"Then I'll head back to school. Thanks for the Coke."
At the entrance of the café, Shin bid farewell to Yukinoshita Haruno—his expression and tone as indifferent as when he had first arrived.
But unlike Shin, Haruno's face now bore a look of dejection, clearly still reeling from her recent failure. After all, it had been a chance to awaken "supernatural powers"—the ability known as a "Stand" had been right before her, yet she lacked the necessary potential.
As a result, she had neither become a Stand user nor secured Shin's agreement to take the Yukinoshita family under his wing—her mission had ended in failure.
The moment she realized she had no Stand potential, another thought had flashed through Haruno's mind:
If I don't have the potential… maybe Yukino does?
For Haruno, as long as a Stand user emerged from the Yukinoshita family, it didn't necessarily have to be her. If Yukinoshita Yukino could become a Stand user, perhaps Shin would still agree to accept the Yukinoshita family's allegiance—after all, Stand users held value even to the Shiomiya family.
But she quickly dismissed the idea.
Haruno cared deeply for her younger sister. She had shouldered the family's burdens precisely so that Yukino could grow freely in her own way.
Taking over a major family's affairs might sound impressive, but the pressure it brought was incomparable. Haruno had no desire to see her sister shackled by such responsibilities.
Of course, the truth was that Yukino also lacked Stand potential—Shin had already tested her during their previous encounter.
"It seems there's no other way…"
Haruno sighed helplessly and prepared to leave. In her eyes, lacking Stand potential meant she had completely missed her chance with Shin—unless he could somehow grant Stand abilities to those without innate potential. But to Haruno, that seemed far too unrealistic.
True to her word, when Shin returned to the classroom, another teacher was already conducting the lesson.
However, upon seeing Shin, the teacher simply nodded and allowed him to return to his seat without further comment. It seemed Haruno had already spoken to Hiratsuka Shizuka, who in turn had informed the other teachers, hence their lack of concern.
Once seated, Shin immediately felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, he saw a message from Megumi—unsurprisingly, she was asking about the woman from earlier, clearly concerned about whether another girl would be joining Shin's household.
Shin smiled wryly and explained Haruno's situation. There was no need to hide it—he had already told Megumi about Stand users the day before, so she would understand Haruno's intentions.
Soon, the remaining class time passed in conversation between Shin and Megumi.
Though Megumi often chatted with him during class these days, her grades hadn't suffered at all. In fact, her recent test scores had even improved—Shin had no idea how she managed it.
After class, Shin was about to continue chatting with Megumi when someone unexpectedly approached him.
Glancing up, he was slightly surprised—it was Hayama Hayato.
Hayama was part of the class's popular crowd, and his personality was genuinely decent. He was sociable, occasionally cracked jokes, and was generally well-liked from all angles.
Shin didn't dislike Hayama, but they had never interacted much—in fact, Shin had little contact with the entire "popular" group. The few times they had crossed paths were when Yuigahama Yui invited him to join their activities, but Shin had always declined.
This time, though… Shin guessed it probably had something to do with Yukinoshita Haruno.
Due to family connections, Hayama had known the Yukinoshita sisters since childhood, and certain hints in the original story suggested he had feelings for Haruno.
There's no shame in liking an older sister. Unfortunately, Haruno seemed completely uninterested in Hayama.
But now that Hayama had seen Haruno actively seeking out Shin… he was finally feeling the pressure.
Previously, Haruno might not have shown interest in him, but she hadn't shown interest in anyone else either, allowing Hayama to comfort himself with the idea that she simply wasn't ready for romance.
This time, however, Haruno's initiative toward Shin had triggered Hayama's sense of crisis.
For the first time, he understood how Miura Yumiko felt whenever she saw Shin interacting with other girls—it really was unpleasant.
"Shin."
Though he secretly viewed Shin as a "rival," Hayama couldn't openly display his hostility. Forcing a smile, he said,
"Are you free after school today? We're planning to check out a new fast-food place nearby. My treat—want to come?"
Hayama's invitation clearly caught others off guard.
"What's up with Hayama? He's actually inviting Shin?" Ebina Hina looked surprised, glancing between Hayama and Miura Yumiko.
"Could it be that Yumiko's been hesitating for so long even Hayama couldn't take it anymore?"
"Is it really that bad?" Yumiko retorted, unable to ignore Ebina's teasing.
Unaware of Hayama's history with Haruno, they naturally couldn't guess his true motives.
"I'll pass. I've got plans after school."
Shin waved him off, declining the invitation. He had little interest in hanging out with guys to begin with, and today, he genuinely had something scheduled.
Just yesterday, he had promised Eri that after school, he would visit her home to meet her mother and have dinner with them.
Seeing Shin's refusal, Hayama couldn't press further and had no choice but to retreat.
But judging by his expression, he wasn't giving up. He would likely find another opportunity to invite Shin out and probe for information about Haruno.
Yet this only added to the growing number of people in the "popular" group trying to involve Shin in their activities.
Aside from Hayama and Yuigahama, there was also Miura Yumiko, who had been keeping a low profile…
To be continued…