Early the next morning, Zerozaki Hajime arrived in the classroom looking as drowsy as ever.
This time, however, she had brought coffee with her.
Ayanokouji Yumi looked at her with deep concern.
"Zerozaki-san, did you not sleep at all? How are your dark circles getting worse and worse?"
Zerozaki Hajime sat down in her chair. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep; she simply couldn't.
Her constitution was quite different from that of ordinary humans.
Back when she served as a Space-Time Order Officer, she hadn't needed sleep at all; as long as she had a supply of energy, she could remain awake indefinitely.
Now that she had just arrived in the human world, her body was presumably failing to adapt properly, which was why she had been reduced to this state.
"I'm fine, Ayanokouji. I'll feel better once I drink some coffee."
Zerozaki Hajime smiled to reassure Ayanokouji Yumi, not wanting her to worry needlessly.
During the lunch break, Zerozaki Hajime wandered around the school perimeter as usual to search for monsters.
This time, however, her target was clear: she headed straight for the tennis club's indoor court.
Along the way, she used Stealth Mode to eliminate several more monsters that were preparing to scatter and hunt down the regular club members.
She pondered the nature of these ball monsters. They seemed to belong to a type that wouldn't budge unless someone disturbed their breeding.
After all, these monsters kept being born near the indoor court; it seemed the consciousness of these ball monsters had not evolved to be very smart.
From his resting spot on the roof, Niou Masaharu saw Zerozaki Hajime eliminate a small monster and pass straight through the wall into the indoor court, a look of surprise crossing his face.
He stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly walked downstairs and rushed toward the indoor court.
Fortunately, he happened to bring the key to the indoor court, Niou Masaharu thought with a private sense of relief.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Zerozaki Hajime firing energy beams at the ball machine.
Hearing the door open, Zerozaki Hajime pulled back the second beam she was about to fire and turned around.
"Niou? Why did you come over?"
"Puri, I just happened to see the Order Officer go in and figured the Order Officer might need some help."
With his hands in his pockets, Niou Masaharu walked over and stopped half a meter away from her.
"Indeed, your timing is impeccable."
Zerozaki Hajime let out a chuckle.
She grabbed Niou Masaharu's wrist and initiated pure dematerialization.
Seeing that she was still holding onto him yet he could no longer feel her touch, Niou Masaharu asked curiously,
"Is this the penetration technique?"
"A penetration technique? That's a remarkably accurate term."
Zerozaki Hajime had switched to pure dematerialization primarily because she wasn't entirely certain whether this ball monster could pass through solid objects.
If the ball monster could phase through walls, she needed to be ready to follow right behind it in real time.
She released a second beam, shooting it toward the second ball machine, which immediately popped out a tennis ball.
Recognizing Zerozaki Hajime, the tennis ball frantically bounded toward the exit.
Seeing the ball monster sprint toward the indoor court's main door, Zerozaki Hajime knew instantly that the ball monster could not phase through solid walls.
She immediately switched back to a physical state, grabbed Niou by the arm, and gave chase.
"The Order Officer's reactions are certainly fast~"
Even now, Niou Masaharu didn't forget to praise Zerozaki Hajime.
The ball monster bolted straight for a crowded area, prompting Zerozaki Hajime to freeze time instantly.
"Zerozaki-san, it's over there!"
Niou Masaharu pointed toward the bushes on the left, but when Zerozaki Hajime looked, there was nothing there.
Zerozaki Hajime glared at him and snapped irritably,
"Stop messing around!"
"Puri, this time it's for real, it hid in the bushes."
Zerozaki Hajime immediately fired a dozen beams simultaneously into the row of bushes. Sure enough, the ball monster leaped out, looking as though it was about to clear the school wall.
"Sorry, I wronged you just now."
She grabbed Niou Masaharu and continued the chase.
"It's fine, Order Officer~"
Before he even finished speaking, Zerozaki Hajime pulled him close, her eyes fixed on the tennis ball about to leap over the wall.
