Over the year, many things had happened.
Despite living the life of an ordinary student during the day, his nights were anything but normal.
He had fought countless supernatural beings.
Fallen Angels who mistook him for an easy target, Stray Devils causing trouble around Kuoh, wandering monsters, and even the occasional Church mercenary sent to investigate strange spiritual disturbances.
The whole cabbage pack.
It was fun, to say the least.
None of them had ever posed much of a challenge.
Some tried ambushing him.
Others attempted negotiations before inevitably deciding violence was the better option.
Every single one of them ended up disappointed.
The more he fought, the more naturally Yhwach’s memories blended with his own.
Techniques that once belonged to someone else now felt completely natural, as if he had spent centuries mastering them himself.
Life settled into a comfortable rhythm.
Go to school.
Sleep through at least one class.
Fight supernatural beings at night.
Repeat….It wasn’t a bad life, just a bit boring.
Break time soon arrived, bringing a wave of noise throughout Kuoh Academy as students flooded out of their classrooms.
Conversations filled the hallways while clubs began recruiting students outside, desperately trying to convince first and second years to join.
The peaceful atmosphere of the academy remained as lively as ever.
Outside, beneath the shade of a large tree near the courtyard, Ren sat alone on a wooden bench.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves above him while sunlight filtered through the branches, creating shifting patches of light across the ground.
Groups of students laughed nearby, some eating lunch while others played around without a care in the world.
His posture was relaxed as he stared ahead aimlessly, completely detached from the noisy environment around him.
To anyone watching…He simply looked like a tired teenager enjoying the fresh air.
Then…Food suddenly appeared in his hand.
A bag of chip, soda and a small sandwich.
None of it had existed a second ago.
He simply visioned it and it came to be.
Ren casually opened the chips and began eating without the slightest reaction, as though magically creating food out of thin air was the most normal thing in the world.
Crunch.
Crunch.
‘I got this from Gremmy’s powers,’ he thought while taking another bite.
‘It’s a pretty ridiculous ability.’
He glanced at the sandwich.
‘I can literally make anything I imagine.’
A small smile formed on his face.
‘Though I gotta be careful or I’d imagine my own death.’He paused for a second.’…Just kidding.’
Taking another chip, he shrugged.
‘I can just move to a future where that didn’t happen.’ It really was that absurd.
His expression soured slightly afterward.
‘Though I seriously hate having The Almighty.’
His glowing red eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.
‘Seeing and feeling everything around me without trying is annoying.’
Even while heavily suppressing it…The ability never truly stopped.
Space itself seemed transparent before his eyes.
An invisible energy flowed through every living being like rivers of light.
He could sense hidden barriers scattered across Kuoh.
The emotions of nearby students brushed against his senses.
The movements of insects crawling beneath the grass, birds flying several streets away, the presence of Devils, fallen Angels…Even those deliberately concealing themselves.
Nothing escaped his perception.
To him, the world wasn’t simply something he looked at, but it was something he experienced all at once.
Most people would’ve gone insane within minutes.
Thankfully…Ren had adapted long ago.
Still, it was annoying.
He reached for another chip.
Before he could continue enjoying his peaceful break…
Ren didn’t even bother turning immediately.
He already knew who it was the moment she stepped out of the school building.
“What do you want, Souna Shitori?” he asked lazily while glancing sideways, another chip disappearing into his mouth.
Souna sat elegantly beside him with perfect posture, crossing her legs neatly as her skirt settled over her knees.
Her glasses reflected slightly beneath the warm afternoon sunlight while a calm smile rested on her beautiful face as always, giving off the refined aura of an honor student.
Her short black hair swayed gently with the breeze, and despite the noisy courtyard around them, she somehow carried an atmosphere that made everything around her feel calmer.
“Why hello, Ren-kun,” she greeted smoothly.
“How is school going so far?”
Ren took another bite of his sandwich before answering.
“It’s okay.” He glanced at her for a brief second.
“But you still haven’t answered my question.”
Souna adjusted her glasses slightly.
“I want a rematch.”
Ren immediately leaned back against the bench, letting out a small sigh as though she’d asked him to do homework.
“I don’t feel like it.” His response came instantly.
“I gain nothing from rematching you unless you’re willing to change that,” he continued while a smirk slowly spread across his face.
A faint blush appeared on Souna’s cheeks almost immediately.
“You want…
that again, right?” she asked quietly, avoiding his eyes for a moment.
“Why of course,” Ren replied shamelessly.
“What else?”
Her blush deepened even further.
Despite her composed appearance, she looked genuinely embarrassed remembering their previous “bet.”
The last time they’d played…
She had lost, badly and the punishment he had chosen was something she’d never expected, nor had she ever imagined she’d actually agree to.
Even now…Thinking about it made her ears turn red.
