Chapter 267: B - A not-so-friendly childhood reunion

"I’m pleased to introduce another new classmate," Ms. Misaki Yuunami announces.

Standing beside her is a European-looking girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail and piercing ice-blue eyes.

Her gaze is stern and focused, like that of a soldier assessing her surroundings.

"...she comes from the most prestigious high school in all of France. Please welcome Miss Chantal Carreaux," Ms. Yuunami adds.

The moment he hears that name, Hakuto’s eyes widen.

His mouth falls open, and even his lips begin to tremble.

He isn’t just surprised.

He’s terrified.

"As Ms. Yuunami said, my name is Chantal Carreaux. I’m honored to be joining the prestigious Reimeikan High School, and I’ll do my utmost to live up to its standards."

So this is the surprise my father was talking about...?! That bastard... I swear, when I get home, he’s going to pay for this!

"Hakuto, are you okay? You look like an American soldier having Vietnam flashbacks," Claire asks.

She has been sitting next to him ever since Itsu suddenly stopped showing up at school without any warning.

But considering how little effort he had ever put into school, no one was particularly surprised that he dropped out.

"Do I look okay to you?!" Hakuto hisses under his breath.

Ms. Yuunami shoots him a silent, disapproving look before telling Chantal to take the empty seat behind Hakuto.

Without hesitation, Chantal marches toward her seat.

Her straight, precise steps — like those of a soldier on parade — radiate authority and discipline.

Every student instinctively averts their gaze whenever she looks their way.

And when her eyes fall on Hakuto, she merely studies him with the same cold, analytical gaze she gave everyone else.

Then she looks away.

Hakuto lets out a sigh of relief as she walks past him.

Did she not recognize me? Fuck, I really hope so...

◇◇◇

"What a stuck-up know-it-all! She’s only been in our class for one day, and I already hate her guts!" Claire grumbles, clearly irritated.

It’s mid-afternoon, and Claire, Hakuto, and Irina are on their way home from school, walking along a wooded path that leads straight to their villa.

That morning had turned into a full-blown battle of wits between Claire and Chantal, with both of them competing to answer the teachers’ questions as quickly as possible.

But Hakuto barely even noticed their little competition.

The only thing he cares about is that Chantal hasn’t said a single word to him. She hasn’t even tried to speak to him once.

She’s been acting as though he were a complete stranger, and he couldn’t have asked for anything better.

"Who are you talking about, Big Sis?"

"A girl who just transferred here from France! You should’ve seen her! So stuck-up, so composed, with that smug little ’I-know-everything’ look on her face, and... what the hell is she doing here?!"

The three of them suddenly freeze as Chantal Carreaux steps out from behind a tree up ahead.

Hakuto swallows, but his throat has already gone dry, and an instinctive chill runs down his spine.

"There’s nothing at the end of this road except our house! What the hell are you doing here?!" Claire shouts, not even trying to hide how pissed off she is.

Chantal doesn’t answer.

Instead, her icy eyes shift toward Irina, who is clinging tightly to Hakuto.

"Take your hands off my fiancé, you filthy demon whore."

Hakuto instantly stiffens.

Shit... She remembers me. And Dad must’ve told her everything about Claire and Irina.

We’re fucked.

"W-What did you just call me?! Who the hell are you calling a whore, huh?! Say it again if you’ve got the guts, bitch!" Irina snaps, clinging even tighter to Hakuto’s arm.

Clearly, she’s far more focused on the word "whore" than "demon."

Claire, on the other hand, takes a trembling step back.

"H-How does she know...? Who is this girl...?"

"It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Hakuto? Still, I never thought you’d change this much. We swore eternal love to each other, and now look at you — surrounded by two little imported whores."

"W-We never swore anything! And for the record, watch how you talk about my sisters!"

"Your sisters..."

Chantal shakes her head.

"Don’t be ridiculous. They’re nothing but two filthy demon whores. I wonder... have you told them about our kiss and the promise of eternal love we made to each other?"

"KISS?! ETERNAL LOVE?!" Irina and Claire scream in unison.

"We were eight years old! Back then, I didn’t even know how to spell the word love. And besides, that wasn’t even a real kiss!" he blurts out, his face burning red with embarrassment.

"Damn it... Those two demon whores must have brainwashed you with their filthy magic. But don’t worry, Hakuto. I’ll break their spell myself!"

"I already told you not to call them that again. Their names are Irina and Claire. Don’t make me repeat myself."

"Or what?" Chantal fires back.

A challenging spark flashes in her icy eyes.

