Although it took a lot of time, Shin and Megumi Kato eventually made it to the last class of the morning.
Since Shin had used "Black Bird Requiem" to ensure that "no one would notice students skipping class," their absence for the entire morning went unnoticed.
Of course, this also allowed Ikuyo Kita to escape trouble—after all, Ikuyo Kita didn't have Megumi Kato's low presence, and her absence would have been quite noticeable.
After returning to the classroom, Megumi Kato was a bit puzzled as to why the teacher and classmates didn't seem to care about their absence. However, she was still too exhausted from earlier.
So, as soon as the last class began, Megumi Kato couldn't help but lay her head on the desk and take a nap. It was unlikely she'd wake up for the rest of the class.
Shin didn't mind. Megumi Kato's presence was low enough that the teacher usually didn't notice her, so there was no need for Shin to cover for her.
Although Shin and Megumi Kato's absence went unnoticed, the mark on Shin's neck caught the attention of someone observant.
"That mark…"
Yuigahama Yui, sitting not far from Shin's seat, noticed a faint bite mark on the back of Shin's neck and couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise.
Her gaze shifted to Megumi Kato—although Megumi Kato's presence was low, since she had returned to the classroom with Shin, anyone paying attention to Shin would naturally notice her.
No matter how she thought about it, that bite mark had to be related to Megumi Kato, right?
Was Shin dating Megumi Kato? She hadn't heard anything about that. Shin had been a hot topic at school recently, and if he had a girlfriend, it would have been common knowledge by now.
More importantly, there was a girl who had been paying attention to Shin since the start of the school year… If Shin really had a girlfriend, her reaction would have been the most intense.
Thinking this, Yuigahama Yui glanced at Miura Yumiko, who was sitting in the front row.
Since Shin's seat was in the back and Miura Yumiko was in the front, Miura Yumiko hadn't seen the bite mark on the back of Shin's neck when he entered through the rear door.
Although she seemed a bit unhappy that Shin had entered the classroom with another girl, her emotions seemed stable, with no extreme reactions.
It seemed Miura Yumiko didn't know that Shin and Megumi Kato might have done something intimate… or maybe she was mistaken? Perhaps Shin and Megumi Kato weren't actually dating?
Yuigahama Yui's feelings were complicated. As someone who usually went with the flow, she wasn't sure whether to tell Miura Yumiko about this.
After all, Miura Yumiko was her friend, and now the boy she liked seemed to be getting closer to another girl. Shouldn't she tell Miura Yumiko?
The outcome, whether Miura Yumiko was shocked into giving up or mustered the courage to confess her feelings, would probably be a good result, right?
But Yuigahama Yui couldn't quite bring herself to do it—after all, this would definitely be a huge blow to Miura Yumiko. What if it made her sad?
As for condemning Shin's actions… that was even more impossible.
On one hand, Shin and Miura Yumiko had no real relationship. Who Shin dated was his own business, and Yuigahama Yui naturally wouldn't go out of her way to say something inappropriate to him.
On the other hand, after Shin's blunt rejection last time, Yuigahama Yui had actually started to admire his carefree personality and even considered learning from him how to reject others.
For this reason, Yuigahama Yui actually felt a bit of admiration for Shin, making it hard for her to feel any resentment toward him.
So, Yuigahama Yui was left in a state of confusion, unsure of what to do.
...
Shin had no idea that Megumi Kato's little act of pettiness had thrown Yuigahama Yui into turmoil. Although he felt someone's gaze on him as he entered the classroom, he had grown accustomed to being watched due to his recent popularity.
Thus, he didn't realize it was Yuigahama Yui looking at him, nor did he notice the conflicted expression on her face.
Right now, Shin was texting Yotsuya Miko.
Normally, he would chat with Megumi Kato during class, but since Megumi Kato was asleep, he took the opportunity to contact Yotsuya Miko and ask about the club members.
Yotsuya Miko quickly replied—even though it was during class, as a Stand user, she could easily have her Stand hide under the desk and chat with her on her phone.
That's right, the teacher couldn't see the Stand, making it the perfect tool for slacking off.
If it weren't for the fact that a phone floating in mid-air would be too creepy, Yotsuya Miko could even have her Stand blatantly sit on the teacher's desk and play with her phone.
"Yesterday, on my way home from school, I ran into a student council senior who was discussing the club you applied for. When I heard you didn't have enough members, I took the liberty of joining."
Yotsuya Miko explained her involvement in the club, sounding a bit worried that she might have overstepped. She added hesitantly:
"I didn't do anything wrong, did I? Did you want to keep the club at four members?"
Although Yotsuya Miko had good intentions, she was worried she might have caused trouble.
Yotsuya Miko was deeply grateful to Shin. If it weren't for him helping her awaken her Stand, she would still be tormented by evil spirits.
Now, she could handle evil spirits on her own. Although her life was still a bit different from before, it was a huge improvement.
Plus, her Stand could help her with various tasks, making her life more convenient.
At first, she had been a bit worried that after making that strange agreement with Shin, he might do something unusual to her…
But several days had passed, and Shin hadn't contacted her at all, which made her feel a bit insecure—did Shin have no interest in her at all?
Today, Shin had finally reached out to her, and Yotsuya Miko was quite happy. She just hoped that her decision to join the Paranormal Research Club wouldn't interfere with Shin's plans.
"No, you did great. I should thank you."
Shin replied with a smile—Yotsuya Miko's involvement was likely a result of "Black Bird Requiem" altering the outcome.
Of course, he wouldn't blame Yotsuya Miko, but he did explain the true nature of the club to her:
"However, this club doesn't have any real activities. I created it just to have a place to eat lunch with friends."
"But if there are no club activities, won't the club lose its funding or even get shut down?"
Yotsuya Miko was a bit confused after reading Shin's reply.
Club funding wasn't handed out for free. If there were no activities or achievements, the club's funding could be reduced or even cut entirely.
"Don't worry, I'm not short on money. If we lose funding, so be it."
Shin wasn't concerned about that at all.
"As for the club being shut down… that's impossible."
Fixing the outcome of "the Paranormal Research Club won't be shut down" didn't require much energy at all.
To be continued…
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