Palm Frog
The
Swamps
Smart
Mage * Aki
Smart
Knight Thunder
My name is Narita Shion.
Like Aoyama, I am a clean freak.
For observers, being a clean freak is nothing but a disadvantage...
A weakness.
Attract attention, and you'll have to interact more with people,
increasing the risk of your getting dirty.
Here we go!
But online, I can communicate without the looming stress of getting dirty.
Quest complete!
Letting people in the real world know that you're a clean freak is idiotic.
That's why I keep it a secret.
#04
Narita-kun Keeps It a Secret
This is the only time I can relax at school.
In an hour, this classroom will become a battlefield.
Yuuko, the camera's on the other side.
All my classmates are vulgar and ill-mannered.
Worse than trash mobs in the MMORPG I play.
Stop screwing around in the classroom, you vermin!
Sorry, Narita!
Don't wipe it with your sleeve! You're just spreading it!
It's fine.
I've got the rest.
The best way is to just not get involved.
Hey, Aoyama, did you finish your morning cleaning ritual?
Yup.
I can't fathom why he'd risk getting dirty by cleaning public property.
Lately, this online game called Monstrosity Hunter has got me hooked!
Sorry, Aoyama...
Avoid interacting with others as much as possible
and above all else, prioritize reducing the risk of getting dirty.
That's the smart way to live if you're a clean freak.
Home Economics
Today, you will be making
pork miso soup with rolled omelet and a side salad.
Each group needs to work together to make it a delic—
Wouldn't it be better to wash the vegetables with soap?
Dunno.
This is hard to watch.
The girls in our class have zero girl skills.
Narita's amazing with a knife!
Not bad!
I could do this with my eyes closed.
Aoyama's slicing veg super fast, too!
The cucumbers are dancing and leaping through the air,
before neatly floating into the bowl.
This is art!
That's Aoyama-kun for you.
That isn't something you can do unless you use knives a lot every day.
For a clean freak, that's standard.
Whoa! Narita's moving super fast, without any wasted movements!
He's finishing dish after dish, all by himself!
Should I help?
Leave it to me.
Huh...
I can't eat anything that someone else has made,
so I have no choice but to cook every day.
Then I'll just do a taste test.
Don't put the ladle to your lips!
Yum!
Thank you...
Don't put it back!
I can't eat that soup now...
This side is done, too!
Aoyama...
It looks like a normal pork miso soup...
What is this delicious aroma that grabs you by your stomach?!
This smells really good, Aoyama-kun.
I used homemade miso for it.
Huh?
Homemade miso? That's cheating!
Well, let's see how it tastes...
Thanks for the grub.
So good!
My life was worth it for this moment!
That's not fair!
I wanna eat something Aoyama-kun's made, too!
Me, too! Me, too!
Even the people in my group are crowding him...
I won't forget this.
I'm so hungry, I could die.
I always get famished by fourth period.
Just one more hour to go.
Pork miso soup.
Hey, Yoshioka, we're still in class. Where are you going?!
Pork miso soup.
Hey, hey, hey now! Yocchi!
Pork miso soup!
Is this where the pork miso soup is?!
More and more people are turning up because of the scent!
Your food's capable of drawing a huge crowd?
What kind of terrifying dish did you make, Aoyama-kun?
Gimme some soup!
The soup is long gone!
No way!
I have some fried rice, if you want.
Fried rice is great, too!
Fried rice! Fried rice!
See that, Aoyama?
At my level, even white rice can become a delicacy in a matter of minutes.
Aoyama made chicken rice!
I'll show you what I can do.
Please wait.
It's not chicken rice!
It's fluffy omelet rice!
What?!
Damn, that's not fair, Aoyama.
Making the egg that fluffy...
Everyone who's not in this class, go back to your own classrooms!
What should I do? I'm not tough enough to get a handle on this situation.
You should all be in class!
My saviors!
What's this? Smells good.
Can we have some?
Or not. Just two extra mouths!
This is bad.
We don't have enough ingredients to prepare food for everyone.
U-Um...
W-We took this from the dining hall.
Th-That's a lot!
All right. With that much food, we have way more options.
Pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella!
Meat and potato stew!
Seafood paella!
Steak with ginger!
Pancakes!
French toast!
These two can make anything!
Shion, everything here tastes amazing.
What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?
We can't eat food that someone else has touched.
No.
Anything we want to eat, we have to make ourselves.
You have the same issue, don't you, Aoyama?
I'm stuffed.
Those two are way too good at cooking.
I can't eat any more.
I seriously want to marry Aoyama-kun.
Me, too!
This is dumb. Why did we even make food for all those people?
What are you playing at?
We don't consume anything that anyone else has touched.
Hey...
Could it be that his germaphobia has nothing to do with it?
That he just enjoys cooking?
Hey, Aoyama...
Teach me how to make that raccoon face in a latte.
That's a cat.
Clean Freak!
Narita Shion
"I'll do the rest, so don't worry about it."
Class Rep
Natural enemies of the clean freak!
Rikiishi Yuuko
Quest complete!
In Hunter, you play by forming groups called guilds.
You could say that teamwork is the foundation of success.
Guild Leader, there's a hunter that wants to join our guild.
Oh?
It's this guy.
Wait, this raccoon...
It's a cat.
The hairdo, the sour look... And his nickname is Ao—
Aoi Sanmyaku
Hi! My name's Aoi Sanmyaku!
Please call me San-chan!
He's full of energy, isn't he?
A-Am I mistaken?
Nice to meet you. I'm Smart, the guild leader.
We're a high-end veteran guild.
