Chapter Thirty-Three: Appearance
Thursday
8:09 A.M.
It was a new day.
The morning skies were clear, with clouds drifting aimlessly, and people went about with whatever they liked.
Leaves rustled, dancing along the winds.
Chatters filled the air of Raizen High with the latest news that began spreading around since yesterday.
"Hey, hey, did you hear?"
"Yeah, I did, I still can't believe it."
"Gah! It should have been me! Not him! Dammit!"
Petals from the cherry trees fluttered across the courtyard as Morgan walked past, his bag slung over his shoulder.
He blinked.
Slowly, he tilted his head to the side.
What in the world was going on?
The mood of the students in the courtyard was odd.
His hand tightened slightly around the strap as he passed a sulking boy.
Said sulking male was on all fours.
His hands balled into fists, repeatedly hit the ground while muttering curses under his breath.
"—filtered words—"
Morgan came to a halt.
A particular sensation he called 'bullshit senses' tingled as he watched the chaos.
Something important had definitely happened… and he had somehow missed it.
Looking around,
The air in the courtyard told him so.
Regardless, he went to class accordingly.
At the very least, when it comes to gossip, he could always bet on Tonomachi anyways.
But—
Oddly enough, as he entered the building, a strange feeling settled in.
A few students were sneaking glances at him as he walked by.
For some, it was curious glances.
Others, however, outright shot him accusatory gazes as if he'd just committed a crime.
'...was it Shidou?'
Morgan's expression stiffened.
Even if Morgan had zero talent in anything.
When it came to blaming people or suspecting people, he was unreasonably unmatched in that field.
In the end.
Chalking it up to his imagination, fueled by paranoia, he tossed it to the back of his mind.
Thus, he furthered into the main building.
Past the stairway until he arrived in front of his classroom.
Shckk–
The door made that small soothing sound as Morgan slid the door open with a slow gait.
But when Morgan took a step forward to enter from the back of the classroom, he froze.
"Hah?"
With an astonished expression, Morgan blinked.
In the next moment he flipped his phone on, checked it, then switched it off.
He lifted his head again and stared around for a moment before his gaze fell again.
'Am I dreaming?'
Half the class was already filled with his classmates.
Tonomachi was among them, in his seat, and he also seemed to notice when he entered.
He could also see Ai and her entourage forming their own circle near the board.
But.. them aside.
What shocked the living logic out of him was the sight right at the back of the classroom.
Origami's desk sat near Shidou's with both of them there, but more notable was that.
The girl had her arm linked with Shidou's, and her head rested on his shoulder.
Although he could barely see her face or her expression.
Her satisfaction practically radiated from where they sat.
Shidou visibly looked troubled by this.
Especially after his gaze landed on Morgan, that troubled expression deepened.
"Kyaaa~ Morgan, you missed."
Practically leaping off his seat,
Tonomachi crossed the distance between them in less than a second after he entered.
"Hiroto Tonomachi Shinsuke the Third. Am I dreaming?"
The male being called out froze.
He comically rubbed the back of his neck for a moment.
Why the grandiose name?
By the way, Shinsuke wasn't part of his name, but… rather…
More specifically, why the third? he wanted to ask, but he shook his head.
No, nothing matters more than this new development right in front of their eyes.
"You see, yesterday, Shidou confessed to Origami, and she accepted."
Stating that as a matter of fact was Tonomachi while spinning a finger through the air.
Color me not surprised.
Morgan thought.
It was then he finally noticed Shidou's gaze, looking over almost pleadingly, while mouthing something.
However,
"Buddy, you on your own."
Morgan could almost stifle a laugh, approaching his seat when Ai too came over, leaning on his desk.
"I heard it was you two, by the way."
He was about to hook his bag onto the side hook when he froze.
Then he remembered.
"So that's where the looks come from."
"Yeah. Apparently, you both are now the school's public enemy number one."
Ai paused before adding.
"Well, amongst the boys that is."
Morgan almost threw his head back to laugh, but he held it in.
Still, in the end, that stifled laughter escaped his lips in the form of a snicker.
Despite knowing that, there was literally nothing they could do to faze him.
Even if they did, it would have to be physical.
And when it comes to that.
If it were a few average high-school jealous students like them, then he could take them on.
But Morgan wasn't going to get physical over something trivial as this.
"Che, I can't believe I missed a show that good."
Now that he thought about it, maybe skipping yesterday hadn't been worth it.
After all, he could've witnessed the whole spectacle unfold in person, live.
"Oi, oi, both of you are wicked fellows."
Ai cringed as she took the chair beside him.
Leaning forward a bit, she glanced at the couple sitting almost comfortably together.
Keyword: almost.
Never in her wildest imagination did she think Origami of all people would be this bold.
