"Huff… Huff…"
The night wind carried the sound of steady but slightly heavy breathing.
Kure Ragna ran along the outermost circuit surrounding the artificial island, the scenery on both sides blurring past him. He had already covered more than three-quarters of the distance—just a little more, and he would have circled the entire school.
Beyond the dark woods lining the road, the tall dormitory buildings stood in the distance, like unshaken beacons in the night storm.
To be honest, running was boring.
The constant drain on stamina, the creeping fatigue, and the monotonous scenery all combined into a mental and physical grind. It wasn't fun at all.
That was why most people at the gym brought phones or tablets, listening to music or watching videos to distract themselves while running.
But Kure Ragna didn't have headphones in, nor was he watching anything. On a treadmill, sure—but running outside while staring at a screen? That was just asking to trip and fall.
Instead, he let his mind wander.
He thought about life. About why he was here at this school.
Kure Ragna wasn't the sentimental type. Despite being born into the Kure Clan and trained in the art of killing from a young age, he never considered himself some emotionless machine. He wasn't broken or twisted in any way. If anything set him apart from his peers, it was his perspective on education.
After all, he had grown up in a world of assassins and fighters. Even his mother, a teacher at an all-women's academy, wielded a naginata as naturally as she spoke. And as the Kure Clan's strongest genius in 300 years—having mastered all its techniques before even reaching adulthood—his future should have been set in stone.
A fighter. A warrior.
Not a student.
That was what he believed. What the entire Kure Clan believed.
Sure, elementary and junior high school were unavoidable. National law made education compulsory. But once that was over, things should have gone in the right direction.
Yet here he was.
Instead of stepping onto the path of a warrior, he had been thrown into high school.
At first, he had treated it like a simple obligation—just something to get through. But after a couple of days, something felt… off.
What was the point?
It was like playing Uncharted 4 and spending money to bribe a warden just to break into a prison in search of treasure—only to do nothing once inside. No treasure hunting. No adventure. Just sitting there like any other prisoner, going through the motions.
Was he really supposed to waste three years like this?
If it weren't for his trust in his father and Uncle Sakayanagi, he might have just packed up and left. Sure, that would've caused trouble for Uncle Sakayanagi, but it was better than wasting time.
So, what was the real reason he had been sent here?
It couldn't have been just to meet Arisu. The Kure Clan wasn't that far away. This wasn't some anime where people lived in isolated worlds.
And it definitely wasn't for a "free-range" lifestyle.
As the Kure Clan's future leader, emotional freedom wasn't an option. Every patriarch had a duty—to produce stronger offspring. Even Kure Erioh, the "Demon of Strength," hadn't escaped that obligation. His marriage had been purely for the sake of producing an heir.
For Kure Ragna, that meant his future was already decided. He would marry a female warrior with superior genes and pass on the clan's legacy.
So if it wasn't those two reasons, then what?
It couldn't be just to "study hard and improve every day."
He sighed.
Whatever. No point overthinking it. He'd take things one step at a time.
Because of Kushida Kikyo, Kure Ragna had been in the dormitory at 7:30 PM. But it wasn't until after 8:00 PM that he started his training. By the time he finished running and returned, it was already close to 10:00 PM.
Swiping his room card, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The room was silent and dark.
He changed his shoes at the entrance, then reached out to the wall.
Click.
The lights flicked on. Everything was exactly as he had left it.
His phone was on the bedside table, still plugged into the charger. The small indicator light had changed from red to blue, meaning it was fully charged.
It was common sense not to leave a phone plugged in after charging.
He walked over, unplugged the cable, and picked up the phone.
As soon as he did, the screen lit up with a notification.
Not an app advertisement.
A message.
From someone he didn't expect—Karuizawa Kei.
Her?
He frowned slightly. To be honest, he wasn't close to her. Sure, they were in the same class, and they often had lunch in the same small group, but their conversations had been minimal. In fact, he had probably spoken more to Yukinoshita Haruno than to Karuizawa Kei.
He tapped on the message.
"Kure Ragna, are you free now?"
It had been sent over an hour ago. At the time, his phone had been charging in the room, so he hadn't seen it.
Now that he had, there was no reason not to respond.
After a brief pause, he typed back:
"What do you need?"
Tossing the phone back onto the bedside table, he grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the closet and headed for the bathroom.
Just as he turned on the water, the doorbell rang.
Along with it came a nervous voice from the other side of the door.
"K-Kure Ragna… are you there? Can you open the door?"
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The least all of you watching this novel can do is leave a review, it's practically at zero right now, which is pretty embarrassing.