Honestly speaking, saints had no place in this era.
The moment you started worrying about others, you'd probably be dead by the next second.
And the current Yukinoshita was exactly like her early-anime version—
a personality Izumi disliked the most.
Compared to her present self, Izumi much preferred her later development:
stronger, independent, more natural, and no longer relying on others.
He had no idea what kind of ridiculous situation brought her back to her early-series personality,
but one thing was certain:
Izumi really didn't like this saintly version of the flat-chested girl.
Saints didn't survive long in this age.
They were always the first to die.
Hayama Hayato was stunned by Izumi's blunt assessment.
This guy… understood Yukinoshita Yukino that well?
Even he, who'd known her for years, couldn't claim to understand her to that extent.
Izumi ignored his reaction and waved a hand dismissively.
"If there's nothing else, go stand over there."
"Natsuki-chan is coming."
With that, Izumi no longer bothered with him.
He didn't even need to guess why Hayama approached him—
and that was exactly why he didn't care.
Hearing this, Hayama sighed and returned to his position.
Hikigaya Hachiman, who'd been watching the whole exchange, looked completely lost.
Izumi is this amazing?
It felt like nothing was hidden from him.
Does he have mind-reading powers or something?
He suddenly felt a little scared.
Izumi noticed Hikigaya's face and almost laughed out loud.
To that guy, Izumi seemed to become a different creature every few minutes.
But Izumi didn't mind.
......
When Natsuki arrived on the field, she immediately got to the point.
"Next, I'll be teaching you a basic spell."
"Magic Bullet!"
"Some of you may already know it, but I'll explain everything again."
"If you have any questions, feel free to come ask me!"
"Don't be shy."
Watching Natsuki speak so seriously, many students couldn't help finding her adorable.
After all, with her tiny body, she had absolutely zero sense of authority.
Her serious expression looked more like she was seriously selling cuteness.
Especially the students from Kuoh Academy—
they were dying from how cute she looked.
No one interrupted; they all listened earnestly.
Except Izumi and Le Fay.
Both were already magic experts.
They didn't need the lesson.
Rias had given Izumi a magic book before, which included this spell.
Whether he listened or not didn't matter—he already knew it.
Instead of paying attention, Izumi stared at Natsuki.
The more he looked, the cuter she seemed.
He really wanted to pick her up and squeeze her.
Natsuki eventually noticed Izumi staring and felt her heart skip.
This guy… wasn't planning to do something strange, right?
If he did, she wasn't sure she could resist.
Still, to maintain her teacherly dignity, she called out:
"Izumi-kun, pay attention."
"I know you're strong, and you probably already understand all of this, but I still want you to listen."
Izumi shrugged.
"I'm listening. Very attentively."
"Natsuki-chan, please continue!"
The class burst into laughter.
Natsuki, however, was not amused.
"Don't add '-chan' to your teacher's name!"
"And you're clearly NOT listening. I finished the explanation already! You still want me to continue!?"
"Fine, then come demonstrate what I just taught."
Even though she feared Izumi might do something strange, Natsuki still pushed him forward.
If she didn't discipline him a bit, he really wouldn't take her seriously.
Izumi sighed dramatically and stepped out.
"Fine, I'll show you a little something."
He raised his right hand.
Magic gathered instantly, forming a huge Magic Bullet.
"How's this? Did I do it right?"
Natsuki stared at the massive orb and rolled her eyes painfully.
She didn't even know where to begin.
The Magic Bullet she taught was not supposed to be that big.
Izumi saw her silence and smirked.
"Oh? Not big enough?"
"What about this?"
The magic sphere expanded several times over.
Natsuki froze for a moment—then her face drained of color.
"That's enough!"
"Stop! Stop!"
Was he trying to kill someone?
This Magic Bullet was already at upper-class devil level.
If that dropped into the cluster of students, the whole class would be wiped out.
She instantly regretted calling him up.
Meanwhile, the students felt the palpable threat and scrambled away from Izumi.
Koneko and the others twitched violently.
Was he planning to blow up the school again!?
Seeing them panic, Izumi burst into laughter.
"Come on, don't be scared. It's nothing."
"I'm not that careless."
He let the Magic Bullet disperse smoothly.
It was just raw condensed magic anyway—nothing dangerous to him.
Izumi's control over magic was instinctive.
There was no way it could explode accidentally.
Natsuki's eyelid twitched.
Not that kind of person?
If she hadn't known he'd already blown up a school AND a communications building, she might've actually believed him.
Teaching this guy was exhausting.
Seeing her defeated expression, Izumi took pity on her and stepped back into line.
Natsuki continued teaching the others.
Even though Magic Bullet was the most basic spell, the students practiced with enthusiasm.
Only when afternoon classes ended did they finally stop.
After school, Izumi didn't linger.
As for the special training he promised Rias, he wasn't in a hurry.
He'd wait until they were prepared.
On the way back with Le Fay and the others—
Deep within a small alley in Kuoh Town, a spatial tear suddenly split open.
A moment later, a twin-tailed girl with long, perfect black legs was spat out of the portal.
She landed on the ground hard, wearing a stunned expression.
"Where… am I?"
"Why was I teleported here!?"
She was completely bewildered, unable to understand what was happening.
When she glanced at the glowing red markings on her hand, her brows furrowed sharply.