Grandpa Yamauchi Had No Idea How Much He Sucked

Classes ended for the morning,

You En realized something very important: he was in an unbelievably good state.

If his usual learning ability was 100, then this morning it had reached a new peak, returning to the level he'd had when preparing for the college entrance exam and graduate school entrance exam in his previous life. It was at least 300.

He could remember almost anything after reading it once, understand it after thinking about it briefly, and solve the exercises after trying them for a bit.

And even though the first class of the morning had been math, which was usually enough to put him to sleep, he wasn't drowsy at all. He felt full of energy.

After thinking it over, he could only assume it had something to do with Hoshinomiya-sensei.

Was her personal therapy really that effective? If, as Chabashira had said, this state could last a month, then 300,000 points really wasn't expensive at all.

Besides, she'd waived the consultation fee. He could only say that was great. He really shouldn't have bad-mouthed her that morning.

You En sighed. People sometimes couldn't help but compare things.

Just look at Hoshinomiya-sensei, then look at his own teacher, Chabashira. The difference wasn't just one order of magnitude.

"You En, are you free after school today?"

You En hoped the question had come from some beautiful girl, but it was Hirata who'd asked him.

Hirata spoke in a way that made people feel at ease. "It's almost been a week since school started, and I'm planning to organize a class dinner so everyone can get to know each other better. Can you come?"

You En didn't actually mind gatherings, but everyone went through phases. During one of those phases, you might dislike getting together with strangers or people you didn't know well.

He'd gone through that himself, probably during his university years. But after starting graduate school and then looking for work, he'd often had no choice but to attend gatherings.

Once he actually went, though, he'd found they weren't anything special. Whether they were fun or boring had to do with the people, not the gathering itself.

With interesting people, anything could be fun. Finding genuinely interesting people or things was what You En enjoyed.

At the moment, there weren't many people in class whom You En found interesting: Horikita, Ayanokoji, Kushida, and, halfway, Hirata. He felt more admiration for Hirata than anything else...

Anyway, You En couldn't be a good person to the extent that Hirata was.

"You En?"

You En came back to himself. "Oh, I'd like to go, but I'm out of points."

Hirata looked a little awkward, as though he'd pressured someone into saying something they didn't want to say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Having lived two lives, You En had experienced both having money and not having it. He no longer cared about the money itself, much less the loss of face that came with not having it.

"I don't mind. If I've used them up, I've used them up."

"You don't look like someone who'd spend points recklessly," Hirata said.

"You can't tell much from appearances," You En replied. "Who can say what someone's really like inside? Maybe I'm more unhinged than everyone else."

"Haha." Hirata thought of himself and gave a little laugh.

"In that case, I won't bother you. I'll invite you to the next gathering."

He didn't pressure You En to come, nor did he offer to lend him points. You En hadn't asked. If he really needed some, he'd have asked Hirata, and Hirata would've been happy to lend them.

In short, Hirata was smart enough to see that You En wasn't very interested in the gathering right now, so there was no need to push him.

"By the way, ask Horikita if she's going. She doesn't seem very willing to talk to us."

You En answered casually, "She's not going. No need to ask."

Hirata gave a wry smile. "I thought as much. All right, then I'll have to ask you to look out for her."

"Wait,"

Kushida Kikyo came running over. Slightly out of breath, she said,

"You En, are you out of points? I can lend you some. It'd be a shame to miss a rare class gathering."

You En said nothing and didn't look toward the class. He knew what would happen next, so he didn't need to deal with it. He only had to wait quietly.

The boys were all a little envious.

Some of the girls wondered why they hadn't offered first. You En was a little strange, but he had a good face. Lending him points wouldn't be a loss.

"Kushida really is an angel," Kanji Ike exclaimed.

"Must be nice. Such a cute girl, and she even offers to lend a guy points."

Yamauchi Haruki nodded, having apparently turned his lie from last time—that Airi had confessed to him—into part of his identity.

"If I'm going to find someone, it has to be someone like Kushida. A plain girl like Airi is out of the question."

Yamauchi got an idea. "Hey, what do you think would happen if I asked Kushida to lend me points? Maybe I could even get her private contact info."

Ken Sudō didn't say anything at first. He'd kept You En's help last time in mind, and he'd wanted to stop Yamauchi from getting between You En and Kushida. But what came out was,

"Don't go embarrassing yourself."

"Hmph? You think I'm not as good as him?"

Yamauchi Haruki felt that Sudō wasn't being loyal to him, then confidently walked over to You En and spoke to Kushida Kikyo.

"Kushida, I'm out of points too. Could you lend me some?"

Kushida froze. When she turned and saw Yamauchi, she nearly lost her composure. She forced out a strained smile.

