Chapter 3: I learned two horrifying facts, and other fact!

The next day, I learned two horrifying facts.

Fact number one: The three loud, chaotic teammates from yesterday were named Figo, Clay, and Bimo. And they were in my class.

Fact number two: Airi was also in my class. In fact, she sat directly next to me.

Unlike Ruri, who was safely tucked away in a different classroom down the hall, I was completely defenseless. I had no Evil Goddess to protect me, leaving me trapped as these four gathered around my desk, arguing loudly about yesterday’s tournament.

"You’re an idiot. How do you completely miss your ult and hit the wind?" Figo scoffed, poking Bimo directly in the forehead.

"Oh, shut up! You were playing Beatrix in sniper mode and couldn't hit a single shot!" Bimo shot back, swatting Figo’s hand away.

"Alright, alright, both of you are noobs. Shut up," Clay sighed, attempting to play the peacemaker while entirely failing to lower his voice.

All three of them were standing right in front of my desk.

How did I end up in this circle? Beside me, Airi let out a long sigh. She rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, tilting her head to look at them. "Hey, enough. Why are you guys making a racket right in front of Nao's desk?"

She glanced sideways at me. I stiffly pushed my glasses up my nose, trying to look as unbothered as possible.

Figo rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we lost the last match yesterday. It’s probably because Nao went home early."

"True," Bimo nodded solemnly. "Our buff disappeared."

Before I could defend myself against being called a 'buff', a screeching sound cut through the classroom. The cheap, un-oiled sliding door at the front of the room slid open, sounding like a dying bird.

"Naoooo, Airi," a familiar, elegant voice called out. "Let's go get lunch."

Ruri. 

"Ruri-chan!" Airi beamed, turning toward the door. She stood up and casually grabbed my hand. "Bye, you three. Stop showing off in front of Nao. I’m taking her with me."

—!!

I nearly jumped out of my seat. Her hand is freezing! It felt like I was being grabbed by a ghost. But then again, the entire classroom felt like a refrigerator.

(Flashback to twenty minutes ago) "What kind of weak AC setting is seventy-seven degrees?!" Satono’s voice boomed across the room as he aggressively mashed the remote. "67! That’s the golden number!"

That idiot... I thought, shivering slightly. Speaking of which, where was Satono anyway? He wasn't with them.

"Man, she’s taking Nao away," Figo muttered.

I glanced at him. With his shoulders slumped and his mouth hanging open, he looked exactly like a defeated Mike Wazowski.

"You literally look like Mike Wazowski right now," Bimo pointed out, echoing my exact thoughts.

I stood up, letting Airi pull me toward the door where Ruri was waiting. Out of sheer pity—or maybe just basic respect—I raised my free hand and gave the three guys a tiny, microscopic wave goodbye.

Just a little one.

Then, the sliding door screeched shut behind us.

"Let's go, I'm starving," Ruri said, casually adjusting her uniform collar.

I fell into step behind them, walking down the quiet hallway. But the silence didn't last long. Through the thin walls of the classroom behind us, a muffled, chaotic explosion of voices erupted.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?! DID YOU SEE IT?!" 

"OF COURSE I SAW IT, IDIOT. SHE WAVED AT ME!" 

"SHE WAS LOOKING AT ME!"

A small laugh escaped my lips. "Well. It sounds like they're fighting again."

"Haha, they're funny," Airi said.

I turned my head. Airi was walking beside me, her head tilted slightly as she looked closely at my face.

"You know," Airi murmured, a genuine smile on her lips, "your eyes are actually really pretty behind those glasses, Nao."

"I—!" My face instantly burned. I looked away, my heart doing a stupid little flip. "Ugh, no they're not. It's just normal."

What is wrong with me?! Why am I getting flustered by a girl teasing me?!

From my other side, Ruri nodded sagely. "Agreed. Very pretty."

Surrounded by a chaotic gamer girl and an Evil Goddess, I practically marched the rest of the way to the cafeteria, desperately trying to hide my red face.

On our way to the cafeteria, we had to pass by the teacher's lounge. As we walked by, I happened to glance through the large glass windows.

There he was. Satono.

He was standing in front of Mr. Bahliel’s desk, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed in total defeat. I watched him for a second, then quickly looked away, staring straight ahead.

Why does he look like that? I asked myself.

"Satono, huh?" Ruri said out of nowhere, not even breaking her stride. "Looks like he completely bombed the midterms."

I blinked, surprised she noticed. "But… his score was a 67, right? Doesn't that technically meet the passing criteria?"

