When Leon and Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke, the entire Class 3-C grew noticeably quiet.
Among the students present, both boys and girls, couldn't help but perk up their ears and start paying attention to the content of their conversation.
It couldn't be helped; these two people were celebrities at Sōbu High, no matter how you looked at them.
Leon, thanks to his outstanding looks and temperament, was rated the most popular boy at Sōbu High back in his first year. He had consecutively ranked first for three years in the "Most Desired Partner" list compiled by the girls. Hayama Hayato, who was currently ranked second, had only half his votes, making Leon far and away the leader.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, on the other hand, was one of the four most prominent girls in the entire Sōbu High School.
In Sōbu High School, there were four recognized peerless beauties, hailed as "lofty flowers" by all the teachers and students.
These four lofty flowers were collectively referred to by the whole school staff and student body by the names "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter."
The first lofty flower was a girl currently in Class 1-A, named Mahiru Shiina. Her exquisite appearance and gentle, virtuous demeanor caused a sensation on her first day of admission, making her a celebrity at Sōbu High. She was known as the Angel-sama by the entire school and was the "Spring Flower" of Sōbu High.
The second lofty flower was a girl currently in Class 2-G, named Eriri Spencer Sawamura. She possessed strong painting talent and was the ace of the school's art club. Usually having the delicate demeanor of a high-class young lady, she was kind and popular throughout the school, making her the "Summer Flower" of Sōbu High.
The third lofty flower was Utaha Kasumigaoka, currently in Class 3-C. She was a literary girl with rare literary talent who could write scripts for the drama club and was also a rising light novel author. Quiet, elegant, and exceptionally refined in both temperament and looks, she was the "Autumn Flower" of Sōbu High.
The fourth lofty flower, naturally, was Yukino Yukinoshita, currently in Class 2-J. She was an honor student who had maintained the top rank since entering school, a beauty with both looks and intelligence. Due to her overly cold attitude toward people and things, she was the "Winter Flower" of Sōbu High.
These four school beauties were all individuals with impeccable looks, temperament, grades, talent, and even family background. They were genuinely lofty flowers, to be admired from afar but not played with.
Support groups for these four lofty flowers were also established at Sōbu High, with Utaha Kasumigaoka's group being the largest.
The reason was simple: Utaha Kasumigaoka was a senior in the third year, while the other three lofty flowers were underclassmen. Some senior boys wouldn't "lower themselves" to be fans of junior girls. At least, they felt it would be somewhat embarrassing, which is why Utaha Kasumigaoka had the most supporters in the whole school.
Incidentally, Yukino Yukinoshita's support group was the smallest because she always maintained a cold demeanor, was extremely poor at social interaction, often used venomous remarks toward others, and was not afraid to speak her mind or correct mistakes, which scared off many people. Only those who enjoyed that type of personality chose to join her support group, becoming her ardent fans...
At this moment, the most popular boy among the girls and the most popular girl among the boys were chatting together. This naturally attracted attention in every sense, making people unconsciously focus on them.
Both Leon and Utaha Kasumigaoka noticed this situation, but having already grown used to it, they continued their conversation as if no one else were present.
"I'm here to push for an update, Kasumigaoka-san," Leon said with a serious face. "When is the second volume of my Koisuru Metronome coming out? I've been waiting for months! If you don't update, I'll mail razor blades to your house."
Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka subtly rolled her eyes.
"Have you really been reading the novel lately?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked with a half-smile. "I hear that a certain someone has been paying attention to the Service Club recently, even running off to their club room during lunch. I wonder what they talked about in there?"
"So you knew?" Leon smiled and said, "It seems I still receive a lot of attention from my senior."
"After all, you're the culprit who was the first person in the whole school to figure out my light novelist identity, then spread it everywhere, causing me to be annoyed by fans for a long time, Demon-kun," Utaha Kasumigaoka said blandly. "Also, how many times have I told you? We are in the same grade. I'm not your senior. Why do you always like to call me that?"
"Don't worry about it. It's just a habit not meant for outsiders that I accidentally brought here," Leon waved his hand and said, "Didn't you also keep calling me Demon-kun?"
"Whose fault is that?" Utaha Kasumigaoka's gaze returned to the book in her hand. Without lifting her head, she said, "Wasn't it a certain narcissistic person with too much charm who ran up to me on his own accord and claimed to be a demon?"
That's right, Leon had once confessed his identity to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Their conversation at the time went like this...
