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"You two realize what time it is? Class is about to start! Do you even know that?"
"Huh?"
"Leo, Utaha, so you're finally together! I've got high hopes for you two. Keep it up, keep it up!"
The classroom door slammed open and homeroom teacher Chihiro Sengoku stormed in like a typhoon. She started out roaring… then froze mid-rant.
Her eyes locked onto their hands.
Ten fingers, tightly interlaced.
Her expression changed instantly. Her eyes lit up like she'd just struck gold. She rushed over and slapped both of them on the shoulders, grinning with open, shameless curiosity.
Leo sighed at his overly mature, overly nosy teacher."Teacher, you're going to make my little Utaha nervous."
"Oh ho? You just started dating and you're already worrying about your little Utaha?" Chihiro teased, her grin turning downright wicked.
The classroom erupted.
"This is unfair!"
"Yeah! Why are you so supportive of the class rep and Kasumigaoka-san dating?!"
At the sound of rebellion, Chihiro's aura shifted.
"You brats!" she barked. "If your grades were anywhere near Leo and Utaha's, I wouldn't care what you did either!"
Silence.
Instant, absolute silence.
The entire class looked like ducks with their throats grabbed. No one dared breathe.
Those two were monsters.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was a genuine genius. If a test was out of 100, she scored 100. No debate.
As for Natsume Leo? He wasn't just a genius. He was something beyond that. If Utaha got 100 because she earned it, Leo got 100 because the test physically couldn't contain anything higher.
"If you ever reach their level," Chihiro continued smugly, "I'll gladly stop interfering in your love lives."
She clapped her hands. "Now get back to your seats. Class is starting. I may be the art teacher, but today I'll make an exception and teach you little punks a lesson."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The moment she referred to herself as "ore-sama" in that rough, street-style tone, everyone shrank back.
No one in school dared challenge Chihiro Sengoku.
Officially, she was known as a capable and responsible teacher.
Unofficially?
She was a combat maniac.
She had once sent seven or eight delinquents straight to the hospital without breaking a sweat. And yes, Leo had taught her martial arts himself. He'd also caught her sneaking drinks on campus more than once.
Leo returned to his seat by the window, second from the back. The stereotypical protagonist spot. Utaha sat directly behind him, last row by the window.
"Class begins."
"Understood!"
Under the oppressive presence of the female tyrannosaur that was Chihiro Sengoku, the class behaved.
Well.
Everyone except those two.
The moment they sat down, they casually pulled out their phones and started using them like this was a café, not a classroom.
Chihiro didn't even glance their way.
When you're dealing with apex students among apex students, you stop trying to control them. As long as they didn't disrupt others, she couldn't care less.
Leo opened LINE, the popular messaging app. His contact list was pitifully small.
Dad. Mom. His foolish little brother Natsume Takashi. Utaha.
And two women labeled simply as "Master-san" and "Compensated Dating Girl."
His lips twitched.
He tapped.
Leo: Looks like the new semester hasn't changed much.
Little Utaha: And what exactly were you hoping would change, oh great top student?
Even through text, her personality came through sharp and elegant as ever.
Leo's smile curved slightly. If you looked closely, there was something faintly mischievous in it.
Leo: Maybe it's time to change how we address each other?
Little Utaha: Hm? Don't tell me… the great top student is planning to make a move on this pure and innocent maiden? ┭┮﹏┭┮
Leo: For example… darling. Or husband. Or—
No reply.
Using the faint reflection on his screen, Leo could see her face behind him.
Bright red.
Utaha's cheeks were flushed like ripe apples. So cute it made you want to bite them.
Then his phone buzzed.
And he saw her immediately close LINE and switch to her writing app.
Inspiration had struck. And embarrassment probably played a role too.
Leo chuckled softly and closed LINE as well, opening his own writing app.
Little Utaha: A-ah… a-anata…
"She's always this adorable," he murmured.
His fingers began to fly across the screen, the crisp tapping sound almost rhythmic, like piano keys.
The document title read: Sword Art Online.
Natsume Leo, a transmigrator, had been despised by relatives since birth, along with his younger brother. It wasn't until he met his current parents that he truly experienced the warmth of a home.
He understood the importance of money very early on.
Naturally, he had prepared.
And what he knew best were the light novels from his previous life.
With Sword Art Online, Leo had easily risen as a newcomer star in the light novel industry. He was currently writing under the circle "rougeenrouge," founded by Akane Kousaka. Thanks to his novel, the once small group had skyrocketed into a first-rate creative circle in an astonishingly short time.
For most students, the school day dragged endlessly.
For Leo and Utaha, immersed in writing, it passed in a blink.
They wrote during class.
They showed off their relationship during breaks.
At lunch, they sat on the rooftop feeding each other bites from their bento boxes.
The sweetness was so overwhelming the rest of the class felt like coughing up blood.
By the time the final bell rang, the classroom emptied quickly.
Only then did Utaha finally snap out of her writing trance. She stretched lazily, her perfectly curved figure outlined without mercy.
"Ah—"
She yelped as Leo suddenly pulled her from her seat into his arms.
His hands wrapped around her slender waist. He leaned close to her ear and spoke softly.
"Little Utaha… are you ready?"
"For what?"
"To face the truth of this world."
Her embarrassment slowly faded, replaced by determination. She nodded firmly.
"No matter what it is… I won't run away."
This relationship hadn't come easily.
She wouldn't retreat even half a step.
"Then…"
Leo drew out the word gently.
With a subtle flip of his hand, a talisman appeared between his fingers as if by magic.
He stood, still holding her.
"Once you witness the truth of this world," he said quietly, "there's no turning back."
Utaha looked straight ahead.
"Let's do it."
"Spirit Talisman — Sight."
"....."