Getting swarmed by classmates peppering her with questions? Yeah, Nero saw that coming a mile away.
"My hometown's a little island called Fortuna. Yup, same as my last name."
"Princess? Oh, come on, you guys are blowing it way out of proportion. My granddad used to be some big-shot lord there, but he ditched that title ages ago."
Nero had these half-truths locked and loaded, so tossing out answers was a breeze. As for the name "Nero Fortuna," she'd picked it herself after some thought for the paperwork.
Using her hometown as a surname? That little trick was inspired by none other than "Tony Redgrave." Oh yeah, Dante pulled the same move—his alias "Redgrave" is just a slick translation of "Red Grave City."
Schoolwork? Pfft, without the pressure of exams, it felt like a vacation. Especially since most of this stuff was old news to her.
"What was your old school like, Nero?"
Another classmate, another question. Nero flashed her flawless smile. "Might disappoint you, but I never went to a real school."
The room erupted. "No way! For real? But you're so good at this stuff!"
"Private tutors, maybe?" someone guessed.
"Gotta be that noble life, right?"
People believe what they want to believe, even if it's miles from the truth. Nero just smiled from her seat, saying nothing as the rumors about her "mysterious origins" snowballed.
The over-the-top hype was almost funny, but that wasn't why she was playing the high-profile card. By drawing the crowd to her, Nero could scope them out—sniff out any demonic vibes clinging to her classmates.
For nearly a week before enrolling, Nero had been on a demon-hunting grind, following up on a tip from Dante about some guy named "Hazawa." Most of that time was spent scouring the city for demonic traces. But a big city and just her two legs? Talk about a needle in a haystack. Things only clicked when she tagged along with Aine to Haneoka Girls' Academy for the entrance exam. That's when she caught it—a faint whiff of demonic energy.
That sealed it: Aine was her best lead to tracking down the enemy.
To get close to these teenage girls and dig for intel, Nero slipped on a mask she'd worn back in Fortuna—the "Little Saint" persona.
She played the part of a sheltered, high-class girl, nailing her current role. "Honestly, I came here because I was curious about schools in the Land of Harmony."
Six parts curiosity, three parts poise, half a dash of excitement, and half a pinch of restraint. Nailed it. Keep it tight.
Then she slipped in the real question, the one hiding her true goal: "I heard schools in the Land of Harmony have these things called the 'Seven Mysteries.' Is that for real?"
The girls chattered over each other:
"Not always seven, but every school's got a few creepy stories."
"Especially girls' schools like ours."
"Wait, really? I had no idea…"
"That's 'cause you're always tuning out the spooky stuff, Minako."
"We don't wanna freak you out!"
In a world where demons are real—and everyone knows it—a random demon attack doesn't qualify as a ghost story. It's more like a car accident, just something that happens. But the demons in this city? They're sneaky. Masters of hiding, stirring up trouble from the shadows. That's why sniffing out weird school rumors could be a goldmine.
After some giggles and banter, someone finally dropped what Nero was fishing for: "Oh, I heard someone from the next class over went missing."
"Is that one of the mysteries?"
"It's real. Totally real. They say she left her house one quiet night and just… never came back."
"Ugh, that's giving me chills!"
"What if she, like, jumped in the river?"
Nero tossed out a couple of light responses, but her mind was already filing this away. Gotta keep an eye on stuff like this.
"Or maybe it's a 'kami-kakushi'?"
Time to play the part. Nero leaned in, acting half-clueless but super curious about local culture. "I heard people here used to call disappearances 'kami-kakushi'—like the gods spirited them away. Right?"
"Eh, that's probably more legend than fact," someone said.
"No, it's real!" another girl insisted. "Back in the day, some places in the Land of Harmony worshipped demons as gods. People snatched by demons and dragged to the demon world? That's what 'kami-kakushi' really means."
"More like 'demon-kakushi,' then."
"That's so creepy!"
"What about your hometown, Nero? Any demons there?"
The spotlight swung back to her, but she was ready for it. Being the center of attention was part of the plan. "Oh, yeah. I've seen the Order's knights take down demons attacking folks. What's it like here in the Land of Harmony?"
"Knights?!"
"Whoa… Nero, you're from a whole different world."
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"It's been ages since we've had demons around here."
"Wanna meet one?"
"Quit joking!"
Whether the Land of Harmony really had demons? Well, Miss Chihaya Aine could probably shed some light on that. Nero glanced over, spotting Aine already chumming it up with a trio whose hair looked like a traffic light.
"Speaking of, doesn't our class have that 'girl who brings death'?"
Nero's ears perked up. Now we're talking.
"It's just something she calls herself."
"What, like she's got a bad case of chuunibyou?"
Too bad nobody spilled the girl's real identity. From the bits and pieces, Nero gathered this "death girl" had made a big scene on the first day of spring term, declaring, "Stay away from me… or you'll die."
Even when Nero prodded about her, the others just laughed it off or changed the subject. Was it some unspoken pact to protect her? Or were they dodging the topic out of fear?
After a bit more chit-chat, Nero politely turned down a few lunch invites, grabbed her bento, and followed a certain gaze across the room.
"Mind if I join you guys?"
Nero flashed a warm smile.
Chihaya Aine's grin froze on her face.
Guess I was worried everyone would bolt at the mention of MYGO, but looks like we're good?
About to hit the featured list again, so lemme just toss out a quick plea for follows…