"Kosaka Wakamo."
I spoke her name in as calm a voice as I could muster.
But I could feel my voice trembling ever so slightly.
At that moment, Kosaka Wakamo's body also trembled. Was she laughing with excitement at seeing my fear?
Yes, I was afraid of the person before me.
Although I was called "Teacher" and she was a "student," and by those titles, I should be the one in the superior position...
The reality was completely different.
I am a pure human, bare-handed. Even if my body is well-trained and quite sturdy, I would still be injured, or even killed, if shot by a bullet.
And the so-called students? They carry firearms, possess physical abilities beyond human limits, and their halos make them completely fearless against conventional weapons.
There is an absolute gap in power between us.
And Kosaka Wakamo—rumored to have required an entire special forces unit directly under the GSC President to barely suppress and arrest her, with a lawless and unpredictable personality—was among the most dangerous and uncontrollable of all students.
If she held any ill will towards me, the only thing I could do was stall for time with all my might and wait for rescue that might never come.
Being stared at by those beast-like eyes, which seemed to hold a mocking smile, the hair on my body stood on end. I was like a rabbit targeted by an apex predator, my heart pounding uncontrollably.
"Kosaka Wakamo," I forced myself to remain calm, trying to communicate with her. "Are you here for me?"
"Hee..."
She didn't answer, just giggled. Her soft, charming laugh sent shivers down my spine.
Then, Kosaka Wakamo walked straight towards me.
Should I run? Should I fight back?
No, I can't escape, and I can't resist.
I stood frozen in place, hating my own powerlessness more than ever before.
That's right, how could I forget? This place... is hell.
In Kivotos, this massive city where millions of monsters called "students" gather, gunfights erupt everywhere at all times.
Even if I didn't run into Wakamo, just getting caught in a daily squabble between delinquents would be enough for my mortal body to get hurt.
Arona had told me that as long as I carried the Shittim Chest, she could help me deflect bullets and resist impacts. But this consumed its battery.
A few stray bullets might be fine, but if I were to withstand an attack beyond its limit, the battery would run out, and I'd be a rabbit on the chopping block, at the mercy of others.
I had no doubt that Kosaka Wakamo was capable of such an attack.
If only I had that kind of power, too.
As I wallowed in self-pity, Kosaka Wakamo had already arrived in front of me.
I could only pray fervently in my heart, pray that she meant me no harm.
"Finally~ I finally get to see you again~ My darling~"
...Had my prayer come true?
That form of address... could it be that Wakamo knew me before my amnesia?
I quickly dismissed that idea. Rin Nanagami, the chief administrator of the General Student Council, had told me herself that I was an outsider invited to Kivotos.
And Wakamo, according to public information online, was a native of Hyakkiyako.
So, was she just an unexpectedly forward type?
Whatever the truth was, I decided to remain calm and see how things unfolded. I suppressed the fear in my heart and met her gaze unflinchingly.
Then, under my watch, Wakamo reached up and removed her fox mask, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. It was as bewitching as a fox spirit's, tinged with a crimson blush that might have been a reflection from the flames.
A very beautiful aberration, but she lacked Yuuka's... purity.
That was my assessment.
It seemed a bit rude to keep calling them aberrations in my head. From now on, I should just call them students. It didn't make much difference in this world anyway.
In any case, I remained silent, watching, waiting for Wakamo to speak again.
And what I got was Wakamo looking away, seemingly flustered.
"You're staring at me like that... I... Even I get embarrassed... hehe~ Just your gaze alone, Sensei, makes it hard for me to suppress the restlessness growing in my body~"
That shut me up for real.
I had no idea how to respond, but at least this wasn't the worst-case scenario I had envisioned, where Wakamo was interested in taking my life.
From the looks of it, she did seem interested in me, which was probably a good development...
I let out a sigh of relief.
That gesture was apparently too obvious, and Wakamo, being so close, noticed it completely. Now it was her turn to freeze up.
Even her large fox tail went rigid.
A mist quickly clouded her eyes, her delicate eyebrows drooped, and it looked like she might burst into tears at any moment...
No, she really did burst into tears.
Large teardrops streamed down her cheeks. Wakamo's eyes widened, her voice trembling:
"Are, are you scared of me? Is Wakamo causing you trouble? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to, I just wanted to see you so badly, please forgive me, waaaahhh~"
Before she could finish, Wakamo abruptly squatted on the ground, covered her face, and began to wail.
