"Motoki, I didn't expect you to be the one who cares about me the most. I'm so moved."
Kojou happened to come out of the room just then, eyes misty with "tears," looking deeply touched as he gazed at Yaze Motoki.
With that, he spread his arms and lunged in for a hug.
"Whoa, whoa—don't. I'm straight, okay? Don't do that," Motoki yelped, jumping up and bolting away.
"Motoki, you… give me back my heartfelt gratitude!"
"Give you back what? I'm still treating you better than everyone else, aren't I?" Motoki shot back.
"…I guess that's true."
"Kojou, here—your pudding." Nagisa, a bit embarrassed, handed Kojou a plate.
"I knew you were thinking of me, Nagisa." Kojou accepted it happily.
"Heh…" Nagisa could only smile awkwardly.
"Nagisa, do you really not care about me at all?"
"Well… it was just rib pain, and with Sensei here, there was never going to be a big problem," she explained.
"Yeah, just treating some rib pain—what could happen?" Aiba Asagi chimed in to help.
"Easy for you to say… I felt like my heart and lungs were being ripped out. In the dream I almost thought I died."
"It was just a dream. It's fine," Nagisa consoled him.
"So you truly don't care about me at all?" Kojou said, wounded.
"That's not it. Mainly, you're fine now, aren't you?"
"Uh… Sensei, what did you do to me?" Kojou finally asked Shichen.
"Don't worry about it. Knowing wouldn't change anything. All you need to know is that from here on out you're back to how you were. You can play basketball normally and you won't get side-eye from your teammates."
"Really? That's great!" Kojou clenched his fist, excited.
"But are you sure about this?"
Shichen looked him in the eye. "You won't have that superhuman physique anymore. Your teammates might actually look down on you."
"Don't worry about it, Sensei." Kojou thumped his chest with confidence. "Even without that cheating power-up, my skills are way better than theirs. What grounds would they have to look down on me? And I never liked that 'cheat' body anyway."
"Not bad—ambitious. Keep it up. I'll come watch your games."
"No problem!"
Kojou had returned to being an ordinary person, and he felt no regret—he even wanted to celebrate.
Shichen, however, didn't plan to stick around; the celebration would have to wait.
Asagi wanted to keep hanging out with Shichen—and even planned to leave with him—but he had real errands to run.
He needed to get Avrora and Kaguya enrolled at Saikai Academy.
They both looked about the same build as second-years; it'd be a shame not to attend school. Shichen wasn't about to let them miss the experience.
Maybe they'd like it—everything in this world was new to them.
Though, give it time; anyone would get sick of school eventually.
He'd need Minamiya Natsuki's help to arrange enrollment, but when Shichen brought Avrora and Kaguya home, she still wasn't back.
By noon, Shichen cooked lunch for the three of them—per Avrora's request, he also made pudding.
A little after one in the afternoon, Natsuki returned, a hint of displeasure on her delicate face.
"What's wrong, Natsuki?" Shichen poured black tea, set a cup for her, and moved behind to knead her shoulders.
"Hmph, what else could it be? Those people only know fear. They're worried you might do something to destroy the city."
"Totally normal. The higher up you are, the more afraid of death you get."
"They were even thinking about restricting your power—or making you leave Itogami Island."
"Bold of them. Aren't they worried I'll get mad and kill them all?"
"That's exactly what I told them. Then they dragged things out for half the day, so I'm only back now—and on a perfectly good weekend, too," Natsuki fumed.
"Alright, alright, don't be mad. It's bad for your health."
"Hmph."
"So what did they say in the end?"
"What can they do? They don't dare touch you. They just told me to keep an eye on you."
"Isn't that perfect?"
"Perfect my foot. As if it's just me 'keeping an eye on you.' They'll definitely do other things to guard against you."
"So what? Not worth worrying about."
"Look at you… Why are you being so considerate all of a sudden? What did you do that you're feeling guilty about?" Natsuki glanced toward Avrora and Kaguya, who were watching TV.
They didn't seem any different—and yes, still untouched.
"What are you staring at them for?"
"It's nothing. What do you actually want?"
"Can you arrange for the two of them to enter Saikai Academy?"
"You want them to go to school?" Natsuki turned to look at him.
"Mm." Shichen nodded with a smile.
"Why?"
"No big reason. I can't have them sitting around at home all day. School's good—learn things, make friends… They're both unfamiliar with this world."
"You're being surprisingly good to them… It's fine; those people are practically begging for you to make requests anyway."
"Oh yeah? Then I'll leave it to you."
"Mm. Keep massaging."
"On it~"
The enrollment for Avrora and Kaguya was fully handled on Monday. On Tuesday, they officially started at Saikai Academy—placed in Nagisa's class.
They formally became second-year students.
The moment they arrived, they became hot topics. Their refined looks earned them instant nicknames:
Avrora was dubbed the Elf Princess, and Prince Kaguya—thanks to her short hair and boyish air.
Kaguya hated that nickname, because Shichen didn't like her short hair.
But nicknames aren't something you get to choose.
Their popularity soon matched Kanon Kanase's and Nagisa's, and the class instantly split into four "factions":
those who already backed Kanon,
those who already backed Nagisa,
defectors switching to Avrora, and
the previously neutral now supporting Kaguya.
Avrora's and Kaguya's camps split the boys about evenly, but together they still couldn't beat Kaguya's faction—
because the girls backed Kaguya. Prince vibes, after all.
There were more girls than boys in the class, so Kaguya's faction became the largest—though she herself wasn't the least bit happy about it.
By Wednesday, Avrora's faction took a psychological hit.
Second period P.E., Shichen waited by the gym entrance for a few minutes before Nagisa's class arrived.
The instant Avrora saw him, she ran over, grabbed his arm, and hugged it. "Shichen, what are you doing here?"
The boys trailing after her froze. The brilliant smile on Avrora's face was one they'd never seen.
Don't tell me… Avrora also has a special relationship with Sensei?
"Dummy."
Shichen fondly ruffled Avrora's hair. "Did you forget I'm a teacher?"
"Eh? So you're our P.E. teacher?" Avrora blinked, then caught on.
"Not totally dense," he said, tapping her nose.
"That's awesome!" Avrora swung his arm happily, all smiles.
"Elf Princess…" Seeing how affectionate the two were, her supporters broke.
The Saint had already been "taken," and now even the Elf Princess wasn't safe.
"Um, since Avrora's that close with Sensei, does that mean you are too, Prince?" a girl asked Kaguya.
"Yes. Shichen is my master," Kaguya said with a calm nod.
"Eh? Master?"
"D-does that mean what I think it means?"
"No way, right?"
"Then is Avrora the same?"
"Never thought Sensei would be this surprising…"
"I want Sensei to be my master too."
"?"
Kaguya's answer left the girls collectively stunned.
By noon, word of Shichen's close ties with Avrora and the others had spread throughout the school.
Some were thrilled, some dismayed—and a brand-new wave of "supporters" rose up.
For reasons unknown, people suddenly wanted to see who would "win" Shichen in the end: the untouchable Saint, the lively Nagisa, the Elf Princess, or the Prince.
Saikai Academy erupted into full-on shipping factions, and the joiners only kept growing.
Shichen had no idea any of that was happening. He continued enjoying the calm before the coming Banquet.
That calm didn't last long: on Friday night, the Banquet began.
~~~
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