Chapter 30: Asaka Yuno
"I know who he is! He's Rovel Suou from the Kendo Club!"
The murmur rippled through the small group of onlookers. It seemed Rovel's growing reputation at Chiba Academy was finally proving useful; at the very least, it meant people recognized him.
"First, my surname isn't Suou, it's Fang," Rovel stated, his voice calm and even. "Second... since you know I'm from the Kendo Club, you should also know why I'm here, right?"
He leveled a cold gaze at the three girls before him. The wooden sword in his hand descended in a slow, deliberate arc, stopping just three centimeters from the ground. It never made contact, but the sheer force of the swing, the invisible edge of his sword qi, gouged a shallow pit in the dirt.
A wave of panic washed over the trio. The story of Rovel single-handedly challenging six of the academy's clubs had already become the stuff of legend. This was a man who didn't care if his opponent was a boy or a girl.
"S-Sorry! We'll go to the Kendo Club and clean up the paint!" one of them, Yoshizawa Ayaka, blurted out, her bravado shattering. Unable to withstand the pressure, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground in a perfect dogeza.
Seeing their leader fold, the other two, Mikami Akihou and Kawakita Yua, immediately scrambled to do the same, their apologies tumbling out in a panicked chorus.
The purple-haired girl they had been tormenting, Yuna, watched the scene unfold with wide, disbelieving eyes. Just moments ago, these three had been arrogantly trying to extort protection money from her. Now, they were prostrating themselves before Rovel, admitting their guilt without reservation.
"You guys..." Rovel approached, his footsteps slow and measured, the tip of his wooden sword dragging lightly against the ground. "It's not that you know you're wrong..."
He stopped before Mikami Akihou, the girl whose finger he'd broken before. Using the tip of his sword, he tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her eyes were wide with terror. He then turned the wooden sword sideways, holding it like a paddle. It was an unorthodox grip, useless for slashing or parrying.
"...It's that you know you're about to get beaten."
The motion was a blur. A sharp smack echoed in the tense silence, and a livid red mark bloomed on the girl's cheek. By some strange coincidence, the welt perfectly matched the flat side of the wooden sword in Rovel's hand.
He moved to the next girl, and then the next, repeating the action with cold precision. Each of them received an identical mark, a brand of his displeasure.
Feeling the fiery sting on their faces, the girls didn't dare make a sound, their whimpers swallowed by fear. Rovel felt a flicker of disappointment. He'd almost hoped they would follow the classic villain trope and spit some defiant words, giving him an excuse to strike them a few more times.
'Then again,'he mused, a cold glint in his eye,'just because they don't say anything doesn't mean I can't hit them, right?'
Thinking this, he swung again. Two more sharp smacks, and the other side of each girl's face was stamped with a matching mark of shame.
[Defeated Yoshizawa Ayaka (Level 4), Mikami Akihou (Level 3), Kawakita Yua (Level 3). Gained 60 EXP.]
Watching the quest tracker in his vision change from '0/5' to '3/5,' Rovel gave a nod of grim satisfaction. He shouldered his wooden sword and, under the terrified, tear-filled gazes of the three bullies, turned to leave without another word.
"W-Wait..."
A hesitant voice called out. Rovel paused, thinking the trio had finally found their courage. But when he turned, it was the purple-haired girl, the victim, who had hurried to catch up to him.
Yuna knew with absolute certainty that after witnessing the pathetic humiliation of her tormentors, they would retaliate against her with a vengeance. Her only option was to cling to this boy's leg—to latch onto him as her sole lifeline. That was the only way she wouldn't be bullied again.
"Hmm? What is it?" Rovel asked, his expression softening slightly as he looked at her.
"Um... thank you! My name is Yuna, it's nice to meet you!" she said, giving him a slight, respectful bow.
"Yuna?" Rovel's expression turned strange. He studied her face, a nagging sense of familiarity tickling the back of his mind.
"I-Is... something wrong?" Yuna instinctively shrank back under his scrutiny, a habit born from long-term bullying.
'Hmm, no, the hair color is wrong,' Rovel thought, a specific, pink-haired image flashing through his mind. Still, he had to be sure.
"Your last name isn't Gasai, is it?"
"Eh? M-My last name is Asaka. Asaka Yuno!" she hurriedly clarified.
"My name is Fang Ruobai. You can just call me Rovel," he said, offering a small, reassuring smile. "See you around." He waved a hand and prepared to leave once more.
"Um, I want to join the Kendo Club!" Yuna blurted out, her voice filled with desperation as she watched him turn away.
As expected, Rovel's footsteps halted.
"You want to join the Kendo Club?" He turned back, considering her. "I'll have to ask Mei. For now, just follow me..." He gave a small nod, not particularly minding. He could see the girl was desperate for a sanctuary, and the Kendo Club, with him as its guardian, was as good a choice as any.
"Oh, by the way," Rovel said, a thought suddenly occurring to him. He pulled out his phone and showed her two photos. "Do you know these two?"
Yuna's eyes widened the moment she saw the pictures. She nodded immediately. "Yes! That's Tabuchi Ken and Shimizu Masahiro!"
"Do you know where they are?" Rovel pressed.
"Yes, I just saw them heading towards Teaching Building A. I'll lead the way!" Yuna said eagerly, her chance to prove her usefulness finally here.
With Yuna guiding him, Rovel quickly located his final two targets. They put up a token resistance, but it was utterly futile. Rovel dispatched them with brutal efficiency, leaving them bruised and groaning on the ground.
[D-rank Quest: Teach the Pranksters a Lesson, Completed.]
[Quest Reward: Prestige in Chiba Academy +200.]
His total prestige was now at 500. Aside from making him more famous—or infamous—around school, he still wasn't sure what purpose it served.
Rovel pondered the mechanics of the prestige system as he walked back towards the Kendo Club dojo, with Yuna trailing obediently a few steps behind him. As they walked, her gaze gradually shifted from pure gratitude to something deeper, something akin to admiration.
In a place Rovel couldn't see, a series of notifications were popping up in her personal system interface, her feelings for him evolving at a dizzying pace.
[Trust has increased to 10%... 30%... 50%... 80%... 100%!]
The moment her trust maxed out, it instantly transformed into something else entirely.
[Affection has increased to 10%... 20%... 30%...]
By the time they reached the Kendo Club, her affection had finally settled at a staggering 50%.
The dojo had already been cleaned, the floors gleaming and the paint stains gone. When Mei saw Rovel enter, her face instantly lit up with a joyous, radiant smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Ruobai."
Her smile faltered, however, when she saw Yuna trailing behind him. A strange, guarded look flickered in her eyes.
"Morning, Mei. Oh, by the way, this is..." Rovel turned, intending to introduce the new girl. But in that moment, he realized he'd already forgotten her surname. The name 'Gasai' was apparently more deeply ingrained in his memory. He instinctively glanced at the name floating above her head to remind himself.
`?`
Rovel slowly formed a question mark in his mind.
[Asaka Yuno | Level: 1 | Affection: 50%]
`???`
He rubbed his eyes, convinced he had misread it, that he had mistaken 'Trust' for 'Affection'. But the bright pink font of the word seemed to mock his disbelief.
'Did... did someone just fall in love with me at first sight?'
"I... My name is Asaka Yuno," the girl said, stepping forward. She gave Raiden Mei a polite, formal bow. "I would like to join the Kendo Club!"
Raiden Mei's gaze locked onto her. In that instant, Asaka Yuno felt a crushing pressure descend upon her, an invisible weight that seemed to emanate directly from the girl who stood as the academy's 'Thunder Queen'.
...
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