"It just so happens that I'm not human…"
As the words fell—
Whoosh!
Black, bat-like wings unfurled from behind Lynn.
"!"
Hitagi's eyes widened slightly, filled with disbelief.
Lynn leaned casually on the desk, his devil wings lightly flapping as he curled his lips into a smirk. "Want to make a deal with a devil?"
Such a surreal sight made Hitagi's heart pound.
She pursed her lips, stared intently at Lynn's wings, and fell silent.
Asuna clutched her head, dazed. "What… is going on?"
President Lynn…
Grew wings?!
And…
A devil?
Somehow, this seemed familiar…
Suddenly, a memory flashed through Asuna's mind.
Then a spark of realization lit up her eyes.
The Supernatural Investigation Club!
That off-campus commission list!
It listed prices for commissions involving Low-Class Devils, Mid-Class Devils, and even Satan-level ones!
Asuna's heart raced, her eyes filled with shock.
Could it be…
That wasn't just chuunibyou nonsense?!
Devils… really exist?!
Asuna's expression turned complicated. "President Lynn, are you… seriously not joking?"
"Of course."
Lynn's tone was resolute. "Didn't I already tell you back in the Supernatural Investigation Club?"
"Huh?"
Asuna was stunned. "When?"
"That price list…"
The corner of Asuna's eye twitched. "Who would believe something like that?!"
The existence of supernatural powers had already shaken her worldview.
Now, on top of that.
A literal devil appears?
Is this still the same world she knew?
Hiss—
Asuna suddenly felt a chill.
Could it be…
She was actually inside some kind of virtual reality game?
And revealing the truth was the only way to return to the real world?!
Off to the side.
Hitagi's gaze was conflicted.
She already thought she was strange enough.
Yet today, she'd seen something even stranger.
"A devil…"
Hitagi murmured, then looked up at Lynn's crimson eyes and spoke quietly.
"Compared to humans, perhaps devils are more trustworthy."
Because of her own past, Hitagi easily accepted Lynn's identity as a devil.
"?"
Asuna looked at her in disbelief. "Hitagi-san, are you… broken?"
She didn't say the word brain, but the implication was clear.
Devils more trustworthy than humans?
That's not something a mentally stable person would say!
Devils—
In myths, legends, and records alike—are absolutely untrustworthy!
"If you'd experienced what I have, you'd understand why I said that."
Hitagi's tone remained calm.
But that one sentence spoke volumes.
Asuna opened her mouth but said nothing.
Had Hitagi been hurt by humans before?
If so…
Maybe she really wasn't in a position to question her trust in devils.
Still…
Devils are evil in every possible sense, aren't they?
Then again…
Lynn doesn't seem that bad, right?
Though they hadn't known each other long, Lynn left a surprisingly good impression.
Nearby.
Hitagi gazed at Lynn with thoughtful eyes.
"I didn't expect the famous president of the Supernatural Investigation Club to be a devil~"
She let out a small sigh, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Lynn, instinctively closing her legs tightly.
After taking proper precautions against unexpected exposure, Hitagi said:
"If it's you, Mr. Devil, maybe you really can solve my problem."
"?"
Asuna's expression turned complicated. "You're agreeing this easily?"
She was just acting like she didn't want to get involved.
And now, just because Lynn revealed he's a devil, she changed her attitude so quickly?
Hitagi said flatly, "Didn't you say you'd help solve my problem?"
Asuna paused, then said helplessly, "Yeah… I did say that."
As the student council president of Shuchiin, she couldn't ignore Hitagi's condition.
But she never imagined Lynn was actually a devil!
That was what unsettled her the most.
"Besides…"
Hitagi continued, "With a devil in front of me, it's not like I could leave even if I wanted to, right?"
That burst of wind earlier was completely beyond her control.
After all.
She was just an ordinary girl who had lost all her weight.
And…
Her blue eyes flickered slightly. "I noticed it earlier."
"Mr. Devil, you're interested in me, right?"
Lynn smiled. "You're very perceptive."
"Perceptive?"
Hitagi replied calmly, "More like you weren't hiding it."
"Because of my condition?"
She continued to analyze. "Or is it because of my looks?"
She couldn't help but think of the so-called "Harem Club."
She felt like…
She'd stumbled onto a deeper truth.
A devil obsessed with forming a harem?
Lynn didn't deny it at all. He answered openly, "Both."
"But…"
His gaze deepened. "The most important reason is that you have the qualifications to stand at my side."
Hitagi was stunned.
The qualifications… to stand beside a devil?
Why?
She couldn't make sense of it.
Aside from the curse of the Heavy Stone Crab, she didn't see anything special about herself.
She thought for a moment.
But…
If she couldn't figure it out, there was no point dwelling on it.
Hitagi quickly stopped thinking and looked at Lynn with shining eyes.
This was her chance!
Because she feared others discovering her physical abnormality, she'd trapped herself for two years.
Her life had changed beyond recognition.
