To be honest, Toru Hasegawa was extremely grateful for the sudden appearance of the trio. They had successfully diverted Sudo's anger away from Suzune Horikita.
"What do you want? What does our argument have to do with you? Besides, I got here first. You're in the way, so hurry up and get lost."
Just as expected, Sudo shot the newly arrived trio a furious glare.
"Did you hear that? He told us to hurry up and get lost. Looks like we've got a pretty cocky first-year here."
Seeing that the other party didn't take him seriously at all, Sudo—who had already been seething with anger over his encounter with Suzune Horikita—suddenly kicked over the instant noodles that were still steeping.
The soup and noodles traced a graceful arc through the air. The cup hit the ground and rolled a few times, now completely empty.
The noodles I made myself! And I paid for them with my points!
Before he could mourn the loss of his futile efforts, Sudo had already stormed over to the trio.
He didn't even think to call Toru Hasegawa or Suzune Horikita over.
It looked like Sudo wasn't afraid of facing three people by himself. Was it any surprise, coming from him?
"Don't look down on me just because I'm a first-year, hey!"
"You've got some nerve talking like that to us second-years, hey! Aren't our bags right here?"
One of them thumped their bags down and laughed loudly.
"Right, our bags are here. So you get lost."
Now anyone could see that the other party had come looking for trouble. But clearly...
See? There really is such a thing as common sense.
Over a spot to eat instant noodles, the two sides looked ready to start fighting at any moment.
Toru Hasegawa brushed aside his strange feelings and tried to convey his thoughts to Suzune Horikita with a look. But she completely failed to get what he meant, instead crossing her arms and waiting to see what happened next.
"Isn't this bad? Are you really going to let him keep this up?"
"What are you talking about?"
Suzune Horikita didn't understand Toru Hasegawa's concern at all, so he had to explain:
"This is embarrassing to admit, but I'm sure there's no one like him in my class, so I can watch for now. But you're in the same class as him, right?"
"How do you know?"
Suzune Horikita's answer confirmed what Toru Hasegawa had suspected. A strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him. Was this what it felt like to impress someone?
Especially when that someone was a beautiful girl... even if she wasn't exactly pleasant.
"It's simple. At the convenience store, I saw the look in your eyes. From the moment Sudo started arguing with the other student, you seemed to have already decided he was in the wrong. You'd only look at him that way if you already knew him."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Of course, it's possible you just happened to run into him before, but the entrance ceremony just ended. I figured that was pretty unlikely."
Suzune Horikita looked Toru Hasegawa over again. She hadn't expected that, besides being a meddlesome do-gooder, he was also so observant.
After all, the only chance he'd had to see her eyes was the brief moment when he'd asked her to watch his cart.
He figured all that out from a single glance?
"So what does his behavior have to do with me?"
Suzune Horikita immediately asked another question, wanting to see what answer this boy named Hasegawa would give her.
"Isn't a class supposed to be a group that rises and falls together? Aren't you worried that his behavior might bring trouble to your class?"
"We're high school students, not little kids. We're responsible for our own actions. Don't blame the group for an individual's behavior."
Suzune Horikita shook her head, making no attempt to stop the situation from escalating further.
Seeing that, Toru Hasegawa could only sigh helplessly and say what he'd tried to convey with a look earlier:
"Anyway, it really is common sense to eat instant noodles outside the convenience store. Look, they're about to fight over it."
"..."
Suzune Horikita could only fall silent. After Toru Hasegawa pointed it out, she'd realized that too.
Otherwise, there'd be no reason for anyone to pick a fight over someone eating instant noodles on the roadside.
"You've got a lot of nerve, you bastard!"
Sudo finally responded, and the air filled with the threat of a brawl. Toru Hasegawa felt his heart tighten.
It wasn't that he didn't want to stop them. He already knew that no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't work, so he'd prepared for the worst.
"Ooh, how scary. Which class are you in? Let me guess... Class D, right?"
The other student didn't panic at the sight of Sudo raging like a tiger. Instead, he kept provoking him.
"So what if I am?!"
Sudo hadn't expected the other student to guess his class, but his bluster didn't falter in the slightest, as if it didn't matter to him at all.
At Sudo's answer, the three second-year students exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.
"Did you hear that? He said he's in Class D. Just as we thought! Now he's showing his true colors!"
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Hey!"
Ignoring Sudo's heated reaction, the three second-years backed away with sly grins, not bothering to explain themselves.
"We'll let you poor 'defective products' have the place for today. No wonder you're arguing here. Let's go."
"You trying to run away?!"
"Go on, keep shouting! You'll be seeing hell soon enough."
Toru Hasegawa had been frowning ever since the second-year students guessed that Sudo was in Class D. He could tell there was more to this than met the eye.
He glanced at Suzune Horikita, but she didn't look confused at all. Instead, she seemed to be thinking about something.
Seriously, aren't you curious how they knew Sudo was in Class D? And what did they mean by "seeing hell"?
Connecting those questions with the strange feeling he'd had ever since entering this school, Toru Hasegawa suddenly had a very bad premonition.
Damn, there really is no such thing as a free lunch!
There's definitely something wrong with this school!
In the end, Sudo didn't rush over and beat them to a pulp in a fit of rage. It seemed he did have some restraint after all.
At least when it came to violence, he did his best to hold back.
"Um... I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't realize there really was such a thing as that kind of common sense."
Hearing the familiar girl's voice say something so unfamiliar, Toru Hasegawa came out of his bad premonition, as though he'd realized something.
"Huh? What's the point of saying that now?"
This was the first time Suzune Horikita had spoken to Sudo, but he didn't show her the slightest courtesy. After a brief reply, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.
As he passed the trash can, he didn't forget to kick it, as if trying to vent his anger.
"...Figures. A jerk's a jerk."
Watching the trash can topple over and litter spill out, Suzune Horikita sighed softly. Then she turned and saw Toru Hasegawa cleaning up the mess.
"What are you...?"
"As you can see, cleaning up the mess Sudo left behind."
Toru Hasegawa had borrowed a dustpan and broom from the convenience store and was sweeping up the noodles and trash scattered on the ground.
He couldn't do anything about the fact that the other boy lived up to the stereotype, but he'd done what he could.
"Can't you leave it to the school's janitors?"
"I'm waiting for Classmate Sakayanagi to come out. Since I've got nothing else to do, I figured I might as well clean up first."
Toru Hasegawa shrugged indifferently as he answered Suzune Horikita's question. Most students would probably do the same as him, wouldn't they? If they didn't mind the trouble...
After clearing away the solid waste, he put the trash can back where it belonged, then went to the convenience store to borrow a mop and clean up the spilled soup.
"You really are..."
Suzune Horikita didn't know what to say. Today, she'd seen just what it meant to be a hopeless do-gooder.
"By the way, what do you make of what those second-year students just said?"
As he mopped the floor, Toru Hasegawa casually brought up the subject.
Before you continue