Chapter 27: False Advertising
Let’s rewind a bit to the morning.
Kou and Nagi entered the classroom together after a long time.
Kou, who had missed the school trip due to illness, stepped into the classroom and immediately noticed a change in the interpersonal relationships among his classmates compared to before.
The relationships between boys and girls had noticeably improved.
Even boys who used to sit alone in their seats were now huddled together in small circles, whispering and seeming to plot something.
Kou felt out of place for not having participated in the school trip.
“Ah! Hoshimiya-kun! Good morning!”
“Hoshimiya-chan, long time no see! How have you been?”
“Today, Hoshimiya-kun came to school with Tsuki to see you! So lovey-dovey!”
“Ugh—Kou-kun and I are not—”
Nagi, who was walking beside Kou, instantly became the focus of attention among the girls the moment they walked in.
“Seriously, it’s all Hoshimiya’s fault for not being around; all the responsibilities fell on me during the school trip!”
“I’m sorry! It’s all my fault…”
“Haha, aren’t you just joking? It’s so cute how serious you are, Hoshimiya!”
The girls were teasing Nagi, whose face was flushed.
This was probably their way of welcoming her back.
“By the way, have you and Tsuki-kun made up?”
Kou couldn’t help but perk up his ears when he unexpectedly heard his name mentioned.
“Mm-mm, I’m sorry for worrying everyone…”
Nagi showed an embarrassed expression and tried to lower her head to apologize, but the girls stopped her.
“See, Hoshimiya-chan is just too serious about these things!”
“It’s great that little Hoshimiya can make up with Tsuki-kun!”
“Phew~ Congratulations, Hoshimiya-kun!”
…
For some reason, it seemed like the girls all sighed in relief.
What was going on? Why were they so concerned about his relationship with Nagi?
Kou was filled with questions.
As he sat down at his desk, he planned to take advantage of the time before class to re-evaluate the decision he made last night…
“I’ve been tricked!” The more Kou thought about it, the more he felt dissatisfied, lowering his head and banging his forehead against the desk.
The evil spirit DD-chan, no, according to its own claims.
It should be referred to as a “fantasy creature.”
After making a contract with DD-chan, which is a fantasy creature, he could gain supernatural “powers” from it.
In order to have the strength to protect Nagi, Kou ultimately chose to sign a contract with DD-chan under the moonlight that night.
But the ability he received was—
—to share DD-chan’s sight, hearing, and touch for a short period of time.
“How is such a power supposed to protect others! It’s way too weak!”
Kou felt like a customer who had been deceived into buying a defective product by a shameless salesperson.
DD-chan could switch between physical and spiritual forms, but its range of action was limited to a 3-meter radius around itself.
While in the spiritual state, DD-chan could ignore material existence and walk through walls and such.
But the effects seemed to be “peeping,” “eavesdropping,” “taking advantage of…” Why did it seem more and more like an improper ability?
Could this really be useful in combat?
Just then, Kou felt someone tap his shoulder from behind.
“Hey, Tsuki-kun, long time no see, how have you been?”
The person was a boy from the class, someone Kou could at least talk to a bit.
Behind him seemed to be the small group of boys he had just come from.
When the boys in the circle saw Kou, they raised their hands to greet him.
Kou could only nod in return.
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern…”
“That’s great to hear.”
After saying that, he suddenly glanced around suspiciously, then leaned in and whispered into Kou’s ear.
“…Tsuki-kun, have you made up with Hoshimiya-chan?”
“Ah? Yes…”
Why? Why were all these people in the class so concerned about his relationship with Nagi?
“I see, just as I thought~”
The boy nodded knowingly, revealing a “I knew it” expression.
Then he signaled to the boys in the back.
The boys in the small circle also showed similar expressions.
Kou, witnessing all this, felt utterly perplexed.
However, the boy seemed to have no intention of explaining and switched topics.
“I heard that two super cute transfer students will be joining our class today!”
“Transfer students?”
“That’s right! A boy saw two super cute students in front of the homeroom teacher when he was passing by the office earlier…”
“And one of them is a blonde beauty! So now everyone is very… well, probably not of interest to you, Tsuki-kun.”
As he spoke, he subtly shifted his gaze to the girl with black hair not far away.
“Oh, is that so…”
Kou really wasn’t that interested.
This was because he had gone through a similar scene in elementary school.
When Manaka, who had half-Nordic ancestry, appeared before him, he had indeed been curious about her platinum hair.
After spending a long time with Manaka, Kou had gotten used to seeing foreigners.
“By the way, Tsuki-kun, do you have time after school today? It won’t take up too much of your time and won’t interfere with your club activities.”
“After school?”
Aside from Nagi and Manaka, it was the first time someone invited Kou.
His first thought was to refuse.
But then he remembered that he had resolved to become someone Nagi could rely on.
So he finally agreed.
As the boy waved goodbye and returned to his small circle, Kou was suddenly called from behind.
“Kou-kun, Kou-kun, there’s something I want to talk to you about…”
Kou turned around to see the adorable face of his childhood friend, the beautiful girl.
He couldn’t help but want to put some distance between himself and that gorgeous face.
To ensure his mental and physical health.
“What’s, what’s up, Nagi?”
“After school today, I have something to do, so I might be a bit late going to Super Self-Study.”
“Eh? Did you get invited too, Nagi?”
“Mm? Wait, Kou-kun, you got invited too?”
Kou and Nagi both tilted their heads simultaneously.
Their puzzled expressions showed they both didn’t know what they were invited for.
At that moment, the homeroom teacher opened the classroom door and walked in.
The students promptly returned to their seats.
The homeroom teacher of Class 1-A was a medium-built middle-aged man, wearing black-framed glasses, with thinning hair and a perpetually annoyed expression.
At that moment, he kept that usual expression while scanning the classroom full of eager students.
Then he sighed.
“Students, I’m sure you’ve heard that we will have transfer students joining our class today.”
“So I won’t keep you all in suspense; come in, please.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom door opened, and two transfer students walked in one after the other.
Kou, who hadn’t been very interested in the transfer students, widened his eyes when he saw their faces.
A memory flashed through Kou’s mind.
And the transfer students seemed to have spotted Kou among the students in the class.
The two exchanged smiles.
