"His lover?!"

"Why so surprised? Amaha-kun has always been exceptional."

"What a perfect match... So Amaha-kun is into girls like her..."

"..."

The moment Rize announced her relationship status, murmurs erupted throughout the classroom.

With a single declaration, she had effectively cut off every girl who’d ever harbored feelings for Amaha Byakuya.

Her smile carried a hint of danger, but she wasn’t about to go on a killing spree in a classroom. The old Rize might have done exactly that, but she was a completely different person now.

As for Rize calling herself his lover—Byakuya had no intention of denying it. After all, it was the truth.

After chatting with his classmates for a while, the lecturer arrived.

With class about to begin, everyone dispersed back to their original seats, leaving Byakuya’s corner.

Not that it really mattered where they sat—university lectures didn’t have assigned seating. But clustering together made them conspicuous targets for the professor’s questions.

Byakuya noticed the lecturer was someone new, not among the faculty he remembered. The professor didn’t recognize him either, and clearly couldn’t care less whether Byakuya and Rize actually belonged in this class. He launched straight into his lecture.

At most, he’d take attendance to see who was late, then clock out the moment class ended. Who cares who’s who?

Byakuya borrowed a textbook from the student behind him, who was too busy playing with his phone to actually listen anyway.

"This is more of a humanities course, so you should be able to follow along. Let’s read the textbook while we listen—just ask me if anything doesn’t make sense."

He spoke quietly to Rize beside him.

Despite never having attended school, Rize wasn’t uneducated. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to read the books she loved so much.

And for a humanities course like this, as long as the professor explained things clearly, understanding wasn’t difficult.

The key was taking notes and memorization.

"Mm..."

Rize nodded and began listening attentively.

She was genuinely experiencing what it felt like to be a student in class.

[Ding! Host brought Kamishiro Rize to experience a university lecture firsthand. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]

...

After two class periods ended, Byakuya left the classroom with Rize.

"There’s still some time before lunch. Usually, people do whatever they want—go home to sleep, join club activities, that sort of thing."

Byakuya said, "Want me to take you to experience what club activities are like?"

"Sure, if it’s not too much trouble."

Rize nodded.

Byakuya didn’t respond, because it actually was rather inconvenient. He’d never joined any clubs himself, so he had no connections in that area.

He led Rize to the badminton courts beside the sports field.

Badminton clubs were among the most common at universities. Generally, if you saw a group of people who knew each other gathered at the badminton courts, they were probably club members. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He’d brought Rize here to experience what a badminton club’s activities were like—and let her try the sport itself.

"Let’s watch from the sidelines first. See how they play, and then you can give it a try."

"From what I can see, it’s just a bunch of people gathered here. Let me see if there’s anything interesting about it."

Rize wasn’t particularly interested at first.

[Ding! Host brought Kamishiro Rize to experience university club activities firsthand. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]

After a while, with Byakuya explaining the rules, Rize began to understand how badminton worked. She was starting to feel curious about trying it herself.

Just then, one girl’s opponent went to take a water break.

Byakuya approached and greeted her. "Sorry to bother you. Would you mind letting her try playing?"

"Sure, but if she’s a beginner, she might not have a great experience."

The girl offered a friendly warning.

"That’s fine. She just wants to try it out."

Then Byakuya whispered in Rize’s ear, "Remember not to take it too seriously, or you might blow your cover..."

Ghouls had senses and physical abilities far beyond normal humans, advantages that would be glaringly obvious in sports.

If Rize went all out, people might suspect she was a ghoul...

Rize gave a slight nod.

"Alright then, go ahead and have some fun."

Rize stepped forward and picked up a racket, waiting for the serve.

That’s when the girl across from her spoke up. "You’re a new face. After this match, want to join our badminton club?"

She’d noticed how strikingly beautiful Rize was. If she could recruit such a gorgeous girl, the club would have a much easier time attracting new members.

"I’m sorry, I’m just here to try badminton. I’m not interested in joining."

Rize smiled politely.

Even if she were interested, she couldn’t join anyway—she wasn’t a student here. Unless this university allowed outsiders to join their clubs.

"Oh well..."

The girl didn’t push further.

But if I crush her, she thought, maybe I’ll still have a chance to recruit her.

She decided to go all out.

...

The match began.

At first, Rize played casually, not putting in any real effort.

But after losing a few points, her attitude shifted.

She—apex predator of the food chain—was going to lose to some human girl? Unacceptable.

Rize started playing for real.

Her form and technique were still rough, but her reaction time and physical abilities utterly outclassed any normal person.

Her opponent wasn’t some elite badminton player either—just an amateur who participated in club activities. She stood no chance against a serious Rize.

The tide turned. The other girl was pushed back point after point.

As Rize grew more comfortable with the sport, her opponent’s chances grew slimmer and slimmer. Soon it became a completely one-sided domination.

The other club members had stopped their own games to stare in disbelief. This newcomer—who was even wearing a skirt—was absolutely destroying one of their members?

...

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