The School Is Not the Same Anymore, He Accepts

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The situation settled down when the class began. Some eyes still found their way to Shinobu and me but never lingered. Of course, Shinobu's gaze never left. She didn't bother to pay attention to class even after I told her to. In her defense, she knew more than the teachers and I couldn't refute her. Thus, I let her watch me like her most amazing creation.

The time passed quickly and lunch break came soon. I stretched lightly and leaned on the chair. I could see some students standing up from their seats to approach Shinobu, but she stopped them in their tracks by standing up and walking to me. Turning to her, I looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, prompting her to lift the lunch box that was primly wrapped with cloth in her hand.

"Let's eat lunch together," she said with an expectant smile.

"Sure," I replied before standing up.

Towering over Shinobu (Kiss-Shot) was quite a surreal feeling. Although our height difference was not that much when she was in her adult form, I still looked up slightly to meet her eyes. Idly noting how she barely reached my nose; I grasped her hand and took her out of the class. On my other hand, I was holding my lunch box.

Eyes followed us wherever we went, which was not surprising given how attractive Shinobu was. She surprisingly let me drag her around, never once showing resistance. Before long, we found ourselves on the rooftop. Choosing the most comfortable spot, we sat down.

"We could have just eaten in the class," Shinobu said as she unwrapped her lunch box.

"There is no need to cause more ruckus. I will be questioned by classmates after school, so I have enough trouble already," I said while also unwrapping my lunch box.

"Do you think taking me somewhere secluded will tone the rumor down?"

Realizing the truth behind Shinobu's words, I cringed inwardly. I didn't say anything and opened my lunch box instead. A well-balanced meal greeted me, courtesy of Komachi. Remembering how sleepy she was in the morning while making it made me feel slightly bad. I mentally noted that I needed to learn cooking soon.

"Did your sister make it?"

"Yes."

"Well, she is not bad."

"I know, right?"

"So, between your sister's and mine, which one do you like more?"

I looked at Shinobu hesitantly as she presented the lunch she prepared. Her question somehow felt ominous. Of course, I didn't need to lie. I had to present the reality as it was. When I caught the whiff of Komachi's cooking, I was immediately sure of the answer.

"I like yours more. It saddens me to admit it, but Komachi still has a long way to go compared to you."

Shinobu smiled brightly which baffled me slightly. I had never seen Kiss-Shot make that look, so it somehow felt weird seeing it on her face. Without a doubt, I wholeheartedly welcome the look. Kiss-Shot had always been fairly expressive but seeing her smile like that made her look more alive.

"You should smile more, Hachiman. You can kill with your smile," Shinobu said earnestly.

"I could say the same to you."

"I smile often, you know. You just can't see it," Shinobu rebutted.

"I can say the same."

"You and your smart mouth." Shinobu huffed and then handed me her lunch box. "Let's exchange lunch. I want to taste your sister's cooking."

Nodding in acceptance, I let Shinobu take my lunch box. We ate in silence, slowly relishing each bite. As expected of Shinobu, her cook tasted heavenly. I didn't know I had been missing it until I was eating it. This is dangerous. I might not be able to live without Shinobu's cooking. Do I have to marry her? The problem is, will she agree? My thought earned me a flustered look from Shinobu. If I had said it out loud, she didn't say anything.

As the silence became slightly awkward, I asked her about her fake name. She then revealed to me that it was not a fake name. She told me that Shinobu was the name that her savior had given her. Oshino was the family name of the person who saved her and she used it to honor the man. I was curious about Oshino, but since she didn't want to talk about it, I didn't pry her for further information.

Moving on, I asked her how she enrolled in Sobu. Her answer was quite simple—money—and we left it at that. We eventually talked about her company. Orion Inc. was a mining company that was valued to have a market cap of $214.87 billion. The sheer size of the company made me nervous, but she told me that she didn't plan to involve me with the main company (yet). I would work in the Japanese branch which was still colossal nonetheless.

"With that big of a business, how can you find the time to play student here?" I asked curiously.

"Here is a big difference between an entrepreneur and a worker. An entrepreneur doesn't work to make money. An entrepreneur makes money work for them to get more money. I have free time because I have people who do the work for me. I don't have to worry about being cheated either as my hypnosis is unbreakable," Shinobu explained sinisterly. "Besides, even if I am cheated, it will not matter. The world is a game for us Vampires."

A frown marred my face as I thought about Shinobu's words. She wasn't wrong. Considering what we could do, taking over the world was not hard. The fact that no one had ever attempted to do that meant that we were better than most people gave us credit for. It was still a worrying thought, though, since we only needed one insane Vampire to do it and then the world would be turned upside down.

"Anyway, here." Shinobu took out some documents from her subspace and gave them to me. "You may read through the contract first, but I suggest you just fill out the empty forms. The condition must be beneficial for you."

Although very tempting, I still read through the contract. I was glad that I did because it was more absurd than Hayama being genuine.

"Are you sure that you are going to make me the head of the HR department?"

"I would like to make you the CEO, but you are still in high school and I don't want to bother you with boring meetings with the boards."

"That's not the problem here, Chuuni-chan. You are making me a full-time worker but also giving me the leeway to only come when I need to. Heck, I am not sure I am even qualified for the position."

"Don't worry. Management is not hard. We are a very organized bunch, so you will surpass everyone in the office quickly."

"Isn't it unfair to the others? Some of them work hard to climb to their position, you know."

"Does the company belong to them?"

I opened my mouth and was about to lecture her about morality but stopped myself. The world had never been fair. Those who won the birth lottery were guaranteed to succeed even if they didn't do anything remarkable whereas the unfortunate tried their hard but still ended up as someone's lapdog. We ought to show compassion to others but that didn't apply to me.

In a world where humans couldn't even give away their compassion for free, why would a Vampire like me try so hard to do that? It was a cold view but very much realistic. It made me feel slightly comfortable but I had to eat it up. Since I had cheated my way to the top, I just had to prove that I was worthy of the position.

"Here," I handed the contract that I had signed to Shinobu. "When should I start working?"

"You don't need to for the time being. However, I am planning to introduce you to everyone in the company on Wednesday, so prepare yourself."

I nodded my head and then wrapped up my lunch box. The lunch break was about to end soon, so we decided it was time to go back to class. Everyone stared at us on our way back, but we couldn't care less. I wanted to know, though, why Shinobi had to hold my hand. We weren't rushing like we had a few moments earlier. Still, I didn't say anything as some things were better left unasked.

Time flew quickly and school finally came to an end. I was still bored by the lessons but for a different reason. If it was before, I was bored out of my mind because I could barely understand what the teachers were talking about. Now, I was bored because I already knew what the teachers were talking about. I wondered if Yukinoshita also felt the same.

Standing up, I turned to Shinobu and quirked an eyebrow. Beside her, a slightly tense Yuigahama was standing.

"Aren't you going home?" I asked.

"I want to visit your club. From Yui's story, it seems to be quite an interesting one," Shinobu answered truthfully.

"He-He-He. It is interesting!" Yuigahama chirped in.

Seeing that there was no point arguing, I picked up my bag and walked out of the classroom with Shinobu and Yuigahama.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Gwiber

Venerable Immortal P. Felipe

Venerable Immortal W. M. Jones

Venerable Immortal Orion