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Karuizawa Kei?
Akira fell into thought, remembering that she'd also come to him on her own last time.
This time, however, she'd learned her lesson and properly announced her name.
It seemed she could still take his words to heart.
He didn't think further and simply opened the door.
"Shimizu-kun!" Karuizawa looked at him, her eyes showing a hint of nervousness. "Um, can I come into your room to talk? I have something very important to tell you."
"Mm." Akira nodded.
She acknowledged, took off her shoes, and quickly entered the room.
She thought for a moment and chose not to sit on the bed but simply stood in the room.
"Shimizu-kun, you still remember our agreement from last month, right?"
"Yes, I remember. You pay 80,000 points, I let you join the boxing club, and I'm responsible for protecting you."
"So you do remember!" Karuizawa visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumping noticeably.
"Um, actually, I ran into some trouble yesterday." Karuizawa's voice was a bit lower.
"What kind of trouble? Tell me." Akira wondered if she'd been bullied by someone from another class.
"Yesterday evening during the study session, Yukimura suddenly attacked Matsushita, saying that she always seemed to study hard but her test scores were mediocre."
"I found it really grating, so I couldn't help but argue with him."
"Then Hasebe and Miyake suddenly appeared and immediately started taking Yukimura's side."
"And then?"
"What then?" Karuizawa blinked, not understanding what he wanted to ask.
"Did someone get hit or something?" Akira pressed directly.
"No!" She quickly waved her hand. "Those three wouldn't resort to violence, but their words were too harsh! They said Chiaki wasn't cut out for studying at all, and was just wasting her time!"
"Uh..." Akira narrowed his eyes.
This sounded like a childish squabble.
Had he somehow become a teacher mediating disputes?
But then again, was Karuizawa sticking up for Matsushita with this action?
"You couldn't talk them down? Aren't you a gyaru?" Akira raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Logically, a gyaru should be eloquent in class, so why couldn't she win an argument?
"Hasebe and Miyake's mouths are so venomous! Even Maya and I combined couldn't out-argue one of them!" Karuizawa couldn't help but let out a cold snort, her tone full of defiance. "They hit where it hurts, constantly bringing up our grades, and even forced us to memorize the test papers, saying we shouldn't drag the class down."
Akira nodded at her words.
He had an impression of Hasebe, Yukimura, and Miyake. He often saw them studying together, so they were likely friends.
As for Hasebe and Miyake speaking harshly? He could probably guess why.
Those two had similar personalities. They usually didn't say much, but once they got on a topic they were interested in, they became talkative, and always to the point. It was likely this blunt, almost caustic tone that had angered Karuizawa.
As for Yukimura, he was a typical honor student and inherently disliked students with poor grades, so it wasn't surprising that he'd question Matsushita's lack of effort.
However, Akira knew Matsushita too well.
She wasn't not trying. She was clearly deliberately suppressing her scores, just like Ayanokoji.
So, this argument was a big misunderstanding from beginning to end.
He looked at Karuizawa's fuming expression and suddenly found it a bit amusing. This student probably still didn't know that the person she was protecting was actually hiding her true abilities.
"So what do you want me to say? You're not trying to get me to teach them a lesson, are you?" Akira didn't know what Karuizawa was thinking, so he deliberately probed her.
If she asked him to punish them, then there'd be no need for him to sign any protection agreement with her afterward.
Because such a minor issue didn't warrant physical action.
"..." Karuizawa was stunned. She hadn't really thought that far ahead.
It was just that this morning at breakfast, Hasebe had given her a cold glance, and she'd uncharacteristically looked away, feeling she'd lost face.
The thought of not being able to hold her head up in class anymore suddenly made her want Akira to help her regain her dignity.
As for a big lesson, she didn't think it was necessary.
"Just help me curse those three a bit first!" Karuizawa suddenly mumbled, her voice carrying a stubborn awkwardness.
"Huh?" Akira hadn't expected that request.
"Just curse a few words!" She looked up, her eyes showing a hint of pleading and a bit of defiance. "I'll feel better after cursing them out! It's not too late to think of other solutions afterward!"
"No." Akira refused without thinking.
"Why not?!" Karuizawa's eyes immediately widened, a hint of exasperation mixed into her earlier aggrievedness.
"I don't like speaking ill of people behind their backs, and those three haven't provoked me." Akira replied as a matter of course.
Karuizawa immediately glared at him, her lips moving as if to say something, but the indignation was stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered.
She'd paid points!
Yet, she was afraid of genuinely angering him, causing him to completely ignore her, so she could only swallow her words.
Akira looked at her, this expression of being angry but not daring to speak. Clearly holding back her frustration, yet feigning obedience, which he found a bit amusing.
"Then you can listen to me curse those three, right?!" Karuizawa blurted out, as if she'd been holding it in for a long time and finally found an outlet.
"That's fine." Akira waved his hand, signaling her to go ahead. "Karuizawa-san, go ahead and curse."
"What's that Hasebe woman doing?! Does she really think she's amazing just because she has a good figure? She talks so sarcastically, as if no one's as good as her!" Karuizawa's words immediately burst out with anger, her eyebrows furrowed into a knot. "And Miyake, always pretending to be in the archery club, his words are colder than ice! And don't even get me started on Yukimura. All he knows is to stare at grades all day. Does he have anything else in his eyes besides scores?"
The more she spoke, the more animated she became, her words coming out like a machine gun.
All the pent-up grievances seemed to spill out with these words, her cheeks flushing slightly from excitement.
Akira leaned against the desk, listening quietly, not interjecting a single word.
After a few minutes, Karuizawa finally cursed to her heart's content, but after all that talking, her throat was already dry and tight.
"Shimizu, get me a bottle of water, will you?" She said with a touch of the arrogance that comes after a good vent.
"Go buy it yourself at the convenience store." Akira glanced at her, giving her a blatant eye roll.