"Senior, I want to read the second volume of Koisuru Metronome."
"Don't call me senior. The second volume isn't out yet."
"Then please write it for me right now. Otherwise, I will curse you."
"You? Curse me?"
"Yes, because I am a demon."
"...If you want to joke around, please pick another place, okay?"
Just like that, pushing for updates became Leon's usual conversation starter with Utaha Kasumigaoka, and she referred to him as "Demon-kun" ever since.
Leon knew that this moniker was just a deliberate tease from her, meant to retaliate against his constant nagging for updates, and that she didn't take his self-disclosure seriously at all.
How could the renowned "Autumn Flower" of Sōbu High ever imagine that this self-disclosure, which she found a bit embarrassing and childish—like chunibyo—and used to joke about as dark history, was actually true?
It can only be said that the truth is often hidden in words and actions that leak out unintentionally, but people never discover it.
"In any case, I want to read the second volume of Koisuru Metronome. I really can't wait any longer," Leon said, sounding somewhat unreasonable. "Could the rumors online be true? Is your Koisuru Metronome really about to be axed because the second volume is stalled?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka immediately fell silent.
"No way? No way?" Leon said with an exaggerated expression. "Is it really going to be axed? My youth is over!"
"You're so annoying, Demon-kun," Utaha Kasumigaoka said unhappily. "I will write the second volume. I absolutely won't let Koisuru Metronome be axed."
Although she said this, Utaha Kasumigaoka's state has actually been a bit low lately.
She had written the content for the second volume several times, but it always failed to pass her editor's approval, leading to the current stalled situation.
The first volume of Koisuru Metronome sold very well upon release, which caused the second volume to be continuously rejected by the editor for not being as exciting as the first. Now, there is no sign of a reprint, leading to rumors of it being axed.
This was extremely troubling and irritating to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Naturally, Utaha Kasumigaoka wouldn't reveal any of this in front of Leon.
She was unwilling to be looked down upon by this "fan" who kept pushing for updates, and she was subtly unwilling to see disappointment in his eyes.
Although she didn't explicitly say it, having the most popular boy among the girls at Sōbu High so obsessed with her work made Utaha Kasumigaoka feel very proud deep down.
That is why she was unwilling to see Leon disappointed.
"Then I'll wait for your good news."
Leon looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka and smiled, as if he could see through her internal distress and irritation.
"Since my senior is working so hard, I'll give you a somewhat special gift."
Leon took out a palm-sized piece of vintage parchment from his pocket.
"This is a very effective talisman, you know. When you feel troubled, it might be able to offer you some help."
Saying this, Leon handed the parchment to Utaha Kasumigaoka, then got up and returned to his seat.
"This is a talisman?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka was momentarily stunned, but looking at the parchment with the magic square drawn on it in her hand, she pursed her lips and put it away.
Leon, who was secretly watching this, smiled slightly, then turned his gaze towards the podium.
As the school bell rang, the teacher walked in and began the class...
Unknowingly, the day's classes ended.
As the sun set and the evening glow appeared, the population of Sōbu High School gradually thinned out, allowing the entire campus to grow quiet.
On the school's rooftop, Leon lay there, his hands beneath his head, legs crossed casually, basking in the sunset with a lackadaisical air.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Leon opened his eyes, a piercing glint flashing through them.
"This is...?"
He stood up, walked to the railing, and shot his gaze out like a torch, looking in the direction of the school gate.
No, he was looking much farther away.
"Did they just make their move?"
As if knowing something, the corner of Leon's mouth curled into a cold arc.
The next second, Leon suddenly vanished from the spot, disappearing without a trace.
Time, rewind to a few minutes ago...
At a train station some distance from Sōbu High, Yukino Yukinoshita slowly stepped out and walked toward an apartment building.
As the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, Yukino Yukinoshita should have been living in a mansion and been chauffeured to and from school. However, due to issues with her family, she was currently renting an apartment alone, and her mode of transportation had changed from a private car to the train. It was hard to imagine this was the life of the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, a local Chiba Prefecture renowned family.
At this moment, Yukino Yukinoshita was still preoccupied with the day's events.
"How is this thing supposed to help me?"
Holding the parchment with the magic square drawn on it, Yukino Yukinoshita's accumulated displeasure had reached its limit.
"Such a show-off. I don't need help from things like this."
Yukino Yukinoshita was about to toss the parchment away.
"Da..."
Just then, an overly deliberate footsteps sounded in her ears.