She had no friends, didn't dare attend events, and lived like a shut-in noble daughter.
She'd turned herself into a hedgehog, covered in thorns.
Before she realized it…
This was the person she'd become.
For two years, she'd searched for the Heavy Stone Crab.
Trying to get her weight back.
But without exception, she failed.
She hadn't seen the Heavy Stone Crab even once since then.
She thought she'd have to live like this forever.
But then…
She met someone even more unusual than herself.
A devil.
And now—
"The price of the deal should be me, right?"
Hitagi asked, her tone calm.
After all, during their earlier conversation, Lynn hadn't been hinting. He'd been very direct.
Lynn looked at her and smiled. "That's right."
"I'll solve your problem, and you'll join my peerage."
"Peerage?"
Hitagi repeated the word, then shifted the meaning slightly.
"Harem?"
Lynn shrugged. "You can interpret it that way."
"Huh?"
Asuna froze, then stammered, "H-Harem?!"
She suddenly realized.
So that rumor about the Harem Club… wasn't just a rumor?!
Hitagi stared at Lynn and whispered, "You're very honest."
She closed her eyes, clearly conflicted.
On one hand, she'd lived a lonely and painful life for years, cursed by the Heavy Crab and stripped of a normal life.
On the other…
She thought of the girls in the Supernatural Investigation Club.
To become one of them?
If she couldn't break free of the Heavy Stone Crab'e curse, she'd probably be alone forever.
And…
Compared to unreliable humans…
Hitagi weighed the options and finally looked straight at Lynn.
She suddenly smiled.
"Lynn…"
"No wonder you're the envy of every boy at Shuchiin."
"You're not just popular with girls. That comic-book face of yours is definitely part of the reason…"
As she said that, she had already made up her mind.
At the very least…
Lynn looked exactly how she imagined her ideal partner.
And besides.
Heavy Stone Crab or devil?
She had no third option.
With her decision made, Hitagi felt much calmer. She asked seriously, "Mr. Devil, can you tell what the source of the anomaly in me is?"
Lynn glanced at her. "The curse of the Heavy Stone Crab, of course."
That sealed it.
Hitagi confirmed it in her heart.
He saw the issue immediately and—
He didn't even seem to treat the curse as anything serious?
Thinking that, Hitagi stood and bowed deeply to Lynn.
"Please, help me recover the weight that belongs to me!"
Lynn leaned on the desk and didn't move. He simply said, "Getting your weight back is easy."
He could purify the curse with just a touch.
"But…"
"You lost more than just weight, didn't you?"
Lynn continued. "Are you ready to carry that burden again?"
Hitagi froze, her mood turning heavy.
Right…
She didn't just lose her weight.
She'd lost her emotions, too—hope and grief alike.
Hitagi fell into a long silence.
Was she ready?
The classroom seemed to freeze, the silence suffocating.
Outside the window, the wind rustled the leaves as if nature itself was waiting for her answer.
Finally—
Hitagi raised her head, eyes full of seriousness and resolve. "I'm ready."
She decided to face it, not run from it.
She didn't want to keep living like this.
"Alright."
Lynn stood, the corners of his lips lifting. "I accept your commission."
Asuna opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
She had clearly heard every word of that deal.
Hitagi had agreed to give herself to Lynn in exchange for his help!
Asuna clenched her fists.
Such a transaction would normally be strictly prohibited at Shuchiin.
Especially…
When it was happening right under her nose, as the student council president!
Logically, she should step in and stop it.
But…
Lynn didn't force anything. Hitagi agreed of her own will.
And more importantly…
As a human, could she even stop a devil?
Asuna felt helpless.
On the other side.
Lynn placed a hand on Hitagi's shoulder, and a blinding light burst out!
Buzz—
Hitagi's eyes widened, and her long purple hair whipped around.
It felt like something was leaving her body.
And…
Her body grew heavy.
Roar—!
Suddenly—
A roar erupted from within Hitagi!
The next moment—
A giant crab's shadow slowly appeared.
Its massive form seemed to fill the classroom, and each swing of its claws stirred powerful gusts of wind.
Asuna covered her mouth, eyes wide with fear. "Is that… the Heavy Stone Crab?!"
Hitagi narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. That's it."
Even though she'd only seen it once, she would never forget the thing that changed her life.
Roar—!
The crab roared again, its eyes fixed angrily on Lynn.
Lynn chuckled. "Looks like this crab's pretty fond of you."
"?"
Hitagi was stunned.
Fond?
Before she could dwell on it, the crab suddenly raised its claws and attacked Lynn.
"Watch out!"
Asuna shouted in panic.
But Lynn only raised a hand.
Bang!
The crab's pincers slammed into Lynn's palm with a heavy thud.
A moment later.
Crackling echoed.
The shell of the crab phantom cracked apart!
Boom!
The crab's shadow burst into glowing particles and vanished from the room!
Hitagi and Asuna stood there, stunned and speechless.
"…Is it over?"
(To be continued.)
***
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