"Izumi Nogami, that Kazuma doesn't seem so bad after all," Minako Sanada said as she walked over and gently nudged her friend's shoulder. "He's actually quite interesting."
"Tch, what's so interesting about him? He's just a boring guy," Izumi Nogami muttered as she flicked her ponytail. "But seriously, what's going on with him lately? He's always surrounded by girls, and it even looks like he knows Tosaka Fuyuka. What happened to that quiet, invisible guy who used to go unnoticed in class?"
Why do I feel like I'm getting more and more attention these days?
"I don't know. Maybe it's just an act—some kind of inconspicuous disguise," Sae Hinata said, her eyes darting around. "Minako, you don't have a crush on him, do you? There are already so many girls around him. I don't think you stand a chance."
"Oh, that's not what I meant! I just thought it was interesting…" Minako Sanada replied, her face flushing.
"Then I'll help Izumi~"
"Huh? What does that have to do with me?"
"Izumi, didn't Kazuma seem kind of overbearing just now? He's actually a lot like you. I think you two would make a good match."
"Tch, I haven't even settled our past grudges yet. There's no way I'd—"
Even Izumi Nogami started to feel awkward at that point.
Saki Yoshida stood off to the side without joining the conversation, making her seem a little out of place. When she realized that Izumi and the others weren't paying attention to her, she blinked, didn't even spare a glance at Tazaki lying on the ground, and quietly chased after Kazuma in the direction he had gone.
"Kazuma—!"
She waved as she caught up, not forgetting to greet the others. "Oh, and Kanna Hiiragi, Tosaka-senpai, hello."
"Hello," Tosaka Fuyuka replied politely with a nod. She didn't recognize the girl.
"It's surprising that Kazuma-kun knows Tosaka-senpai," Saki Yoshida said. She naturally knew Tosaka Fuyuka's real name and how popular this famous senior was. She stuck out her tongue before getting to the point. "Um… I came to apologize for what happened earlier."
"I should be the one apologizing," Tosaka Fuyuka said, shaking her head. "I didn't expect that man to be such a scumbag. Kazuma-kun already apologized to me earlier. And I really didn't expect someone with such a bad temper—Izumi Nogami—to actually do a good deed."
Ah… no, senpai, Izumi really wasn't being kind. You've misunderstood.
Saki Yoshida let out an awkward laugh.
"You're still hanging out with them?" Kazuma asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
"Huh? We're friends…" Saki smiled awkwardly, then quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Kazuma, do you think hypnosis really exists in this world?"
She looked unusually excited.
"Izumi Nogami found a book about hypnosis somewhere and brought it to school, saying she wanted to try it out. But things like that are fake, right? There's no way real hypnosis exists."
Tosaka Fuyuka and Kanna Hiiragi both turned to look at Kazuma at the same time. He remained expressionless, as if he hadn't noticed their gazes, and answered seriously.
"Hypnosis? Of course not. That kind of thing doesn't exist. You should believe in science. Still, I get it—you girls like legends and ghost stories."
After saying that, the boy winked, casually placed a hand on Saki's shoulder, and smiled warmly. "I misspoke earlier. Actually, it's not a bad thing for you to hang out with Izumi Nogami and the others. Yoshida-san, from now on, I'll be counting on you to gather information."
"???"
Since when did I become your spy?
At last, the long noon break came to an end. Why am I this exhausted when it was supposed to be a lunch break?
Kazuma returned to the classroom and sat down at his desk, as if he had gone back to being the inconspicuous high school student he used to be. But that was impossible now. Not to mention Kanna and Akane, even the surrounding students—whether intentionally or not—were avoiding him or giving him strange looks.
All of this made Kazuma realize that he could never return to how things were before.
Akane Nanao deliberately walked past Kazuma. Just as she did, she suddenly turned around and winked at him.
"I'll wait for you downstairs after school."
After leaving those words behind, she returned to her seat.
Next came Sakurazawa Tomomi. She gave Kazuma an ambiguous smile, deliberately cupped her generous chest with one hand, and licked her lips, leaving Kazuma completely speechless.
Finally, there was the trio of popular girls. Izumi Nogami didn't seem afraid of Kazuma at all and even shot him a glare. Strangely enough, Minako Sanada smiled at him instead.
It wasn't a malicious smile, but one that was gentle, warm, and bright.
As for the fat pig in front of him, Kazuma's earlier warning had clearly worked. Even when Saki Yoshida passed by, he didn't dare lift his head.
During class, Kazuma could clearly feel the popular girls' gazes drifting toward him. After class, Izumi Nogami and the others would gather together, whispering among themselves while occasionally glancing his way.
Are they planning something troublesome?
Kazuma was completely confused when he noticed Minako Sanada walking toward him. She looked a little embarrassed.
"Kazuma-kun, do you have time after school?"
"Hm?"
"We don't mean any harm. Izumi Nogami said she found something fun and wanted to invite you to come take a look."
