The morning should have proceeded as usual. Class 2-B was once again filled with low murmurs, the scraping of chairs, and complaints about unfinished homework. Yet amidst the crowd, one person remained immersed in her own silence.
Origami Tobiichi sat quietly at her desk. Her textbook was open before her, but her eyes weren't fixed on the writings. Her gaze occasionally drifted to the front row, toward the two people who had been dominating her attention.
Yatogami Tohka.
The girl was too conspicuous. Her aura, her face, the look in her eyes were too identical to the Spirit Princess she had been hunting. No matter how human Tohka's appearance was, Origami's instincts couldn't be fooled. She knew the girl was not an ordinary human.
But before her mind was fully consumed by calculations about Tohka, something else caught her attention.
Arashi Kaito.
The young man sat casually at his desk. Doing nothing, just resting his chin on his hand and staring out the window. Yet from the way he sat perfectly straight—not stiff, but also not completely relaxed—something troubled Origami's intuition.
It wasn't his posture that was disturbing.
Nor was it his calm expression.
But his aura.
The aura, which she hadn't realized for the past few days, now felt distinctly cold, calm, and dignified. It wasn't like the aura of a bloodthirsty warrior or a soldier full of vigilance, but like someone who was accustomed to being on a throne. A ruler. A noble.
Origami narrowed her eyes. No high school student could exude such an aura naturally. It wasn't an aura that could be trained through martial arts or physical strength. It was an aura that came from experience... or dominion.
She lowered her gaze and opened the specialized wristwatch on her left wrist—a discreetly disguised tactical system connected directly to the AST system. She subtly scanned Kaito.
Nothing.
No trace of mana. No Spirit energy. No dimensional fluctuations. No false identity. Even his heart rate and body temperature were within the normal human range.
Too normal.
And that, ironically, was suspicious.
Origami looked back towards Kaito, just as the young man slowly turned his head. Their eyes met.
Cold. Calm. Deep.
A gaze that conveyed no intention, neither friendly nor hostile—but there was an invisible pressure that made the surrounding air feel heavier.
Origami held her breath for a split second. Not out of fear, but because her body was responding to an inexplicable threat.
Kaito slightly raised an eyebrow, then offered a small smile.
Then he returned his gaze to the window, as if nothing had happened.
Origami turned her face away, but her mind was spinning rapidly.
Yatogami Tohka was clearly a surveillance target. But Arashi Kaito...
He wasn't a Spirit. He wasn't an ordinary human. And he wasn't merely a handsome transfer student popular among the girls.
He was a puzzle. One too perfect to be ignored.
Origami quietly closed her watch and wrote a small note in the corner of her book.
"Surveillance: Arashi Kaito. Status: unidentified. Risk: unknown."
And with that, for the first time since joining the AST, Origami Tobiichi marked someone who wasn't a Spirit as a potential threat.
Not because of his power.
But because he was hiding something... that even military radar couldn't detect.
And that was far more terrifying.
...
The next day, lunchtime arrived, and as usual, the atmosphere in class 2-B became livelier. The sound of chairs scraping, lunchboxes opening, and small conversations began to spread throughout the room. The mood was relaxed, cheerful, and filled with light laughter, just like any peaceful ordinary day.
Near the window, Arashi Kaito sat casually at his desk. He hadn't brought lunch and didn't seem to be planning to go to the cafeteria. With one hand supporting his cheek and his body slightly leaning back, he enjoyed the sunlight streaming through the windowpane, letting it warm his face.
No lollipop today. No book, no gadget. He just sat... silent... observing.
However, amidst the classroom bustle, the attention of most students was drawn to one corner of the room.
Itsuka Shido, sitting in his chair, looked... trapped. To his left, Yatogami Tohka enthusiastically offered him a sandwich.
"Shido! Come on, eat this! I specifically chose your favorite filling!"
"E-Eh!? Tohka, I can eat by myself..."
Meanwhile, on his right, Origami Tobiichi, with a calm, emotionless expression, offered him chopsticks holding an omelet from her bento.
"This is made with the precise nutritional ratio. Eat it."
Shido could only freeze between the two, his breath catching from the double pressure coming from both directions.
Some students whispered amusedly. Others could only sigh.
And as usual, from the desk near the window, a calm voice was heard, slicing through the atmosphere like a cold knife.
"Hooh... your lunch is quite extravagant today, Shido."
Shido turned around frantically. "K-Kaito!? Don't make it sound weird!"
Kaito opened one eye, then offered a small smile, his tone light and flat.
"I'm just stating a fact. Being fed by two people simultaneously isn't a situation you see every day. You could be a case study."
Tohka flushed. "H-Hey! It's not like that!"
Origami glanced briefly at Kaito. "There is no competition. I am merely providing energy intake."
Kaito shrugged casually. "Yeah, yeah... just carry on. I'm just an audience member today."
Shido slumped dejectedly. "Why do I feel like this is a public spectacle..."
But before the conversation could expand further—
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A sudden alarm blared throughout the room. The small light in the corner of the ceiling began to flash red. From the speakers, a mechanical voice was heard:
"Warning. Spatial fluctuation detected in the Tengu area. Students are requested to remain inside the classroom until further instructions are given."
The class instantly changed. Conversations stopped. Water glasses tipped over. Chairs scraped hurriedly. Some students stood up panicked, while others immediately moved under their desks.
Yamabuki Tamae, their homeroom teacher, reflexively stood up from her chair. "Everyone calm down! Don't panic! Stay put!"
But today, she wasn't alone.
Standing not far from her, wearing a long white coat and an exhausted yet vigilant expression, was Reine Murasame, the special consultant sent by Ratatoskr to the school to directly monitor Spirit activities.
Reine didn't move. Her eyes sharply surveyed the classroom atmosphere.
Her gaze stopped at one point.
Arashi Kaito.
Still seated in his chair, his body position the same as five minutes ago. Hand supporting his cheek, face flat, gaze calm. Even his pupils hadn't shifted from the window.
He even briefly glanced at the watch on his wrist, then let out a small yawn.
Reine narrowed her eyes.
She recognized patterns of stress—rapid breathing, dilated pupils, small body movements reflecting agitation. She had studied them for years. But Kaito... was too calm. There was no muscle tension, no fluctuation in breath.
It was as if he were not part of a world bracing for danger.
However, Reine quickly dismissed it and focused on performing her duty.
Kaito, who had seemed relaxed all along, naturally noticed Reine's movements with his observation Haki. Kaito could also sense Reine's emotions—vigilance, suspicion, and a kind of composure, perhaps...
After seeing Shido and Reine leave, Kaito also lined up with the others because it wasn't his time to move yet. Besides, the system hadn't given him a mission.