Shota is surrounded by monsters!

"A true powerhouse! A genuinely powerful, albeit somewhat chuunibyou, powerhouse!"

I really can't hear anything!

Just as Shota was begging to hurry up and go to class, the two mischievous ghosts secretly took off Shota's hat again...

Oops!

Shota quickly snatched the hat back and put it back on his head. Sure enough, all the students who had been looking at him were stunned.

"Well, it's not what everyone thinks..."

Shota's brain cells were working at lightning speed. At times like this, all he had to do was make everyone think he was cosplaying...

—So there's a setting behind the hat too, is it a rare unicorn horn?

—That's really daring. If the teacher sees this, it will definitely be confiscated, right?

—So, Kousaka-kun is a self-made chuunibyou, huh? There's absolutely no sign of him wearing it.

"Wow, these horns are amazing!"

Before Shota could finish explaining, several men and women surrounded him, staring in astonishment at the golden horn on his head covered in mysterious patterns. They exclaimed, "Where did you buy that? It's so cool!"

"Idiot." The boy had barely finished speaking when the girl next to him nudged him with her elbow and said, "You can't say you bought it!"

"Ah, right, right, Kousaka-kun, this horn really did grow on its own, right? What's your setting for it?"

"Can I touch it?"

"It's wearing a headband, no, no, where did it grow from?"

Although that's what he said, Shota knew he couldn't shake off the label of a severe chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferer...

"Puhahaha..."

The two ghosts behind him were laughing heartily, clutching their stomachs.

"..."

"What's wrong, Araragi-kun?"

Class monitor Hanekawa Tsubasa noticed that Araragi Koyomi, who was sitting behind her, had suddenly stood up in a cold sweat and asked with some concern, "Are you sick?"

"No, no, it's nothing..."

Hey, what are those classmates doing? Kousaka... Kousaka Shota isn't just a chuunibyou, he's a genuine esper! Vampire, snake demon, Isayama, Kousaka... why are all these memories that I thought I could forget coming back?

Ah, my ordinary world!

Thinking of this, Araragi Koyomi had no choice but to sit back down and helplessly bury his face in his hands.

If you don't ask, you won't know. If you don't know, you won't know anything.

Keep it up, Araragi Koyomi! What happened that day was just something you imagined because of your chuunibyou (middle school syndrome).

I'm the real chuunibyou! My classmates being warriors fighting monsters is totally my own chuunibyou fantasy!

"Please join the Far East Magical Nap Society, Summer!"

The commotion caused by chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) did not stop after class. Although it had only happened in the morning, by noon, rumors that "Kousaka, a second-year high school student, is a chuunibyou, a super-powerful chuunibyou" had already spread throughout the entire school.

Shota's lips twitched, ignoring the "invisible boundary line" and "demon race" the other person was talking about, and carefully examined the girl in front of him.

She covered one eye with an eye patch, had short hair, and looked very cute...

However, it didn't appeal to Shota.

"I refuse!"

……

“Beelzebub…”

The second person blocking Shota's way was a girl who called herself the Fallen Angel, Black Cat.

A beauty mark under her eye, wow, long, straight black hair... she looks so cute...

However, there are no breasts.

"I refuse!"

The third one...

"Heroes of the past, we are fighting against the evil dragon clan..."

Black ponytail, flat chest, somewhat loli-like...

"I refuse!"

……

"That boy over there!"

A girl with long pink hair and wearing an armband suddenly blocked Shota's way and said, "You can't wear hats to school..."

Shota took off his hat.

"Eh..."

The other party made a surprised sound—Shota seemed to remember that the disciplinary committee member's name was something like Fuyu Ai.

"Such decorations are not allowed at school either."

As she spoke, she reached out and tried to pull off the horn on Shota's head.

"Don't try to do that, it's futile."

Shota sighed, but the disciplinary committee member, seeing it as a futile effort, angrily pointed at Shota and said, "Go to the teacher's office!"

"don't want……"

"Beep—"

The pink-haired disciplinary committee member blew her whistle.

"Damn it, those demons are about to make their move!"

"Get out of here quickly!"

Before Shota could react, the crowd around him had all dispersed, and then, a series of dense and orderly footsteps came from the other side of the corridor.

Ah, the most terrifying presence in this school—the disciplinary committee.

Kurosu Yuuki, Shirai Kuroko, Hibari Kyoya, Kida Masaomi, Ayuzawa Misaki, Futaki Kanata, Kibitsu Momoko...

Wearing identical school uniforms and armbands, they exuded a terrifying aura the moment they appeared.

The devils of the academy, the disciplinary committee members are talking about them.

Shota hesitated for a moment. To protect his prized horn from being cut off, he pulled Mashiro, who was staring blankly out the window, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation...

He turned and ran.

"stop!"

Running is prohibited in the corridor!

As a result, Shota spent his entire lunch break running around.

"Ah, this kind of place is so comfortable."

"Ghosts really do prefer darker places."

Geng Xizi, who had brought her underlings and Huang Quan to the school's basement, clapped her hands and said, "By the way, this school seems to be missing a bit of a horror legend. Should we make some up?"

"Oh? That sounds interesting."

Huang Quan and this senior hit it off immediately.

"Is it just the ghost of a deceased female student reappearing?"

"Let's add some artistic rumors to it, like a faithless boyfriend."

"That's really good, let's have Shota play the villainous role?"

"good idea!"

……

"Teacher, I really am a monster! This horn is from my own growth! I usually don't come to class because I'm out fighting with other monsters."

"Here we go again. Kousaka-kun, you're already a second-year high school student. You should focus your energy on your studies. It's okay to postpone the fighting with other monsters until after you get into university."

The young female teacher suppressed a laugh and coaxed Shota, "Although I don't know how you fixed those two horns so well, cutting them off seems like it would hurt your scalp, right? Today, I'll pretend I didn't see anything. When you get back, remember to remove the horns... No, no, Kousaka-kun, please stop with your magic. Hmm."

"..."

Shota's expression had completely collapsed. No one would believe him if he lied, and no one would believe him if he told the truth. Was he really that tragic?

Is school life destined to be something I'm not meant to have?

"Kousaka-kun, of course the teacher doesn't discriminate against chuunibyou. Everyone goes through that." The female teacher continued to persuade Shota: "But, school matters are school matters. You don't want your fighting to affect the school and your classmates, do you? So, think about those things when you get back tonight. Focus on your studies at school."

"Yes……"

Shota had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

"...What is chuunibyou?"

After leaving the office, Mashiro suddenly looked at Shota with an innocent expression and asked him her question.

“Chuunibyou is…” Shota replied with a serious expression, “Shameful play!”

Chapter 120. Donuts and Shinobu Kousaka

"Is this a One Piece cosplay? But it doesn't look like it at all."

"Strange guy. Why would he wear a straw hat for no reason..."

Shota pulled his hat brim low, trying to hide his face. Back in the day, even with his peculiar "mysterious foreign transfer student" persona, his presence was terrifyingly faint. But for some reason, ever since he started wearing a straw hat, his presence had inexplicably increased. Even though he was on his way home, he felt like everyone on the street was pointing and whispering about him…

I'm so annoyed.

Shota sighed softly. If he had known school life would turn out like this, he wouldn't have looked forward to a happy and ordinary daily life—shouldn't daily life be a joyful battleground caught between various girls: girlfriend, fiancé for the next life, childhood friend, and so on?

Wonderful days filled with confessions and heart-pounding teenage encounters.

But why has it come to this point where I'm being teased as an older, immature person?