Holy Light's Gaze

The entire field fell deathly silent.

The wind swept across the athletic field, stirring up a few fallen leaves, but it could not dispel the air frozen solid with tension.

Every Class D student's gaze swept back and forth like a searchlight.

On one side was Class B's acknowledged leader, the beautiful and kind-hearted saint, Ichinose Honami.

On the other was Natsume Yu, the least noticeable person in Class D, who usually spent his days either reading or staring blankly into space.

These two people, who had seemingly nothing to do with each other, had somehow become the center of attention in an incredibly bizarre way.

Ichinose's bow was like a boulder crashing into a tranquil lake, stirring not ripples, but raging waves in everyone's minds.

Faced with this sudden gratitude and probing, Natsume Yu's expression did not change in the slightest.

He did not even blink any more than usual.

That gentle, harmless face slowly revealed his trademark innocent smile.

He lightly waved a hand, his tone as casual as if they were discussing how nice the weather was today.

"Ichinose, you must be mistaken."

"I didn't do anything."

"Class D's victory in this Sports Festival was entirely thanks to Horikita and Ayanokoji, as well as everyone's desperate efforts."

"I was just a deadweight on the sidelines shouting 'awesome.'"

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

That answer was simply perfect!

He humbly removed himself from the credit while conveniently distributing it among the class's key figures and all of his classmates. No one could find fault with it.

The Class D students immediately caught on.

"Yeah, yeah! Ichinose, did you mistake him for someone else?"

Sudo Ken was the first to loudly chime in. "The real heroes this time were Ayanokoji and Horikita! Natsume just handed us water at the sidelines."

"Exactly. Though I'd love to admit that any random person from our class is that amazing, Natsume really was just logistics support," Ike Kanji added.

"His idol Airi even brought him a boxed lunch, and he spent the whole event slacking off and watching the show!"

Good-natured teasing broke out again, instantly easing much of the heavy and awkward tension in the air.

The Class B officers Ichinose had brought with her also wore expressions that said, "So it really was a misunderstanding," and looked apologetically at their class leader.

Yet Ichinose remained where she was, unmoving.

Ignoring the conversations around her, she kept her bright eyes locked firmly on Natsume Yu's face, as though trying to see through the perfect smile he wore like a mask.

Natsume Yu continued smiling, allowing her to inspect him. His gaze was clear and open, without the slightest hint of avoidance.

Several seconds passed.

Then Ichinose suddenly spoke, word by word, in an unprecedentedly certain tone.

"No."

"I can feel it."

"Your eyes are different from everyone else's."

Those words tightened the atmosphere that had just begun to ease!

Everyone fell silent.

What exactly was different about this guy?

Natsume Yu laughed inwardly.

As expected of the woman known as the Holy Light Representative. Her beast-like intuition was frighteningly sharp.

Unfortunately, intuition was the least reliable thing when it came to evidence.

Ichinose stared at him. Perhaps knowing that her words lacked conviction, she took a deep breath, replaced them with an even more sincere and radiant smile, and extended her hand.

"Can we be friends from now on?"

That question was even more explosive than her thanks earlier!

This was no longer a gesture of goodwill between classes. It was a personal invitation to form a friendship!

Every boy in Class D looked at Natsume Yu as if fire were about to burst from their eyes.

What kind of damn luck had this guy stumbled into?

Yet Natsume Yu still did not answer directly.

He glanced at Ichinose's outstretched hand, then raised his head and asked with a gentle smile,

"Class D and Class B were already friends, weren't we?"

With one sentence, he deflected a thousand pounds of force.

He affirmed the friendly relationship between their classes while perfectly avoiding the core question of a personal relationship.

Ichinose's hand remained suspended in midair, unable to move forward or pull back.

Looking into Natsume Yu's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, she felt for the first time as though she had been completely seen through.

From the edge of the crowd, Horikita Suzune took in everything.

At some point, a thin layer of cold sweat had formed on her back.

This was the first time she had personally witnessed Natsume Yu handle such a complicated social situation.

