29-129

EP.129 The Academy’s Transfer Student 

With the shadow of the evil organization “Dark Redemption” banished, Sky City was regaining its vitality as if waking from a long winter’s sleep. 

The gray sky had taken on a blue tint once more, and, instead of anxious shadows, peaceful smiles had returned to people’s faces. 

All of this peace stood upon the dedication of three holy girls: the "Holy Girl Squadron Saviors." 

Like flowers blooming amidst garbage, hope appeared before Sky City’s citizens in their darkest hour under the reign of Dark Redemption. 

Thanks to the heroes’ efforts, Sky City escaped several years of gloom and reclaimed hope and peace. 

And at the heart of that peace stood Saint Astraia Academy. 

Bathed in the light of the morning sun, the central garden of Saint Astraia Academy was a bustle of students beginning their day. 

On a bench at the edge of the central garden, a woman sat, already having claimed her spot. 

Her perfectly ironed crisp white blouse and neatly tied black necktie elevated her elite-like presence even further. 

Her pleated skirt, just long enough to cover her knees, was the same white as her shirt, and the delicate gold embroidery sewn along the hem quietly hinted at the academy’s sophistication. 

The woman with hair like a piece of the blue sky swept to one side Mizuki sat with impeccable posture, swiping her smartphone gracefully. 

It was then, with lively energy and the faint scent of soap as if freshly showered and still damp, that another woman approached her. 

Wearing the same uniform as Mizuki, but exuding a far more spirited aura, was a red-haired woman Akane who had just finished kendo club training early that morning. 

“Oh, Mizuki. You’re here early!” 

At Akane’s laid-back greeting, Mizuki frowned slightly and looked up. 

After raking Akane up and down with a cold glance, her gaze returned to her smartphone. 

“I just came early because Hikari said she had something important to share today. The person who called us is actually the one who’s late…” 

“She’s always late even though she lives in the dorms, unlike us.” 

“Wait.” 

As Akane plopped onto the bench, Mizuki sharply stopped her. 

“Huh?” 

“You smell like sweat. Could you keep your distance?” 

Her blatant disgust made Akane’s face flush with embarrassment and irritation. 

“What the hell! I washed off in the clubroom shower right after practice! How can you say I smell when I’m clean?” 

Just as she said, droplets of water from her hair, still not fully dried, dripped onto her white shirt’s shoulder, and beads of water sparkled on her freshly washed nape, still not quite dried. 

Not that Mizuki seemed to notice. 

“Oh? Maybe my nose is just sharp. Anyway, I don’t want water dripping from your wet hair getting on my bag, so could you move away a bit?” 

Mizuki calmly waved her hand as if shooing away an annoying insect, unflinching. 

Akane’s brow twitched at this utterly undisturbed attitude. 

“You little !” 

Just as things were about to get tense, a clear, pure voice rang out from behind them. 

“Are you two fighting again so early? You really do get along never a dull moment.” 

The speaker was none other than Hikari, famous as the academy’s “saint.” 

Neatly attired in her uniform, she wore a gentle smile, and as she appeared, all the students passing through the garden could be seen glancing over with admiration and yearning. 

““Who says we get along with this girl?!”” 

The two spoke out in unison, perfectly synchronized, but Hikari only smiled softly in response. 

These three seemingly ordinary girls were in fact the very heroes who had lately saved Sky City from terror: the “Holy Girl Squadron Saviors.” 

Of course, neither anyone at the academy nor anyone in all of Sky City knew their true identities. 

The only ones privy to this secret were the precious goddess who had given them their powers, and the one boy that each of them secretly cherished. 

“So, what is it you wanted to talk about, calling us out this early?” 

Despite the curt tone, Akane couldn’t help but covertly sniff her sleeve, still bothered by Mizuki’s earlier comment. 

Ignoring her, Mizuki continued the conversation, taking Akane’s question and firing one right back at Hikari. 

“By the way, Hikari. I heard you went head-to-head with the Dark Redemption goons yesterday. That true?” 

“Yes. I called you both here to talk about that about Dark Redemption.” 

Dark Redemption. At the mention of that name, tension flickered across both Akane’s and Mizuki’s faces. 

The two had once plunged Sky City into fear and chaos. 

