"Please open your biology book to page 13. We will do a round of diagnostic questions to see if all our previous studying was worth it." Mr. Kurosawa ordered.
Shinka, seated behind Shizumi and Kaede, obeyed to the letter.
But his body was on autopilot.
He wasn't really paying attention to the class.
His gaze was fixed on the school's field visible through the window.
There he could see a friendly baseball game.
It seemed like two youth teams from the school, competing to see who were the best in the club.
It was nothing new.
This was how they chose who would be substitutes and who would open the field.
The balls hit by the bat now looked slow compared to the speed he had once seen. Of course, the boy understood it was due to his superhuman perception.
'Can I still take advantage of my system in this world...?'
The answer was simple: No.
'In a normal world, this system would have helped me overcome everyone on the planet. I could have been great in any sport or career I set my mind to.'
The limitations weren't due to lack of motivation, but to lack of practical reason.
Now, tied to the supernatural world, having a job as a professional player or any kind of activity that would make Shinka's life more hectic and/or public was instantly discarded.
Shinka thought that perhaps he could start a business, invent some technology, or something similar when he needed a certain alibi and a large flow of money once he graduated.
There was no need to hurry regarding that topic, since the first thing was to reach the necessary level of strength to be able to defend his ideals.
While watching the game unfolding, he managed to see someone achieve a Home Run.
The ball left the field, and the kids started running.
However.
Thump!
One slipped badly.
Shinka could see how a sharp stone even managed to penetrate the boy's skin.
"Damn it, Hairo, are you okay?!"
"Damn, no... It hurts!"
The boy managed to sit up. Everyone could appreciate his torn pants and bleeding knee.
A fall that initially seemed stupid really had serious consequences.
The coach finally ran to reach his star player.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does it hurt, Hairo?"
"11! Coach, I think... I won't be able to participate in the tournament."
'Humans... We are really fragile.' He couldn't help but feel pity for his own species.
'We pale in comparison to all the other species inhabiting the world. Although on Earth we believe we are the owners, the truth is we are cows in the slaughterhouse for another species.'
He reflected for a few moments on this idea.
'Even Sacred Gears, created and given by God, were snatched from humanity's hands by the whims of devils. By the whims of organizations with ambiguous morality. Everything that makes a human powerful seems destined to be stolen.'
If the world really had someone to take care of humans from supernatural beings, then this life of his would be much easier.
His sister would still be by his side, being an ordinary human.
His mother, perhaps, would still be alive.
He wouldn't have to distance himself from his best friends.
For a second, Shinka Kusaka imagined a table surrounded by all those people now missing from his life, and the people who one day might be missing because of the supernatural.
He couldn't help but clench his fist.
Because it was so unfair.
'This world, is so unfair.'
Because everything. Absolutely everything, would be easier if...
'If all supernatural beings didn't exist.'
That was the truth.
Shinka's expression was now a bundle of confusion and anger.
All the good cheer he had feigned since waking up was gone.
"Kusaka, do you hear me?"
Kurosawa's voice reached his ears forcefully, pulling him out of his reverie.
"A-Ah! I'm sorry, Mr. Kurosawa. Could you repeat the question?" The boy's expression relaxed instantly; he put on an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head.
The classroom erupted in slight laughter.
But this Shinka didn't care.
Professor Kurosawa just adjusted his glasses.
"Silence. Don't mock your classmate. Judging from one's own perspective is exactly what we seek to avoid by training you in these schools." The professor was harsh.
Even the Saint Sisters and Kusaka seemed surprised.
"My question was: What is a Eukaryotic Cell composed of?"
Shinka waited a few moments before answering, to keep up appearances, and proceeded: "They are composed of a defined nucleus that protects the DNA, cytoplasm, plasma membrane, and various specialized membrane-bound organelles."
"Correct. Now you, Masahiro. What is a Prokaryotic Cell composed of?"
"What? Me, professor? Come on, I even brought you an apple today!"
"If you don't know the answer, you don't have the right to mock anyone." The professor continued choosing students who had mocked Shinka to ask.
Kusaka felt internally happy.
Not because they humiliated others just to vindicate him, but because someone wanted to put others in their place.
. . .
RIIING!
The school bell rang.
"Ahhh! Finally, bento time!" A boy in the classroom stretched as if he had endured real torture.
