Chapter 9

---

**Kousuke's Perspective**

After breakfast, I stood in front of the washbasin for a much longer time than usual. After all, first impressions are important! I combed my hair to avoid looking unkempt, brushed my teeth, and when I was satisfied, I returned to my room, put on the brand new school uniform, and went back to the washbasin to check myself in the mirror.

"Alright, no problem. I look like a clean-cut, good young man from any angle..."

"Mom, how do I look?"

When I asked, my mother smiled more gently than usual and said it suited me very well. After checking the clock and confirming I still had time, I tried to watch the TV horoscope, but then my mother said,

"Kou-kun, the car to pick you up will be here soon, so get ready at the entrance?"

I hadn't heard anything about this, so I asked my mother, and it turned out that the issue was that her son—meaning the son of the "Mother of New Quantum Science"—was apparently a big deal. Ah, that's it. If a world-renowned scientist's relative is entering the technical academy, it could cause a commotion. Not wanting to get involved in such trouble, I obediently waited for the car.

"…What is this?"

When I saw the car that came to pick me up, I almost wanted to turn back into the house. In front of me was a black car with an unnecessary amount of intimidation, flanked by large vans in front and back. Just as I was about to lose it, my mother came out of the house and said,

"Well, I'm coming too."

She got into the black car and left quickly. The large vans followed her. The only car left was a regular sedan. Thank goodness! I was so relieved!! I thought, "Those intimidating, scary-looking people would probably ride in those cars. If I had to go to school in one of those, what would I do?"

"Are you Kousuke-kun? Let's go to the academy."

The person who got out of the remaining car was an uncle in a black suit and black tie with a shaved head. I was trembling silently the whole way to the academy.

"Um, 1-S… 1-S…"

I was confused, or rather, the academy was just too big!! How much money did they spend on this place? What should I do? I couldn't ask anyone because they all seemed to avoid eye contact. It reminded me of my middle school days, and my eyes started to feel hot. While I was wandering around, I heard running footsteps from behind and turned to see a beautiful woman out of breath in front of me. I tried to suppress my nose from growing and maintain a serious expression so she wouldn't think I was trying to become friends with her or anything.

"Sorry, Arakawa-kun. It was our mistake that no one was assigned to guide you."

She spoke first, and I missed my chance to respond, so I just nodded. This was bad… If I did this, I'd be seen as socially awkward. I glanced at her, and she was avoiding eye contact.

Oh no, can't this guy have a normal conversation? Creepy, socially awkward!

She must be thinking this. I need to calm down and regain my composure. I tried to ask in as calm a voice as possible,

"I understand the situation. What should I do now? Can you guide me?"

Perfect. I acknowledged the situation and asked her to guide me. She couldn't refuse this. I admit my strategy was a bit sleazy, but I had to establish a rapport with this beautiful woman. When I observed her, she seemed to be thinking about something, but when she turned to me, she smiled and offered to guide me. Her smile was healing in itself!

We walked in silence for a while and stopped in front of the principal's office. I thought she was going to introduce me to the principal, but she just walked in without knocking, turned around at the desk at the back, and smiled at me.

"Welcome to the International Technical Academy, Arakawa Kousuke-kun. I am the principal, Yamamoto Kaori."

---

**Security Detail Member's Perspective**

We are in a tense situation. Currently, 32 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Special Ranger Unit and 20 of us from the VIP Protection Unit are surrounding the house.

"This is Shaved Head. The luggage will be shipped from the house soon. Maintain vigilance."

My codename "Shaved Head" comes from my hairstyle, but that's not important. I need to relax a bit to avoid being too tense. Our mission is to protect Kousuke Arakawa, and we will repeat this every morning for the next three years until he graduates. From the materials provided, I know how crucial he is to Japan, and he also has a violent streak due to a lack of moral values. We can't afford to fail. Our protection method is simple: we use a decoy. First, his mother, Mikiko Arakawa, will go in the protection vehicle as a decoy, a role she volunteered for. Then, the real Kousuke Arakawa will leave alone on a different route. The main protection vehicle will be accompanied by Air Self-Defense Force stealth attack aircraft circling overhead, and there will be camouflaged armored vehicles at various points along the route.

