Under the gaze of the entire class, Kenmyo Isayama spoke those words. Ignoring the resentful eyes of the chubby boy in the back row, he continued:
"I will give it my all in the next exam to improve myself."
"Please keep a close eye on me in the coming days. If I do anything wrong, please tell me immediately."
"That is all."
Clap, clap.
As the homeroom teacher, Asagi-ane was the first to lead the applause. Then came the class representative, Eru Chitanda, and soon the applause spread until the entire class was joining in. Even the tearful fat boy had no choice but to clap for Kenmyo.
Kenmyo caught the look Asagi gave him, nodded, and turned to head back down.
There was no other way. Back in the car, Asagi's "disappointed in his lack of ambition" expression made him feel like she was angry enough to bite his head off. Thus, Kenmyo made this promise, repenting in front of the whole class.
Only then did Asagi reluctantly let him off, warning him not to play games. If his next exam results didn't break into the top fifty of the grade, the consequences would be dire.
In truth, the condition of being in the top fifty was quite lenient. With only about 120 students in total, fifty was just slightly above average—a goal achievable with some hard work and grit.
Before stepping off the podium, Kenmyo specifically glanced up, only to see Eru Chitanda watching him with wide, curious eyes.
Especially when his gaze met those crystal-clear, violet pupils, she immediately reacted like a startled fawn. A beautiful flush crept across her face, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. Her reaction was that of someone caught peeking, so shy she wanted to bury her head in the sand.
It didn't seem faked; it was likely her true nature.
Unexpectedly pure, Kenmyo thought with a trace of amusement, but the doubt in his heart only deepened.
The more innocent Eru Chitanda appeared, the more curious he became about her connection to that girl in the snow-white shrine maiden outfit he had seen. Why had a mere fragment of a vision inflicted such severe mental pollution on him? And what was the deal with that nearly materialized black aura surrounding her?
As Kenmyo focused his gaze, endless crimson mist suddenly billowed from her, and Cursed Energy as black as ink, formed from concentrated resentment, swirled around her.
Kenmyo immediately averted his eyes, and the abnormality surrounding Eru Chitanda slowly vanished.
If a Cursed attack were triggered at school, Kenmyo's guilt would be heavy; no one else possessed the power to resist. Aoyama Academy was a school for ordinary people; those with even slight Cursed Energy fluctuations were few and far-between.
There was no Cursed Energy fluctuation from Asagi-ane either, but Kenmyo did notice several objects on her person emitting a "Cursed Spirit" purification effect with an impressive aura. They were likely charms or amulets provided by her family; such items would keep Grade 3 or lower Cursed Spirits at bay.
It was peaceful.
For a moment, Kenmyo had lowered his guard. Who could have imagined that such a terrifying existence resided among his own classmates? Merely looking at her directly triggered unknown changes that filled Kenmyo with dread.
If the Cursed Energy level formed by the resentment of his sister Sakura's transformation was a 10, then the overflowing energy Kenmyo saw on Eru Chitanda was at least 300—possibly more. Because that was just an unconscious fluctuation; it hadn't even been mobilized. The gap in quantity and grade was on an entirely different level.
If he were to put the Collar of Khorne currently around Sakura's neck onto Eru Chitanda, its durability would likely drop to zero and snap instantly.
Returning to his seat, Kenmyo remained shaken, especially by the last words the girl spoke before the vision faded.
"Soon... I will come find you."
Kenmyo knew this was no joke. On his arm, a blood-red cherry blossom petal symbol had suddenly appeared, accompanied by a sharp, burning sensation.
This was definitely not a good thing.
The girl eaten by the tree was certainly dead given the circumstances. If she had specifically left a mark to find him, would it be as a human? She would inevitably become something similar to that cherry blossom tree of unknown horror.
It was almost laughable—until now, the most powerful Cursed Spirit Kenmyo had encountered was only a Grade 2, which had provided quite a "small" shock to his soul. But compared to that tree where sanctity and evil coexisted—which effortlessly tore the ground apart to reveal a sea of terrifying Cursed Energy beneath its roots—the Grade 2 spirit was a joke. It was like a chick in front of a Tyrannosaurus Rex; it couldn't even make a ripple.
It was no exaggeration to say that was the strongest monster Kenmyo had seen in his life. Being targeted by such a horror made his skin crawl.
Damn it, was this school cursed for him? On his first day back, he looked at a pretty classmate twice and got branded by an unknown entity promising to find him. How unfair was that? One look and he's "guilty."
Kenmyo felt like a complete idiot for using Psionic energy to peek at Eru Chitanda. He tried to wipe the mark away with his power, but even after consuming 40 Mana points, the color didn't even fade.
Adding the 20 points lost to the [Calm Mind Incantation], Kenmyo only had 30 Mana points left.
Rounding it off, he was bottoming out again. His "stamina anxiety" returned. He immediately stopped using Psionic energy. If he kept testing it, he wouldn't even have enough mana to launch an attack if real danger appeared.
Yet, danger also meant opportunity. If he could absorb all that abyss-like Cursed Energy from that tree, how many simulations could he run?
But he could only dream for now. He had to study.
Seeing Asagi-ane looking at him with an unfriendly gaze, Kenmyo pulled out the textbooks he hadn't touched since his last attendance and began self-studying.
Even though it had been a long time, the benefit of having 9 Intelligence manifested immediately. His learning ability wasn't poor to begin with—before his "class change" to a [Psyker], the system had rated his Intelligence at 6 (with a +2 bonus after the change).
Asagi was teaching advanced Mathematics. After fifteen minutes of self-study, Kenmyo had caught up to her current lesson. He took out his pen, looked at the example on the blackboard, and solved it in a few strokes. When she revealed the answer, he checked—it was perfectly correct.
Solving one example meant little, so he pulled out his previous exam paper from his desk—it was blank except for his name. Otherwise, given his foundation, how could he have ended up in last place? He had passed the elite entrance exam, after all.
An hour and a half's worth of problems were finished in fifteen minutes. He solved the fill-in-the-blanks at a glance except for the last one; for the short and long-form questions, he skipped steps and arrived at the answers in just a few lines.
He secretly pulled out his phone, checked the answers posted in the class group from the previous exam, and stuffed the paper back into his desk.
All of this was witnessed by the fat boy sitting behind him.