Chapter 54: Chapter 52

“Morning!”
“Y-Yeah, morning.”

Yuuji gave a gentle smile to Hibiki as he took his seat in the classroom, and his cheeks burned slightly. He was still getting used to how to act around her now that their relationship had changed, and the memory of their kiss the day before still made his heart thump loudly.

Giddy thoughts had filled his head as he tried to sleep, and his restless mind through the night had left him tired and sluggish, so he had accidentally left later than usual. Thankfully he’d arrived before Conrad, so there wasn’t any risk of being confronted, but the classroom was as full as it got. Surprisingly, even Ji-Hye had shown up, though her head was buried in her arms and she didn’t stir as he arrived - in fact, he hadn’t even spoken to her since they left the library the day before.

“Alright everyone, settle down. I’m sure you’ve got plenty to talk about, but you can save that for later.”

Conrad dropped a heavy ledger on his trusty teacher’s desk to cut through the chatter. As it was their first day back to lessons after returning from their trip, the students were all engrossed in various conversations, but it was his job to remind them exactly what they were there for.

“As you all know well, our trip to the British Isles was unsuccessful at best. None of you are to blame, but we must prepare ourselves for these sorts of difficulties as we proceed - not just in this academy, but in life as a whole.”

Within their line of work it was expected to see some failures - unfortunately, many of them leading to loss of life, but holding such a weight over their heads would only hurt the students’ growth. Understanding and accepting their responsibility was the most important thing to learn at this step, even if it meant battering them with cliché lectures.

“We will of course continue our studies for the sake of mitigating the chance of these issues, but I hope you can all use this as a learning experience for the better.”

He sighed quietly to himself before a slight grin crossed his face.

“Now we’ve got that out of the way, I’ve got an announcement to make.”

The class burst into quiet murmurs as they looked around, surprised. Usually, there would be a calm period after a large operation, so kicking off the first day back with an announcement certainly caught their attention.

“We’ve got a new student joining our class, starting today.”
“Today!? Shouldn’t we get some kinda advance notice!?”
“Please be a cute girl, please!”
“Kuku. Another to join our coven.”
“A scholar of literary arts, perchance?”

‘These kids…’

While he was pleased that they weren’t feeling too beaten down by the grim week they’d had, they did seem a little too excited about having someone new join the class.

“Alright, enough!... You can come in now.”

The whole class had their jaws drop as she strode into the room, and stood confidently before them with her arms crossed. The pleated black and red uniform suited her more than expected, and her hair had been tidily bunched into a small ponytail at the back, giving a more formal look than they were used to.

“Good morning everyone, it’s nice to see you again. In case you have forgotten, my name is Gale Rose-Windsor, Ex-Premiere Knight, now student of Phoenix Academy. I hope you’ll take care of me.”

Gale gave an elegant curtsy before the still-stunned audience. Conrad’s joy in watching their shocked faces was difficult to hide, but he coughed gently to clear his throat as he continued.

“Due to personal circumstances, Gale requested to join the Academy, and we were happy to have her. Her ability and prowess will be an undeniable benefit to us, but please respect her privacy in the decision to join.”
“Thank you, Mr Pierce, but I will at least say that I no longer agree with my homeland’s methods of handling things. Their treatment of not only myself but also you here at Phoenix was reprehensible, and I can only apologise for their actions.”

This time, she bowed deeply in front of the class, and Conrad sighed while massaging his eyebrows.

“...I appreciate the thought Gale, but you don’t have to apologise on their behalf when you had nothing to do with it. In any case, there’s still a seat here at the front between Leona and Sid, why don’t you take that spot and make yourself comfortable.”
“As you wish, sir.”

She marched towards her desk and sat down neatly, arranging all of her belongings with the most perfect precision. Conrad’s fun had very quickly begun to wear off, and though he was still delighted to have another student within their midst, he could see her by-the-books nature becoming difficult to deal with.

Still, he had a job to do, and as the fresh excitement simmered down once again, the day’s lessons started.

******

“...Hibiki, Yuuji, please go see Dr Natsumi right away. Apparently it’s important.”

As they had begun to pack their items away for the day, Conrad strolled to the back of the class and addressed them directly. If the twins were still there they’d certainly have kicked up a fuss, but they’d been sent off on their part-time job as the academy tour guides for Gale after disrupting the day one too many times.

“Hnn? Oh, alright!”
“...Me too?”
“Yes, she asked for both of you.”

As far as Yuuji was concerned, this could only be trouble. He had no intention of hiding his new relationship, but they hadn’t openly discussed it with anyone else yet, so with such suspicious timing he felt certain that the resident doctor had somehow managed to sniff it out immediately.