Shinka got up from his seat out of inertia before realizing he didn't know exactly where to go.
"Kusaka-san, we're going to have lunch on the rooftop. Are you coming?" Shizumi kindly invited.
Behind her, he could clearly see Kaede with an expression of "You're coming, or I'm dragging you."
"Uh... Sure, let's go."
Screech!
The rooftop door opened with a slight squeak.
"I've always wondered why the rooftop is always so empty in this school." Shinka whispered.
"Shizumi and I imbue it with magic to make people not feel like coming up here."
"W-What? Are you serious?"
"Of course. Although nothing ever happens in Takido, sometimes there are things to deal with. Coming here makes it easier to leave the school for any setback."
"Besides, it's a very quiet place, and you can see a good part of the city from up here." Shizumi added.
"Well, put that way, it sounds reasonable." Still, a drop of sweat ran down Shinka's cheek.
The three sat on a bench, observing the blue sky making drawings with the clouds.
"Kusaka, aren't you eating?" Kaede asked, taking out a bento.
"Not usually. I'm not a big fan of food."
"Are you serious? That's a problem because Kede and I made this for you." The kinder of the sisters extended her hand with a box.
'Is this...?'
"A Makonouchi Bento?!" He said, truly surprised.
Inevitably, he averted his gaze to the two girls.
Kaede was visibly more flushed than her sister.
"Dad said you looked like a noodle, so..." She didn't finish speaking, simply averted her gaze.
Shinka's expression softened into a genuine smile.
He remembered a conversation he had had with his unbearable teacher.
[Flashback]
Shinka was lying on the grass.
His chest rose and fell. It inflated and deflated just like a balloon from exhaustion.
"Do all kids trained by the Church really go through this type of training?"
Raymond huffed mockingly.
"There are much worse trainings than the physical one, kid."
With pain, Shinka managed to sit on the grass.
"I guess you're talking about indoctrination then."
"More or less."
The boy remained silent, as if contemplating a great mountain in the form of a question, until he finally decided.
"I don't know if I should ask, but... How do your daughters endure it?"
Raymond, for his part, looked up at the sky, seeming to seek words from his God.
"Well, Shinka, the path we've chosen is a lonely one. Indoctrination isn't just for religion and faith, but also to be able to control our loneliness."
The man, seasoned in a lifetime of the same profession, didn't try to hide his melancholy.
"I didn't take you in just because you have potential, but also because they are lonely... And these days, finding someone who can survive in this complicated world as a truly free human is difficult. Especially at your age."
Shinka didn't speak, because he didn't know how to respond to Raymond's thoughts.
"Over time they'll start to get closer to you. They'll do many things that might make them seem like social misfits due to their lack of interaction with other people their age, so there will be occasions where anyone could misinterpret things. Just keep that in mind when interacting with them."
"I understand..."
"It's always more likely that what they're looking for is simpler than it appears. And, kid... Don't try anything with my daughters, or I'll kill you." The man's aura changed completely.
'A-Are you a priest or a devil?!'
[Flashback End]
"Thank you so much! I really like Makonouchi Bento a lot!" He smiled genuinely while playing with a strand of his hair.
'I absolutely don't like Makonouchi Bento at all!'
He began to eat at the same time as the other two girls, convincing himself that the taste was mental and he just had to ignore it.
He could even feel certain skills leveling up in his system from holding back the nausea.
And, when all seemed lost!
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
"—流れる時の中 瞬く!" — His phone's ringtone started playing.
Cough! Cough!
'Th-Thank God!'
Like a bolt of lightning, Shinka took his phone out of his pocket and hurried to answer.
"Raymond? What's happening...?"
The girls waited expectantly.
'Why is Dad calling Shinka directly?!'
Kaede slightly felt that her role as the main one was being relegated.
"I understand. We'll take care of it right away." He hung up immediately.
"Two Stray Devils appeared in Takido. One high-level and one medium-level."
"I-Impossible!" Both sisters said in unison.
"Takido is usually very quiet, but lately there has been a lot of activity." Shizumi seemed really worried.
"We'll have to think about the possible causes when we're done with those things. Raymond will take care of the high-level one. Get up, we have to be quick."
"Yes!"
The expressions of the three were serious.