So... so good I could die!

Early the next morning, Kazami came over to Hasebe's seat, looking all mysterious as he lowered his voice to tell her about last night.

"Listen, what happened last night was beyond words. It was the coolest scene I've witnessed since enrolling here!"

"You know Ayanokoji, right? Last night, he went all out-carrying a piano in his left hand, practicing calligraphy with his right, and holding a bouquet in his mouth while fighting Horikita's brother..."

This wildly altered version perfectly incorporated the piano, calligraphy, and flower arranging he had learned about last night, except his bizarre embellishments had turned it into an epic scene of Ayanokoji as a god of war.

He was really getting into his story and had just finished setting up the most exciting fight scene when he suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder from behind.

Kazami didn't even turn around. Assuming some classmate had nothing better to do than interrupt him, he waved a hand without losing any enthusiasm. "Quit it, quit it. I'm getting to the best part."

The person behind him didn't stop. Their palm came down again, patting his shoulder a little harder than before.

Annoyed by the repeated interruptions, Kazami shook off the hand and continued without looking back. "I said quit it! I was just talking about my Black Tiger..."

Hasebe, beside him, couldn't bear to watch any longer. With a peculiar look in her eyes, she kindly warned him, "I think you'd better turn around."

Her tone carried unmistakable resignation, sympathy, and anticipation of a good show. The spectator had arrived.

Kazami's heart lurched. Sensing something was wrong, he stiffly turned his head.

What greeted him was Horikita Suzune, her face frosty and her aura utterly gloomy. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Kazami could practically feel the dark fumes behind her.

Her icy eyes bored into Kazami, hostility churning in her expression and her lips pressed tight. Her voice brimmed with murderous intent. "How would you like to die? I can oblige."

Kazami thought for a second.

"From... from too much pleasure!"

The next second, Horikita struck, unleashing a merciless combination of punishment. Sharp sounds rang out in the corner, and Kazami had no chance to fight back.

Yes, as the price for running his mouth, Kazami got a beating.

After being dealt with, Kazami crouched in a corner of the classroom, rubbing his aching arm and muttering curses under his breath. "She doesn't keep her word. She clearly said she'd oblige me."

Hasebe stood beside him with her arms folded, looking down at Kazami as he crouched there brooding. Her eyes were full of amusement, and she couldn't help remarking, "You're really something."

Seeing him crouching motionlessly on the floor, she asked curiously, "What are you crouching down there for? Reflecting on your mistakes?"

Kazami looked up, his face weathered. "Searching for the meaning of life."

When would I finally overthrow Horikita's tyranny...?

"Laugh if you want. Just you wait. Once I rise to the top someday, the first thing I'll do is issue a new rule banning anyone from laughing at pandas!"

Hasebe had managed to hold it in until then, but Kazami's words made her clutch her stomach and burst out laughing. "I think you'd better ban fighting first, so Horikita doesn't give you another one-sided beating next time."

Kazami was instantly speechless. Hasebe had quite a nasty tongue too. She was a different kind of talent from Horikita.

Once Kazami recovered, he immediately switched to revenge mode and went straight over to Horikita, who was reading.

"I'm going to Big Brother right now to demand justice! I'm telling on you!"

A vein twitched on Horikita's forehead. "He's my brother, not yours. Why are you getting involved? And stop calling him Big Brother every other word."

"An older man is a brother. He's older than me, so what's wrong with calling him Big Brother?"

The more you tell me not to, the more I'll do it. Kazami was going to say no to this self-important woman.

"You can call him your senior," Horikita corrected him. He was her brother. She wasn't letting him call him that.

Kazami looked at the girl's sour expression. "Wait, why do you look so grim? Do you need the bathroom or something? I'm actually pretty easygoing. I can wait until you get back to talk this over."

"You..." Horikita nearly swore. Through gritted teeth, she asked, "What exactly do you want?!"

Seeing her finally give in, he had won today. Though it was only a small victory, small gains added up, and his great victory wasn't far off. Having achieved his aim, Kazami named his terms. "Simple. Treat me to a meal, and I'll let this slide."

Lunchtime, in the cafeteria.

Kazami stared at the salad on his plate, bare except for green vegetables. The anticipation on his face shattered completely, and he stared at Horikita in disbelief.

"This is the lunch you said you'd treat me to?"

"Yes." Horikita nodded expressionlessly.

Kazami pointed at his lunch. "How is this lunch? It's clearly fodder! Are you feeding me like I'm a rabbit?"

Faced with Kazami's accusations, Horikita took small bites of her own boxed lunch as she explained, "This is a fat-loss salad I specially put together. It's nutritionally balanced, provides enough energy for a person's daily needs, and is healthy and gentle on the stomach."

"I'm not a rabbit! Besides, this is just the free wild vegetable set meal! Worst of all, you actually took away the rice that came with it and left me with nothing but a pile of grass!"

Kazami continued listing Horikita's offenses, but she remained entirely self-assured, without the slightest trace of guilt.

"I only agreed to treat you to a meal. We never specified what it had to be. I haven't broken our agreement."

Looking at the woman playing word games before him, Kazami said darkly, "Since you're being so heartless, don't blame me for playing hardball. I'll just have to post the full story on the school forum about your confrontation with your brother last night and how we stepped in to help you out."

"You only told us to keep it secret and not talk about it. You never said we couldn't write it down. A written account doesn't count as leaking a secret, does it?"

Horikita's expression changed. Through gritted teeth, she asked, "What exactly do you want?"

I was going to let you off after one meal, but if you're pulling this, one lunch won't settle it anymore. Kazami made an outrageous demand. "You usually cook for yourself, so you should be pretty good at it. For the next month, you'll cook my meals and bring them to me."

Horikita choked with anger. "You!"

"Not agreeing?" Kazami took out his phone, poised to start writing right away. "Think it over carefully. Once I post this, the whole school will know about last night. When your private business causes a scandal for your brother, it won't really matter to you, since we're both in Class D. But your brother's in Class A, and he's the Student Council president. You wouldn't want your brother to suffer because of you..."

After saying that, Kazami felt something was off. Wait, Horikita was the one who didn't intend to honor our agreement first. Why do I sound like the villain now?

Left with no choice, Horikita could only grit her teeth and compromise. "Fine. I agree."

"Little Suzune, hahaha."

With an overwhelming victory in the negotiations, Kazami was smug. Another victory. The day he crowned himself king wasn't far off.