According to the rumors, they had even walked to school together that morning, arm in arm.
"Well, finally, his streak of no girlfriend can finally end."
Tonimachi said with a grin and wide shrug which only warned an exasperated gaze from Ai.
"You talk as if either of you have ever experienced love."
Both guys froze.
"Heh, you are looking at sages who have successfully courted over a thousand waifus."
"Tonomachi, shut it you're making this worse."
Morgan casually stomped on his friend's foot, which was positioned in front of him, silencing him.
While he wasn't ashamed of his single status.
Being a male without a girlfriend and all.
Tonomachi's declaration had just made them both sound like premium-grade otakus.
Worse, Morgan was put on the same level as himself.
Blasphemy!
Okay..?
Maybe he is.
But it wasn't on that level.
Regardless, that alone, however, earned a somewhat suspicious look from Ai.
Her eyes narrowed.
Almost twisting into the gaze she usually directed at Tonomachi whenever he did something wrong.
"So, even you too."
Morgan's lips twitched.
"What's with that disappointed look?"
Still, there wasn't much he could counter with.
His record spoke for itself. Tragically empty in both this life and the last.
It could only be said to be a misfortune.
His relationship status, that is.
But, really, it was understandable.
In his previous life.
He'd been a student focused on securing a stable future, throwing himself into study and the occasional hobby.
Not that it had also changed in this life.
With that in mind,
Morgan balled his hand into a fist in front of him, letting out a mock cough.
Ahem*
"I have a goal, and until I reach that, you can say that getting a girlfriend is not on my to-do list."
Not that he wasn't already considering it.
'Ultimately...'
Morgan glanced at Shidou, who was awkwardly trying to communicate with Origami.
"Haha… is that so?"
"Yes, Shidou's smell turns me on."
Alright, enough is enough.
Morgan turned his head away sharply.
Only she could say something like that with a completely straight face.
Wait, no.
Kurumi and Maya could pull that off too, but that wasn't the main issue here.
"By the way, what were you up to yesterday?"
Tonomachi, finally settling in, took the chair in front, turning it towards Morgan's table, and asked that.
Ai also looked curious, leaning in slightly.
"My relatives came over, and well, I was entertaining them throughout yesterday."
"Ooh, that aunt of yours you talked about."
Tonomachi snapped his fingers at Morgan, who slowly bobbed his head up and down.
Only Ai looked left out.
She turned her head between Tonomachi and Morgan before crossing her arms.
"Then…? How's your sister doing?"
Whenever he wasn't having ulterior motives like some swindling merchant, he could actually act decent.
Morgan wasn't falling for it though.
"I'll shove a pen down your throat if you say anything about getting close to my sister."
Tonomachi's concern instantly dropped.
Dramatically, he flopped over Morgan's table, mumbling about how it was just a joke.
Sure enough—
As the number one enemy of women when he wasn't even trying, Ai shot him a nasty glare.
"Wow, a scumbag."
"Gah! In the end, it's all a joke, right!?"
"Why are you asking us?"
The looks only grew sharper as Tonomachi gulped nervously.
In the next second, however, Morgan dropped the teasing as his tone became serious, almost sober.
"You could say I've been avoiding her. She would no doubt hate me."
He paused for a moment, looking straight at the white plating of the ceiling.
Then, drawing his head back down, he continued after a small exhale.
"Well, I plan on going back to England for a few weeks before returning."
England was where she lived while he lived in the States.
Also, there was another reason.
Though it sounded like he had a bit of a savior complex, he wasn't doing this without a reason.
While ultimately, his sister came first, Artemisia was an important second goal.
"So, you can be caring, huh?"
"Ai.. what do you take me for?"
The girl smiled wantonly, regarding him with a light nudge of her head when—
Vrrr–!
Morgan's phone buzzed in his pocket, prompting him to pull it out quickly.
Pressing the power button to switch it on, he saw a text that made his eyes widen.
«Master, it has been calculated»
«The impact has been foreseen by Beta»
«A spacequake will occur in coordinates»
[Latitude: ??.????° N]
[Longitude: ???.????° W]
«Yes. The predicted location where it will appear is. Raizen High School»
«In addition, since a few minutes ago [Avalon] has been docked successfully»
A faint, thin smile blossomed on his face as he switched his phone off.
"It's finally time, huh?"
Princess's second appearance.
From what he knew, it was supposed to happen in the evening.
No, even the sequence of events had changed, hadn't it, which meant...
Ahhh~ ah~
His actions had fully twisted events.
"Morgan? What's wrong? You look serious all of a sudden."
Just when Ai leaned closer to Morgan beside her.
UUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuu——
The alarm for a spacequake, like earlier this week, blared.
"Spacequake."