Kurato stood there dumbfounded.

For a moment, faced with the scene unfolding before his eyes, he forgot how to speak and simply froze.

“Here you go, Keita-kun. Next is this one.”

“Oh! Meatballs!”

“Keita-kun, this one’s my pride and joy.”

“Oh! Sausages too! I like both!”

‘A banquet of debauchery. No, more like a banquet of meat.’

When Kurato stepped into Class 7 to meet Keita, he found an elegant lunch gathering spread out there and for some reason Keita was right in the middle of it.

Around Keita, a large group of girls held side dishes in their chopsticks and like parent birds feeding their chick, kept bringing food to Keita.

“…No. No no. What exactly are you doing?”

Coming back to his senses at last, Kurato couldn’t help but interject.

It was just past midday, lunchtime in full swing. Eating lunch in the classroom itself was perfectly normal.

But in this classroom, the only one actually eating was Keita. All the other girls were swarming around him, keeping a close eye on his movements and the moment his mouth opened, focusing entirely on stuffing side dishes into it.

When Kurato let out an exasperated voice, Keita finally seemed to notice him, opening his half-lidded eyes and raising a hand.

“Oh! Kuu-chan! Did you come to eat lunch too?”

‘As if.’

Feeling a headache coming on, Kurato pressed his temples.

‘Is this also some kind of Special Zone quirk?’

When Kurato turned his gaze back to Keita’s group, one girl was holding out her chopsticks toward him. Clutched at the tips was a thick slice of tamagoyaki. Perhaps she was being considerate, seeing Kurato holding his head.

“Ah, sorry. I’m fine. I just came to see Keita.”

“Oh no, please. Just one bite at least.”

Kurato refused, but the girl kept smiling and holding out the chopsticks.

“I-is that so? Then I’ll gratefully partake.”

At this point refusing would only be rude, so Kurato took a bite of the omelet.

‘Oh. This is…’

“It’s good. You used dashi properly. A savory tamagoyaki, not sweet. I like this kind.”

“Really!? I’m so glad!”

At Kurato’s honest praise, the girl reacted with slightly exaggerated joy.

‘She must like cooking. Cooking to see others smile, that’s promising. A future chef in the making.’

Kurato felt a little relieved seeing a girl who enjoyed cooking. Outside the Special Zone, it had been normal not to cook at all, so this matched his sense of normalcy and put him at ease.

That feeling lasted only an instant.

He felt it. The stares.

When Kurato looked over, the girls who had been watching Keita now turned their attention to him, their already suspicious gazes sharpening as they stared.

“He said it’s delicious.”

“So it’s not just Yamashiro-kun!?”

“What class is he from? C-rank… right?”

In unison, they grabbed side dishes from their own lunch boxes and thrust them toward Kurato with their chopsticks.

“M-mine too, if you want, if you want then please!”

“No, mine’s better!? I simmered it all night!”

“Please eat mine too!”

“Please eat me!”

‘Something was clearly off. There was something almost desperate about them. It felt like they were hiding something deep down, something beyond just wanting him to eat their food. The last girl was obviously off the rails.’

Kurato could tell this was dangerous. But he had no idea why it was dangerous.

‘This is bad.’

Kurato raised a hand toward Keita.

“Keita! Sorry, but I’m retreating here! See you tomorrow!”

No sooner said than done, Kurato slipped through a tiny gap in their encirclement and escaped Class 7.

Getting force-fed a single octopus-shaped sausage on the way was an unfortunate miscalculation.

“Kuu-chan, see you tomorrow~”

Hearing Keita’s carefree voice, Kurato found a strange emoji flashing through his mind.

* * *

‘What on earth is going on?’

On the way back after leaving the classroom, Kurato asked himself that.

The girls’ attitudes toward boys were far too extreme.

Toward D-ranks, their behavior was pretty much the same as outside the Special Zone, so there was nothing particularly strange about it.

But toward C-ranks, their reactions were excessive, far beyond friendly and bordering on deranged. Like jackals hunting prey or bargain-hunting aunties at a sale.

They carried an almost murderous pressure that reminded Kurato of when he won the All-Japan D-rank Tournament.

Back then, he had the title of champion, so he could understand the emotions and motives of those who swarmed him. But now, all he had was the label of C-rank.

