Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

Thus, after dinner, he used the excuse of having talked too long and expended too much energy, making it likely he wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow, to forcibly send the reluctant Shiina Hiyori to her dorm.

Delivered to her door, yet Shiina Hiyori lingered, not opening it.

Her gaze darted between the door and Hoshino En, until finally she made a move—she turned her back to the door, staring straight at Hoshino En with those beautiful violet eyes shimmering with mist, like a little abandoned kitten.

Hoshino En: "..."

No, why? What was this intense urge?

He couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard he tried.

But even though he couldn't understand, he still did something he felt was highly abnormal.

"What are you afraid of? It's not like we'll never see each other again."

Hoshino En reached out and ruffled Shiina Hiyori's head, a gentle smile on his face.

"Really...?"

"Of course it's true. Here, let's add each other as friends!"

Hoshino En held out his phone.

Seeing this, Shiina Hiyori excitedly pulled out her own phone, which had been ready in her hand all along.

To describe it, she was like a little squirrel that had found an abundance of food and was now gleefully gnawing away at it.

Ding—

"Great!!"

Shiina Hiyori looked at the new contact in her phone, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

"Then this time, you can't meow at me like an abandoned little kitten, right?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Under Hoshino En's gaze, Shiina Hiyori entered her room and closed the door, but her excitement and joy practically spilled out into the hallway.

Only after confirming that she was truly inside, with no chance of eavesdropping or peeking, did Hoshino En let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong with me, anyway?"

He looked down at the new friend added to his phone, his face full of frustration.

He'd seen airheads before, but he usually just avoided them outright. When had he ever actively gravitated toward one like today?

Was it some base male instinct acting up? But he'd even managed to resist Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami, and stayed unflappable in Class D with all those high-quality beauties. Why was Shiina Hiyori the one tugging at his heartstrings?

It made no sense!! Turn around: scattered debris and broken fragments... <'three scattered stools

"H-Hoshino-kun?!"

Suddenly, a girl's voice came from beside him, trembling but laced with undisguised joy.

Among the people he knew, the only one who would call him in that tone was probably Karuizawa Kei—the one who had deliberately approached him yesterday for some reason but had never spoken to him alone.

He turned and saw a golden high ponytail, an unzipped jacket, and loose socks covering her entire calves.

It was her.

[Deduction] correct, his mood lifted a little.

"Good evening, Karuizawa."

So Hoshino En greeted the newcomer actively.

But she seemed startled by his sudden enthusiasm.

"G-good evening! Hoshino... mmph!"

Even though it was just a greeting, she bowed to Hoshino En.

Wasn't that a bit much for a simple hello?

And did she just bite her tongue? This girl was way too nervous!

"Calm down, don't be nervous, don't rush. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Hoshino En reached out to steady Karuizawa Kei, soothing her.

"Mm..."

Karuizawa Kei couldn't speak, but her actions were swift—she opened the door next to Shiina Hiyori's and pulled Hoshino En straight inside.

Originally, it was a mess of tangled thorns and broken branches: So her dorm was here, no wonder they ran into each other.

But was this going to be a private talk?

Hoshino En checked his phone. It was only around 7 PM, still some time before his 10 PM appointment with Kushida Kikyo.

It wouldn't hurt to chat with her for a bit.

Entering the room, Karuizawa Kei pushed Hoshino En onto the bed while she sat down on a chair.

"Hoshino-kun, do you still remember me?"

She looked at him, the excitement in her eyes replaced by a flicker of fear.

Her question did not exceed Hoshino En's expectations.

He had noticed yesterday that Karuizawa's attitude toward him was abnormal; she probably recognized him. He had no impression of Karuizawa, but she remembered him and could ask such a question. This meant her past proximity to him couldn't have been distant, nor the time span long—likely last year... a middle school classmate. Her positivity toward him was beyond reason, and her view of him seemed very favorable. But Hoshino En was confident in his own reputation; those from middle school mostly saw him as [weird], [reclusive], [gloomy], and the like. Someone who thought he was a [good person] was probably someone he had helped—he had never been stingy in supporting the [things he liked].

But Hoshino En had no memory of Karuizawa Kei, meaning the [thing] he liked was not [her]. She was someone he had helped indirectly, so there was only one possibility—she had been helped incidentally when he struck at [the things he hated]. He was equally unsparing in striking at [the things he hated], but if the other party hadn't bounced right up to his face, he wouldn't meddle—like with Senior Tachibana Akane; if she hadn't said something like [shameless junior] right in front of him, he wouldn't have bothered about her gossiping behind his back. Thus, such incidents were few and far between. The only one that happened in middle school, where he struck at [the things he hated], was that one incident.

"I remember, of course I remember. We were classmates in the same middle school."

"Mm-hmm!"

Karuizawa Kei was very excited.

