Itsuki had no choice.
Faced with the options of being teased or failing, she hesitated only briefly before making her decision.
"Anyway, all Kuromori-kun needs to do to add the buff is flick my forehead. There shouldn't be anyone at the stairs or in the utility room right now."
Taking a deep breath, Itsuki said, "I understand, I'll leave it to you, Kuromori-kun. You go to the stairs first, I'll follow shortly."
Haruto nodded, stood up, and left the classroom, heading toward the stairs.
As he passed a nearby door that was open, he couldn't help but glance inside and saw Miku sprawled out on a desk, playing with her phone.
Itsuki was extremely nervous, but Miku didn't seem panicked at all!
Haruto arrived at the stairs and happened to run into Hiratsuka coming up.
Hiratsuka's face was a little red, looking somewhat embarrassed, but after a moment, she greeted him as if nothing had happened. "Kuromori, good morning."
What else could she do?
Every time she thought about the embarrassing things she'd said in front of him, and how she'd almost taken maternity leave, Hiratsuka just wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it, never to appear again!
"Mm, good morning." Haruto responded calmly.
Seeing this, Hiratsuka, who was about to leave, suddenly felt displeased. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"None of your business."
Haruto lifted his gaze. "Hiratsuka-sensei, are you sure you don't want to go back to the office? I remember you still have things to do."
Just as Hiratsuka was about to respond, Itsuki hurried over. "Kuromori-kun, I'm here… Eh? Hiratsuka-sensei?"
Seeing Hiratsuka, Itsuki suddenly panicked.
Suspicious!
Hiratsuka narrowed her eyes, wanting to ask more questions, but seeing how flustered Itsuki was, she let it go.
She glared at Haruto without saying anything, then warned, "Class is about to start soon. Don't be running around."
As soon as Hiratsuka left, Itsuki let out a sigh of relief and unconsciously patted her chest. "I was scared to death. Why is Hiratsuka-sensei here?"
Most students seemed to be born with an innate fear of teachers, and this was particularly evident in Itsuki.
She scanned her surroundings and then lifted her face to look up. "Kuromori-kun, there's no one here now."
"Let's get started." Haruto replied, moving closer to Itsuki.
Itsuki's eyes widened slightly, staring at him without blinking.
Haruto's lips curled a little. "Itsuki, why are your eyes so wide?"
Blushing, Itsuki turned her head, avoiding his gaze. "It's… it's nothing."
"Alright, here I go."
As he said this, Haruto moved closer to Itsuki and caught a faint scent of meat buns and her own delicate fragrance.
As he got closer, Itsuki's body tensed up, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, and suddenly she closed her eyes.
Haruto watched as Itsuki tilted her head up and closed her eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling that this girl was expecting him to kiss her.
That must be what Itsuki was thinking, right?
Haruto thought for a moment, then decided to fulfill her little wish.
Maybe, with a little push from him, Itsuki would perform beyond her limits, excel, and even become a top student!
With that in mind, Haruto moved closer without hesitation, wrapping an arm around Itsuki's waist and leaning in.
"Huh?"
Just as Itsuki froze, her eyes snapped open, filled with disbelief, embarrassment, and anger.
"Ow~"
Haruto stepped back, covering his mouth, his voice muffled. "Itsuki, why did you bite me?"
Itsuki's face was flushed red, and she reached out to pinch him. "Kuromori-kun, if you try this again next time, I'll really hit you!"
❀❀❀
Time passed.
The exams were finally over for now.
When they ended, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere at Sobu High School finally became lively again.
"Hey, have you heard? A super beautiful girl appeared on the street today and got arrested by the police for beating someone up."
"Huh? What happened?"
"I know, I know! A guy tried to chat her up, and then she beat him up. They say he ended up in the emergency room."
"Wow~ Amazing!"
The discussion caught Haruto's attention.
"It's more than amazing!"
A girl chirped excitedly, "My older sister works at a TV station, so there are a lot of details you don't know. Because of this incident, many people were on edge at the time. They say even soldiers with firearms were dispatched."
"Asami, are you exaggerating?"
Asami denied, "No, my sister told me this herself. There's no mistake."
"And guess what happened next?"
"That girl must have been arrested, right?"
"Are you going to say she escaped?"
"Wrong!" Asami said enthusiastically, "Not only did she not escape, but she also took down everyone!"
"And my sister said someone even fired a gun, but the girl was fine!"
"Asami! What you're saying is too exaggerated!"
"Yeah! In real life, how could someone be that strong?"
"But everything I said is true."
"Asami's been fooled, clearly!"
"Impossible!"
Even though Asami tried to explain anxiously, there was no doubt that no one believed her.
Seeing this, Asami bit her lip, feeling both angry and sad.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Excuse me."
Asami turned and saw Haruto standing by her desk at some point. "Yes, Kuromori-kun?"
She looked surprised, not expecting Haruto to actually approach her.
But Asami quickly recovered and looked at him hopefully. "Kuromori-kun, do you believe what I said?"
"I believe it."
"Wow… Kuromori-kun, you're so nice."
The girl suddenly looked very touched.
Haruto didn't waste any time and asked directly, "Asami, can you show me the news you just mentioned?"
"Ah, please wait a moment."
Asami immediately pulled out her phone, quickly finding the news, and even showed him a few messages from her sister.
She whispered mysteriously, "Kuromori-kun, maybe there really are people with superhuman strength in this world."
It wasn't just a possibility, it was a fact!
For instance, the person right beside her was a genuine wild Esper.
Haruto swiped the screen to check the news.
Superhuman strength, unaffected by firearms. Even an Onmyoji couldn't easily achieve that.
A faint suspicion stirred in Haruto's heart.