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Chapter 11: Angels and Demons

Forty.

For this class of 1063.5 in width, forty students made the space seem excessively spacious. Of course, this wasn't particularly concerning to me. What caught my attention was the evenly distributed number of students across the four classes.

Odd and even numbers are a wonderful balance point.

In a state of balanced abilities, disregarding differences in cooperation, even numbers always seem more reasonable and cohesive than odd numbers, even surpassing them psychologically.

So, in the presence of strength and a good background, we should not let anyone lag behind, as we don't know if they will have the capacity to be useful in the future.

Well, at the very least, we need to find replacements with similar abilities...

"Luo, the next task is up to you."

Okabe slapped my heavy shoulder forcefully, then left with Shiratori and Takashima, their arms linked together.

Being used as a tool again.

The big cleanup. Classroom cleanliness didn't need to be worried about every day, so our hygiene committee decided to assign four students to clean the entire class every Friday after school. Although it may not qualify as a "big cleanup," let's call it that for now.

I'm not sure how the hygiene committee arranges the students, but I suppose it has something to do with mood. I have some discontent with this rule, perhaps if it were arranged differently, I wouldn't have been paired with Okabe.

Furthermore, there are two other points that are causing my discontent. How does being a high school student relate to life? It's clearly deceiving me. Even so, I think we should at least find a replacement.

I glanced at the two girls in the class. Lastly, it's a secular agreement created by an unknown male that girls only need to do light tasks like wiping the blackboard and sweeping the floor, while boys need to do dirty work like fetching water, mopping, and taking out the trash. Thinking about it now, this society seems to have no fair place.

I picked up the bucket and headed to the restroom. Upon my return, I found the classroom empty.

It's already done. It only took about five minutes round trip to finish. So, I must say, the girls' tasks are too simple. And don't you have any sympathy? Wouldn't most people volunteer to help a student working alone?!

I let out a sigh of filthiness into the fresh air emitted by the vegetation.

With no complaints, I picked up the mop and started cleaning the floor.

Gradually, the fiery sun dyed the distant horizon with a golden glow. It was at this moment that I completed all my tasks.

—Not really.

"So, throwing out garbage is also considered part of the boys' job domain, huh?"

I looked at the tightly sealed black garbage bags left at the door, revealing an expression of utter defeat.

Under the weight of a weary spirit, I sat down near the door on a desk and surveyed the campus scenery at this time. The sunlight outside was gradually tilting, becoming increasingly fiery red. The setting sun shone on the desk in front of me, causing the textbooks placed on the surface to gradually fade.

Tranquility.

The receding clamor of birds and beasts, the absence of the sound of footsteps on the floor.

All in all, it was very quiet here. Despite the sense of alienation brought about by the transparent glass, the greenery outside the window was simply a creation of nature, and the position I was in was the center of this world.

Unfortunately, this is still the human realm. This feeling won't exist as long as the black plastic bag in front of me doesn't disappear from my sight immediately.

Ultimately, I stand on the outside of the world, watching the world.

I cut off my lingering thoughts and picked up the garbage bag, turning to leave.

The whole school has turned into an empty city after all; my movements were indeed too slow.

Tsk, but this is the daily life I wanted, isn't it?

As I was pondering the wonders of life, I suddenly noticed a figure by the iron railing beside the river.

Isn't that... Kushida?

On the first day of school, Kushida, with his exceptional social skills, saw me buying daily necessities with Ichinose and greeted me without permission. Although we exchanged contact information, she became the second female contact stored in my phone, but her account remained silent in my hands.

Just like Kushida had forgotten my existence, she didn't take the initiative to greet me either. I didn't know what topic to use for conversation, so, uh, that was it.

In any case, it's definitely not because I lack the courage.

She stood there silently, and to avoid her discovery, I chose to quietly walk past her from behind without acknowledging her presence. Then, I stopped behind a tree next to her.

Should I greet her? But she seems to emit an awkward aura. Perhaps she's lost her way in life, in which case, I should offer her some spiritual comfort!

So, what should I say?

"Hey, Kushida." Or "What are you doing here?" Or "Good evening"? This time should be considered evening, right?

"Ah—so annoying!"

Suddenly, a low, beast-like roar filled my ears, filled with anger and disgust. With the sudden onslaught of sound waves, I instinctively concealed my body.

"Ah—she's so infuriating! Why is that woman even at this school? She acts so high and mighty just because she knows how to study. Why can such a bitch come to this school?"

"Ah—so annoying! Why doesn't that bitch just die?!"

Boom, boom, boom—!

Kushida continued to release her inner frustrations to the outside world, the iron railing emitting a heavy, sorrowful sound, echoing within the hollow cylindrical space.

It's terrifying!

Regardless of what 'faults' the 'woman' in Kushida's mouth might have committed, it's hard to imagine that the gentle girl who spoke to me just a while ago could have such another side.

My intuition tells me that if she were to discover me now, things would turn very unpleasant.

But with so few obstacles to use now, I could only hope that she wouldn't walk straight through the greenery as she left. As long as she didn't do that, I wouldn't be discovered. I wouldn't make low-level mistakes like stepping on branches to make noise.

"Ah—Go die, go die, go die!"

"Give—me—a—break—ah—!"

Boom—

With one final heavy groan from the iron railing, Kushida also slowly exhaled, then picked up her sling bag and straightened up.

"Well, that feels much better." A melodious voice, entirely different from before, suddenly appeared in my ears, leaving me momentarily unable to distinguish whether the Kushida in front of me was an angel or a demon.

"Okay, let's go back." Kushida hummed a song with her sweet voice, leaving only a wine-red figure without looking back.

I shifted positions, and after ensuring her figure had disappeared, I stayed there for a while longer. What kind of past did she have to display the scene just now?

Or rather,

......

What was she enduring all this for?

As expected, women are truly terrifying creatures.