Half-baked hunters won't be able to keep up with us.
Will you?
I'll crush any monster that comes my way with these iron fists!
Iron Ball Shot!
What happened to using your fists?!
An OHKO precision kick?!
Quest complete!
San-chan, you're great!
Yay! Yay! Yay!
Yeah, Aoyama would never celebrate like that.
He even scrubs places like that?
Aoyama-kun!
Um...
Wait, what's going on?
P-Please go out with me!
Seriously? She actually asked him out?
Sorry, I can't.
Dammit, why do you have to be all cool and collected when you reject me, too?!
Yup.
This is what Aoyama's like.
That's...
That's the official Hunter key ring that the game company only gives out
to the hunters they recognize as the best of the best!
Of course, I have one, too.
And on the back, they engrave your nickname.
Smart
Aoyama...
In Monstrosity Hunter, you can have your own room,
Your room's always so nice and tidy.
where you invite friends to talk.
Thank you.
You know, ever since San-chan joined, our party hasn't been wiped out once.
Yes, San-chan's strong, cheerful, mindful, kind and I think...
I might be in love with him!
He ran away!
What was that reaction just now?
Smart
I don't want to ask him outright and make him get all defensive.
I guess looking at Aoyama's key ring would be the quickest way.
What's up?
Nothing. Do you need something?
I was wondering if I could copy your notes.
I forgot to take any earlier,
and you're so smart and always take such good notes.
Please show me!
My beautiful notes!
Ah, my head itches. I forgot to take a bath yesterday.
I can't let this toad have them! No way!
But I won't let myself get worked up.
I reckon it'd be faster to take a picture with your smartphone.
You're a genius!
Oh crap, my phone's about to die.
So can I just take them?
I'm still using them.
Come on, it'll only take a second.
Take a hint!
Is there some reason I can't have them?
It wouldn't be smart to let myself get outed as a clean freak.
Smart
Hey, don't run away!
He's back!
I copied them in the teachers' office, so you can have these.
Oh, thanks!
All right!
PE next!
Yeah!
PE... I may get chance to take a peek at Aoyama's key ring then.
The best time would be when everyone's changing...
Huh? My gym clothes have vanished?
H-Huh? Wait, they've been stolen?!
What's going on?
Rikiishi's gym clothes have been stolen!
Seriously?!
All right, boys! Give them back right now, and I won't report this to the teachers.
Just so you know, everybody but the germaphobic Aoyama-kun is a suspect.
There is only one truth!
Remove me from your list, too, Miss Bowl Cut Gorilla!
But Class Rep,
how could anyone steal gym clothes from a locker in a classroom full of people?
It'd be impossible to do it without being seen.
That's true, and we didn't move rooms today.
Yuuko, when was the last time you saw them?
I stuffed them into my locker right before going home yesterday.
Must have been a real weirdo who stole something that filthy.
The classroom gets locked right after everyone's left for the day.
The next time it's unlocked is 7 AM the next morning.
Which means the crime was likely committed before all of us got here this morning.
Come to think of it, isn't Narita-kun always the first one to arrive?
He always leaves the classrooms last, too.
It's always the quiet ones.
Narita, you...
Gross.
Me? Gross?!
What's going on here?
Don't tell me they actually suspect me!
Hang on. That's a serious accusation to make without any evidence.
But you have no alibi, either.
And earlier, you were all like, "The best time would be when everyone's changing."
I heard it with my own ears, and if that's not fishy, nothing is!
Shut up, Miss Bowl Cut Gorilla!
Show us what's in your bag.
The horned garidons are attacking, too?!
Aoyama!
That rat!
He walked out like this doesn't affect him.
Didn't you hear me, Narita? Show us your bag!
Don't touch me!
Crap!
This is bad!
He's the culprit!
Catch him!
Dammit! I just wanted a quiet and, above all, clean school life.
Why is this happening to me?
Why doesn't anyone believe me?
No, my face... the floor...
Excuse me...
He would never steal this.
Rikiishi
Huh?
A-Aoyama...
He believed me.
This gym bag was in my locker.
Yuuko, don't tell me...
Oops, I may have gone to the wrong classroom.
"May have"?!
Narita Shion.
It'd be better if you just let them get to know you.
He... He saw right through me.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
I won't accept that.
I won't let anyone know that I'm a clean freak.
Narita!
S-Sorry.
Sorry for accusing you without listening to your side.
Sorry.
Sorry!
Sorry, Narita.
It all worked out, so it's all good.
I'm not mad.
I'm not wrong. This is the smart way of living as a clean freak.
Narita, you're such a good egg!
Get a room, you two!
Don't get all hot under the collar. It's only a hug!
All right, let's blow this joint.
Aoi Sanmyaku
So you were Aoi Sanmyaku, after all...
Is Aoi Sanmyaku here?
He went to his room to get an item for the quest.
To his room, huh?
Got it.
The gap between his online and offline personas threw me off a bit,
but I guess he can break down the walls of his germaphobia here,
and that's why he can show his true face.
If Aoyama wasn't a clean freak, maybe he'd be like that in real life, too.
Anyway, now I just have to confirm it with him.
Aoi Sanmyaku
Hey, Aoi Sanmyaku! It's me, Smart.
I'm coming in!
What's up, Guild Leader?
Huh? You...
Let's go complete that quest already!
So he doesn't clean because he likes it?
I'll help.
Perfect.
Or maybe he does...
For good luck, butt keepie-uppie!
Focus!
Our next opponent is Minamida Fuzoku High School!
Statues should just stay still.
Next time
Tsukamoto-kun is a Receiver for Life