"Besides, have you even thought about what time it is? The Behavioral Norms Exam is still going on. Dragging them into a public discussion of this kind in class already crosses the line of public decency."
"Also, let me remind you: yesterday, a clerk at an electronics store was taken into police custody by the school for public indecency. That shows the school won't go easy on this kind of thing. Guess how many points you just cost the class?"
After saying that, Hoshino En turned his gaze away and ignored them.
The discussion had shifted from women's bodies to the class's point deductions. That meant the only person who'd have to worry was the one who'd started the topic. Hoshino En was safe. Zhong.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the girls and the boys who hadn't joined in the sleazy talk began tearing into the group. The other boys in the group also started criticizing Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike for bringing up the topic. Qi.
Kanji Ike realized something was wrong and was about to apologize, but Yamauchi Haruki couldn't hold back any longer. Wu.
He didn't think it was his fault, so he launched an indiscriminate attack on the boys in the group and shifted all the blame onto Kanji Ike. En.
"Was this really my fault? You were all having such a great time talking about it before, so why are you blaming me now?"
"Besides, Ike was the one who brought it up. I only went along with him. I did nothing wrong!"
Kanji Ike: "..."
What the hell!!! Ba.
Seeing things turn against him, he hurried to defend himself. Caught between everyone else's accusations and the group's attempts to dodge responsibility, the scene descended into chaos. Er.
In the end, Hirata stepped in and smoothed things over. The others who'd been dragged into it still had plenty to say, but for his sake, they let the matter drop.
As for the group, they didn't care about Hirata's good looks, but Kushida's sweet charm eventually won them over.
Even so, everyone still held a grudge against Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike. Si.
Hoshino En: Kiyotaka, see that? This is what happens when you get too close to them. You'd better keep your distance.
As soon as the farce was over, Hoshino En immediately sent a warning to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was sitting at the other end of the classroom. Lu.
He couldn't let his precious boy grow up all wrong because of these guys!
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for afternoon PE.
After the earlier conflict, the group had fallen apart. Kanji Ike had also distanced himself from Yamauchi Haruki for the time being, after Yamauchi stabbed him in the back. The boys' side of the class was steeped in tension.
But what did Hoshino En care? He was still alone, free to enjoy his own company...
"Hoshino, could we talk privately for a moment?"
Hirata Yosuke walked over to Hoshino En with an easy smile.
Hoshino En: "..."
Oh, Yosuke. If you're going to disturb my peace over some trivial matter, I'll kick your butt with my size-42 shoes!
And you girls over there, stop looking at me like that. I'm not into guys.
And you, Wang Meiyu—stop giving me that weird look!!!
They headed together toward the swimming pool.
Meanwhile, Horikita Suzune looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who sat motionless at his desk, apparently lost in thought, and asked, "We have PE next period. Aren't you coming?"
Whenever something came up over the past few days, he'd always tried to talk to her and get closer.
Now that he'd suddenly gone quiet, she found herself feeling a little unaccustomed to it.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't respond.
"What's wrong?"
She followed his gaze and saw Hoshino En and Hirata Yosuke walking side by side.
"That guy... I remember you two get along pretty well, don't you?"
"...Yeah."
"Hey, Horikita. What do you think a 'friend' really is?"
Only after Hoshino En had disappeared from view did Ayanokoji Kiyotaka look at his seatmate, whom he was currently trying to win over.
"You're asking me that? I don't need friends, so I wouldn't know. Ask Kushida. She's popular with the boys, isn't she?"
"If you're bothered by something this pointless, I'm not going to indulge you."
And so Horikita Suzune left too, leaving behind the lonely square root of three... no, the lonely Ayanokoji.
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 34: Swimming Class, the Teacher's Hint
"Hoshino, I hope you won't say things like that again. You could give people the wrong idea."
As they walked toward the swimming pool, Hoshino En heard Hirata Yosuke say this beside him.
"There are no bullies in our class!"
He seemed to have taken Hoshino En's earlier description of Yamauchi Haruki as a bully to heart.
"But Yamauchi and the others were openly talking about the girls' bodies. Wasn't that wrong?"
Hoshino En wasn't a champion of justice. He simply disliked Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike. There was nothing more to it.
"Well... I'll talk to them privately and convince them to stop. But you were too harsh in passing judgment. They were just running their mouths. They didn't actually do anything that could hurt anyone, so..."
"Stop!"
Hoshino En raised a hand to cut Hirata off.
"You think it was too much for me to label them bullies, so you came here specifically to reprimand me, right?"
"No, I'm not trying to reprimand you. I just..."
"But that's what you're saying."
He looked at Hirata Yosuke as if he were some rare animal.
"You don't think bullying only counts when it's physical, do you?"
Before they knew it, they'd reached the swimming pool and were standing outside the boys' changing room.
"They were talking about those girls' bodies right in front of them. Do you know how much psychological pressure that puts on them?"
"Forget Hasebe. She hasn't made a point of fitting in with the girls, but she's a pretty assertive person. Sakura Airi is different. She's shy and timid. She sometimes turns away in fear when our eyes meet. Do you know how much it affects her to hear people talking about her like that to her face?!"
"Uh..."
