The day after Andre showed me the article about the ‘Son of Deus’ and his hair color.
I felt the Academy students staring at me as I walked down the street.
It’s not like this is the first time I’ve caught the attention of Academy students.
Lately, I’ve been busy focusing on my clone, so I haven’t caused any other incidents, but thinking back to the events from the start of the school year, I am indeed the most notorious figure among the first years at the Academy.
Right after I enrolled, I smashed Professor Cronia’s golem, making her super mad, and I also defeated Dia, who was the top student among the commoners, in our duel.
Not to mention, I’m the younger sibling of the infamous Seiren Pulsreino.
With all manners of attention being drawn to me, it’s common for students to whisper and stare whenever I pass by.
Of course, it’s not like I deliberately set out to create these situations, but their reactions get me a bit excited.
At the Calandra Academy, the main stage of [Deus Ex Machina], the key players are focusing on me!
Honestly, I was enjoying these gazes a little.
But today feels different.
It’s not the typical stares and whispers of the Academy students aimed at me.
Something… something is happening.
Did some sort of incident occur without my knowledge?
Did Io get mad at me for the prank I pulled yesterday and do something? No way. No matter how you look at it, she’s Lydia’s sister. She wouldn’t act foolishly.
Or did Meiru sister gossip about me? That doesn’t make sense either. Even if Meiru doesn’t like me, she wouldn’t do such a thing.
Is there any reason for me to be attracting such attention?
I couldn’t guess, so I enhanced my hearing to eavesdrop on what the students were whispering about me.
“It’s Pulsreino.”
“Should I ask?”
“To him? Are you confident?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.”
A group of guys glancing at me and hesitating.
“To me? Ask me?”
What on earth do they want to ask?
Anyway, however it is, it’s clear that something different has arisen from the attention I usually attract.
“Sky blue hair. They must be talking about that guy.”
“No way. The Son sent by Deus has a brother like that. That can’t be true.”
“Pulsreino. A foolish family loyal to the Emperor. It does sound impossible, considering the Emperor is still dismissing his faith in Lord Deus.”
“But considering that guy’s looks, it doesn’t sound impossible. I’ve heard the ‘Son of Deus’ is incredibly handsome.”
“Definitely. Thinking about the number of girls who are infatuated with him, it seems plausible. Speaking of which, your childhood friend Olga has a….”
“Let’s not talk about that.”
“Oh right, you still know her… my bad.”
Another group of boys looking at me.
Sky blue hair?
Could it possibly be linked to that article Andre showed me yesterday?
The article was so bizarre that I ignored it, thinking only kids like Andre would show interest in such a low-tier story…
“Look! It’s Luke Pulsreino!”
“Hey! Olga. Don’t say it so loudly; they’ll hear you!”
“Even if they do hear, I’m just glad he’s looking at me!”
“Sigh… Who would be dumb enough to stop you?”
This is… not right.
“Is Pulsreino… really the ‘Son of Deus’? Nah, that can’t be.”
“Look at that. He has sky blue hair, right?”
“True, but….”
“Let’s go ask Meiru at ‘Garot’ later. Since she’s from the Pulsreino family, maybe she knows something.”
“Oh right. Let’s do that.”
The girls nearby, members of the club ‘Garot’ that Meiru sister is part of, also talking about the sky blue hair.
With all this, I think I can be certain.
The gazes pouring on me are out of curiosity about my connection with the ‘Son of Deus’ because of my ‘sky blue hair.’
Probably, Meiru sister and Seiren sister are in similar situations too.
I’m just getting more attention because I’m a guy with the same hair color as the ‘Son of Deus.’
And to think it is all because of my ‘sky blue hair.’
Could it be that yesterday’s article has circulated widely?
This is troubling.
Of all things, it has to be the ‘sky blue hair.’
The ‘Son of Deus’, a matter drawing interest not just from the Nova Empire but even from the Calandra Empire… this situation is risky since I’m involved with Pulsreino.
“Hey? Luke. Good morning!”
“Morning, Dia. Good to see you.”
While walking a little faster, I ran into Dia.
“Luke, you’re heading to ‘Combat Self-Defense’ class right? Let’s go together.”
She said that as she moved closer to me.
I could smell Dia’s delightful fragrance wafting up next to me, possibly from just washing up.
