Chapter 33: Kyosuke Ito’s Enlightenment in the Sewers

It seemed that overnight, all the cherry blossoms in town were racing to bloom.

The school paths were covered in petals, creating a romantic atmosphere.

Many girls were outside taking photos and posting them, while couples enjoyed the view together.

Logically, Ziteng Sayaka, who sat by the window, could have admired the scenery too, but she had no mind for such things.

She propped her cheek on one hand, staring at the problems on her desk, and unconsciously twirled a pen with the other, her face scrunched in frustration.

‘This problem is really hard. I have absolutely no idea where to start. But how did Hoshino-kun solve it so quickly?’

‘If I solve this, will I really understand the world a little more?’

Ziteng Sayaka had been thinking about the problem, but her thoughts gradually drifted elsewhere.

When she came back to her senses, she found a lifelike portrait had appeared on her practice book.

It was Hoshino Gen sitting at his desk, deep in thought over a book.

He looked so strikingly handsome that even though only his side profile was drawn, anyone who knew him could recognize him at a glance.

‘What’s going on?’

Out of the corner of her eye, Ziteng Sayaka noticed someone approaching her.

She quickly flipped the page, covering up the one with the portrait.

“Wow, the sun must be rising from the west today. You’re actually doing homework?”

Hoshino Gen leaned in and saw the practice book on Ziteng Sayaka’s desk, looking utterly shocked.

Realizing she was being made fun of, Ziteng Sayaka shot him a glare.

“I’m still a student, you know. Of course I have to study.”

Hoshino Gen leaned closer.

“Let me see how many problems the student solved this morning and if she got them right.”

“In your dreams! I’m not showing you!”

Ziteng Sayaka immediately covered her practice book with her arms.

Hoshino Gen said, “I thought my deskmate was a Night Cat Hero—dozing and daydreaming during the day to recharge, and then perking up at night, putting on a cool combat suit to fight evil forces hiding in the city.”

Ziteng Sayaka thought to herself: ‘You’re not wrong. Since Magic Beasts usually don’t appear during the day, Magical Girls generally fight at night.’

“Calling you a Night Cat Hero doesn’t seem right. I need a better word. Let me think…”

Hoshino Gen snapped his fingers.

“Oh, right. I should call you a Magical Girl.”

In the public’s mind, Magical Girls were real but also quite mysterious.

They came and went without a trace, and no one knew their true identities.

All people knew was that they possessed immense power and beautiful appearances, appearing just in time when people were in danger—objects of admiration for countless boys and girls.

When Ziteng Sayaka heard Hoshino Gen say “Magical Girl,” her heart skipped a beat, thinking she had been exposed.

But judging by his expression, she quickly realized he was just teasing her.

“Are you ever going to stop?!”

Ziteng Sayaka raised her fist, pretending to punch Hoshino Gen in the chest.

Startled, Hoshino Gen begged for mercy.

If her fist actually landed, it wouldn’t be a joke.

‘You can tease a female deskmate every now and then, but if you get too annoying, you’ll end up getting rubbed into the floor.’

More and more students filled the classroom.

The sounds of noisy chatter, chairs scraping, and pages turning mingled together.

Then came exclamations from classmates.

“Itō Kyōsuke? You’re back!”

When he walked in, several girls’ eyes were glued to him at first sight, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Was this the same sullen, oily-haired, creepy voyeur with a hunched back and shifty eyes they remembered?

In his place was a boy standing tall, a smile on his face, exuding a mysterious confidence.

Although he still had long hair, his overall aura was completely different from before.

“Itō-kun is back? I thought you dropped out.”

“Doesn’t he look a lot cooler? Or is it just me?”

Murmurs rippled through the classroom, but given his previous misdeeds, few girls dared to talk to him.

Itō Kyōsuke greeted the classmates he hadn’t seen in a while, then calmly walked to his seat.

The last two rows of the classroom were almost entirely empty.

Itō Kyōsuke’s original seat was next to Hoshino Gen, with just an aisle between them.

At that moment, Ziteng Sayaka felt a strange discomfort.

