A depressing morning came for Akuto.

The entire school had been abuzz with excitement since before dawn. The talk of the punishment system being brought into effect had spread the previous night. How exactly it would be carried out had spread via a variety of methods including telepathic communications and posters.

“So I just have to escape from every student in the school during the lunch break.”

Akuto had mentally prepared himself during the night. As he walked to the dining hall for breakfast, a path opened in the waves of people before him so quickly even Moses would have been jealous.

—This is the most they’ve ever hated…no, feared me.

This was quite a shock to Akuto. But once he took his seat, he heard an excited voice that was filled with so much affection it bordered on worship.

“A-aniki! I will aid you! I, Hiroshi, will risk my life to protect you!”

Hiroshi was bowing down despite his wounds not being completely healed.

Akuto turned around with a smile, but immediately rejected the offer.

“No, you shouldn’t do that. You don’t have to die.”

“But I know this only happened because you were trying to save me…”

Hiroshi shed truly apologetic tears.

“And that’s exactly why I don’t want you to die here. I can easily escape them, so let’s keep this more carefree,” said Akuto while trying to keep his voice as carefree as possible.

After hearing that, Hiroshi had no choice but to back off.

However…

—Y’know, that probably sounded like a challenge to everyone else…

Akuto glanced around at the other students who were glaring at him coldly.

Even after he went to school and cla.s.ses began, everyone was restless. Akuto was no different. As cla.s.s continued, he could feel the tension building.

—I need to make sure Hiroshi quickly gets out of the way.

He began mentally simulating the situation.

—Should I jump out the cla.s.sroom window? I don’t want to get anyone in the cla.s.s hurt. Oh, come to think of it, Keena isn’t here today either. How insensitive…

Akuto glanced around while thinking.

The cla.s.s would be over in 5 minutes.

His cla.s.smates’ expressions were filled with an odd tension. Most of them wanted nothing to do with the punishment because they did not want to get hurt, but a few boys who were secret fans of Junko’s were giving off obvious killing intent.

And on top of it all, Mitsuko-sensei was incredibly excited, so the cla.s.s was nothing more than reading the textbook.

One minute to go.

Students from other cla.s.ses began gathering outside the cla.s.s. Either their cla.s.ses had let out early or their last cla.s.s before the lunch break had been cancelled. The highly motivated uppercla.s.smen were likely either friends of Takeshi’s who had not been present the day before or people ranked lower than #4.

—People are getting way too excited about this.

A bitter smile appeared on Akuto’s face, but the countdown had already begun.

“Aniki…” said Hiroshi worriedly.

“Don’t worry about me. You need to run away immediately,” replied Akuto.

Mitsuko-sensei then made an unnecessary comment.

“The chime will be the signal. No moving before that. Five, four…”

She counted down while watching the clock.

And then the chime rang.

“Okay, cla.s.s is over for…”

Before Mitsuko-sensei could finish, a throwing knife, a blowgun dart, a normal dart, and a magic bullet all flew straight toward Akuto. He created a mana screen around him, kicked off of his desk, and jumped for the window.

The mana screen stopped most of the attacks, but the magic bullet which was made of pure mana broke through the screen and hit his leg. Akuto lost his balance and crashed through the window. He fell toward the schoolyard along with shards of gla.s.s.

—But I stopped those attacks so easily yesterday… Am I not as focused now? Do I have to be angry like I was yesterday?

Akuto was confused, but he did not have time to think. His back slammed into the ground. Akuto had more than enough magic power, but he had not been taught how to use it. Akuto was painfully reminded just how inexperienced he was. The attacking students used flight magic to fly down from the window.

—But I can’t fly!

Akuto ran toward the mountain behind the school. He thought he would have an easier time of running away there, but that turned out to be a huge mistake. He clearly lacked an understanding of what it meant to be able to fly. The students immediately spotted him from up in the air and started firing all sorts of projectiles at him.

—Wah! I guess going in the woods isn’t going to cut it!

Akuto turned around to head back to the school building, but several pursuers were running in his direction.

