"Ha! It's your first time at this restaurant, and you're already going on about unspoken rules? Don't make me laugh. You bald piece of trash—no, I should say Katsuragi's little lackey, shouldn't I?"
The moment Hachiman finished speaking, the air in the restaurant froze again. Hashimoto, however, laughed with interest.
"Wow, that was harsh. Guess I'd better get ready, too..." Hashimoto grinned and took out his terminal, adjusting the camera angle. He was sure Hachiman was retaliating against the man for insulting Hiyori while also carrying out Sakayanagi Arisu's request, just like the way he'd provoked Sudo into throwing the first punch last time.
If that was the case, recording it like last time was the best option. As Hashimoto got into position, he thought, Last time with Sudo, I only managed to capture the moment he was about to throw a punch. I wonder what kind of provocation Hachiman will use this time...
My provocation had frozen the air, but it didn't take long for a reaction.
"You bastard! What did you just say?!"
The man in front of me flew into a rage, but I sneered at him contemptuously. "Are you hard of hearing? I said it was ridiculous to go on about unspoken rules on your first visit to this restaurant, you bald piece of trash—correction, Katsuragi's little lackey."
"I'll kill you! Trash like you has no right to insult Mr. Katsuragi!" The man grabbed me by the collar and roared.
"Yahiko, stop! Don't fall for such a cheap provocation." Katsuragi finally stepped in, but the man called Yahiko ignored him completely.
"I'm just stating the facts. Is it wrong to call a guy trash when he lost the Student Council election but still insists on acting like he's Sakayanagi's equal? Wouldn't following Sakayanagi be better for Class A?"
"You...!" The man was on the verge of losing it. He needed one more push.
I leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "A lackey who can't even understand something that simple is the lowest of the low. You must've bribed the interviewer or sold your ass to get into Class A. Katsuragi's ass, too, you—"
The moment I finished speaking softly with a broad smile—
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
His furious fist came hurtling toward me. It seemed he regained his composure partway through and pulled his punch, but I deliberately went with the momentum and crashed into the table where the Katsuragi Faction was gathered.
Crash!
"Yaaah!" Amid the clatter of shattered dishes, I fell hard onto the overturned table.
"What's going on over there?!" Just then, the four first-year homeroom teachers—Mashima, Hoshinomiya, Sakagami, and Chabashira-sensei—hurried over at the sound.
The scene was perfect: I was lying amid broken dishes, while Yahiko stood with his fist raised. Anyone would think it was a one-sided assault.
Serves them right. There are so many witnesses, and they started it. We can get them convicted without even needing a hearing.
Just as I was secretly gloating—
Whoa, Hikigaya's provocation was incredible.
Hashimoto stifled a laugh as he checked the image of Hachiman sprawled on the floor in his terminal. He provoked people himself all the time, but he'd never seen an approach this ruthless.
The four teachers headed straight for Yahiko. "Totsuka, explain yourself. From what we saw, you assaulted Hikigaya."
Chabashira-sensei's accusation drained the color from Yahiko's face. Katsuragi was just about to speak when Hashimoto cut in first:
"Teachers, Totsuka started by provoking us with, 'This place doesn't welcome trash.' When Shiina objected, he said something extremely lewd to her. Then Hikigaya stood up for her and got beaten."
Hashimoto artfully exaggerated the other side's wrongdoing while downplaying his own side's actions. As Yahiko stood frozen, he held up his terminal. "I took a picture at the scene."
"What...?!" The Katsuragi Faction stared in shock at the screen, where Yahiko could clearly be seen throwing a punch.
"Wow, that looks painful. With evidence this clear, Totsuka's obviously at fault. And to think a Class A student would act like this... What a shame..." The three teachers turned to Mashima, Class A's homeroom teacher.
Mashima's face was livid. "Totsuka, come with me first. Hashimoto, take Hikigaya to the infirmary."
"No... If you're going to hold a hearing, I should—"
Hachiman shakily pushed himself upright. Hiyori approached with a worried expression.
"Are you okay, Hachiman? If you're feeling unwell, I'll take you to the infirmary."
"...I'm fine. The spot where I got hit hurts, but it's not bad enough to go to the infirmary."
"That's good... Hachiman, you're such an idiot. I don't even care if people make fun of me..."
Looking at Hiyori as she lowered her head, Hachiman gently stroked her hair.
"It's a shame, but I'm not mature enough to stand by and watch someone important to me get humiliated."
"...Am I someone important to you, Hachiman?"
