I'm a Neutralist!

The two locked eyes for only a moment.

Horikita Suzune, arms folded, let out a breath and spoke in an unquestionable tone.

"Even so, I still can't accept that conclusion. Leaving aside whether what you said is correct, that would be the school's mistake."

"The classes aren't divided according to academic ability and athleticism. You'll understand if you observe for yourself."

Having said that, Kamigami Haruo ignored the girl and started walking. He knew that even if she did not believe him, her pride would drive her to seek out the truth.

Watching his retreating back, the girl frowned in thought before following him anyway.

A while later, seeing the sign bearing the name Aikido, the two realized they had arrived.

The wooden sliding door slammed open with a bang, and Kamigami Haruo withdrew the hand he had used with all his strength.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and loudly declared.

"Look over here. I have something to say."

"Is Aikido just playing house? All you do all day is throw this person and that person around. Everyone knows you can beat an Aikido practitioner with one punch. Even your ace would probably end up kneeling and begging for mercy."

Silence instantly fell over the noisy clubroom. The people who should have been training seriously all turned toward the boy standing at the doorway.

Horikita Suzune raised a hand to press against her furrowed brow. It was not because she had practiced Aikido herself, but because she suddenly felt deeply embarrassed.

Taking several steps back was her way of distancing herself from him.

At that moment, a fierce-looking man emerged from the crowd. Judging by his bearing, he was probably their ace.

Respectful gazes gathered on the man. It seemed he not only had strength, but also enough seniority. He could only be a third-year senior.

"Junior, are you here to challenge our dojo? If you apologize now, I can still forgive you."

"You guessed right. I'm here to challenge you, but there should be some stakes involved."

After saying that, Kamigami Haruo ignored everyone's stares and continued explaining the terms of the match.

"Seniors, how about we make a bet? I'll be the house. I have two hundred thousand points here, and the total amount wagered cannot exceed two hundred thousand. If I lose, everyone will receive points according to however much they bet. As for how many points each person wants to wager, that's up to you. It's not much, but I'm sure you seniors have complete confidence in your ace, right? Or do you have no confidence in your own ace? Are you seniors scared? If you are, go home and cry in your mothers' arms."

As for a one-on-one bet, not only was he an unknown person who had come to challenge their dojo—

He was also the one making demands. Why would they agree to bet against him?

So he used a group betting system. That way, even if they lost, each person would only lose a small number of points.

They could place bets without any pressure, like buying popcorn while watching a movie—spending a little money while enjoying the show.

Sure enough, after he said that, someone immediately stepped forward in protest.

After receiving the club president's approval—the president also being their ace—the members all demanded to bet on him winning, if for no other reason than to vent their anger.

Kamigami Haruo took out the printed betting agreements and had them write down their names and wager amounts one by one.

After checking that everything was correct, he signed his own name as well, then transferred the wagered points to the club president for safekeeping.

The contract he had the president sign included a liability waiver, as well as a clause about nominal membership in the Aikido Club.

The condition was that he would receive full attendance credit without needing to attend club activities.

If he lost, he would also need to pay an additional one hundred thousand points in compensation within three days.

Someone came to stir things up during this process. Horikita Suzune asked Kamigami Haruo for a betting agreement and wrote down a wager of ten thousand points on Kamigami Haruo winning.

Ignoring Kamigami Haruo's constipated expression, she casually placed the paper atop the stack of agreements.

Once everything was done, she walked to the side and took out a novel to read.

After all the preparations were complete, the two stood in the open area at a distance from each other, waiting for the temporary referee to begin.

"Three, two, one, begin!"

Because of his skinny, frail build, the club president did not take his opponent seriously at all.

The president tilted his head up as he adjusted his uniform, though he still kept an eye on the person in front of him.

Before he could instinctively blink, he saw the person before him stomp forward powerfully despite the distance between them.

But the president was still prepared to make his move. Yet in the instant he blinked, the boy's figure vanished from his sight.

At the same time, the surrounding spectators were all astonished by the speed Kamigami Haruo displayed in that instant.

The president and the audience did not even have time to think.

Kamigami Haruo had already appeared in front of the president.

Leaning forward, with his front leg braced and his rear leg driving forcefully, he twisted from the waist and landed a right hook on the president's liver.

While the president was dazed by the sudden pain, he used the force from straightening his waist to land a left hook on his opponent's jaw, knocking the president unconscious.

Thus, the victor had been decided.

In this match, the president had barely managed to glimpse a shadow before the fight ended abruptly.

To be honest, Kamigami Haruo had only won this match by catching his opponent off guard.

It was somewhat underhanded, but with his physical strength, it would have been difficult to confront the president head-on. He could even feel his fist hurting.

Besides, if he wanted to win without injury, he could only settle the match through a surprise attack or some other unexpected method.

If he faced those monsters now, he could only take a beating.

The scene fell silent.

No one had expected the match to end this way, and the dissatisfied crowd began cursing.

Kamigami Haruo shook out his hand, thinking, This guy's bones are pretty hard. My hand hurts like hell.

He ignored the abuse around him, walked over, crouched down, and patted the president's face.

After patting him for a while, the president finally rubbed his face and got up looking like he had just woken from sleep.

The moment the president saw Kamigami Haruo's face, he became fully alert.

Although he was unwilling to accept his loss, the betting agreement left the president with no choice but to honor it.

Afterward, he took out a club application form and handed it to Kamigami Haruo to fill out, then asked him and Horikita Suzune for their student IDs so he could transfer the points.

Looking at the 384,000 personal points in his account, Kamigami Haruo painfully made three transfers.

After returning all the points, his balance showed 84,000 personal points.

On the way back.

Walking with a slight limp, Kamigami Haruo cast a resentful look at the utterly self-righteous Horikita Suzune.

"You've really made me see you in a new light, Kamigami. Though that was a rather unfair victory."

The girl, unusually interested, teased him.

"You won money and still have the nerve to make sarcastic remarks. You're really heartless, Horikita."

"This was what I deserved. There was no luck involved."

"What can I say? You deserve everything."

Near the convenience store.

Kamigami Haruo, who had been walking beside Horikita Suzune, suddenly changed direction.

He headed toward a patch of grass in a surveillance blind spot and began feeling around with both hands.

After a while, he pulled two bottles of drinks from the grass.

One bottle of Pepsi and one bottle of Coca-Cola.

That combination was a little disgusting to people from the two factions, but it had no effect on Kamigami Haruo, a neutralist.

Still, he sincerely thought Kamuro Masumi was impressive for checking in once every day without fail.

"I picked up something someone dropped. Or maybe it was wild?"

After saying that to the girl beside him, he put the drinks into his bag, intending to chill them before drinking them.

Ignoring Horikita Suzune's distrustful gaze, he headed toward Palette.

By the time they arrived at Palette, it was already six in the evening.

"A noisy place like this really doesn't suit me."

"Coming here with someone like you is already a sacrifice to my standards."

"That's just how Horikita is."

Kamigami Haruo teased her once before entering the shop.

After the two claimed seats at the café, they went to the counter together to order.

At the same time, the commotion from the two entering and bickering caught someone in the shop's attention.