—Dammit. Most of those are just onlookers!

“Don’t get hurt!” shouted Akuto as he fired mana straight forward where it violently exploded.

He spotted a few people flying through the air, but he did not have time to see whether they had been blown away by the blast or if they had used flight magic to escape.

He charged through the center of the explosion and back into the school building. There were a lot more students running around, onlookers and otherwise, but he would have an easier time attacking his pursuers in the limited s.p.a.ce of the hallways.

“Outta the way!”

He ran through the unfamiliar school building while focusing on knocking people out of his way. Not even ten minutes had pa.s.sed, but he was already out of breath. He looked for somewhere to hide, but someone would see him wherever he went. Most of the onlookers were not exactly allies.

Once he could no longer run and had to slow to a quick walk, he would be overtaken. He was forced to wander around the school like a cat that could not find its way home.

—Are they moving as a group?

As he wandered around, doubts started to enter Akuto’s mind. A few pursuers had attacked forcefully, but had not pursued him far. It seemed he was being led somewhere.

Finally, Akuto made it to the roof. It contained a large lawn used as a sports ground, but the roof was still the roof. It had an edge.

—So I’m cornered.

Akuto had no choice but to make up his mind. When he reached the edge and turned around, he found himself surrounded by a crowd. His pursuers definitely had an excellent strategist who had used the fact that he could not fly to corner him. And that strategist was…

Junko walked forward from the crowd. He had expected to see killer intent in her eyes, but he instead saw a desperate resolution. She held a real sword instead of a wooden one.

“This is when I would want to challenge you to a one-on-one duel, but there is no shame in having help against someone with your power. Remember that others will come after me even if you avoid my sword.”

Junko held her sword up in the Ha.s.so Kamae.

“Please stop this… Although I suppose it’s too late for that.”

Akuto gave a powerless smile.

Junko nodded and said, “Yes, it is much too late.”

Junko then chanted a spell under her breath. Her body blurred and the same type of copy as before began to appear. However, her body did not simply split in two this time. Two additional Junkos appeared beyond that.

The total of four Junkos faced Akuto and began to charge forward.

—I can’t avoid all four. And I doubt I can reflect all of them either.

He felt he would have been able to defend this attack when he had subconsciously sent his mana out of control or when he had been trembling with anger, but he could not block these real swords now. Akuto could instinctually feel that.

“Kiaaaaaaaahhh!”

The four Junkos leapt toward him simultaneously. Four different slashes a.s.saulted him from four different directions.

—Tch!

Akuto avoided one and tried to turn aside the tips of the others with mana.

But just as he had expected, he did not manage to completely stop them. A sc.r.a.p of cloth was sliced from his uniform and blood flew through the air. One of the swords had grazed him.

“Uuh…!”

Akuto staggered and leaned on the fence around the roof. The tips of four swords pressed up against his throat.

“This ends here,” said all four Junkos in a cold tone.

“I really don’t think I’ve done anything horrible enough to warrant this,” groaned Akuto in pain.

Junko’s expression grew cloudy.

“Then you need to change the way you think. No, you will not even have the chance to do so. I saw you trying to control others through violence. Do you not understand how much of a crime that is?”

“Oh…that.”

Akuto now understood.

The fact that he had held no doubts about that before may have meant he really did have the personality of a demon king. If he had simply given into his anger and beaten up those delinquents, he would not have been called a demon king no matter how powerful he might be.

“But it just seems that’s the kind of personality I have.”

“Then unfortunately, you must die,” said Junko.

Akuto could hardly believe it, but he began thinking he might actually have to prepare for death.

But then…

“You may not be able to change your personality, but you can change your way of thinking,” shouted a cheerful voice form overhead.

Akuto and the four Junkos looked up in shock.

Keena was floating there. When she noticed Akuto looking up at her, she frantically held her skirt down and landed on the rooftop. Keena held her hands together behind her back and gave a smile that did not suit the atmosphere of the situation in the slightest.

“Keena?”

“Wh-what are you doing here!?”

