The School That Defied All Logic

Uesugi Hara listened to the tedious speech above while glancing at the other classes.

Class B looked harmonious. The students sat properly, and even their occasional quiet conversations carried a gentle air.

Wait, that girl...

His gaze paused on a pink-haired figure among Class B. He remembered her name was Ichinose?

She'd come to this school too?

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow, though he wasn't surprised.

Her family wasn't well-off, and this school, which claimed to offer free tuition, was certainly the kind of path she'd choose.

His thoughts drifted back to a few months earlier.

Back then, he'd been working part-time at an accessories shop.

With his striking face, he'd never lacked opportunities for part-time work. He just seemed to have a bit of "bad luck"—everywhere he worked, he was never able to stay for long.

The owner of this shop had taken a liking to him, saying outright that whenever he stood by the counter, the number of customers went up by thirty percent.

That afternoon, he was straightening the shelves when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl clutching the hem of her clothes and hurrying toward the door. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the handle, Uesugi Hara's unhurried voice followed after her. "Did you pay for that hair clip?"

Ichinose Honami's body stiffened as if she'd been pinned in place. She slowly turned around, still forcing a confused look onto her face. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Hey, I wasn't singling you out." Uesugi Hara curled his lips, his tone playful, as his eyes swept over the spot in the display window that had just been left empty. A popular star-shaped hair clip had been sitting there.

The color drained from Ichinose's face, leaving it as white as paper. Her lips trembled, and the panic in her eyes nearly spilled over. After a long moment, she pulled the hair clip from her pocket, her fingertips turning white from how tightly she gripped it. "Please... don't tell anyone, okay?"

Uesugi Hara took the hair clip, running his fingers over its cool metal edge, but didn't answer right away. Looking at the girl's reddened eyes, he suddenly asked, "Did you really want it?"

Ichinose bit her lip and nodded, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. "Yeah."

"Why?"

The question struck a sore spot. Tears welled up in her eyes at once. She sniffled, her voice breaking. "Because... because my little sister really likes it. We don't have the money to buy it, and I... I just couldn't think of anything else..."

Her head drooped even lower at those last words. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as though she'd already braced herself to be scolded.

Uesugi Hara's fingers paused around the hair clip. Seeing her on the verge of tears, he suddenly curled his lips. "How about this? Organize all the accessories on the shelves and make sure they're neat, and I'll pretend I never saw what happened."

He waved the hair clip in his hand, his tone casual. "What do you say? A chance to make things right through work. Seems fair, doesn't it?"

Ichinose Honami jerked her head up, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes. "R-really?"

"Of course." Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow and casually set the hair clip on the counter. "I never lie."

"Okay!" She agreed almost immediately, as if she'd grabbed a lifeline. She hurriedly rolled up her sleeves and went over to the shelves, her movements a little frantic. "I'll organize them right now. I promise I'll make everything spotless!"

Watching her bend over the accessories and carefully sort them, Uesugi Hara rubbed his chin.

It wasn't that he was especially kindhearted. He just figured that instead of backing someone into a corner, he might as well handle things another way. It was only a small matter, after all. There was no need to make a big deal of it.

Once Ichinose Honami had arranged the shelves in perfect order, even lining up the labels, Uesugi Hara lifted his chin toward her. "Come here."

Ichinose timidly approached the counter, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

"Take it." Uesugi Hara picked up the star-shaped hair clip and casually tossed it into her arms.

The hair clip landed in her palm. Its cool touch made Ichinose look up in surprise. "Th-this is..."

"Your pay for the hard work." Uesugi Hara leaned against the counter, his tone casual. "I can't have you work for nothing."

"But this is too expensive..." Ichinose hurriedly tried to hand the hair clip back, her cheeks flushing red. "I can't accept it."

"Just take it." Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow and deliberately put on a stern face. "Unless you want me to change my mind and tell everyone what happened?"

Ichinose's hand froze in midair. She bit her lip and looked at him for a long moment. When she realized he wasn't joking, she carefully clutched the hair clip, her fingertips trembling slightly. "Th-thank you... I'll pay you back someday!"