If anything, affection toward A-ranks was even more abnormal. Being forced to use honorifics by someone from the Kujo family and being treated with excessive deference even by relatives.

It felt less like love and more like faith. He had only seen part of the school so he couldn’t be sure, but something about the Special Zone felt off.

Still, there were exceptions. Wakaba-san and Kujo-sama when he first met her.

Their reactions had seemed perfectly normal. In Wakaba-san’s case, it was probably just her natural personality. She had interests that mattered more than rank and she pursued them single-mindedly.

As for Kujo-sama, perhaps it was because of her noble upbringing. She showed no hesitation even toward a C-rank boy.

‘Were those two special, or were the girls at this school simply too sheltered and unused to men?’

Kurato continued to stew over questions with no answers.

Then a voice called out to his back.

“Brother!”

There was only one person that title could refer to.

When Kurato looked up, he saw Raito at the school gate, surrounded by several girl students.

Before Kurato could say anything, Raito dashed over like a startled rabbit and clung to him with enough force to feel like a body slam.

“Brother, I was waiting! I’ve been waiting this whole time!”

‘Waiting?’

“O-oh. Sorry about that, Raito. Kept you waiting. But when our eyes met earlier, you seemed kind of cold toward me?”

“Huh?”

Raito looked at Kurato in confusion.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

If Raito himself didn’t feel anything was wrong, Kurato decided to let it go.

“And we met six months ago too, didn’t we? At the summer camp. Isn’t this a bit much skinship?”

At that, Raito pulled away and puffed up his cheeks.

“That’s not it, Brother. I’ve been waiting this whole time. For six years. I’ve been waiting to go to the same school as you!”

‘I see. He really had been waiting.’

Kurato felt as though Raito had suddenly grown much bigger.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Raito. You’ve gotten strong. From now on, we can train together again.”

“Yeah!”

As they hugged again, Kurato noticed the girls around them.

Four of them. They stood at equal intervals, surrounding Kurato and Raito with their backs to them.

‘So these were the bodyguards. Even as children, they took up proper protective positions.’

“Thank you for always taking care of Raito.”

Kurato bowed to the four of them.

They must have always protected Raito so he wouldn’t end up surrounded like Keita.

He remembered something Ryuko-san had told him before. These girls had been by Raito’s side since elementary school, always protecting him. One of them was even B-rank.

A B-rank would normally be a central figure at school and in demand by many organizations. And yet she stayed glued to Raito’s side.

“No. It’s our duty.”

One of the bodyguards gave Kurato a light bow in return and immediately resumed her vigilance.

‘Good movement. No personal feelings mixed in.’

“You’re lucky, Raito. You’ve got such reliable people protecting you.”

During the camp, perhaps because Aoi-chan and Ryuko-san’s disciples had been nearby, Kurato hadn’t seen these guards at all. Now that he finally met them, he felt relieved and impressed by their seriousness.

But—

“It’s not good at all. They’re always following me around. It’s annoying.”

Raito’s opinion was very different from Kurato’s.

Looking down slightly with a pout, he resembled a sulky child.

Seeing that, Kurato was about to scold him—

“Y-you—!”

But he stopped himself.

Kurato had heard about Raito’s struggles from Ryuko-san during the New Year’s greetings. When he had just started elementary school, girls had constantly followed him, even bordering on stalking.

After assigning bodyguards, those problems stopped, but in exchange he lost his freedom. For a boy at an age when he wanted to play, that had to be hard. And inevitably, that frustration would be directed at those closest to him.

“Raito, listen carefully.”

Kurato understood that. Someone as free as Kurato, who wasn’t restrained even by his parents, might not have the right to get angry.

But he still had to say it.

“It’s true that it was hard. You couldn’t play when you wanted, you always had people around you and couldn’t even relax alone. But it’s also true that because of these people, you’ve been able to live safely. You stopped being pursued and followed because of them, right?”

“That’s… true, but they’re doing it as a job from Hisame-sama and getting paid and—”

“Even so, they’re wasting their own time to protect you. They put themselves in danger for you and protect you even while being disliked by others.”

Kujo-sama had snapped because Kurato mistook her for a bodyguard.

Bodyguards were whispered about as hyenas who blocked others’ love while getting to stay close to Raito themselves. Being mistaken for them had made Kujo-sama furious enough to strike a boy.