Though it was these very girls who’d stopped their rampage and reclaimed peace for the city, that victory had been far from complete. 

During the last battle, the precious goddess who had given them strength, Lumina, was captured and taken away by the enemy. 

“Did you find out what happened to Lumina? You didn’t just finish her off without interrogation, right?” 

Mizuki asked with a skeptical look, and Hikari quickly waved her arms in denial. 

“No way! Even if I have a bit of a change in personality when fighting, I’m not that reckless!” 

It was an excuse that could have made countless fallen thugs roll in their graves, but Akane and Mizuki by now all too used to her quirks didn’t bother to point it out. 

“So? Did you actually learn anything? Like where they’re hiding out?” 

To Mizuki’s question, Hikari shook her head. 

“No. Those creeps well, those people might be brutal, but their loyalty to the organization is real.” 

As she recalled the day’s events, she flexed and uncurled her fist. A chill smile crossed her lips. 

“Just so you know, I ‘purified’ their stray souls as usual. After such a long time, it might have stung a little more. Ufufu.” 

If her usual fan students had witnessed this, they might have fainted on the spot. Akane and Mizuki simply pressed their foreheads with exasperation. 

“Wait, so basically, you learned nothing? You dragged us out here just to tell us that?” 

Akane raised her voice in disbelief, but Hikari explained with her calm, unwavering face. 

“Of course not. Actually, yesterday I heard something worrying from one of their members.” 

“Something worrying?” 

“They said that Dark Redemption’s boss, Onyx Rex, has been resurrected.” 

That news caused both of their expressions to change. 

Even Akane and even Mizuki, who until then had seemed uninterested and had been focused on her phone looked up. 

“Onyx Rex?!” 

“What if the grunts were just talking big?” 

“But their certainty felt real. Besides, after three months of silence, it’s weird for the organization’s people to suddenly show up.” 

The resurrection of Onyx Rex. 

This wasn’t something to shrug off. It could mean the hard-won peace of the city was once again under threat. 

“We sure can’t just sit around,” Akane muttered with sudden seriousness, and Hikari nodded in agreement. 

“I’m worried about the goddess too. If Onyx really is back, who knows what terrible things they may have done to her…” 

“Then we need to find Lady Lumina and rescue her ASAP.” 

“But we don’t have any leads. The only chance we had to get a clue, this crazy girl here erased herself with her hands.” 

“Wh-who are you calling crazy!?” 

Hikari’s panicked retort echoed across the central garden. 

It was only then that the three realized they were alone in the garden and that class time was near. 

“Looks like it’s almost time. Hikari, did you get any other info from them?” 

“...Ah, no. That’s all I found out yesterday.” 

To be exact, there was one thing she kept to herself. 

Last night, in prayer, she had felt a strange sensation welling up a dirty, blasphemous heat rising from deep inside. 

Giving in to that heat and comforting herself the night before had left a stain of guilt that she, a nun, could not erase. 

“I’ll fill you in on the rest during our break.” 

“Haa, I thought all the annoying stuff was over…” 

With a sigh, Mizuki stood from the bench and headed for the classroom building, Akane scratching her head as she followed behind. 

Still worrying about her “lower half,” Hikari trailed after the others just as her gaze caught something under the trees in the garden. 

“There… What’s that?” 

Muttering, she drew the attention of the other two, who turned their heads and followed her gaze toward a lone cardboard box. 

Carefully approaching, the three girls heard tiny pitiful cries. 

Akane, unhesitating, opened the box first, to find several newborn kittens huddled together for warmth. 

On the box’s side, scrawled in clumsy handwriting, were the words, “Please, someone kind, take us in.” 

“Kittens?” 

“Who could abandon kittens right in the middle of the academy? Who’s the jerk responsible!?” 

Angered, Akane looked around as if ready to hunt down the culprit. 

Mizuki, meanwhile, kept a subtle distance from the box. 

“Looks like they’ve been left for a while, since even the kittens are here. Can’t believe nobody found them until now.” 

“Maybe someone abandoned them because they couldn’t handle the kittens.” 

Irresponsible either way. 

“But there’s nothing we can do about it. I don’t want fur on my clothes.” 

