Chapter 374: Leo Karumi [8]

After she left, Leo could feel the stares on him. Naturally, the whole conversation had been heard by the classmates who’d already arrived. With a quiet sigh, he propped his head on his hand and turned toward the window, staring outside.

The looks aimed at him had different reasons behind them, but one kind dominated: the boys’ stares—thick with envy, jealousy, and open hostility.

"Tch... acting all nonchalant now..."

"I seriously don’t get what they see in him. He’s always alone, or with that weirdo Nathan from the other class. Then he acts like he’s better than us just because he’s smart—when all he really has is being rude."

"Man... that girl’s gonna end up in tears, huh."

Leo ignored the comments. Thankfully, he didn’t have to say anything—some of the girls jumped to his defense, and an argument started on the other side of the classroom.

"Yo... Leo..."

A tired voice greeted him, followed by a yawn. Leo turned and saw a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes, dark circles hanging under them like bruises. He slumped into the chair next to Leo like an empty battery.

"Yo, Gil."

Gil was Leo’s desk neighbor. He was always sleep-deprived and exhausted, but he had a decent head on his shoulders—aside from his habits. Leo wouldn’t call him a friend, but they were on better terms than Leo was with most of the boys in their class.

"Didn’t sleep much this time either?"

Gil yawned again as he answered, laying his face flat on the desk.

"Watched a stream all night... about a game event..."

"I see..."

Leo played games when he had the time, sure. But watching streamers? He never understood the appeal.

Their conversation ended there. Neither of them had anything else to say—nor did they want to. More classmates filtered in and took their seats, the classroom slowly filling up. Eventually, the bell rang, and the teacher walked in with a stack of papers.

A chorus of groans spread across the room.

*****

"Argh! What the hell was that!? Teacher, did you accidentally give us a test meant for high schoolers!?"

"Yeah! My head still hurts!"

One by one, the complaints piled on as the test ended. Most of Leo’s classmates were slumped over their desks like they’d been mentally tortured.

"That is precisely right."

"EH!?"

The room went still for half a second, then exploded again—because the teacher had just confirmed it. She’d deliberately made the test much harder, and she looked proud of herself as she adjusted the round glasses on her face.

"BUT WHY, TEACHER!? THIS IS SO UNFAIR!"

"PLEASE TELL US THAT TEST DOESN’T COUNT FOR REAL POINTS!"

"ARGH—THE ACADEMIC COMEBACK WAS A LIE ALL ALONG!"

Snap—!

Leo’s pencil broke in half.

He gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, a vein twitching at his forehead.

’Annoying... their voices are so fucking annoying. It makes me wish my eardrums would bleed just so the sound would drown in it.’

"What? Got something to say, Leo? Of course Mr. Smartass probably aced the test, huh? Pompous bastard. Tell us what you’re thinking."

Leo opened his eyes and looked over. Dave was watching him with a cruel little smile, clearly pleased he’d noticed Leo’s irritation. Heads turned. All eyes landed on Leo.

"Dave," Leo said flatly, "the only thing I was thinking is when you’d finally shut up."

He didn’t bother hiding the disgust on his face.

Dave’s expression twisted. His face flushed red, and a few people chuckled under their breath.

"Enough," the teacher snapped.

"Both of you—rein in your attitudes unless you want to be sent to the principal’s office again. Seriously, we’re almost at the end of middle school. After spending all this time in the same class, you two can’t get along for even a single second?"

She pointed her marker at Dave first.

"Dave, you’ve had it in for Leo since the beginning."

Then her eyes moved to Leo.

"And Leo... you’re incredibly bright, but your attitude needs work."

’...When will she shut up?’

It wasn’t long before everyone else looked like they were thinking the same thing. She’d slipped into her full lecture-every-student mode, and more than a few people started shooting hateful glances at Dave for starting it in the first place.

At least something mildly entertaining had happened today.

Luckily, the bell rang soon after. Next class came... then the next... until it was finally time for lunch.

*****

"Dave never learns, does he?" Nathan muttered. "Even after you beat the shit out of him at basketball tryouts for the school team, he still can’t stay humble. I get it, though—I’d be pissed too if my archenemy was a popular genius prodigy who looked down on everyone like they were dumb kids."

"First," Leo said, "he’s not my archenemy. I don’t consider him anything except an annoying fly that keeps buzzing in my ear. Second, I’m not that popular. Third... they

are

all dumb kids. Including you."

Nathan gave him a long, blank stare.

"Dude... you’re literally the most well-known kid in our school. No—our whole city, because of your acting performances at the theater. Seriously, you could be in movies or shows if you’d accept the offers for once. If it wasn’t for you always acting like some cocky prince from another world, you’d be swarmed by students—fans and minions."

"I don’t care about that," Leo said. "I told them what was on my mind in the first month of middle school for a reason."

"Yeah... I remember. You chewed out anyone who got close to you with flattery and all that after they saw how incredible you are." Nathan’s mouth twitched. "Which is exactly how you earned that title around here:

the Evil Prince.

