"You actually dared to slander President Saegusa!"
Before Mayumi Saegusa could say anything, the boy beside her lost his patience first.
He looked absolutely furious. If he hadn't needed to maintain appearances in front of Mayumi Saegusa, he looked as though he would have charged over to fight Chiba Yeyou in person.
"Who are you?"
"What's it got to do with you?"
Chiba Yeyou looked at him, speechless.
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori.
Yep, a veteran simp!
"Hmph!"
"My name is Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori, a Course 1 Student and vice president of the student council!"
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori proudly introduced himself. Although he placed his right arm across his chest in a gesture of greeting, his face showed not the slightest hint of courtesy, only pride and self-satisfaction.
He had even introduced himself as a Course 1 Student before mentioning his title as student council vice president, which showed just how proud he was of his status as a "Bloom."
"Oh!"
"Never heard of you!"
Chiba Yeyou took a serious look at Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori, then declared solemnly:
No clue!
Who the fuck are you?!
Sure enough, the expression froze on the face of Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori, despiser of Weeds, Tatsuya Shiba's designated face-slapping prop, and the student council president's loyal simp.
"You..."
He pointed a finger at Chiba Yeyou, repeating "you" over and over without managing to get anything else out.
Sigh!
Poor kid!
Has the world never taught you how to curse someone out?
I'll teach you!
Put his dad at the center, use his mom as the radius, and make eighteen generations of ancestors your attack range. Saturate the whole area with firepower and let him have it!
Though that does seem pretty risky.
Win, and both your parents survive; lose, and your whole family tree ascends to heaven!
Forget it. Better keep things civilized!
Who the fuck isn't civilized?
I'm fucking civilized!
Chiba Yeyou looked at Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori with pity.
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori was already too angry to speak. Then he met Chiba Yeyou's pitying gaze, and he snapped!
"I challenge you to a duel!"
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori couldn't stand it anymore. This guy actually dared to embarrass him in front of his senior. Unforgivable!
*???*
Aren't you Shiba Jungler's jungle monster?
Why are you trying to take on a side gig?
Aren't you getting too much screen time?
Bro!
That one sentence from Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori left Chiba Yeyou utterly dumbfounded.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in men!"
Then Chiba Yeyou ignored him entirely and went back to admiring Mayumi Saegusa.
Does he think he's a medieval knight?
Challenging people to duels at the drop of a hat!
Who the fuck takes responsibility if I accidentally kill you?
"You..."
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori was dumbfounded once again.
How could anyone be this shameless?!
How?!
"But if it's this heartbreaker of a president, I'd be happy to have a good 'spar' and 'match' with you!"
"Keep talking about me like that, and I'll get angry!"
As Mayumi Saegusa spoke, she raised her little fist and waved it at Chiba Yeyou.
Well, then.
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori was dumbfounded too.
The president is acting that adorable again, but sadly, it isn't directed at me!
This shameless bastard!
I can't beat him in an argument!
I don't know how to curse people out, either!
I'm civilized. I don't know how to do that stuff!
And he won't accept a duel!
What should I do?
I've got it!
Learn!
If acting like that gets him so much attention from the president, I'll learn from him!
That's me for you!
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori silently congratulated himself on his cleverness!
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha..."
"How are you so funny?!"
Erika Chiba finally couldn't hold it in anymore. She slapped Tatsuya Shiba's shoulder, laughing so hard she could barely straighten up.
It wasn't that she was easily amused. There was something uncanny about this guy!
How could anyone be this funny?!
Erika Chiba couldn't understand it, though she was profoundly shaken.
Once Erika Chiba started laughing, she couldn't stop, and even Miyuki Shiba covered her mouth and chuckled.
There was also a bewildered Mizuki Shibata, letting out bewildered laughter as she tried to join in.
"All right, stop fooling around!"
Mayumi Saegusa patted Chiba Yeyou's shoulder helplessly.
As Mayumi Saegusa finished speaking, the laughter stopped. But when Miyuki Shiba saw the hand still resting on Tatsuya Shiba, her little face darkened.
"By the way, Brother, you've already started dating?"
"And you're dating several people at once!"
"You're really amazing, Brother!"
Miyuki Shiba's ominous voice echoed down the corridor.
Yet the smile remained on her face.
*???*
Why does that look of yours include me too?
Which one of us has something wrong with them?
Me?
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"Girl, are you blind?"
"I'm a man!"
"I'm into women! Women!"
"Got it?"
Chiba Yeyou pointed at Miyuki Shiba and angrily berated her.
"Pfft!"
Miyuki Shiba lost her composure. There really was something uncanny about this guy.
At that moment, the two girls reached an unspoken agreement.
Miyuki Shiba had looked at Chiba Yeyou because she was happy that her brother had finally made a friend, rather than being isolated by those around him because of his own circumstances.
She considered herself quite normal. She hadn't been thinking along those lines.
"Of course not, Miyuki. These two are my classmates, and this is Chiba Yeyou, whom I met on the way here. He's also a first-year student. What you said was rather rude."
"I'm very sorry. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Miyuki Shiba."
