Episode 12: The First School Day in a While
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After finishing his mock battle with the Overlord, Kazuma found himself facing a school day.
As Kazuma put on his uniform for the first time in a while and neatened his appearance in front of the full-length mirror, he noticed a certain change.
“I’ve gotten taller.”
The sleeves of his uniform had become a little short, and the length of his trousers was also shorter.
Kazuma had finally realized that he had grown taller over the past year.
He was a man who was sharp when it came to changes in others but dull when it came to his own.
“Guess I’ll have to get a new uniform issued.”
Dressed in his now-tight uniform, Kazuma contacted Momoko to ask if she wanted to go to school together.
“Hello, Momoko-chan! Let’s go to school together!”
“I won’t be going, you know?”
“Whyyyy?!”
“I was going to the academy to monitor you. However, there’s no need for that anymore. After all, since you revealed your identity yourself, there’s no need to watch you.”
“No way! Are you saying this is the last I’ll see of JK Momoko-chan?!”
“Don’t say such weird things! I’ll send you flying!”
He would never again be able to see the twenty-year-old JK Momoko-chan.
Kazuma broke down crying at this fact.
“Ugh, uuuu… JK Momoko-chan! To think I won’t be able to see JK Momoko-chan, the one mixed in among all the fresh, young, genuine JKs anymore~”
“Don’t move from there. I’m going to blow your head off right now.”
Momoko, who understood this painfully well herself, couldn’t stand hearing Kazuma’s words.
She thought she should blow Kazuma’s head off immediately and physically destroy him so he could never utter such foolish things again.
However, her opponent was an absurd pervert, so she had no chance of winning.
Since it would just be a waste of effort, Momoko took a deep breath and calmed down.
“Huuu…”
“Eh? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing. And about what I said earlier, as I mentioned, I won’t be going to the academy. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”
“Eh! Momoko-chan, wait a second!”
“Well then.”
The call was abruptly cut, and only a hollow electronic tone remained in Kazuma’s ear.
Kazuma took the phone from his ear, stared at the now-black screen of his mobile, and sighed forlornly.
“Can’t be helped, I guess~. It would’ve been nice if Momoko-chan was here, though~”
Whatever might be said, Momoko was one of the few people with whom Kazuma could speak his true feelings.
She knew he was the Crimson Knight, and moreover, Momoko also knew that he was the Hero who had saved another world—an outlandish story.
Therefore, for Kazuma, Momoko was a precious person he could talk to without reservation.
Incidentally, Sakura Hakanai was at Ivy, being worked hard by Honoka.
With the cold season still lingering, Kazuma put on a coat over his uniform, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and headed to school alone and lonely under the cold sky.
Along the way, while seeing other students similarly heading to the Seventh Esper Academy, Kazuma cut through the biting cold wind and made his way to the academy.
After passing through the academy’s main gate and heading towards the shoe lockers as usual, Kazuma noticed many gazes focused on him.
“Hmm, is there something strange about my appearance?” Kazuma checked himself but found nothing out of the ordinary.
“In that case, there must be another reason,” Kazuma thought, touching his hair and checking his face on his mobile’s screen, but still, there was nothing strange.
(“Hmm… Curiosity, envy, awe, something like that, huh?”)
Realizing there was nothing strange about himself, the next thing Kazuma did was analyze the gazes.
Using the skills he had cultivated during his time as a Hero, Kazuma discerned what kind of eyes were directed at him and finally understood.
(“Ah, right~. It’s because I was making mochi with King at the Academy Battle Tournament, huh~”)
“I see, that explains it,” Kazuma thought, clapping his hands together with a “pon.”
Once he understood, it wasn’t a big deal.
There was no fear of assassination or attack, so Kazuma calmly headed for the shoe lockers while bathing in the numerous gazes.
Along the way, several students approached Kazuma as if to speak to him, but thanks to the footage from the Academy Battle Tournament, they didn’t dare, fearing what might happen if they carelessly engaged him, so no one spoke to him.
