"You're in."
Mr. White declared this to Takumi Kurata. Though his face bore the confident, reassuring smile that symbolized him, sweat was streaming down his face.
"No, really, I didn't expect your schoolmates to be this intense... My expectations were way off."
"I-I can still... keep going, Mr. White. I'll fulfill... the promise..."
"If you say that looking like *this*, it just makes me feel guilty! Seriously, I'm so sorry! If we keep going, you'll be in no condition to take the V.G entrance exam!! Also, why are you so hated!?"
"Because I've been, well... killing them over and over... kinda, sorta."
Mr. White told him he'd passed with four months remaining until the exam. This wasn't a doctor's stop, but a hero's stop—he'd given up trying to push any further. After all, Takumi... was now wrapped in bandages, wearing a cast, and using crutches, a completely transformed sight.
This was beyond expectations. These kids today were way too hardcore and over-the-top, Mr. White thought, feeling completely out of his depth.
"Damn it... To think they'd push me off the school roof, they're seriously trying to kill me..."
"That's not even bullying anymore, that's attempted murder... You're fully within your rights to go to the police, you know? Uh, your Guin isn't something that boosts your physical abilities or life force, right? I mean, even after they basically ripped your spine out..."
"Yeah, no. My strength doesn't allow me to regenerate or resurrect myself. This body, even like this, is just something I've trained hard to get."
At the very least, the fact that he survived being thrown off the school roof wasn't thanks to his Guin but rather the result of sheer training. That much was evident from his words.
When Takumi skillfully took off just the jacket of his uniform to reveal his bandaged body, Mr. White couldn't help but let out a gasp.
He really had been training—his physique was far beyond that of the average middle schooler.
"My doctor even warned me about overtraining... I just kept pushing myself to the limit, following the guidance I received."
"Why would you go that far...?"
"Because admiration... can sometimes make you blind, Mr. White."
It had been months since Mr. White met Takumi. While he'd occasionally sensed a dangerous edge to Takumi's pure-hearted emotions, he now finally understood what it was.
It was *fanaticism*. A dangerous, almost religious devotion to the object of his admiration—himself. Watching the boy smile despite being wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, Mr. White realized this was what had been driving him all along.
"Alright, alright... At any rate, for now, you need to heal. If you end up unable to take the exam because of injuries, it'll all be for nothing."
"Yes... I'll rest."
"Good."
And so, Takumi Kurata fulfilled his promise earlier than expected. It took him another month to make a full recovery. Then, one month after his recovery, Takumi, with a smile, told Mr. White, "I've made sure to properly thank everyone except Ozawa :)," leaving Mr. White with his head in his hands.