Counterattack 1

Ichinose was just about to retort, but a thought of tomorrow's plan crossed her mind, so she suppressed her temper and sat back down on her chair.

"Oh? Don't even have the guts to talk back to me?" Ryuen Kakeru looked down at Ichinose from his superior position: "Students of Class B are nothing more than this, heh, just a bunch of vermin. Ishizaki, let's go."

Just as Ryuen Kakeru turned around and shoved his hands into his pockets to leave, Horikita Etsuka, who was in the middle of eating, spoke up:

"It wouldn't be appropriate for you to just leave like this, would it, Ryuen?"

In an instant, the gazes of everyone in Class B converged on Horikita Etsuka. They all held a glimmer of expectation, hoping that Horikita Etsuka had a way to turn the tables.

Amikura Mako looked at Horikita Etsuka with anticipation, her small hands gripping the stained hem of her skirt tightly under the table.

"Oh?" Ryuen slowly turned his head. He looked at Horikita Etsuka, who was leisurely sipping lemonade in his chair, with a puzzled expression, and said in a low voice:

"I remember your name is Nakanishi Jiro, right? Is there something you need?"

The moment the words left his mouth.

"Pfft—" Nakanishi Jiro, who had just taken a sip of his drink, sprayed it all over the table. He choked on the liquid and began to cough incessantly.

"Cough, cough, cough!..."

Ichinose looked at Ryuen with the expression one might reserve for a fool.

This guy... hasn't even done his homework on the intelligence?

The others looked at Ryuen with equally bizarre expressions.

Seeing their reactions, Ryuen seemed to realize something. He furrowed his brows, his gaze locking firmly onto Horikita Etsuka: "You, did you lie to me earlier?"

Horikita Etsuka did not answer the question, instead saying: "I believe Ryuen didn't do it on purpose, but can a flimsy apology really solve the problem?"

"Oh?" Ryuen stared straight at Horikita Etsuka, his expression carrying a hint of mockery: "Then... what do you want to do? Are you going to report me, just like Ichinose suggested?"

Ichinose frowned slightly. She had wanted to use that method, but as Ryuen had said, even if they reported it to the Student Council, it would be useless. The other party would only need to offer a flimsy excuse about it being an accident to brush it off.

But to ignore it entirely was incredibly frustrating.

Ichinose rubbed her fluffy hair, whispering helplessly: "This is such a headache."

Horikita Etsuka shook his head: "Why would we report it? Ryuen didn't do it on purpose, after all. However, since someone's skirt was stained, there should be compensation, right? Otherwise, a simple 'sorry' is meaningless no matter how many times you say it."

"Compensation?" Ryuen was taken aback; he hadn't expected the other party to steer the conversation back to the actual issue.

Horikita Etsuka smiled: "Of course. I trust that someone of Ryuen's stature wouldn't refuse to pay the small sum required to cover the cleaning of a stained garment, would he?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward a security camera in the corner of the ceiling.

Ryuen noticed it too, of course. He sneered: "Naturally. Since I was the one who stained it, there will be compensation."

Ryuen hadn't expected the other party to prioritize a rational, objective analysis of the problem over simply trying to vent their anger.

Moreover, with everyone watching and the presence of a security camera, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept the loss.

He had intended to crush the spirit of Class B, but instead, he had hit a wall.

For some reason, Ibuki Mio sighed behind Ryuen: "If that's the case, then just pay the original price."

She hoped the matter would end there; as long as there was no further conflict, that would be for the best.

Ryuen said with a dark face: "Speak. How much?"

"Um... then..." Amikura Mako started to speak.

"100,000 points," Horikita Etsuka interrupted immediately.

Everyone was shocked. Amikura Mako froze for a moment, but then immediately covered her small mouth with both hands. She wasn't stupid; she naturally knew who was calling the shots.

Nakanishi Jiro smirked, sipping his drink to hide his laughter. He felt fantastic; seeing Ryuen get humbled was exactly what he wanted, especially since people from Class C had been harassing him for the past few days.

"Bastard! What are you talking about?" Ishizaki clenched his fists and roared at Horikita Etsuka: "It's just a piece of clothing! You should be grateful we're willing to pay the original price, and now you're asking for 100,000?"

"100,000 points is indeed outrageous," Ibuki Mio added, her brows furrowed.

One had to realize that 100,000 points was an entire month's living expenses for a student.

Horikita Etsuka didn't answer them, continuing to look at Ryuen with a smile.

Ryuen's face darkened. He reached out to stop Ishizaki, who was about to shout again. He looked at Horikita Etsuka and said in a deep voice: "I'll pay the 100,000 points."

"Ryuen! How can you accept such a demand?" Ibuki Mio looked at him in disbelief.

"Give it to him," Ryuen said, his tone brooking no argument.

"No," Horikita Etsuka pointed at Amikura Mako: "Give it to our classmate Amikura."

Seeing that Ryuen's resolve was unshakable, Ibuki Mio snorted, pulled out her Student Terminal, and transferred the points to Amikura Mako on the spot.

Amikura Mako stared at the 100,000 points that had just arrived on her Student Terminal, her mouth agape. She couldn't believe it was real.

Ryuen looked at Horikita Etsuka thoughtfully: "Is this enough now?"

Horikita Etsuka waved his hand: "Whatever."

Ryuen turned and left immediately: "Let's go."

Ishizaki followed closely behind, his fists still clenched.

Ibuki Mio glanced back at Horikita Etsuka once before slowly walking away.

"Wow, I can't believe it, this is actually real!" Kobashi Yume leaned in to look at Amikura Mako's Student Terminal, her small face filled with disbelief.

Amikura Mako cupped her cheeks and said, "Hehe, I can't quite believe it either, but this is all thanks to Horikita."

Having said that, she subconsciously looked toward Horikita Etsuka.

And Horikita Etsuka happened to be looking over at that exact moment.

The two gazes suddenly met.

Amikura Mako immediately looked away.

The girl's cheeks suddenly turned a bit rosy, and she feigned composure as she picked up a piece of beef from the table and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Haha, this is really delicious too, Yume, you should try some."

"Mm, yeah! It really is delicious!"

The dinner ended rather quickly due to Ryuen's intrusion, and when it came time to pay the bill, Amikura Mako insisted on footing it, saying:

"Everyone has helped me so much, if you don't let me pay, I'll feel terrible..."

After settling the bill, Nakanishi Jiro started clamoring to go to karaoke.

But since it was getting late, not many people went, though Horikita Etsuka did indicate that he was available to join.

Nakanishi Jiro suddenly remembered that terrifying night, so he hurriedly made an excuse that he had something to do.

Just like that, the group split up and headed back to their dorms.

Before long, Ichinose returned to the buffet restaurant.

She walked over to the sofa in the lobby, where a person wearing a wide cowboy hat that obscured their face was sitting.

Seeing that Ichinose had arrived, the other person lifted their head.

Beneath the cowboy hat was a small, cute, and delicate face, with silver-white hair that further accentuated her softness.

Ichinose sat down slowly beside her:

"How is it? Have you decided to cooperate now? Arisu Sakayanagi."

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