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Chapter 35 - Ch.35

It's that time of year again—April, the start of the school season. The cherry trees outside the apartment building are in bloom once more. From a distance, they look like a flowing expanse of light pink, a shade that is both romantic and elegant, yet pure and sacred.

"Take good care of Shinka-chan for me, Ryosuke-kun!" Mrs. Nibutani stood on the balcony, waving to her daughter and her childhood friend below with a gentle smile.

"Bye, Mom!" Nibutani Shinka, seated sideways on the back of the bicycle, waved goodbye to her mother.

Soyo Middle School was much farther from their home than elementary school had been, so Ryosuke decided to bike to school. He also offered a ride to his childhood friend, who had just barely passed the entrance exam. Nibutani Shinka's grades weren't bad in other subjects, but her math was a disaster. After a grueling six months of tutoring, she scraped by with a passing grade, which made Ryosuke question his life choices. He was relieved she got in, or he might have found her curled up on the ground in despair for a long time.

"Let's go, my knight!" Nibutani Shinka said excitedly, wrapping her arms around Ryosuke's waist from the bike's back seat and swinging her little legs in their white stockings.

"Don't move around so much, or I'll throw you off, you hear me?" Hiratsuka Ryosuke threatened, looking back at her.

Seeing that Shinka was settled, he faced forward, tightened his grip on the handlebars, and pushed off with a powerful thrust of his legs, leaving the building behind.

The bike rode on, navigating the ups and downs of the street. Shinka rested her head against Ryosuke's back, feeling a sense of security from his warm, solid support.

A while later, they arrived at Soyo Middle School. Hiratsuka Ryosuke parked his bike in the designated spot, locked it, and complained, "Next time, let's take the train. I give up on biking."

In elementary school, which wasn't far from home, he always walked. Because of that, he never realized how congested Tokyo's morning rush hour was. The middle school was a long way off, and besides the street right outside his apartment, the entire route was packed all the way to school. He even felt that if he had just run at his normal speed, he might have gotten there faster than by bike.

"By the way, you didn't bring that thing to school, did you?" Hiratsuka Ryosuke suddenly thought back to the elementary school graduation chorus, and a shiver of fear ran down his spine at the memory of Shinka's class and their strange, fanatical behavior.

"What are you talking about, Ryosuke? I don't understand," Nibutani Shinka said, pulling her backpack from the front basket and clutching it tightly. Her eyes darted uncomfortably away. She didn't answer directly, but the answer was written all over her face.

Ryosuke grabbed Shinka's shoulders with both hands and looked her straight in the eyes. In a serious, earnest tone, he said, "Listen to me, Shinka. This isn't elementary school. You absolutely cannot spread the Dark Sacred Text and influence your classmates, understand?"

Seeing the serious look on Ryosuke's face, Nibutani Shinka understood his resolve. She always took his opinions seriously. Shinka nodded vigorously, her single ponytail bouncing back and forth.

She promised solemnly, "I understand. I absolutely won't let the light of the Dark Sacred Text shine on any of my classmates."

Shinka's promise put Ryosuke at ease. He was genuinely afraid that one day, the police would show up and arrest her. The reactions of her classmates last year were as frightening as if they had joined some cult.

"Ryosuke, Shinka!" a surprised female voice called from a distance. A girl jogged up to them.

"Wow, Shoko! You look so cute in your middle school uniform, too!" Nibutani Shinka's eyes lit up as she praised the girl in front of her.

"Morning, Shoko," Ryosuke also greeted her.

Nishimiya Shoko smiled and gestured with her hands, "Morning, Ryosuke!" Using sign language was just a habit for her; her speech was almost indistinguishable from a normal person's now. Since graduating from elementary school, Nishimiya Shoko had become much more cheerful. She was a far cry from the timid little quail she had been when they first met. Her face still had a bit of baby fat, but it didn't make her look plump; instead, it made her even more adorable.

"It's a shame I'm not in the same class as Ryosuke again," Nibutani Shinka said, holding Nishimiya Shoko's hand and pouting. She then continued, "But it's okay because I have cute Shoko with me."

There's no such thing as absolute fairness in the world, but Japan's elementary and middle school education system does a lot to achieve a certain level of it. Middle school classes are assigned randomly. Every class has students who are good at academics and students who struggle. There are no "fast" or "slow" classes, no special "advanced" classes. Teachers are also transferred to other schools every few years to ensure educational resources are evenly distributed. It's all for the sake of relative fairness.

In Soyo Middle School, Shinka and Shoko ended up in the same class. With Shinka by her side, Ryosuke believed Shoko's middle school life wouldn't be like her elementary school experience.

"Let's go, class is about to start. Let's head to the classroom." The three walked together toward the school building.

Inside the classroom, a group of girls surrounded a blonde girl.

"Wow, Eriri, did you really take this photo at the Louvre?"

"And this one... is the River Thames in England! And that's the famous HMS Belfast, right?"

"Eriri, is your hair naturally blonde? It's so pretty!"

Just like before, Eriri was the vibrant, graceful social center of the girls' group. On the very first day of school, she had already become close with her female classmates. Everything was going so smoothly.

In another corner, there was a group of boys, at the center of which was a cheerful, handsome blonde guy.

"Hayama, you're so good at soccer. How about we join the soccer club together?"

"What's so great about soccer? Hayama, join the baseball club with me! We can go for the Koshien championships in the future—Soyo Middle School's baseball team is awesome!"

Hayama Hayato was used to this kind of attention and handled it with ease. The two groups, while both "normie" circles on the surface, were distinctly separate. The remaining students, who were less social, sat scattered in their seats.

When Hiratsuka Ryosuke walked into the classroom, the noisy chatter instantly died down for a moment. The reason was simple: a handsome guy with a naturally aloof aura suddenly appearing in the small classroom was bound to catch everyone's attention.

Perhaps because of the presence of Eriri and Hayama, the classroom soon returned to its boisterous state after Ryosuke found a seat. However, Eriri was no longer in the mood to chat happily with the other girls. Her heart was filled with panic.

"Why is he here? And in my class?" No! I absolutely won't let my middle school life be ruined just like that!

Eriri barely managed to maintain her expression, but a whirlwind of thoughts churned inside her. Her eyes kept darting toward the boy she had encountered in the villa district.

Ring, ring, ring!

As the school bell rang, a red-haired, green-eyed loli with a single ponytail walked in. She had a lollipop in her mouth and a look of annoyance on her face as she made her way to the blackboard. She stood on her tiptoes and wrote her name in the corner of the board.

"Whose little sister is this?"

"I don't know, maybe one of the teachers' kids just ran into the classroom?"

The students saw a loli who looked younger than them, writing on the blackboard as soon as she entered. They started whispering and gossiping, a low buzzing sound filling the room.

BAM!

A loud crash silenced the classroom. After finishing her name, the red-haired loli slammed her fist on the blackboard, leaving a visible dent. She casually dropped the chalk. Her green eyes now looked like a bloodthirsty wolf's as she casually scanned the students below the podium.

The students were struck dumb with fear and didn't dare to breathe. She nodded in satisfaction and shouted in a booming voice, "I am your homeroom teacher, Doraku Utage. From now on, I am the rule in this class!"

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