Chapter 3093

At the end of class, Kushiita Kikyo bounced over to Horiuchi Suzune again, her face lit up with a bright smile.

"As expected, I really want to become good friends with Horiuchi-san."

"I don't know! Could Horiuchi-san agree to that?"

"Seriously… Kushiita-san, you're just too kind! Even toward someone as cold as her, you still go out of your way to be nice, trying to be her friend and draw her into the class group."

Sudo Ken hugged his head, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah! That kind of… icy person should be left alone!"

"Stop saying more!"

Kushiita Kikyo clutched her skirt, a hint of unease crossing her face. "We're all in the same class—how can you say that?"

Horiuchi Suzune crossed her arms, expressionless, watching Kushiita Kikyo's performance.

Even without having seen the memory copy, she knew the woman's dark past… and after seeing the memory copy, she was fully aware of just how black this girl's heart truly was.

So now, seeing this scene, she only found it amusing.

"The more gentle she seems on the surface, the darker her heart truly is!"

Horiuchi Suzune sighed softly inside, then turned her head to fix her gaze on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who was trying to slip away quietly. Her voice rang clear: "Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the manga artist of Naruto—so you're just going to leave like this?"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka froze. He turned to look at Horiuchi Suzune, looking almost bewildered—if she hadn't been watching closely, she might have missed the fleeting weight in his eyes.

"... No way, Naruto?"

Sudo Ken, who had just been fawning over Kushiita Kikyo, was stunned, staring up and down at… Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"That… super popular manga with art so terrible it's unbearable—you drew it?"

Though Naruto's art style was endlessly ridiculed, its passionate plot had drawn in countless… teenagers.

Sudo Ken was naturally one of them.

In fact, Naruto fans in this class weren't just him.

Everyone turned their heads—some in disbelief, some excited, some skeptical—staring at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"Um… I think you might be mistaken!"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's brow twitched. After a brief pause, he shook his head, then gave a wry smile. "Someone like me… looks like a famous manga artist?"

"... I also think it must be a misunderstanding."

Yamachi Haruki rubbed his nose.

"But! Actually… it's not."

A gentle, unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out in the classroom.

Pushed