After Mitakihara Municipal Middle School's second-year class finished Saotome Kazuko-sensei's usual discussion about who to choose as subjects, she clapped her hands and said to the students below: "Everyone, listen up! Today, two transfer students have joined our class, and you must take good care of them! Let's welcome them." After saying that, Saotome Kazuko called out from the door: "Alright, you can come in now~"
After she finished speaking, the classroom door was pulled open. Homura Akemi and Yoshino, who had been waiting outside, walked in after hearing Saotome Kazuko's voice. When the two stood still, the students in the class let out sounds of surprise. Homura Akemi and Yoshino were both very cute in appearance. Especially Yoshino, who looked like a delicate doll, making both the girls and boys in the class show expressions of adoration.
Seeing most of the class's attention focused on her, Yoshino's body trembled violently. Just as she was about to use Yoshinon in her hand to cover her face, Homura Akemi stepped in front of Yoshino, blocking her from the students' view.
Madoka Kaname, sitting in the back row, almost cried out when she saw the two figures. The two standing on the podium were exactly the people who appeared in her dreams. She still remembered the scene of the long-haired girl being chased by a giant monster.
Even more deeply impressed was Yoshino next to her, the sight of the giant rabbit on her body fighting the monster. And finally, the scene where she transformed into an angel after being defeated by the monster, perishing together with it.
"Homura-san, thank you." Seeing Homura Akemi standing in front of her, Yoshino tugged at her sleeve to express her gratitude.
"...Mhm." Hearing Yoshino's thanks, Homura Akemi's body trembled. Then she nodded to acknowledge her gratitude.
'It's strange, Yoshinon.' Yoshino looked at Homura Akemi standing in front of her and secretly whispered to Yoshinon. She began to observe the other person's appearance: long, black, silky hair, violet eyes, and that aloof and cold expression, making her seem unapproachable.
'Mhm~ I feel it too. It's as if she knew you beforehand, but you should be coming to this world for the first time, so there's no reason for her to have known you beforehand. Could it be that the world's communication caused your information from other worlds to spread to this world, Yoshino? No way~ gaia and alaya wouldn't do such a careless thing.'
Yoshinon said with some confusion. Information from another world can spread to other worlds through comics or games, but gaia and alaya shouldn't have allowed Yoshino to come to this world without handling such matters. So Yoshinon couldn't understand Homura Akemi's actions.
'She knew me beforehand? Could that dream actually be real?' Looking at Homura Akemi's back, Yoshino thought to herself. 'Did she see me in a previous reincarnation? Or did I appear in previous reincarnations? That's a bit strange. It seems that what happens in this story might have happened before.'
"Alright! All of you, calm down! Don't scare our new classmates!" Seeing Yoshino's frightened expression, Saotome Kazuko clapped her hands to quiet the murmuring classroom and said: "Our new classmates are a bit shy, so you absolutely must not do anything excessive! Now, please introduce yourselves!"
"My name is Homura Akemi, please take care of me." Homura Akemi, standing on the podium, said in a flat tone. After a long time, no further self-introduction was heard from her.
Saotome Kazuko, who was halfway through writing Homura Akemi's name on the blackboard, stopped and turned to look at her, signaling her to continue, but Homura Akemi remained silent as if she hadn't seen her.
The atmosphere in the classroom became extremely awkward. Just then, Homura Akemi left Yoshino's side, took the chalk from Saotome Kazuko's hand, finished writing her name on the blackboard, and then faced the students, bowing deeply, her beautiful black hair gently swaying.
How to put it? After seeing Homura Akemi's performance, the students in the class labeled her as a strong-willed, self-centered girl. But she still left a strong impression on her classmates.
"Ah haha~ Well, actually, Homura Akemi-san has been hospitalized due to a heart condition and hasn't been to school for a long time. If anything troublesome happens, everyone should help her out." Seeing the class's many 'you're lying' expressions, Saotome Kazuko seemed to think of something and said to Madoka Kaname, who was sitting in the back: "Madoka Kaname-san, you are the class's health committee member, I hope you will take good care of Homura Akemi-san."
"Ah? Ah! Yes!! I understand!" Madoka Kaname, who was deep in thought, said in a panic when she heard the teacher call her name.
Saotome Kazuko showed an awkward expression, changed positions, and began writing Yoshino's name.
Yoshino did not introduce herself while Saotome Kazuko was writing her name, unlike Homura Akemi. She was a little confused; she had done this self-introduction several times, but this time the feeling was many times stronger than before. The students' gazes made her feel increasingly shy, and her body began to tremble. If she could, she even wanted to use her powers to leave, but that was clearly impossible.