[Deduction] was correct again; the confidence Hoshino En had lost with Shiina Hiyori was gradually recovering.

Ah, yes, just like this. More people this easy to read should come along.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

First Semester, First Year:

Chapter 24: A Confession or a Threat

"Hoshino-kun, please go out with me!"

However, Karuizawa Kei's next answer made Hoshino En freeze twice.

A confession? To him?!

Hoshino En looked at the girl bowing before him, and the good mood he had just recovered was completely ruined.

Karuizawa, that girl who had been suffering from long-term school bullying, was confessing to him? Hoshino En didn't believe that at all.

What she wanted was nothing more than his protection, a guarantee to get through these three years of high school without any danger. Moreover, those school bullies from back then had all gone mentally unstable. The truth of that afternoon was known only to Hoshino En, the one who acted, and her, the victim of the bullying. He had thought at the time that she hadn't provoked him, and as a victim of school bullying, she wouldn't help the perpetrators, so he didn't bother with her, not even paying attention to this bullied victim.

But now it seemed—

"Are you threatening me?"

Hoshino En's accusation made Karuizawa Kei look up in surprise.

"Threatening? No, I... I really like you! That's why..."

"No, don't lie. You just want someone to protect you. You're just afraid of being bullied again!"

"So you came to me, said you wanted to go out with me, but really you just want me to block others' attacks for you, right?"

If the [going out] plan failed, she would definitely use the truth of that incident to threaten him—Hoshino En was sure of that. He had seen too many similar situations. And if that incident came to light, not only would he be expelled, he'd probably end up in jail. The alarm of crisis in Hoshino En's heart kept ringing; Karuizawa Kei now posed a greater threat to him than Shiina Hiyori had before.

"Do you think offering your body will make me step in to shield you from trouble? Do you think I helped you back then because I had my eye on you? Don't flatter yourself!!"

"I dealt with those school bullies back then not because of you—I'm no righteous hero—it was just because the ringleader glared at me, which pissed me off, so I taught them a lesson."

"If you think knowing the truth lets you threaten me, then I don't mind making you end up like them."

Seeing Hoshino En's dark, cold expression, Karuizawa Kei froze, her face stiffening.

However, after a short moment of thought, she... let out a stifled laugh.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Her laughter grated on Hoshino En's ears. A virus called [irritation] invaded his thoughts, eroded his reason, and gradually made him lose control of his body.

Ah, just like before with Shiina. He clearly shouldn't be doing this, but his body moved on its own.

He grabbed Karuizawa Kei by the shoulders, threw her onto the bed, and then pressed down on top of her.

There was no R-rated development. He sat on the girl, pressing both hands against her neck, compressing her throat.

"Ugh... ah..."

Her breathing was blocked; her eyes began to glaze over, her consciousness fading.

"If you make a probing move, you'd better be prepared for the other party to become your outright enemy."

Hoshino En's hands gradually tightened. Karuizawa Kei's slightly tanned cheeks turned pale and bluish. Her hands hung limply on Hoshino En's body, her palms seeming to want to grip his arms, but the lack of oxygen left her powerless.

Just before she lost consciousness completely, Hoshino En released his hands and fell back to sit on the bed.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

Even though he was the one who had used violence, Hoshino En was like a fish out of water, mouth open, gasping for breath.

Too impulsive! I shouldn't have torn the mask off directly like that back there.

What's wrong with me this time? Is it because I was thinking about past events today, making me restless?

"Cough! Cough, cough, cough, cough—"

Karuizawa Kei, finally free, turned to the side and coughed incessantly, trying to replenish the oxygen she'd lost.

The perpetrator was replaying the situation in his head, the victim couldn't move, and the room fell into a brief silence.

"Karuizawa, we came to find you—"

The one to break the stillness was the dorm door swinging open.

In walked the other three members of the [Empress Group]: Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, and Mori Nene.

But once they took in the scene inside the room, they all froze: a lone man and woman together in one room, both lying on the same bed. Though neither had taken off their clothes, their breathing was heavy and labored.

This, this, this... this was clearly the prelude to a big showdown!!

And on one side was their friend Karuizawa Kei, and on the other was Hoshino En, toward whom Karuizawa had openly shown affection. There was no other possibility they could think of.

It wasn't like the two of them, alone as a man and woman, could be fighting on the bed, right?

"Sorry for interrupting, we'll be going now~"

"You two don't need to hold back; the dorm's soundproofing is pretty good~"

"We'll call in sick for you tomorrow, so enjoy yourselves~"

Click—

They came in a hurry and left in a hurry, vanishing quickly. Hoshino En, still replaying the day's oddities in his mind, hadn't even processed what happened.

Hoshino En: "..."

"How did they get into your room? I remember the door was locked."

"As long as you... cough... explain the situation to the dorm manager downstairs, you can... cough... get a key card to someone else's room... cough... of course, it costs points... cough..."