Chapter 256: Gasper Vladi
Since developing relationships with classmates was off-limits—and they even had to avoid the appearance of impropriety—Toujou Basara and the Pervert Trio gradually became friends.
Because of his association with the Pervert Trio, his reputation took a slight hit, but it wasn't too severe.
Toujou Basara was somewhat similar to Haruto in that he didn't care much about others' opinions and preferred to follow his own heart.
Back when he was watching The Testament of Sister New Devil, Haruto had admired Basara's decisiveness in pursuing multiple beauties without hesitation—unlike Issei Hyoudou, who talked big but never took the initiative when it mattered.
If it weren't for the heroines throwing themselves at him in various ways, his harem dream would never have come true.
After becoming friends with the Pervert Trio, Toujou Basara learned a lot of information—though, naturally, most of it revolved around various girls.
For now, he had no plans to pursue romance. With the affairs of the Brave Clan, matters concerning his two mothers, and issues with his own cousins still unresolved, he simply didn't have the mental space for it.
Still, that didn't stop him from discussing cute girls with his friends, just like any ordinary high school boy.
Unlike the Pervert Trio, however, he kept the conversations normal, similar to how he would talk with Haruto.
Whenever the Pervert Trio tried to drag him into perverted or lewd discussions, he would simply play dumb and stay silent.
After hearing Toujou Basara's explanation, Haruto smirked and slung an arm around his neck.
As expected of the man I admire—so reassuring.
Haruto was about to chat more with his future brother-in-law when he suddenly sensed something off.
This is... Gasper activating his Evil Eye?
Noticing Toujou Basara's expression had also turned serious, the two exchanged a glance and spoke in unison, "You sensed it too?"
"Incredibly strong power," Toujou Basara instinctively clenched his right hand.
Blessed with the equally broken ability of Banishing Shift, he naturally possessed resistance to various abnormal states.
"Yeah."
Haruto nodded. He had detected the momentary anomaly through sheer strength.
"Sorry, let's continue this another time."
Whether as a student council member or a member of the Gremory family, he had an obligation to investigate why Gasper suddenly activated his ability.
The time-stop ability, if not properly controlled, could easily lead to disaster.
"Do you need my help?"
Although Toujou Basara was still undergoing rehabilitation training and his hands trembled slightly when holding a sword, he still wanted to help his friend share the burden.
Because Haruto was close to the Naruse sisters, Toujou Basara naturally felt a kinship with him.
Moreover, the two got along extremely well. If Haruto weren't constantly surrounded by women, they would definitely be the classic best friends.
Even so, Haruto remained Toujou Basara's best friend—no one else came close.
When people click, they don't need long periods of interaction—it's like they've been friends forever at first sight.
When they don't click, no amount of time together will make them more than nodding acquaintances.
"No need, it probably isn't anything serious."
There shouldn't be any danger within Kuoh Academy. It was more likely that Gasper, being too adorable, had become popular and gotten frightened by the enthusiastic students.
He already struggled to control his Evil Eye, and once stimulated, it could easily trigger his time-stop ability.
Haruto rushed to Class 1-F and carefully searched the area, but couldn't find any trace of Gasper.
After expanding his senses, he finally detected the other's presence in the women's restroom at the end of the staircase.
"Ding ling ling—"
The class bell rang, startling the students of Class 1-F.
"Huh? Is break time already over?"
"Yeah, that was fast..."
"Alright, no complaining. Next period is math, so hurry up and get ready."
"Oh no... I was planning to finish my homework during the break. I'm doomed now."
"Speaking of which, where's Mr. Vladi?"
"I don't know, he just suddenly disappeared."
Amid the chaotic chatter in the classroom, Haruto quickly made his way to the girls' restroom.
Class had already started, so aside from Gasper, there shouldn't be anyone else in the girls' restroom.
Well, even if there were other girls, Haruto wouldn't care.
He'd played around in the girls' restroom many times before, but the breaks were always too short—he could never fully enjoy it, so he gradually lost interest.