I had truly never seen a scene like this before.
Suppressing a faint sense of revulsion, I squatted down beside Wakamo, patting her back while comforting her as gently as I could, trying to explain that I had misunderstood and thought she was a bad kid looking for trouble.
Hearing this, Wakamo cried even harder. She threw herself onto me, repeating "I'm sorry" over and over, smearing my clothes with tears and snot.
Sigh, what a troublesome student.
She wasn't trying to kill me, but this was killing me in a different way.
I must have spent a good two or three minutes consoling Wakamo. Only after repeatedly assuring her that I didn't hate her did her sobbing gradually stop.
"Sensei."
Wakamo's voice, from my embrace, was low and hoarse, still tinged with the sound of crying.
"Yes, I'm here."
"I'm sorry. To have such a fortunate reunion, only to let you see me in such an unseemly state, and-and to have acted so shamelessly... sniff~ clinging to you like that."
"We only met once in the Schale basement, right?"
"Heehee... It was love at first sight for Wakamo..."
It dawned on me. So that was it.
She was just expressing her feelings in an overly intense and heavy-handed way.
To be honest, under normal circumstances, I would be happy to receive such affection. But with the other party being a... student, I couldn't bring myself to be happy.
It wasn't that I was completely unhappy, but beyond the happiness, there was more weariness and confusion.
How much of my willingness to comfort Wakamo was genuine sympathy, and how much was due to the power imbalance between us?
I promised I wouldn't hate Wakamo, but that didn't stop me from fearing her—fearing the power she had to kill me so easily. I didn't hate Wakamo; I hated myself.
Ah, I really want to cry too.
I need to send this student on her way and get back to Schale to rest.
With this ugly thought, which only made me loathe myself more, I put on a fake smile and said some meaningless pleasantries to Wakamo.
After politely declining Wakamo's offer to wash the clothes she had soiled with her bodily fluids and adding each other on MomoTalk, we parted ways.
Even by then, no one from the Public Security Bureau, the Life Safety Bureau, or any other school's disciplinary organization had shown up.
Walking back to Schale, on a street near Gehenna Academy, I happened to glimpse four students playing Russian roulette.
One of them, a red-haired student with long horns, was shot in the temple. She was completely unharmed, merely letting out a cry of "How did I lose again?" before eagerly starting a new round.
This scene gave me a strange sensation.
My chest, which should have felt cold from Wakamo's drying fluids, was burning hot.
It wasn't until I got back to Schale and took off my shirt in front of the washing machine that I realized something.
It wasn't a sensation.
Sometime, somehow, a card had appeared in the pen pocket on the front of my shirt.
I doubt Wakamo put it there.
After tossing my dirty clothes into the washing machine, I sat shirtless on the cold floor and began to study the mysterious card.
Just as I focused all my attention on it, a screen of light suddenly appeared before my eyes. When I saw its contents, an indescribable ecstasy surged through my heart.
—
Solidified Authority: [Beauty of the Fox Demon]
Description: The holder will gain a beauty akin to that of a fox demon.
Source: Successful Conquest of Kosaka Wakamo
—
I leaped up from the floor, rushed to the mirror, and carefully examined my face, only to be disappointed to find no change.
A prank?
Just as the thought arose, the card grew warm again.
I focused my attention on the card once more. The screen of light reappeared, but its contents had changed slightly.
—
Merging Authority...
[Beauty of the Fox Demon] has been merged into a higher authority.
Solidified Authority: [The Beauty That Captivates a Fox Demon]
Description: The holder will gain a beauty that captivates fox demons.
Source: None
—
"...Hee..."
No, I can't laugh, I have to hold it in...
But why should I?
"Haha... HAHAHAHA!"
I could no longer contain the joy in my heart. I let go and burst into wild laughter, laughing maniacally in the Schale laundry room until tears streamed down my face.
So... so I can have power... So I do have a chance to take control of my own life...
All I have to do is make those monsters, like Wakamo, fall for me.
Fine.
Is this act a deception of a young girl's feelings?
Heh, only by gaining enough power will I not fear the students. Only then can I see her, or them, as equals.
So.
If anyone thinks I've betrayed their trust, I won't say I'm sorry.
Looking at my determined reflection in the mirror, I smiled with a sense of release.
"I will make it happen."
-------
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