Ding Ding Ding
The bell rang through the school hallways, finally signaling break time — a chance to eat and rest.
Issei woke up again, letting out a long yawn.
He stretched and stood up from his chair.
"Hard day," Issei said.
"Very Hard," Aika said with a laugh, looking at him. Issei blushed at her comment, while Asia approached him with a gentle smile.
"The class wasn't easy at all. I'm going to need to study a lot for the test. Teh he~" Asia tapped her own head cutely and stuck out her small tongue.
"You don't have to worry about that, Asia. I know all the material — I can teach you later." Issei said. Aika, standing beside him, frowned slightly.
"I'm sure your 'hard day' has less to do with paying attention in class and more to do with dreams about President Rias." Issei coughed, blushing again, and finally sighed.
"I'm not exactly a genius, but I've been studying ahead of time…" Asia and Aika's eyes widened in total shock.
"Studying ahead of time?" Aika repeated, still trying to process the statement. "What do you mean, ahead of time?"
"For college entrance exams… You can't always rely on teachers. We need to study on our own, too." He said this while resting his hands behind his head in a relaxed posture.
"The right way to study is to do it at home, and just come to class to ask questions. That way, you'll learn any subject way more easily." He scratched his nose, proud of himself.
In truth, he only remembered the material thanks to his boosted Intelligence stat — but it was a technique he'd used in the past to study more efficiently.
"So if I asked you about the types of hydrocarbon bonds…" Aika said, testing him.
"They can form single bonds — alkanes, double bonds — alkenes, or triple bonds — alkynes."
"Wow! Issei-san, you're so smart!" Asia praised him, her eyes shining.
"Of course I am!" he said proudly, glancing at his Intelligence stat and silently praising the system once again.
"I'll be counting on you tonight — you'll be able to teach me everything properly, right?" Issei felt a wave of heat rush through his body the moment he heard that sentence.
For a moment, he wondered if that comment was completely innocent… but the doubts only multiplied in his mind.
"Of course. We'll start with anatomy," he said bluntly, drawing a genuine laugh from Aika.
"We don't have anatomy class," she replied, amused.
"Don't worry about that — I'm sure they'll be happy to add it to the curriculum. I just need to start a student petition and ask for practical lessons, too."
"That's way too absurd to be approved…" Aika sighed.
"Trust me, it's not," Issei said, staring at her deeply.
"Especially if it's with the female teachers… There's a country that already has practical lessons like that. Just don't ask me the name — I can't remember it right now." Aika stared at him eyes wide-open.
"You know… now I suddenly feel like studying geography," she said, following his lead. They laughed together, leaving Asia confused — she was getting more and more lost with their sense of humor.
"You can study the whole world if you want," Issei said with a grin, "but I only want to study Asia." He suddenly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. Her body rested comfortably against his.
"Issei-san…" Asia looked up, blushing, her large eyes meeting his.
"Something wrong, Asia?" he asked with an amused smile.
"N-no… nothing…" Her ears turned red as Issei breathed in the sweet scent of her hair.
The warmth radiating from her seemed to grow hotter, his thoughts drifting further as he felt her body against his.
Aika coughed.
"Wow… is it just me, or is it really hot in here?" She pulled at her collar to cool off. "Too hot, if I'm honest — feels like a dragon's about to breathe fire." She fanned herself dramatically.
"I think this dragon's more likely to bite…"Issei said, looking at Asia's cute face.
Asia suddenly looked up as Issei guided her chin closer — their lips met.
Then, their soft lips pressed together.
Asia was motionless for an instant, but soon, despite her embarrassment, she gave in to the kiss.
"What a greedy dragon," Aika muttered, still looking away and trying to give the couple space, while Asia shyly turned her gaze aside.
Only Issei kept smiling, amused.