On the other side, Rai Hikaru and Nanatsuoi Akane had just reached the front of their classrooms.
Stopping at his own door, Rai Hikaru gave her a polite nod, then turned and walked straight into the room.
Watching his back as he decisively disappeared inside, Nanatsuoi Akane opened her mouth, hesitated, and ultimately swallowed the words she wanted to say.
She had wanted to thank Rai Hikaru again and maybe even become friends with him.
After all, he had not only saved her, but he also had a pretty good-looking face.
It was not anything as dramatic as love at first sight, but who is not at least a bit of a face-con?
Of course, Nanatsuoi Akane only had a favorable impression of Rai Hikaru. She just wanted to get to know him as a normal friend, that was all.
Just as she was sighing over the missed chance, Rai Hikaru suddenly turned back and stepped out of the classroom again.
"Oh, right. Nanatsuoi," he said, giving her a reminder. "If that bastard Coach Higashi ever tries to threaten you again, or makes any kind of move on you, tell me immediately."
With that, Rai Hikaru turned and went back into the classroom once more.
Nanatsuoi Akane did not even have time to feel happy about him coming back out before she was staring at his retreating back again.
"I…"
She had been just about to say they should at least exchange contact information, but the moment passed and the words died in her throat.
"Why does it feel like… Rai-kun is more concerned about Coach Higashi than he is about me…?"
Nanatsuoi Akane could not help mumbling under her breath.
Blessed with a beautiful face and an impressive chest, she was more than used to male attention and random guys trying to hit on her.
Yet today she was struck by the strange realization that this boy, Rai Hikaru, seemed oddly indifferent toward her, and somehow more focused on Coach Higashi than on her.
"It must be… just my imagination. There's no way Rai-kun would be interested in Coach Higashi. I'm seriously losing it."
Shaking her head with a helpless little laugh, she tossed the weird thought out of her mind and turned to head back into her own classroom next door.
"I'll just go ask Rai-kun for his contact info after class," Nanatsuoi Akane decided silently.
In truth, she had no idea.
Rai Hikaru really was paying more attention to Coach Higashi than to her.
For now, crushing NTR scum was Rai Hikaru's top priority.
As for a girl like Nanatsuoi Akane, who already had a boyfriend, he did not feel any particular urge to get involved.
And to be honest, compared to a young girl like Nanatsuoi, Rai Hikaru's tastes leaned more toward mature women like Miss Mira.
…Though using the woman who had raised him, Miss Mira, as an example felt a bit off somehow.
…
"How many Pure Love Points did smashing that bull-headed Coach Higashi earn this time?"
Earlier, Rai Hikaru had been too busy punishing the cuckold bull to pay attention to the system notifications. Now that he was back in his seat, he finally opened the Pure Love Point log.
[Ding! Detected that the host used his wits to successfully thwart Coach Higashi's attempt to threaten Nanatsuoi Akane, thereby spreading the spirit of pure love!]
[Reward: +50 Pure Love Points!]
[Ding! Detected that the host used 'bird-and-eggs obliteration' on bull-headed Coach Higashi, ruthlessly crushing the arrogance of a cuckold and spreading the spirit of pure love!]
[Reward: +100 Pure Love Points!]
"So that's two separate rewards, for a total of 150 Pure Love Points. Added to the 30 I had before, that's 180 points. Still only enough for a single ten-pull," Rai Hikaru calculated.
Compared to what he had earned helping Yukino Fuyu, this was barely half, but that was understandable.
Yukino Fuyu was a yuki-onna, not an ordinary human.
As for this Coach Higashi, if Rai Hikaru hurried up and killed him, he would probably drop a nice chunk of points as well.
"Guess I'll burn it on a ten-pull first."
Rai Hikaru did not hesitate.
In this chaotic world, any extra power was worth grabbing. Leaving points to sit was a waste.
[Ding! Spinning the wheel…]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host, you have received: 'Pure Love Warning Paper Crane x10'!]
[Pure Love Warning Paper Crane: A tool that aids the host in spreading pure love! The host can assign a crane to track a specified target. The host can view through the crane's eyes at any time. When something that may conflict with pure love is about to occur around the target, the crane will automatically send a warning back to the host and help him lock onto the target's location! (Note: Target selection is limited to female individuals who have interacted with the host or left an impression on the host.)]
[Shop updated: 'Pure Love Warning Paper Crane' now available for exchange, 10 points each!]