Kurato had overheard that gossip while talking with Kujo-sama, picking up surrounding sounds with his shield.

It wasn’t just a few people. Many women probably disliked these bodyguards. Even so, they continued to protect Raito.

Thinking that, Kurato couldn’t accept Raito’s attitude toward them.

“Wearing down… their time?”

Raito asked in confusion.

Kurato nodded firmly.

“Yeah. In the end, it’s a situation similar to yours.”

At that, Raito froze, tears welling in his eyes. Then he bowed his head to the bodyguard who had spoken earlier.

“Minase-san. I’m sorry. I’ve been…”

The guards stirred at Raito’s apology, some unable to hide their shock and stepping out of position.

‘Well, even if they’re bodyguards, they’re still kids. That kind of reaction can’t be helped.’

Kurato imagined how, if he’d shown this kind of hesitation in the past, his superior would have punched him hard and absentmindedly patted the top of his head.

“Raito-sama! Please raise your head! We’re not—”

Seeing Minase-san flustered, Kurato stepped in.

“Raito. Instead of sorry, shouldn’t it be ‘thank you’ here?”

“Y-yeah. That’s right. Thank you for always protecting me. Everyone.”

“““Raito-sama…”””

All the guards teared up.

‘Just how harsh has this brother been?’

“Raito. Don’t forget how you feel right now.”

If he ever forgot, Kurato resolved to be merciless next time.

“By the way, why were you lying in wait at the school gate?”

He could’ve waited in the classroom or come to Kurato’s class.

But Raito’s answer was simple.

“Because you’d stand out.”

Raito thought that if he went to meet him, Kurato would inevitably draw attention. If people got close to Raito-sama’s brother, maybe they could get closer to Raito-sama himself. He didn’t want to drag Kurato into that whirlpool of desire.

That kind of murky maneuvering was everyday life in the Special Zone. Especially the battles between girls over high-rank boys, something Raito had seen far too much of.

That must be why he’d tried to avoid Kurato during the assembly. Makes sense.

“But there are some girls who aren’t like that.”

“Yeah. That’s true.”

Raito was probably talking about girls who approached him without ulterior motives.

Kurato told Raito about the two he’d met today, Wakaba-san and Kujo-sama.

Raito’s face twisted more than at any point that day.

“Eh!? Kujo!? That blonde one?”

“What do you mean ‘that one’? The Kujo family is a great noble house dating back to the Heian era. And she herself was a wonderful person. She had drill curls and a great punch.”

“Eh!? Punch!?”

When Kurato explained what had happened with Kujo-sama, Raito shook his head in disbelief.

“No, Brother. Don’t get involved with her. She’s been following me around since the entrance exam interview. She’ll definitely use you as bait to approach me!”

Well, that was certainly possible. But—

“She seems like she’d make a good friend. I’ll make sure it doesn’t cause you any trouble.”

She was A-rank after all. As a sparring partner for combat experience, it would be hard to find better.

Even when Kurato said that, Raito stubbornly insisted he should run away from Kujo-sama.

In the end, a tired Raito got into the car.

“Brother, get in too. Want a ride home?”

“Thanks, but I’m good.”

Kurato looked around the school gate, now completely deserted and then—

He floated.

“I’ll fly home. See you tomorrow, Raito.”

With that, Kurato took off into the sky, leaving below him five people… wait, including the driver, six, all staring blankly as he raced across the sky tinted by the setting sun.

* * *

“R-Raito-sama. Wasn’t your brother a shield user?”

Too shocked to help herself, Minase spoke up. She knew she’d regret it later, since she was usually ignored or scolded.

But—

“My brother’s beyond the norm. Flying now of all times… haah, he really is amazing.”

Raito-sama answered, gazing at his brother’s shrinking figure with shining eyes.

Minase covered her eyes, her heart warming.

‘To change Raito-sama this much with just a short conversation…’

“Yes. He truly is amazing.”

At Minase’s heartfelt praise, Raito-sama nodded happily.

* * *

Memo

In the Special Zone, there are kids who overreact to rank and kids who don’t.

Those uninterested in rank (Wakaba) and those who, for some reason, don’t react at all (Kujo).

The reason for the latter is unknown.