Haruto never expected that Sakura, who usually carried herself with such dignified grace, would be so emotionally fragile when it came to love.
Not that it was a bad thing—just a bit of a headache.
After hesitating for a while, Haruto decided to comfort her first.
"Miyajima-senpai, I didn't mean to deceive you. I was just joking at first, but I didn't expect you to…"
Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes, suppressing her grievances as she sniffled. "I'm not stupid. It's my own fault. I was the one who… who…"
Before she could finish, she nearly burst into tears again.
"Alright, alright, no more crying."
Haruto pulled her into an embrace and whispered by her ear, "You might be in danger soon. That's why I came here—because I was worried about you."
Sakura stopped sniffling and looked at him suspiciously.
She suspected this scumbag was deliberately diverting her attention, but Haruto's expression didn't seem fake.
"What danger?"
"I can't tell you what kind of danger yet."
Haruto paused, seeing Sakura Miyajima's obvious "you're lying through your teeth" expression, and could only add: "After school... I'll wait for you at the school gate after school. We'll go to your place together, and I'll explain everything in front of your parents."
Only then did Sakura stop crying with half-belief, breaking free from Haruto's embrace.
"Fine. If it's true, I'll let the way you took advantage of me just now slide."
"Well that's not..."
Never mind, never mind. After finally calming her down, better not stir things up again...
Haruto glanced at Sakura and swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
"Uh... okay."
"Hmph!" Sakura stamped her foot and stormed off angrily.
If no talent was detected, that would be one thing. But since it was, whether it counts or not isn't up to you to decide.
Watching Sakura's graceful retreating figure, Haruto couldn't help but think this.
...
...
After parting ways with Sakura, Haruto returned to Kuoh Academy.
Attending regular classes was optional for him. Though he hadn't been a top student in his past life, his grades had been decent enough, and he could handle ordinary high school coursework without issue.
Moreover, now that he had joined the hidden academy, the expectations for his academic performance had lowered even further.
As long as his abilities were sufficient, he could easily enter Kuoh Academy's university division.
The only thing he needed to be mindful of was that prolonged absenteeism might lead to expulsion.
Under normal circumstances, Rias and the others usually studied diligently at school during the day and took on missions at night.
If there was a particularly troublesome request, it would be scheduled during holidays.
If he wanted to frequently go out during class hours, it would be best to get Rias's permission and use mission assignments as an excuse—that way, the school administration wouldn't come after him.
As Haruto was pondering how to bring this up with Rias, Koneko appeared in his classroom, grabbed him by the collar, and began dragging him out.
"Hey, hey, Koneko… slow down," Haruto said with a pained expression under the judgmental gazes of his classmates.
He tried to struggle but found that the petite white-haired girl was using considerable strength. Afraid of tearing his only uniform, he had no choice but to bend slightly and let her pull him along.
Was this really necessary just because he skipped half a day of class?
"No. Akeno-senpai said I have to bring you to her in person."
The white-haired loli remained expressionless, her small frame radiating an intimidating aura.
Students in the hallway quickly stepped aside, clearing a path for her while casting curious glances at the somewhat disheveled Haruto.
The two of them were the center of attention the entire way, and it wasn't until they entered the club building that the strange stares finally disappeared.
Haruto didn't even need to ask to know what those people were thinking.
No doubt they were spinning tales about how he could sink so low as to prey on such an innocent, pure little girl.
Thanks to the rumors from before—along with the fact that he was often seen with Reina, Tsubaki, and Akeno—the impression of him as a womanizing scoundrel had already taken root.
Some troublemakers had even taken to giving him unflattering nicknames in private, like "pretty boy," "predator," "playboy," "male incubus," or "the fourth member of the pervert trio"…
Unfortunately, no matter how harsh the nicknames were, there were still plenty of girls willing to engage in a purely physical, no-strings-attached exchange with Haruto.
After all, being able to share the same man as Tsubaki and Akeno? That was something to brag about!