"He got a 67 in his best subject," Airi chimed in. She was walking casually beside me, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram Reels on her phone.

I glanced at her screen for a split second. It was a video of a cat just relentlessly farting an unbelievable amount of thick green smoke, with a basic meow-meow-meow playing in the background.

What kind of algorithm is that?! "The rest of his subjects were total disasters, apparently," she added.

Ruri chuckled. "Haha. Even though we’re distant cousins, it seems our brains definitely have different processors."

I tripped over my own feet. "H—Huh?!" I gasped, staring at her wide-eyed. What kind of bomb did she just drop in broad daylight?!

Ruri stopped and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Wait. You didn’t know, Nao?"

"N—No! I had no idea!"

"Whatever, I'm starving," Ruri waved her hand dismissively, continuing down the hall. "I'll explain the family tree in the cafeteria."

The cafeteria was packed and loud, echoing with the clatter of trays and overlapping conversations. We managed to snag a table in the far corner. I heard a few voices from nearby tables whispering Airi's name, but I ignored them.

I glanced over at Airi. She looked a little gloomy sitting there, her usual bright energy slightly dimmed.

I slid a cold plastic cup across the table toward her. "Here. I bought two."

Airi's eyes instantly lit up. "Matcha! Thank you, Nao!" She immediately popped the straw in and started drinking.

Across the table, Ruri gasped dramatically. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands, narrowing her eyes into a mocking pout. "Heeeee. You never buy me drinks, Nao. I’m soooo thirsty," she drawled sarcastically.

"You literally just bought your own drink," I shot back, pointing at her cup. I crossed my arms, internally crying. That second matcha was actually supposed to be for me… "Yeah, yeah." Ruri dropped the dramatic act and went back to her normal posture. She picked up a piece of fried tempura from her lunch tray with her bare hands and took a bite.

"Ugh, gross," I scolded her. "Especially with those bling-bling nails of yours. You're getting them all greasy."

"I can just wash my hands," she mumbled, chewing.

"I can't exactly debate that logic."

Ruri swallowed and pointed a greasy finger at me. "Okay, anyway. Continuing from earlier. You know my full name, right?"

"No."

Ruri froze. "Haaaaaaah?! How—"

"I mean, it's just Ruri, right?"

Ruri stared at me in sheer disbelief. "This girl is actually unbelievable," she muttered to herself. She let out a heavy sigh and slapped a hand to her forehead in a dramatic facepalm. A second later, she stiffened. "Ugh. I forgot my hand is covered in oil."

"I literally just told you that," I sighed.

Ruri grabbed a napkin, aggressively wiping a faint grease smudge off her forehead. "I cannot believe we have been friends for over twelve years and you don't even know my real name."

I felt a little defensive. "Well, do you know my real name?"

"Yama Nao, obviously."

I blinked. "Yeah… how did you know?"

"Because your full name is plastered at the top of the school bulletin board for test scores every single semester!"

"Ah… right." Good point. But honestly, I really had no idea what her last name was.

"I know your full name, Ruri," Airi chimed in cheerfully from beside me. I looked over. She was still aggressively chugging her matcha. Was she really that thirsty? That cup is almost completely empty. Wait... what is Airi's full name?!

"See? Even Airi knows," Ruri said, looking at me with a completely exasperated expression. "Good grief. I knew you were completely ignorant about your surroundings, Nao, but I didn't think it was this bad."

"Hehe, sorry," I laughed awkwardly, scratching my cheek.

"Don't give me that cute, apologetic face," Ruri grumbled, though she didn't look actually mad. "It's Satana Ruri."

"Santa?" 

"Satana!" 

"Oh! Right, Satana."

Ruri let out another sigh. A very long one this time. "Anyway. My grandfather, Satana, is brothers with Satono, who is Eriko’s grandfather."

I tilted my head, thoroughly confused. "Who is Eriko?"

Ruri slammed her hands on the table. "SATONO ERIKO, YOU IDIOT!"

Pfffttt!

Beside me, Airi violently choked, sputtering her matcha back into her cup. She coughed, pounding her chest as she set the cup down. "A… ahh, okay, I just absorbed two completely insane facts right now," she wheezed, wiping her mouth.

"Number one: The wealthy Satana family is related to the Satono family. And number two, which is the most mind-blowing..." She pointed a trembling finger at me. "Nao doesn't know her own childhood friend's first name, even though the teacher calls it out during roll call every single day!"

"A—Ahahahaha," I laughed nervously, doing the only thing I could: violently scratching the back of my head as both of them stared directly into my soul.