The lunch bell rang, cutting through the usual noise of Kusunogi High like a knife through the fog.
Students spilled into the courtyard, bento boxes in hand, the air thick with laughter and fried food.
Eiji Kuroryuu sat at the usual bench with his two idiot friends, Hiro and Taka, who were already diving into their lunches like it was their last meal.
"So," Hiro said between bites of karaage."
"You finally gonna tell us who the mysterious silver-haired goddess of the First Year is? Why did she come out of your place?
"Taka leaned in with a teasing grin. "Yeah, man. We're not stupid. That girl's not just some random neighbor.
She was wearing your T-shirt yesterday. Your T-shirt, dude."Eiji almost choked on his rice.
"S-She's just... my neighbor! That's all!" he stammered, waving his chopsticks like a defense mechanism.
"She just moved in next door and needed help carrying boxes. That's it. Purely civic duty."
"Right." Hiro narrowed his eyes.
"And her clothes got dirty, so you just happened to lend her your shirt?"
"Well... yeah."
Eiji scratched the back of his head. "It was either that or let her stay half-covered in curry stains."
"You know this sounds like every eromanga plot ever, right?" Taka raised an eyebrow.
"You sure nothing's going on?""I swear!" Eiji put his hand dramatically over his chest.
"I swear on Nana-chan!"The name stopped everything.
Even birds might've paused in flight.Hiro and Taka stared at him in shock, then burst out laughing.
"Oh man!"
Hiro smacked Eiji's back so hard he nearly fell over. "Why didn't you say that from the beginning, bro? You swore on Nana-chan!"
"I would never sully her name!" Eiji replied, mock-offended.
For a fleeting moment, surrounded by laughter and teasing, Eiji felt... normal, as if he hadn't been reborn as a devil.
It was as if his life wasn't already tied to forces he barely understood.
Maybe, just maybe, he could pretend he was still human.That illusion shattered ten minutes later.
The classroom door slid open with a soft thud, and all eyes turned."Is that...?" someone whispered.
Amane Shirayuki stood in the doorway, her silver-blue hair glowing slightly under the classroom lights.
She looked around, spotted Eiji, and walked toward him with the calmness of a queen.
Eiji froze. Oh no. No, Hiro and Taka slowly turned to him with wide, betrayed eyes.
"TRAITOR!" they screamed in unison."You said nothing was going on!"
"Why is she here to see you?!"
"We trusted you, man! We believed in Nana-chan's name!"
They wailed dramatically, flopping onto their desks, and some other students laughed while whispering rumors.
Amane stood before Eiji's desk, completely unfazed.
"The president has summoned us.
You should come to the clubroom after school.
"Then, as if she hadn't just nuked his social credibility, she turned and walked out, leaving chaos behind her.
"Bro..." Hiro said, peeking through his fingers. "She's way out of your league."
"I know," Eiji muttered, burying his face in his arms.
After school.
The sun had dipped low enough to dye the hallways gold as Eiji pushed open the clubroom door.
Inside sat Seraphina Falcor, legs crossed elegantly on the edge of the desk and Amane by the window.
Seraphina gave him a curt nod.
"You're late."
"Sorry, I had to dodge rumors about my non-existent love life," Eiji muttered.She ignored the sarcasm.
"Sit."He did, noticing the severe tension in the room.
Seraphina's usual teasing glint was gone. Amane's expression was neutral, but her hands were clenched in her lap.
Seraphina leaned forward, crimson eyes narrowing.
"Let's talk about the recent attack."Eiji tensed. "The one with Ignis?"
"No," she said sharply. "Ignis was just a pawn. Someone else orchestrated it—and the one before that.
"Eiji blinked."
"Wait, there was one before that?""The church covered it up.
You were just unconscious. I handled it.""Well, damn. Thanks, I guess?"She waved his gratitude away.
"The question is: why are you being targeted?"
"I mean... I'm just a dude who got reborn as a devil-like, what, two weeks ago? Thanks. Thanks. Seraphina shook her head.
"They weren't after you."Eiji turned to Amane, then back to Seraphina.
"Then...?"
"They were after her."Amane looked up, eyes wide. "Me?"Seraphina nodded. "Amane possesses a rare ability, classified as divine.
She is what the Church would call a Saintess."Eiji's jaw dropped.
"She's what now?"
"I didn't even know," Amane whispered. "The Church excommunicated me years ago.
I thought I was just... disposable. Not.
Seraphina crossed her arms.
"The Church likely found out about her potential later—possibly through divine scans or relics—and now they want her back.
"Eiji's brow furrowed. "So... what, they tried to kill me, take my face, and use it to get close to her?"
"Exactly," Seraphina said coldly.Eiji stood up, fists clenched.
"They're out of their damn minds if they think I'd let them take her.
"Amane blinked, startled by the intensity in his voice.Seraphina studied him for a moment, then spoke softly. "They won't stop.
They'll come with force if they can't take her by deception."The silence that followed was suffocating.
"I..." Amane's voice broke slightly. "I don't want to be a burden.""You're not," Eiji said instantly.
"You didn't ask for this. None of us did."Seraphina walked to the window, her voice low. "
This world... It's layered in shadows. You've both been dragged into it. Now we adapt or die.
"Eiji looked between the two girls.
"So what do we do?"Seraphina turned, her eyes glowing faintly.
"We prepare. We train.
We uncover the real enemy. And until then... we stay together."Amane's hand slowly found Eiji's.
He didn't pull away."I'll protect you," he said, voice steady. "
Even if I have to punch a bishop."She giggled softly. "You'd get smited in a second."
"Then I'll dodge holy light like Neo in Matrix," he grinned. Seraphina groaned. "You two are hopeless.
"But a ghost of a smile crossed her lips. That night, as Eiji walked home alone under the neon glow of streetlamps,
he felt the weight of his life shift again.I am not just a devil. Or a nobody.Nor a pervert with a heart of gold. I am now a shield. And this time, I chose to be one.
Not for my sake but someone else's
End of Chapter 7