Just as Shido was troubled by Tonomachi's philosophical question of "Nurse or Maid, choose one," and felt apprehensive due to Origami's sudden attention, he finally managed to escape Tonomachi's "grudge massage" and sit back down.
Koushi, who had been "catching up on sleep" with his head down on the desk, suddenly popped his head out from his arms like a mole and joined the conversation.
Listening to Tonomachi and Shido argue about their preferences, he interjected lazily with an expression that seemed to say, "You are too young":
"Tsk, what is there to argue about? Choice? Only children make choices. As a mature male, I naturally want all of them—Shrine Maiden, Maid, and Nurse! Doesn't that solve the problem?"
His undisguised "ambition" immediately drew simultaneous looks of contempt from Shido and Tonomachi.
"Insatiable!"
"You wicked Harem Protagonist!" the two of them exclaimed almost in unison.
Koushi shrugged indifferently, just about to continue presenting his "fallacies and heresies," when he saw Tohka cautiously approaching Shido, her face still bearing a lingering blush and obvious apology.
"Um... that, Shido..." Tohka's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and her amethyst eyes darted away, "I'm really sorry about this morning. You... You weren't hurt, were you? I... I didn't do it on purpose..."
Seeing Tohka's guilty yet adorable appearance, the slight grievance in Shido's heart vanished into thin air.
He quickly waved his hand, offering a comforting smile: "It's fine, it's fine. I have thick skin; it was just a small scratch. I don't blame you."
However, their private, low-voiced conversation and Tohka's suggestive apology were immediately picked up by the surrounding classmates who had their ears open.
Beams of curious, probing, and even slightly ambiguous and excited gazes instantly converged, and a wave of suppressed whispers rose in the classroom.
"Did you hear that? 'The thing this morning'?"
"She even apologized? Could it really be..."
"Cohabitation confirmed?"
The surrounding classmates immediately perked up their ears, exchanging "you know what I mean" glances, their faces showing keen expressions of gossip.
Their eyes swept back and forth between Shido and Tohka, clearly having already conjured up a dramatic scene of "accidental intimate contact during a cohabiting morning."
Tohka seemed unaware that the ambiguity in her words had already caused an uproar.
Seeing that Shido was not angry, she was slightly relieved, but still couldn't help but quietly defend herself: "But... but you were also wrong, you know. Suddenly doing something like that... that, it scared me."
"Boom—!"
This sentence was like cold water dropped into rolling oil, instantly igniting the surrounding gossip souls to their peak!
The classmates all gasped, the excitement in their eyes nearly becoming tangible!
"Something like that?"
"It scared her?"
The information overload! Cohabitation was confirmed! And it seemed something even more "intense" had happened this morning?!
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, sweat broke out on Shido's forehead, and he was about to explain, but a voice spoke up faster than him.
"Exactly! Shido!" Koushi suddenly stood up, his voice loud enough for half the classroom to hear, "How many times have I told you! Don't always try to sneak up from behind to scare girls! See, you scared Tohka, didn't you? Is it not a perfectly reasonable and logical act of self-defense that she reflexively elbowed you?"
As he spoke, he winked at the still-confused Shido and Tohka.
Although Shido and Tohka were still a bit bewildered, seeing Koushi winking, they vaguely understood that he was trying to help them out of the situation.
Shido quickly followed his lead, scratching his head awkwardly: "Ah... Yes, yes, you're right, my bad. I won't do it next time."
Tohka also nodded blankly: "Mm... Don't suddenly scare me next time."
The classmates were stunned by Koushi's "explanation."
Scaring her from behind? A reflexive elbow? Although the reason sounded a bit far-fetched and even childish, well... upon closer thought, it seemed a bit more plausible than the explosive news of "the transfer student beauty and the guy cohabiting and having an indescribable encounter"?
After all, the latter sounded more like an urban legend.
Moreover, Koushi spoke with an air of righteous indignation, as if he had witnessed it firsthand.
"Oh, so that's what happened..."
"Scaring someone from behind is really not good..."
"Itsuka, you were too careless..."
Thus, in a subtle mix of "oh, it was just that" and "I got excited for nothing" disappointment, and a self-convincing sense of "it seems quite reasonable," the converging gazes gradually dispersed.
Classmates returned to their own conversations in small groups, and the commotion in the classroom subsided.
Shido finally let out a long sigh of relief and shot Koushi an incredibly grateful look.
Koushi received the signal, proudly lifted his chin, and returned the look: "No big deal. With your Godfather here, how could I let you suffer social death? Consider it handled!"
A potential public opinion crisis was cleverly defused by Koushi's joking, half-true "explanation."
Shido looked at Tohka beside him, who was still somewhat confused but no longer nervous from being stared at, and then looked at Koushi, who had returned to his seat with a look of "deeply hiding his merit and fame."
Shido's heart was filled with mixed emotions—this guy was surprisingly reliable when it mattered, even though he was usually a troublemaker and a comedian.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"