Before the Second Class, the School Swimming Pool (Continued)

Was she just flying?

And...

He noticed that Elsie was holding something in her arms.

It was a small box, but through the narrow opening, countless eyeballs were clustered together like grapes.

In the next instant, dozens of tentacles shot out, completely binding the other monster, squeezing it tight, and then dragging it straight inside itself!?

At the same time, another tentacle quietly coiled around the store clerk like a python, hoisting him several meters into the air.

But apparently deciding he wasn't food, but more like trash, it slammed the clerk into the ground like a rock.

"Y-you! What are you doing here?! What is all this?!"

Keima Katsuragi rushed to Elsie's side and asked in alarm.

"Ah! God of Conquest! Y-you didn't go back to your dorm to play games?"

"No! Tell me what's going on first!"

"Why, don't you understand, God of Conquest? I was going to prepare lunch for you at noon, remember? But one of the ingredients accidentally got out! Don't worry, God of Conquest, though—I've already recovered it! And don't worry, I used the Feather Haori to block the surveillance cameras nearby, so nobody could see me the whole way!!!"

"What do you mean, one of the ingredients got out?!"

Keima was already too exhausted to even complain.

What on earth did Elsie consider an ingredient?!

"Security personnel are going to get here soon. Hurry and go!"

Keima glanced at the strange creature in Elsie's arms and looked around. Fortunately, there weren't any surveillance cameras nearby.

"Understood, God of Conquest!"

Elsie flew into the sky and disappeared.

"So, that means..."

Keima looked down at the clerk lying on the ground. He seemed to have lost consciousness.

The guy had it coming.

He probably hadn't seen any of that, either.

At the same time, Airi Sakura, who had been terribly worried, finally caught up with Keima.

When she saw the clerk lying on the ground, Airi was startled.

Had Keima Katsuragi knocked him out?

Soon, several security personnel from the school arrived. They were all tall, moved in perfect unison, and were clearly well-trained. They weren't ordinary security guards; they looked more like soldiers.

"Is this the suspect?"

The security personnel looked at the clerk on the ground in confusion. He was unconscious, covered in dust. They glanced at Keima Katsuragi, too.

The boy was slender, yet he had taken down an adult much bigger than himself.

And left him in this state?

Keima gave them a rough account of what had happened. They took the suspect away for questioning and prepared to send him to the hospital.

As the clerk was lifted onto a stretcher, he seemed to regain a little consciousness.

His dazed gaze fell on Keima Katsuragi, and the terrifying memories from moments ago rushed back.

"Monster! Monster!!"

He screamed twice, then passed out again.

The security personnel looked at Keima Katsuragi in surprise. He pressed his lips together and could only pretend he knew nothing, shrugging.

"Looks like he fell and hit his head."

The security team didn't say much. They soon carried away the clerk, who had passed out again.

Only after they disappeared from sight did Airi Sakura finally come back to her senses.

Everything that had just happened felt unreal...

Thank goodness Keima Katsuragi had saved her...

"Keima... why are you here?"

Airi asked curiously.

"I was worried about you, Airi, so I followed you."

When she heard him say he was worried, the tips of Airi's ears turned bright red. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, and she seemed to shrink into herself.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Keima... I'm completely useless... In the end, I couldn't do anything myself."

"No, Airi, you did great. It's not easy to face someone like that and bravely express how you feel."

Keima looked at Airi, and their gazes met.

This time, Airi didn't look away.

As she looked into Keima's eyes, she no longer felt afraid at all.

"Of course... you're the only one, Keima..."

"What?"

"N-nothing!"

A smile blossomed on Airi's face, her blue eyes shining like jewels. After falling silent in thought for a moment, she spoke again.

"Keima... if I stopped wearing glasses and changed my hairstyle, do you think everyone would notice...?"

As she spoke, she took off her glasses, revealing for the first time the unbearably cute face she had kept hidden from Keima.