"

Leo sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and took a bite of his apple. He chewed, swallowed, then scoffed.

"What a ridiculous nickname. Calling me evil because I don’t cater to their needs and prioritize my own. It’s not my problem you’re all so incompetent you have to invent stupid reasons to come bother me."

"Man..." Nathan said, half amused, half exhausted.

"Your ego never shrinks, does it? And even then, you still have a lot of admirers."

That part was true. They were eating lunch on the rooftop—Leo leaning his shoulder against the wall while Nathan sat cross-legged on the ground, back against the same wall, a bento balanced on his lap. He ate as he read a manga, flipping pages with one hand like it was second nature.

There were a few other students up here too. Every now and then, someone glanced their way. The Leo-and-Nathan duo was well-known by now.

"You got an earful from teachers today, right?" Nathan asked without looking up. "For someone with an insane memory, you somehow forgot your schoolbag."

Leo snorted and took another bite.

"Not like I need those useless books."

"Yeah, yeah. ’Mister I’m the best.’" Nathan’s tone turned dramatic. "I know you hear it a hundred times a day, but you’re way too arrogant to your subjects..."

"Then they should learn to worship me while minding their own business."

Nathan laughed under his breath.

"That’s not how it works."

He flipped a page.

"But no matter what they say—or how you act—I know you’re actually a kind person trying to hide his big heart."

Leo narrowed his eyes at him while chewing, then swallowed.

"You’ve got that creepy grin on your ugly face again..."

Nathan glanced at him for a second, then returned to the manga like Leo was background noise.

"What are you reading?" Leo asked.

The grin only widened.

"A manga!"

"I can see that, dumbass. I’m asking why reading a manga has you grinning like some fifty-year-old pervert."

Unbothered, Nathan lifted the book and shoved it toward Leo. Leo scanned the page.

"...Humans with animal traits?"

"Not humans, my friend." Nathan snatched it back and wagged a finger as if scolding him.

"

Demi-humans.

"

"Demi-humans?"

"Yes, demi-humans!"

"...?"

Leo tilted his head slowly, he was trying to understand what exactly had gone wrong in Nathan’s brain.

"And why are you reading a manga about demi-humans with that perverted grin?"

"Tch. You don’t see the charm of demi-humans, do you?" Nathan clicked his tongue a few more times and shook his head, disappointed—genuinely disappointed, like Leo had failed as a person.

It was infuriating.

Nathan’s expression shifted into something smug, like he’d suddenly decided he was superior. Then he thrust the manga into Leo’s face again, so close it almost hit him.

"Look at these dog girls! Cat girls! Cow girls! Rabbit girls! And this fox girl—look at how beautiful she is! Her fluffy ears! Her eyes! The aura she gives off! The fluffy tails! How can you not appreciate such delicate beauty?"

"...Are you an idiot?"

"You’re the idiot!" Nathan snapped. "You don’t understand the complexity of the plot at all! All these demi-humans trying to escape the racism and slavery humans subjected them to—ah, humans are such hideous creatures, I want to murder them all!"

"You’re a human yourself, moron," Leo said, with a flat voice.

"Stop lusting and getting worked up over your perverted fantasies. They’re not real."

Nathan abruptly dropped both the manga and his bento. Then he stood up and grabbed Leo by the shoulders.

’I’m killing him.’

"You! Leo, you can’t be so rude!" Nathan said, shaking him once like he was trying to knock sense into him.

"Listen carefully, my friend. Demi-humans are naturally very sensitive and insecure, so you being rude is basically punching them while they’re already knocked down on the ground! When the day comes that you meet a demi-human—like a beautiful fox girl—you have to choose your words carefully and compliment her! Say something like, ’You’re the most beautiful fox I’ve ever laid eyes upon! I love your ears and tails!’ Or, ’Your soul is purer than water!’ Ah, man—now I really want to meet a demi-human! I hate this protagonist! It’s unfair! I want my own fox girl! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"

By now, everyone on the rooftop was staring.

A few students smiled wryly, clearly used to Nathan’s theatrics. Some even looked like they agreed with him, which only made Leo’s irritation spike.

"...Have you forgotten that demi-humans are fiction?"

He was trying. He really was.

Leo did his absolute best not to crush the apple in his hand, and not to punch this delusional idiot straight in the face.

"There’s no point... you... you’re hopeless."

For some reason, Nathan’s shoulders sagged. He let go of Leo and dropped back down to the ground, defeated.

"All those good looks and all that talent," Nathan mumbled.

"Wasted on you. Seriously..."

Leo scoffed, leaned back against the wall again, and finished his apple in silence.

’He really needs to stop being so obsessed with fiction...’

It wasn’t healthy.

To Leo, Nathan was starting to cross a line—like he might end up hating what was real, wishing everything was just manga and novels instead.

Maybe... maybe Leo was a little worried about the hopeless idiot after all.

’But I guess that fox girl wasn’t... not bad-looking.’

Still, none of it was ever going to be real.

It was all just that—

a fantasy.