'Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!'

Mize leaned in a little closer, his hair falling like a dark curtain around his shoulders, accentuating his narrowed gaze.

Up close, the boy seemed to notice more details he’d missed before, the way Mize’s hair reached down to his waist, framing a subtle curve to his collarbone and that dark collar around his neck.

'Almost like a leash' The boy thought inwardly.

With a casual tilt of his head, Mize gestured with his finger toward the boys who had been staring earlier, his tone dropping on a lower end, but nonetheless... It was still a crisp and cute voice to the boy's ears. “Why are you fidgeting, are you okay?"

The boy’s eyes darted nervously, glancing everywhere but at Mize, clinging to the phone as if it were some kind of shield.

Then, he seized his lifeline. Holding the phone up to his ear, he put on the bravest voice he could muster, though it wavered with nerves.

“A-ah yes, Mom…” he said a weak, flimsy cover that was neither loud enough to draw attention nor quiet enough to mask his discomfort.

'Even though I am basically an orphan but this must be extremely believable to her, right?'

Mize’s lips quirked as he watched this clumsy act play out.

With a slow, unimpressed blink, he rolled his eyes, the hint of a smile vanishing into something else. 'The play must goes on'

He leaned forward, reaching out with the faintest touch, a gentle flick against the phone in the boy’s trembling hand.

“Here,” he murmured a soft, crisp tone that hung just on the edge of teasing. “Your phone was upside down.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The boy froze.

His fingers tightened as he looked down, heart dropping in horror at the simple, devastating fact.

The phone was, indeed, flipped the wrong way up, its blank, inactive screen giving away his bluff in the most humiliating way possible.

Mize leaned back casually, pulling out his phone and directing his gaze to it, as though nothing particularly remarkable had happened.

A ringing silence fell between them, heavy and all-consuming, punctuated only by the hum of the bus’s engine.

The boy sat rigid, back plastered against the seat as if he’d become part of it, each muscle locked in place.

The embarrassment filled through him, seeping into every bone, every thought.

He’d been caught in the act of trying to fish out of the problem and now being exposed for his pathetic attempt to escape in front of such a beautiful girl at that!

Beside him, Mize’s soft, restrained giggles floated through the air like invisible needles, pricking at his every nerve, only deepening his sense of helplessness.

Heat crept across his cheeks, burning in tandem with the shame swirling inside him, and he could practically feel himself shrinking, melting into a puddle.

'This is it' he thought, a hollow sigh escaping as he slumped back in his seat, defeated.

'This is the end'

'My social life is over' He muttered it under his breath, barely a whisper as if releasing that small confession could somehow lessen the weight pressing down on him.

His fingers slackened, and the phone, the phone that had been his last-ditch effort to save face, slipped from his grasp, falling uselessly onto his lap.

He glanced outside the window, gaze empty, fixated on the passing buildings he no longer registered.

The world outside blurred, shifting like a dream, and he could do nothing but sit, crushed under the weight of his embarrassment.

Then, as if the bus itself conspired against him, a faint chuckle drifted over from the row in front, someone laughing at his expense, their whispers stinging like tiny thorns.

'Oh no, they heard it too' he thought miserably.

He wanted to vanish, to disappear completely into the fabric of his hoodie.

If he could just pull his hood over his head, if he could just sink low enough, maybe, just maybe, no one would notice him anymore.

But as he slouched lower, a futile attempt to hide in plain sight, Mize’s quiet presence beside him refused to fade.

Instead, Mize sat with unbothered ease, scrolling through his phone like he had all the time in the world.

The boy stole a glance, catching only a glimpse of that cool, unreadable expression before quickly looking away.

The bus rolled on, the cityscape outside a blur of shapes and colors, carrying them both toward a destination the boy felt both too eager and too afraid to reach.

And Mize, for his part, sat quietly, unmoving the whole time.

After all, the soft and small gestures that he wanted had already happened. As for more, it would depend on the situations at hand.

One at a time...

One at a time.....

I must take it slowly...

Mize could practically see the boy's spirit leaving his body, and it was all he could do to keep his expression neutral, though he couldn’t quite hide the tiny smirk that danced on his lips.

The boy slumped down in his seat, glancing out the window like it was the only escape route he had left, staring so hard at the passing buildings you’d think they held the secrets of the universe.

The steady hum of the bus engine seemed to mock him, a soundtrack to the boy’s self-diagnosed social demise.

