"..."
What Oreki said was a little strange. Why did he call it extortion?
Kushida, having narrowly escaped disaster, heard the sound of someone taking pictures and pressing the shutter beside her.
It turned out Horikita Suzune had taken out her phone and snapped photos of Housen directly.
With photos like these, the school could not simply ignore it.
And besides.
If those photos were released, Housen, who had only just enrolled, would probably be isolated immediately.
Did that mean she owed Horikita Suzune a favor too?
Still, seeing Oreki step in, Kushida breathed a sigh of relief.
Kushida felt that had been far too close.
As expected, she should not have tried to butt in.
Housen was the kind of person who hit even girls. There was no reasoning with him at all.
Kushida wanted to build the Kushida Empire, gather a whole group of Tool People, become everyone's angel, and earn the trust of others. She had only tried to ease the tension, yet she had immediately been attacked.
So, in a very practical manner, she immediately struck Housen off her list.
Then she looked toward Oreki.
Horikita Suzune understood Oreki well.
And Kushida was no slouch either.
Though she had been a little surprised that Oreki had stepped forward of his own accord, seeing him take the initiative
still made her feel rather good.
As expected, he had properly kept his promise and protected her.
"You are..."
Housen looked as though he were seeing Oreki for the first time.
Then Nanase, the girl following behind him, spoke up.
"The boyfriend of Student Council President Sakayanagi Arisu, second-year Class 2-A senior Ore-bou."
"It's Oreki."
Oreki corrected her.
Then, in the instant he spoke, he directly rescued Ibuki from Housen's grasp, something she had been unable to escape