In the end, no one spoke to him, and Kazuma headed to his classroom alone and lonely.
Just like before, he headed to the Support Course classroom, opened the door as usual, and stepped inside, but today, things were different.
The majority of his classmates, upon seeing Kazuma enter, averted their eyes and blatantly distanced themselves as if he were something untouchable.
(“Whoa… It’s not like they hate me, but more like they don’t know how to interact with me, huh. Well, I guess it can’t be helped since I went pretty wild at the Academy Battle Tournament~”)
His classmates knew Kazuma well, but the new side he had shown at the Academy Battle Tournament was honestly surprising and also instilled fear.
He was usually a joker and a pleasant person, but they had learned that he actually concealed a ferocious nature, and they had become afraid of Kazuma.
It was understandable.
It was like finding out your neighbor was a murderer; you’d naturally be terrified.
No matter how amusing a person he usually was, they didn’t know when or where he might suddenly change.
In that case, it was safer for them to keep their distance.
(“…I really wish Momoko-chan was here.”)
As his classmates watched him with frightened eyes, Kazuma took his seat and lamented from the bottom of his heart how much he wished Momoko was there.
At least if Momoko were there, he could manage to have some fun even if it was a bit uncomfortable.
Having lost his emotional support, Kazuma’s shoulders slumped sadly, and he decided to slump over his desk to kill time.
However, there were those who wouldn’t allow that.
Just as Kazuma was slumped over his desk, trying to pass the time until morning homeroom, Kosuke arrived.
He slapped Kazuma, who was slumped over his desk, on the back and deliberately spoke in a loud voice.
“Ouch…”
“Yo, Kazuma! Don’t look so glum on the first day back at school!”
“Kosuke…”
When Kazuma looked up, he saw Kosuke giving him a thumbs-up and a wink, leaving Kazuma speechless.
Kazuma sensed that Kosuke was being considerate and smiled with his usual demeanor.
“Thanks! That wasn’t like me at all! Gahahahaha!”
“Back to your usual self, you bastard!”
Kosuke put his arm around Kazuma’s shoulder, making a ruckus.
Seeing this, the classmates reconsidered.
It was true they had been afraid after learning about this new side of Kazuma, but he didn’t wield that power recklessly, nor did he unreasonably hurt anyone.
They had known him for less than a year, but they were certain of that much, and so the classmates gradually lost their fear of Kazuma.
As Kazuma and Kosuke were talking about what happened during winter break, Taichi appeared in the classroom.
Usually, Akatsuki would have been next to him, but he was currently serving time, so he would likely never show his face at the academy again.
“Huh, where’s Akatsuki?”
Kosuke, finding Akatsuki’s absence strange, asked Taichi about his whereabouts, but Taichi shook his head and relayed the false story he had heard from Akatsuki’s parents.
“Apparently, Akatsuki left the academy for personal reasons. They say he’s doing his best somewhere else now.”
“Is that so… To leave without even a farewell.”
“…”
The two of them didn’t know, but only Kazuma knew where Akatsuki was and what he was doing.
He wished he could tell them, but it was classified information, so he couldn’t say anything.
All he could do was remain silent and do his best to nod along in agreement with Kosuke and Taichi’s conversation.
Shortly after that, it was time for morning homeroom.
Kosuke and Taichi returned to their seats, and Kazuma also faced forward, waiting for morning homeroom to begin.
Then, at that moment, a figure burst into the classroom.
The one who had rushed into the classroom just as the chime rang was Momoko.
Kazuma was surprised by the unexpected person but overjoyed that she had come to school again.
(“M-Momoko-chan! I knew it, you were worried about me, weren’t you!”)
(“Don’t misunderstand! I was just ordered by my superiors to stay by your side! Reluctantly, I’ll be attending the academy as before!”)
(“You don’t have to make excuses like that! You like me, don’tcha!”)
(“I’ll send you flying!”)
As always, the two of them conversed through glances and their inner voices.
Momoko, while glaring at Kazuma with an annoyed look, sat down in her seat and straightened her disheveled hair.