"No need." Uesugi Hara waved a hand and pointed to the clock on the wall. "It's almost closing time. Hurry up and go home."

Ichinose looked like she wanted to say more, but when she met his seemingly casual yet unyielding gaze, she swallowed her words. She bowed deeply, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you so much! My name is Ichinose Honami. If there's ever anything I can do to help, I'll definitely..."

"All right, go on." Uesugi Hara waved a hand to cut her off, then turned around and pretended to sort through the accounts.

Only after the shop door had gently closed did he turn his head and watch the figure hurrying away outside. The girl clutched the hair clip tightly in her hand, her steps light, as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Uesugi Hara gave a scoff and picked up a rag to wipe the counter.

What a silly girl.

He looked down at his palm, almost as if he could still feel the hair clip's chill against it.

Uesugi Hara watched the figure outside disappear into the distance and clicked his tongue.

He was pretty silly himself, helping a girl he might never see again for no reason.

Tsk, that hair clip had cost ten thousand yen.

Looked like he'd have to go "shaking someone down" again tonight.

He rubbed his brow, feeling irritated. Money had been getting harder and harder to come by lately. The street where he'd been staking out troublemakers seemed to have made them all smarter. They went out with pockets emptier than their faces, making it hard to "borrow" anything from them.

Looked like he'd have to find a new place.

While he was working out where to "hunt" that evening, the owner's voice drifted out from the back room. "Hara, you don't need to come in starting tomorrow. Business has been slow lately, and we don't need so many people."

Uesugi Hara paused, then answered, "Got it."

Great. He'd lost his part-time job too.

Looking at the empty shop, he suddenly felt that spending ten thousand yen on that hair clip had been an even worse deal.

Uesugi Hara returned to the present.

Looks like she'd done pretty well for herself after that.

His gaze shifted to Class C, and he couldn't help frowning.

Good grief, why were there so many thugs in there?

Uesugi Hara grumbled to himself. Back when I ran with the wrong crowd, even I didn't see people who had "delinquent" practically carved into their foreheads like these guys.

Especially that purple-haired one. He darted his eyes from side to side, chin raised so high it was practically in the sky, looking like he thought he was the greatest. He had a real punchable face.

Uesugi Hara sneered. With an attitude like that, in the places I used to hang around, he'd have been slammed into the ground within three days. And he's still acting tough?

His gaze moved to Class D.

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow and thought, I already figured Ayanokoji and Kushida Kikyo were weird enough. Never expected there'd be someone even more ridiculous in this class.

The most conspicuous was a muscular boy holding a small mirror and checking his face from every angle. He kept brushing the hair over his forehead with his fingers, muttering, "I really am so beautiful..."

Uesugi Hara frowned. How can he have time to fuss over his looks right now? Fine. I'll call you Beauty Brother from now on.

Looking beside him, he saw several boys whose eyes were glued to the girls. Their eyeballs looked ready to pop out of their heads, and the lecherous look on their faces was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.

Finally, his gaze fell on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. The girl from the bus beside him was poking his arm with a compass, yet Ayanokoji acted as if he couldn't feel a thing. He kept talking about something without even lifting an eyelid.

Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue in disbelief. No way, Ayanokoji. You're just letting her poke you with a compass? If that were me, I'd have slapped her back already. Is he slow to react, or does he just not care?

He looked away and rubbed his chin, pondering. This Class D... really is... uh... full of hidden talents?

Uesugi Hara looked away, the corner of his mouth twitching. He felt inexplicably close to breaking down.

Class B had seemed perfectly normal just a moment ago. Then he'd turned and seen the thuggish crowd in Class C, Beauty Brother praising himself in the mirror, and the group of creeps...

He couldn't help wailing inwardly. What kind of school is this?!

Wasn't it supposed to be a gathering place for elites? How could it have so many weirdos?

He pinched the bridge of his nose and suddenly felt that his own Class A was practically a breath of fresh air.