"Why bring that up now?"
"...I'm so happy. But next time, please just ignore them, even if they make fun of me. I don't want to see you get hurt, Hachiman..."
"I can't do that. I can't stand seeing you get bullied."
"...You really are an idiot, Hachiman."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hiyori threw her arms around him and sobbed, not caring that he was covered in sauce and juice. Hachiman looked awkward, but he still gently hugged her back.
The two of them seemed to be in a world of their own. Most of the people in the restaurant glared at Totsuka, who staggered backward with a look of despair.
That wasn't an act. Hikigaya had won, fair and square.
Hashimoto was certain the outcome was already decided. Totsuka had never had a chance after starting the argument and resorting to violence, but after seeing the way the two interacted, the odds of Hachiman losing had dropped to zero.
Just as Hashimoto was thinking this, the four teachers left the restaurant with Hachiman, who had been separated from Totsuka and Hiyori. Katsuragi went with them, too, but Hashimoto was sure the result wouldn't change.
"Class A should definitely be punished severely."
"True~ With evidence as decisive as that photo, there's no way to defend Totsuka, right~?"
"What's more, Totsuka is a Class A student. A model student absolutely can't be forgiven for behaving like that."
The hearing took place in a private meeting room. I was involved, but the outcome had already been decided.
We'd only used words, and we had a photo of the moment I was hit, as well as my injuries, to serve as evidence. Totsuka's side had nothing. Totsuka was the one who'd provoked me, and Totsuka was the one who'd thrown the first punch. Katsuragi tried to defend the things I'd said, but compared to our photos, they didn't even have an audio recording. His arguments were worthless.
On top of that, it worked in our favor that Totsuka, the one who'd hit me, was in Class A. Class A had an obligation to set a good example.
Finally, the homeroom teachers from the other classes—Hoshinomiya-sensei, Sakagami, and Chabashira-sensei—took the opportunity to close the gap with Class A and didn't support Totsuka at all. Mashima, Class A's homeroom teacher, argued back several times, but when we repeatedly showed them the photos and Sakagami from Class C said, "We shouldn't let personal feelings get in the way," he fell silent at once.
Totsuka had his head bowed in utter despair, and Katsuragi sat silently with his eyes closed. They'd initially argued back, but in the face of the three teachers' objections and the evidence we had, they eventually gave up resisting.
During the discussion, the teachers ultimately ruled that Totsuka was guilty.
"As for Totsuka's punishment... His conduct was extremely serious. How about expelling him?"
"E-expulsion?!"
At Sakagami's words, Totsuka, who'd been hanging his head in despair, jerked it up and stared wide-eyed. I'd never been in one of Sakagami's classes, but since he was the homeroom teacher of Class C, Ryuen's class, he was exactly the kind of teacher who showed no mercy.
"Hmm~ Isn't that a little too harsh?"
"But a light punishment won't teach him to reflect on his actions. It might be more appropriate to have Class A pay Class Points to Class D as compensation, and suspend Totsuka for about a month starting in the second term."
"Please wait! That's going too far!"
Katsuragi tried to stop them, but there was no way I'd let that happen. This was the perfect chance to add to Totsuka's punishment.
"You've got some nerve, baldy. If you'd stopped Totsuka from picking a fight with me in the first place, things wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe you thought students from Class D were easy targets? Instead of worrying about how to treat your baldness, why not put that effort into correcting your arrogant attitude?"
"You...!"
"Stop, Yahiko!"
At my words, Totsuka flew into a rage and tried to charge at me again, but Katsuragi held him back from behind. Too bad. If he'd made trouble in front of the teachers, they could've added to his punishment.
Still, Totsuka admired Katsuragi so much that he should prove useful in the future. This worked out fine, too.
"Hikigaya. Insulting someone's physical features is prohibited. From now on, it'll be recorded in the minutes."
"He did go too far just now," Mashima and Chabashira-sensei said.
Honestly, since Totsuka hadn't taken the bait this time, there was no point provoking him again in the future. Besides, I hadn't planned to do that anyway.
"I'll be more careful from now on. By the way, Chabashira-sensei—"
"What is it?"
"When students have a dispute like this, teachers and the Student Council decide the punishment. But can the winning side make a request?"
"We can accommodate reasonable requests. Excessive ones will of course be rejected."
That was only natural. If every punishment were left up to the students, expulsions would soon become commonplace.
"I understand. My request is..." When I stated the punishment I'd come up with, everyone in the room reacted differently.
Before you continue