Hikari answered the unexpected call with a puzzled look. This wasn't a number he recognized.
"My name is Rikka Sumeragi," the voice on the other end stated smoothly. "I've heard you've been looking for a part-time job?"
"Yes, that's right," he replied.
"We happen to have an opening right now," she continued. "You're attending that high school in Edogawa, correct? After your classes, I'll arrange for a car to pick you up for an interview. Just wait outside the gate."
"An interview?" Hikari echoed, still a bit thrown off.
"Yes," Rikka's tone was calm but assertive. "While you were highly recommended, this job is quite important, and we're only taking one candidate. So, an interview is necessary."
Hikari paused but then nodded. It clicked—'this must be the part-time job Miss Mira mentioned setting up for me.' He didn't expect an interview, which made it sound more formal than he'd anticipated.
'Well, at least it sounds legit.'
Most people might consider a call like this too strange to be anything but a scam, but Hikari felt reassured by Miss Mira's involvement. Plus, with his enhanced physical abilities and martial prowess, he could handle any surprises.
———
When classes ended, Hikari stepped outside, spotting a sleek luxury car parked near the gate. The driver, wearing sunglasses like a bodyguard, waved him over, and he climbed in.
What he didn't realize was that three familiar figures had been trailing him: Reina Hamazaki and her two friends, three lively gals who'd been planning to follow him home for a surprise party. But their plans took a hit the moment they saw Hikari being whisked away in a luxury car.
"What kind of guy has a private car picking him up from school?" Reina gaped.
"Did you see that driver? He looked like a secret agent." one of the other girls gasped.
"Don't tell me Hikari's some sort of heir to a huge corporation?" The usually unflappable Riri, also from a wealthy family, looked equally stunned.
The three girls could only stare in disbelief as the car disappeared from view, leaving their plans dashed for now.
—
Meanwhile, Hikari was equally taken aback when he stepped out of the car to find himself at the gates of Seika Private Girl Academy.
The private all-girls school, renowned for educating young ladies of high social standing, was the last place he'd expected to be brought for a job interview.
The phone call had been so formal, he'd imagined working at some corporate office or maybe a prestigious company. But here he was, at a school filled with high-class young ladies.
"Could this be the Seika Private Girl Academy job I've been hearing about?" he muttered to himself, feeling his expectations shatter.
Despite his doubts, he was tagged in and taken to a building where a health check awaited him—a prerequisite for the interview, the staff explained.
"Alright," Hikari thought, shrugging off the oddity. Some jobs had strict health requirements, and a medical exam wasn't all that unusual. But this one…
"Please remove your jacket," the female staff member instructed coldly.
Hikari looked around and saw others—muscular men, middle-aged guys—all stripping down for the examination. Not wanting to stand out, he complied.
Though he looked young, Hikari's sculpted physique drew plenty of curious stares from the older candidates, some even chuckling as if to mock him.
But when he pulled off his jacket, silence swept through the room. His athletic build—lean yet muscular, perfectly proportioned—put even the older candidates to shame.
The examiners' eyes lit up, and the female staff's gaze lingered as she cleared her throat.
"Proceed to the next step," she said, a bit breathlessly. She reached out to him for further checks, but Hikari hesitated.
"Is this…a regular exam?" he asked, a bit wary.
The woman shot him a deadpan look. "It's all standard procedure. Just relax."
Reluctantly, Hikari allowed her to complete the checks. The process involved everything from body fat measurements to stamina and overall health. There was even an activity level check, which only deepened his sense of foreboding about this mysterious job.
More than thirty minutes later, Hikari and the remaining candidates stood before the school doctor, who reviewed a list.
"Hikari, Kawakami Naoto..."
The doctor read out only three names. Everyone else was dismissed, leaving only Hikari and two others who'd passed.
The female assistant from earlier approached him. "Follow me to the private room, please. We'll need some detailed photos for the headmistress to review."
He followed her reluctantly, stepping into a private room where, once again, he was asked to remove his jacket for a photo session. She took several photos, scrutinizing him with every click of the camera.
It took all his self-control not to walk out. He had a feeling he knew what this job entailed, but part of him couldn't help but stick it out to see if his suspicions were right.
——
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the administrative building in Seika Private Girl Academy, Headmistress Rikka Sumeragi reclined in her chair, her elegant legs crossed as she reviewed the photos her secretary had just brought in.
"These are the final candidates who passed the physical screening?" she asked, barely glancing up.
"Yes, Headmistress," the secretary affirmed.
Rikka skimmed the first few photos, her face impassive. "This one's…decent, but hardly impressive. Next."
The second candidate's photo fared even worse in her view, drawing a soft sigh of disappointment.
But when she flipped to the last set of photos, her eyes widened, and she instinctively drew in a sharp breath.
After a moment, her expression darkened as she turned back to her secretary, cold fury simmering beneath her polished exterior.
"Who took these photos? They're utterly ridiculous. Completely overdone. Do you really expect me to believe a human have something like that?"
Her irritation was unmistakable as she glared at the photo in her hand, almost daring it to prove her wrong.
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