"Of course they'd notice. You're so beautiful, Airi. It'd be hard for your classmates not to notice you."

"I..."

Airi instantly grew shy and fell silent again, hurriedly lowering her head. The few steps forward she thought she'd taken had brought her right back to the beginning after Keima praised her.

But she was incredibly happy.

"Thank you, Keima."

This time, Airi didn't call him "classmate."

"You're welcome. I told you, if you ever need anything, just come to me for help."

Suddenly, Airi remembered something.

Keima Katsuragi had just helped her out...

Didn't that mean he had heard everything she'd said before?!

"K-K-Keima, did you hear what I was saying to that person earlier?"

Airi asked anxiously.

"I couldn't make it out. Why?"

"N-nothing!!!"

Airi's head shook back and forth like a metronome.

Just then, the sound of high heels striking the concrete path rang out.

Sae Chabashira, dressed in a suit jacket and a skirt, her legs outlined by black stockings, hurried over to them.

"Teacher Chabashira, what are you doing here?"

Keima asked, while Airi hurriedly put her glasses back on.

"The school just notified me that something had happened to you, so I rushed over. What happened?"

Keima didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned slightly toward Airi. When she nodded, he spoke.

"An employee at the school store harassed Airi Sakura, but fortunately, she's all right now."

"I see. As long as you're okay."

Sae Chabashira merely nodded, her tone casual.

Just then, her phone rang.

Sae Chabashira immediately answered, her voice turning very respectful.

"...Mm... Everyone's fine... I understand..."

Sae Chabashira soon hung up and turned her gaze back to the two of them.

"Come with me."

"What is it?"

"The chairman wants to see you."

"The chairman?"

A little farther away, a pair of eyes watched them without blinking.

Masumi Kamuro.

She was following and monitoring Keima Katsuragi in secret on Sakayanagi Arisu's orders.

To avoid being spotted, Masumi Kamuro had kept her distance.

She had seen Keima Katsuragi confronting the clerk, and the latter had fled. But because of the angle, Masumi had needed to change positions to keep a better eye on him.

When she found a suitable vantage point, she saw the clerk lying on the ground, with Keima Katsuragi beside him.

There was no doubt Keima Katsuragi had defeated him.

And in less than a minute...

"This guy... he's actually that strong?"

Masumi Kamuro couldn't help swallowing.

There was a monster in Class D...

Before long, Sae Chabashira led the two of them to the Chairman's Office.

She opened the door and stood respectfully to one side.

A slender, middle-aged man with slightly graying hair stood before them.

"You must be Katsuragi and Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Narimori Sakayanagi, the chairman of this school."

The man who introduced himself as Narimori Sakayanagi wore a polite smile. He spoke kindly and carried himself without the slightest air of authority.

Narimori Sakayanagi noticed that Airi Sakura seemed frightened, so he spoke in a gentler tone.

"Don't be afraid. We've already examined the culprit's phone and looked into his recent movements. There's no doubt about his guilt. As the school's chairman, I'm sorry that something like this happened. I called you here simply to ask what happened and confirm some details, so please tell us as much as you can."

Airi Sakura took a deep breath. She was nervous, since the incident involved her other identity, but she understood that the school already knew about it. So she didn't hide anything. Gathering her courage, she told them everything that had happened that day, up to the moment Keima Katsuragi had come to her rescue.

"I see... I'm truly sorry this happened. But, Katsuragi, Sakura said she only saw you chase after him. What happened after that?"

Narimori Sakayanagi narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing Keima Katsuragi with a scrutinizing gaze.

"He fell while he was running away."

Keima answered without batting an eye.

"Fell?"

Narimori Sakayanagi's brow furrowed slightly. Then he picked up his phone and looked at the report that had just come in.

"You're saying the culprit accidentally fell, then broke four ribs, fractured both arms, sprained a ligament, and suffered a moderate concussion?"

"That's right."