“Yuuji, let’s go!”
“...Yeah.”

The way she grabbed his hand and pulled him along was adorable, but he still felt a little embarrassed by it. Not even a year prior, he never could have imagined himself burning red in a bashful state, but here he was… though he refused to let go of the girl’s hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze as they entered a more secluded area.

Despite the call being unexpected, he didn’t have any plans for the day, so it was no great loss. At first, he’d considered making the rounds and telling his closest companions about his relationship, but for Ayumi, he knew he’d simply be walking into his own demise, and for Mitra, the announcement would surely snowball rapidly out of control.

He hadn’t gotten the chance to speak to Ji-Hye with everything going on, and she had disappeared at some point in the day, as she wasn’t in class as they left. It was possible that she’d just left to find a more comfortable bed somewhere, or it may have been a rare occasion where she had work to do during daylight hours, but he hoped to run into her at some point.

*Creak*

As they pushed the infirmary doors open, it was oddly quiet. The room was quite large for how little it was used, but considering the danger that they would often be put into on missions, too many beds was far better than too few.

“Is she not in?”
“I think she’ll be in her office? That’s where we usually have my checkups!”

Hibiki replied cheerfully, gesturing to a door in the corner of the medical bay area. Yuuji had never needed to have a personal checkup since arriving on the island, but it made sense that there was a private room for such things, rather than conducting them in the main section.

*Knock* *Knock*

It was strangely suspenseful, standing there. At least Hibiki had been through these motions before and knew what to do, but without her next to him it would surely feel like entering the tiger’s den.

“Oho~... You’re here. Hibiki-chan, please come in - Yuuji-kun, you can wait outside until I call you in~!”

Aoi’s face peeked around the door, and she smiled craftily. As instructed, Hibiki entered first, and the moment the door closed, Yuuji felt as though he’d been cut out from the world.

‘Is this some kind of torture?’

Left in his suspense, he fought away the urge to eavesdrop, as no matter how curious he was about the situation, he knew he would be told whatever he needed to know. Even if he tried, it wasn’t likely he’d be able to hear anything, as the room around him was quiet enough to hear a pin drop - there wasn’t even a low murmuring from beyond the walls, so the soundproofing was top-notch.

He recalled that it wasn’t just physical examinations that would take place, but also therapy and various counselling options were available too, and he was reminded that despite his instinctual fear of her scheming aura, Aoi was truly exceptional at what she did.

A long time passed as he stood waiting.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the time when they first arrived, but it was surely closing in on the hour mark, and there wasn’t a single peep from inside. He was a little worried for Hibiki’s sake, but knowing she was just on the other side of the door calmed his nerves somewhat.

“Ahem. Yuuji-kun~? We’re ready for you now.”

Finally, Aoi’s face appeared beside him once more, beckoning him close. Her midnight blue eyes sparkled like gemstones, and she watched him with intense curiosity, her grin now wide and full. It seemed he wasn’t to swap places with Hibiki, but instead join her for something. Either way, speculating what she may be up to wasn’t going to get him anywhere - he would have to jump into the belly of the beast.

He steeled his nerves and stepped into the cosy room, but what he saw puzzled him greatly.

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Sat side by side on the wide sofa across from the door, was Hibiki and Ji-Hye. The former had a dazzling smile that lit up as she saw him, while the latter huddled up into a ball, only watching him from the corner of her eyes as he entered.

“What..?”
“Now now~, why don’t you take a seat? Here, have some water.”

A chair had been left out for him, but with this bizarre atmosphere, it was like he was walking into an interrogation. He cautiously lowered himself into his seat, waiting for some bombshell to go off as Aoi began speaking from behind her desk.

“Thank you. Now you see, we have a little situation on our hands, and as the academy doctor, I want to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy.”

Her opening statement set off alarm bells in his head, but he remained silent as he listened closely.

“Fufufu~... Normally, I would never disclose information passed to me in private, but in this case, I believe there is a solution that would work for all of you.”
“...”

All three of the girls had their eyes fixed on him. Even so, he still wasn’t exactly sure of what was going on - and it must have shown on his face.

“I’m referring to your and Hibiki’s relationship, of course.”
“Pff-!”

Yuuji spat out his water in shock. Part of him felt sure that Aoi had somehow known from the moment they received the summons, but even so, revealing it so openly while Ji-Hye was in the room with them was just outrageous.

“..?”

…Unless that was exactly what she had been referring to.

“Ufufu~, it looks like you’ve caught on.”

Delighted, she covered her upturned lips with her hand, lavishing every moment of the situation.

