"Manabe...!?"
"What are you doing!?"
Seeing Manabe Shiho get shoved to the ground by Karizawa Kei, Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki, who had been standing behind Manabe Shiho, cried out at the same time. One hurried to help Manabe Shiho up, while the other glared furiously at Karizawa Kei.
"I..."
Karizawa Kei herself seemed not to have expected things to turn out this way. Her action just now had been nothing more than a reflex; by the time she came to her senses, she had already pushed someone down, leaving her somewhat timid.
Yet Karizawa Kei hid that timidity well. As though suppressing the unease in her heart, she spoke to Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki.
"This isn't my fault. She was the one who grabbed me first."
That was rather unreasonable.
Granted, Manabe Shiho had indeed grabbed Karizawa Kei first, but she had only grabbed her. Karizawa Kei's reaction had ultimately been far too extreme.
Besides, after knocking someone down, even if it had been an accident, shouldn't she apologize? Who would immediately declare that she had done nothing wrong?
If Karizawa Kei had obediently apologized, there might still have been room to settle things.
But Karizawa Kei's unreasonable claim enraged the group of three from Class C.
Especially Manabe Shiho.
"Not only did you bully Rika, you even laid hands on me. Karizawa, do you really think I wouldn't dare do anything to you?"
Manabe Shiho's voice grew rough, and a trace of resentment entered her eyes.
Even if they were girls, the three of them were still from Class C.
And under Ryuen Kaito's terrifying rule, Class C generally had violent tendencies.
Having been angered, Manabe Shiho, Yabu Nanami, and Yamashita Saki steadily closed in on Karizawa Kei.
Judging by the way they looked, even if they