Am I a Defective? No, There's a Conspiracy!

Thirty seconds earlier.

Sudou squatted at the entrance of the convenience store, roughly grabbed a cup of instant noodles, and started eating after peeling back the lid without even washing his hands.

An unfriendly voice suddenly rang out beside him.

"Hey, are you a first-year? You're taking up our turf. Get lost."

Sudou looked up angrily and saw a trio holding cups of noodles themselves.

He didn't know them. They looked shady as hell.

"Are you picking a fight on purpose? I was here first. Why the hell should I leave?!"

"You're an eyesore. Get lost already!!!"

Sudou abruptly stood up, his five fingers squeezing the noodle cup until it warped and twisted.

"HAHAHAHA!!!"

The trio burst out laughing. Their blatant stares made it seem as though they were watching a circus monkey perform.

"Did you hear that? He told us to get lost. Looks like he's a pretty cocky first-year brat."

"Kid, let me guess. You're from Class D, right? Looking at that ugly display of yours, you're a garbage-tier defective through and through!!"

"Huh? What the hell do you mean by that?! Hey?"

Seeing the three assholes sneering at him, Sudou snapped. He was furious!!!

He viciously smashed his half-eaten cup of noodles onto the ground, splattering broth and scraps everywhere!!

"What the hell are you doing!!!"

"I'm from Class D, so what?! Who the hell are you looking down on?!"

One of the second-year boys wore a teasing expression.

"Look at that, he's a little firecracker too. Did you hear him? He said he's from Class D. Just as expected, his true colors came out right away!"

Sudou stepped forward, raising his fists before his chest, ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.

The ridiculous sight made the trio erupt with laughter, laughing until tears streamed down their faces and their abs hurt.

"He, he... he's too funny, isn't he?! My stomach hurts from laughing, I can't..."

"There are cameras all around us. He... Hahahaha, does he look like he wants to beat us up?!!"

"It's the first day of school, so don't bully the junior too badly. We'll be generous today and temporarily give this prime spot to you poor defectives. Let's go play some games."

Hearing the commotion,

Uchiha immediately put down the shampoo in his hand and hurried over to watch the show.

He had always been the one providing entertainment for others. Now that he had the honor of being a spectator for once, what a delight!!!

He pricked up his ears and extracted several key points from their conversation.

First...

His train of thought was interrupted.

"Yuan Fang, what do you think?"

Tachibana Akane skillfully raised her phone and began recording.

"My lady, there must be an earth-shattering secret hidden behind this matter!"

The purple-haired girl opened her cherry lips in surprise and leaned her little head closer.

"I'd love to hear the details."

Still worried, she added,

"Give me a serious answer, okay? Be good."

She was truly afraid that the junior would pull some bizarre stunt again the next second.

"Oh."

Uchiha nodded.

Then, he revealed a Mona Lisa smile.

"First, those upperclassmen clearly look down on Class D. This further confirms my guess: there's a strict hierarchy between classes. Class D is at the bottom, while Class A is at the top."

"Second, they mentioned defectives twice. That explains why there are so many Jiahaos in my class. So all the defectives flow into Class D..."

Stars sparkled in Tachibana Akane's eyes as she praised him. "Very good. Anything else?"

With a finger against his chin, Uchiha looked utterly serious.

"Third, the school actually classified me as a defective. That means..."

"There's a conspiracy."

"..."

Absolutely!! Absolutely!!

There was absolutely no conspiracy?!!!

Tachibana Akane rolled her eyes to the heavens. Could you please have a little self-awareness?!

With a personality like yours, you deserved to be placed in Class D!!!

Meanwhile, Sudou was extremely worked up in the distance. He looked like he had rabies, hopping mad with rage.

"Fuck your mother, trying to run away?!"

The group of boys, however, smirked as they backed away.

"Ohoho, he's gone berserk."

"Bark louder, you stray dog. You'll be seeing hell soon enough anyway."

"???"

"If you've got guts, don't run! I'll beat the living shit out of you!!!"

"Damn it!!!"

Glaring furiously at the trio's retreating backs, Sudou turned around and threw a flurry of wild punches at the air, barely managing to vent most of his anger.

Without cleaning up the scattered trash on the ground, he shoved his hands into his pockets and left.

Seeing hell?

Ayanokoji frowned slightly.

