Miko walked with her head down in embarrassment, but her steps gradually became lighter and more cheerful.
Even though the whole "hero saving the damsel in distress" trope was old-fashioned, it definitely worked especially on a teenage girl.
Miko hadn't slept at all the previous night, but just walking beside Ryuji Hoshino now, she felt completely safe.
...
"Miko!"
After entering the school, a voice called out from behind Ryuji and Miko.
A girl with bright orange hair and an air of wealth and privilege was running toward them.
"Hana!"
Miko smiled and waved back. The girl was none other than her best friend, Yurikawa Hana.
"Ah, who's this?"
Yurikawa Hana happily hooked her arm around Yotsuya Miko's, but her eyes were full of curiosity as she glanced at Ryuji.
She had never seen Miko walking so close to a boy before.
"This is Ryuji-kun, he's... uh, he's..."
Miko stumbled over her words. She could introduce him as a friend, but they'd only known each other for less than two days. If she said they were close, it would feel a little... awkward.
"Hello, my name is Ryuji Hoshino, and I'm a friend of Miko's," Ryuji said, rescuing her from her awkwardness with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Yurikawa Hana, Miko's best friend!" Hana introduced herself cheerfully before leaning close to Miko with a teasing glint in her eye.
"He called you Miko!"
Yurikawa Hana, while a bit naïve, wasn't stupid. Ryuji calling Miko by her first name, and Miko not correcting him, hinted at something special between them.
"Hana!"
Miko's cheeks flushed red. It was just a joke between girls, but Ryuji didn't mind. His attention briefly drifted to Yurikawa Hana's family wealth was it really appropriate for a high school student to be that rich?
"Ahem, well, I should head to class now. See you later!"
Ryuji decided it was best to leave before the conversation went any further. After all, he would see them after school anyway. No need to stick around and complicate things.
With that, Ryuji walked off, leaving Miko staring at his back. She only turned away after he had completely disappeared from view.
But Yurikawa Hana could no longer hold back her curiosity. The moment Ryuji was out of sight, she bombarded Yotsuya Miko with questions.
"Miko, are you in love? Is he your boyfriend? He's also quite handsome. Have you guys held hands? Have you kissed yet? Or maybe you've already"
"Hana!"
Seeing how outrageous the questions were becoming, Yotsuya Miko quickly covered Hana's mouth, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.
"We're just friends!"
She retorted, embarrassed.
What on earth is she thinking? We just met this is way too fast!
Wait, no. Why am I even thinking about something like that?! It's all Hana's fault for putting weird ideas in my head.
The more she thought about it, the redder her face became.
"Oh~"
Seeing Miko's reaction, Yurikawa Hana nodded meaningfully.
"So it's a secret love, then!"
"Hana!!!"
Realizing her friend was about to explode, Yurikawa Hana decided to back off before things got serious. But in her heart, she couldn't help but feel genuinely curious about this Ryuji Hoshino.
...
Ryuji's classroom was on the second floor. By the time he arrived, many students were already in their seats. Without drawing any attention, he quietly found his place using the memories from his new body.
Unfortunately, it wasn't in the back row or by the window.
Not ideal… Ryuji thought with mild disappointment.
He had been pretty much a nobody in the class before, and nothing had changed, so naturally, no one came to greet him now.
That was fine with him. It saved him the trouble of wasting time on small talk.
"Good morning, Yumiko!"
"Morning, Yui!"
"You're here early, Hayato!"
Classes hadn't started yet, and various small groups had already formed, chattering away.
Ryuji recognized many of the characters from the anime he used to watch before crossing into this world.
He couldn't help but wonder could he extract talents from them too?
While he pondered this, the conversation around him continued.
"Did you guys hear? We're getting a new homeroom teacher!"
Tobe Kakeru, part of one of the more boisterous groups, blurted out the latest gossip he had heard.
Immediately, the class was abuzz, especially the girls.
"Really?"
"But we're already so far into the school year why change the homeroom teacher now?"
Some students were curious, some were worried, while others didn't care at all.
"I heard the old homeroom teacher got pregnant, so they're replacing her!"
At that, many of the boys perked up, interested in the new information.
Tobe continued, clearly enjoying the attention.
"I also heard the new teacher is a woman and she's hot!"
Instantly, the boys' conversation turned into wild speculation about how attractive the new teacher might be. The more they talked, the more exaggerated their fantasies became.
They didn't notice the girls in the class rolling their eyes, clearly thinking the boys were a bunch of perverts.
Ryuji, resting his chin on one hand, listened absentmindedly. His thoughts were elsewhere.
The feeling of fullness is gone. It's completely digested.
After devouring the spirit this morning, Ryuji could feel that his body had completely processed it. As expected, the stronger he became, the faster he could digest souls, and the more he could devour.
If only there were more spirits in this school... that would be perfect.
...
Ding-ding-ding!
The bell rang, signaling the start of class. Suddenly, the door to the classroom opened, and the lively chatter immediately died down.
In a place like Sobu High, students had an instinctive fear of teachers. Even Tobe, who had been the loudest, fell silent when the teacher entered.
A woman in a white coat walked up to the blackboard and wrote her name with bold strokes.
"My name is Shizuka Hiratsuka, and I'll be your new homeroom teacher. If you ever have any problems in class, feel free to come to me."
Shizuka Hiratsuka?
Hearing the name, Ryuji's interest piqued, and he glanced at the woman standing at the podium.
No way… It's really her.
He couldn't help but smile. As expected of this world Shizuka Hiratsuka was here.