“I had been speaking to Hibiki-chan about her feelings ever since she arrived, and she divulged some fascinating details to me, which she has made clear she is happy to share. Now, little Miss Myung here also happens to be of a similar mind… and that means it would just be up to you, Yuuji-kun.”

His thoughts couldn’t quite keep up with everything she was saying, so he slowly turned towards the other two in front of him. Hibiki giggled slightly, her face red, as Ji-Hye averted her eyes bashfully, retreating further into her comfort ball.

“Yuuji, Yuuji! Isn’t this great? Ji-Hye, go on, tell him!”
“Y-Yuu…”

Hibiki shook the girl beside her lightly, causing her to open up. She still struggled to keep eye contact with him as her face burned red, but it was clear that she had something she wanted to say.

“Ji-Hye..?”
“Yuu… I-I have feelings for you!”

‘*BANG!*’

It was like a bullet through his heart, and his mind nearly exploded. It had been so out of the blue that all he could do was blink stupidly, wondering if he had somehow misread the situation, or misheard her perfect speech.

“I thought I was happy just being a friend, but I-I want to be with you! I want to date you!”

Well, so much for misunderstanding.

“But… huh?”
“Even if I’m number 2, it’s fine! I love you!”
“Hehe~... Yuuji’s cool, right!?”

The girl’s head was fizzing with steam, and she seemed a little faint from her outburst. He had never known her to be this flustered in all their years together; not even when she had accidentally missed a limited-time collectable sale, so this was new.

His brain was still whirring to try and figure out what the hell was happening, as his new girlfriend was currently cheering on his childhood friend as she confessed to him. There was only one thing he was sure of - he needed to say something.

*WHACK*

He clapped both sides of his face between his hands and took a deep breath. It didn’t matter how shocked he was at the moment: this was something he needed to face head-on.

“Hibiki… is this really something you’re happy with?”
“Hnn? Yeah! I love you, Ji-Hye loves you, why wouldn’t we just both date you together?”

Her pure response blasted straight through his common sense, and he took a critical hit from her cuteness. Ignoring the joyous ‘Ufufu~!’ in the background, he looked to Ji-Hye once more.

She was gorgeous. He never doubted that - he just hadn’t ever thought of her in that way before, at least not intentionally. That was in large part due to the distance they held from each other as they were growing up, and the emotional walls he had built around his heart.

If he hadn’t met Hibiki, and the current him had been asked if he wanted to date her, the answer would have been clear: undoubtedly, yes.

She had an inhuman sleep cycle, obsessed over games and anime, and drank enough coffee to keep a small country wired for a week… but whenever he heard her voice, no matter how deep and lonely the hole in his heart was, he still felt her warmth. She had been a light in some of his darkest days, and now he had heard how she felt, the thought of rejecting her based on some moral principle he didn’t give a shit about was unthinkable.

Maybe it was selfish, but if these girls loved him, and he loved them in return, that was all that mattered.

“Ji-Hye. I had no idea… but I’ve always wanted to keep you close. If you will both take me as your partner, even as I am… then I will make sure you never regret it.”
“Yuu..!”
“Yuuji~!”
“Ho~oh?”

His speech was his true feeling, though it still made the back of his neck itch as he spoke it. He’d done his best to ignore her throughout, but even Aoi reacted to his declaration, and he immediately wanted to bury his head in the ground.

But, he could be embarrassed some other time.

Standing up, he took Ji-Hye into his arms, and Hibiki joined them in a wide embrace. It was slightly uncomfortable, but he could feel the warmth of both girls, and the joy far outweighed any discomfort, so he didn’t care.

Eventually, they had to release each other, and upon returning to their seats once their heated emotions had cooled down they were all feeling the awkward atmosphere. Yuuji and Ji-Hye could hardly look at one another, but Hibiki was still giggling giddily beside them, and they couldn’t help smiling wryly at the situation.

“Ahem~. I’m glad everyone found a solution they were pleased with~!”
“Un! It’s perfect! Thank you, Aoi-san!”
“...”
“...”

He didn’t want to respond to the one who played a key role in orchestrating this whole thing, despite it resulting in an outcome he wouldn’t have even imagined to be possible in his wildest dreams.

“Of course, I’ll keep this meeting confidential~! But there is one last thing I wanted to discuss with you, now that you are all involved in this relationship.”
“Nn?”
“...”
“...There’s more?”

Still elated from her front-row seat to such a fascinating event, Aoi chuckled quietly.

“It’s about Hibiki-chan. She’s half succubus, you know? What you three get into on your own is your business, but succubi are said to need to perform intercourse regularly to survive. It doesn’t seem to have been an issue so far… but please keep me updated~!”
“...”
“...”
“...”

From now on, it looked as though Yuuji’s life was about to get a lot more lively.

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