Chapter 51

The swivel chair comes to a stop.

“Aris also said the same thing. He said he would take on the most dangerous role and protect everyone.”

Before meeting Kim Deok-sung alone, the conversation she had with Saionzji Aris comes to her mind.

It was the first time in Seira’s memory that the student council president, known for being strict with others as well as herself, had praised someone.

Seira’s eyes grow heavy.

“To fight those guys...”

To protect everyone, to fight against the masterminds.

It was an absurdly reckless statement for a student, especially a first-year.

But it was also a statement that an ordinary hero candidate couldn’t make.

The opponent was a massive black curtain that had directly or indirectly killed four of the five heroes who saved the world.

Any ordinary student would surely lose their fighting spirit just by encountering a part of its true nature.

“The fight with them... It’s a story that can’t even be mentioned without a firm resolve...”

But he was different.

He declared that he would fight them boldly.

Yoshizaki Seira read his determination in Kim Deok-sung’s eyes.

But even so, it was an unreasonable request that she, as the principal, should have refused in order to protect the students.

But for some reason, Yoshizaki Seira ended up accepting it.

“Indeed, you are similar.”

Because someone came to mind.

A man with the same black hair and black eyes, whom she had loved secretly all her life.

Kurokawa Akira of the Sword Saint.

“You were also this reckless.”

A wistful emotion fills Seira’s red eyes.

“You didn’t seek personal fame, you volunteered for the most dangerous mission, and you wanted to save everyone.”

A hero drawn like a picture.

That’s why he could become the leader of Five Crowns.

A man who saved the world 30 years ago.

It’s not a coincidence.

In Kim Deok-sung’s declaration to fight the evil boldly without being intimidated, the image of the Sword Saint was reflected.

That’s why she allowed it.

“If I were 40 years younger...”

She might have really gone on a date with him.

Thinking that far, Seira shakes her head vigorously.

“To make this body feel genuine, even for a moment, what a ridiculous kid...”

Seira’s eyes narrow.

She takes a sip of the matcha on the table.

The bitter aftertaste lingers in her mouth.

“Tch. What a bothersome brat.”

Seira shakes her head.

The Sword Saint is dead.

No matter how much Kim Deok-sung resembles the Sword Saint she loved, he is not the Sword Saint.

It’s impossible for the already dead Sword Saint to come back to life.

So she must avenge him.

For his sake, even if he is dead.

Still, she can’t help but be concerned.

She feels strangely uneasy.

Swish.

As Seira fans herself with a black lace fan, the door to the principal’s office opens, and the pink-haired beauty, Mayuzumi Mai, enters.

“Principal! I’m sorry to disturb you.”

“Mayuzumi-sensei? What is it?”

“The inter-school team formation is complete! I’ve come to report to you, Principal!”

Mayuzumi Mai places the documents on the table with an energetic voice.

Her large chest sways in front of Seira.

‘Come to think of it, Akira also liked large chests.’

Seira looks down at her own chest.

A meager chest that matches her youthful appearance.

Compared to Mayuzumi’s chest, it’s like the difference between Mount Everest and a neighborhood hill.

She feels a bit irritable.

She mutters in a small voice.

“...That brat really resembles him, even in the most unnecessary parts.”

Seira puffs out her cheeks.

“Principal?”

Mayuzumi Mai tilts her head, not quite hearing Seira’s words.

Seira’s face turns red.

Swish.

She covers her face with the fan.

“It’s nothing. By the way, the inter-school training. It’s already that time, huh.”

“Right! Following tradition, I’ve formed the teams in pairs! Principal!”

As Mayuzumi reports, Seira flips through the documents.

According to the principle, male students are paired with male students, and female students with female students.

But there is one pair that stands out.

[Kim Deok-sung] [Shinozaki Rin]

The only pair where a male student and a female student are paired together.

Seira’s gaze stops there.

‘Ichiro has his eyes on the brat.’

That day, after Kim Deok-sung defeated Shinozaki Rin in their match and they had a private conversation, it was a bit suspicious.

Recently, she also received intelligence that Shinozaki Rin has been lingering around Kim Deok-sung in the academy.

