"Hey, Sudo, when I went to get the broom just now, I heard those bastards saying they were going to come after you."
Kitagawa Ryo hurried back empty-handed. Sudo had just finished eating Kitagawa Ryo's instant noodles, and he looked at him in confusion.
"I heard three people mention your name on the way. I pretended you and I didn't get along and secretly recorded them."
["Can you get that Sudo guy to come out? I'll make sure you get plenty of points once this is done. I don't need to tell you how important those things are around here, right?"
"I'm not going to do something that hurts someone. I'm only here to stop a violent incident from happening."
"Tch, fine. Just don't go blabbing about the plan, kid."]
Kitagawa Ryo quickly played the recording on his phone, then said with some concern:
"They said they're going to get people to teach you a lesson. Tonight."
"Damn it! Those bastards are asking for it!"
Sudo was furious. He'd already been seething over those three, and now, before he'd even made a move, they wanted to beat him up first?
"Where are they now?"
"In the little grove not far ahead, to the left. But they should be getting close to the school building by now."
Seeing that the timing was about right, Kitagawa Ryo said:
"Don't do anything rash, Sudo. I'll go find the others in our class, and we can figure something out together..."
With that, Kitagawa Ryo left, leaving Sudo alone to stew.
Sure enough, barely thirty seconds later, Sudo angrily kicked the leg of a table, then headed straight for the place Kitagawa Ryo had pointed out.
"The show's about to start—"
Only after Sudo had left did Kitagawa Ryo saunter out of the convenience