"Koneko, you can let go now… don't worry, I won't run."
"No."
Haruto leaned in and whispered into Koneko's ear, "I'll buy you ice cream after school."
The white-haired loli glanced back at him coolly before continuing to drag him forward—though she did switch from gripping his collar to his sleeve.
"Haaah…"
Letting out a long exhale, Haruto quickly straightened up and stretched his stiff body.
"Koneko, why did Akeno-senpai suddenly send you to get me?"
"Don't know." The white-haired loli shot him a look. "She wanted to find you this morning, but you weren't here. Then Akeno-senpai's expression turned really scary."
"Did someone visit Akeno-senpai earlier?"
"Don't know."
"Did Akeno-senpai receive anything?"
"I don't know."
Haruto's lips twitched as he replied helplessly, "Then what do you know?"
Koneko shook her small head before suddenly saying, "I know you promised to buy me ice cream after school."
Haruto rubbed his head, speechless.
He knew his unreliable master wasn't dependable, but it seemed he'd still underestimated her.
Then again, looking at it another way, the problem probably wasn't too serious. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Koneko coming for him—Akeno would have come personally.
Not to mention waiting specifically until he returned to school...
Haruto didn't believe Akeno lacked the means to track him down.
"We're here."
Pushing open the door to the Occult Research Club, Koneko tugged at Haruto and announced, "Akeno-senpai, mission accomplished."
"Good work, Koneko." Akeno set down the photos in her hand. "Go rest now. I need to talk with Haruto alone."
Before leaving, the white-haired loli mouthed a reminder at Haruto not to forget about the promised ice cream.
"..."
Haruto rolled his eyes, signaling for her to leave already—he wasn't going to renege.
"Akeno-senpai, did something happen?" Haruto broached the topic after the white-haired loli left. "And it's about me, right?"
Akeno shot him an exasperated glare. "So you do realize? If I hadn't intervened, do you think you'd still be standing here unharmed?"
As she spoke, she pulled an envelope from the drawer, shaking out several pristine photos and handing them to Haruto.
Taking them, Haruto finally understood why Akeno had sought him out.
He smacked his forehead in frustration—how could he have forgotten such an important matter?
"That's you in the photos, isn't it?"
Seeing Haruto's reaction, Akeno already had her answer. She continued, "And you're the one who killed those men, correct? Why did you kill them?"
"They attacked first. The knives belonged to two of them."
There was no point in making excuses. Haruto had been prepared for repercussions from the start—he just hadn't expected it to be Akeno coming for him rather than the police.
"Fine, let's set that aside for now."
Having confirmed Haruto hadn't killed indiscriminately, Akeno pressed further, "Then why didn't you tell me about this immediately?"
Truthfully, this was what concerned her most—everything else was trivial in comparison.
"I forgot..."
"Forgot?!"
Akeno's beautiful eyes widened as she stood abruptly from her chair, her voice rising involuntarily.
Haruto turned away sheepishly, scratching his pale cheek before nodding.
"Yeah, forgot."
After dealing with those delinquents, he'd spent the entire night battling Touko, then busied himself gathering information about Sakura.
Upon returning, he'd been preoccupied with figuring out how to handle the hidden threat at Aiho Academy.
Akeno closed her eyes and slowly sat back down.
"So... when you skipped class this morning, it wasn't because you were worried about being arrested?"
"Ah... yeah, I had something urgent come up. Didn't have time to request leave."
Meeting Akeno's gaze, Haruto spoke earnestly, "Akeno-senpai, I'm truly sorry for causing you trouble."
Regardless of how these photos ended up in Akeno's possession or who gave them to her, apologizing first was the right move.
The fact that he was still standing here without other parties coming after him meant Akeno must have resolved the situation.
"It wouldn't have been trouble if you'd just told me beforehand."
Akeno gave Haruto a resentful glance. "We'll have to wait for the president to return now."
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