Chapter 46 46

"Tenku!" Akina raised her voice slightly and jogged towards Tenku.

Her voice caught the attention of the students in the place, including Asuka and Setsuka. They reacted not to Akina's voice but to the words that came out of her mouth.

Tenku was confused when he saw Akina running towards him. She's been acting a little weird since last night. Akina was no longer indifferent to him and instead took the initiative to approach him first. For the past nine years, Akina has kept her distance from him, whether at home or school. But now the girl was calling his name in front of many students and didn't seem to care about their response.

Akina wears combat gear in the form of armor from a mixture of metal and high-quality leather that covers her chest, shoulders, and arms. She wore a black inner suit and a short dark blue skirt. Even though she wasn't as pretty as Setsuka, she looked much more charming when compared to the other female students.

Takaya and Noboru were shocked when they saw Akina running toward Tenku. They have the same reaction for different reasons. Noboru knew that Akina was one of the prettiest female students in the first year, but he didn't expect that the girl would approach Tenku, the student labeled as the weakest in Suisei High School.

On the other hand, Takaya already knew Akina because he, Asuka, and Tenku were in the same high school as that girl. But Takaya never chatted with her because Akina was never in the same class as him. Besides, Akina is the type of girl who doesn't talk much and is indifferent to her surroundings. So Takaya couldn't believe it when she saw Akina, who took the initiative to approach Tenku.

(Since when did the two become that close? Was it since middle school? No, I'm sure Tenku never interacted with her. Is it after enrolling in high school?)

Takaya looked at Tenku and Akina alternately in a daze. He was speechless when he saw the scene.

"Is that your combat gear? Would you be safe wearing that?" Akina asked worriedly. Even though she spoke quietly, some students around him could hear her voice.

"Yes. Didn't you take the combat gear with you when we left for school? Where did you get it from? Have you kept it at school since yesterday?" Tenku went to school with Akina, and the girl only brought her school bag.

Tenku was sure that Akina didn't bring her combat gear yesterday unless she had a space pocket. But he was well aware of the financial situation of the Karitoshi family. So Kouta and Misora couldn't give an item that was too valuable to Akina since they didn't own it either. Besides, carrying such an item would only make her daughter the target of many bad people and put her in danger.

"Ah, my mother brought it to me before lunch break. He asked me to convey her apologies to you because she didn't dare to contact you directly. She felt guilty for not being able to defend you when my father asked you to leave the house. My mother doesn't want to linger at this school because she's embarrassed to meet you." Akina lowered her head and said sadly.

"Is that so? In that case, you can tell Aunt Misora that I never bothered about it, let alone blame her." Tenku said calmly. He couldn't be too indifferent to Misora because she was the one who had taken care of him for the past nine years. Tenku is not someone who doesn't know how to return the favor.

"Are you serious?" Akina raised her head and asked with a bright face. Tenku nodded slightly in response.

"I will quickly convey your message to my mother! I'm sure she'll be delighted when she finds out about it." Akina smiled broadly and said excitedly.

Tenku and Akina's conversation was heard clearly by Takaya and Noboru. The two people could only open their mouths wide when they saw the closeness between Tenku and Akina. They even listened to what Akina said about her mother. Noboru and Takaya didn't expect Tenku and Akina's relationship to have gone that far. While Tenku and Akina were chatting, a scornful voice suddenly sounded.

"Akina, what are you doing by approaching that student? You are one of the best students in class B. You don't deserve to be around such a loser." a male student walked closer to them.

"Yamanaka! I never felt so close to you that you could call me directly by my name. I don't remember ever letting you do that! After all, whoever I talk to, that's my problem. What right do you have to interfere in my affairs!?" Akina retorted. She was afraid that Tenku would misunderstand when he heard that. When Akina glanced at the boy beside her, Akina let out a sigh of relief because Tenku didn't seem bothered by those words.

The male student was named Shinji Yamanaka. He is a first-year student in the same class as Akina. Shinji is also one of the students at Suisei High School who has awakened an Acheron-type B-rank Phantasmal Object. Because of that, he was the most famous first-year male student after Akio.