Miyuki Shiba bowed slightly, introducing herself as she apologized.
"I'm Mizuki Shibata. It's a pleasure to meet you too!"
Mizuki Shibata bowed in return.
"I'm Erika Chiba. Just call me Erika!"
"Can I call you Miyuki?"
Erika Chiba's naturally friendly personality came into play once again.
"Yes, of course!"
Miyuki Shiba smiled softly.
"You're actually pretty straightforward, Miyuki!"
Seeing how easygoing Miyuki Shiba was made Erika Chiba even happier.
"You think everyone's like you?"
"You social terrorist!"
Chiba Yeyou rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"What did you just say?"
"You're the damn terrorist! Your whole family's terrorists!"
Erika Chiba went wild.
"Pfft!"
"It's a pretty fitting description, isn't it?"
Mayumi Saegusa chuckled.
"Huh?"
"Madam President, is it really okay to bully your new junior like this?"
Erika Chiba looked at her reproachfully, as though she had nothing left to live for and Mayumi Saegusa had committed some terrible crime.
"No, no, no. I didn't say that. He did!"
Mayumi Saegusa instantly shifted the blame onto Chiba Yeyou.
"It's all your fault!"
Erika Chiba walked over to Chiba Yeyou, raised her foot, and kicked his leg.
"Fuck!"
"What are you doing?!"
Startled, Chiba Yeyou hurriedly dodged.
"Was that really necessary?"
Seeing how badly Chiba Yeyou had been frightened, Mayumi Saegusa asked in confusion.
"Phew!"
"It's fine now. Here! Go ahead and kick me!"
Chiba Yeyou had nearly been scared to death. He had a continuously active spell on him, "Defense Countermeasure." As long as Chiba Yeyou didn't deactivate it himself, the spell allowed him to receive attacks of any kind; otherwise, it would deliver a devastating strike against the target!
He normally kept the spell active. After all, Chiba Yeyou rarely interacted with people and had grown used to it. If not for Erika Chiba's reckless move, he would have forgotten all about it.
Tatsuya Shiba frowned at Chiba Yeyou, but after watching him for a while, he couldn't make anything out and couldn't help finding it strange.
But he knew Chiba Yeyou wouldn't frighten himself with some sudden fuss. There had to be a secret behind it.
Still, whatever secret Chiba Yeyou had didn't matter, as long as it didn't interfere with his sister.
Besides, he had secrets of his own. Being overly curious about too many things would cause unnecessary trouble, which went against his original purpose as a guardian.
"You said it!"
Erika Chiba raised her little foot again, preparing to give him a kick.
"If you touch me, you'll be mine!"
Chiba Yeyou looked Erika Chiba over and spoke in a leisurely tone.
At those words, Mayumi Saegusa's expression froze.
She had done more than simply touch him!
Then the girl's face visibly flushed a little, though there was no telling what happy thoughts were on her mind.
Erika Chiba's raised foot suddenly froze. She stood on one leg, looking as though she wanted to kick him but didn't dare, which was rather comical.
"Damn it!"
"You big pervert!"
Erika Chiba delivered the kick without the slightest hesitation.
"Mm, all right, you're mine now!"
Chiba Yeyou slipped an arm around Erika Chiba's slender waist.
"Come on, let me hear you call me hubby!"
Chiba Yeyou teased with a grin.
Feeling Chiba Yeyou so close, Erika Chiba went completely stiff.
"Huh?"
Mizuki Shibata was bewildered again. An elaborate, sweet romance played out in her head, and her face flushed bright red.
Miyuki Shiba, meanwhile, felt a little envious.
If only my brother would treat me like that!
The girl was lost in thought.
"All right, all right, stop fooling around!"
Mayumi Saegusa had kept her head, after all. She could clearly see that Chiba Yeyou's hand wasn't touching Erika Chiba at all; he was holding her with his arm, and he hadn't done anything out of line afterward either. She knew he was up to his antics again.
Hearing those words, the red-faced Erika Chiba suddenly snapped out of it.
"You were messing with me?"
At the girl's words, Chiba Yeyou hurriedly darted away and hid behind the president.
"I'm not done with you!"
With that, she lunged at Chiba Yeyou.
"Hey!"
The two fooled around for a while before finally settling down amid Mayumi Saegusa's helpless sighs.
"Miyuki, have you finished your business with everyone in the student council?"
Tatsuya Shiba looked at Miyuki Shiba and asked.
"Ah!"
Only then did Miyuki Shiba remember that she still had student council matters to attend to.
"It's fine. Today was just a chance to say hello."
Mayumi Saegusa smiled understandingly as she spoke.
"President!"
Hanzou Gyoubushoujou Hattori called out with some displeasure.
What am I supposed to do if this tool leaves?
"Miyuki!"
"Yes?"
"We can discuss the details another day. You too, Shiba. We can talk in detail when we have the chance."
"Also!"
Mayumi Saegusa paused at that point.
"Chiba Yeyou, as your senior, I'd like to invite you to join the student council!"
"Hmm, as for your position..."
"Be my secretary!"