Chapter 72: A Sudden Appearance of a Strong Man.

  On the school path at night, a downcast young man in a thin shirt, with a few dark stains on his clothes, walked by, drawing curious gnces from the students passing by.

  Thanks to the boy's strong mental fortitude and facial control, developed through years of training, he was able to bear the various strange looks without much trouble.

  Having just left the undromat, the owner had informed him that the rge stains on his jacket would take some time to clean—at least until the day after tomorrow. Of course, if he paid extra, he could pick it up the next day, but the boy promptly declined. After all, the school had issued another uniform set, and he wasn’t going to waste extra money on such an unjust fee.

  The jacket issue was solved, but the stains on the shirt would have to be dealt with on his own since he didn’t want to be mistaken for an exhibitionist and have the police take him away.

  Before long, the boy was nearing the dormitory, but suddenly, several shadows appeared and blocked his way.

  It was Ishizaki and Ibuki from the coffee shop earlier, along with a guy named Yamawaki and another person he didn’t recognize—likely another student from Css C. The only one missing was Ryuen.

  The boy didn’t pn on acknowledging them. If they dared to make a move under the surveilnce cameras, it would actually suit his intentions.

  “Ishizaki-san told us to talk to you about Shiina,” one of them spoke.

  Ishizaki's words made the boy stop.

  “This isn’t a good pce to talk. Let’s go over there,” Ishizaki said, pointing to a dimly lit alley. The boy stayed silent.

  Since the first day of school, he had been paying particur attention to the locations of the school cameras. After more than a month, he had memorized the camera pcements, and the alley Ishizaki pointed to was one of the ‘blind spots,’ a pce cking surveilnce.

  It didn’t take much to figure out that if he entered, he’d certainly be beaten up.

  A wise man doesn’t stand under a dangerous wall. Even though he wasn’t exactly a wise man, he didn’t want to be beaten for no reason!

  However…

  After a moment of contemption, the boy nodded and followed the Css C students into the alley. Ishizaki and the others were somewhat surprised by his willingness, having initially thought about forcing him to come along. This saved them quite a bit of trouble.

  Exchanging gnces with Yamawaki and the others, they all saw the same mockery in each other's eyes. Just as Ryuen had said, students from Css D were nothing but garbage—couldn't even see such an obvious trap?

  Sure enough, once they entered the dim alley, their true intentions became clear. Ishizaki pushed the boy hard against the wall.

  The boy, wincing in pain, was surprised to find that Ryuen wasn’t present. Was he too disdainful to get his hands dirty, or had he been cautious?

  “Ryuen-san said you’re not allowed to get close to Shiina anymore. Got it?” Ishizaki snarled.

  “Heh, I don’t take orders from Ryuen about who I spend time with. And Shiina is no tool for him either. Does he think he’s some kind of tyrant? Just because the tiger isn’t around doesn’t mean the monkey can be king,” the boy retorted, looking around, but still not seeing Ryuen.

  “What are you talking about, you dead-fish-eyed freak? You’re just not allowed to get close to Shiina. If I see you again, I’ll beat you up!” Ishizaki said arrogantly.

  “Hey, do you know what’s going on here?” a guy named Yamawaki suddenly grabbed the boy by the colr and shouted in frustration.

  “Do you think this is some low-level high school? Or is it just your brains that are rotting? You guys can only act tough in pces like this. Once you leave, you’ll just shrink back and act like a real ‘person,’” the boy mocked.

  He didn’t care about their threats and even scoffed at them. And since it was inevitable that he would take a beating, he might as well try to regain some face with his words.

  His words immediately enraged the group.

  “I’ve been annoyed by your dead-fish eyes since I saw you in the library!” Yamawaki seemed to be the most annoyed with the boy.

  After all, when Css C had caused trouble for Css A and B in the library earlier, the boy had humiliated Yamawaki several times. It seemed like he was pnning to take revenge now.

  “Hey, stop with the small talk and start the fight already,” Ibuki, who had been watching from a distance, said impatiently. She was the only girl there, and it looked like she wasn’t pnning to participate.

  Yamawaki sneered, then punched the boy in the stomach. When Yamawaki made his move, Ishizaki and the others joined in. To their surprise, the boy didn’t fight back. When they had seen how arrogant he was earlier, they had expected him to have some hidden trump card, but it was clear now that he was just bluffing.

  “Damn, he’s just a big talker! Beat him up!” Ishizaki shouted.

  “You only have yourself to bme. Ryuen-san told us to treat you well!” Yamawaki added.

  “Ha, thought you were so tough? Turns out you’re all talk, harder than my pancake!” Ishizaki taunted.

