As the words left his mouth, Hachiman cursed himself internally.
What was he doing? This whole thing could have just ended right there.
The Kurobe sisters would transfer away, and he would continue living his life, pretending to know nothing. He was just a normal person—no, he couldn't even be called normal—he already had a pile of unresolved troubles: Sakuraba's situation, Nikaido's situation, Saeki's situation. Wasn't each one of those enough of a headache already? Why was he proactively diving into this tangled ss?
But he thought of Komachi.
Komachi would be graduating middle school in two years. He didn't know if she possessed the "Witch Factor." What if Komachi really was a Witch? What if she got flagged during the physical exam that day? What if her na was on that list? What if soone ca to take her away?
He needed to know more. He needed to know how those Witches survived, how those lists were screened, and he needed to know how to protect Komachi.
Kurobe Naoka's expression toward him changed. She looked at him for several seconds, then the corner of her mouth twitched.
"You?" She looked him up and down. "A Witch?"
"...Yeah."
"Pfft."
She braced herself against the edge of the desk, bending over, and laughed for quite a while before stopping.
"I'm sorry," she wiped the corner of her eye, "Aren't Witches supposed to be girls? Plus, you look... well, how should I put it, not at all 'witch-like'."
Do Witches have to have a standard appearance? What kind of stereotype is that?
Hachiman was silent for two seconds, deciding to use the na Yuki gave him.
"Then I'm a 'Witch-man'."
"What?"
"A Witch-man. The male version is called a Witch-man."
Kurobe Naoka was taken aback, and then she laughed even harder. "'Witch-man'? What kind of ridiculous na is that? Who ca up with it?"
"'Witch-man'..." Kurobe Naoka repeated it, her lips still curving upward. "Alright, Mr. Witch-man, then what is your 'magic'?"
"Plunder. I can steal the magic of other Witches."
The air went quiet for a mont.
Kurobe Naoka's smile didn't disappear, but Hachiman noticed her body lean back slightly as she moved to shield Kurobe Nanoka behind her.
"So you can steal my magic?" she asked.
"Theoretically, yes. But I haven't tried it, and... I don't want to steal it."
"How do you steal it? Do you have to touch to steal it? Or does it just happen with a glance?"
"I have to have contact, and it's not active; when soone else uses magic, I automatically plunder it."
"Automatically plunder it?" Kurobe Naoka's fingers tapped lightly against the desk edge. "Then the magic you plunder—can you return it after you're done?"
"Don't know. Haven't tried."
"Then whose have you plundered?"
"A friend's."
"Did she ask you to steal it?"
"Sort of. At the ti... she needed my help."
"Help?" Kurobe Naoka raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of magic did you plunder?"
"Death Regression. After dying, you can return to the morning of that day."
"You've died?" Kurobe Naoka's voice softened.
"In a sense, yes. But I regressed, so..."
Kurobe Naoka stared at him for a long ti.
"Death Regression..." she repeated in a low voice. "That kind of magic... is very dangerous.
So in this school, there isn't just you, one Wi... one person with magic?"
Hachiman hesitated. Should he say it?
"Right," he finally said. "Not just ."
Kurobe Naoka's eyes widened slightly.
"How many?"
"I know of three others."
Kurobe Nanoka peeked out from behind her sister, her voice filled with surprise: "Three? There are three other people with magic in the school?"
"Yes. Nikaido Hiro, who is in your class; Sakuraba Ema, who is in my class; and... a first-year girl."
He didn't ntion Saeki's na; her situation was too complex, and it involved her privacy.
"And they should have all passed the physical exam; they're all attending school normally right now."
Kurobe Naoka was silent for a while.
"And what about you?" she asked. "What is your relationship with them?"
Hachiman thought about it. "Classmates."
"Just classmates?"
"There's also one..." He paused, feeling a headache coming on. "Pretending to be dating."
"Pretending to be dating?" Kurobe Naoka repeated, her tone holding sothing indefinable. "Who are you pretending to date?"
"Nikaido. Your classmate."
"So you two are just pretending to date?"
Kurobe Nanoka's eyes went wide.
"Why?"
"To divert rumors. Previously, people were spreading a lot of bad things about Sakuraba. The whole school was talking about her, so I wanted to give everyone sothing else to talk about. I asked Nikaido for help, asking her to pretend to accept my confession."
Actually, it was a rejection, but who knew she would suddenly change her mind and agree.
Kurobe Naoka stared at him for several seconds.
"And then you confessed in front of the whole school?"
Her tone carried a hint of... not sure if it was admiration or helplessness.
"Do you particularly enjoy diving into trouble?"
Hachiman gave a bitter smile internally. He wanted to ask himself that sa question.
"I just... I just felt that since I knew about it, I couldn't just ignore it."
"Fine. It seems we're in the sa boat now, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes Witch-man."
Kurobe Naoka extended her right hand.
"What does that an?" he asked.
"It ans we aren't transferring schools for the ti being. Tomorrow after school, at the Service Club activity room—we'll be there."
Hachiman looked at her hand, then at her eyes. The vigilance and probing that were there a mont ago had vanished from those light purple depths.
He reached out and shook her hand.
"Done." She let go and patted her palms. "From now on, you're a boat-mate, too."
Kurobe Nanoka whispered from behind: "Sister, you make it sound like he was forced..."
"He was forced." Kurobe Naoka looked back at her sister.
"Didn't you see? He has a favor to ask of us, too."
Kurobe Nanoka froze. She looked at her sister, then at Hachiman, her mouth agape, not knowing what to say.
Kurobe Naoka turned back to look at him, those light purple eyes exceptionally sharp.
"When you said 'couldn't ignore it' just now, your gaze drifted for a split second. Though it was only for an instant, I saw it. You were thinking about sothing else—thinking about... soone you need to protect."
She paused, her voice softening slightly.
"It's family, isn't it? A younger sister or sothing?"
Hachiman fell silent. He hadn't expected Kurobe Naoka to be so perceptive.
"A younger sister," he finally said. "Komachi. Second year of middle school. She graduates in two years."
Now that it was out in the open, Hachiman felt a sense of relief.
"See? It really is a younger sister. That's the telepathy of people who have sisters."
She glanced out the window; the sky had already turned dark.
"Tomorrow after school, Service Club activity room. We'll be there on ti."
"Thank you."
"Don't ntion it." Kurobe Naoka took her sister's hand. "Let's go, Nanoka, ti to go ho."
"Sister, your body..." Kurobe Nanoka looked at her worriedly.
"It's fine. I'm feeling great."
The sisters left the classroom.
Hachiman stood where he was, watching their silhouettes vanish at the end of the corridor.
Why were so Witches executed while others weren't?
Why were he, Nikaido, Sakuraba, and Saeki perfectly fine?
How many people with magic were really in the school?
Who exactly was the person who made that post?
And also, Komachi...
He took a deep breath and walked out of the classroom.
The corridor was empty, with only the echo of his own footsteps.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, everything would beco even more complex.
But he had no choice but to keep moving forward.
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