After last night's battle under the blood moon—a fight that now feels like some fever-dream showdown straight out of Devil May Cry—Chihaya Aine's got a new kind of demon to slay today: Haneoka Academy's first monthly exam of the semester, where grades and college prospects are the name of the game.
Fresh off a night of duking it out with demons, and now she's gotta face a test? Even Aine thinks this is some next-level bad timing.
It hit her last night, after she took down that demon "Sho" and snapped back to reality. She got home, glanced at the calendar, and saw the circled date staring her down like a taunting imp. Sure, Aine's no slouch in the brains department—back in middle school, she was acing tests left and right. But this is high school now, first semester no less. And to top it all off? She spent the last month abroad, missing every single class of Japan's high school curriculum.
Can she really pull off a killer score with just self-study? Aine's feeling the heat.
That anxiety's still gnawing at her when she's handed the test paper the next day. Her eyes flick over to Nero Fortuna, the blonde bombshell sitting not too far away. Nero's in the same boat, relying on self-study for this exam, but she's cool as a cucumber—nothing like Aine, who's still reeling from pulling an all-nighter. From what Aine's seen, Nero could probably breeze through this test with a string of perfect scores. If Aine hadn't been caught up in all this demon-hunting nonsense, she might've had a shot at giving her a run for her money.
But then…
Her gaze shifts to the girl in front of her, Takamatsume. Almost like she can feel Aine's stare, Takamatsume turns around.
"Aine… good luck," she says with a nod, her voice soft.
Aine flashes a smile and waves back, but inside, she's kicking herself. What the hell was I thinking last night? Did I fry my brain or something?
It wasn't until she woke up this morning that it hit her—her wish was all wrong. Sure, she wanted to help Takamatsume. Sure, she planned to use that wish-granting chance from little Ace to pull her friend out of the shadows. But the way she worded it? What even was that?
"I want to protect myself, protect Lamp, protect all my friends from every accident, every danger." Seriously, last-night Aine, care to step out here and explain yourself? That wish basically signed her whole damn life away! Yeah, being "friends forever" isn't exactly rocket science, but tying her entire future to Takamatsume like that? How did that come out of her mouth? It's way too heavy!
Aine's stewing in regret until the exam bell snaps her back to reality.
No time for this. Her whole life's on the line or whatever—ugh, no, that's not the point! Right now, she's gotta nail this test.
Grades. They're the ultimate currency in the student world, the hard cash of social clout. Aine's always believed that. This exam? It's her ticket to fitting in with the class, her first step to climbing the social ladder.
No screw-ups allowed.
The spring sun traces an arc through the classroom windows. When the final bell rings, the room fills with a mix of groans and sighs—though it's not that dramatic. Haneoka's entrance exams are brutal, so most kids here are sharp enough to at least pass this test without too much sweat.
"Aine," Takamatsume says, turning from her seat in front, her voice low. "About what we talked about yesterday…"
Aine blinks, then remembers the promise she made. She nods. "Yeah, I'll swing by. You head up first, Lamp."
She'd agreed to join the Astronomy Club, which, let's be real, is just Takamatsume flying solo for now.
"Okay." Takamatsume smiles, grabs her bag, and heads upstairs.
Aine doesn't follow right away—not because she's dodging anyone, but because she's got one more thing to handle.
She quickly stuffs her books into her bag, glances at a certain seat by the window, takes a deep breath, and strides over.
The girl by the window finishes packing her bag and looks up just as Aine approaches. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, she flashes a grin and greets her first. "Yo, Aine, how's it feel?"
Feels freakin' awesome! Aine mentally gives her a thumbs-up. This is it—the moment everyone notices that the dazzling exchange student Nero Fortuna and Chihaya Aine are buddies. And what Aine's about to do next? It's gonna turn heads.
But Nero's obviously not asking about that. Aine gets it—she's talking about the exam. So, playing it cool, Aine looks away, brushing her soft pink hair with a finger, putting on a fake air of uncertainty. "Eh, it was alright… probably passed, but no way I'm topping you, Nerolo."
She lets the nickname slip, and there's no need to say more. The classroom goes quiet, eyes locking onto them, waiting for Nero's reaction.
That nickname's a bombshell, and it's making waves. Aine's heart's pounding a bit, though—she remembers Nero didn't mind the nickname when they went shopping together, but this is a different scene. If Nero shows even a hint of annoyance or surprise…
But her worries are for nothing. Nero tilts her head, her golden hair catching the sunset like some angelic halo—no, scratch that, to Aine right now, she is an angel.
"Is that so?" Nero says with a smirk. "I've got a feeling your scores might just edge me out, Aine."
Yes! That's it! Nero's playing along like the nickname's old news, and Aine's eating it up. Her show-off side's having a field day. She tosses out a few more "Nerolo"s for good measure—stuff like, "Nerolo's got no weak subjects" and "Nerolo's totally fine"—before dropping the next big bomb.
"By the way, Nerolo, you haven't picked a club yet, right?"
"Nah, still on the fence. What about you, Aine?"
Perfect. Nero's making this almost too easy.
"Me? Thinking about the Astronomy Club," Aine says, dropping the hint. "Didn't you say you were into stars too, Nerolo?"
And then, the final explosion.
"'Cause, y'know, we hit up that planetarium together last time."