The next day.
With no personal points being credited, life for the students of Class D was undeniably rough.
Apparently, several of them had been mocked by students from the neighboring class while waiting in line to buy the mountain vegetable set meal.
Though they had brought it on themselves.
"Hey, Kushida, could you lend me some points?"
"Wang, could I ask you to lend me some points? Not too much—5,000 would be enough!"
"Hey, hey..."
Early that morning, Karuizawa had been throwing her gyaru image around to intimidate people and extort points wherever she could.
But most of Class D had lived extravagantly the previous month, so hardly anyone could lend her money.
Because of that, she had even had an unpleasant run-in with one of her classmates.
Whether she had truly turned over a new leaf or simply hadn't recovered from her sadness, the class was surprisingly well-behaved today. No one was late, no one chatted, and no one played on their phone.
When lunchtime came, they had no choice but to reluctantly settle for cheap or free meals.
After a busy day, Shintō Katsuya had just ordered a bowl of udon when he noticed Karuizawa at a nearby table, surrounded by three girls with menacing expressions. Her frozen, frightened posture caught his attention.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
At the sound of a familiar voice, Karuizawa's eyes lit up. She broke free from the three girls' encirclement and hurried over to Shintō.
She clung tightly to one of his arms, pressing herself against him as much as she could, like a sloth.
"Hey, Shintō, you're here! These three are bullying me!"
As she spoke, Karuizawa pointed at the girls with a haughty air, looking like someone who'd gotten a little power and was loving it.
That infuriated them.
"Hey! What are you talking about? You bullied our friend, and now you're trying to turn it around on us?!"
"W-who bullied her? She was the one who bumped into me..."
She still sounded arrogant, but there was a hint of guilt in her words.
Kindhearted by nature, she knew she was the one who had done something wrong. But years of being bullied had made her afraid to apologize to others, in case it led to more violence.
"Huh?! You're really getting on my nerves!"
The girl opposite them reached out to grab Karuizawa. Karuizawa squeezed her eyes shut in fear, only to find a dependable figure standing in front of her.
"Y-you're really going to stick your nose into this?!"
"Stick my nose into it? She's my friend. You three started bullying her for no reason. How is that any of your business?"
Shintō had already guessed what had probably happened. He wasn't some embodiment of justice, though. In a situation like this, of course he'd take his own friend's side.
"You! Karuizawa knocked Rika from our class flying while they were waiting in line! How can you be so unreasonable?!"
"Which of you three is Rika?"
"We... We're her friends!"
"Then it's simple. I'm Karuizawa's friend, too. If you can stand up for your friend, then so can I."
The girl leading the group was at a loss in the face of Shintō's shameless attitude. But just because she couldn't handle it didn't mean nobody in Class 1-C could!
"Hah, you've got guts. If you do, wait here. I'll go get Rika. Do you dare face her and argue it out?"
"By all means. But you'd better hurry. My time is precious."
Shintō shrugged. The three girls glared at him in unison, then turned and went to fetch Rika.
Karuizawa didn't let go of Shintō until they were truly gone.
"Shintō, why did you agree to that?! What if a whole bunch of people show up? What are we going to do?"
"If I hadn't agreed, would you rather get cornered and beaten up the next time you're alone?"
"I... But we can't just sit here and wait, either, can we? Maybe we should get someone to come over, too. At least that would make us feel braver, right?"
Karuizawa looked terrified. Shintō seemed pretty formidable, but she knew all too well that two fists couldn't fight off four hands.
"This is the cafeteria. It's covered by security cameras. Unless they want to get expelled, they won't dare do anything. If you're scared, you can go back first. Just try not to be alone outside."
Even so, Shintō quietly switched his phone to record and slipped it into his pocket.
"I... I'm not scared... Besides, this started because of me. How could I leave you here alone?"
"You're pretty loyal."
"..."
Seeing Karuizawa sitting tensely beside him, Shintō reached over and ruffled her hair. (Not bad to the touch...)
"Don't be scared. I promise it'll be fine. I'm doing this so we can settle things once and for all. Take a deep breath, okay?"
She felt the strange sensation on her head, and Shintō's reassurance, carried on waves of warmth, brushed against her face. Karuizawa knew this wasn't the time, but her cheeks still flushed despite herself. Almost as if in a daze, she replied,
"Okay..."
A short while later...
The udon was ready!
"I have to hand it to you. You can still eat at a time like this."
"No matter what's going on, it shouldn't get in the way of lunch. Besides, if she doesn't come back all day, are you going to go hungry the whole time?"
As they spoke, a group of rough-looking, menacingly scowling students barged in from outside the cafeteria—a crowd that fit the stereotype of delinquents to a tee.
The person at the head of the group had purple hair parted down the middle. To look more intimidating, he'd taken off his jacket and draped it over his shoulders.
Two hulking guys flanked him, though the one on the right looked just a tiny bit bulkier.
Behind them were the three girls who had just left to bully Karuizawa. Close behind the trio was a frail-looking girl with glasses and twin braided ponytails.
There was also a short-haired girl walking beside them. She kept a deliberate distance from the group, but it was clear she was part of their gang, too.
Their imposing presence quickly drove away the students in their path. It didn't matter whether they were older or younger; clearly, nobody wanted to provoke a pack of delinquents.
As they drew closer to Shintō, the hairs on Karuizawa's body stood on end. She couldn't help but cling tightly to his arm again.
It was as if she'd been targeted by some terrifying beast, but Shintō carried on slurping his udon as though nothing were wrong.
"The most important thing about udon is the broth."
Only when he slowly set down his bowl did a huge face appear right in front of him.
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