‘He must have ordered his daughter to seduce the brat.’

But to use such an overt tactic.

‘I could let it slide since I’m lenient...’

But this time, she doesn’t want to let it go.

She wants to be a bit mischievous.

“Mayuzumi-sensei.”

“Yes, Principal! It’s Mayuzumi Mai!”

“Due to the model gate terror incident, I want to prioritize the students’ safety this time. What do you think, Mayuzumi-sensei?”

“I fully agree with the Principal’s opinion!”

Mayuzumi Mai smiles.

Seira’s red eyes sparkle.

“Good. Then... I will reorganize the teams. A pair of two is unstable, so for safety, a team of six would be better this time.”

She picks up a pen and starts writing names on a white sheet of paper.

[Team 2]

[Kim Deok-sung] [Kurokawa Yuji] [Ishihara Daiki]

[Nishizawa Eri] [Shinozaki Rin] [Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte]

Seira smiles as she looks at the team formation she wrote.

“Here, let’s go with this. Mayuzumi-sensei.”

“Understood! Principal!”

Mayuzumi takes the document Seira wrote, bows deeply, and leaves the principal’s office with quick steps.

Click.

The door to the principal’s office closes, and a mischievous smile appears on Seira’s lips.

“Well, let’s see how this good news goes over with Ichiro.”

She dials Ichiro’s number on her phone.

*

Tokyo.

Shinozaki residence garden.

By the pond where koi fish swim.

A middle-aged man with green hair, wearing a dark green yukata and geta, Shinozaki Ichiro, scatters fish food on the water.

As the food is scattered, colorful koi fish rise to the surface.

“Did you call me, Boss?”

A calm voice sounds from behind Ichiro, who is feeding the fish.

Ichiro turns his head.

There stands a blue ponytailed beauty in Shuei Hero Academy’s uniform, Shinozaki Rin.

“I received a call from the principal today.”

Shinozaki Ichiro’s gloomy eyes sink heavily.

Rin bows her head.

“...The team formation for the inter-school training has been changed.”

Rin’s body tenses.

Inter-school training.

The event where Ichiro had used his influence to make sure Kim Deok-sung and Rin were in the same team, with the order to seduce him.

A sudden change?

“Fortunately, you and Kim Deok-sung are still in different teams.”

“Then... How has it been changed...”

Rin asks, a rare response to the boss’s order.

But Ichiro doesn’t pay attention to Rin’s change.

“That meddlesome principal has decided to form teams of six for this inter-school training, citing the students’ safety.”

Ichiro’s eyebrows twitch.

The plan is disrupted.

While he didn’t think it was impossible, it’s unpleasant.

“You are in the same team with Kim Deok-sung, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, Nishizawa Eri, Ishihara Daiki, and... Kurokawa Yuji, a disgrace to the Kurokawa clan.”

A team formation that seems to have a purpose.

All team members are people she has some familiarity with.

Rin thinks so.

“Things have become a bit more complicated, but... Rin, your task is one. During the inter-school training, use any means necessary, even a frontal assault, to make Kim Deok-sung your man. Eliminate the other competitors. Absolutely.”

Ichiro’s gaze turns to Rin.

Other competitors.

At those words, two women’s faces come to Rin’s mind.

Her rival, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, whom she never wants to lose to again.

And Nishizawa Eri, who insulted her as a ‘muscle woman’ and a ‘woman with only fat in her chest.’

Losing to those two women is worse than death.

Rin bows her head.

“Understood, Boss.”

“Good.”

A cold smile appears on Ichiro’s face.

He turns his back and slowly finishes scattering the fish food in the pond.

Plop, plop.

The koi fish rise to the surface again.

Click.

The shishi-odoshi by the pond hits the ground and makes a sound.

*

“Hello! Students! It’s Mayuzumi-sensei! Um, so today I will announce the team formation for the inter-school training!”

HR time.

Mayuzumi-sensei’s voice rings in my ears.

The seat next to me is still empty.

Because Nishizawa is still suspended.

A stroke of luck in an unfortunate situation.

If