"...Kosaka Wakamo."
He tried to sound calm as he spoke her name.
But he could feel the faint tremble in his voice.
And Wakamo trembled too—was she laughing with excitement at sensing his fear?
Yes, he was afraid of her.
Even though he was called "sensei" and she was a student, by status he should have been superior...
Reality said otherwise.
He was a regular human being. Even with a trained body, a bullet could kill him.
Students, on the other hand, carried firearms and had superhuman physical abilities. Their halos made them nearly invulnerable to normal weapons.
The difference in power was absolute.
Wakamo was said to have required an entire special forces unit under the direct command of the General Council President just to be barely subdued and captured. Her personality was wild and unpredictable—she was one of the most dangerous and uncontrollable students.
If she bore any malice toward him, all he could do was stall for time and hope help arrived.
Her eyes, gleaming with mockery and wild instinct, made his hair stand on end. He felt like a rabbit under the gaze of a top predator. His heart pounded uncontrollably.
"Wakamo…" He forced calm into his voice. "Are you here for me?"
She only giggled softly. Her charming voice sent chills down his spine.
Then Wakamo walked straight toward him.
Run? Fight back?
No, he couldn't escape, and he couldn't resist.
He stood frozen, overwhelmed by his own helplessness.
He cursed himself. How could he forget—this place was hell.
In Kivotos, this massive city filled with monstrous "students," gunfights broke out everywhere, all the time.
Even if it wasn't Wakamo, even getting caught in a gang scuffle could seriously injure him.
Arona had told him that if he kept the "Shittim Chest" with him, she could help deflect bullets and block impact. But it consumed power.
A few stray bullets were manageable. But if he took a direct hit or something beyond its limit, the battery would run out—and he'd be helpless.
He didn't doubt Wakamo could deal that kind of damage.
If only he had that kind of power...
Lost in self-pity, he watched as Wakamo approached.
He could only pray—pray that she didn't mean him harm.
"I finally~ finally get to see you again~ my dearest~"
…Had his prayer been answered?
That way of speaking… could Wakamo have known him before he lost his memory?
He quickly dismissed the thought. Rin had told him personally—he was an outsider, invited into Kivotos.
According to public information online, Wakamo was a student of Hyakkiyako.
So, surprisingly, she turned out to be the type who naturally gets close to others.
Regardless of the truth, he decided to stay calm and composed, suppressing his fear as he met her gaze directly.
Then, right under his watchful eyes, Wakamo reached up and removed her fox mask, revealing a stunningly beautiful, fox-like face, tinted red as if illuminated by fire.
She was undeniably gorgeous—but not quite as pure as Yuuka. That was his honest assessment.
He realized it was rude to keep calling them "aliens" in his head. From now on, he'd just refer to them as "students." After all, in this world, there wasn't much difference.
Remaining silent, he continued to look at Wakamo, waiting for her to speak.
Instead, she seemed flustered and averted her eyes.
"Being stared at like that by you... even I would get embarrassed... Just your gaze alone makes my body restless," she said with a shy laugh.
He was truly speechless. He didn't know how to respond. Still, at least this wasn't the worst-case scenario—she wasn't trying to kill him.
If anything, she seemed genuinely interested in him. That was… probably a good sign.
He let out a relieved breath.
But Wakamo, standing so close, immediately noticed. Her body stiffened, even her large fox tail snapping straight.
Tears quickly welled up in her eyes, her thin eyebrows drooping as though she might cry at any moment.
No—she actually started crying.
Big teardrops streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him wide-eyed, voice trembling.
"Are you… afraid of me? Did I trouble you? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… I just really wanted to see you. Please forgive me—wahh!"
Before she could finish, she suddenly collapsed to the ground, covering her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
He had never seen anything like it.
Suppressing the discomfort he felt, he crouched beside her and gently patted her back, trying his best to comfort her. He explained that he had simply misunderstood her intentions.
But upon hearing this, she cried even harder. She clung to him, repeating "I'm sorry" over and over again, smearing his clothes with tears and snot.
What a troublesome student.
She hadn't tried to kill him, but in a way, it felt like she was killing him emotionally.
After about two or three minutes of comforting her and repeatedly assuring her that he didn't hate her, Wakamo finally began to calm down.
"Sensei…" she murmured from his arms, her voice raspy and teary.
"I'm here," he replied.
"I'm sorry… for such a fortunate reunion to end with me acting so undignified… and… so shamelessly clingy."
"We only met briefly in the basement of Schale, right?"
"Hehe… I fell in love with you at first sight…"
And with that, he finally understood.
Her feelings were just expressed too strongly—too intensely.
Honestly, having someone express affection toward him should've made him happy. But with a "student," it was hard to feel truly happy.
It wasn't that he was entirely unhappy—just that, besides a bit of joy, there was mostly exhaustion and confusion.
He wasn't sure if his comfort came from genuine empathy or from fear born of the imbalance in power between them.
He had promised not to hate her, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of her—the fear of her overwhelming strength remained. He didn't hate Wakamo. He hated himself.
He wanted to cry too.
He just wanted to send this student away and go back to Schale to rest.
With these increasingly self-loathing thoughts, he forced a fake smile and said some meaningless pleasantries.
He politely declined Wakamo's offer to clean his now tear- and snot-stained clothes. After they added each other on Momotalk, they went their separate ways.
Even now, no public safety bureau, life security division, or disciplinary committee from other schools showed up.
On the way back to Schale, as he passed a street near Gehenna Academy, he caught sight of four students playing Russian roulette.
One red-haired, horned student took a shot to the temple, but emerged unscathed. She just groaned, "Why do I always lose…" before eagerly starting another round.
It made him feel like he was hallucinating.
His chest, which should've felt cold from Wakamo's drying fluids, was instead burning hot.
Only when he returned to Schale and took off his clothes in front of the washing machine did he realize—it wasn't an illusion.
At some point, a mysterious card had appeared in the pen pocket of his shirt.
It probably wasn't something Wakamo had slipped in.
After throwing the dirty clothes into the machine, he sat shirtless on the cold floor and studied the card.
Just as he focused entirely on it, a light screen suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. When he read the content, an indescribable joy surged through him.
[Solidified Authority]: [Beauty of the Yokai Fox]
[Description]: Grants the bearer beauty akin to a yokai fox
[Source]: Successfully captured Wakamo's heart
He jumped up from the floor and rushed to the mirror, inspecting his face—but saw no changes.
A prank?
Just as that thought formed, the card grew warm again.
When he looked at it again, the screen had changed slightly.
Authority merging...
[Beauty of the Yokai Fox] has merged into a higher authority
[Solidified Authority]: [Beauty that Captivates the Yokai Fox]
[Description]: Grants the bearer beauty that captivates yokai foxes
[Source]: None
"...Heh..."
He tried not to laugh. He really did.
But why hold back?
"Haha… Hahahahaha!"
He couldn't contain the joy any longer. He laughed wildly in the Schale laundry room, tears streaming down his face.
So he could obtain power after all. So he did have a chance to take control of his life.
All he had to do… was make those "monsters" fall in love with him, just like Wakamo did.
Fine.
Was it deceit to manipulate a girl's feelings?
He didn't care. Only by gaining enough power could he stop fearing the students—only then could he treat them as equals.
So, if someone thought he had betrayed sincere feelings, he wouldn't apologize.
Looking at his determined reflection in the mirror, he smiled with newfound resolve.
"I will make it happen."