"Niou, quickly! Put your arms around my waist!"
"Huh?"
Niou Masaharu froze for a second.
Seeing that he didn't move, Zerozaki Hajime barked at him,
"Hurry up! Can't you see it's about to jump the wall?!"
Startled by her shout, Niou Masaharu hastily reached out and wrapped his arms around Zerozaki Hajime's waist.
Zerozaki Hajime leaped into the air, using the wall as leverage to carry Niou Masaharu over the school fence and out into the street.
The wind caught their long hair, tangling their strands together.
Looking at Zerozaki Hajime's profile just inches away, Niou Masaharu recalled the fragrance that had lingered around her that night, and he found himself momentarily dazed.
A park stood right next to the school, and the two watched as the ball monster bounded toward it.
"Oh no!"
Zerozaki Hajime hastily pulled Niou Masaharu and ran toward the park.
If this ball monster made it into the park, tracking it down later would become even harder.
Just as she expected, the ball monster successfully slipped away into the depths of the park.
Zerozaki Hajime desperately wanted to stay in the park and search for the ball monster, but freezing time consumed too much energy. Even with Niou Masaharu by her side, she could not maintain the time freeze indefinitely.
Her energy replenishment simply could not keep up with her energy expenditure.
With that thought, she let out a helpless sigh.
"Let's head back first."
"The Order Officer isn't going to look for it?"
Niou Masaharu didn't quite understand; since she could freeze time, why rush back to the school?
"We can't afford the energy cost. We'll deal with it another time."
With that, Zerozaki Hajime signaled for him to put his arms around her so she could take him back to the school.
Seeing that Zerozaki Hajime had no intention of explaining further, Niou Masaharu didn't ask again. He wrapped his arms around her once more, and together they returned to the school grounds.
The moment they touched the ground, Zerozaki Hajime restored normal time, only to look up and see all the other regular team members standing right there.
"I told you I wasn't seeing things! Just now when time was frozen, I saw Zerozaki and Niou-senpai come right here, and the moment I blinked, they were gone!"
Kirihara Akaya eagerly boasted to Yanagi Renji.
Seeing Niou Masaharu with his arms wrapped around Zerozaki Hajime's waist, everyone else wore intriguing expressions, save for Kirihara Akaya, who was still busy singing his own praises.
Yukimura Seiichi narrowed his eyes, watching the scene with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Sanada Genichirou wore a rather awkward expression as he took a step forward.
"Too slack! How could you two leave the school grounds without permission!"
With a deadpan expression, Zerozaki Hajime pried Niou Masaharu's hands apart. She walked past Sanada Genichirou and explained to the group,
"I went chasing after a ball monster just now, and since I happened to run into Niou, I brought him along."
"So that's how it was! I actually thought Zerozaki-san only brought Niou along!"
Marui Bunta walked up to Zerozaki Hajime, looked down at her, his tone lively and his expression cheerful.
Yet the implication behind his words was rather peculiar, prompting Zerozaki Hajime to look up and study him a little longer.
In her girl form, Zerozaki Hajime was only 150 cm tall, requiring her to tilt her head up whenever she spoke to anyone. She smiled at Marui Bunta and said,
"Marui-san's strawberry cake from yesterday was delicious."
It really had been delicious; that was Zerozaki Hajime's honest truth.
Besides, she could sense that the atmosphere was rather strange. Since things felt off, she might as well change the subject—splitting hairs wouldn't solve anything anyway.
Marui Bunta blinked in surprise, then chuckled and played along with her remark,
"Is that so? How about I make you a chocolate cake next time then~"
Zerozaki Hajime nodded.
"Okay."
The warning bell for the afternoon classes rang, and the group dropped the matter of Zerozaki Hajime, hurrying back to their respective classrooms to prepare for lessons.
The Astronomy Club had club activities today, and as soon as school let out, Zerozaki Hajime and Ayanokouji Yumi headed over together.
