Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 960

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." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

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.

Her fingers stilled, no longer fidgeting.

"... Thanks," she murmured, barely above a whisper.

Just as Jane let the soft "Thanks" slip from her lips, the silence was gently broken- though not by her, nor Astron.

It was Ethan.

He looked up from his notebook, his pencil paused mid-doodle on a barely comprehensible chart in the margin. He glanced between the two of them-Jane, flushed and suddenly still; Astron, unreadable as always.

"What were you two... talking about?" he asked casually.

Except-it wasn't quite casual.

The words caught slightly in his throat, came out a little uneven. His voice wavered- not in volume, but in rhythm. Like he'd meant to speak with the same bright ease he

always had, but something in the air tugged his tone just a little off-course.

Astron noticed it immediately.

He turned his head, studying Ethan with mild but unmistakable focus. "...Hmm?"

It wasn't a challenge. Not even concern. Just a small, analytical prompt.

But that look-the one Astron gave when he observed something out of place-made Jane shift slightly, her fingers grazing the edge of her notebook again as she looked up.

"We were just talking about theory," she said, her voice quieter now. "Astron asked about the book I was using."

Ethan blinked, then offered a slow nod.

"Oh," he said, still not quite himself. "Right. Cool."

His smile returned-habitual, practiced-but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Something in his chest stirred.

It wasn't unpleasant. Not entirely.

But it was... odd.

Like the feeling of stepping into sunlight after sitting in the shade for too long. Warm, but disorienting.

He looked at Jane.

She was back to writing, though her posture was more upright now. Focused, but... lighter somehow. Her shoulders weren't drawn so tightly anymore. And the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a bit too late, still tinged with the faint blush on her cheeks-it wasn't nothing.

Then he glanced at Astron.

Unfazed. Steady. A picture of composure, as always.

They hadn't been talking about him, had they?

No-wait. She had glanced at him.

They were talking about me?

Ethan stared down at the half-finished diagram in front of him, but the lines made no sense now. His pencil hovered just above the page, unmoving, as his thoughts twisted

inward.

Why am I feeling like this?

It didn't make sense.

Astron was just talking to Jane. Observing her, asking a question, making one of his usual matter-of-fact comments. There wasn't even anything strange about it. Nothing flirtatious. Nothing even remotely out of place.

And yet...