“I’d love to take them, but campus housing doesn’t let us keep animals…” 

Though feeling pity, even Hikari hesitated. 

It was then that a male student passing by the garden spotted the group. 

“Huh? Akane?” 

At the sound of his voice, all three girls turned reflexively. 

“…Haruto?” 

“Haruto-kun?” 

“What are you doing here?” 

As the questions poured out, the boy Haruto awkwardly scratched his cheek and asked them back. 

“What about you three? Class is almost starting, what are you doing here? Even Mizuki and Hikari…” 

“It’s just that…” Hikari trailed off, shuffling sideways to reveal the box. 

Now, Haruto finally saw the cardboard box under the tree. 

“Kittens?” 

“Looks like someone from school dumped them.” 

“So we’re trying to figure out what to do.” 

“Ah…” 

Haruto didn’t ask any more questions. 

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, met the eyes of the hissing, frightened kittens, and gently offered his hand. 

His voice was filled with gentle sincerity nothing feigned. 

“It’s all right. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” 

The kittens slowly relaxed at his touch. 

Haruto took off his jacket and gently wrapped the tiny creatures. 

“Don’t worry I’ll keep them in the clubroom for now, then take them to a shelter.” 

At his warm voice, Hikari let out an unconscious sigh of relief. 

As she watched Haruto cradle the small, frightened creatures, Hikari felt a genuine warmth bloom inside her. 

“Thank you, Haruto-kun. Really…” 

Meanwhile, Mizuki, silently watching the scene, gave a small sigh and turned away. She spoke bluntly, but with an uncharacteristic softness at the end of her voice. 

“You’re still such a busybody…” 

“H-hmph! D-don’t get the wrong idea I’m not saying you’re great or anything!” 

Akane, the first to get angry, blushed furiously as she watched Haruto so easily do what she herself hadn’t managed. 

She crossed her arms and grumbled. 

“I-I was about to do it too! You just stepped up first, that’s all!” 

For a moment, the mood around the bench changed. 

The feelings the three had had for the unknown jerk who dumped the kittens now gathered on one boy, shining in different ways. 

“Well, I’m going to stop by the clubroom. You three should get to class.” 

As Haruto turned to go with a wave, someone called out to stop him. 

“Haruto-kun, carrying those little kittens must be hard. Let me hold your bag.” 

“Oh? Th-thank you, Hikari.” 

Hikari stepped to his side with a ready excuse, and the other two girls rushed to keep up. 

“M-me too! I actually have something to do in that direction!” 

“I have to speak to the student council adviser, and that’s near the clubroom… so I’ll give you a hand on the way.” 

In the end, the four walked together to the clubroom to safely hand off the kittens, heading to class only afterward. 

Later, in the morning homeroom Class A classroom. 

Thinking back on what had just happened, the three heroines each sat in their own thoughts. 

Akane, blushing, looked out the window. 

Mizuki, composed, was tending to her nails with her chin in one hand. 

Only Hikari fidgeted, anxiously fingering her cross necklace. 

At that moment, the classroom door opened and the homeroom teacher walked in. 

“Okay, everyone, take your seats. Today we have a new student transferring into our class.” 

At those words, some students including Haruto looked toward the front, but the trio barely reacted. 

Then the door opened again and a boy walked in, causing a small stir. 

A perfectly neat black school uniform. 

Eyes as dark as midnight. 

And on his face, an arrogant yet irresistibly charming smile. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kai, your new transfer student.” 

“…Ugh.” 

Among the class, Hikari was the first to react to the odd atmosphere. 

The moment she heard his voice, she felt that blasphemous heat from last night one that had tormented her, crawling up her spine. Reflexively, she clutched her cross necklace. 

Despite the uncomfortable sensation, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. 

Even Mizuki, usually indifferent, eyed the new transfer with a sharp assessment. 

Like a flawlessly crafted doll, there was no gap whatsoever in his expression or posture. 

There was such a sense of perfection that it made him unsettling and Mizuki felt, for the first time, a flicker of genuine interest. 

Akane unconsciously scowled. 

That arrogant air, looking down on everyone for no reason, irked her but annoyingly, his overwhelming presence made it impossible even to look away. 

The three girls, each in their own way, had no idea that the boy who had just entered their calm, everyday world was about to upend everything.