"Gasper."
Standing before the innermost stall in the girls' restroom, Haruto called out, "I forgot to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Haruto, from Class 2-A. I'm not only a member of the student council but also part of the Occult Research Club."
After a long pause, the stall door slowly creaked open. A cute, short-haired "girl" in Kuoh Academy's female uniform timidly peeked out, revealing half of her body.
"W-what do you want from me, meow..."
"...Could you drop the speech quirk?" Haruto rolled his eyes, complaining.
He could accept the cross-dressing—in his previous life, all sorts of cross-dressing had become playthings for various male public figures.
But this "meow" speech quirk felt weird once he remembered it was coming from a boy.
"O-okay.Gasper's slender shoulders trembled, his delicate, pale face looking pitiful and wronged, evoking a desire to protect him.
Haruto couldn't help but sigh. "If you're this scared, why even come to school? You used your Evil Eye ability earlier to freeze time for the entire class, didn't you?"
"I-I didn't mean to."
Gasper explained softly, "They were all crowding around me, and some were getting handsy. One even tried to lift my skirt... I got scared and..."
Class 1-F did have boys, but like the overall situation at Kuoh Academy, there were only a few in each class.
With the arrival of a new golden-haired, short-haired, flat-chested beauty, the boys were thrilled but had no chance to approach her.
Gasper's appearance could charm both boys and girls, and coupled with his pitiable aura, the girls were especially enthusiastic.
In such a crowd, there were always a few bold ones, which ended up frightening Gasper.
"Do you plan to keep coming to school?"
"...Yes." After hesitating for a moment, Gasper nodded gently. "Even though I was scared, everyone seems nice. I'll try my best to adapt."
Haruto didn't press further about why he suddenly decided to attend school. Whether he preferred to be a shut-in or live a normal life was Gasper's own choice.
But since he was here now, some things needed to be clarified in advance.
"If you've decided to attend school, you can't stay in a regular class."
Haruto said, "Also, your documents and contract need to be reworked."
Currently, the actual authority at Kuoh Academy lay with Rias.According to reason, the previous administration should have informed her about Gasper.
But for some reason, Rias knew nothing about Gasper, and Haruto had been considering when to bring it up with her.
Gasper's potential was undeniable. Although Haruto wasn't keen on having males in Rias's peerage, if it was a cute, golden-haired cross-dresser... he could barely accept it.
Of course, it would be better if he didn't have to.
Gasper seemed reluctant, as this meant one more person would learn about his true gender.
"This is necessary."
If Gasper's power goes out of control a few more times, more people are bound to notice. Rias and Sona definitely wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.
By then, it would be impossible to hide the fact that Haruto had been in contact with Gasper. After all, it was Tsubaki who handed Gasper's information to him that day.
After the documents and contracts were sorted out, not only would Gasper need to be transferred to the inner academy, but he would also require specialized training to help him master the power of his Sacred Gear as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if he kept freezing time at random, the people around him wouldn't be able to handle it.
The feeling of temporal distortion was truly unpleasant.
After Haruto reasoned with him and appealed to his emotions, the adorable blond cross-dressing boy finally agreed.
Mainly because it was useless for him to refuse—Haruto would still tell Rias about his situation anyway.
After school, Haruto led Gasper to the Occult Research Club.
"President, Akeno-senpai, good afternoon."
After a brief greeting, he explained the situation regarding the blond cross-dressing boy.
"A half-blood vampire..."
Rias looked at the uneasy Gasper and said, "I've heard about you. It caused quite a stir back then."
Five years ago, when Gasper's Sacred Gear ability first awakened, various factions tried to claim him.
Even the vampire clan that had expelled him got involved. Later, he suddenly disappeared—turns out he was hidden by the Gremory family.
As for why Rias didn't know about it, it was because the previous demon responsible for the Kuoh Town area from the Gremory family had betrayed them.
However, that guy was quickly found and killed by the Gremory family.