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Watching Andrew's back as he walked away,Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes were full of complicated emotions.
With one hand pressed over her pounding heart, that sour, aching feeling in her chest made it hard to breathe.
She couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. He had just bullied her like that, yet somehow her whole body had gone weak and tingly.
She even—without thinking—did the same thing she'd done yesterday, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Could it be… he'd cast some kind of magic on her?
That despicable jerk. She hated him!
While Yukino was silently cursing him, Andrew suddenly turned around and started walking back toward her.
Her heart skipped a beat. She instinctively stepped back two paces, crossing her arms over her chest, cheeks burning, and stared at him warily.
"What are you trying to pull now? I told you, class is about to start!"
Of course, that kind of excuse was laughably useless against a devil like him.
Andrew leaned in with a smile, reaching out his hands—
Yukino immediately squeezed her eyes shut.
Biting her lip, she felt wronged. Wasn't what he'd just done already bad enough? Did he have to push it further?
But Andrew didn't take advantage of her. Instead, he gently cupped his hands over her eyes, channeling his magic into them.
Yukino felt a warm sensation in her eyes, followed by a cooling relief.
Before she could say anything, his hands left her face.
"All done. No more dark circles. That's the Yukino I like seeing."
With that, he turned around and left for real this time.
Yukino opened her eyes, staring blankly at his back.
So… he hadn't come back to tease her more. He'd just wanted to fix the dark circles from her sleepless night?
Wait… was this guy actually… a little gentle?
No, no, no!
Yukino Yukinoshita, don't let him fool you! He's a devil—an absolute supervillain and a total pervert!
Realizing she'd actually thought of him as "gentle" made her shake her head violently, trying to fling that idea out of her mind.
"Hmph! Don't think getting rid of my dark circles means I'll forgive you. I'll still hate you, and I'll keep looking down on you!"
She muttered to herself, then suddenly remembered something.
That guy… seemed to be the type who responded better to soft treatment than hard. If she kept insulting him, would he get mad and… hug her like he did earlier?
That… could actually happen.
For a moment, Yukino was lost again, not sure how she should even act around this infuriating man.
Back at her seat in the classroom, she bit her lip, staring out the window without realizing it.
What was she supposed to do?
It really didn't feel like that pervert was going to leave her alone.
I mean, he even dared to suggest kissing her once a day.
It really seemed… like he liked her.
While Yukino's mind was in chaos, Andrew, on the other hand, was in an excellent mood.
Once he sat back down, the grin on his face just wouldn't fade.
Teasing the second lady like that and ending up in a great mood—yeah, he really was a bad guy.
But he didn't mind being that kind of bad guy.
After all, playing the bad guy meant you could get sweet rewards faster.
If he tried to play the "gentle male lead" role, who knows how long it would take just to hold her hand?
Even Haruno had made her move already. Facing a defiant second lady like that, how could he possibly hold back?
This pace felt just right.
Feeling pleased, Andrew reached out and poked the slender waist of the girl in front of him—Kato Megumi.
"Kato, did you finish the job I gave you?"
Feeling the poke, Megumi flinched—her waist tickled where he'd touched it.
Since she was little, Andrew was the only man who'd ever touched her waist.
That thought gave her a strange feeling.
For this man who had zero sense of personal space and treated her with casual closeness… well, she didn't exactly dislike it.
So she nodded, though her expression was a little strange."Yeah, kinda. I didn't have any light novels, manga, or game discs at home, so I went over to my cousin's place to borrow some."
Andrew tilted his head, curious."Your cousin's place? So what did you end up reading?"
Megumi didn't try to hide it.
"Uh… that one drawn by Eri Kashiwagi-sensei… It's so weird though. Can a real girl's boobs actually grow that big?"
That was… basically a cow's chest.
No way that was human.
Kato Megumi was about to say something else when Andrew quickly covered her mouth.
"Stop. Kato, for the sake of your image as a girl, don't mention the name Eri' Kashiwagi at school."
With her small mouth covered, Kato blinked up at him, curiosity shining in her eyes.
Looking at her—pure and innocent, like a blank sheet of paper—Andrew sighed.
Leaning in close, he whispered into her ear,"Eri' Kashiwagi's an illustrator who… draws a certain kind of comic. You know, the spicy kind. If people hear you talking about her here, they'll think you're a pervy girl."
Kato's eyes went wide, her whole face showing disbelief.
"Wait… those weird comics are part of otaku culture?"
She muttered to herself, then suddenly raised her hand like she was asking a question in class.
"Andrew, is it still too late for me to quit your club?"
At that, Andrew rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, once you've joined, there's no quitting."
"Besides, I should explain that our club's otaku culture isn't the same thing."
"Otaku stuff is split into all-ages content and… 18+ content. And the stuff you went looking for on your own? Yeah, that was 18+."
"So, from now on, please don't go borrowing books from your cousin's place. Otherwise, I might just rush over and drag you back."
"Uh… can you not make it sound like you're gonna kidnap me for marriage or something? My cousin and I barely even talk. You're the one who told me to go find manga and novels to read. I didn't know it was 18+…"
Kato explained calmly, though her cheeks had a faint blush.
If you didn't look closely, you probably wouldn't even notice.
Andrew's lips curled into a smile."Well, now you know, right?"
"Anyway, I'll find you some quality stuff to read from now on. So don't bother going to your cousin's."
Kato gave him a strange look. For some reason, it felt like he was being possessive of her.
Still, she was a naturally calm girl, never too interested in anything, so she didn't press the issue.
"Got it. I'll leave it to you then, Andrew."
"Of course. I'm the club president, after all. It's my job to make sure members fully understand our activities."
Since she agreed, Andrew's mood brightened immediately.
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Kato was way too agreeable. She hardly ever said no.
What if some shady guy invited her to do something and she just agreed?
Yeah… better bring her into proper otaku culture fast. She needs to know men can be dangerous!
Then again, he was forgetting something—
It's not like anyone else even invited her to anything. Most of their classmates could go a whole year without remembering she existed, let alone hitting on her.
Just as he was thinking of how to tease Kato's always-calm expression, he noticed their class rep, Shinka Nibutani, making her rounds to collect homework.
The moment Andrew remembered Shinka's embarrassing "chuunibyou" past, his interest spiked.
So, he leaned toward Kato and said,"Kato, did you know? This world… actually has spirits."
"Huh? Really?" Kato replied in her usual flat tone, which made Andrew want to facepalm.
"Can't you at least pretend to be surprised? You're killing my story here."
Kato blinked innocently."I am surprised. I'm listening. You can keep going."
"Sure doesn't look like it. You don't have any expression at all—just that blank, cute look."
"Eh? Cute? Is that a compliment?"
"Yep. Totally a compliment. You're adorable. But anyway, back to the topic!"
Andrew cleared his throat twice, then continued,"Kato, the world is full of all kinds of spirits."
"The legendary MoriSummer—who has survived for 500 years—once said, 'As long as you have love, you can see the spirits of legend.'"
Kato just kept staring at him with that same blank-cute expression, not reacting at all.
But Shinka Nibutani, who had just walked over, froze mid-step and nearly tripped.
She stiffly walked past Andrew and Kato, back to her seat—but her ears were clearly tuned in to their conversation.
"Wow, that's amazing. So, what do you have to do to show 'love' so you can see spirits?"
Kato played along and asked the question.
Andrew gave her a mysterious smile."That… is a secret. I'll tell you when it's just the two of us."
"..."
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