"Special 1 here. Confirmed the decoy's departure."

Mikiko Arakawa left as planned, and we are now securing the real target.

"Kousuke-kun? Let's go to the academy."

When I spoke to him, he got into the car silently. Normally, people would react to someone like me, but he was silent. He seemed to be irritated, fidgeting in his seat, probably because he didn't like being surrounded by men. I don't want to upset him. I'll ask the information department to send a capable female team member tomorrow...

---

**Yamamoto Kaori's Perspective**

Why did this happen! I was running around the academy, trying not to scream. When I received the report from the security detail that Kousuke Arakawa had arrived, the person in charge didn't realize the severity and just told him where to go, leaving him there. By the time I got the report, he was already gone.

The UN had specifically instructed us to treat him with utmost respect, and now we've made a huge mistake. The security detail also reported that he was in a bad mood today. If we upset him, he might release poison gas in the academy or something! When I finally found him and ran up to speak to him, I felt it was too late. The moment he turned and saw me, his eyes changed with anger. They looked like they were saying,

"You didn't even send a car? You useless people."

When I apologized, he just nodded without much reaction. I was desperately trying to think of what to do next.

"I understand the situation. What should I do now? Can you guide me?"

He asked, and honestly, I was scared and wanted to refuse. Being alone with him was impossible, but his tone didn't allow for refusal. If I upset him further, he might send a cruise missile to my house tonight. I had no choice but to smile and agree. We ended up at my office. I had no good plan, so I turned around and said with the best smile I could manage,

"Welcome to the International Technical Academy, Arakawa Kousuke-kun. I am the principal, Yamamoto Kaori."

---

**Kousuke's Perspective**

"Welcome to the International Technical Academy, Arakawa Kousuke-kun. I am the principal, Yamamoto Kaori."

The beautiful woman, no, the principal, said. What should I do? Did I really make the principal guide me? She must be thinking, "Why do I have to deal with such a student?" Okay, I'll smile. I'll use my secret technique of smiling and pushing through, cultivated since childhood!

"Thank you, Principal. Let me introduce myself again, I am Kousuke Arakawa. Please take care of me for the next three years."

I said with a light smile. It's okay, people usually respond well to a smile. I've always found that to be true, and I'm sure it will be in the future too! As I looked at the principal, I felt the atmosphere was a bit off. It was like when you ask a girl for her email at a group date and she looks at you with a "What?" face. The principal and I were both silent, sizing each other up. After a while, the principal broke the frozen silence.

"S-Sorry, but I have a question for you, Kousuke-kun. Is that okay?"

Thank goodness. If this silence continued, I might have cried and gone home.

"What is it?"

This is my chance to earn points by honestly answering her questions! Beautiful people have beautiful friends, and she is my principal, so I need to make a good impression.

"I want to know a bit about you."

"About me? Ah, sorry. You mean me? Sure."

Phew! I was surprised when the beautiful principal said she wanted to know about me. I must have looked a bit startled. I need to be a gentleman. I composed my face and asked,

"Is that okay?"

She seemed flustered and said, "If you don't want to, it's fine."

Of course I don't mind! It's more like a reward. What do you want to know? I tried to control my breathing as she thought for a moment and asked,

"You launched fireworks from the beach when you were 12, right? What did you want to do with that?"

Hmm… 12 years old? Did I do that? And why does she know something I don't even remember? Oh well, let's try to remember… Fireworks, fireworks… Ah! That's it! I remember, a muscular man showed me a disassembled rocket firework he used for work. I listened half-heartedly, thinking he used it to scare off wild animals in places like Africa and the Amazon. Apparently, the problem was that it was too easy to spot because it flew too high. After hearing that, I tried launching it at the beach, and it flew about 80 meters high. I thought, "If it flies this high, it will be spotted," and consulted my mother. She suggested increasing the speed and lowering the height, so I sketched the shape and flight path of the firework and gave it to her. She made a new one in about six months. The new firework, made by my genius mother, could fly at 1,200 km/h and avoid obstacles automatically while staying below 2 meters in height. When I launched it at the beach again, it disappeared into the horizon at an incredible speed. I remember seeing a lot of what looked like fighter jets that night. When I told her this, the principal nodded in amazement. She must be impressed by my concern for my father, a less-than-ideal person, and my effort to ask my mother for help. This is a high point!

