Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 960 220.6 - Protagonist and Heroines?

"Is that why this guy's grades have been improving so much lately?"

He tilted his head ever so slightly toward Ethan, who was currently scribbling a half-doodled diagram onto the corner of his notebook, utterly unaware of the shift in atmosphere between the two beside him.

Jane's eyes darted to Ethan instinctively. Then back to Astron.

Her mouth opened slightly. Then closed.

And then-her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink.

"I-I mean..." she started, flustered. "It's not like I'm... teaching him or anything"

Astron didn't respond, just waited.

Jane sighed, unable to meet his gaze for a second. Her hand fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve.

"...I've been helping him. A little," she admitted quietly. "Some one-on-one reviews after class. Mostly written material, breakdowns, things like that."

She glanced down at her notebook, still blushing.

"I didn't think it'd... actually help as much as it did."

Astron nodded once, as if confirming a data point on a chart. "It did."

His voice carried no teasing. No judgment. Just a flat, matter-of-fact affirmation. Jane swallowed again, her blush deepening despite herself. She'd spent countless hours reviewing Ethan's course materials, restructuring them in a way that made sense-at least to her. She hadn't expected him to respond so quickly to the patterns, to the structure she offered.

But he had. More than she expected.

And now Astron-someone who barely acknowledged anything that wasn't efficient or relevant had just validated her work.

Without fanfare.

Without flattery.

Just truth.