100PS Bonus Chapter!
The next day, as soon as Eriri walked into the Service Club, she pulled out her finished artwork.
“Well, this is rare…” Utaha teased.
“Usually you miss every deadline possible, but you actually finished something on time.”
“Mind your own business!” Eriri shot her a nasty glare.
She wasn’t about to admit that she had stayed up half the night just to get it done.
“Take a look at this!!”
She proudly revealed a brand-new promotional poster for Ren and the rest of the club to see.
Eriri’s reputation in the doujinshi community came from real skill, not luck.
She had put a lot of effort into this piece.
It worked well as a club ad and included some subtle, spooky touches from urban legends.
She even added a clear note that supernatural requests would incur an extra charge.
She had done such a good job that even Utaha couldn’t find anything to criticize.
Ren studied it for a moment and gave an approving nod.
“This looks great.
You have some serious talent.”
Ren’s praise made her heart skip a beat.
Eriri scratched the back of her head and gave an awkward, bragging laugh.
“It was nothing, really…
A piece like this hardly takes any time at all.
I whipped it up without breaking a sweat!”
As soon as she said it, she regretted it.
Why did she always have to act so tough?
She had spent all night practicing what to say about her hard work, hoping Ren would notice.
But when he finally complimented her…
her mind went blank and she forgot everything.
“Still, it looks great,” Ren said, nodding again to make her feel better.
“…” Eriri stood there in silence, fighting the urge to cry.
Utaha watched from the sidelines and smirked.
She figured there was no need to worry about Eriri.
To her, a losing blonde would always be a losing blonde.
The poster was up, but that didn’t mean people would suddenly rush in.
No one really took them seriously.
A few days went by, and Ren didn’t come across any new supernatural events.
“Ren-kun?”
During a break between classes, a few girls gathered around his desk, pretending they needed help with homework just to talk to him.
“Could you help me figure out this question?”
Being known as the smartest student in the grade brought Ren a lot of unwanted attention.
“I’m busy.” His reply was as flat and indifferent as always.
“Busy??” The girls looked at him in disbelief.
He was just resting his chin on his hand and staring out the window, looking completely bored.
How could he be busy?
“Enjoying the view.”
The girls’ smiles turned into awkward grimaces.
They knew ‘Enjoying the view’ was just his way of telling them to leave.
“S-Sorry for bothering you…” Defeated, they shuffled away awkwardly.
This same scene had already happened a dozen times in the past few days.
“Tch.” Kakeru Tobe, one of the loud guys from the popular group, watched the whole thing and couldn’t help commenting.
“So what if he got first place on one exam?
Why does he act like he’s superior?”
Teenage boys liked to compete and show off in front of girls.
Seeing Ren ignore them so easily annoyed Tobe.
“Hayato is definitely taking back first place on the next test, right?”
Hayato Hayama just gave an awkward smile.
He wished Tobe wouldn’t bring him into this.
Even before Ren arrived, Yukino Yukinoshita was always number one.
Hayato had never actually gotten first place.
“I will try my hardest,” Hayato said with a forced nod.
“The more I look at him, the more annoying he gets,” Tobe muttered, looking at his friends to see if they agreed.
“…” Yumiko Miura had been staring at the back of Ren’s head, absorbed in her own thoughts.
She didn’t plan to join the conversation, but Tobe’s loud complaining was starting to annoy her.
“HOW DO YOU KNOW HE’S ACTING SUPERIOR?” she snapped.
“Maybe he really does have things to do.
Or maybe he’s just tired and doesn’t want to deal with annoying girls hitting on him.”
No wonder he looked so tired.
“Uh…” Tobe froze, surprised by her sudden anger.
“I…
I was talking about Ren,” Tobe stammered, thinking she must have misunderstood.
Ren was just an antisocial weirdo.
Yumiko used to talk badly about him too!
“SO WHAT?” Yumiko snapped back.
“But you used to say the exact same things about him…”
Yumiko stayed quiet.
Her silence just hid how annoyed she was getting.
Tobe didn’t know what to say.
He looked around, hoping someone would help break the awkward silence.
“Yumiko,” Hayato finally stepped in to help his friend.
“Tobe didn’t mean anything by it.
Let it go.”
Hayato had noticed Yumiko acting strange lately.
He knew she liked him, but his feelings were for someone else—Yukino’s older sister, Haruno Yukinoshita.
He never told Yumiko directly because, honestly, having the most popular girl in class like him made him feel good.
But lately, that affection seemed to be gone.
She spaced out in class and often ignored him.
“Are you feeling okay?” Hayato asked, giving her his usual sunny smile.
Seeing his smile just made Yumiko even more annoyed.
“I have somewhere to be,” she said curtly.
She stood up from her desk and walked out of the classroom without another word.
Yui Yuigahama and Hina Ebina, her two closest friends in the clique, exchanged a confused look.
“Something is definitely bothering her,” Yui whispered.
“Let’s go check on her,” Hina agreed, and the two girls hurried into the hallway.
Tobe just stood there, looking lost.
“Did I say something wrong?”
All he did was talk trash about Ren.
Before this week, Yumiko was always the first to join in!
It helps new readers find it.
And of course, your Power Stones help push the story forward.
Thanks for reading.