An Interesting Little Girl

In the end, the matter of the sneak attack was left unresolved.

The culprit's identity was unknown, and there was nothing particularly distinctive about their methods. Even if Claudia called in the Disciplinary Committee to investigate and gather evidence, they would probably find nothing.

Moreover, in Asterisk, this sort of thing was hardly rare. Any well-known Star Martial Festival contestant could be targeted in secret by rivals or people with ulterior motives. Even Yulis herself did not pay much attention to it. She merely said she would remember Azer and Toudou Kirin's help, then let the matter drop.

By extension, the matter of Amagiri Ayato barging into her room also seemed to have been temporarily overlooked, making him feel as though he had been spared.

With the matter settled and no more entertainment to watch, the onlookers gradually dispersed instead of continuing to gather there.

They had wanted to stay a little longer. After all, Ranked First Gale Blade Lightning, Ranked Second Thousand Sight Alliance Master, Ranked Fifth Magnificent Flame Witch, and Ranked Thirteenth Surging Star Magic Sword, who was believed to possess the strength of Page One's Twelve, were all present. If they stayed, they might get to see something interesting.

However, Azer and the others naturally had no hobby of letting others watch them for amusement, so Claudia organized everyone's dispersal on the spot.

"Th-then, I'll be going first!"

Toudou Kirin was the first to leave. As though afraid to stay any longer, she fled in a hurry.

Yulis glared at Amagiri Ayato once more before returning to the Girls' Dormitory in a huff.

"Thank you for helping me out just now, Student Council President."

Amagiri Ayato thanked Claudia with a wry smile.

"It was nothing, so don't worry about it." Claudia covered her mouth and chuckled. "I've roughly heard what happened. Don't worry, I've already contacted your roommate. He'll come over shortly to show you the way, so you won't wander into any strange places again."

"...Thank you."

Amagiri Ayato gave an awkward laugh and thanked her again, thoroughly embarrassed.

Seeing that there was no more show to watch, Azer immediately prepared to take his leave.

"I'll be going now. See you later."

After waving his hand, Azer turned around and prepared to leave.

However, at that moment, he vaguely felt a rather intense gaze fall upon his back.

Azer immediately turned his head.

"Is something wrong, Azer?"

Claudia, who entered Azer's sight, wore a puzzled expression.

"...No, it's nothing."

Azer scratched his cheek. After confirming that Claudia looked the same as always, without the slightest sign of anything unusual, he left with a faint sense of unease.

Little did he know that the moment he left, Claudia's previously composed smile turned complicated.

"Student Council President?"

Amagiri Ayato saw this and hesitantly called out to her.

"Sorry." As though waking from a dream, Claudia returned to normal and smiled at Amagiri Ayato. "Amagiri, you have something you wish to discuss with me, don't you?"

"...Yes." After a moment of silence, Amagiri Ayato said, "It's about my older sister."

"I understand." Claudia did not seem surprised in the slightest. She nodded and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to the Student Council."

Amagiri Ayato could only nod in agreement.

Meanwhile, after leaving the area around the Girls' Dormitory, Azer had walked for a while when he suddenly noticed that someone seemed to be waiting for him ahead.

"Senior!"

Toudou Kirin stood in the middle of the road. When she saw Azer approaching, her face immediately showed relief.

"Were you waiting for me?"

Azer felt that this girl's emotions were far too easy to read, as though everything was written on her face. Finding it rather amusing, he walked closer.

"Y-yes." Toudou Kirin had no idea what Azer was thinking. Seeing him approach with a faint smile, she became somewhat bashful and said softly, "Since Senior saved me just now, I wanted to thank you in person."

"I didn't expect you to be so proper about these things." Azer laughed. "But I already told you, didn't I? An attack of that level was nothing to you. Even if I hadn't stepped in, you would have been able to handle it."

"...Even so, I'm still very grateful to you, Senior." Toudou Kirin raised her eyes and glanced at Azer, then quickly lowered her head as though she did not dare meet his gaze. Stammering, she said, "In that situation just now, wouldn't it have been most beneficial for Senior to ignore it?"

At first, Azer did not understand what Toudou Kirin meant, but then realization dawned on him.

"You mean that if I had ignored it, you might have been injured. And if you were injured, then when I challenged you by name next time, I would have had a slight advantage, right?"

Azer voiced Toudou Kirin's thoughts.

"R-right, sorry!" Toudou Kirin hurriedly apologized, seeming ashamed. "I know it was wrong of me to think that way..."

"It's not that bad." Azer was not offended. He shook his head and said calmly, "After all, I'm a challenger planning to take your position. It's only natural for you to think more carefully."

"Isn't that how it is in this city? Almost everyone is a competitor. There are countless people willing to do anything to rise in rank, and the sneak attack on the Magnificent Flame Witch just now proved that."

"You're still young. Being cautious is the right thing to do. If you acted completely naive and innocent, that would be dangerous."

When he said, "You're still young," Azer could not help glancing at Toudou Kirin's cleavage, which seemed as though even her uniform could barely contain it.

Yeah... that still feels ridiculous.

Unaware of the wicked thoughts forming in someone's mind, Toudou Kirin finally smiled for the first time, her youthful pretty face brightening.

"Senior really is a good person."

The little girl had directly branded someone as a good guy.

Azer really wanted to argue.

Whether he was a good person or not aside, this little girl was definitely kindhearted.

He had not reached that conclusion because he knew the original work and knew what kind of person this girl was, but because she had stepped in to save Yulis just now.

Just as he had said, in this city, nearly everyone was a competitor.

Therefore, what Toudou Kirin had said just now applied equally well to herself.

Yulis was ranked fifth at Seidoukan Academy. She was not far from the top position and could threaten Toudou Kirin's standing at any time.

Under those circumstances, standing by and doing nothing would actually have been the most beneficial choice for Toudou Kirin.

Yet when she discovered that someone was attacking Yulis, she had still acted without hesitation.

Despite being so timid by nature and not someone who liked drawing attention, despite having no reason that required her to intervene, and despite having an uncle behind her with an extremely controlling nature who treated her as a tool, Toudou Kirin's intervention could be said to have been all effort for no reward.

Yet she had acted in the end, which was enough to prove the kindness in her heart.

Compared to Toudou Kirin, Azer did not consider himself any kind of proper good person.

Still, as he watched the shy smile appear on Toudou Kirin's face for the first time, Azer suddenly felt that none of that mattered.

"You look really cute when you smile," Azer said sincerely. "You should smile more often."

Toudou Kirin seemed not to have expected Azer to say that. She froze for a moment before her face turned red.

"C-cute... that's not true!"

Toudou Kirin was so embarrassed that she began talking nonsense.

"S-Senior is the one who... You were so gentle with me, both last time and this time! A-and you saved me! A Senior like you is really very handsome..."

By the end, Toudou Kirin was too embarrassed to continue speaking, her voice growing softer and softer.

"I-I'll be going now!"

Before long, Toudou Kirin could not take it anymore and bent deeply at the waist in a bow.

The movement was so big that even her top began bouncing, nearly making Azer lose his composure.

Before Azer could react, Toudou Kirin ran off.

Azer could only stare blankly as she ran away. After a while, he smiled knowingly.

"What an interesting little girl..."