
Yuu finally understood what Yukino experienced every day. Fortunately, he had Totsuka as a close friend, so he wasn’t completely isolated.
During lunch break, instead of going to the Service Club to bicker with others, he chatted and ate in class with Totsuka.
Yuigahama had co by briefly, seemingly wanting to talk to him, but her popular friends dragged her to the cafeteria for lunch. Not long after, she sent a private ssage: "et at the club today!!" typed with thick, unmistakable irritation.
Even though there was a trio chat group in the volunteer club, she deliberately sent a private ssage, as if afraid he’d escape out of guilt.
Then in the afternoon, during music class, the teacher even asked Yuu to go up and play the piano. After he finished, the teacher joked: "You play way better than —why don’t you teach music from now on?"
"Of course! Everyone, just study on your own! Let’s have so fun!"—Yuu really wanted to say that, but unfortunately, he held himself back.
After the three afternoon classes ended, the clock finally struck 3:30 PM.
Students around him busily packed their bags, discussing whether they had club activities or if they’d head into town to hang out.
Yuu remained seated, staring at the large bold text on his system panel: "Sit quietly in your seat for ten minutes. Do not move." He folded his arms across his chest, his feet tapping rhythmically to a ntal tune: la~ li la~ la li li li la~.
Completely different from his mindset this morning, he now had absolutely no hope for this mission’s target.
"Judging from the instructions, the mission target will co find themselves, right?"
Not like so alien from the planet Deviluke falling from the sky, but rather walking straight into the classroom to talk to .
I hope Yukino’s already gone to the Service Club...
Thinking this, Yuu couldn’t help glancing toward the classroom door.
"Yuu, aren’t you going ho?" Totsuka, passing by with his bag, looked at him curiously. "Are you waiting for that girl Yuigahama to go to the club room together?"
Yuu shook his head, sighed, and replied, "No, I’m just thinking about sothing. I’ll leave in a bit."
"..."
Though puzzled, the silver-haired teen was eager to get to his club, so he didn’t press further. He bid Yuu farewell and left the classroom.
Two minutes passed. Yuu continued waiting.
Yuigahama, lingering at the back of the class, had delayed until now. After finally finding an excuse to send her friends ahead, she stared at Yuu seated in the front row.
She really wanted to leave with him, but seeing him motionless in his seat, lost in thought while gazing toward the classroom door—like he was thinking of so beautiful girl sowhere—her soft cheeks couldn’t help puffing up again.
She pulled out her phone, lowered her head, and rapidly typed a ssage.
"Stop daydreaming, co to the club room (メ ?皿?)メ!!!"
Send!
Feeling his phone vibrate, Yuu pulled it from his pocket, glanced at it, then bent his head to reply.
"You go first. My pants are glued to the seat with 502 adhesive. Need ten minutes to stand up."
"??? Seriously? Should I call a teacher?"
"Lying. But telling you to go to the club room first is true. I’ll follow soon."
"..."
After sending several angry stickers, Yuigahama stood up in frustration, glaring at his back as if trying to pierce him with her eyes, grabbed her bag, and headed toward the back door of the classroom.
At that mont, about five minutes after the dismissal bell, a faint commotion arose at the front door of the classroom.
"That’s from Class J..."
"Is she just passing through..."
"This is far from the international course—could she be looking for soone..."
The voices grew closer, clearer.
A light, subtle fragrance arrived with the breeze, as if carrying an exotic scent.
Yuigahama couldn’t help but stop, turning with curiosity.
Yuu rubbed his face in resignation, as if his bad premonition had co true—his eyes now completely lifeless.
But then he sniffed, frowned, and dismissed his earlier suspicion.
"Sorry, excuse ..."
The girl didn’t keep the class waiting in curiosity and confusion for long.
Walking through the corridor crowd with her long, slender white legs, she stepped into Class 2-F and stood gracefully before the door.
Hands behind her back, she tilted her head with a smile and called out in an elegant, cheerful voice:
"Is there a student nad Tenkuji in this class?"
"..."
The mont those words finished, the atmosphere inside and outside the classroom instantly fell silent.
Surrounded by everyone’s stares, Yuu couldn’t help but grimace.
Busy cursing in his mind, he didn’t react imdiately.
"...You’re truly impressive, System."
(You really had to pick one of the three worst-case scenarios, didn’t you? You don’t want to live in peace, do you?)
(Why did it have to be this transfer student girl—soone who seems drawn to emptiness and always wears that mysterious smile...)
Natsukawa Masuzu.
At the back of the classroom, Yuigahama’s bag accidentally slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
「Mission Objective Updated.」
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