Keena ignored Akuto and Junko’s surprise and spread her arms wide. She then spoke in an entranced voice as if she was reading poetry.

“The two of you are true friends. You do not need to hurt each other.”

“What nonsense are you talking about now?”

“That’s right. We were just about to…”

“No. After all, haven’t you two been paying an excessive amount of attention to each other?”

Keena was speaking so loudly that Akuto and Junko were completely taken aback.

“Eh?”

“W-wait a second…”

“No! I know the truth. A-chan is very diligent and works so earnestly when it comes to helping others. He just wants to show off to others a bit while he does so, and that backfired.”

“Hey…” said Akuto in shock.

“And Junko-chan saw through to that side of A-chan and really did want to get along with him, but she had to worry about her reputation. Junko-chan is also jealous of A-chan’s strength and how he so readily does the right thing. I know all of this!”

“W-wait!”

All four Junkos blushed.

“The two of you may be a bit clumsy, but you are true friends. And that means you must not fight!” said Keena in a voice that reverberated across the roof.

All maliciousness had left Akuto and Junko. Junko was now hanging her head down and blushing.

“Tch… I have lost my motivation. I back out of this fight.” Junko’s copies disappeared and the real one looked away from Akuto. “Do not listen to what Keena says. She has no idea what she is talking about.”

Akuto gave a bitter grin while holding his wound.

“I won’t…in fact, I was never going to. By the way, this hardly resolves everything.”

Akuto looked at the crowd of students surrounding him.

A few of them were giving off an intense aura of murderous intent.

“True. Everyone else’s anger will not be cooled just because I leave the fight,” said Junko.

However, Junko was not aware that the murderous ones were mostly her hidden fans.

—Either way, I’m about to be killed here. Honestly…

Akuto complained in his heart. It should have been obvious that Keena’s speech was not going to resolve everything.

“Do you need a helper?” asked Junko as she turned toward Akuto just slightly.

Akuto shook his head.

“Don’t joke. You’re the one that started this fight.”

“And I admit I went too far!” Junko turned completely toward Akuto. “So let me help you!”

“Letting you be killed here would be getting my priorities completely backwards.”

“I’m trying to tell you I won’t let that happen!”

“But you’re weaker than me…”

“Are you trying to make me angry again!?”

Junko and Akuto’s argument seemed to heat up the crowd even further. An impatient anger filled them.

And then…

“Don’t worry!” shouted Keena.

“Eh?”

Akuto and Junko looked toward Keena, a.s.suming she had no plan whatsoever. Keena confidently placed her hands on her hips and spoke.

“If everyone eats rice together, everything will be okay!”

Both Akuto and Junko held their head in their hands.

“Are you still going on about that?”

“Can you please do something about this idiot?”

But Keena was not discouraged.

“No! Rice is the best thing in the world. Now, Korone-chan!”

With that last comment, Keena raised her hand. Akuto looked down and saw Korone holding a bazooka-like device on the ground below.

“Eh?”

Korone suddenly fired some sort of sh.e.l.l from the bazooka-like device. It shot into the air while trailing smoke and then burst near the roof.

—That’s the device for disseminating medicine she mentioned.

Akuto recalled what Korone had said during that ridiculous conversation.

“Did she put rice in that?”

Keena nodded.

“Now everyone in the school has rice! We can all get along!” she exclaimed.

A dark expression came to Akuto and Junko’s faces.

“We’re done for…”

“Yes, we are.”

The two prepared themselves and faced the crowed.

However…

“What?”

The crowed had clearly calmed down. They were enthralled by the light – that is, rice – that was raining down on them from the sky.

“It can’t be…”

“Impossible…”

Akuto and Junko were both dumbfounded. Keena was the only one celebrating.

“Yay! Yay! Rice really does make everyone get along!”

—No, they look less like they’re “getting along” and more like…

Akuto had noticed a change come over the crowd. The way those who had fallen under the effects of Korone’s bazooka were acting, he could only a.s.sume they were under the effects of some sort of drug.