"I never expected Zerozaki-san to become the tennis club manager! Is Yukimura-senpai super gentle? Is Marui-senpai really lively? Is Yagyuu a true gentleman? Oh, and Yanagi-senpai sounds wonderful too! I heard he's exceptionally talented at poetry!"
Ayanokouji Yumi asked questions eagerly with a look of pure envy.
Zerozaki Hajime looked at her with a mild headache.
"It's fine, pretty much what you said."
"Then which one does Zerozaki-san like best?!"
Ayanokouji Yumi threw out the question completely unawares.
Like?
Zerozaki Hajime thought of Yukimura Seiichi on the court yesterday, and she suddenly froze. Why on earth did she think of him?
"They're all pretty good."
Feeling that discussing this with Ayanokouji Yumi was hardly appropriate, she brushed the question off with a vague reply.
"Huh? What do you mean they're all pretty good? Could it be that Zerozaki-san likes all of them?!"
Ayanokouji Yumi had a rather carefree personality, but she could be stubbornly persistent about certain things.
Zerozaki Hajime massaged her temples in resignation.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then which one does Zerozaki-san actually like better?"
Ayanokouji Yumi grabbed Zerozaki Hajime's arm, determined to get an answer out of her.
"I'm quite curious myself."
Yukimura Seiichi's voice sounded from right behind them.
"Eh?! Yu... Yukimura-senpai?!"
Catching sight of Yukimura Seiichi behind them, Ayanokouji Yumi hurriedly shook Zerozaki Hajime's arm.
Zerozaki Hajime looked at him with some surprise.
"Why are you here?"
Ayanokouji Yumi whispered in her ear,
"Zerozaki-san, how can you be so impolite! You have to address him as Yukimura-senpai first!"
......
Zerozaki Hajime still hadn't fully adapted to the rules here, and given her relationship with Yukimura Seiichi, calling him "senpai" felt rather strange. Still, she nodded and repeated her question,
"Why is Yukimura-senpai here?"
"Hk..."
Ayanokouji Yumi scratched her head. She felt something was slightly off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what the problem was.
Yukimura Seiichi smiled at the two of them.
"I'm in the Art Club, which happens to be right next to your Astronomy Club."
Zerozaki Hajime and Ayanokouji Yumi looked up and saw that the Astronomy Club and Art Club were indeed right next door to each other.
The three of them didn't linger at the door for long and quickly went inside to join the activities.
Flipping through a book, Ayanokouji Yumi sighed in admiration,
"Yukimura-senpai is truly so beautiful!"
Hearing this, Zerozaki Hajime looked up and gave her a sideways glance without saying a word.
Ayanokouji Yumi felt a slight chill under her gaze.
"Of course! In my heart, Zerozaki-san is the most beautiful!"
?
Despite being in the Astronomy Club, Ayanokouji Yumi spent the entire time chattering about the tennis club, her mind not on the astronomy books at all.
One moment she declared Marui Bunta was her favorite among the regular members, and the next she predicted that starting this week, the tennis club would likely sweep the prefectural tournament just like every other year.
......The prefectural tournament?
Zerozaki Hajime took mental note of that.
When club activities ended, Zerozaki Hajime and Ayanokouji Yumi walked downstairs together, only to see Yukimura Seiichi standing by the corner of the hallway.
"It's Yukimura-senpai again, Zerozaki-san. He looks like he's waiting for someone... wait, could he be waiting for you? Zerozaki-san?"
Ayanokouji Yumi whispered in Zerozaki Hajime's ear, more and more convinced that Yukimura Seiichi was indeed waiting for Zerozaki Hajime.
Sure enough, Yukimura Seiichi simply led Zerozaki Hajime away.
"Ah... how nice. Not long after the semester starts, Zerozaki-san is either leaving with Yanagi-senpai or with Yukimura-senpai, and I never even make the list!"
Seeing Zerozaki Hajime leave together with Yukimura Seiichi, Ayanokouji Yumi thought with a tinge of melancholy.
A super beauty is simply too popular; day after day, she always gets intercepted halfway by various handsome guys.