Brawl

Hashimoto and Kamuro were both in the library. Hashimoto watched Sakamoto approach from afar before finally speaking:

"Where did you go just now? The two of us already decided what to have for dinner."

"Then what do you want to eat?"

"Mapo tofu (ramen)!"

Hashimoto and Kamuro glared at each other simultaneously. The next moment, Hashimoto raised his voice.

"Tofu!"

"Ramen!"

Kamuro refused to back down and fired back at Hashimoto. Having seen Sakamoto's cooking at the last party, she had thoroughly begun freeloading off his dinners.

"Curry udon with a hot spring egg!"

"Seafood flakes with plum tea rice!"

Kamuro Masumi's nails scratched pale marks into the oak table in the rare-books section, while Hashimoto Masayoshi loosened his tie, exposing the veins bulging in his neck. Neither of them yielded an inch over what to have for dinner!

"Looks like this needs arbitration." Sakamoto lightly tapped the rim of his cup with a silver spoon, the crisp chime silencing them both. He opened the title page of the French Dessert Compendium and gently tapped the color illustration of caramel almond mille-feuille. "Tonight's after-dinner dessert."

Watching the two of them stare each other down, Sakamoto deftly defused this childish contest.

Seeing their superior speak, Hashimoto obediently shut his mouth, while Kamuro, who was purely there for a free meal, lost much of her momentum.

Yet her pretty eyes were still fixed in a glare at Hashimoto.

Hashimoto really could not take it anymore.

"You freeload off every meal, yet I've never heard you say thank you."

"Huh? Why would I need to thank you?"

Kamuro could not help raising her voice as well, though she secretly glanced at Sakamoto.

Sakamoto watched the pair of clowns, the corners of his lips lifting into a curve he had not even noticed himself. He took a sip of coffee. From Kamuro's perspective, he looked terrifying, but in reality, Sakamoto was browsing the system's [Achievement Trace Compendium].

[Spectator of the Chess Game: See Through It but Say Nothing (Achieved)]

Description: During the conversation between Sakamoto and Sakayanagi, successfully saw through the other party's game but chose to remain silent.

Requirement: When Sakamoto used "helping out" as a reason to make Sakayanagi temporarily give up on asking him to play chess, understood her deeper intentions.

[Witch's Staircase: Ascend Sakayanagi's Chessboard]

Description: Successfully reached a deal with Sakayanagi Arisu and became one of the pieces on her chessboard.

Requirement: During the point crisis, proactively sought out Sakayanagi and accepted her condition (keeping her company in conversation).

[Point Magician: Turn Decay into Magic]

Description: When the class points were nearly exhausted, successfully gathered one hundred thousand points and resolved Sudo's expulsion crisis.

Requirement: By uniting Class D, joining forces with Ichinose of Class B, and cleverly making use of Sakayanagi of Class A, completed the point puzzle.

Not all of these events had been personally experienced by Sakamoto. On the contrary, nearly all of them had taken place under his observation rather than through his actions. If simply being present counted as participation, then it was fair to say these achievements were related to him.

He had watched plenty of shows lately, and that troublesome person—meaning a certain white-haired Class A student—would not be coming to bother him for the time being. Now he could try out some of the pastry tools he had recently bought. This C-shaped mold... Sakamoto glanced at the new tools laid out on the table.

"Looks pretty good."

Class C also had students in the basketball club: Ishizaki Daichi, Komiya, and Kondo.

During basketball practice the next day, just after Sudo Ken finished a powerful dunk, Ishizaki deliberately splashed mineral water by Sudo's feet amid the dull thud of the ball hitting the ground.

"Can the gorilla from Class D not even do a layup? Want your big brothers to teach you?"

Komiya knocked over the ball cart with his knee, sending a basketful of basketballs rolling chaotically toward the edge of the court. Kondo raised his phone, aiming the camera at the veins bulging in Sudo's neck. "Look! The beast is about to go wild!"

Sudo's fists clenched and loosened at his sides. Horikita Suzune's warning exploded in his ears:

"If you cause trouble again, you'll be expelled immediately."

He grabbed his jacket and headed toward the shoe lockers, sweat trickling down the back of his neck and into his collar.

"That's it? You're chickening out?" Ishizaki wedged the tip of his shoe into Sudo's locker door, taunting him.

Sudo's temples throbbed. "Get lost."

"Oh dear, are you angry?" Ishizaki deliberately crushed a soda can beneath his shoe. The sound of twisting metal was especially sharp in the night. "The only reason you can still be here is because of that woman named Horikita in your Class D—"

Before he could finish, Sudo's fist had already smashed into Ishizaki's nose.

The shrill screech of twisting locker metal drowned out the rest of his words.

Sudo grabbed Ishizaki by the collar and slammed him into the metal lockers, blood splattering across the "No Violence" warning sign.

As if they had rehearsed it thousands of times, Komiya and Kondo crouched down with their heads covered, letting fists rain down on the three of them. Though Sudo's physical abilities were indeed excellent...

It was far too unrealistic for one person to overpower three delinquent thugs, especially when Ishizaki Daichi himself was an opponent with extensive street-fighting experience.

This was an obvious scheme targeting Sudo.

"Ryuen said there had to be blood for it to look convincing." Kondo, his face swollen from the beating, groaned with a bitter smile. For Ryuen, the three of them would not hesitate to take on this thankless task!

"D-Don't hit us anymore!" Komiya crouched with his head covered, acting as exaggeratedly as someone in a late-night soap opera.

Within the vast school building, only the sounds of four people fighting echoed through the space. Both sides were immersed in hitting and being hit.

None of them noticed Tokito hiding in the corner. His fingers trembled faintly, his heart filled with conflict. Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya were being beaten by Sudo, while Kondo crouched off to the side without reacting. The situation was gradually spiraling out of control.

Tokito knew that as long as he pressed the shutter, he could capture evidence enough to get Ryuen into trouble. But the sense of justice in his heart told him he should not do it.

You can't secretly take pictures. This is wrong—

"This is for Class C's future..." Tokito muttered softly before finally pressing the shutter.

The next morning, anxiety had frozen the air in the Class D classroom.

"What the hell! They said we'd get our points today!" Yamauchi began complaining when he saw the points had not appeared in his account.

The instant Chabashira Sae pushed open the door, forty pairs of eyes shot toward her like arrows. She leisurely took a sip of canned coffee, allowing the notification sound to explode through the dead silence—

"Due to Class D's involvement in an investigation into a violent incident, this month's points will be temporarily withheld. Sudo, come to the office."

Sudo abruptly rose to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor with a shriek.

"Why?! It was clearly those Class C bastards—"

"Come with me first." Chasuke offered no explanation and left the Class D classroom.

Sudo reluctantly followed him. Chasuke stood by the window.

"They did it on purpose—"

"They deliberately made you hit them?" Chabashira sneered. "Sudo, do you think you're writing a novel?"

"According to the school infirmary's examination, the three Class C students sustained injuries of varying severity. All three unanimously identified you as the culprit. Sudo, what do you have to say?"

"Teacher, I really didn't mean to hit them! They kept provoking me, and they even—"

"Even what? They forced you to do it? Sudo, are you three years old? Someone insults you a couple of times, and you have to solve it with your fists?"

"But—"

"No buts! If you cannot produce evidence, then at the student council disciplinary hearing three days from now, you will be punished for assaulting your classmates."