“Fine!” she said quickly while standing up, trying to regain her composure.
“Let’s go.”
Travis chuckled softly before standing as well.
“Lead the way, my lady.”
Souna shot him a small glare over her shoulder before turning around and walking ahead, pretending not to hear the amused chuckle behind her.
Ren casually followed behind her with both hands inside his pockets.
His gaze wandered around the campus lazily as students passed by chatting happily with friends.
Some greeted Souna respectfully as she walked past, while others curiously looked at Ren, wondering why the academy’s model honor student was walking around with the school’s devilishly handsome slacker.
Neither of them paid the whispers any attention.
Kuoh Academy truly was beautiful.
Clean pathways stretched throughout the campus, lined with neatly trimmed hedges and blooming cherry blossom trees whose pink petals drifted lazily through the breeze.
Large fountains sparkled beneath the afternoon sun while elegant school buildings towered around the grounds, giving the academy a peaceful, almost luxurious atmosphere.
Combined with the supernatural beings secretly attending the academy…
The place honestly felt more interesting than most fantasy worlds.
‘I never really get bored of the scenery here,’ he thought while admiring the surroundings.
Especially when beautiful girls kept appearing everywhere he looked.
They eventually arrived at an old club room located near the quieter side of the school building.
It sat at the end of a hallway that was rarely used during break, making it far more peaceful than the rest of the academy.
Faint voices from distant classrooms echoed through the corridor, but otherwise the area remained almost completely silent.
The school’s unofficial chess club.
Or rather…
Souna’s personal chess room.
Almost nobody used it besides her.
That simply meant it became the perfect private location for the two of them.
The room itself wasn’t particularly large.
A few desks had been pushed together near the center, bookshelves lined one wall with old strategy books collecting dust, and a large window allowed warm afternoon sunlight to pour inside, giving the room a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere.
The moment they entered, Ren casually closed the door behind them.
“Alright, let’s get it over with,” he said while pulling out a chair and dragging a desk closer.
Souna ignored his lazy tone and calmly walked toward the nearby cabinet before taking out an expensive-looking wooden chessboard along with a polished set of black and white pieces.
Judging by the craftsmanship alone, it clearly wasn’t something bought from an ordinary store.
She carefully arranged every piece with practiced movements before taking her seat.
Within moments, the game began.
Silence filled the room afterward.
The only sounds were the soft clicking of chess pieces against the board, the distant voices of students outside, and the occasional breeze drifting through the slightly open window.
Time passed surprisingly fast as both of them became completely focused on the match.
Well…Mostly Souna.
Souna was one of the smartest students in Kuoh Academy.
Her intelligence was well known throughout the school, and she approached chess with the same level of seriousness she approached everything else.
Every move was carefully calculated several turns ahead, her eyes constantly scanning the board for weaknesses while her fingers rested lightly against a chess piece.
Ren, meanwhile, looked completely uninterested half the time.
One hand supported his cheek while the other lazily moved pieces across the board.
Every now and then he’d yawn or glance out the window as if he wasn’t even paying attention.
And yet somehow…He kept winning.
Academically, Ren was painfully average.
He normally scored around fifty to sixty percent on tests because he simply couldn’t be bothered trying harder.
But chess?
That was different.
Mostly because of The Almighty.
Trying to outplay someone who could process countless possibilities simultaneously was borderline impossible.
Before Souna even touched a piece, Ren had already seen countless future games play out inside his mind, each ending differently depending on the move she chose.
To him, chess wasn’t really a game anymore.
It was simply choosing which future he wanted to arrive at.
Still, Ren intentionally held himself back heavily just to make things entertaining.
If he played seriously, the match would’ve ended within minutes, and where was the fun in that?
An entire hour passed without either of them caring about the classes they were currently skipping.
Finally…
“Checkmate.”
Ren calmly moved his final piece before leaning back lazily in his chair, folding his arms behind his head.
Souna’s violet eyes widened slightly behind her glasses.
She stared at the board silently.
Then…She stared harder.
Her eyes traced every possible line of play again and again, searching desperately for the mistake she’d made.
There wasn’t one.”…Impossible,” she muttered.
She genuinely hadn’t seen it coming.
Again.
Her shoulders slumped slightly in defeat before she slowly lifted her gaze toward him.
The moment their eyes met…A faint blush spread across her cheeks once more.
“Fine…” she said quietly.
She adjusted her glasses, clearly trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Take off your shirt.
I’ll massage you again.”
Her voice carried equal parts embarrassment and frustration.The act itself wasn’t even the biggest issue anymore.
It was her pride.
Losing repeatedly to Ren annoyed her far more than the punishment itself.
Ren couldn’t help but laugh softly.’ I enjoy seeing her face when she loses’ he thought.
Peace