Undressing War God

Hirata and Kushida organized the rest of the class meeting, establishing some classroom rules. To prepare for the midterms, the ever-helpful Hirata also organized a study group and called on students with good grades to join, though very few did. The group led by Sudo was actually unwilling to participate.

Seeing Hirata put in so much thankless effort, Kazami realized they were not targeting him; they treated everyone equally. He really did not know whether to be happy about that.

Although everyone had joined forces to drag Kazami Saku off the podium, costing him his throne as the "king of the class," he was not particularly upset. The Emotion Points he had collected by proposing his schemes at the class meeting exceeded everything he had collected over the previous month. This little setback was not worth mentioning.

After the class meeting ended, while Kazami was thinking about how to keep farming points, Hasebe came up to him with an unusually serious expression. She repeatedly looked Kazami Saku up and down, her cautious, guarded manner making the atmosphere strangely unsettling.

Kazami really could not understand why she was treating him this way. Looking bewildered, he asked, "What is it?"

Hasebe pressed her lips together. After hesitating for a long while, she tentatively asked in a quiet voice, "Um... I haven't done anything to wrong you before, have I?"

The question came out of nowhere. Kazami froze, raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, and looked utterly confused. "Wait, what do you mean? Why bring that up all of a sudden? What's gotten into you? What's all this about wronging me?"

Seeing Kazami's look of pure confusion, Hasebe gave him a complicated look and said dryly, "Isn't it obvious? I really never expected you to have such a nasty mind when you usually seem so funny."

Those three outrageous schemes at the class meeting had completely changed Hasebe's understanding of Kazami. He was full of underhanded, rotten tricks: self-destruction, extortion, and the emotional-support host scheme. Every one of them crossed the line. She had chased him down before. If he held a grudge...

After hearing Hasebe out, Kazami did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Seriously? Don't tell me you think I'd use those bizarre schemes from the class meeting specifically against you?"

Hasebe gave two awkward chuckles at that, her smile distinctly guilty. She did not answer directly, but her attitude said it all. Those two awkward laughs practically wrote "That's exactly what I think" across her face.

"I knew you were too nice to do any-"

Before Hasebe could finish, Kazami said quietly, "Then you guessed right. I really would. That's what you get for always chasing me down for no reason. Being chased around by a girl like you-don't I have any dignity? I've kept that score in mind all along. Little Hasebe, you'd better not give me an opening."

Hasebe instinctively scanned her surroundings, her hands quietly feeling around the objects beside her as she tried to find a suitable "weapon."

Wait, she's going to get physical again? Did Advanced Nurturing deliberately gather this many girls with bad tempers?

Kazami immediately changed his tune, hurriedly waving his hands as he explained, "I merely wished to jest with you just now. Really, I'm not that petty."

"Look into my eyes. Such sincere eyes. Do I look like someone who'd use public affairs to settle a private grudge?" Kazami held his eyes open, doing his best to look utterly innocent.

Hasebe stared at his deliberately earnest face for three seconds, then rolled her eyes.

"You'd better not. If you ever dare sell me out, you'll find that my blade is still plenty sharp."

With that, Hasebe left, pulling Sakura out of the classroom with her.

Watching Hasebe walk away, Kazami thought, Wait, what kind of wandering hero are you? What's all this about sharp blades? That's terrifying. Having dealt with Hasebe, he turned his attention to the system interface, eagerly checking the Emotion Points he had been saving for so long.

Over the past month, he had accumulated points bit by bit without stopping. Today had brought an especially large haul. Showing off in front of everyone during the class meeting's quiz, along with the three schemes he had offered, had sent his points soaring.

The system panel clearly showed that his total Emotion Points had broken through the 1,000 mark, with over 600 more on top of that.

Kazami marveled that slowly farming points one target at a time really was too inefficient. A month of gathering scraps could not compare to one big event today. He had struck it rich in one go, with maximum bang for his buck.

Time to draw a Trait.

With a thought, Kazami activated the System Lottery Wheel. The familiar virtual wheel slowly appeared, Traits of various colors spinning rapidly amid a dazzling interplay of light and shadow.

As the wheel slowly came to a stop, a brand-new golden Trait settled into place, and the system notification sounded.

Congratulations on obtaining a new Trait: Undressing War God

Trait effect: The less clothing you wear, the greater the boost to your physical attributes. When completely unclothed, unlock the ultimate boost in every dimension and become invincible.

Kazami Saku: "..."

He had been happy to draw a new Trait, but this activation condition was even more outrageous than the first Trait's.

To be fair, this was absolutely a top-tier, outrageously powerful Trait. In its ultimate state, it directly unlocked invincible combat power, putting it among the very best of all Traits. Unfortunately, its activation condition was far too much.

Getting bizarre Traits like this twice in a row forced Kazami to wonder whether the entire Trait pool consisted of this sort of thing.

It's the combat-boosting Trait I wanted, sure... but isn't this activation mechanic way too maddening? Am I supposed to strip whenever I fight Horikita from now on? I don't know if I'd beat her, but I'd definitely end up in handcuffs.

Still, once I get back to the dorm after school tonight, I'll have to test what this Trait actually does... Kazami thought.

After school, the campus announcement system sounded.

"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji of Class D, please report to the Teachers' Office. Chabashira Sae-sensei has requested your presence."

Reality proved that people really should not run their mouths. Before the exam, Ayanokoji had wondered whether Chabashira-sensei would reprimand him over his grades. Sure enough, as soon as the quiz results came out, he was called over the announcement system after school.

Kazami looked at Ayanokoji, whose expression remained as impassive as ever, and patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Go on. I'll head back to the dorm alone today. Good luck! Hope you make it through safely!"

"Also, Kazami Saku. I repeat, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Kazami Saku, please report to the Teachers' Office."

The smile instantly froze on Kazami's face, and he stood rooted to the spot in a complete daze. "...Huh? Me too?"

Ayanokoji turned his head and offered, "Shall we go together? And it looks like we should be able to head back to the dorm together afterward."

Kazami did not want to talk. "Come on! I'm innocent! I've been behaving myself all along! I haven't broken any rules or caused any trouble, and I even got full marks on the quiz! I haven't done anything wrong! Why am I being summoned too?"

Ayanokoji's case was easy enough to explain. The guy had scored exactly 50 on the quiz; who else would they call in? But Kazami's grades definitely were not the reason, and he had not broken any other rules either.