Judging by their calm, superior expressions, what was going on?

He looked up at the convenience store's outer wall, where two surveillance cameras had been installed.

That meant there was a possibility of trouble afterward.

So,

he silently picked up the broom and dustpan by the wall and began cleaning up the mess.

"Heh."

Ayanokoji looked up at Horikita. Was she laughing at him?

Horikita sighed in disbelief.

"I'm going back. I have no desire to lower my standards here."

After Horikita left, Tachibana Akane put away her phone and turned to Uchiha.

"That redhead is your classmate, right? When the conflict broke out just now, didn't you think of going over to help him?"

"Senior, what are you talking about?"

Having been stabbed in the back by women before, Uchiha understood deeply.

"People's hearts are treacherous."

"Believe it or not, if you help him, he'll turn around and blame you in the end."

"If it doesn't concern you, stay out of it. Don't casually become a babysitter for overgrown babies. That's the biggest poison in trashy webnovels. It's just... you know?"

Tachibana Akane looked at him in a new light, her beautiful eyes shining.

"I never expected a junior your age to have such rich life experience?!!"

Uchiha raised his head as if it were only natural.

Having lived two lives and experienced sweetness, bitterness, sourness, spice, and salt, wouldn't it be strange if he had no soul-piercing insights?

Bzz bzz—

His phone vibrated twice. After reading the message, Tachibana Akane said goodbye to Uchiha.

"I have something to take care of, so I'm leaving first. Remember to report to the student council later."

The masked boy made an OK sign.

At that very moment,

an irritating sound suddenly exploded in his consciousness!

[ Ding!!! ]

[ Detected that the host is idling about. Initiating Chapter One main quest—Student Council Upheaval. ]

[ Quest requirements: As a newcomer, the host must clear every obstacle in an extremely Jiahao manner, report in at the student council room, and accumulate 20,000 points of heroic spirit. ]

[ Ability reward unlocked: Spotless. Automatically removes dirt from clothes and skin. ]

[ This is a divine tool for showing off. ]

[ While others are drenched in stinking sweat after cleaning, the host will remain smooth and radiant, even giving off the fresh scent of grass. ]

[ While others are filthy and bedraggled after a fight, the host will still be dressed in flowing white afterward, like a banished immortal. ]

[ While others brush their teeth, bathe, and apply face masks only to break out in acne, the host can skip all those tedious steps and become Homelander without eating beef!!! ]

After reading the panel information, Uchiha secretly clicked his tongue.

Spotless?

A support-type skill?

Then even if I rolled around in mud or on a beach in the future, I wouldn't need to bring an extra set of clothes!!

Though it wasn't as overpowered as the Kirin Arm or Invincible Golden Body, it was good enough for everyday use.

There was nothing else to say.

Throw away my brain and just do it!!!

Tachibana Akane waved her slender jade hand.

"Junior, what are you thinking about, spacing out in front of such a beautiful senior?!"

"Sorry, I was just captivated by senior's 'impressive' figure."

Just kidding. She had the build of a loli!!!

"..."

"Smooth talker."

Uchiha looked pitiful. "Ever since I was little, I've always been at the bottom. Forget being a class representative—I've never even been the group leader who collects homework..."

Tachibana Akane's heart skipped a beat as an ominous feeling began to rise.

"What... exactly are you trying to say?"

Uchiha looked harmless.

"What I mean is, it's my first time going to the student council, and I'm scared, anxious, flustered, and socially terrified. Can I bring a few good brothers along with me?"

"Don't worry, there won't be many. They won't enter the main area. They'll just watch from outside and cheer me on, give me some encouragement, that sort of thing."

Forcing down his scheming expression, the hooded boy snickered inwardly.

I'll pack the entire corridor full by then. Everyone passing by will be forced into loving me, all coming to watch my 'coronation' ceremony as secretary!!!

Wouldn't the heroic spirit points explode?!!

"..."

"Do whatever you want."

Tachibana Akane turned and left.

She neither looked back nor dared to, afraid that Jiahao would make even more requests.

At that moment,

a burst of commotion suddenly came from the crowd ahead.

"What are they lining up for?"

"A promotional event? Free eggs?"

"No idea. Let's go take a look."

With the mindset of watching a show, Uchiha took a step forward with his long legs.