The Angel Sang by the Sea

"Well then, see you tomorrow~"

"See you tomorrow."

After Kamigami Haruo saw the two of them off, he walked Horikita Suzune back as well. After that, he and Kushida Kikyo parted ways on the fourth floor, with her heading to the café at Keyaki Mall.

Once back in his room, Kamigami Haruo took out his phone and messaged Horikita Suzune, asking her to meet him in the lobby.

He changed into something suitable for exercise, then walked to the door and opened it.

Click.

Whether it was coincidence or fate, the two who were supposed to meet in the lobby ran into each other at the elevator.

"Yo."

"Mm."

They left the elevator and headed toward the track side by side.

Near the dormitory building.

Having just finished their workout, the two found seats near a vending machine to rest.

Kamigami Haruo tossed a warm oolong tea to Horikita Suzune, who was sitting on the chair beside him, and they opened their drinks at the same time.

Crack ×2.

After draining his drink in one gulp, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Horikita Suzune beside him.

"I seem to remember there being a quiz sometime in the next few days."

Crunch.

Her slender hand crushed the can, spilling some of the drink.

"I'm going back to study."

"Wait. Look who that is."

Kamigami Haruo caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye and quickly grabbed Horikita Suzune, who was about to leave.

"I'm not interested. Compared to such pointless things, I care more about my grades."

"Didn't you say you couldn't understand why Kushida Kikyo approached you? You can find out now."

At those words, Horikita Suzune struggled a little less, though she still intended to leave.

"Not interested."

There was less absolute certainty in Horikita Suzune's voice.

Seeing that, Kamigami Haruo went around behind her, raised both hands, and pushed her from behind in the direction the figure had disappeared.

On the way, Kamigami Haruo also had Horikita Suzune set her phone to silent.

After a while, they arrived at the shore, where few people came by at night. After signaling the person beside him to be quiet, he quietly hid behind a tree some distance from Kushida Kikyo.

"Ahhh—this is so damn annoying."

The moment the low voice rang out, Kamigami Haruo could feel the person beside him looking at him. He could only make a shushing gesture and keep watching.

"Every single one of you is so full of yourselves. Why don't you all just go die..."

"Ahhh—so annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying... Everyone is so annoying!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After kicking several times in a row, perhaps her foot started hurting, because she stopped kicking.

"Especially you, Horikita! If someone talks to you, then answer them properly, you bitch! Do you think you can act all high and mighty just because you think you're cute? Do you really think I want to talk to you?!"

From the moment her own name came up, Horikita Suzune had been staring at Kamigami Haruo beside her, whose cheeks had puffed up from holding back laughter.

Frowning, she reached out and pinched his waist, continuing until...

"You too, you bastard Haruo! If you know your hands are greasy, don't touch me! Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You're definitely the type who works as a host!"

This time, even the force with which she pinched Kamigami Haruo's waist weakened considerably.

"Fuck your mother..."

Kamigami Haruo cursed in Chinese and was about to step forward to leave his mark. The moment he took a step, he made a little noise and even startled Kushida Kikyo awake.

But a hand grabbed him and dragged him all the way back near the dormitory building.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to get dragged into trouble. Besides, it's time to go back and study."

"Fine. Let's go back."

Before entering the dormitory, Kamigami Haruo felt that something was off and could not help glancing toward the surveillance camera.

The next morning.

Kamigami Haruo and Ichinose met Horikita Suzune in the lobby.

Seeing her exhausted face as she reviewed her notes, Kamigami Haruo fell into remorse. If he had known, he would not have reminded her.

Compared to her score, her health was more important. It was definitely not because he wanted to see the disappointed look on her face if she failed to review in time and got a lower score.

"Horikita, you need to rest appropriately while studying too. Studying nonstop will exhaust you mentally, and it would be bad if it affected your performance on the test."

Ichinose had learned from Kamigami Haruo during their morning exercise that there would be a quiz in the next few days. Seeing how exhausted Horikita Suzune looked, she could not help trying to persuade her.

"I understand. Thank you for your concern."

She closed her notebook, and the three of them headed toward the school building together.

The three parted at the classroom entrance. After Kamigami Haruo reached his seat and set down his bag, he immediately lay facedown on his desk to sleep.

He could not help it. After returning last night, he had been unable to resist playing games. By the time he checked the clock again, it was already three in the morning.

To Horikita Suzune, that slacker-like appearance just made him seem like someone with no ambition whatsoever.

In Japan, a rigid country that valued seniority and age, someone without ambition was usually looked down upon during arranged dates.

By the time he woke up, it was already the third class. After Kushida Kikyo, seated in front of him, woke him, he was informed that they were having a quiz.

He took one test paper from the stack passed forward from the front, then passed the rest to the student behind him.

He looked at the headache-inducing questions, shook his head helplessly, and picked up his pen to write his name on the paper.

Put down the pen, put down his body, put down his head, put down his wakefulness—sleep.

At the podium, Chabashira Sae watched Kamigami Haruo fall asleep instantly. She raised a hand to her forehead, sighed, and shook her head helplessly.

He was truly beyond saving. He had connections and still turned in blank papers. When would someone talented finally appear and lead Class D to Class A?

Forget it. Put aside personal wishes and respect other people's lives.

Still, during the entrance written exam, there seemed to be someone who wanted to keep a low profile but also wanted to show that he was capable. He had scored an even fifty in every subject.

If she had not checked the entrance exam scores while considering other teaching methods, she really would not have noticed that there might be a genius among them.

Sigh, her nicotine craving was acting up. Who would join her for a smoke?

She had not reflected properly on her own laziness at all and instead placed all her hopes on the students.

Perhaps she wanted the students to discover the hidden rules on their own and thus awaken their potential. But she herself did not even have that drive, let alone the students. At most, she could only use threats and deception to make Ayanokōji work for her.

Until the bell rang, Kamigami Haruo spent the whole time in his dream playing the compass-between-fingers game with Ryomen Sukuna.

Kamigami Haruo won. It could not be helped—Sukuna had two pairs of hands.

Lunch break.

A boy and a girl walked out of the convenience store, each carrying a shopping bag.

When they returned to the classroom, there were barely any students inside. Most had gone to the cafeteria.

Only a few students had bought food at the convenience store and returned to eat it. Sakura Airi alone had taken the advice to heart and was already trying to make bento lunches.

After Kamigami Haruo placed the bag on Horikita Suzune's desk, he turned the chair at the desk in front of hers around and sat down.

"What a shame. No homemade lunch today."

As Kamigami Haruo spoke, he took several packs of sandwiches from the bag, tore open the wrappers, and prepared to take bites out of several different flavors at once.

"After all, I had to cram all the material we covered recently this morning."

Because she had recently added exercise to her schedule, and because she had been going out with Kamigami Haruo so often lately, she had much less time to study.