"How bold!"

  Hana was a bit taken aback when Miko admitted to her retionship with Ryuji so directly.

  "Is this really the same Miko I know?" she thought.

  "Hello!" Ryuji waved with a smile, casually aowledging Hana.

  He had pletely fotten that, like Miko, Hana also had a special stitution, ohat attracted supernatural beings. That meant she too would likely trigger a talery for him.

  "Hello! Hello!" Hana responded cheerfully, her bubbly personality shining through as she eagerly shook hands with Ryuji.

  Sure enough, the system's voice chimed in his head.

  "Successfully tacted a target: Yurikawa Hana! A greery has been triggered. Do you want to load it?"

  Anreery, huh? Ryuji thought. He decided to che it ter.

  "It's almost time for css. I should head baow," Ryuji said, gng at the time.

  With that, he left the two girls behind and made his way to the .

  Hana, now left aloh Miko, ractically boung with excitement.

  "He's really handsome! e on, Miko, spill the details. How did you two meet and when did you start dating?!"

  Like Miko, Hana had never been in a retionship before, so she was bubbling with curiosity about her best friend's love life. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in, eager for all the juicy details.

  "Calm down, Hana!" Miko gestured, trying to get her overly excited friend to settle down. She had expected this kind of rea, but seeing Hana so worked up still made her feel a little flustered.

  ---

  Meanwhile, Ryuji arrived at the , unaware of the versation going oweewo girls. As he walked iiced several of his cssmates giving him surprised looks. After all, many of them had seen him get called out by those bullies yesterday, and they were probably expeg him to be in worse shape today.

  "Well done!" Yumiko from the group of live-a fans called out. She was uhe impression that Tobe Sho, one of her friends, had goo fetch a teacher, which must have been why Ryuji came back to school unscathed.

  "Uh..." Tobe, who had been sitting quietly in a depressed state, looked up, fused. He hadn't done anything at all. Still, si raise directed at him, he puffed out his chest and responded, "Of course! You t on me."

  Even Aoyama, the css representative and a tral figure in the social group, looked at Tobe with a smile, as if he had done something admirable.

  Ryuji, however, didn't care about their discussions. He propped his on his hand and sat at his desk, his mind preoccupied with the greery he had just triggered from Hana.

  "Greery: Greed."

  Ryuji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Really? That's what I got from her?"

  He had initially thought that Hana's unique spiritual stitution would result in a more powerful goldery. He certainly wasn't expeg something as simple and disappointing as Greed.

  "Fet it," he muttered to himself. "I'll trigger another entry from her ter. There's bound to be somethier."

  Without hesitation, he selected Depose and watched as his points increased from 10 to 20. He briefly sidered whether he should focus on tag more key characters to farm taleries, but before he could dwell on it, a loud bang interrupted his thoughts.

  Bang!

  The door swung open, and in walked Shizuka Hiratsuka, their homeroom teacher, with a stormy expression. It was immediately clear to everyohat she was in a foul mood. The usual chatter in the died down, and the students quickly realized that something serious was about to happen.

  "Everyone, return to your seats," Shizuka said coldly, her sharp tone making it clear that she wasn't in the mood for any nonsense.

  The students who had been gathered in small groups quickly dispersed a back to their seats.

  Ryuji g Shizuka and noticed something strange. When she had ehe room, her eyes had lingered on him for a moment lohan usual. Was she aware of what had happened yesterday?

  He quickly pieced together that despite the ck of cameras in the wooded area by the pyground, it wouldn't have been too hard for someoo iigate. Especially sidering that Shizuka wasn't an ordinary teacher. She had a strong sense of justid wasn't the type to let things slide, unlike many of the other teachers in the school.

  Besides, what regur teacher drove a supercar to work?

  "Although I'm aware that bullying happens in schools," Shizuka began, her voice trembling with barely trolled anger, "I hought I'd have to deal with it in my css."

  Ryuji raised an eyebrow, amused. This was exactly the kind of attitude he had expected from her. Shizuka wasn't the type to stand by ahings like this slide. If she found out about bullying, she would a it immediately.

  "What's worse is that not a single one of you had the dee to me a it. How could so many of you just turn a blind eye?"

  Her fist smmed down on the podium, the loud bang startling several students. The whole css went silent, everyooo intimidated to speak.

  "Where did you learn to be so indifferent?!" she demanded, her fiery gaze sweeping over the room.

  Ryuji couldn't help but smile. Her fiery spirit was really something else. It was cute in a way though he wasn't about to say that out loud.

  Shizuka's eyes nded on Aoyama, the css representative, and she fixed him with a stern look.

  "Aoyama Hayato, as the css monitor, don't you have something to say?"

  Aoyama stood up, looking visibly unfortable. He gnced over at Tobe, hoping to shift the responsibility onto him. After all, it was supposed to be Tobe who had dealt with the situatioerday.

  But Tobe, who had been so proud just moments earlier, now hung his head in shame, realizing the mess he was in. Things had not gohe way he expected at all. His pn to avoid responsibility had backfired pletely.

  "Wait!" Yumiko spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "Didn't Tobe say he was going to get a teacher?"

  Miura, like the others, was still uhe impression that Tobe had done something to resolve the bullying situation. She had even plimented him on it earlier.

  Shizuka's eyes narrowed. "Tobe?" she asked coldly, her gaze snapping to the boy iion.

  Tobe flinched uhe weight of her stare. He khere was no esg this.

  With her arms crossed, Shizuka's voice dropped to an icy tone. "No one came to my office yesterday."

  The entire css fell silent.