The Sudden Conclusion of the Conflict

To be honest, Toru Hasegawa was very grateful for this trio that had suddenly appeared, as they had successfully diverted Sudo's rage away from Suzune Horikita.

"What do you want? What does our argument have to do with you? Besides, I was here first. You're an eyesore, get lost."

Just as expected, Sudo cast a furious gaze toward the three newcomers.

"Did you hear that? He said get lost. Looks like we've got a pretty arrogant first-year on our hands."

Seeing that the other party completely disregarded him, Sudo, already filled with pent-up frustration from his interaction with Suzune Horikita, suddenly kicked over his cup of instant noodles, which was still in the middle of steeping.

The broth and noodles traced a graceful arc through the air, and the cup tumbled a few times after hitting the ground, ending up completely empty.

My noodles that I prepared myself—! And I paid for them with my own points!

Before he could mourn his wasted efforts, Sudo marched toward the three men, seething with anger.

He made no move to call for Toru Hasegawa or Suzune Horikita.

It seemed that even in a 1-on-3 situation, Sudo felt no fear at all; should one say that's just like him?

"Don't look down on me just because I'm a first-year, hey!"

"You've got some nerve talking to us second-years like that, hey! Don't you see our luggage sitting right here?"

One of them dropped his luggage with a loud "thud" and burst into laughter.

"Alright, our luggage is here, so get lost."

By now, it was clear to anyone that the other party was looking for trouble, but obviously...

You see, there really is such a thing as common sense.

Over a spot of ground used for eating instant noodles, both sides looked as if they were about to break into a fight.

Toru Hasegawa pushed aside his strange inner feelings and tried to convey his thoughts to Suzune Horikita through his eyes, but she completely failed to get the message, instead crossing her arms and waiting for the situation to develop further.

"Is this okay? Is it really fine to just let him go on like this?"

"What are you talking about?"

Faced with Toru Hasegawa's concern, Suzune Horikita didn't understand at all, so he had to explain:

"It's embarrassing to admit, but since I'm certain he isn't in my class, I can afford to watch from the sidelines for now. But you and he should be in the same class, right?"

"How did you know that?"

Suzune Horikita's response was effectively a confirmation of the guess in Toru Hasegawa's mind. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction deep down—could this be the feeling of showing off in front of others?

Especially when the other person was a beautiful girl... even if her personality wasn't exactly great.

"It's simple. At the convenience store, I saw your eyes. From the moment Sudo got into an argument with that other student, you seemed to have decided that Sudo was the one at fault. You only get that look if you already know him."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Of course, there's a possibility you just happened to run into him, but the entrance ceremony just ended, so I think the probability of that is quite low."

Suzune Horikita re-evaluated Toru Hasegawa. She hadn't expected that, besides being a meddlesome good guy, he was also so meticulous in his observations.

She knew that the only chance he had to see her eyes was that brief moment when she asked him to watch the cart.

Did he really deduce all that in just an instant?

"So, what does his behavior now have to do with me?"

Immediately after, Suzune Horikita asked another question, wanting to hear what kind of answer the boy named Hasegawa could give.

"Shouldn't a class be a group where everyone prospers or suffers together? Aren't you afraid his actions will bring negative consequences to your class?"

"We are high school students now, not children. We have to be responsible for our own actions. Please don't conflate individual behavior with the collective."

Suzune Horikita shook her head, showing no intention of stopping the situation from escalating further.

Seeing this, Toru Hasegawa could only sigh helplessly and voice the thoughts he had previously tried to convey with his eyes:

"In any case, there really is a common sense that says you shouldn't eat instant noodles in front of a convenience store entrance. Look, they're about to fight over it."

"..."

To this, Suzune Horikita could only remain silent, because after Toru Hasegawa pointed it out, she realized the fact as well.

Otherwise, there was no reason for someone to pick a fight just because someone else was eating instant noodles on the side of the road.

"You've got some nerve, you bastard!"

Sudo finally responded, and an atmosphere of impending violence filled the air. Toru Hasegawa's heart tightened.

It wasn't that he didn't want to intervene, but he already knew that no matter how he tried, it would be useless, so he had already prepared for the worst.

"Whoa—how scary. Which class are you in? Let me guess... Class D, right?"

Seeing Sudo acting like a rabid tiger, the man didn't panic, but instead continued to provoke Sudo's rage.

"So what if I am!"

Even though he hadn't expected the other party to guess his class, Sudo's momentum didn't falter in the slightest, as if such an anomaly meant nothing to him.

Hearing Sudo's answer, the three second-year students looked at each other and then burst into loud laughter.

"Did you hear that? He said he's from Class D. Just as expected! His true colors are showing!"

"Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean! Hey!"

Ignoring Sudo's agitated reaction, the three second-year students snickered as they backed away, showing no intention of explaining themselves to him.

"We'll leave this place to you, you pathetic 'defective product,' for today. No wonder you're causing a scene here. Let's go."

"Trying to run away?!"

"Bark, keep barking! You'll be seeing hell soon enough anyway."

Toru Hasegawa had been frowning ever since the second-year seniors guessed that Sudo was in Class D, sensing that the situation was far from simple.

He glanced quietly at Suzune Horikita, only to find that there wasn't a hint of confusion on her face; instead, she seemed to be deep in thought.

No, wait, aren't you even a little curious about how they deduced Sudo was from Class D? And what was that about "seeing hell"?

Connecting these doubts with the strange atmosphere he had felt since stepping into this school, Toru Hasegawa suddenly had an extremely bad premonition.

Damn it, there really is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

This school is definitely hiding something!

The furious Sudo ultimately chose not to rush forward and beat them up; it seemed he still possessed some self-restraint after all.

At the very least, he would try his best to control himself when it came to acts of violence.

"Um... I apologize for what happened earlier. I didn't expect that such common sense actually existed in this world."

Hearing a familiar female voice say something so unfamiliar, Toru Hasegawa snapped out of his bad premonition, as if he had realized something.

"Huh? What's the point of saying that now?"

This was the first time Suzune Horikita had spoken to Sudo, but he had no intention of giving her any face. After a curt reply, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.

As he passed a trash can, he didn't forget to give it a kick, as if trying to vent the anger burning inside him.

"...As expected, trash is just trash."

Watching the trash can get kicked over and seeing the debris fly out, Suzune Horikita sighed softly, then turned her head to see 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 clearing away the noodles and garbage scattered on the ground.

Although he couldn't help but acknowledge the stereotypical reality of the other boy, he had done his best.

"Couldn't you just leave it for the school's cleaning staff?"

"I'm still waiting for Classmate Sakayanagi to come out, and since I'm idle anyway, I might as well clean it up~"

Toru Hasegawa shrugged nonchalantly as he answered Suzune Horikita's question. Most students would probably choose to do the same as him, right? If they weren't afraid of the trouble, that is...

After dealing with the solid waste, he put the trash can back in its place and went to the convenience store to borrow a mop to start cleaning up the spilled soup.

"You really are..."

Suzune Horikita didn't know what to say; today, she had truly witnessed what it meant to be a pushover.

"By the way, what do you make of what those seniors said earlier?"

Toru Hasegawa threw out the question casually while mopping the floor.