All the students in class B know that Shinji has affection for Akina. The girl had a beautiful appearance and had awakened a Phantasmal Object of the same rank as him. After the awakening ceremony, Shinji felt attracted to Akina. In just one day in the same class, Shinji fell in love with the girl. Be it appearance, temperament, and talent, Shinji liked all those things about her.

But now, Akina took the initiative to approach a male student and had an intimate chat with him. What's even worse is that the boy is someone who has been labeled as the weakest student in Suisei High School. His classmates would laugh at him for losing to such a loser.

"You!" Shinji was angry that Akina dared to say that in front of many people. He heard the surrounding students talking and looking at him with pity. Shinji's face turned red, gritting his teeth to suppress his embarrassment and anger. He couldn't vent his emotions on Akina because they had awakened a Phantasmal Object of the same rank, and both were in the same class. Besides, Shinji didn't want Akina to hate him. Then he turned his gaze towards Tenku next to Akina.

"You! Aren't you ashamed of being a parasite and protected by a girl!? Where is your pride as a man!? You should know yourself and stay away from Akina because you don't deserve to be friends with her! Never come near Akina again! This is a warning from me!" Shinji turned his anger towards Tenku because that boy was the reason Akina said that to him. He couldn't just leave the place after hearing Akina's words because it would make him lose face in front of the other students.

"Did you see me approaching her? I just stood here and didn't approach anyone. Then how can you say that I approached her? What's more, whoever I befriend, it's none of your business. If you want Akina to stay away from me, why don't you tell her straight away." Tenku sighed and said helplessly. He knew that pretty girls would only bring him trouble.

"You!" Shinji was annoyed that Tenku dared to answer his words. But when he was about to retaliate, Akina spoke first and interrupted him.

"Stop it, Yamanaka! Didn't I tell you not to meddle in my business!?" Akina shouted angrily because she was unhappy with Shinji's insult to Tenku.

"Was my word wrong? I did it for your good! That boy wants to take advantage of you!" Shinji tried to convince Akina.

"You don't have to say anything more. You better get out of here and don't meddle in my business!" Akina said coldly, and she felt disgusted with Shinji.

"You will regret it after knowing what I said was true!" Shinji snorted. He glared at Tenku and then left the place. After Shinji left and returned to his group, Akina sighed and looked at Tenku.

"I'm sorry. This happened because of my fault. He wouldn't have said that to you if I hadn't come near you." Akina said apologetically. She felt guilty that she had brought trouble to Tenku.

"You don't need to think about it since I'm used to such ridicule. But you better get back to your group before the other boys come here to make fun of me." Tenku smiled slightly and said calmly.

If Akina continued to be with him, perhaps another male student would come to him. Although Tenku never cared about people's ridicule of him, he didn't want to cause trouble intentionally.

"I understand." Akina said and left Tenku reluctantly.

After Akina left that place, Takaya and Noboru finally opened their mouths.

"Shouldn't you have never interacted with that girl in middle school? Then why do I feel your relationship with her is very close?" Takaya asked suspiciously.

"Yes, please explain to us." Noboru added.

"I will explain it later, not in this place." Tenku replied lazily.

"Okay. We will await your explanation." Takaya and Noboru said in unison.

Tenku could only sigh in response to their words. Then he saw the other students participating in the mission coming, and one of them was Hijiri Natsukawa. The girl was wearing combat gear in the form of armor that made her look like a Princess Knight in a fantasy novel, and she was no less beautiful than Setsuka.

On the other hand, Asuka clenched her fists tightly when she saw the closeness between Tenku and Akina. She had to admit that Akina was not inferior to her and superior in several aspects. Asuka didn't expect that such a girl would approach Tenku in public.

"Kaede." Setsuka whispered.

"Yes?" Kaede turned her head and felt Setsuka's mood was strange.

"Please send the data about that female student to me as soon as possible." Setsuka said coldly, and her eyes stared intently at Akina. She didn't know why but felt uncomfortable seeing that girl near Tenku.

"Eh?" Kaede was confused after hearing Setsuka's request and looked at her in a daze.