As Leo conversed with Kasumigaoka Utaha, the entire class 3-c grew noticeably quieter.
Among the students present, both boys and girls alike couldn't help but perk up their ears, beginning to pay attention to the content of their conversation.
There was no helping it; these two were celebrities at Sobu High School, no matter from which angle one looked at them.
Leo, with his outstanding looks and demeanor, was already rated as Sobu High School's most popular boy in his first year, and he had consistently ranked first for three consecutive years on the 'Most Desired Partner' list created by the girls. The votes for Hayama Hayato, who ranked second, were a full half less than his, making him truly far ahead.
As for Kasumigaoka Utaha, she was one of the four most prominent girls in all of Sobu High School.
At Sobu High School, there were four 'high-class flowers' recognized by all the teachers and students.
These four high-class flowers were referred to by all the teachers and students by the names of "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter."
The first high-class flower was a girl currently in Class 1-A, her name being Shiina Mahiru. Her exquisite appearance and gentle, virtuous temperament caused a huge stir on her first day of enrollment, making her a celebrity at Sobu High School. She was called 'Angel-sama' by all the teachers and students and was the 'Spring Flower' of Sobu High School.
The second high-class flower was a girl currently in Class 2-G, her name being Sawamura Spencer Eriri. She possessed strong artistic talent and was the ace of the school's art club. She usually behaved with the delicate and refined manner of a young lady, was kind-hearted, and very popular throughout the school. She was the 'Summer Flower' of Sobu High School.
The third high-class flower was Kasumigaoka Utaha, currently in class 3-c. She was a literary girl with rare literary talent, capable of writing scripts for the drama club, and also a budding light novel author. She was quiet and elegant, with an exceptionally refined temperament and appearance. She was the 'Autumn Flower' of Sobu High School.
And the fourth high-class flower, naturally, was Yukinoshita Yukino, currently in Class 2-J. She was an honor student who had maintained the top academic rank since enrollment, a beautiful girl possessing both looks and intelligence. Due to her overly cold attitude towards people and matters, she was the 'Winter Flower' of Sobu High School.
These four school beauties were all individuals whose appearance, temperament, grades, talents, and even family backgrounds were impeccable. They were truly high-class flowers, to be admired from afar but not to be touched.
Support groups for these four high-class flowers were also established within Sobu High School, with Kasumigaoka Utaha's support group being the largest.
The reason was simple: Kasumigaoka Utaha was a third-year senior, while the other three high-class flowers were all junior students. Some senior boys would not 'lower themselves' to be fans of junior students; at least, they felt it would be somewhat embarrassing, which is why Kasumigaoka Utaha had the most supporters in the entire school.
On a side note, Yukinoshita Yukino's support group was the smallest because she always maintained a cold demeanor, was extremely bad at social interactions, often used sharp-tongued remarks towards others, and dared to speak her mind and correct mistakes regarding people or things around her. This scared away many people; only those who liked this kind of personality chose to join her support group and become her avid fans... At this moment, the most popular boy among girls in the entire school and the most popular girl among boys in the entire school were chatting together, which naturally attracted attention in every sense, making people unconsciously focus on them.
Leo and Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally noticed this situation, but both were already used to it, so they continued their conversation as if no one else was present.
"I'm here to urge you to update, Kasumigaoka-san," Leo said with a serious expression. "When will the second volume of my love metronome finally come out? I've been waiting for several months now. If you don't update soon, I'll send razor blades to your house."
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha subtly rolled her eyes.
"Have you really been reading novels lately?" Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a half-smile, "Why do I hear that a certain someone has been paying attention to the Service Club recently, even running to their club room at lunchtime? I wonder what they talked about inside?"
"Oh, you know?" Leo chuckled, saying, "It seems I'm quite popular with my senior then."
"After all, you were the first in the school to discover my identity as a light novel author, and you spread it everywhere, making me the culprit who bothered me with fans for a long time, Demon Lord," Kasumigaoka Utaha said indifferently. "Also, how many times have I told you, we are classmates, and I am not your senior. Why do you always like to call me that?"
"Don't mind it, it's just some habits that cannot be revealed to outsiders that I accidentally brought here," Leo waved his hand, saying, "Don't you always call me Demon Lord too?"
"Whose fault is that?" Kasumigaoka Utaha's gaze returned to the book in her hand, and she said without lifting her head, "Wasn't it a certain narcissistic person, whose charm had nowhere to go, who ran up to me on his own accord and claimed to be a devil?"
That's right, Leo had once confessed his identity to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Their conversation at the time went like this...
