Sorata immediately pushed aside the matter of the devils appearing at the school gate.
He had no interest in investigating why they showed up at Suiko.
Right now, he only wanted to live quietly and enjoy his days.
Today, for once, he was not late.
That alone made Aoyama Nanami, who sat in front of him, feel something was off.
After he took his seat, she turned around and looked at him as if observing a rare animal.
“What kind of look is that?” Sorata asked, speechless.
“It’s just rare,” Nanami sighed.
“School’s been in session for days, and this is the first time you’re not late.”
“You make it sound like I committed some unforgivable crime. I was only late a few days.”
“Only late?” Nanami widened her eyes.
“Who was late every day, slept through class, and spent the entire afternoon lying on the rooftop until dismissal? Sensei Koharu is already planning to have a talk with you.”
“Really? Even so, although I’m late, sleep in class, and don’t join any clubs, I still consider myself a good student.”
“Now I finally understand what shameless means.”
Nanami stared at him before adding coolly, “Kanda, you’ve already been assimilated by Sakurasou. There’s no saving you.”
After that, her expression turned serious.
“By the way, how long are you planning to stay at Sakurasou? Didn’t you say last year you were looking for a chance to move out? Are you really not leaving?”
“If you don’t move soon, it might be too late. I’ve noticed the way some students look at you now feels a bit strange.”
“The gaze of others?”
Sorata smiled faintly.
“Maybe I would have cared before. But now, what does it matter? Can their looks make me lose a piece of flesh?”
For a fleeting moment, something about him felt dazzling in Nanami’s eyes.
Beneath his calm gaze seemed to lie a faint, unshakable confidence, as if he stood above everything around him.
Her breathing hitched.
Then it vanished.
His eyes returned to their usual ordinary look, making her wonder if she had imagined it.
Suddenly, Sorata remembered something.
“Right, I almost forgot. I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?” Nanami asked, startled.
“It’s about Misaki senpai. She wants to know if you’re available to do voice dubbing for her new project.”
“Another new project? Misaki senpai is amazing.” Nanami’s face filled with admiration.
Even though they lived under the same roof at Sakurasou, she had to admit that Misaki was the most gifted person she had ever met.
She hesitated.
“You’ve got something on and can’t make it? I’ll let her know then.”
“No, that’s not it!” Nanami said quickly.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I’m just wondering if I can do it well. It’s Misaki senpai’s work. A lot of people will be paying attention.”
Last year, Nanami had participated in dubbing for one of Misaki’s projects.
That animation had sold over a hundred thousand DVDs.
Because of it, she had drawn envy from many students and was no longer as naïve as before.
At the same time, she understood how valuable this opportunity was.
It would help her pursue her goal of becoming a voice actress.
She didn’t want to miss it.
“Just tell me whether you’re going or not. Hesitating doesn’t sound like you.”
“You talk like you know me well.” She shot him a glare.
“Not that well. Just judging by what I see. So it might not be accurate.”
Sorata’s gaze drifted over her with an odd expression.
“Ah… close your eyes! Don’t look!”
Nanami’s cheeks flushed instantly.
Hugging her chest, she glared at him in embarrassment.
“Kanda, when did you become just like Mitaka senpai? Have you really been infected by Sakurasou?”
Seeing the usually strong willed girl blushing from head to toe, Sorata smiled.
“Alright. I’ll tell her you’ve accepted. Honestly, what’s there to hesitate about with such a good opportunity?”
Teasing a cute teenage girl lifted his mood.
Especially since she faintly harbored feelings for him, it made the teasing even more amusing.
Having experienced countless things, Sorata understood that high school first love was often the purest.
There was no calculation, no weighing of gains and losses.
Liking someone simply meant liking them.
It was not influenced by family, money, fame, or benefit.
Of course, such impulsive purity often ended in failure.
At that age, most people were not ready to shoulder real responsibility.
Dating and marriage were entirely different matters.
“I’m not hesitating,” Nanami muttered.
“I just don’t always understand Misaki senpai. Her sudden strange instructions confuse me.”
“How about you come help sometimes? Act as a translator?”
She looked at him expectantly.
“Then I’m counting on you, Kanda.”
His agreement brought a bright smile to her face.
The sight left several nearby boys staring.
“Alright, I’ll message her.”
Sorata pulled out his phone and sent Misaki a message.
An automatic reply came almost immediately.
‘Love you~’
What kind of auto reply setting was that?
He felt a bit helpless.
A second message arrived.
‘Let’s break up.’
“This senpai’s brain circuits are really something,” Sorata said with a shrug when he noticed Nanami’s strange look.
“Yesterday her auto reply was ‘Welcome, husband.'”
Nanami coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, how’s Hikari doing?”
Sorata flipped to a photo of the white cat.
“Very well. Look, even its backside’s gotten plumper.”
“Wow, after just one summer break, Hikari’s grown so much.”
They began chatting about the cat.
It was because of adopting the abandoned white cat, Hikari, last year that the two of them had gradually become closer.
Before that, they had only been ordinary classmates.
The relaxed atmosphere did not last long.
Once the teacher entered and class began, Sorata leaned over his desk, closed his eyes, and continued deducing the law model for the second stage of the Kryptonian bloodline.
After determining the direction, he had successfully extracted a fragment of the “Scorching Bloodline” from the Transcendent Rank 3 Blazing Fire Race the previous night and integrated it into the Kryptonian genetic law model as its first additional ability.
According to his deductions, once his entire body was fully converted into the Kryptonian bloodline in just over a week, he would not only possess Superman’s physical strength but also have attacks infused with scorching attributes.
As for how strong that would be, only time would tell.
At present, it remained theoretical modeling.
The transformation had yet to truly begin.
However, after integrating one ability, he discovered that adding new ones became significantly harder.
A single mistake could cause the entire law model to collapse, forcing him to expend a large amount of mental energy to rebuild it from scratch.
Progress slowed noticeably.