Every reaction, every sentence, every expression of his was flawless.

His watertight words and actions, along with his terrifying ability to perfectly disguise himself as an "ordinary, harmless student," sent a chill through her heart.

Just how many secrets was this man hiding?

Of course, Natsume Yu knew what Ichinose Honami's public display of goodwill today meant.

The seed had already been planted.

When he "offered her a hand" in the future, everyone would see it as nothing more than the perfectly natural help of a friend.

A story of redemption needed a perfect opening.

And Ichinose had personally drawn back the curtain for him.

Elsewhere, in Class C's rest area.

The oppressive atmosphere was enough to make people struggle for breath.

Ryuen Kakeru sat with one leg crossed over the other, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

Before him, Ishizaki, Albert, and the other key members of Class C all hung their heads, hardly daring to breathe.

"So what you're saying is that we lost only because Class D got lucky?"

Ryuen's voice was calm, but it carried the terrifying pressure of a storm about to break.

"And that guy Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly started running so fast... no one could have expected that..." Ishizaki tried to explain in a quiet voice.

"Couldn't have expected it?"

Ryuen sneered, then suddenly kicked over the table in front of him!

Bang!

Water bottles and towels scattered across the ground.

"Trash!"

"A bunch of trash who only know how to use brute force!"

He rose to his feet and paced back and forth in agitation, like a beast trapped in a cage.

"That Ayanokoji definitely has a problem! Go investigate him! Dig up every piece of information on him from childhood until now!"

"And the person directing things from behind the scenes... who the hell is it?"

Ryuen stopped walking, his eyes filled with irritation and confusion.

For the first time, he truly felt the helplessness of having his schemes completely crushed.

Every move the other side made seemed to have anticipated his own anticipation.

Every trap he had laid had been effortlessly dismantled in ways he could not understand.

He could not even see his opponent's face.

That feeling drove him mad!

The uproar over the Sports Festival quickly died down.

However, a new wave was stirred up on the school's internal forum.

[Breaking News! Class D's Hidden Trump Card—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka! A Miraculous Comeback in the Final Event!]

[A Physical Monster! An In-Depth Analysis of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Physical Data!]

[From Bottom Feeder to Hero: Will Ayanokoji Be the Key Figure Leading Class D's Rise?]

One post after another was pushed to the top of the trending list.

Overnight, the name Ayanokoji Kiyotaka became the focus of discussion throughout the school.

Natsume Yu's plan had succeeded perfectly.

Ayanokoji, the most perfect shield, had successfully drawn all the attention and firepower toward himself.

Under the setting sun, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Sakura Airi was still standing beside Natsume Yu, her little hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.

She looked at the profile of the boy beside her. The sunset cast a soft golden outline around him, making him seem somewhat unreal.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally gathered her courage and asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz,

"Yu-kun... are you actually really amazing?"

Natsume Yu turned to look at the girl's sparkling eyes, bright with nervousness and admiration, and smiled.

He reached out and, as naturally as could be, gently patted her head.

The girl's body instantly stiffened, and her cheeks flushed bright red at a visible speed.

Then he said softly in an incomparably doting tone,

"I only become amazing when you're being bullied."

Boom!

That simple sentence was like a warm current, instantly breaking through all of Sakura Airi's defenses.

Her sense of safety, her dependence on him, and that indescribable affection all burst forth completely in that moment.

The night grew late.

Natsume Yu lay on his dormitory bed, the glow of his phone screen illuminating his calm face.

On the screen was an encrypted file Kushida Kikyo had just sent him.

He opened the file.

Inside was a detailed record of how Ichinose Honami, during middle school, had been forced to quietly step down from her position as a star Student Council member admired by all because of an irreparable "mistake."

Natsume Yu read through it page by page, his expression never changing.

Until he reached the final line.

He turned off the screen, and the room fell into darkness.

In the darkness, the corner of his lips slowly curled into an amused smile.

"The story of redemption can begin."