In an instant, Hakuto’s right arm crystallizes from shoulder to wrist, and the massive diamond sword radiating brilliant white light forms in his hand.

"Or I’ll make you apologize to them!"

Chantal’s grin widens as a sword of light takes shape in her clenched fist.

"Demon whores."

In the blink of an eye, Hakuto and Chantal vanish from Claire and Irina’s sight.

And then...

WHOOSH!

A thunderous blast erupts halfway between where the two of them had been standing just a moment earlier.

Their blades collide with brutal force, and the shockwave alone sends both Kurotsuki sisters crashing to the ground.

"Looks like you’ve improved a little over the past few years, Hakuto. You’ve even learned to master alchemy. I’m rather jealous, you know? Of course, I’m only jealous of that crystal that formed inside your heart and that allows you to use magic normally reserved for the humans of N’Raeth. Certainly not of your strength. Who knows? Maybe this time I won’t kick your ass quite as easily as I did when we were kids."

"You can bet on that! The days when you beat the crap out of me from morning till night are long gone! I’m going to pay you back with interest for every bruise and every broken bone, you fucking bitch!"

Hakuto breaks the deadlock with a move that catches Chantal off guard.

With a sharp swing, he knocks her blade aside, then drives his foot straight into her stomach, sending her flying backward.

Chantal manages to flip in midair and land on her feet, but Hakuto is already on top of her.

His diamond sword comes at her in a powerful horizontal slash, but Chantal leaps out of the way.

The blade continues its path and slices clean through the thick trunk of a tree.

Still in midair, Chantal raises her sword of light and dives straight down at Hakuto.

He barely has enough time to raise his left arm.

"Alchemical Invocation ● Carbo: Partial Carapace!"

His forearm is instantly encased in a thick shell of diamond — so durable that Chantal’s sword barely manages to chip it on impact.

Finally, they both leap backward, resetting the fight to square one.

Claire and Irina watch the entire exchange with their eyes wide in disbelief.

They can only catch glimpses of the lightning-fast clash, but even that is enough to realize this is no simple scuffle between old friends.

Hakuto is fighting seriously — far more seriously than when he fought Itsu.

"Big Bro... you’re amazing! You’re really really really strong!" Irina exclaims, her heart-shaped eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Y-Yeah..." Claire agrees in a trembling voice.

Her cheeks are flushed, her breathing ragged. Her eyes are glossy and half-lidded, and a familiar, steadily growing heat churns inside her.

Still standing, she crosses her legs and squeezes her thighs together, as if desperately holding in a full bladder.

But that’s not it.

Her pussy throbs with heat, and her panties are completely soaked.

Fortunately for Claire, Irina doesn’t notice a thing.

If she did, she would’ve already started firing off her usual shameless, perverted remarks.

But right now, she’s far too absorbed in the fight to notice her sister’s arousal.

The aura of white light surrounding both fighters grows even more intense and blinding.

The diamond armor that once covered only Hakuto’s right arm now spreads across his left as well, extending all the way up to his chest.

Neither Hakuto nor Chantal shows even the slightest sign of fatigue.

After a brief pause, the two charge at each other once again.

Their blades are just about to collide when...

BAM! BAM!

At the exact same moment, an elbow slams straight into Hakuto’s chest while a knee drives deep into Chantal’s stomach.

Both are sent flying in opposite directions before crashing heavily to the ground.

Dazed and aching, the two exchange confused glances.

Hakuto is certain it was a surprise attack from Chantal, and she thinks exactly the same thing.

But they’re both wrong.

Standing between them, right in the middle of the path, is Shin, a lit cigarette dangling from his amused smirk.

"I know it’s been a while since you two last saw each other, but as a display of affection and nostalgia, don’t you think this is a little... excessive?"

"Display of affection?! Cut the bullshit! I know you’re behind that bitch showing up here! Why the hell did she transfer to our school?! I demand an answer right now!"

"Don’t say that, son. You’ll hurt her feelings. If I remember correctly, when you two said goodbye six years ago, you started crying like a fountain."

"I WAS CRYING TEARS OF JOY, DAMN IT!!!"

"You’re still holding a grudge against her just because she was stronger than you when you were kids? Come on, you really need to learn to let things go. "After all, you owe some of the man you are today to her."

"I don’t hate her because I’m jealous! I hate her because she sent me to the damn hospital three fucking times!"

"And each time, you came back stronger," Shin teases him with a smug grin. "Anyway, you’d better start learning to get along with Chantal, because starting today, she’s moving in with us."

"WHAAAT?!"