"Oh? Now that's useful."
Reading the item description, Rai Hikaru raised an eyebrow, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
He already had his Qi-Sight, but he could not keep his gaze glued to every heroine who might trigger a "plot."
In this world, there were many heroines—and even more bulls.
Relying on Qi-Sight alone was not enough.
Some heroines were off in completely different directions from him. Right now, while he was at school, he could not even check on how Miss Mira was doing at home.
With these Pure Love Warning Paper Cranes, he could keep an eye on key women like Miss Mira, as well as each heroine he discovered.
The cranes were like tiny flying cameras with built-in premonition functions.
For example, if he had sent a crane to tail Nanatsuoi Akane earlier…
Then the moment she'd decided to head to the storage shed to meet Coach Higashi, the crane would have immediately warned him.
In other words, this was a highly practical tool.
With Qi-Sight as his close-range detection, the Pure Love Cranes as long-range surveillance, and the Clear-Heart Amulet as his final safety net…
In this chaotic world crawling with bleached-hair punks and NTR bulls, Rai Hikaru finally had a bit of confidence in his ability to better spread and protect pure love.
Thinking it over, Rai Hikaru materialized one of the paper cranes and studied it in his hand.
He noticed the crane had a kind of stealth coating. It looked transparent and shifted color to match the background.
Unless someone already knew it was there and stared hard, they would never notice it.
"Perfect. It's basically an invisible drone with a built-in camera. That's damn nice."
After experimenting for a while, Rai Hikaru sent out his first Pure Love Warning Paper Crane.
Its surveillance target was none other than the busty baseball club manager he had just helped—Nanatsuoi Akane.
He watched as the Pure Love Crane did not fly toward the neighboring classroom, but instead headed in the direction of the athletic field, which surprised him a little.
But remembering that his Qi-Sight had shown Nanatsuoi would be safe for the short term, and that the crane had not sent any warning signals back, Rai Hikaru lost interest in whatever she happened to be doing.
…
At that moment, Nanatsuoi Akane had no idea Rai Hikaru had already dispatched a paper crane to monitor her in the name of pure love.
She was, in fact, at the athletic field.
In a secluded corner.
Staring at the boy in a baseball uniform, bat in hand, she asked in confusion, "Shoya-kun, class is about to start. Why did you suddenly message me and call me out here?"
Katase Shoya did not answer her question right away. Instead, he spoke urgently.
"Nanatsuoi, you shouldn't call me by my given name. Didn't we agree that even in private we'd use surnames, so we don't slip up during club activities?"
"If Coach Higashi finds out there's something going on between us, I'll be kicked out of the baseball club. My dream will be over."
"For the sake of my dream, Nanatsuoi, you really have to be more careful."
Watching Katase Shoya's anxious, solemn expression as he lectured her about caution, Nanatsuoi Akane felt a twinge of helplessness.
He was worried about the coach finding out they used each other's given names, but today Coach Higashi had already threatened her and tried to assault her.
If Rai Hikaru had not saved her, there was no telling what would have happened.
Yet the boy who had promised to be with her after graduation—her "future boyfriend," Katase Shoya—was still hung up on how she addressed him.
For the first time, Nanatsuoi Akane felt a faint sense of fatigue toward him.
Still, she could not tell Katase Shoya any of that.
So she forced a small smile and replied, "All right, Katase-kun, I'll be more careful. So why did you call me out in such a rush? If it's nothing important, I should get back to class."
Maybe it was because class was starting soon, or because she had nearly been assaulted by Coach Higashi today, and Katase Shoya's biggest concern was still just how she addressed him. Either way, impatience crept into her voice.
Katase Shoya, hearing only the edge in her tone and not understanding the reason, felt irritated.
He glared at her and demanded sternly, "Akane, didn't we agree that once I get a good result in the big baseball tournament, we'll go public with our relationship and officially be together?"
He had only just finished warning her to stick to surnames and not use given names where anyone could hear, and now he was the one calling her "Akane" out loud.
Nanatsuoi Akane was not thrilled, but she knew he would not bring that up without a reason.
So she did her best to keep her mood in check and answered with a smile, "Yeah, we agreed on that. What about it?"
Katase Shoya suddenly raised his voice.
"Nanatsuoi… are you seeing some other guy?!"
The abrupt accusation left Nanatsuoi Akane completely stunned.