"Hey, isn't what you're doing a bit much?" Zadkiel, who was watching Yoshino's situation, said anxiously. Seeing Yoshino standing on the podium looking scared, she had an urge to appear and stand in front of her. But because of these guys' obstruction and restrictions, she couldn't go out, so she could only vent her anger on these culprits.
"Oh my, oh my~ Zadkiel is distressed to see her little master scared? It's alright, although I also feel quite distressed, this is also to test that girl named Homura Akemi." Embracing Zadkiel from behind, Astaroth looked at Homura Akemi on the screen and said with a giggle.
"That's right, don't worry. We won't do anything to harm Yoshino. Just watch this child's performance. I have a feeling something interesting will happen. Hehe~" The still giggling 'Good' covered her mouth and said, looking at Homura Akemi on the screen, her eyes shining with a strange light. "This child doesn't seem like someone who knows nothing."
"...I understand. What about her guardian? She doesn't have anyone else accompanying her right now, and you've made her so timid with her emotions. What if something happens?" Pointing at the trembling Yoshino on the screen, Zadkiel said worriedly.
"It's fine." The 'Evil' who had been silent suddenly spoke. Noticing that everyone around was paying attention to her, a blush appeared on her face as she turned her head and huffed coquettishly: "This girl is, after all, the prototype of me and 'Good,' my past self. She has, after all, passed the Magic of Darkness test. If she can't even handle this much, I'll look down on her."
"Oh my, there you go again, 'Evil.' You're clearly worried about Yoshino, yet you deliberately say such things. Honestly, being so tsundere will make you lose a lot of things." 'Good' said, smiling, as she hugged the unforthcoming 'Evil' from behind.
"Get lost! Don't come near me! Go play somewhere else!" 'Evil' yelled exasperatedly. She could already feel the hands messing with her breasts; that guy was getting restless again!
Returning to Yoshino, she gripped the hem of her skirt with both hands, looking at the people below with a bit of fear. Teacher Saotome Kazuko, who had finished writing her name, saw Yoshino's trembling body. She had known since the office that this child had a shy personality. Compared to Homura Akemi's aloofness, Yoshino's cute demeanor made Saotome Kazuko feel more like a teacher.
With a smiling expression, she came behind Yoshino, held her shoulders, and encouraged her, "You can do it, Yoshino. You've got this."
"Te... Teacher." Yoshino looked at Saotome Kazuko with a trembling voice. Under her encouragement, she felt much better. As she was about to speak, her other shoulder was held. She turned around and saw a faint smile on the face of the person standing next to her, who nodded. Although she didn't say any words of encouragement, Yoshino could feel what she wanted to convey.
"Homura-san... I... I understand. I'll do my best." After taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Yoshino stepped forward and faced her many classmates, saying, "Um... my name is Yoshino. I like cute hats and Yoshinon. I dislike being the center of attention and getting hurt."
"Oh oh oh!!!!" After Yoshino finished speaking, the classmates in the class erupted in enthusiastic applause and excited shouts. Many female students below, seeing Yoshino's scared expression, had wanted to go up and hug Yoshino to comfort her several times. Now, seeing Yoshino successfully introduce herself, they were instantly moved, though they didn't know why.
"Ah!" Hearing the cheers, Yoshino, who had her eyes closed, jumped in surprise. She used Yoshinon on her left hand to shield her face. After the class quieted down, she slowly moved Yoshinon away, revealing her tear-filled eyes, and timidly said, "Please... please don't... please don't bully me."
"Oh oh oh!!!" Yoshino's words made the classmates in the class stunned for a moment, then everyone let out an even louder cheer than before. The current Yoshino made them want to protect her; who would want to bully such a cute child?
"Kya~ So cute! How can she be so cute? It's completely at a foul level! Don't worry! I, your teacher, swear to you here! The classmates in this class will absolutely not bully you! If such a situation arises, I will help you severely punish those who bully you!" Saotome Kazuko said with glittering eyes and fierce determination, protecting Yoshino.
'She's still so shy, as expected.' Homura Akemi, behind her, thought to herself as she looked at Yoshino in front of her. 'But she's a very kind person.' Homura Akemi's face showed a faint smile as she thought of something.
'However, it was precisely such a kind person who sacrificed herself to achieve my wish.' Thinking of the past scene, she clenched her hands.
'This time, it's the final loop! This time, it's my turn to protect you, Yoshino.'
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