Caught

The Shop Clerk let out a scream as Sudo knocked him straight to the ground with a punch.

Before he could get back up, a thick calf began giving him a free back massage.

"Guys, come over here and beat him up!"

As Sudo stomped on him, he turned and called out to everyone in the classroom.

It had to be said, Sudo was a loyal guy.

He was having fun beating someone up, and he still remembered to call his brothers over.

Suzuki Tsubame and the others stepped forward one after another, giving the Shop Clerk a full-body massage.

The sleazy Shop Clerk's bloated face no longer held any of its earlier greed.

He now looked panicked, struggling desperately to get up and run.

But his obese body was already lacking in exercise, and Sudo had gotten the first strike in.

Before long, he could not even struggle anymore.

He lay sprawled on the floor like a dead dog, his hands tightly covering his head as everyone helped him with impact-resistance training.

Fortunately, no one had been blinded by rage. After simply giving him a little blush, eyeshadow, and a full-body spa, they let him go.

Five minutes later.

Wasn't that why people always said fat people had high HP?

Though he was covered in footprints and had lost two front teeth,

he still recovered enough to sit up shakily, leaning half his body against the hallway wall.

His gaze toward everyone was filled with deep fear.

Although his lips would not stop trembling, he still forced himself to sound calm.

"Y-you... what class are you from? Aren't you afraid the school will expel you for doing this?"

"Apologize to me now, and I can let this slide. Otherwise... otherwise, I'll report you to the teachers."

As expected of someone who had experienced society. His reaction was pretty quick.

Knowing begging would not work, he immediately brought up the teachers to try and threaten them.

But his missing front teeth gave his words an indescribably comical quality.

Looks like they had gone too easy on him.

Suzuki Tsubame gave Sudo a look, and he immediately understood.

Walking quickly over to the Shop Clerk, Sudo first gave him a hard slap.

Then he pointed toward Sakura behind the crowd, his face fierce as he asked,

"Do you know that person?"

Having been hit again, the Shop Clerk trembled all over in fear. It took him a long while before he dared open his eyes again.

"Sh-Shizuku?"

When he saw Sakura behind the crowd clearly, his eyes lit up.

"I... I'm your fan! Shizuku! Really... I don't mean any harm... please believe me!"

Despite being a prisoner, he actually dared to try crawling over to Sakura.

Fortunately, Sudo gave him another kick from the side, finally making him behave.

Sakura had half her body hidden behind Hasebe.

There was a trace of barely perceptible disgust in her expression as she said seriously,

"Y-you're making me feel very troubled. Please don't do this again."

These past few days, even Ike, who had been keeping watch outside,

had voluntarily given up their lunch breaks to accompany her and wait in this classroom for a long time.

While she was touched, she was also afraid of wasting everyone's time.

All these reasons combined made her hate this sleazy fat man even more.

"N-no! It wasn't like that! I just wanted to ask you for an autograph! I really didn't want to hurt you!"

The Shop Clerk was still trying to argue, looking like he would not give up until faced with the grave.

Unfortunately, based on what he had done before, this outcome had already been inevitable.

Suzuki Tsubame could not be bothered to keep arguing with him. After being beaten up this badly, he was still lively—she could not really kill him, could she?

Even if killing him would probably be fine, their objective had already been achieved. There was no need to create further complications.

"Suzune, call your brother over to wrap this up."

"With the evidence this solid, he won't be getting out for three to five years."

Sakura's private messages, along with the evidence he had recorded after coming upstairs,

would make it easy to have him locked up for a few years.

Quite some time passed.

Suzuki Tsubame turned to Horikita, curious why she was standing there without moving.

"Suzune?"

Horikita's expression remained unchanged, like an upright statue.

Suzuki Tsubame's expression turned strange. Did Horikita not even have her brother's contact information?

For siblings to be this distant was truly rare in this world.

"Um... I have Tachibana-senpai's LINE. Do you need me to contact her?"

Kushida obediently raised her hand and asked carefully.

"Tachibana-senpai? As the current Student Council secretary, she can certainly handle it."

Suzuki Tsubame nodded at her. At a critical moment, Kushida was still reliable.

Of course... when she was unreliable, she was truly unreliable.

The Student Council was highly efficient. Horikita Manabu arrived at the scene within a few minutes.

After learning that his sister had also been involved in this incident, Horikita Manabu had brought only Tachibana Akane with him.

"Oh, the Student Council president is here."

Suzuki Tsubame sat casually atop a desk and waved at Horikita Manabu with considerable flair.

She gave him a simple greeting.

Though Horikita Manabu remained expressionless, he still nodded politely in response.

Upon learning that his sister had begun trying to make friends and was acting together with them, Horikita Manabu was sincerely happy for her.

Horikita Manabu also knew that this was probably all thanks to Suzuki Tsubame, so he actually had a fairly good impression of her.

Of course, it was absolutely not because he could not beat her.

Though Horikita Manabu himself did not care, Tachibana Akane behind him said discontentedly,

"Hey! You freshman, can't you show a little respect to your seniors?"

The Student Council president himself had no objections, yet this little sidekick had jumped out instead.

Suzuki Tsubame raised one finger, her tone disdainful.

"First, my name isn't 'hey.'"

"Second... forget it. I'm too lazy to say it. You're not worthy of hearing it."

Rolling her eyes at Tachibana Akane, Suzuki Tsubame stopped paying attention to this Purple Nezha.

"You!"

Tachibana Akane wanted to step forward and argue, but Horikita Manabu grabbed her and said sternly,

"Tachibana... enough. Stop doing such unnecessary things."

Tachibana Akane felt a little wronged.

But beneath the president's stern gaze, she still suppressed her emotions.

After dealing with Tachibana Akane, Horikita Manabu looked back at Suzuki Tsubame.

"Explain the entire course of events."

Although he had already learned a little about what had happened before coming,

it was clearly more convenient for him to hear it from those involved himself, especially since his sister was on the other side's side.

Suzuki Tsubame recounted the entire incident from beginning to end, sparing no detail.

Including Sakura's private messages and the audio and video evidence recorded after the Shop Clerk came upstairs.

All the way up to the Shop Clerk kicking the classroom door open.

As for his injuries, he had accidentally fallen after kicking the door.

Naturally, the matter ended perfectly.

Horikita Manabu stated that he would hand the criminal suspect and the evidence over to the School Board as a package.

The Shop Clerk's fate... he would most likely be forced to undergo several years of labor reform. Hopefully, once he got out, he would turn over a new leaf.

[Ding! Long-Term Task: Timid Star. Completion: 50%. Reward: Universal Megaphone. This item can imitate every sound the host has heard. To use it, simply turn on the switch and think of the other person's voice. (Note: When you miss the other person, turning on the switch produces better results.)]

"Th-thank you, everyone!"

By the time everyone came back to their senses, Sakura was already crying her eyes out.

Large tears continuously slid down from her eyes.

Only heaven knew how desperate she had been when that harasser appeared.

Aside from being socially anxious by nature, the reason she dressed so plain and unfashionably

was that what she feared most was encountering obsessive fans like this.

"It's all right, Airy... it's already over."

Hasebe moved gently, carefully drawing Sakura into her arms.

She softly comforted her.

Suzuki Tsubame gave everyone a look, and they tacitly left space for the two of them.

Why did it suddenly feel like she was bringing the two of them together? Suzuki Tsubame rubbed her nose, hoping they would not scold her.