“Ah…Ah ha ha ha ha ha…”

“Are you feeling a lot better all of a sudden too?”

“Ah…this is amazing! I feel so good!”

They were all saying similar things.

“Wh-what is going on?”

Akuto immediately put up a mana barrier. Junko and Keena were inside the barrier as well.

He watched the crowd in amazement as they started to wander off somewhere like a crowd of zombies. They were leaving the roof.

“Should we follow them?”

Junko wrapped an arm around Akuto’s shoulder to help him up. Akuto held his wound as he stood.

As they followed the crowd, the crowd’s numbers grew and grew. It seemed they were all heading for the girls’ dorm.

“What is going on?”

Akuto tilted his head in confusion, but he received his answer before long.

The crowd gathered around the girls’ dorm. The girls of course entered the dorm. The boys who were not allowed in only shouted from outside.

“Etou Fujiko-sama! Please let us see you! Let us see you even if only for a moment!”

The girls must have been surrounding Fujiko’s room. Shouts of “Fujiko-sama!” could be heard from within.

“Wh-what?”

Akuto and Junko were utterly confused, but then Korone approached from behind.

“This is the effect of a drug. Keena-san, did you put anything in here other than rice?”

“Yeah, I put in a drug I found,” readily answered Keena.

—A drug she found? …Don’t tell me it was those pills Etou-senpai gave me!

“Found? Found where?” asked Akuto and Keena once again readily answered.

“In your room.”

When he saw Keena smiling innocently, he could not ask her any more questions. But what if she had been aware of everything and swiped the pills from Akuto’s pocket?

—If she did steal the pills, was it when Korone warned me on the stairs? If Keena had turned invisible and followed me…

“What does this drug do?” Akuto asked Korone.

“It is not a drug meant to be disseminated like this, so I can only speculate. However, it is currently causing those affected to fall in love with a specified individual. It was weakened when disseminated, so the original drug may have had a different effect.”

—So was I tricked by Etou-senpai? No, this doesn’t prove that. I still need to be careful, though.

Many different suspicions filled Akuto’s head. If he and Junko had been affected by that drug even more intensely, would they have fallen under Fujiko’s control? If so, Keena had saved them without telling them anything.

“Wh-why did you put that drug in there?”

“Ehh? Because I heard it would make people get along.”

“You were following me back then?”

“Yes. Sorry about not telling you. I hope you aren’t mad.”

“Th-then was Etou-senpai trying to trick me?”

“Why would she? Etou-senpai is a good person.”

Akuto could not tell how much Keena knew or how much she had done on purpose.

—Oh, whatever. At any rate…

“When will this wear off?” Akuto asked Korone.

“I predict the effects will be gone by nightfall.”

As Korone predicted, the girls’ dorm was surrounded until nightfall. Akuto could not imagine what was going on inside. He could hear Fujiko screaming and he could see the boys outside shedding tears of joy whenever they heard her.

And of course, the issue related to Akuto was never fully resolved. The drug seemed to have affected the minds of the students to a certain extent, so they could not remember most of what had happened that day. They had returned to how they were before they came to hate Akuto so much.

By the time Fujiko had learned of her plan’s failure, the girls’ dorm was already surrounded by students. She had of course been monitoring Akuto, so she knew why this was: Korone had scattered her drug around.

“So he saw right through my plan!”

That was a misunderstanding, but it was only natural that Fujiko believed it.

“He truly is a demon king! Now that he has seen through to who I am, I can no longer worry about appearances! I must make him mine and bring ruin to this world as soon as possible!”

Fujiko pulled out her grudge notebook to add both complaints about Akuto and another plan, but the sounds of the commotion outside coming from her crystal ball brought her back to her senses.

The female students had already made their way into the girls’ dorm. She looked away from the crystal ball and found her door was being pounded on so hard she feared it would be broken down.

“Fujiko-sama! Fujiko-sama! Fujiko-sama!”

“Embrace me!”

She could hear the girls calling for her. Apparently, the drug’s effects had taken an odd turn due to being disseminated.

