Chapter 87: Haruno Isn’t Malicious at All

  "Yukinoshita, I was wrong that day at the café. I deeply apologize and feel truly remorseful. Please forgive me!"

  The once arrogant and domineering "Tyrant" Ryuen was now as obedient as a little puppy, sincerely apologizing to Haruno. Anyone witnessing this scene would probably have their jaw drop. Yet, this bizarre reality was unfolding right before everyone's eyes.

  Surprisingly, Haruno's face showed no sign of shock. Instead, she had an intriguing expression.

  "Huh? This isn’t the 'Tyrant' I know. Is this an illusion?"

  Upon hearing this, Hikigaya nearly rolled his eyes to the back of his head. Being very familiar with Haruno, he immediately knew—this woman was about to stir up trouble again!

  "I'm truly sorry! I was careless and offended you before. I've realized my mistake and have deeply reflected on it. Please forgive me!"

  Ryuen clenched his fists tightly and, with no other choice, repeated his apology.

  Haruno covered her mouth in mock surprise, her expression filled with disbelief. Hikigaya, watching from the side, couldn't help but compin in his mind:

  ‘Seriously? You're still acting?!’

  "So it’s real? You’re really apologizing to me?"

  A pleased smile spread across Haruno’s face.

  "That’s wonderful, Ryuen. The fact that you've recognized your mistake and are willing to take responsibility... I'm truly moved."

  "……"

  Not just Ryuen, but even Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others sensed that something felt off.

  Could it be that Yukinoshita Haruno was actually this kind-hearted?

  Sure enough, the next second—

  Haruno tilted her head slightly, her face full of innocent confusion.

  "But, you know… My mother once told me that when someone sincerely apologizes and seeks forgiveness, they usually kneel down in a dogeza as a sign of sincerity. I mean, don’t we always see high-ranking officials on the news doing that whenever they mess up? Did I remember wrong? Or… are you just putting on a show?"

  "……"

  Ryuen suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Haruno.

  Yet the girl remained completely unfazed, still smiling sweetly at him.

  Looking at the smile on Haruno’s face, everyone present felt a strange sense of dread—as if they were dealing with one of those smiling, narrow-eyed characters from light novels or anime, whose true thoughts were impossible to read.

  Hikigaya had originally thought that since Ryuen had already humbled himself, Haruno would at least give him a way out and let the matter drop.

  But he never expected this demon king to be so ruthless!

  How should he put it?

  This was so Haruno—both within expectations and completely unexpected.

  Hikigaya knew very well that, despite always smiling pyfully and acting carefree, Haruno was more scheming than anyone else and, more importantly… had no bottom line.

  The Chaotic Evil—Yukinoshita Haruno!

  Just as Hikigaya was about to step in and smooth things over, he suddenly met Haruno’s gaze.

  Her eyes seemed to say:

  "If you dare open your mouth… you’ll regret it."

  At that moment, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

  And an undeniable sense of pressure.

  A ridiculous thought crept into their minds—

  "Wait… wasn’t Hikigaya supposed to be the mastermind behind this whole thing?"

  "Why does it feel like Haruno is even more dangerous than him?!"

  Compared to Hikigaya, Haruno felt like the real vilin—so much so that Hikigaya suddenly didn’t seem that bad anymore.

  Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others felt more pressure from Haruno than they ever did from Hikigaya.

  She was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  That gaze, especially when staring at Ryuen, was enough to send chills down their spines.

  Back at the café… she hadn’t been like this, had she?

  "Oh my, oh my! Why is everyone so tense? I was just joking, you know~?"

  Haruno suddenly waved her hand innocently, as if her previous words had been a mere jest.

  "Only useless nobodies who can’t take responsibility would actually kneel and dogeza. Ryuen is such a famous student in our year—there’s no way he would ever do that, right?

  So, just forget everything I said earlier~."

  Her tone was light-hearted, as if she had truly been kidding.

  But not a single person dared to treat it as a joke.

  "Since Ryuen has already apologized so sincerely, let’s consider the café incident settled."

  Haruno nodded seriously and then cpped her hands, smiling as she looked at Ryuen, Ishizaki, and the others.

  "Oh, right! Tomorrow is the midterm exam. I wish everyone in Css C the best of luck! Make sure you pass the test—do your best!"