‘Combat Self-Defense’ class. A class that every Academy student must take once a week, focusing on practical skills.
It’s the same class where I previously defeated Dia in our duel.
“Luke, you came early. There’s still some time until class starts.”
We actually do have time left until ‘Combat Self-Defense’ class starts.
Even if we head to the gym now, there probably wouldn’t be many students waiting.
But I started out early due to the hidden piece, aiming to find any that might still be left.
Despite just a little delay because of the odd attention I was receiving.
“Today, I woke up a bit early for some reason. I thought about warming up at the gym a bit. Oh, you came early too, Dia. Where’s Amy?”
The super popular yellow girl, Amy, is always seen with Dia.
But today, for some reason, Dia is by herself.
Since Amy belongs to the Alpha group for ‘Combat Self-Defense’ class, she would usually come with Dia. Is something up?
“Oh, I… I actually woke up early too, heh heh. So I ended up coming here sooner than I thought. Amy said we’d meet at the gym.”
Dia answered awkwardly and stuttered, which is unusual for her.
What’s going on? Is she trying to hide something?
Did something happen between her and Amy? Is that why she came early alone?
“Umm… Luke?”
While I was deep in thought about what Dia might be hiding, she called out to me.
“What’s up?”
“I… um…”
Dia was hesitating to speak up after starting the conversation.
“Is it something you’re shy to ask? Don’t worry about it; just say it. We’re friends, right?”
Aha.
This is it.
While my clone is off doing its thing, the main body is busy building up romance and collecting hidden pieces at the Academy.
Since Dia is someone I also cherish, I’ve engaged in many romantic interactions with her, to the point where we can have such talks.
We’re friends now, but… who knows what could happen if time passes.
“…So, Luke. Since we’re friends, can I ask you something?”
What on earth could be so hard for her to ask?
“I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. If it’s just a rumor, I’d help stop it.”
Wait, what? Just spill it already! I’m about to lose it here!
“The ‘Son of Deus’ who has appeared in the Nova Empire. You know him, right?”
‘Son of Deus’? Hold on, Dia, don’t tell me you’re…
“I heard he has sky blue hair. But if it’s sky blue hair, it must be from the Pulsreino family. I’ve never heard of any other sky blue-haired people.”
No way, Dia too…
“So I’m asking… is that ‘Son of Deus’ from the Pulsreino family? Do you know anything about it?”
Dia is thinking that way too?
Now that I think about it, Dia also belongs to the Christos family.
For the Christos, the most important topic right now isn’t the war with the Holy Kingdom but rather the ‘Son of Deus,’ so it’s not surprising for her to be interested.
“Oh. The ‘Son of Deus’?”
“Yup.”
Dia was nodding her head eagerly, hands balled into fists.
She seems really curious about the identity of the ‘Son of Deus.’
The problem is that identity is me.
And I’d prefer to keep that under wraps.
I want to be friends with Dia at least on even terms, and if it comes out that I’m the ‘Son of Deus’ and the one who wrote the scripture, she wouldn’t see me as an ordinary person, not as a friend like before.
She’d likely consider me as at least a disciple of Deus or even the real ‘Son of Deus.’
That’s not something I want.
“I don’t know. I just found out about it yesterday from Andre… but he’s not from our family. Honestly, even if there was a sky blue-haired youth from our family, I’m the only young man with that hair.”
“…Really?”
Dia looked disappointed.
Sorry!
But I can’t tell you!
As we were talking, we reached the gym.
It was empty inside.
Seems I did arrive quite early since there’s no one here.
“Did I come too early?”
“Right? I didn’t expect no one else to be here.”
“So does it mean we’re the only two here now? Haha.”
I tried to lighten up the awkward atmosphere caused by the earlier talk about ‘Son of Deus,’ but Dia didn’t reply at all.
When I turned to look, her face was flushed red, with her head down.
Hey, what’s wrong?
This really is awkward.
“I mean what I mean…”
Suddenly, I felt something drop in my chest, resonating loudly.
“Dia.”
“I felt it.”
A strange sensation. An unusual atmosphere. The energy is different from usual.
What seems to be a gym on the outside isn’t actually the gym we’re in.
Someone has activated a barrier to trap us.
A trap…?
Who? And for what reason?
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