“I-I need to bring an end to this commotion…”

Fujiko brought her hand to her door’s lock. The drug was supposed to make people do what she said, so even in this altered form, she a.s.sumed she could calm down the crowd.

However, an avalanche of girls poured into the room as soon as she unlocked the door.

“Whaaat!?

Fujiko was quickly buried in girls.

“Ahh, Fujiko-samaaa!”

“I truly love you!”

“I have always wanted to do this, Fujiko-sama!”

Arms reached from every direction and groped every inch of Fujiko’s body. And in the process, all of her clothes were stripped from her.

“Noooo! Stop this!” shouted Fujiko, but her screams seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Ahhh, such a beautiful voice! Please cry for us even more!”

The voltage of the girls around her only continued to grow.

“Stoooppp! Do not touch me there!”

“Ahh! Yes! Yes! You are so wonderful!”

“Eeeee!”

Fujiko was crushed among all those girls even after being stripped nude. Her h.e.l.l continued until nightfall.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“By the way.”

After the commotion had died down, Akuto was sitting in his room thinking with his arms crossed. The biggest remaining question was what Keena had been thinking.

“What were you thinking?”

Akuto chose the obvious route of just asking her.

“Rice is so delicious,” answered Keena.

She had a rice cooker in front of her and she was scooping white rice directly from it with a large spoon.

Akuto had bought the rice cooker. He had viewed it as an investment to find out what Keena had been thinking, but he was unsure if it had been of any use.

And then a knock came from his window.

The window opened and Junko stuck her head inside.

“Girls shouldn’t come to the guys’ dorm!” she shouted while pointing at Keena.

“You’re here too, Junko-chan,” complained Keena.

“I have not entered yet! I am only standing outside!”

“Ehh? So why are you here?” asked Keena while pouting.

Junko blushed and mumbled a bit.

“Sh-shut up!” She then pointed at Akuto. “I have decided I have no choice but to make sure you remain on the correct path! I will train you so you cannot do anything wrong! Prepare yourself!” She now turned back toward Keena. “More importantly, Keena! You turned invisible and went in my room, didn’t you!”

“How can you say that? You have no proof.”

Keena brought another spoonful of rice to her mouth.

“Proof? Well, how did you know what I said to myself!?”

“You mean what you were muttering about A-chan? I didn’t hear that.”

Keena’s words only made Junko blush further.

“Yes, you did! You had to have! No, wait. You do not have to repeat what I said! Silence! I get it! I will not press you any further about this!”

Junko and Keena began arguing loudly right next to Akuto.

He held his head in his hands and said, “Ahh, what is going to happen to me…?”

“If you could know that, then you really would be a demon king. Are you sure you want that?” said Korone in response to his rhetorical question.

“Aniki! Wanna play a game, aniki!?” shouted Hiroshi from outside the door.

Akuto’s school life had only just begun, but he was almost certain things would grow even more troublesome.

And Akuto was not the only person concerned about his school life.

Mitsuko-sensei and the student council president faced each other in the reception s.p.a.ce prepared in the faculty room. The short yet imposing president did not change her att.i.tude even when speaking with a teacher.

“Um, now that Etou Fujiko thinks Sai Akuto knows who she is, black magicians are probably going to enter this school,” complained the president.

“I do not know exactly what happened 100 years ago, but I wonder if this will turn out similarly,” said Mitsuko-sensei while pouting.

“I do not know, but I think we can manage,” said the president with a dry laugh.

“At any rate, just because he is a demon king does not mean he is clearly defined as either good or evil. Try to handle this so he does not join either side.”

“Sensei, this will not be that easy. If Hattori-san’s parents show up to confront the black magicians, he will probably join her side.”

“You just have to coordinate things so that does not happen.”

“The student council president is not almighty! And there is one other thing that bothers me.”

“What is that?”

“Soga Keena. Who is she?” asked the president as if her words held special meaning.

However, Mitsuko-sensei merely tilted her head.

“I don’t know. She’s a normal student. Just a normal student,” she said with a grin.