'Poor guy' Mize thought, glancing his way.

The boy seemed to be trying to disappear entirely, pulling the hood of his black sweatshirt up and sinking further as though he could just merge with the seat and become part of the bus.

Mize wondered how much more flustered he could get him without breaking him completely.

There was a certain appeal in that: how far could he press before the boy’s shyness turned into something else?

Defiance, maybe, or better yet, dependence.

Someone who would follow him, the way a lost dog might latch on to the one person who gave it any attention.

But what he doesn't know was that, this boy wasn't one to just latch, he was one that would be crazy for him, obsessed even.

The one that would defy the world just because he would shed a single drop of tear.

Back to the scene.

With a casual air, Mize leaned over again, making sure his voice was soft, just loud enough to reach the boy but not the others.

“You alright there?” he asked, his tone almost gentle, though his lips quirked into an amused grin.

He could see the boy’s shoulders tense up, his hands fumbling to hold onto his phone again, anything to distract from the awkward mess he was now hopelessly entangled in.

The boy hesitated, glancing Mize’s way with a mix of gratitude and mortification. “Y-yeah,” he mumbled, gripping the phone tight in his hand. “Just... didn’t sleep much last night.”

'Cute excuse' Mize thought.

But he only nodded, as if taking the boy’s answer at face value, before turning his attention back to his phone, letting the silence settle in again.

This time, though, the boy seemed to relax just a fraction.

Mize let him breathe, leaning his head back against the seat, but he kept an eye on him from the corner of his vision.

As the bus rattled on, Mize decided he’d pushed enough for now. There was time, plenty of time to dig his claws in deeper.

The bus finally slowed to a stop in front of the school’s main gate, this huge, gleaming marble thing that looked like it was plucked right out of a palace.

The place was packed with different ways to get around, bus stops, bike racks, you name it.

The government didn’t just build a school here, they built a kingdom, investing every penny into making this place the ideal training ground for “awakeners”, students who’d be more than your average kid once they, well, awakened.

With their curriculum packed with everything from science to history to some bizarre “enlightenment” classes, it was clear that they weren’t just looking to create smart students, they were cultivating human weapons.

But back in the bus, Mize was already getting ready to leave, throwing his backpack on and giving a nod to the awkward kid beside him.

“Well… I’ll get going,” he said with a quick smile, leaving the guy there still half-frozen, probably blushing.

Mize chuckled to himself as he stepped off the bus.

Targeting this kid wasn’t exactly rocket science, he was the main menu of the whole world, for now, at least.

Mize was sure he’d made the kind of impression that was hard to shake.

'Left him with some good memories, huh?' he thought, stepping away as he felt the boy’s stare still lingering.

And as if he remembered something, Mize turned around for a moment.

Their gazes meeting in between and he chuckled a soft laugh from his mouth. "By the way, stand straight a little would ya? You have the looks but a pity you are a shy boy"

With those words muttered, Mize spun on his heel and left the scene in a hurry.

He headed through the marble gate, glancing up at it.

“Entrance” didn’t do it justice; it felt more like a gateway to some over-the-top palace.

With his hair loose, casually falling over his shoulders, he walked ahead, noticing the eyes on him as he went.

It was hard not to smirk as he caught a few glances in his direction. 'Beauty privilege?'

Yeah, it’s real, all right' he thought, shrugging as he continued, letting the attention slide off him like water.

Ahead, the cobblestone path cut through the campus grounds, wide and lined with big trees casting shade over everything.

Even with the summer heat, it was cool here, the air heavy with the smell of wet earth and leaves.

Mize took a deep breath and relaxed his stride, letting himself take in the scene for once.

This place was more than big. 'Not just big, it's humongous' he thought, watching the crowd of students all around him.

Over five thousand kids in this place, are all primed to become “assets” someday.

Checking his watch, he saw it was only 10:45. 'Still sometime before class started at 12' he thought, sighing.

Unfortunately, his first period was with none other than Mr.Thompson. The name alone made Mize’s skin crawl a bit.

"That pervert, urk... " But if he were to skip Mr.Thompson class, then the issue would be even bigger.

'The chances of me getting harassed in class is low rather than being called to his office, then it would be the death of me' Mize secretly thought within, his steps light and yet fast at the same time.

'I must not let that man have the chance to call me there' He had been there once, and he doesn't want to experience it twice.