In the quiet library, the only sounds were the faint rustle of turning pages and the scratch of pen tips.
But that tranquility was soon broken by the heavy, disorderly footsteps of someone making no effort to be quiet.
Almost every student from Class B and Class D instinctively looked up toward the library entrance.
Three figures came into view.
At their head was Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C, with long red hair falling to his shoulders and a gaze as fierce as a beast's.
On his left stood Ishizaki Daichi, broad-shouldered and sturdy, with an honest-looking face. But the most striking of the three was the figure on his right: a Black student wearing sunglasses and standing over 190 centimeters tall—Yamada Albert.
Albert's iron-tower-like frame blocked nearly half the doorway, radiating an intense sense of oppression.
"Hey, hey... what does that guy eat?"
Over on Class B's side, Hashimoto Masayoshi raised an eyebrow at Albert and spoke quietly to Kito Hayato beside him, a hint of wariness in his voice.
Kito's face remained expressionless, but his gaze beneath his dark blue hair grew sharper.
Nishikawa Ryoko also instinctively tightened her grip on her pen. Her twin braids swayed gently as she leaned back a little, while Shiraishi Asuka blinked her big, slightly vacant eyes and murmured in surprise,
"He's so tall..."
Class D's reaction was even more pronounced.
"Whoa! Who is that...? Is he even a student?"
Yamauchi Haruki was so startled that his voice began to stutter.
"That Black guy is way too tall! He's practically a monster!"
Kanji Ike's eyes widened as he exclaimed in disbelief.
Ken Sudō clenched his fists. As an athlete, he sensed in the three of them a raw, oppressive presence unlike anything he encountered in sports, and his muscles tensed without him realizing it.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji still wore his usual unreadable expression, though a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. It seemed he hadn't expected Class C to make an entrance like this.
Beside Akiyama Shin, Horikita Suzune frowned as she watched them and murmured,
"They're from Class C, right...? What do they want?"
Kushida Kikyo looked worried. She gently tugged at Akiyama Shin's sleeve and whispered,
"Akiyama-kun, they don't look like people you want to mess with..."
Akiyama Shin didn't even look up from the Japanese textbook in front of him. He simply replied in a flat tone,
"They're here to cause trouble."
"Cause trouble? Then we..."
A hint of anxiety crept into Horikita Suzune's voice.
"It's nothing."
Akiyama Shin cut her off, his tone still perfectly level, as if he were stating an established fact.
Elsewhere, Sakayanagi Arisu lightly tapped the armrest of her cane with her slender fingers. She, too, clearly hadn't expected Class C to show up here. Her gaze swept over Ryuen Kakeru, assessing him with a hint of amusement.
Just then, Hirata Yosuke stood up.
With his customary warmth and sense of responsibility, he hurried over to Ryuen Kakeru and the others.
"Everyone, this is the library. Please keep your voices down..."
At almost the same moment, Sakayanagi Arisu gave a signal. Hashimoto Masayoshi, standing beside her, immediately understood and rose to his feet. With his usual roguish smile, he followed Hirata Yosuke over.
Hirata Yosuke had just begun to speak again when Ryuen Kakeru impatiently cut him off.
His voice was mocking and derisive, especially grating in the quiet library.
"Tch... I came all this way in person, and the leaders of Classes B and D won't even come out to greet me?"
"You've got quite the nerve."
Hirata Yosuke froze. The smile on Hashimoto Masayoshi's face faded, turning strained.
The students from Class D began whispering among themselves.
"Leaders? What's he talking about?"
"Does our class even have a leader?"
"Does he mean Hirata-kun? Or Kushida-kun?"
Watching the confused students of Class D whisper among themselves, Ryuen Kakeru let out a scornful laugh.
"Ha! You don't even have a leader worth the name? The rules are right in front of you, and you're still this stupid? No wonder you're a bunch of geniuses who lost all your Class Points in the very first month! And Class B... you've already fallen out of Class A, yet you're here playing charity worker for Class D?"
His gaze passed over Sakayanagi Arisu before sweeping precisely across the room. In the end, it settled on Akiyama Shin, who had kept his back turned as if he couldn't hear a thing happening behind him.
Ryuen Kakeru's instincts told him this was the person here most worth paying attention to.
He, Ishizaki Daichi, and Albert stopped paying attention to Hirata Yosuke and Hashimoto Masayoshi behind them and headed straight toward Akiyama Shin.
Their heavy footsteps echoed through the silent library as the oppressive presence drew closer.
Akiyama Shin remained motionless, still looking at the Japanese textbook before him. Ryuen Kakeru stopped behind him and stared at the student who couldn't even be bothered to turn around.
The irritation he felt at being ignored grew stronger, but along with it came an even more intense curiosity.
A dangerous curve spread across his lips. Then he reached out, about to clap Akiyama Shin heavily on the shoulder.
"Hey, you!"
Hirata Yosuke's voice rang out. At the same time, his hand had already seized Ryuen Kakeru's wrist.
Ryuen Kakeru was taken aback. He tried to pull free, only to find, to his surprise, that Hirata Yosuke's seemingly unremarkable arm held tremendous strength. For a moment, he couldn't shake him off.
He looked at Hirata Yosuke in disbelief.
Hirata Yosuke's expression wasn't especially cold, but his usual warmth was accompanied by an unyielding resolve.
There was even a trace of awkwardness and helplessness, as if he regretted having to resort to force. He tentatively began,
"Look..."
"If you're not here to study..."
"Please don't cause trouble for everyone, all right?"
At that, Ryuen Kakeru laughed as if he'd just heard the funniest joke. He wrenched his wrist free of Hirata Yosuke's grasp and said disdainfully,
"Cause trouble?"
He glanced around.
His gaze lingered especially on the students from Class D.
"I'm just curious! I wanted to see for myself! Is Class B playing charity worker because they've got a bleeding heart... or do they have some unique taste and want to work with this bunch of defective products in Class D?"
The words "defective products" stung most of the students in Class D like needles.
"What did you say?!"
"That's so insulting!"
"Damn Class C punks, what are you so smug about?!"
Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, and Ken Sudō stood up immediately and shouted angrily at Ryuen Kakeru.
Wang Meiyu also nervously clutched the hem of her clothes, her face pale.
Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo were left speechless by the blunt insult. Once again, they turned to the one person beside them who remained calm.
Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses and furrowed his brow, but remained silent. Just as the noise grew louder and a clash seemed imminent—
"Quiet."
The voice was calm, yet it carried with startling clarity. It wasn't loud, but somehow it drowned out all the commotion.
Akiyama Shin closed his Japanese textbook and stood up. The entire library fell silent for an instant, and everyone's attention focused on him.
Not far away, Shiraishi Asuka had been secretly watching Akiyama Shin. The moment the word "Quiet" reached her ears, it was as if a jolt of electricity ran through her.
As Akiyama Shin rose, his strikingly intense profile came fully into view.
Hearing that cold, magnetic voice, she instinctively pressed her thighs together. An unnatural flush spread across her face, and her heart pounded so hard it felt as though it might burst out of her chest.
At first, she'd been drawn to Akiyama Shin by his exceptional looks. But now, this combination of dominance, indifference, and control had struck a secret desire deep within her.
Akiyama Shin slowly turned around, his dark red eyes fixed on Ryuen Kakeru, calm and unreadable.
But the air in the library—
froze in that moment.
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