  At this point, the boy finally realized what the meaning behind Ryuen’s meaningful gnce in the coffee shop had been. Damn it, he had pnned to teach him a lesson here.

  But the good news was… at least Haruno had safely gone back and wouldn’t have to see him in this pathetic, beaten state.

  Just as Yamawaki, Ishizaki, and the others were about to attack, a cold, stern female voice suddenly rang out from outside.

  “Ishizaki! What are you guys doing here?”

  At some point, a girl holding a pstic bag had appeared behind the group. Her face was as cold as ice.

  “Sh-Shiina?” Ishizaki and the others looked stunned as they saw the girl, Hiyori, suddenly appear. The boy was equally surprised; he never expected Hiyori to show up.

  “I'm asking you, Ishizaki, what are you doing?!” Hiyori angrily ran up to the boy, standing in front of him like a protective hen. Her tone conveyed her anger, even her choice of address had changed.

  “Uh, we…” Ishizaki stammered, unsure of how to answer. The other boys didn’t dare speak either.

  “Ishizaki, didn’t you tell me you were going to study tonight? What are you doing here? Looking for a fight?” Hiyori scolded, her tone completely different from before—she was now strong and assertive. Ishizaki, Yamawaki, and the others looked like naughty schoolboys being reprimanded by a teacher and didn’t dare speak back.

  The girl’s true nature—soft on the outside, tough on the inside—became clear. Although she seemed introverted and obedient, she dispyed incredible resilience and strength when confronted with difficulty.

  “Yamawaki, Oda, have you guys memorized the English words I gave you? I told you I’d be checking tomorrow.”

  Yamawaki and another student named Oda froze and lowered their heads, not daring to look Hiyori in the eye.

  “And you, Ibuki!” Hiyori turned to the blue-haired girl who had been trying to sneak away.

  Ibuki froze.

  “Do you know that your grades are in danger after the midterm exams? I’ll make time to tutor you tomorrow,” Hiyori said, her tone somewhat softer when speaking to Ibuki.

  “I… I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do! I’ll study on my own. Even if I get expelled, it’s my own business!” Ibuki retorted stubbornly.

  Hiyori didn’t get angry. Instead, she replied calmly, “Is that so? Well, if you don’t work hard, you’ll be the only girl failing the exams and getting expelled. Do you really want that, Ibuki?”

  Ibuki’s face stiffened as she seemed to be internally battling with herself. Finally, she bit her lip, snorted, and fell silent.

  Ishizaki, Yamawaki, Ibuki, and the others were like students caught by the teacher—unable to argue back and just nodding their heads like chicks pecking at rice.

  The tense situation that had been brewing moments ago had turned into a scolding session, making Hiyori seem even more like a teacher than the css advisor, Sakamoto.

  It felt like a strong man had descended from the heavens!

  The boy, watching this scene, thought… well, this isn’t quite how he imagined it. It was like watching a romantic comedy, only for the next episode to turn into a high-stakes corporate drama. Or a typical shōnen action series suddenly becoming a comedy.

  It was completely absurd! The tone had shifted completely!

  Now, the boy felt like everything was fine, but something was off.

  “Are you okay, Hachiman-kun?” Hiyori asked, looking concerned as she checked on his injuries.

  The boy waved her off, indicating he was fine. It felt strange though—he never imagined a girl would be protecting him one day.

  Hiyori, seeing that he was okay, sighed with relief, but then frowned when she noticed that Ishizaki and the others hadn’t left.

  "Shiina, Ryuen-san said that you are not allowed to have any contact with this guy, Hachiman, so... please listen to Ryuen-san and don’t—"

  Ishizaki cautiously spoke.

  "ISHIZAKI!"

  "…Yes!"

  Suddenly, Hiyori interrupted Ishizaki’s words, and Ishizaki froze in pce, like a subordinate waiting for their boss’s command.

  "Go back and tell Ryuen-kun that I’m helping the css because I don’t want to see everyone expelled, not because I’m his tool. Who I choose to be friends with is my own business!"

  Hiyori was angry, and it was clear that Ryuen’s actions had genuinely made her furious.

  "But—"

  Ishizaki was about to say something else, but in the next moment, he was met with a ‘ferocious’ gre from Hiyori.

  "I’m really angry this time! Really, really angry!!"

  Hiyori puffed up her cheeks, hands on her hips, and repeated, "So, you guys better be prepared tomorrow! If I find any of you haven’t mastered the review points, you know what will happen!"

  Ugh—

  I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but it seemed like I heard Ishizaki and the others let out a mournful sigh.

  In the end, Ishizaki, Yamaki, and the others could only leave reluctantly. But before they left, they made sure to gre at Hachiman, as if warning him not to get too close to Hiyori.