"Senior, I want to read the second volume of love metronome."
"Don't call me senior, and the second volume isn't out yet."
"Then please write it for me right now, otherwise, I'll curse you."
"You? Curse me?"
"Yes, because I am a devil."
...If you're going to joke, please do it in another setting, okay?
Thus, urging for updates became Leo's daily conversation starter with Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Kasumigaoka Utaha also called him "Demon Lord" ever since.
Leo knew that this address was merely a deliberate tease from her to get back at him for constantly urging updates; she didn't take Leo's self-disclosure seriously at all.
How could Sobu High School's famous 'Autumn Flower' have ever imagined that this seemingly embarrassing, chuunibyou-like self-disclosure, which she used as a joke and a dark past, was actually true?
One can only say that the truth is always hidden in words and actions that are inadvertently revealed, but people never discover it.
"Anyway, I want to read the second volume of love metronome, I really can't wait any longer," Leo said somewhat unreasonably. "Could what's rumored online be true? Is your love metronome really going to be cut short because the second volume is difficult to produce?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately fell silent.
"No way? No way?" Leo said with an exaggerated expression, "Is it really going to be cut short? My youth is over!"
"You're so annoying, Demon Lord," Kasumigaoka Utaha said unhappily. "I will write the second volume; I absolutely won't let love metronome be cut short."
Despite saying that, Kasumigaoka Utaha's condition had actually been a bit low lately.
She had written the content for the second volume several times, but each time it failed to pass the editor's review, leading her into a difficult situation where it was hard to produce.
When the first volume of love metronome was first released, sales were very impressive, which led to the second volume constantly being rejected by the editor for not being as exciting as the first. Now, there are no signs of reprinting, leading to rumors of its cancellation.
This caused Kasumigaoka Utaha a great deal of distress and even frustration.
Naturally, Kasumigaoka Utaha would not reveal these things to Leo.
She was unwilling to be looked down upon by this "book fan" who had always been urging for updates, and she also vaguely did not want to see disappointment in his eyes.
Although not explicitly stated, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a deep sense of pride that the most popular boy among girls at Sobu High School was so captivated by her work.
Therefore, she was unwilling to see Leo disappointed.
"Then I'll wait for your good news."
Leo looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, as if he could see through her inner troubles and frustrations, and suddenly smiled.
"Seeing how hard you're working, senior, I'll give you a rather special gift."
Leo took out a palm-sized piece of vintage parchment from his pocket.
"This is a very effective amulet. When you feel troubled, it might be able to offer you some help."
Saying that, Leo slipped the parchment to Kasumigaoka Utaha, then got up and returned to his seat.
"This is an amulet?"
Although Kasumigaoka Utaha was a bit stunned, she looked at the parchment with the Magic Circle drawn on it in her hand, pursed her lips, and then put it away.
Leo, who was secretly observing this scene, smiled slightly, then turned his gaze towards the podium.
As the class bell rang, the teacher had already walked in and began the lesson... Unconsciously, the day's classes ended.
As the sun set and dusk appeared, the crowd at Sobu High School gradually thinned, making the entire campus slowly fall silent.
On the school building's rooftop, Leo was lying there, hands clasped behind his head, legs crossed, bathing in the sunset with a carefree demeanor.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Leo opened his eyes, an unmissable sharp glint flashing through them.
"This is...?"
He stood up, walked to the railing, his gaze piercing like a torch, looking towards the direction of the school gate.
No, he was looking much further away.
"Did they actually make a move directly?"
As if he knew something, a cold arc formed at the corner of Leo's mouth.
The next second, Leo suddenly vanished from his spot, disappearing without a trace... Time, rewinding to a few minutes earlier... At a train station a distance away from Sobu High School, Yukinoshita Yukino slowly walked out, heading towards an apartment building.
As the second young lady of the Yukinoshita Family, Yukinoshita Yukino should have originally lived in a mansion and had a private car for commuting to and from school, but due to her family situation, she was currently living alone in a rented apartment. Her mode of transportation for commuting to and from school had also changed from a private car to a train, making it hard to imagine that this was the life of the second young lady of the Yukinoshita Family, a prestigious local family in Chiba Prefecture.
At this moment, Yukinoshita Yukino was still brooding over the day's events.
"How can something like this help me?"
Holding the parchment with the Magic Circle drawn on it, Yukinoshita Yukino's displeasure had accumulated to its limit.
"A guy who acts all mysterious, I don't need help from something like this."
Immediately, Yukinoshita Yukino prepared to throw away the parchment.
"Thump..."
Just then, an overly deliberate footstep reached her ears.