Itō Kyōsuke’s gaze was calm, even carrying a polite smile, but for some reason, Ziteng Sayaka found that smile unsettling.

“Good morning, Ziteng-san.”

Itō Kyōsuke greeted her, his voice gentle.

“…Good morning.”

Ziteng Sayaka responded briefly, then looked away.

Itō Kyōsuke didn’t seem to mind.

He walked straight to his seat and sat down.

His movements were natural, but Ziteng Sayaka keenly noticed that his gaze swept across the classroom, pausing a little longer in her and Hoshino Gen’s direction.

“Morning,” Ziteng Sayaka replied, but her eyes couldn’t help darting back toward Itō Kyōsuke.

He was calmly taking out his textbook, moving unhurriedly.

His fingers were long and clean, his nails neatly trimmed—a stark contrast to the grimy creep she remembered.

First period was math.

Teacher Endo walked in, blinked in surprise at the sight of Itō Kyōsuke, then quickly returned to normal and started the lesson.

During the break between classes, Kawashiroutarou Kaede and a few other boys gathered around him.

“Long time no see, Itō-kun. You’re finally back. Why were you gone so long?”

“Good that you can come back to class. Nothing bad happened, right?”

The boys said caring words, but their expressions were sly, giving each other meaningful looks.

It was their secret code: ‘Got any new hot photos?’

There were no secrets among guys.

They’d known Itō Kyōsuke secretly took photos of girls for a long time.

Itō Kyōsuke smiled, a seemingly frank expression.

“I had a serious illness and barely recovered.”

He paused, raising his voice slightly, as if wanting those nearby to hear.

“Actually, I came back to school last night, and I had a little accident.”

“What kind of accident?”

The boys asked curiously.

Itō Kyōsuke put on a helpless look.

“Last night, I just returned to school and decided to take a walk around campus. Then I accidentally fell into a sewer.”

“Huh?”

The boys were stunned, then burst out laughing.

“Seriously?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

Itō Kyōsuke spread his hands.

“Some jerk stole the manhole cover. It was pitch black, and I stepped into nothing. Lucky the water wasn’t deep, or you wouldn’t be seeing me today.”

He said this in a light tone, even self-deprecating, making the surrounding classmates laugh.

“What a piece of bad luck!”

“Yeah, you should watch where you’re walking.”

“I heard that last night the campus security fished someone out of a sewer. That wasn’t you, was it?”

Itō Kyōsuke shrugged.

“The very same.”

“Who would have thought there’d be an uncovered manhole on campus? But it was a blessing in disguise, I guess. Falling down there made me think a lot. I realized I’ve been living aimlessly. From now on, I want to change for the better.”

As he said this, his gaze casually swept across the other side of the room.

“Change? How are you going to change?”

One boy teased.

“You’re not going to actually get the nerve to ask a girl out, are you?”

Itō Kyōsuke smiled but didn’t answer directly.

“Anyway, the old Itō Kyōsuke already ‘died’ in that sewer. The me now—I’m a brand-new Itō Kyōsuke!”

His voice carried an odd certainty.

“Pfft, keep lying. You must have gotten water in your brain when you fell in. Once it drains out in a few days, you’ll be back to normal.”

A few more boys made fun of him, then the bell rang for the next class.

The crowd dispersed.

Itō Kyōsuke returned to his seat.

His gaze drifted toward Ziteng Sayaka again, lingering a little longer this time.

Ziteng Sayaka felt his stare and looked up, catching his side profile as he turned away.

His lips seemed to hold a faint, elusive smile.

That smile made Ziteng Sayaka shudder coldly for no reason.

It was as if her body instinctively detested this person.

Second period was Japanese literature.

The teacher was lecturing on classics, and the classroom was quiet, filled only with the sounds of turning pages and writing.

Ziteng Sayaka was distracted.

Her eyes occasionally drifted toward Itō Kyōsuke.

He sat up straight, listening attentively, occasionally jotting something in his notebook.

This was completely different from the old Itō Kyōsuke, who would sleep or sneakily fiddle with his camera in class.

Too different.

It was like he had changed into someone else.

