Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
"Ichinose Honami's classmate?"
The words hit Ishizaki like a punch to the gut, and he froze.
So that's what this was about?
He quickly reviewed the situation in his mind. Ryuuen had told them to keep an eye on Class B's people, occasionally causing some minor trouble to mess with their heads. He hadn't expected that after only a few days, Class B would strike back like this.
"...Cough, yeah, I get it." Ishizaki cleared his throat, forcing out an awkward smile. He knew when to back down. The people in front of him were clearly way out of his league, and pushing back would only make things worse for him.
A fist the size of a sandbag was ready to land on his face.
He snuck a glance at Sato's tight jawline, then quickly nodded and bowed. "Then, senpai, we'll get going."
He didn't dare stick around any longer. He turned and quickly led his equally intimidated classmates out of the cafeteria, forgetting all about eating.
Only when he walked out did he let out a breath. But his mind was already working. Looked like the plan to harass Class B couldn't continue.
He had to report this to Ryuuen quickly and let his boss decide.
After getting chewed out by Ryuuen for smashing surveillance cameras and acting on his own last time, he didn't dare make decisions himself anymore. Anything involving third-year upperclassmen had to be reported to Ryuuen exactly as it happened.
.....
On the other side, Akira finally realized the junior Sato mentioned was Ichinose Honami from Class B.
'So that's it.'
A thought flashed through his mind.
'Is this Ichinose's way of handling things?'
He'd originally thought Class B would be tied up by Class C's harassment for a while.
After all, Ishizaki was Ryuuen's subordinate, and the guy always acted without any limits.
He didn't expect that after only three or four days, Ichinose had already found help through her connections and quietly resolved the problem.
No arguments, no conflicts. Just relying on social skills to shut down the opposition. This approach was more efficient than he'd imagined.
Akira couldn't help but compare. If he were being harassed like this, the quickest solution he could think of would probably be cornering them somewhere without cameras and using his fists to make sure they never bothered him again.
He would never have thought of asking the upperclassmen from the boxing club to step in. After all, he never liked relying on others. As long as he could handle something himself, he preferred to deal with it alone.
Though, thinking about it, if he really asked for help, Sato and the others would probably be willing.
But Ichinose naturally thought to ask upperclassmen for help. This method had a distinct "Ichinose style" to it. Gentle but highly effective.
"Mhm mhm... problem solved! Those guys from Class C shouldn't bother your class anymore." Sato's girlfriend picked up her phone and called Ichinose.
"You don't have to thank me," she chuckled into the receiver. "You went shopping with me last week, and didn't you insist on paying for bubble tea? Haha, you don't have to rush to pay back the points I lent you! We third-years aren't really hurting for points."
Hearing the other person offering to treat her as thanks, she quickly waved her hand. "Oh, no need for a treat! Actually, the boxing club didn't do much. You know, with their physiques, just standing there is intimidating enough. It didn't take any effort at all. If you run into trouble in the future, just come to me."
After hanging up, she turned to Sato and winked. "Done. Ichinose said she'd bring us her homemade cookies next time."
"Oh! Those cookies she makes are pretty good!" Sato nodded, then turned to Akira. "You came at a good time. You're in for a treat. Anyway, I owe everyone a favor. Now that it's settled, let's all head out."
He was the first to grab his jacket from the back of his chair, and the other upperclassmen from the boxing club stood up one after another, chatting and laughing as they walked out.
Akira honestly didn't feel like he'd done anything. He'd just been called to stand there and quietly watched the whole thing.
The ones who actually spoke and negotiated were all the upperclassmen. To be honest, he was more like filler today, just there to make up the numbers.
"Oh, by the way, Shimizu!" As they reached the cafeteria entrance, Sato's girlfriend suddenly turned back, raising her phone at him with a teasing tone. "Ichinose just said she owes me a favor. I'll help you arrange a meeting with her later, so you better perform well. You know her, right? She's a famous beauty among the first-years. You really lucked out."
Akira was caught off guard. He hadn't expected these upperclassmen to actually take the matchmaking talk seriously.
The person was Ichinose.
Actually, the upperclassmen from the boxing club were pretty decisive. From arriving at the cafeteria to resolving the harassment from Class C, it took less than ten minutes.
They didn't throw a single punch the entire time. Simply relying on their physiques and a few words to scare away Ryuuen's people.
This gave him an odd feeling of being completely outmatched.
After all, the opponents were third-year Class A students who'd been at this school for three years, experienced countless special exams big and small, and were long used to facing challenges.
Plus, their class also had the Student Council President leading them, and their own strength was excellent, so naturally there was no need to worry about first-year Class C.
Ryuuen probably wouldn't use methods like this against Class B anymore. He did love underhanded tricks, but he was ultimately smart. He should be very clear about the consequences of pissing off third-year upperclassmen, especially those from third-year Class A.
Having upperclassmen like these backing you saved a lot of trouble.
"Thinking about it, I wasn't wrong. The boxing club really does protect its members."
Akira looked in the direction the upperclassmen had left, and this thought suddenly came to mind.
For the boxing club to stand up for members like this, even willing to get involved in an "outsider's request," showed how protective the upperclassmen were.
Staying in a group like this, even if you ran into trouble, someone would have your back.
Like Karuizawa, who joined the club last month.
Actually, now that he thought about it, tomorrow was Friday. That was the day their protection contract officially expired.
He wondered if she'd saved up enough points by now.
In a sense, since she'd already joined the boxing club, with so many protective upperclassmen around, there was no need for him to protect her anymore.