Hirata Yosuke had no answer. He'd only thought that what Yamauchi and the others did didn't amount to bullying, so he'd come to talk to Hoshino En in the hope that he'd take back his harsh accusation.
He wasn't a girl, and he'd never seen girls being bullied before, so he didn't know much about it.
"Hirata, I know you want everyone in the class to get along. But when people live together, disagreements and conflicts are inevitable. If you want the overall atmosphere to stay harmonious, you have to treat every conflict fairly."
"People who do wrong should be punished, and people who are hurt should be compensated. You can't make innocent people pay for the words and actions of those who did something wrong. That isn't fair."
"That's all I have to say. Think it over."
With that, Hoshino En pushed open the changing-room door and went to change on his own, leaving Hirata Yosuke behind to think things over.
After putting on his swim trunks, Hoshino En went to the swimming pool.
Although most people had kept their mouths shut after what happened earlier and stopped openly making lewd remarks about the girls, the rule that the greater the mass, the stronger the gravity still applied: their eyes couldn't help being drawn to the girls' ample chests.
"Damn, Little Angel Kushida really is..."
"Matsushita's aren't bad either..."
"Karuizawa's are pretty impressive too..."
In the end, they couldn't resist temptation and began whispering again.
Hoshino En: "..."
Come on. With that many of you huddled together, even whispering is conspicuous.
So much for my warning. They never learn. No wonder they got dumped in Class D.
Some others had spotted Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi, who were fully dressed and hadn't changed into swimsuits, and were now wailing as if their mothers had died.
"Why didn't Hasebe and Sakura change into swimsuits?! What a shame!!!"
Oh, it was Yamauchi Haruki. That explained it.
Wow, the girls were glaring over here again.
To avoid being lumped in with them and getting targeted, Hoshino En grabbed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—who had appeared from who knew where—and slipped into a corner of the crowd.
"What did Hirata say to you earlier?"
Looking at Hoshino En, who had pulled him away from the crowd, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly asked.
"Nothing much. He thought I'd gone a little too far with what I said about Yamauchi and the others."
"But now I'm starting to think I wasn't wrong."
Watching Yamauchi try to get the boys talking lewdly again, Hoshino En felt even more confident in his judgment.
That guy had absolutely no intention of reflecting on his behavior.
"Kiyotaka, see that? Make sure you never hang out with people like him."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
I feel like I'm being treated like a child.
I'm just inexperienced, not incapable of telling right from wrong.
"But I'm worried you'll start thinking people like them are normal."
Looking at Hoshino En's smiling face, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly felt a chill.
Could he really read minds?
The students didn't have to wait long before the PE teacher arrived.
First, he asked how many people in the class couldn't swim. To his surprise, nearly half the class raised their hands.
Hoshino En was one of them, but that didn't stop him from looking down on the others. Liu.
"Doesn't the school have anywhere we need to swim, anyway? It probably doesn't matter if we never learn."
Someone said this, but the teacher immediately shot him down.
"Don't be so defeatist! Don't worry. I promise I'll teach every one of you to swim before summer!"
"Actually, why don't we have a little competition? I'll give the first-place boy and girl 5,000 Private Points each."
"Oooh!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. The school seemed to have made them quite happy by offering points to whoever came first.
However, although the reward was tempting and everyone was excited, swimming wasn't something you could learn and master in a moment.
In the end, the reward went to the people who were already good at it: Koenji Rokusuke took first place among the boys, while Onodera, who'd already joined the Swimming Club and was in excellent shape, came first among the girls. The others, who'd gotten excited a moment ago, had gotten excited for nothing.
But Hoshino En didn't care about how well he'd done. He was more interested in the hint hidden in the PE teacher's words.
First, the teacher could hand out Private Points as rewards on his own. So as long as Hoshino En could convince him, getting Private Points in future exams wouldn't be a problem.
Second, his words implied that they had to learn to swim. That meant the school's exams wouldn't be limited to written tests; there would also be comprehensive assessments covering a wide range of abilities.
Before summer this year... Did that mean there'd be a Special Exam this summer, one that would definitely involve swimming?
The PE teacher hadn't tried to hide it. That Special Exam probably wasn't a secret they needed to keep under wraps; every new student in each school year likely went through it, just like the Behavioral Norms Exam they were taking now.
Perhaps he could get some hints from their dear upperclassmen.
As he thought about it, Hoshino En's gaze naturally fell on Kushida Kikyo, who was playing around with her classmates.
He could leave this to Kushida. That way, he wouldn't have to ask around himself or get tangled up in a hassle, and Kushida could build some credibility with the upperclassmen, making it easier for her to approach them. A win-win.
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 35: A Useful Tool, Get!
After that, time seemed to fly by as if someone had hit the fast-forward button.
To learn to swim—and fulfill his goal of swimming from Advanced Nurturing to Tokyo—while also preparing for the summer Special Exam, Hoshino En joined the Swimming Club.
When he first arrived at the club, the upperclassmen thought he'd come to challenge them and watched him warily. But none of that fazed the forthright Hoshino En. He quickly earned their trust and trained hard during club activities every afternoon after school.
Seriously, who'd spread his bad reputation around? Those upperclassmen had actually admitted to being pushed around by a new student from Class D. Had they no pride?
Before you continue