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SO : 22 Poor Natsuki-chan!
🕑 Added 2024-09-08 04:40:32 +0000 UTCAt Private Academy's high school, Natsuki Minamiya propped her chin on her hand, gazing absentmindedly out the window with a slightly bored expression on her delicate face.
She sat in the second-to-last seat by the window—a spot reserved for protagonists.
Given Natsuki Minamiya's height, she should have been sitting in the front row, perhaps even near the teacher's desk.
However, Natsuki firmly rejected that position, even threatening to "die" if forced to comply.
Due to her strong-willed personality, the teacher had no choice but to agree to her demand to sit in the back.
After all, Natsuki Minamiya had always been an excellent student, so the teacher decided to turn a blind eye.
RING RING RING
The lunch bell rang, and the previously quiet classroom suddenly erupted with chatter and excitement.
After bidding the teacher goodbye, the students grouped up, some heading to the cafeteria for lunch, others to the school store to buy bread, and still others looking for a quiet spot to enjoy the bento they brought from home.
"Hey, Natsuki-chan! Let's have lunch together. My treat today, what do you say?"
Just as Natsuki Minamiya was slowly getting up to go eat, a cheerful girl's voice called out.
In the next instant, Natsuki felt a great weight press down on her body.
A girl with a bun hairstyle and reddish-brown hair, with a cheerful smile, wrapped her seemingly slender but surprisingly strong arm around Natsuki Minamiya's neck.
The sudden force nearly choked Natsuki, making it hard for her to breathe.
Struggling, Natsuki Minamiya managed to wriggle free from the girl's arm, clutching her throat and speaking in a rather cold tone, "Mizaki, go have lunch by yourself. I'm not going with you."
The girl was Mizaki Sasazaki, a friend Natsuki had known since elementary school. In fact, there were only a handful of people Natsuki considered friends.
With her somewhat awkward personality and cold demeanor, Natsuki often came off as too strong, which made people keep their distance.
Only someone like Mizaki, with her carefree nature, and someone like Aya, who saw Natsuki as an ally, managed to befriend her.
"Don't be so cold, Natsuki-chan! You've been keeping to yourself a lot lately. You know, being too much of a loner can make you a target for bullying!"
Mizaki Sasazaki continued to smile, undeterred by Natsuki's coldness. Her smile held a hint of mischief, as if she was always on the verge of teasing Natsuki.
Mizaki Sasazaki was one of the people Natsuki found most annoying, like a piece of clingy gum that she could never get rid of. She was always sticking to her, constantly teasing her.
With a resigned sigh, Natsuki Minamiya rubbed her forehead. "I just feel like being alone lately."
"...Mizaki, I prefer to eat alone. You go on by yourself."
Mizaki Sasazaki looked deeply at Natsuki Minamiya, noticing the stubbornness in her clear blue eyes. Seeing how resolute Natsuki was this time, Mizaki, knowing better than to push further, slowly nodded.
"Alright then, I'm going to eat. Natsuki-chan, I don't know what's going on, but if you ever need my help, please come find me."
"I understand. You don't need to worry about me."
Natsuki Minamiya's demeanor seemed unappreciative.
This attitude of hers was precisely why she wasn't popular among her classmates.
But Mizaki Sasazaki knew that, in truth, Natsuki Minamiya was listening to everything. She was the very definition of someone with a tough exterior but a soft heart.
"By the way, I haven't seen Aya for a while. She hasn't been coming to school. Did something happen?"
Mizaki suddenly remembered and asked Natsuki.
"It seems like she has some family matters to attend to. She might be in Europe for a while," Natsuki replied ambiguously.
Mizaki didn't probe further and just nodded. "Ah, family matters. Got it. Well, I'm really hungry now. See you this afternoon, Natsuki-chan!"
With a wave, Mizaki Sasazaki sprinted out of the classroom.
Natsuki Minamiya continued to slowly take out a cutely decorated bento box from her desk and left the nearly empty classroom.
When she reached a place without cameras and where no one would notice her, she immediately activated a spell. Utilizing her spatial manipulation abilities, Natsuki instantly moved from the hallway to the rooftop of the school.
The rooftop of the academy was usually off-limits to students, but this wasn't a problem for Natsuki, who was adept at spatial manipulation.
Since signing her contract with the devil, Natsuki Minamiya never had to worry about her magical power again.
Her magic was virtually inexhaustible; as long as her mind and body could keep up, she could almost endlessly use this spell, which was incredibly complex by human standards.
Natsuki knew that her seemingly infinite magical power did not belong to her—it was a gift from the devil.
Thinking about the devil, Natsuki turned her delicate face to the side, and sure enough, there was the devil who had been lurking in her shadow, now standing beside her.
The devil appeared in human form, standing on the rooftop, with his hands resting on the railing.
He was dressed in an elegant, black long coat that resembled formal wear. His tall, slender figure and slightly androgynous, handsome face gave him the appearance of a noble young gentleman.
From a human perspective, this devil's human form was truly quite handsome. He had walked through the halls of the academy before, causing the hearts of many younger female students to flutter as they secretly inquired about who this upperclassman was.
However, Natsuki Minamiya would never be captivated by the devil's "appearance." She knew his personality all too well—utterly vile, the most wretched of the wretched!
Come to think of it, it had been a few months since she had signed the contract with the devil. Time really flies.
While Natsuki Minamiya was lost in thought, Saigou, who was leaning against the railing, gazed at the cherry blossom trees blooming on the campus. He sighed and said, "…Natsuki-chan, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom!"
"I had no idea devils could have an interest in flowers."
Natsuki scoffed at this. She was already accustomed to the strange things this devil said.
Carrying her cute bento box, Natsuki Minamiya found a clean step to sit on. She opened the bento box, took out her chopsticks, and delicately picked up some food, covering her mouth with her hand as she ate in small bites.
The way she ate was extremely graceful. Watching the delicious food pass through her moist, red lips against the backdrop of her doll-like, exquisite beauty made one truly understand the phrase "a feast for the eyes."
But upon seeing this picturesque scene, Saigou remained indifferent. Instead, he smiled wickedly and said, "…Everyone else has friends to go to the cafeteria with."
"…Even if they don't go to the cafeteria, they can buy some bread at the convenience store and enjoy a meal together. Just listen to the cheerful laughter down below."
"The joys and sorrows of humans do not connect, but Natsuki Minamiya is all alone in her solitude."
"…Oh, right, those students who bring lunch from home, they have delicious meals lovingly prepared by their parents."
"But Natsuki Minamiya has to cook for herself, without even parents around. It's enough to make even a devil like me cry out in pity."
"…How pitiful, Natsuki-chan!"
Saigou put on a crocodile tears expression, a sly smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Teasing Natsuki Minamiya was simply too entertaining; it had become a habit for him.
"Shut up, you wretched devil! And stop calling me Natsuki-chan!"
Natsuki Minamiya's forehead veins throbbed in anger, and she wished she could stab the devil with her chopsticks!