Kazuma's eyebrows twitched violently. "This 'fun thing' you're talking about—it's not hypnosis, is it? And why didn't you go ask that fat pig instead? Why come to me? I seriously suspect you have ulterior motives… emmmm."
Interesting.
That actually suits me perfectly.
"Sure," Kazuma said without refusing. He chuckled as he looked at the girl in front of him—and at Izumi Nogami behind her, who was glaring intensely. "By the way, you're both beautiful girls. So why do you insist on playing the villains and bullying others?"
"An overbearing attitude can be charming," he added casually, "but unfortunately, I'm not a masochist."
"Why…?"
Minako Sanada froze for a moment, then shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke with her head lowered. "B-beautiful girl… and all that…"
They really were beautiful. But because of their reputation as gal girls and Izumi Nogami's intimidating presence, no one had ever dared to say such things to them. Kazuma was the first, which made Minako feel unexpectedly shy.
"Izumi just thinks it's more interesting this way…"
"I'll try to persuade Izumi to stop making things difficult for you," Minako Sanada suddenly said, bowing deeply. "We were wrong about what happened before. I'm truly sorry."
Izumi Nogami: Minako, you traitor! You think I'm the one making things difficult for him?!
It's clearly him who's making things difficult for me!
As for the fat pig sprawled on the table in agony—those nasty hot girls actually apologized? Why was I the only one who got hurt? Why was everyone so gentle and kind to Kazuma?!
"No need to apologize. I'm not the one at a disadvantage," Kazuma said lazily, resting his chin on his hand. "Besides, Minako is actually very gentle and cute."
"W-Waaah…"
Her face flushed bright red when he called her by name. Feeling dizzy, she hurried back to her companions. Sae Hinata and Izumi Nogami stared at her in disbelief.
"Minako? Your face is completely red," Sae Hinata said.
"Kazuma… Kazuma-kun said I'm cute…"
The long-haired girl spoke in a shy, trembling voice.
Izumi Nogami's expression instantly turned ugly. "No way. Just a few nice words and you're already like this? Minako Sanada! Since when did you become so weak against men? You're tempted that easily?"
"I-I'm not!" Minako Sanada retorted loudly. "I only see Kazuma-kun as a friend, and I just admire him. I wasn't tempted at all!"
"…"
"And if we're talking about being weak against men," Minako added with a trace of jealousy, "isn't Saki Yoshida even worse than me? Her relationship with Kazuma-kun is clearly better than mine. Saki Yoshida, what do you think?"
Caught completely off guard, Saki Yoshida froze. The girl with long, straight black hair nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
"I—I don't know. I really only just met Kazuma-kun…"
Saki Yoshida lowered her head with a faint smile. Minako Sanada's gaze wandered awkwardly, while Sae Hinata watched the scene like it was entertainment. There wasn't a real conflict yet, but the atmosphere among the gyaru girls had clearly changed. As the leader, Izumi Nogami suddenly felt exhausted—this group was becoming harder and harder to control.
Kazuma… this is all your fault!
When the school bell rang, the student on duty glanced nervously at the fierce-looking girls, didn't dare say anything, and hurriedly finished cleaning before fleeing the classroom.
This was the pressure they naturally gave off.
Only Kazuma and the four girls remained behind. Izumi Nogami stared at the only boy present with a complicated expression. She really wanted to slam her fist on the desk and interrogate him, but after glancing at his collar, she forcibly suppressed the urge.
"Minako said you have something interesting?"
"It's this," she said, pulling out a black notebook. The word 'Hypnosis' was written on the cover in blood-red letters, sending an eerie chill down one's spine. "I found it in my basement. Hey, Kazuma, you should be interested too, right? Maybe it's actually real~"
It is real.
But sorry—my best friend's card has my back.
"You rich heiresses really like playing with strange things," Kazuma said calmly, though he was secretly delighted.
"That's right. Someone like me, who was born with everything, can only be interested in special things," Izumi Nogami said, her lips slowly curling into a cruel smile. "Including bullying others. That kind of pleasure is unique."
"I agree," Kazuma said, lightly tapping the desk. "Since we have common ground, what should we do next?"
Who the hell has anything in common with you?!
"Kazuma, you don't mind being a test subject, do you?"
"That's fine. Go ahead."
As Izumi Nogami seriously attempted the hypnosis, Kazuma felt the card in his pocket heating up. It was working—meaning the hypnosis was genuine.
Should he pretend to be hypnotized?
…No.
Instead, Kazuma suddenly pulled a red cloak from his system inventory.
"Reflective Cloak."
He raised the red cloak in front of him—and in the next instant, the hypnosis rebounded completely.
The four girls, including Izumi Nogami, froze in place, their eyes turning blank and unfocused.
"As expected," Kazuma muttered, "even hypnosis can rebound."
That was terrifying.
He sighed, then looked at the four motionless girls in front of him. Blinking, he picked up the black hypnosis notebook and smiled.
"Something this dangerous obviously needs to be confiscated. Hehe."
So… what should we do next?
*****
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