Chapter 3.5: The Mysterious Boy (Kamui Hinata’s Perspective)

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Something so unusual happened in class today that I finished classes with much more tension than usual.

I seemed to be the only one who noticed this anomaly— neither the students nor the teacher appeared to realize it.

And the source of this disturbance was none other than Suzuki Hinata-kun, the boy who sits behind me.

Though we coincidentally shared the same name, he had already become something of an outsider in our class.

Like me, he had an aura that kept people at a distance, and today I learned why.

Arai-kun, one of our classmates, called him “Level 0,” but this has to be a misunderstanding.

He had been hiding his real power all along.

I couldn’t sense it last week, but after experiencing my first dungeon over the weekend, I had grown significantly stronger than I was on the first day of school.

It’s only now that I’ve come to realize his strength.

But to truly feel his power, you have to be within fifty centimeters of him—otherwise, it’s nearly impossible to detect.

Despite his overwhelming power, he skillfully concealed it. Perhaps that’s why he had an atmosphere of rejecting others. I was the same—my S-rank latent ability, the Ice God’s Blessing, constantly emitted cold energy from my body.

I’ve worked hard to suppress it, if I let my guard down, the cold would seep out and hurt those around me.

That’s why I had been trying my hardest to hold it back all day today.

But then…… I saw Arai-kun calling him out.

I had a bad feeling about this, so I secretly followed them to the rooftop.

While the rooftop is usually open and accessible, few students bothered coming up here.

When I reached the rooftop, Arai-kun had already started to pick a fight with him.

This unexpected development left me frozen in disbelief.

Why would anyone dare pick a fight with such a monster?

How could he bravely confront him when even someone with an S-rank innate ability like me wouldn’t stand a chance?

As these questions raced through my mind, I sensed that he was about to—kill Arai-kun.

With his strength, he could easily crush someone like Arai-kun with no effort.

But this was school, and if a new student were to disappear after school hours, it would create a huge uproar.

Besides, human lives are precious, and I didn’t want him to kill anyone, even someone as arrogant as Arai-kun.

Before I knew it, I found myself on the rooftop—facing him.

I somehow managed to get Arai-kun to leave the rooftop, and now I was staring at the hostility radiating from him.

I struggled to stop my legs from shaking, fighting the overwhelming fear that threatened to make me cry.

But the more I tried to suppress it, the stronger my cold energy pushed against him.

His expression darkened instantly as my cold energy hit him, and he now saw me as his prey.

I could barely stand under the suffocating killing intent. As I felt my life slipping away, the faces of my father, mother, and sister flashed before my eyes.

Ever since my S-rank ability awakened, my family had faced many difficulties because of me. I had just resolved to work hard to repay them somehow. I didn’t want to die like this.

But despite my resolve, my cold energy released itself against him with full force.

My cold energy could freeze people instantly.

However, he didn’t freeze at all. Instead, he recognized me as an enemy.

—I don’t want to die. So, I desperately tried to think of what to do.

“I don’t know why Kamui-san is attacking me, but I don’t want to die either, so I’ll defend myself.”

His words were like a countdown to my death.

I had no idea what to do and couldn’t control my Ice God’s Blessing—so I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m sorry.”

I wanted to convey that I wasn’t his enemy, but as soon as I thought that, I couldn’t express it properly, and tears began to spill out.

How long had it been since I last cried in front of others?

“I-I’m sorry. I…… I was so scared I couldn’t control it…… I’m really sorry……”

He had been about to kill me in mere seconds, but for some reason—he started panicking.

His surprised expression, which I had thought was merciless, actually seemed a little amusing.

That’s when—

In an instant, he appeared in front of me, but instead of severing my head, he wiped my tears with his handkerchief.

My Ice God’s Blessing would freeze any normal person on contact.

I had indeed directed it at him, but instead of freezing, he frantically said, “Oh, so that’s what it was! I should be the one apologizing—you were trying to help, and I made you feel scared!”

I didn’t understand what he meant by “helping,” but then he quickly continued, “Uh, um! As thanks for helping me, if you ever have any problems, just tell me. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll help however I can. I may be weak like this, but I’ll do my best……”

Why would he go this far for someone like me?

Why was he being so kind to someone as weak as me?

“R-Really……?”

I asked cautiously, and he nodded vigorously, assuring me I could ask for anything.

I gathered my courage and made a request.