Even though the change seemed positive and proactive, that sense of unease never went away.

During lunch break, students left the classroom in twos and threes for the cafeteria or the rooftop.

Ziteng Sayaka and Hoshino Gen hadn’t left yet when they saw Itō Kyōsuke approaching her.

“Ziteng-san.”

He stopped in front of her, a gentle smile on his face.

“Could I trouble you for a moment?”

Ziteng Sayaka looked at him warily.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Itō Kyōsuke’s tone was natural.

“I heard that while I was away, a new transfer student came to our class. I thought I should say hello.”

His gaze turned to Hoshino Gen.

“You must be the new student, Hoshino Gen-kun? Hello, I’m Itō Kyōsuke.”

Hoshino Gen looked up calmly.

“Hello, I’m Hoshino Gen.”

Their eyes met briefly in the air.

Itō Kyōsuke’s smile didn’t change, but Ziteng Sayaka still noticed a flicker of confusion deep in his eyes, so quick it was almost imperceptible.

“Please take care of me from now on.”

After saying that, Itō Kyōsuke looked back at Ziteng Sayaka.

“And you too, Ziteng-san.”

Ziteng Sayaka didn’t answer.

She thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out the logic behind his words.

‘Why did he bring up greeting Hoshino Gen to me first?’

‘Could it be that in his eyes, Hoshino Gen is already… my… my possession?’

‘Gah, why am I thinking about these strange things again!’

Ziteng Sayaka slapped her cheeks.

Itō Kyōsuke didn’t seem to mind her coldness.

He nodded politely and left the classroom.

Once he was gone, Ziteng Sayaka let out a soft breath.

“What’s wrong?”

Hoshino Gen asked.

“You seemed really tense when you talked to him.”

Ziteng Sayaka hesitated, then explained, “Not tense, just… uncomfortable. It felt like he was putting on an act. How can a person change so much in such a short time?”

‘You’re right, it’s definitely an act. There’s something off about Itō Kyōsuke. Hoshino Gen was sure of that.’

“People grow,” Hoshino Gen said.

“Maybe he just hit his head in the sewer and suddenly got enlightened.”

Ziteng Sayaka nodded.

Maybe she was overthinking it.

Outside the classroom, Itō Kyōsuke hadn’t gone far.

He leaned against the window in the hallway, his eyes fixed through the glass on the two about to leave the classroom.

Ziteng Sayaka and Hoshino Gen were talking, standing close.

Hoshino Gen said something, and Ziteng Sayaka suddenly laughed, shaking with delight.

It was rare to see her laugh so happily.

Itō Kyōsuke’s mild expression faded, replaced by a cold, twisted look, like a viper hiding in the shadows, quietly flicking its tongue.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this guy somewhere before…’

‘Is it just my imagination?’

On the other side, Hoshino Gen and Ziteng Sayaka walked and chatted in the hallway, soon reaching the point where they had to part.

A noble day student didn’t have to eat at the school cafeteria; they could go home and cook their own meals.

Hoshino Gen loved to cook, mainly because the food in this world was truly awful.

After trying a few times, he couldn’t stand it anymore and had to cook himself.

Before he started cooking, the Hoshino family menu had been: curry rice for this meal, rice mixed with curry for the next.

If they wanted a change of pace, they’d wrap tasteless rice balls in bitter, salty, fishy seaweed, then artfully sprinkle on some vintage natto that could cure constipation.

You’d eat it, and you’d just eat in silence.

Even the school cafeteria, built by the Shiratori family, wasn’t much better—after all, Shiratori Shiori herself never ate there.

Just as they were about to part, Hoshino Gen’s gaze swept past a bulletin board along the school path and spotted something he’d seen before.

“Ziteng-san, hold on, come over here.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing his voice, Ziteng Sayaka quickly turned around and ran over to him.

On the bulletin board in front of Hoshino Gen was a sign that said “Lost and Found.”

In the center of the display area was a high-definition photo.

Seeing the contents of the photo, Ziteng Sayaka was completely stunned.

‘That shape… that color…’

‘Isn’t this the little toy I threw away earlier?!’