"Anyway, Hiratsuka-sensei, you don't have any csses this afternoon, so it should be fio hide in your office for a few hours!" Yukino suggested.

  Hearing this, though clearly irritated by the situation, Shizuka eventually nodded.

  "This seems to be the only option for now."

  What else could she do? She certainly couldn't walk around the school looking like this.

  "Are you sure the person you mentioned fix this?" Shizuka asked, clearly doubtful.

  "Absolutely!" Yukino replied fidently.

  If someone as terrifying as a cursed spirit could be handled by Ryuji, then helping Shizuka with this transformation would be nothing.

  "Alright, then," Shizuka sighed, resigning herself to Yukino's pn.

  "Well, css is about to start. I'll head baow," Yukino said as she prepared to leave the office.

  Shizuka didn't stop her and simply sat ba her chair, feeling a bit defeated.

  Click!

  The secret photo was taken successfully!

  But just as quickly, Shizuka appeared in front of Yukino and snatched her phone away. The smile on Yukino's face immediately froze.

  "Your phone will remain with me for now," Shizuka said firmly, gring at her student. "You really won't give up on sneaking a photo, will you?"

  "..." Yukino said nothing but walked out of the offi frustration.

  I refuse to believe I won't get another ce! I still have a few hours left, she thought to herself as she left.

  ---

  Finally, it was the end of the school day.

  Miko had already headed to the club, and as for Ryuji…

  "Soul Dev!"

  With a wave of his hand, the retively irit in front of him was immediately ed by Ryuji.

  "This motrag physique is really something!"

  For most people, this trait would be a curse. But for Ryuji, it was a blessing. He didn't o go hunting for spirits anymore thanks to the "buffet" delivered to him, he could grow stronger without much effort.

  The only downside was that most of the spirits drawn to him were pretty weak and didn't provide muourishment.

  Just as he whether stronger spirits would eventually show up...

  "Ryuji-sensei!"

  Yukino suddenly approached.

  pared to before, her attitude had clearly softeoward Ryuji. She wasn't foolish after everything she had learned, she knew Ryuji was not someoo provoke. Keeping a venomous attitude toward someone like him was nothing short of suicidal.

  "You don't o call me 'Ryuji-sensei,' just use my name," he interrupted her with a casual wave of his hand. He wasn't particurly fond of sual titles.

  "Okay then, Ryuji-kun," Yukino replied obediently.

  "So, what brings you here? Still determio help me make friends?" Ryuji teased.

  Yukino blushed slightly. She remembered how fident she had been about helping Ryuji "make friends" when they first met. Now, it was clear to her how naive she had been.

  "I misuood you before," Yukino said, looking at Ryuji with a solemn expression.

  "I realize now that Ryuji-kun has been fighting cursed spirits all this time for the sake of humanity. You probably don't have much free time for socializing."

  "...???"

  What oh is she talking about? Does she really think I'm that noble?

  Ryuji felt a bit awkward at Yukino's serious gaze but decided not to correct her.

  Well, if that's what she wants to believe, who am I to stop her?

  "Ahem, so why are you here? There must be something you need," he said, swiftly ging the subject.

  "It's about Hiratsuka-sensei."

  "...???"

  Shizuka? Ryuji uzzled but followed Yukino to her office without asking more questions.

  ---

  "Who is it?" came Shizuka's wary voice from behind the door.

  It was clear that she had spent the past few hours on edge, worried that someone would walk in and see her in her current state.

  "It's me, Hiratsuka-sensei," Yukino called back, sounding calm.

  Shizuka seemed to rex slightly at the sound of Yukino's voice. "e in."

  Yukino opehe door, and the moment Ryuji stepped ih her, Shizuka's retly calmed nerves were ba full alert.

  "You! You... you..." She poi Ryuji, stammering in surprise, uo plete her sentence. Why was he here?

  "Sensei, don't worry," Yukino said reassuringly. "Ryuji is the person I told you about who help with your... uh, situation."

  "Huh?" Hiratsuka blinked, still in disbelief.

  "It's really ued!" Ryuji remarked, raising an eyebrow as he saw the furry cat ears on her head and the swishing cat tail behind her. No wonder Yukino had sought him out.

  In the few minutes, Yukino briefly expined what had happened, describing Ryuji as a powerful sorcerer who could solve problems like the one she was currently fag.

  Yukino, however, left out the details of yesterday's events, choosing only to mention that Ryuji had extraordinary abilities.

  "I didn't expect you to be a sorcerer..." Shizuka muttered, her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and fusion. She hadn't imagihere was someone like him in her css this whole time.

  Ryuji wasn't particurly surprised that Shizuka knew about sorcerers. While the general public remained oblivious, those with certain levels of influence or knowledge were aware of their existence.

  "You're still staring!"

  Notig that Ryuji's gaze kept moviween her cat ears and tail, Shizuka turned slightly to the side, her cheeks flushing red. She clearly wasn't fortable with being ogled like this.

  For some reason, even though she hadn't felt embarrassed when Yukino saw her like this, Ryuji's gaze made her feel self-scious.

  ---------------------------

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