"Whew, it's so hot."
The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead and squinted as he quickly glanced up. Even though he had prepared himself, the brilliant glare was still painfully blinding, making his eyes ache.
The summer sun was truly intimidating.
Cicadas droned noisily by his ears, and the air itself seemed warped and unreal beneath the blazing sun. Hanada rubbed his eyes. Pruning flowers and plants in this weather was absolutely grueling, especially at the Ninja Academy, where there were so many trees, flowers, and shrubs to tend.
"Ha, I can finally graduate. At last, I won't have to keep carrying that 'temporary' label."
"...A cockroach wants to graduate too? How naive..."
"What did you say..."
A conversation of unclear meaning drifted over from the path. Hanada hurriedly grabbed his pruning shears and put on the appearance of someone diligently at work.
However, the passing boys and girls paid no attention to the slacking gardener. They were arguing fiercely, though the subject of their argument was utterly baffling. Even Hanada had never heard all the names of the strange and bizarre bugs they mentioned.
With his back to the path, he snipped away at protruding branches and leaves with his shears, but from the corner of his eye, he secretly observed the passing youths. When his gaze caught the two blood-red figures at the front and back of the group, his heart immediately began pounding uncontrollably.
Finally, finally, he had waited for them. Heaven had taken pity on him. He had worked here for an entire year, and his targets had finally appeared.
Honestly, he had nearly lost the patience to continue this tedious, boring work lately. He had trained his endurance when he first underwent training, but that had only lasted a month. No one had