"Then, what did you launch from your backyard when you were 13?"

Well, it started when a female colleague of the muscular man said she wanted to see the Earth. Since the muscular man always helped her, I consulted my mother and asked her to improve the rocket firework. We launched a small satellite my mother made. The woman was delighted with the blue Earth images sent back, saying, "It's so detailed!" I really worked hard on it. By the way, I secretly launched a few other things with the rocket firework, but that's a secret...

"Can you tell me about the other things you launched besides the satellite?"

No, I can't! I absolutely can't tell her... No matter how much she looks at me with those curious eyes, I won't tell!! I need to divert her attention. Just then, I heard a knock.

"Principal, it's time for the opening ceremony."

A glamorous blonde lady came in at just the right moment...

---

**Yamamoto Kaori's Perspective**

"Welcome to the International Technical Academy, Arakawa Kousuke-kun. I am the principal, Yamamoto Kaori."

When I said this, he replied with a smirk,

"Thank you, Principal. Let me introduce myself again, I am Kousuke Arakawa. Please take care of me for the next three years."

His expression and the atmosphere clearly said,

"You should know better. Are you a foolish woman?"

I had to break this silence somehow. I desperately tried to think of a solution and then regretted it.

"S-Sorry, but I have a question for you, Kousuke-kun. Is that okay?"

What am I saying? My mind was a mess, and I didn't fully understand what I was saying. He looked at me with an unsmiling face, urging me to continue. Like following the devil's whisper, I asked,

"I want to know a bit about you."

I realized what I had said and was shocked. I had just said the one thing I shouldn't have. He looked at me with a stern face and agreed. Should I stop here? This thought crossed my mind, but my curiosity as a researcher was already out of control. The young man in front of me was known as the "Devil's Child." If I continued, I would be unable to turn back, and I would become part of the mechanism that hides his true nature. But I wanted to know the truth more.

"You launched fireworks from the beach when you were 12, right? What did you want to do with that?"

He smiled and told me about it. It turned out he was testing a cruise missile his father used, which was impractical at his level. He designed an improved version and had his mother make it. The new missile outperformed the old one. He seemed to think the Self-Defense Force's desperate attempts to intercept it were like children making noise. He even said,

"The fighter jets that night were impressive."

This was a display of confidence in his creation. I nodded in admiration. I also asked about the rocket he launched when he was 13.

It seemed to be a spy satellite. Given that it was for a colleague of his father, likely from the UN military intelligence, and the woman's comment about the detailed images, the satellite's performance must have far exceeded existing ones. But he launched it three times, and when I asked about the other launches, he immediately said it was a secret. He seemed a bit flustered and whispered, "If that thing is exposed, it's over." For someone like him to be flustered, and something that needed to be hidden in space... One idea came to mind.

"Biological weapon."

It must be. He had released a virus that couldn't be managed on Earth, likely highly infectious and deadly. I almost cried. He could create something even humans couldn't control... Could ethical education be enough? As I thought this, I heard,

"Principal, it's time for the opening ceremony."

Roberta Scarlett, who was supposed to be his class teacher, entered the room.

---

**Roberta's Perspective**

As I guided the two of them, I glanced at the young man walking next to me. He was a very mysterious person. Most men would stare at my chest, but he showed no interest. It was the first time I felt this way and was a bit confused. I couldn't ask, "Why aren't you looking at my chest?" and continued the tour. The principal told me he would be in my class, but I didn't know much about him. I hoped to understand him a bit during this time, but I didn't know how to start a conversation and ended up at the venue.

After seating him, I went to my seat. Could I really guide a student like him for a year? I was very anxious...

March 1, Integrated.