"Sorry, I don't have many left. Lending them to You En should use them all up."

"Then why not lend them to me instead? Why lend them to him? I'm way better than he is."

As soon as Yamauchi said that, everyone in the class fell silent, as if someone had pressed pause.

Kushida Kikyo really wanted to yell at him: Who the hell are you? Go take a good look at yourself! You want me to lend you points instead of You En? Do you even deserve it?!

But to maintain her persona, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and try to figure out how to handle the situation. With the atmosphere like this, though, she truly had no idea what to say.

Did she really have to lend points to this idiot?

Kushida Kikyo would rather buy something to feed a dog.

...But she had no choice. To maintain her persona, she could only lend points she'd never get back to someone so utterly disgusting.

"Um... all right."

Seeing that Kushida was about to agree, You En sighed inwardly.

Kindness without boundaries would most likely become a breeding ground for foolishness and evil. Since Kushida had chosen to greet everyone with a false smile, in the end, she'd have to endure this kind of torment and abuse.

You En turned his head and spoke to Yamauchi Haruki without the slightest courtesy.

"Get lost."

Yamauchi Haruki didn't understand at first. When he realized what You En had said, he grew angry.

"What's your problem?! What did I do wrong? Why can you borrow from her but I can't? Who do you think you are?"

"Smack—"

A slap sent him staggering, nearly knocking him to the ground.

You En pulled his hand back and shook it, as if afraid something filthy had gotten on it.

"You dare hit me?!"

Yamauchi was losing control. He grabbed something and thrust it at You En.

You En stood up and dodged, then seized Yamauchi's arm and threw him off balance.

He hadn't learned any systematic fighting techniques, but he wasn't going to get hit by someone like this either. He'd already learned a few things back in middle school in his previous life: aim low when hitting someone, and when you had nothing else, all that mattered was being ruthless.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

You En drove his knee into him three times, hard, then let go. Yamauchi fell to his knees and curled up, groaning in pain.

Only then did the rest of the class react to what had happened.

Hirata tried to break them up, but the fight was already over.

"You En, this is..."

You En waved a hand. "It's fine. I held back."

Kushida Kikyo's expression was complicated. She didn't want to admit it, but she suspected You En had stood up for her.

If he really hated her, he could've just said nothing. Yamauchi alone would've been enough to disgust her into throwing up.

You En glanced at Kushida and guessed what she was thinking. But he hadn't done it just for her. He simply didn't want to see good people taken advantage of by people who were both stupid and nasty—and he was involved in this, too.

As for whether Kushida was a good person, there was still no clear answer. At least for now, her actions leaned toward the good.

Yamauchi had spread rumors about Airi yesterday, and today he was taking advantage of Kushida and putting You En down. He'd only get more and more out of control. He was so stupid he'd lost his mind. There was probably no saving him.

"Listen. I hit you because you insulted me first. I slapped you because you couldn't understand plain words, and I hit you back because you tried to attack me. That's all."

You En's voice was calm. "You can try to get back at me if you want, but remember this.

"I give people like you only one chance. This is the mercy I'm showing you as a classmate. Think about what you did."

Yamauchi Haruki had been cursing angrily and saying all sorts of nasty things, but he gradually stopped. It wasn't because he was afraid, nor because he'd learned his lesson. He was simply burying his resentment and waiting for a chance to bite back.

He was beyond saving.

You En sighed. He shouldn't have tried to reason with him. Those words had been a waste.

Hirata Yosuke stood there, then finally went over to Yamauchi and asked how badly he was hurt.

You En's mood hadn't been affected. An idiot like that wasn't worth remembering for more than three seconds.

He turned and saw that Horikita Suzune had already stood up.

She glanced at the trash lying on the floor, then looked back at You En.

"That was a decent response, from the perspective of an ordinary student."

"Were you going to help me?"

"...If you'd let that trash touch you, I'd have failed as your friend."

Horikita Suzune brushed her long hair aside. The moment You En had said "Get lost," she'd already been ready to step in and protect him.

You En had handled things pretty well, though. It was a little disappointing that she hadn't gotten to play the hero.

"Thanks."

You En suggested, "Want to go for a walk?"

"Let's go."

Horikita Suzune nodded. Getting some fresh air and a change of mood sounded nice.

Kushida Kikyo watched the two of them. Part of her had wanted to follow, and she felt a little conflicted.

But in the end, she stayed behind, pinched her nose, and comforted Yamauchi.

Seeing that Yamauchi hadn't learned a thing and was even reaching for her, trying to take advantage of her,

Kushida Kikyo's mouth twitched with anger.

It was really hard to keep a straight face.