  As she spoke, Haruno even clenched her right hand into a fist, cheering for Ryuen, Ishizaki, and the others.

  "……"

  Hearing Haruno say this, Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others should have been happy. But instead, they felt a deep sense of unease, as if something was very wrong.

  Ryuen, in particur, stared intensely at Haruno, his jaw clenched so tightly that his lips had split open, causing blood to trickle down.

  Hikigaya rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

  Haruno must have already figured something out—that’s why she was deliberately toying with Ryuen!

  To deal with someone like Ryuen, you had to beat him down, humiliate him, and break him completely.

  And clearly, Haruno understood this perfectly. That’s why she was being so ruthless—treating him like a dog in training. One lesson wouldn’t be enough. You had to do it multiple times until submission became a habit.

  So cruel!

  But… I kind of like it!

  Hikigaya, you’re beyond saving!

  "Huh? Why do you all look so weird?"

  Haruno’s expression slowly turned cold. She grabbed Hikigaya’s arm, pouting in boredom.

  "You guys are terrible. Why do you always think of me as such a bad person? I’m just a sweet and innocent little girl who doesn’t understand anything. How could I have any bad intentions? This is so boring.

  Hikigaya-kun, let’s go."

  Boom!

  No one expected it.

  Ryuen actually knelt down.

  Both knees hit the ground. His forehead pressed against the floor.

  A perfect, formal dogeza.

  Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others were completely stunned.

  Even Hikigaya was shocked.

  The proud, arrogant, untouchable “Tyrant” of Css C was kneeling?!

  Even a certain girl, who had been secretly filming from the shadows, was so shocked that she almost dropped her camera.

  "Ryuen-san!"

  Ishizaki shouted in disbelief, while Ibuki almost stumbled backward from the shock.

  But Ryuen, still in dogeza, did not move at all.

  He remained kneeling, forehead to the ground, completely motionless.

  "Huh? So you really wanted to apologize and atone sincerely?"

  Haruno smiled pyfully, stepping in front of Ryuen. From her high vantage point, she looked down at him, her voice gradually turning icy.

  "Well, well… Now I can truly feel your sincerity.

  Very good. Very, very good.

  See? Isn’t it nice to be obedient?

  I’ve said it before—I personally like well-behaved little puppies.

  Good boy."

  Ishizaki turned his head away, unable to bear watching his leader being humiliated like this.

  Everyone around felt a chilling cold seep into their bones.

  Haruno’s smile had vanished completely.

  It was as if she had transformed into an entirely different person—her cold, piercing gaze swept across Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others, before finally settling on the kneeling Ryuen.

  "You should be thanking Hikigaya, the ‘kind-hearted’ guy, you know?"

  "If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have been as merciful as him.

  I wouldn’t have even given you the chance to kneel."

  But the next moment, Haruno skipped over to Hikigaya’s side, clinging onto his arm affectionately.

  As if her cold and ruthless self from just seconds ago was nothing more than an illusion.

  "Hikigaya-kun, let’s go~"

  Under the body threat of this Demon King, Hikigaya had no choice but to reluctantly leave with Haruno.

  Not long after the two of them left, from within the alleyway, a furious roar echoed, followed by the sound of objects being smashed to pieces.

  "Ryuen-san! Why did you stop us?!"

  "They humiliated you! We should’ve just gone up there and beaten the hell out of that dead-fish-eyed bastard!"

  Ishizaki, furious, smmed his fist against the ground.

  "You idiot!"

  Ryuen, bloodshot eyes and messy hair, climbed to his feet.

  Then, he kicked Ishizaki so hard that he flew backward.

  Without another word, Ryuen walked over to a nearby bush, reached inside, and pulled out a small bck box with a blinking red light.

  He threw it onto the ground.

  "Wh-What is this?"

  Ibuki asked, confused.

  "It’s a pinhole camera."

  Ryuen stomped on it, smashing it to pieces.

  "Now do you get it? You idiots."

  "That dead-fish-eyed bastard had already set everything up.

  Everything he said—was just to provoke you morons into attacking him!"

  "If you had dared to make a move, it would’ve all been recorded!"

  Ishizaki’s face went pale at the realization.

  Ibuki looked just as shaken.

  They hadn’t noticed it at all.

  There was another trap hidden behind everything.

  That dead-fish-eyed bastard wasn’t just a liar.

  He was far too cunning!