He had only just been released from that duty a few days before, so it had been a while since he walked to school with his bodyguard like this.
“Wh-what does that matter? Are you stupid?”
Even when they had gone to school separately, they still lived together and were in the same class. They were together for more than twelve hours every day and that had only been reduced by one hour. Ange blushed and pouted her lips when the boy celebrated the end of that.
“Well, I can understand being happy you don’t have to see that awful girl.”
“Awful girl? Shirohara-senpai isn’t that bad.”
“Hah. She used any excuse she could to restrict your actions. And for what? Who even knows. She’s a stalker.”
She sure is mad, thought Mutsuki with a bitter smile.
For him, waking up at five had been difficult, but preparing for the cultural festival with the student council had been fun.
“You shouldn’t talk about people behind their back, Jiyuuni Ange.”
“Wah! Sh-Shirohara-senpai.”
They had just reached the last stretch to the school at the top of the hill and someone had caught up from the other side.
It was Shirohara Ren, the one person Mutsuki did not want to meet now. So he panicked.
Ange, however, frowned in annoyance and then smiled belligerently.
“Oh? I thought ‘stalker’ was how the human world referred to girls who restrain their target of observation without considering his feelings.”
“I was educating Fujita Mutsuki to correct his depraved ways, not restraining him.
It is true I had him help with my duties, but he agreed to it.”
Ren’s expression did not change, but she too was belligerent.
“And even if I hypothetically did restrain him, any complaints about it should be directed at me. Doing it when you know I am not around is still the act of a coward.”
“What!?”
“You heard me!”
“C-calm down, you two.”
The two glared at each other and were ready to start fighting at any moment.
Mutsuki tried to stop them, but taking neither side only got him ignored here.
“Hi, Mutsuki. And Jiyuuni too. …Oh, President.”
“Ah, g-good morning, Sakae.”
Luckily, his friend saved him. His childhood friend, Tomono Sakae, caught up and slapped him on the back.
Ange was to be expected, but he was surprised to find the beautiful Student Council President here. Sakae grew more timid, but the dangerous atmosphere had been swept away all the same.
The four of them continued on to school. Ren was a third year, so she parted with
the other three on the way to their classroom.
“I see you’re friends with the President now.”
“Y-yeah. Seems that way.”
“Introduce me next time. As the man who will one day stand in the center of the world, I must first join the student council that stands at the center of the school.”
“I’m pretty sure you can get in without using any connections.”
The more they talked about the President, the more upset Ange looked, which was scaring Mutsuki.
It was true they were friends now.
Not long ago, Shirohara Ren had seemed entirely out of his league, but they had been in contact more often recently.
——Mutsuki was being targeted by a new enemy, the Kurosaki family.
Ren had to be acting as his bodyguard too. The problem was how she and Ange, his guardian angel, did not get along. There was no change in the hostile relationship between FeTUS and the angels.
Mutsuki did not want to be mean to either one, but he could not stand this strained atmosphere either.
If possible…
“Oh, ha ha. Right on time again.”
Hearing Sakae, Mutsuki looked out the window.
The school gate had just closed and Ibekusa Machina had passed through just as it did.
“That’s so incredible. Lately, she’s not even off by a single second.”
“Yeah.”
As always, her behavior was as accurate as a clock or a machine.
Just like a machine, Machina spent every day exactly the same.
…If possible, he wished Ange and Ren could be their usual selves like that.
(Not that mentioning it would help.)
Mutsuki continued on to their classroom.
“Good morning, Ange-chan. Mutsuki-kun and the rest too.”
“Morning, Mutsuki-kun.”
“Good morning, Kurikara-san and Lucia-kun.”
He exchanged greetings with his classmates like normal.
Saya energetically waved and Lucia leaped at him as he walked to his desk.
“Hey, hey, Mutsuki-kun. I’ll be doing a costume check for that band today.”
“Really?”
They naturally split into a girl group and a boy group.
They mostly talked about the cultural festival that was coming up soon.
Ange was representing the class in a play. Lucia had been invited to perform the
vocals for a band.
With the festival so close, the class was full of energy even in the morning. Even cynical Ange seemed to be looking forward to it, so the strained atmosphere faded.
With the activation of the Serpent’s Eye and a war between heaven, earth, and hell, he had a lot more to worry about than half a year ago, but recent days had been enough fun to forget all about those things.
He wished things could stay like this forever.
He wished Ange, Lucia, Ren, and the rest of FeTUS, the angels, and the demons
could stay the way they were.
If only they could all be as unchanging as Machina…
“Oh, good morning, Ibekusa-san.”
“Good morning.”
Exactly five minutes after passing through the gate, Machina reached the
classroom.
She arrived at her desk like normal and set down her things like normal.
“…”
“…? What is it?”
But one thing was different today.
She would normally sit down and wait for their teacher without speaking a word.
But today, she did not sit down and she instead approached Mutsuki’s neighboring desk.
The boy, Lucia and Sakae who had gathered with him, and Ange and Saya who were at the desk behind them were all shocked.
This girl rarely tried to interact with others, but she bent her hips like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Hm? What is it, Ibeku-…”
She invaded the boy’s most delicate area.
A sweet and soft sensation sucked at his lips. He froze in place, initially unsure what had happened.
“Huh!?”
“Ah!?”
“Ehhhhh!?”
After one second, everyone around him leaped to their feet.
“Pwahhh! Wh-wh-wh-wh-what!? What, Ibekusa-san!? What!?”
And a second after that, the boy shook free of the lips that had stolen his for a total of two seconds.
Machina said nothing and simply stared at him.
She was always taciturn, but things were different today. Mutsuki simply panicked.
“…”
He failed to escape when her lips approached once more.
“Fujita-kun…”
“Ah…”
She completely ignored everyone’s eyes on them.
And their lips came together once more…
“Stooooooooooooooooooooop!!”
But Ange and Lucia stopped her first.
“Pant, pant.”
Everyone in the class settled on the story that Machina had “collapsed from anemia” and her lips had “coincidentally landed on” Mutsuki’s. Ange, Lucia, and Mutsuki himself accompanied her out of the classroom.
“Just write me up a report later.”
They were lucky the school doctor was so lax. Without asking many questions, the
four of them were given some time in the infirmary together.
“What were you doing back there!?”
Ange instantly snapped at the girl.
Machina was as emotionless as ever.
“Kissing.”
“I could see that! But why did you suddenly kiss him!?”
“…”
“Don’t fall silent! Mutsuki! You say something too!”
Ange called over to Mutsuki.
“Nmphh… L-Lucia-kun, not now.”