"Okay!"
Seeing Yumiko's indifference, Hayato could only smile helplessly and shake his head. Since Yumiko wasn't willing to join, he knew Yui and Hina, who were also part of the girls' group, wouldn't go either.
"Then let's go together after school!" Hayato said, turning to Ooka and Yamato, who were both part of the current group.
"..."
Ooka and Yamato exchanged glances. To be honest, they didn't particularly care about Tobe. A friend of a friend doesn't automatically become your friend. They had an average relationship with Tobe, but since Hayato had spoken up, they could only nod in agreement.
"Sure!"
The morning classes were relatively relaxed. Ryuji sat at his desk, flipping through a book out of boredom.
When lunchtime arrived, Miko immediately came over.
"Ryuji-kun!"
At first, Miko had been shy about calling out to Ryuji in front of their classmates. But after spending so much time together, she had grown bolder, not caring about the stares from the other students. Happily, she waved to him.
Noticing Miko's call, Ryuji casually walked out of the classroom, unfazed. He wasn't hiding anything. By now, most of the class knew that the once lonely Ryuji from their class was in a relationship with Miko from the class next door.
"Ryuji's girlfriend is so pretty!"
"Man, I'm so jealous!"
"Ugh, when will I find a girlfriend?"
Most of the boys sighed. After all, they were at the age when love was a frequent daydream.
...
"You two are so close!"
On a bench in the schoolyard, Hana watched as Ryuji and Miko sat across from each other, feeding each other food. The sight made the lunch in her own hands feel a little less appetizing.
"Ah..." She sighed deeply.
Her best friend had found love, and of course, she should be happy for her. But the more she looked at them, the worse she felt.
"Hana is so pretty. I'm sure you'll find a great boyfriend in no time!" Miko smiled, noticing her friend's mood. In the past, she would've been shy about showing affection in public, but now she wasn't embarrassed at all.
"I hope so!" Hana replied with a small smile, but in truth, she didn't know what else to say.
"Don't worry!"
Ryuji patted Hana's shoulder in a natural, casual manner.
"If you hang around me for too long, it might actually become harder for you to find a boyfriend!"
"Huh? Why's that?" Hana looked at him curiously, not even flinching at his shoulder pat. She didn't seem to mind being close to Ryuji.
"Well, I'm just too handsome. If you get used to seeing a guy like me, when you meet someone else, no matter how good they look, they just won't measure up." Ryuji explained with a shrug, sounding completely serious.
"That... makes sense." Hana nodded, looking as if she genuinely considered his words. But the next moment, she lightly smacked Ryuji's shoulder in mock annoyance.
"No way! You're not that handsome!"
"Hahaha!"
Ryuji laughed and casually wrapped his arm around Miko's shoulders, playfully raising his eyebrows at Hana.
"Miko, tell her! Isn't your boyfriend the most handsome guy in the world?"
Knowing Ryuji was joking around with Hana, but feeling the need to support her boyfriend, Miko played along.
"Yes, yes, my boyfriend is definitely the most handsome!"
"See!"
"Tsk!"
Hana didn't say anything else, simply rolling her eyes at Ryuji's exaggerated confidence. He was definitely thick-skinned, but at the same time, she couldn't really deny that he was attractive with his short wavy hair and bright red eyes.
After a bit of playful teasing, the group settled into their lunch. Ryuji, however, was subtly brushing against Hana and Miko intentionally, attempting to trigger another entry. Although the probability of repeatedly triggering entries on the same person wasn't high, persistence would eventually pay off.
And sure enough—
"Successfully contacted a target: Yurikawa Hana!
A golden entry has been triggered. Do you want to load it?"
It worked! And it was a golden entry this time.
Ryuji was a bit surprised and immediately checked what kind of talent entry it was.
"Golden Entry: Monster-attracting Physique!"
A Monster-attracting Physique? In simple terms, it meant having a body that attracted monsters to come closer.
No wonder Yuri Kawana was always prone to strange happenings.
"Loading!"
This time, Ryuji didn't choose to decompose the entry. His Soul Devouring ability needed cursed spirits and monsters to grow stronger. This newly gained Monster-attracting Physique meant Ryuji wouldn't even have to go looking for cursed spirits they would come straight to him!
...
While Ryuji enjoyed his leisurely lunch, across campus, Yukino was finishing hers in a hurry. As soon as she was done, she headed straight to Shizuka's office.
"What did you just say? You want to give up the commission?"
Hearing Yukino's request, Shizuka was visibly surprised. It wasn't because she was against it, but because Yukino was known to be incredibly stubborn. Unless something serious had happened, Yukino rarely gave up on anything halfway through.
"Did Ryuji do something bad to you?"
"No!" Yukino shook her head immediately, worried that Hiratsuka might get the wrong idea.
She quickly explained, "I just think this commission is unnecessary. Ryuji isn't the lonely person I thought he was."
Yukino recalled that Shizuka had mentioned Ryuji was a solitary student, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
The reason he hadn't made any friends in class before wasn't because he was incapable. It was likely because he didn't care to.
After all, in Yukino's eyes, as a sorcerer no, a special-grade sorcerer how could Ryuji have the time or interest to engage in typical teenage activities like making small talk or playing games with classmates? Most of his time must have been spent dealing with cursed spirits and maintaining peace.
People are great at constructing narratives in their heads, and Yukino was no different. She had built up the idea that Ryuji, in his commitment to handling cursed spirits, had sacrificed friendships and lived as a loner because of his duties.
In fact, the reason society seemed so stable today was thanks to people like Ryuji, who silently worked behind the scenes to protect everyone, so she thought.
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